Arrangement for and method of collecting and displaying information in real time along a line of sight

1. An arrangement for collecting and automatically displaying information in real time along a line of sight from a human operator to remote targets located at variable distances therefrom, each target being identifiable by a machine-readable indicium associated therewith, the arrangement comprising:

a) a housing aimable by the operator at the indicium of a respective target;

b) a reader at least partly supported by the housing, for reading the indicium to obtain image data related thereto; and

c) a projector at least partly supported by the housing, including

i) a light source for emitting a light beam,

ii) a scanner for sweeping the light beam in a pattern of scan lines on the respective target, each scan line having a number of pixels, and

iii) a controller for automatically choosing selected pixels in the pattern based on the image data obtained by the reader, and for automatically causing the selected pixels to be illuminated and rendered visible by the light beam to automatically produce a two-dimensional image on the respective target adjacent the indicium associated therewith along the line of sight of the operator.

2. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the housing is supported by a finger of the operator.

3. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the reader generates an analog signal indicative of light of variable intensity from the indicium, and includes a processor for processing the analog signal to obtain the image data for display by the projector.

4. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the light source is a solid-state laser.

5. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the scanner includes a first oscillatable scan mirror for sweeping the light beam along a first direction at a first scan rate and over a first scan angle, and a second oscillatable scan mirror for sweeping the light beam along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction, and at a second scan rate different from the first scan rate, and at a second scan angle different from the first scan angle.

6. The arrangement of claim 5 , wherein at least one of the scan rates exceeds audible frequencies to minimize noise.

7. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes means for energizing the light source to illuminate the selected pixels, and for deenergizing the light source to non-illuminate pixels other than the selected pixels.

8. An arrangement for collecting and displaying information in real time along a line of sight from a human operator to remote targets located at variable distances therefrom, each target being identifiable by a machine-readable indicium associated therewith, the arrangement comprising:

a) a housing mounted on a finger of the operator and aimable by the outstretched finger of the operator at the indicium of a respective target;

b) a reader at least partly supported by the housing, for reading the indicium to obtain image data related thereto; and

c) a projector at least partly supported by the housing, including

i) a light source for emitting a light beam,

ii) a scanner for sweeping the light beam in a pattern of scan lines on the respective target, each scan line having a number of pixels, and

iii) a controller for choosing selected pixels in the pattern based on the image data obtained by the reader, and for causing the selected pixels to be illuminated and rendered visible by the light beam to automatically produce a two-dimensional image on the respective target adjacent the indicium associated therewith along the line of sight of the operator.

9. An arrangement for collecting and displaying information in real time along a line of sight from a human operator to remote targets located at variable distances therefrom, each target being identifiable by a machine-readable indicium associated therewith, the arrangement comprising:

a) a housing aimable by the operator at the indicium of a respective target;

b) a reader at least partly supported by the housing, for reading the indicium to obtain image data related thereto;

c) a projector at least partly supported by the housing, including

i) a light source for emitting a light beam,

ii) a scanner for sweeping the light beam in a pattern of scan lines on the respective target, each scan line having a number of pixels, and

iii) a controller for choosing selected pixels in the pattern based on the image data obtained by the reader, and for causing the selected pixels to be illuminated and rendered visible by the light beam to produce a two-dimensional image on the respective target adjacent the indicium associated therewith along the line of sight of the operator, the image having a size extending over mutually orthogonal directions; and

d) a rangefinder supported by the housing for determining a distance of the respective target from the housing, the rangefinder being operatively connected to the controller for controlling the size of the image based on the distance determined by the rangefinder.

10. A method of collecting and automatically displaying information in real time along a line of sight from a human operator to remote targets located at variable distances therefrom, each target being identifiable by a machine-readable indicium associated therewith, the method comprising the steps of:

a) aiming a housing by the operator at the indicium of a respective target;

b) reading the indicium to obtain image data related thereto by operating a reader at least partly supported by the housing; and

c) automatically producing a two-dimensional image on the respective target adjacent the indicium associated therewith along the line of sight of the operator by operating a projector at least partly supported by the housing, including

i) emitting a light beam,

ii) sweeping the light beam in a pattern of scan lines on the respective target, each scan line having a number of pixels, and

iii) automatically choosing selected pixels in the pattern based on the image data obtained by the reader, and automatically causing the selected pixels to be illuminated and rendered visible by the light beam.

11. The method of claim 10 , and supporting the housing by a finger of the operator.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reader generates an analog signal indicative of light of variable intensity from the indicium, and processing the analog signal to obtain the image data for display by the projector.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the light source is a solid-state laser.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the scanner includes a first oscillatable scan mirror for sweeping the light beam along a first direction at a first scan rate and over a first scan angle, and a second oscillatable scan mirror for sweeping the light beam along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction, and at a second scan rate different from the first scan rate, and at a second scan angle different from the first scan angle.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the scan rates exceeds audible frequencies to minimize noise.

16. The method of claim 10 , and the steps of energizing the light source to illuminate the selected pixels, and deenergizing the light source to non-illuminate pixels other than the selected pixels.

17. The method of claim 10 , and the steps of determining a distance of the respective target from the housing, and of controlling a size of the image based on the determined distance.