US 2001/0019619 A1 · Image input apparatus

Abstract

The present invention enables to increase the speed of recognizing characters on an undefined-size postal matter such as a flat mail. The flat mail often has an address area different in color or pattern from the flat mail itself. The present invention provides an image input apparatus including pickup means of monochromatic-mode CCD 31 having a fine resolution capable of recognizing characters and pickup means of color-mode CCD 30 having a rough resolution only sufficient for detecting an address area. These pickup means are mounted in a unitary block so that images are taken in from approximately identical positions and a color image is used to detect an address area and a monochromatic image is used to recognize characters, thereby significantly increasing the speed of flat mail classification. An illumination unit 44 is forcibly cooled so as to enable to use a large-output lamp tube 75 capable of illuminating a wide range to assure the character recognition.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An image input apparatus comprising:

feed means for feeding an object in a constant direction;
illumination means having a light source for applying light rays toward the object fed by the feed means in the constant direction and a filter for cutting heat rays from the light source while allowing visible light rays to pass through;
monochromatic and color pickup means for picking up the object illuminated by the light rays with a linear field of view intersecting the feed direction;
and
cooling means for forced cooling by generating an air flow between the light source of the illumination means and the filter,
wherein the monochromatic pickup means has a high resolution appropriate for a character recognition and the color pickup means has a low resolution appropriate for a character area detection.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Image input apparatus

Life of this patent

Image input apparatus

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18