Patent ID: 8590792

Claim:
An apparatus operative for reading printed and electronically displayed codes on an object, comprising: a housing; a window supported by the housing; an energizable illumination system supported by the housing and operative for illuminating the object with illumination light directed through the window; a solid-state, exposable imager supported by the housing and having an array of light sensors looking at a field of view that extends through the window, the array of light sensors operative for capturing light from the object; a mode changing system supported by the housing and including an object sensing system for detecting how long an object has been positioned in an object field of view in order to determine presence of an electronically displayed code, wherein the object sensing system includes an object light source operative for emitting object sensing IR light and an object light sensor operative for detecting return object sensing IR light returned from the object over the object field of view; a controller operatively connected to the imager and the illumination system and operative for processing the captured light from the object, the controller being operative for exposing the imager for a first exposure time and by also energizing the illumination system during the first exposure time while in a first code reading mode, and operative for exposing the imager for at least a second exposure time that is longer than the first exposure time and by also de-energizing the illumination system during the at least second exposure time while in a second code reading mode; and the mode changing system further being (1) operative for directing the controller to operate in the first code reading mode in response to the object sensing system detecting the presence of the object and (2) operative for directing the controller to change from the first code reading mode to the second code reading mode when the object has been in the object field of view for a duration exceeding a pre-determined duration and without a barcode being successfully decoded by the controller when operating in the first code reading mode.