Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-27
2001-05-15
Lee, Cheukfan (Department: 2722)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233064
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Scanners are used to scan documents like papers and books into computers. They convert a two-dimensional image on a piece of paper into a two-dimension array of pixel information that is normally stored by the computer on its hard disk. The computer can be used to modify the two-dimensional array of pixel information. The computer can also send the two-dimensional array of pixel information to a printer to produce a paper copy of the two-dimensional image. Flatbed scanners can handle both papers and books well. The only problem with flatbed scanners is the amount of space they take up on the desktop.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A wide variety of scanners are available to input image information into computers. These scanners offer a trade-off between size, cost, and ease of use.
The oldest type is a drum scanner. A transparency of the image is wrapped around a glass tube. The tube is then turned while a light source shines through the transparency onto a light detector. The light source and light detector are then moved along the length of the tube.
The first scanners used by personal computer users were hand-held. These hand-held scanners had wheels, a light source, and a linear photodetector array inside a housing. As the scanner was pushed across the image by hand, the wheels would turn. As the wheels turned, the photodetector array would send the perceived values of the light source reflected off the image to the computer. These scanners have the advantage of being small. The quality of the image is dependent on the steadiness of the hand of the user.
The second type of scanner used by personal computer users is the flatbed scanner. The flatbed scanner has a housing larger than the sheet of paper to be scanned. The scanner is laid flat on a desk or table, which is why it is called a “flatbed” scanner. Two parallel guide rods are attached to the housing. These guide rods support a linear scanner that combines a light source and a linear photodetector array. The linear scanner is attached to and moved by a notched continuous belt or cable loop stretched between an idler and a gear a driven by a motor. A window to support the paper or book to be scanned is on top of the housing. A cover hinged to the top of the housing is provided to hold the paper flat and to exclude external light from the linear photodetector array.
The third type of scanner has a housing with a motorized paper feed. A fixed linear scanner is placed along the motorized paper feed. The disadvantage is that a book is bound and can't pass through the paper feed opening.
The fourth type of scanner has long narrow base with a detachable unit wherein the linear scanner is combined with the motorized paper feed. A sheet of paper can be feed into the scanner and scanned as in the third type of scanner. In addition, the detachable unit can crawl along the open pages of a book. The disadvantage is that the detachable unit can slip on the open page or crawl off the desktop.
The fifth type of scanner is used to scan transparencies. Typically, a carrier holds a film strip. The carrier is moved relative to a light source and a linear photodetector array. The carrier and the one-dimensional linear photodetector array may be vertical or horizontal depending on the brand.
The flatbed scanner is the product of choice in the consumer marketplace. A flatbed scanner is now very affordable. The only problem with a flatbed scanner is that it hogs space. A possible solution to the flatbed scanner desktop space problem is to rotate the scanner to be vertical. Two problems emerge: the piece of paper to be scanned slides down and the cover falls down.
Brian R. Malyon's U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,334 discloses a book photocopier with a “window even inclined to the vertical so as to present an inclined surface on which a document can be laid”. Using a sheet of paper on a book or a cookie sheet, it can be seen that documents slide along inclined surfaces when the inclination rises above about 25 degrees from the horizontal. The document support ledge needed to prevent sliding is not shown in the Malyon patent.
Minasian & Schreiner's U.S. Pat. No. 5.475,505 describes a canted platen input scanner book copier. Their transparent windows are shown and claimed as horizontally inclined because they measure the claimed angles from vertical. They don't use inclination to reduce the footprint of a scanner. They also lack a document support ledge at the lower external edge of a transparent window.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A cabinet housing is shaped to be self-supporting and to hold a transparent window at a vertically oriented angle. The cabinet housing also holds a two-dimensional scanning reader means. A document support ledge is horizontally placed parallel to the lower external edge of the window. The document support ledge keeps a document, with an image to be scanned, from falling down. A magnet on the top of the cover can be used to keep the cover from falling down. In addition, a second set of feet are added to the cabinet housing to support the scanner from its new bottom.
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