Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed for illuminating a distant object such as a vehicle license plate, and for reading optical information on the distant object. The apparatus is a self-contained, compact unit which includes a radiation source for illuminating a selected area of the object and a CCD camera for receiving radiation from the object and for producing an electrical signal representative of optical information on the object. The radiation source is coaxial with an imaging lens of the camera and includes arrays of LED's spaced around an optical axis passing through the imaging lens. The LED's emit radiation in the near infrared region and are strobed at a predetermined frequency during the acquisition of the information.

Abstract: A modular fiber optic light line unit provides a uniform linear beam of illumination. A number of these modular units can be butted together end to end to create a long, seamless line of uniform strip lighting. The unit has a housing in which a distal portion of the fiber optic bundle fans out so that the termini of the fibers are arrayed in a single continuous fiber row at a distal face plate of the housing. The ends of the row are flush with end edges of the distal face plate. In one embodiment the housing has first and second halves that sandwich the fiber termini, and there are respective sawtooth or similar recesses that each hold a respective fiber end or terminus. The housing can be anodized aluminum, and the optical fibers can be polymer fibers, for example with a diameter of 0.030 inches.