Patent ID: 7510122

Claim:
A portable digital image capture and processing system comprising: a hand-supportable housing; an image formation and detection subsystem, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, and having image formation optics for producing a field of view (FOV) upon an object to be imaged, and an area-type image sensing array for detecting imaged light reflected off the object during illumination operations in an image capture mode in which rows of sensor elements in said area-type image sensing array are enabled so as to detect a 2D digital image of the object formed on said area-type image sensing array during said object illumination and imaging operations; an LED-based illumination subsystem, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, and having an LED-based illumination array for producing a field of LED-based illumination within the FOV of said image formation and detection subsystem during said object illumination and imaging operations; an automatic light exposure measurement subsystem disposed in said hand-supportable housing, employing a photodetector operated independently from said area-type image sensing array, for automatically and continuously measuring the light exposure incident upon a selected portion of said FOV during said object illumination and imaging operations, and continuously generating an electrical signal representative of said light exposure measurement during said object illumination and imaging operations; an automatic illumination control subsystem, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, and being responsive to said electrical signal continuously generated during said object illumination and imaging operations, and continuously controlling the intensity and duration of LED-based illumination produced from said LED-based illumination array during said object illumination and imaging operations; an image capturing and buffering subsystem disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for capturing and buffering 2D digital images detected by said image formation and detection subsystem; an image-processing subsystem disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for processing 2D digital images captured and buffered by said image capturing and buffering subsystem and producing processed image data; an input/output subsystem disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for outputting processed image data to an external host system or other information receiving or responding device; and a system control subsystem disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for controlling and/or coordinating the operation of at least one said subsystem described above.