Digital-imaging based code symbol reading system employing a micro-computing platform supporting an event-driven multi-tier modular software architecture

A digital-imaging based code symbol reading system comprising:

• a housing having a light transmission window;
• an image formation and detection subsystem, disposed in said housing, and having (i) image formation optics for projecting a field of view (FOV) through said light transmission window and upon an object to be imaged in said FOV, and (ii) an area-type image sensing array for detecting sensing 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 one or more 2D digital images of the object formed on said area-type image sensing array;
• an illumination subsystem, disposed in said housing, and having an illumination array for producing and projecting a field of illumination through said light transmission window and within said FOV during the image capture mode;
• an illumination control subsystem disposed in said housing, for controlling the operation of said illumination subsystem during said image capture mode;
• an image capturing and buffering subsystem disposed in said housing, for capturing and buffering said one or more 2D digital images detected by said image formation and detection subsystem;
• a digital image processing subsystem disposed in said housing, for processing said one or more 2D digital images captured and buffered by said image capturing and buffering subsystem, so as to read one or more 1D and/or 2D code symbols graphically represented therein, and producing symbol character data representative of said read one or more 1D andlor 2D code symbols;
• an input/output subsystem disposed in said housing, for outputting said symbol character data to an external host system or other information receiving or responding device;
• a system control subsystem disposed in said housing, for controlling and/or coordinating the operation of the subsystem components described above;
• and
• a micro-computing platform, disposed in said housing, for implementing said digital image processing subsystem, said input/output subsystem and said system control subsystem,
• said micro-computing platform including a microprocessor, a memory architecture, and a three-tier modular software architecture characterized by an Operating System (OS) layer, a System CORE (SCORE) layer, and an application layer and responsive to the generation of a triggering event within said digital-imaging based code symbol reading system;
• wherein said OS layer includes one or more software modules selected from the group consisting of an OS kernel module, an OS file system module, and device driver modules;
• wherein said SCORE layer includes one or more of software modules selected from the group consisting of a tasks manager module, an events dispatcher module, an input/output manager module, a user commands manager module, the timer subsystem module, an input/output subsystem module and a memory control subsystem module;
• wherein said application layer includes one or more software modules selected from the group consisting of a code symbol decoding module, a function programming module, an application events manager module, a user commands table module, and a command handler module.