The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a camera lens assembly including at least one lens held within a lens barrel, (2) a conductive coil fixably attached to the lens barrel, (3) a housing at least partially surrounding the conductive coil and the lens barrel, (4) at least one mechanical flexure maintaining the lens barrel within the housing and allowing movement of the lens barrel between stabilized discrete positions along an optical axis of the lens barrel, and (5) a magnet spaced from the conductive coil and coupled to the housing such that, in response to an electrical current in the conductive coil, an electromagnetic interaction between the conductive coil and the magnet causes the lens barrel to move from a first position of the stabilized discrete positions to a second position of the stabilized discrete positions. Various other systems and methods are also disclosed.

A lens apparatus includes an imaging optical system includes an imaging optical system including a plurality of lenses, a first holding member holding at least a first lens closest to an object among the plurality of lenses, and configured to move in an optical axis direction of the imaging optical system to perform focusing, a barrel member provided on an outside of the first holding member, and a control unit configured to control a driving unit configured to move the first holding member. When focus is at infinity, an edge surface on an object side of the barrel member is positioned on the object side of a surface vertex of an object-side surface of the first lens. When focus is at infinity, an edge surface on the object side of the control unit is positioned on the object side of the surface vertex.

A multi-directional bar code scanning device having multiple laser emitters matched with a single photosensitive receiver is disclosed. Multiple paths of laser beams generated by N laser emitters are projected towards a rotatable reflector group via a light projection reflector, and the rotatable reflector group projects the laser beams towards tilted reflector groups, such that multiple paths of laser scanning beams are generated and projected towards a bar code. A beam scatter by the bar code is reflected reversely towards a light collection reflector and focused on a single photosensitive receiver. The device can increase the number of scanning beams and the scanning directions, thereby expanding the scope of depth of field, and preventing the issues which multiple photosensitive receiver cannot operate simultaneously when a single channel is utilized and preventing non-coaxial optical signal crosstalk, thus improving decoding speed, and lowering the cost of the device.

A method of data acquisition and image generation over a wide and dynamic time interval between surface scans using modified electrical waves is disclosed. It is also disclosed that generating altered electrical waveforms that drive a scanner using conventional waves such as sinusoidal or triangle or sawtooth can enhance the method. Systems for A-scan, B-scan, and C-scan imaging pp include surface scan setups using a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional scanner, respectively. Three different arrangements of conventional waves enable modified waveforms that drive scanners to produce a wide and dynamic interscans time interval on both the fast and slow scan axes. (i) At a constant peak-to-peak voltage, the instantaneous voltage of the electrical sinusoidal wave shifts in time with the amplitude of the electrical signal in the ramp waveform within a range. (ii) The frequency of a waveform continuously increases (up-chirp) as a function of time in the form of a positive ramp sawtooth or continuously decreases as a function of time in the form of a negative ramp sawtooth. (iii) The frequency of a waveform is modulated as a function of time in a 90-degree phase retarded sinusoidal form within a deviation range of the +/ peak frequency.

An optical device includes a light source, which is configured to emit a beam of light at a given wavelength, and at least one scanning mirror configured to scan the beam across a target scene. Light collection optics include a collection optic positioned to receive the light from the scene that is reflected from the at least one scanning mirror and to focus the collected light onto a focal plane, and a non-imaging optical element including a solid piece of a material that is transparent at the given wavelength, having a front surface positioned at the focal plane of the collection lens and a rear surface through which the guided light is emitted from the material in proximity to a sensor, so that the collected light is guided through the material and spread over the detection area of the sensor.

A time delay and integration charge coupled device includes an array of pixels and a clock generator. The array of pixels is distributed in a scan direction and a line direction perpendicular to the scan direction in which at least some of the pixels of the array include three or more gates aligned in the scan direction. The clock generator provides clocking signals to transfer charge along the scan direction between two or more pixel groups including two or more pixels adjacent in the scan direction. The clocking signals include phase signals to transfer the charge to an adjacent pixel group along the scan direction at a rate corresponding to the velocity of the target by driving the gates of the two or more pixel groups and generating a common potential well per pixel group for containing charge generated in response to incident illumination.

Image scanning apparatus and method of operating an image scanning apparatus, the image scanning apparatus including a line scan detector and being configured to image a surface of an object mounted in the image scanning apparatus in a plurality of swathes, wherein each swathe is formed by a group of scan lines, each scan line being acquired using the scan line detector from a respective elongate region of the surface of the object extending in a scan width direction, wherein each group of scan lines is acquired whilst the object is moved relative to the scan line detector in a scan length direction.

A multi-directional bar code scanning device having multiple laser emitters matched with a single photosensitive receiver is disclosed. Multiple paths of laser beams generated by N laser emitters are projected towards a rotatable reflector group via a light projection reflector, and the rotatable reflector group projects the laser beams towards tilted reflector groups, such that multiple paths of laser scanning beams are generated and projected towards a bar code. A beam scatter by the bar code is reflected reversely towards a light collection reflector and focused on a single photosensitive receiver. The device can increase the number of scanning beams and the scanning directions, thereby expanding the scope of depth of field, and preventing the issues which multiple photosensitive receiver cannot operate simultaneously when a single channel is utilized and preventing non-coaxial optical signal crosstalk, thus improving decoding speed, and lowering the cost of the device.

An electromagnetic beam scanning system and corresponding method of use is provided. The system includes a motor, a reciprocating mechanism, and a focus optic. The motor is configured to generate a rotational movement. The reciprocating mechanism is operatively coupled with the motor and configured to convert the rotational movement to a reciprocating movement including a plurality of strokes along a first scanned axis. The reciprocating movement has a constant speed over a portion of at least one stroke of the plurality of strokes. The focus optic is operatively coupled to the reciprocating mechanism such that the focus optic moves experiences the reciprocating movement of the reciprocating mechanism. The focus optic is configured to focus an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) beam incident upon the focus optic to a focus along an optical axis substantially orthogonal to the first scanned axis.

An optical device includes a light source, which is configured to emit a beam of light at a given wavelength, and at least one scanning mirror configured to scan the beam across a target scene. Light collection optics include a collection optic positioned to receive the light from the scene that is reflected from the at least one scanning mirror and to focus the collected light onto a focal plane, and a non-imaging optical element including a solid piece of a material that is transparent at the given wavelength, having a front surface positioned at the focal plane of the collection lens and a rear surface through which the guided light is emitted from the material in proximity to a sensor, so that the collected light is guided through the material and spread over the detection area of the sensor.