OPTICAL TRANSDUCER HAVING RECTILINEAR FIBER OPTIC ARRAY INCLUDING INTERDIGITATED LIGHT SOURCE AND SENSOR ASSOCIATED FIBERS

摘要

A fiber optic transducer includes at least one read aperture at which optical fibers conducting light from a source and fibers transmitting reflected light to a sensor terminate in rectilinear array. The optical fibers all are of rectangular cross-section and are arranged in the array so that each row of reflected light transmitting fibers is interdigitated between rows of light source conducting fibers. The other ends of the light source fibers from all of the read apertures terminate in a single source aperture illuminated by a light emitting diode or other light source. The reflected light transmitting fibers from each read aperture terminate at respective separate sensor apertures. The transducer is used to read optically coded indicia on a tag, label or other article which is moved past the transducer in close proximity to the read apertures in a direction parallel to the interdigital rows of fibers.