Document scanner with automated document alignment system
AssigneeKodak Alaris Inc.
InventorsStephen M. Reinke, Randy R. Maysick, Robert M. Westcott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments are directed at a systems, methods, and apparatuses for automatically aligning the lead edges of a document stack loaded in a scanner system. An automated jogger system includes feeder gate elements which are driven forward and backwards in an oscillating motion. This motion causes the documents in the stack to slide between each other, causing the documents to move and rotate towards the feeder gate elements, aligning the lead edges of the stack prior to being fed into the document scanner.
Claims20
A system for scanning documents, the system comprising:
- an input tray for holding one or more documents to be scanned;
- at least one roller element configured to feed the one or more documents to be scanned into a document transport path;
- a transport drive system configured to move a document of the one or more documents along the document transport path;
- at least one rotatable feeder gate element;
- a motion controller configured to:
- rotate the at least one rotatable feeder gate element to a blocking position to engage with lead edges of the documents held by the input tray;
- oscillate the at least one rotatable feeder gate element forward and backward in respect to the document transport path according to one or more oscillation parameters to align the lead edges of the documents along a vertical plane;
- and
- rotate the at least one rotatable feeder gate element to a retracted position such that the lead edges of the documents held by the input tray allow the documents to be transported along the document transport path;
- at least one sensor configured to determine the quality of the alignment of the leading edges of the documents along the vertical plane in the input tray and pass alignment quality information to a processor, wherein the processor is configured to determine at least one of:
- whether additional oscillations are necessary;
- and
- whether to change the one or more oscillation parameters;
- and
- at least one imaging device located along the document transport path and configured to image the document and provide digital image data to the processor.
A method of aligning documents for a scanning device, the method comprising:
- determining, via a document present sensor, documents are present in an input tray of the scanning device, the leading edges of the documents being engaged with at least one rotatable feeder gate element of the scanning device rotated to a blocking position;
- oscillating, via a motion controller, the at least one rotatable feeder gate element forward and backward in respect to a document transport path of the scanning device according to one or more oscillation parameters to align the lead edges of the documents along a vertical plane;
- determining, via a sensor, a quality of the alignment of the leading edges of the documents along the vertical plane in the input tray and passing alignment quality information to a processor;
- determining, via the processor, at least one of:
- whether additional oscillations are necessary;
- and
- whether to change the one or more oscillation parameters;
- rotating via the motion controller, the at least one rotatable feeder gate element to a retracted position to clear the document transport path;
- separating, via a separation device, a document from the documents in the input tray of the scanning device;
- transporting the separated document along the document transport path within the scanning device using one or more rollers;
- and
- imaging the sheet with an imaging device along the transport path and providing digital image data to the processor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.