VB14N-T Barcode Scanner Ensures Optical Identification in Deep-freeze Warehouses

In the food industry, an unbroken cold chain is essential for product quality. National food laws generally require the storage temperature of frozen products to be lower than 18 °C throughout the cold chain. This places high demands on the sensors in deep-freeze warehouses. Even at very low temperatures, frozen products must be reliably identified in order to reach their final destination.

In deep-freeze warehouses that handle frozen food products, goods are transported on trays. Barcodes on the trays allow the goods to be identified and transported for further order picking. To do this, scanners must be able to function quickly and reliably at very low temperatures. The temperatures can also have a negative effect on the readability of the codes themselves. For minimal error rates and short throughput times, difficult-to-read codes must always be reliably recognized, even at high speeds.

The VB14N-T barcode scanner has an integrated heater that allows it to withstand ambient temperatures from -35 °C to +45 °C. With a short warm-up phase of 20 minutes at most, it is quickly ready for use and has a reduced maximum energy consumption of 9.6 W. In addition, the scanner’s powerful optics and code reconstruction technology offer high reliability for reading hard-to-recognize barcodes. The compact design allows installation even where space is limited.

Up to 32 devices can be networked via a high-speed connection. This enables simultaneous detection of several barcodes, which can be located at different positions. The scanner has a function key and LEDs to support configuration, barcode teach-in, and testing. During operation, the LEDs provide read status information. Accompanying PC software also enables simple configuration.

• Integrated heater for use at low temperatures down to -35 °C
• Reliable reading performance even with low barcode contrast
• Shortened commissioning due to fast warm-up phase
• Efficient solution with reduced energy consumption
• Compact design for space-restricted installations