Patent ID: 7611064
Filing Date: 2009-11-03
Classification: G06F,G06K

Abstract:
1. A digital image capture and processing system comprising: a housing having a light transmission window; an image formation and detection subsystem having an image sensing array and image formation optics having a field of view (FOV) defined relative to said light transmission window, for forming and detecting a digital image of an object within said FOV; a trigger event generation mechanism, disposed in said housing, for automatically detecting the presence of the object within said FOV, and generating a trigger event in response to detecting the presence of said object; an illumination subsystem, disposed in said housing, and having an LED-based illumination array for producing a field of illumination within said FOV during object illumination and imaging operations; an illumination measurement subsystem, disposed in said housing, and including a photodetector, operating independently from said image sensing array, for measuring the level of illumination at a particular region of said FOV during object illumination and imaging operations, and determining and storing an illumination duration necessary to achieve a desired spatial intensity in said digital image formed and detected by said information and detection subsystem; an illumination control subsystem, disposed in said housing, and using said illumination duration determined by said illumination measurement subsystem so as to control the time duration that said LED-based illumination array is driven during object illumination and imaging operations; a programmed image processor, disposed in said housing, for supporting an image-processing based illumination metering program, as well as processing digital images formed and detected by said image formation and detection subsystem so as to read or acquire information graphically represented in said digital images; and a system control subsystem, disposed in said housing, for controlling and/or coordinating the operations of one or more of said subsystems and components identified above.