Optical reading device with programmable LED control

A method of reading a target with a hand held device comprising the steps of:

• exposing a sensor array to the target, the sensor array having rows of pixels;
• utilizing an on board processor for:
• turning on an aiming pattern superimposed onto the target during exposure of a first predetermined row of pixels;
• turning off the aiming pattern during exposure of a second predetermined row of pixels.

A method for operating a hand held optical reading device comprising the steps of:

• projecting an aiming pattern onto the target;
• exposing one or more rows of pixels in the image sensor;
• providing a plurality of row sync pulses;
• determining a row sync pulse count representative of each row of pixels;
• utilizing an on board processor for turning off the aiming pattern in response to a first predetermined row sync pulse count;
• and,
• turning on the aiming pattern in response to a second predetermined row sync pulse count.

An apparatus comprising:

• a sensor array having rows of pixels which are exposed to a target, wherein the sensor array generates a sync signal indicative of exposure of each pixel row;
• an aiming pattern generator for producing an aiming pattern superimposed on the target;
• a processor which utilizes the sync signal to control the aiming pattern generator to:
• turn on the aiming pattern during exposure of a predetermined row of pixels;
• turn off the aiming pattern after a first predetermined time after the aiming pattern is turned on;
• turn on the aiming pattern after a second predetermined time after the aiming pattern is turned off;
• and,
• a housing for housing the sensor array, aiming pattern generator and processor for hand held operation,
• wherein the processor counts the sync signal to determine the predetermined row.

A method of reading a target with a hand held device comprising the steps of:

• exposing a sensor array to the target, the sensor array having rows of pixels;
• turning on an aiming pattern superimposed onto the target during exposure of a predetermined row of pixels;
• turning off the aiming pattern after a first predetermined time after the aiming pattern is turned on;
• turning on the aiming pattern after a second predetermined time after the aiming pattern is turned off;
• storing in memory identification information of the predetermined row;
• wherein the processor has memory and further comprising the step of storing identification information of the predetermined row in the memory,
• wherein the utilizing step comprises counting the sync signal to determine the predetermined row.