Arrangement for and method of generating uniform distributed illumination pattern for imaging reader

An imaging reader for electro-optically reading a symbol by image capture, comprising:

• a housing having an ergonomic handle tilted at an acute angle of inclination relative to the vertical;
• a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted in the handle and tilted at said acute angle of inclination;
• and
• an imaging module supported by the housing, the module including an imaging system including a solid-state imager having an array of image sensors mounted on the PCB, and an imaging lens assembly for capturing return light over a field of view from the symbol along an imaging axis, and for projecting the captured return light onto the array, and an illuminating light assembly including an illumination light source mounted on the PCB for emitting illumination light at said acute angle of inclination relative to the imaging axis, and an optical component including a first lens portion for intercepting, bending and aligning the emitted illumination light to generate the pattern in a scan direction along the symbol, and a second lens portion for collimating the aligned illumination light to generate the pattern in a transverse direction generally perpendicular to the scan direction.

A method of generating a substantially uniform distributed illumination pattern of light on a symbol to be read by image capture, comprising the steps of:

• capturing return light over a field of view from the symbol along an imaging axis, and projecting the captured return light onto a solid-state imager;
• emitting illumination light at an acute angle of inclination relative to the imaging axis;
• intercepting, bending and aligning the emitted illumination light to generate the pattern in a scan direction along the symbol with a first lens portion of an optical component;
• and
• collimating the aligned illumination light to generate the pattern in a transverse direction generally perpendicular to the scan direction.