Patent ID: 7413126

Claim:
A bar code reading apparatus for use in reading decodable bar code indicia, said bar code reading apparatus comprising: an M×N sensor that senses an excitation carrying information representing an encoded symbol and that provides an analog signal responsive to said excitation at an output terminal; an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive said analog signal from said sensor output terminal at an analog data input terminal, and to provide optimized digital data in an N-bit representation, where N is a positive integer greater than 1, said analog-to-digital converter being controlled so that an N-bit range of said analog-to-digital converter substantially spans a dynamic range of said excitation as sensed by said sensor; a microprocessor that manipulates said optimized digital data, thereby providing accurate decoding of said digital data under a range of illumination conditions; and a display capable of displaying an indicia being read.