Laser scanning code symbol reading system providing control over length of laser scan line projected onto a scanned object using dynamic range-dependent scan angle control

A laser scanning code symbol reading system, comprising:

• a housing with a light transmission window;
• a laser scanning module, disposed in said housing, for scanning, during each scanning cycle, a laser beam across a laser scanning field defined external to said light transmission window, and along a laser scan line passing through a code symbol on a scanned object in said laser scanning field;
• light collection optics, disposed in said housing, for collecting light reflected/scattered from the scanned object in said laser scanning field;
• a photo-detector, disposed in said housing, for detecting the intensity of collected light from said laser scanning field, and generating an analog scan data signal corresponding to said detected light intensity during laser scanning operations, during each said scanning cycle;
• a scan data signal processor, disposed in said housing, for processing said analog scan data signal generating, and generating a line of scan data for each said scanning cycle;
• wherein said scan data signal processor further includes a module for processing said analog scan data signal so as to estimate the distance of an object in said scanning field from said light transmission window, and generate data representative of said estimated distance;
• wherein said laser scanning module further projects said laser scanning beam through said light transmission window, and having a scan angle that is determined by said estimated distance, or said data representative of said estimated distance;
• a scan data buffer, disposed in said housing, for buffering each said line of scan data during each said scanning cycle;
• a programmed processor, disposed in said housing, for processing each said line of scan data buffered in said scan data buffer during each said scanning cycle to decode any code symbol represented in said scan data, and generate symbol character data representative of said decode code symbol, and transmitting said symbol character data to its intended destination;
• and
• a system controller, disposed in said housing, for controlling operations within said laser scanning code symbol reading system.