Method and apparatus for providing omnidirectional lighting in a scanning device

A digital scanning device, comprising:

• a ring light source providing low angle dark field illumination to an adjacent surface including a symbol to be decoded;
• a controller connected to the ring light source for selectively varying the direction of the dark field illumination projected from the light source;
• and
• an image sensor connected to the controller for acquiring image data of the symbol, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate the image data to determine whether the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol and to vary the light projected from the light source until the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol.

A digital scanning device, comprising:

• an arcuate light source providing a low angle dark field illumination;
• a controller connected to the arcuate light source for selectively varying the direction of the dark field illumination projected from the light source;
• and
• an image sensor connected to the controller for acquiring image data at the symbol, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate the image data to determine whether the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol and to vary the light projected from the light source until the image data is sufficient to decode the symbol.