Patent ID: 7540422

Claim:
A digital image capturing and processing system for use in retail point of sale (POS) environments, comprising: a system housing having an imaging window; a plurality of coplanar illumination and imaging stations mounted beneath said imaging window in said system housing, for generating and projecting a plurality of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said imaging window and into a 3D imaging volume definable relative to said imaging window; and an imaging window protection plate mounted over said imaging window and having an aperture pattern that corresponds to said plurality of coplanar illumination and imaging planes projected through said imaging window, so that said plurality of coplanar illumination and imaging planes are allowed to project through said aperture pattern and into said 3D imaging volume, while said imaging window protection plates protects said imaging window during system operation; wherein said aperture pattern includes a central X aperture pattern and a pair of parallel apertures aligned parallel to the sides of the system housing, and said plurality of said coplanar illumination and imaging planes are configured to project through said central X aperture pattern and said pair of parallel apertures.