Inventory control has always been an important aspect for successful operation of any supply chain enterprise, such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail sales facilities. Recent advances in automatic identification technology have greatly improved the accuracy of this process and tremendously reduced the time required to perform such tasks. Today, most wholesale and retail sales facilities employ a variety of automatic identification methods to provide accurate, up-to-the-minute knowledge of their entire stock at any given time.
Generally, most consumer products today are provided with a standard Universal Product Code (UPC), or custom store code represented as a barcode, which identifies the product. Facilities implement barcode readers at check out counters to determine the cost of the product without requiring a cashier to identify and “ring up” the appropriate item. Additionally, in many facilities, the item is automatically removed from a current inventory listing, providing an updated and accurate inventory at all times. Barcode readers are also implemented to track incoming inventory by scanning each item upon arrival. The barcode reader is often a portable handheld device equipped with radio frequency (“RF”) capabilities, which enables the barcode reader to wirelessly upload information to a central tracking computer.
The barcode reader generally contains an optical scanner which reads information encoded in a barcode label located on packaging for an item. The barcode label has a series of parallel vertical stripes, with information embedded according to the width of each line and the width of the spaces between the lines. The barcode scanner illuminates the barcode with a red laser light. The scanner sensor detects the reflected light and generates an analog signal which is converted by a decoder to a digital code. The barcode reader may be physically or wirelessly connected to a computer system which stores and tracks the coded information in a variety of applications, including inventory control and purchase receipt applications.
A second automatic identification method, radio-frequency identification (“RFID”), is generally known. RFID systems may be used for a number of applications, such as managing inventory, electronic access control, security systems, and automatic identification of cars on toll roads. An RFID system typically includes an RFID reader and an RFID device commonly called RFID tags or transponders. The RFID reader may transmit a radio-frequency (“RF”) carrier signal to the RFID device. The RFID device may respond to the carrier signal with a data signal encoded with information stored by the RFID device. An RFID is applied to or incorporated into a product for identification purposes.
The market need for combining barcode scanning and RFID functions in the retail environment is rapidly emerging. Many retail stores rely on bar code information for inventory control. Several conventional handheld bar code scanners have integrated RFID capabilities by adding an RFID antenna and reader module as an add-on to the original barcode reader. That is, the housing of the handheld barcode/RFID reader is enlarged or extended to provide a region where the RFID antenna and reader module can be located and interconnected to the other electronics associated with the bar code reader. The RFID antenna and RFID reader module are separate parts which are merely bolted together, typically in a stacked or “sandwiched” fashion, onto still other printed circuit boards (“PCBs”) containing circuitry which enables the bar code reader functions. However, this stacked design is costly, time consuming to manufacture and adds additional volume and weight, rendering the actual barcode reading device cumbersome to carry.
Therefore, what is needed is a combination barcode/RFID reader that solves the above-described problems by producing a compact, lightweight unit that is easier to assemble than known combination units.