Gimbal optical system for document image capture

#The present invention relates generally to the field of document imaging, and more particularly, to a system and method for vertically orienting an optical path in a digital camera.

#Imaging devices such as optical cameras and scanners are well known in the art and may be used to quickly and easily capture the image of a document for numerous applications. The images may be processed and stored either chemically on photographic paper, or electronically in the form of electrical signals, either analog or digital. As computer use becomes more prevalent, document imaging is becoming more important and widespread. In a typical digital camera or scanner application, the image data signals produced by the camera or scanner may be used by a personal computer to reproduce an image of the object on a suitable display device, such as a CRT or a printer.

#A hand-held or portable digital camera is a digital camera which is designed to be hand held and pointed at the object or document being imaged. A hand-held or portable optical scanner is an optical scanner which is designed to be moved by hand across the object or document being scanned. The imaging device, either digital camera or scanner, may be connected directly to a separate computer either by a data cable or wireless data link. If so, the data signals produced by the imaging device may be transferred to the separate computer “on the fly,” i.e., as the image data are collected. Alternatively, the imaging device may include an on-board data storage system for storing the image data. The image data may then be downloaded to a separate computer after the scanning operation is complete by any convenient means, such as via a cable or an optical infrared data link.

#Illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawing, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a front view of a digital camera as it may be used for document imaging, having a tilted orientation;

#FIG. 2 is a front view of the digital camera of FIG. 1 wherein the image light optical axis has a vertical orientation;

#An electronic imaging device 10 may be used to detect and store the image of an object in electrical form. Typical types of electronic imaging devices include digital cameras and scanners. As digital cameras and scanners have become more portable and computers have become more widely used, document imaging has developed into a very useful tool. A document 20 which may contain both text and graphics may be electronically photographed or scanned, and the resulting image transferred to a computer, manipulated, combined with other documents or information, and printed or transferred across networks to computers across the world. Text contained in an electronic image can also be converted from graphical form to a text file by optical character recognition (OCR) software, allowing the text to be easily edited or manipulated.

#Flat bed image scanners may be used to easily scan an entire document in one pass, but are typically large, desk bound machines which are not easily portable. Smaller portable hand-held scanners have become more prevalent, allowing a near-pocket size device to scan a document in multiple passes which are then stitched together to form a single image file representing the entire document.

#Digital cameras are well-known in the art and are analogous to ordinary film-type cameras, except that the film is replaced with an electronic photosensor (e.g., a two-dimensional CCD array). The electronic photosensor array converts the light received by the camera into electronic signals, which may be digitized and stored as digital image data. For example, the resulting digital image data may be stored in an electronic memory system, such as random access memory (RAM), or may be stored on a magnetic or optical disk of the type commonly used to store digital data.