Patent ID: 8556179

Claim:
An apparatus for decoding barcodes, the apparatus comprising: an imager housing comprising a body and a viewing window formed in an exterior portion of the body, the viewing window configured to allow light to travel between an interior and an exterior of the imager housing; a light source, coupled to the imager housing, that emits light comprising a plurality of frequency components, wherein a first frequency of the light is a blue component of the light and a second frequency of the light is a yellow component of the light; an optical system that is located inside the imager housing, comprising: (1) a shutter that is operable to transition between a closed position and an open position, and wherein light is prevented from entering the optical system when the shutter is in the closed position; (2) an aperture, wherein the aperture comprises an opening through which light passes when the shutter is in the open position; (3) a lens module that generates a chromatic aberration as light passes through a lens configuration; and (4) an image sensor configured to capture image data, wherein the image data includes at least a first image formed by the first frequency of the light and a second image formed by the second frequency of the light; and a processor, attached to the imager housing and communicatively coupled to the image sensor, the processor configured to decode the first image formed on the image sensor and interpret the second image as noise, wherein the optical system and the viewing window are arranged such that, when the shutter opens, light is able to travel from the exterior of the imager housing to the interior of the imager housing by passing through the viewing window, through the aperture, through the lens module where it is refracted and dispersed due to the chromatic aberration, and onto the image sensor where it forms an image.