Portable ID card verification apparatus

Claim 1

A portable verification apparatus for reading a dataform imprinted on an ID card, the dataform including an encoded, digitized representation of an attribute of an authorized user of the card, the apparatus comprising: a) a housing defining an interior region and supporting electronic circuitry including a processor; b) a substantially transparent window supported by the housing and being accessible from an exterior of the housing, the window providing a support surface upon which the ID card is placed, the card's dataform being visible through the window; c) an imaging assembly coupled to the electronic circuitry and including a camera assembly including a 2D photosensor array supported within the housing and an optics assembly spaced from the 2D photosensor array to focus an image of the dataform onto the 2D photosensor array; d) decoding circuitry for decoding the dataform imaged onto the photosensor array; e) a display screen electrically coupled to the electronic circuitry for displaying a decoded representation of the attribute of the authorized user of the card; and f) a mirror positioned between the substantially transparent window and the optics assembly and the optics assembly being positioned such that a longitudinal axis bisecting a field of view of the optics assembly is substantially parallel to a plane defined by a support surface of the substantially transparent window.