Patent ID: 8210437

Claim:
A data capture terminal for automatically capturing data from targets located within a range of working distances from the terminal, comprising: an imaging assembly for focusing and capturing return light from the targets over a field of view, and for generating respective electrical signals each indicative of the captured return light, wherein the imaging assembly includes a solid-state imager having an array of image sensors; and a controller operative for processing one of the electrical signals from one of the targets into data indicative of the one target by automatically controlling a set of focal parameters of the imaging assembly, for determining that the data of the one target has been successfully captured, and for storing one of the focal parameters of the imaging assembly upon a successful determination, the set of focal parameters of the imaging assembly corresponding to the range of working distances, and the controller being further operative for subsequently processing another of the electrical signals from another of the targets into data indicative of the other target by automatically selecting a subset of the focal parameters determined by the stored one focal parameter, and for determining that the data of the other target has been successfully captured, the subset containing the stored one focal parameter, and the subset being smaller than the set of the focal parameters of the imaging assembly and corresponding to a restricted zone within the range of working distances to enhance data capture performance of the terminal.