Hybrid Illumination System for Symbology Readers and Method of Reading DPM Codes Therewith

A symbology reader comprising:

• a housing that defines a cavity having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion of the cavity being further defined by one or more walls;
• a diffuser positioned within the first portion of the cavity, the diffuser configured to diffusingly reflect light that impinges thereon;
• an imaging assembly positioned within the second portion of the cavity and configured to capture light from an imaging field of view (FOV) extending through the cavity of the housing;
• a first illumination assembly positioned within the first portion of the cavity, the first illumination assembly configured to indirectly illuminate a DPM code, wherein the first illumination assembly emits light towards an optical element configured to redirect at least some of the light emitted by an illumination source of the first illumination assembly toward the diffuser, wherein the diffuser further scatters the at least some light towards the DPM code thereby indirectly illuminating the DPM code;
• and
• a second illumination assembly configured to directly illuminate a barcode.

A method of reading direct part marking (DPM) codes by a scanner having (i) a housing that defines a cavity having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion of the cavity being further defined by one or more walls;

• (ii) a window positioned within the cavity, wherein the window separates the first portion of the cavity and the second portion of the cavity;
• (iii) a diffuser positioned within the first portion of the cavity, the diffuser configured to diffusingly reflect light that impinges thereon;
• (iv) an imaging assembly positioned within the second portion of the cavity and configured to capture light from an imaging field of view (FOV) extending through the window and the first portion of the cavity;
• (v) a first illumination assembly positioned within the second portion of the cavity and configured to emit a first illumination light towards the window;
• and (vi) an optical element configured to direct a first amount of a total amount of the first illumination light to exit the window and impinge on the diffuser, the method comprising:
• capturing a set of image data by the imaging assembly;
• detecting, by one or more processors, a direct part marking (DPM) code within the FOV of the imaging assembly;
• and
• decoding, by the one or more processors, the DPM code by analyzing a set of image data representative of the DPM code.