Back to results
US 5,399,845 AGranted
Optical data detecting apparatus and method
OwnerLeslie G. Manucy, IIIinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
OwnerLeslie G. Manucy, IIIinventor
Estimating the term…
An apparatus for optically detecting data on paper or reusable plastic sheets, delivering the data directly to a computer including reflective photoelectric sensors to detect marks on the sheets. The software employed may use a multitude of methods to extract information from the data. The parallel I/O interface card between the apparatus and a computer permits data sampling of many sensors simultaneously. Many different thicknesses and reflectiveness of sheets may be used, thus permitting use of inexpensive photo copied forms. The apparatus is simplified by taking advantage of circuitry and the power source in the computer. The apparatus may be used to grade papers, tabulate votes, collect survey information, match people best suited for a job, date matching, or any other purpose in which data from marks on sheets can be used by a general or special purpose computer.
An apparatus for detecting data on a sheet having a row of index marks aligned with each other along a sheet and a plurality of spaced rows of answer spaces located perpendicularly to the row of index marks for data to be entered with each of the index marks, said apparatus comprising a housing having an inclined elongated sheet chute with a ledge extending therealong, a plurality of spaced optical detectors mounted to said housing and positioned with one of said detectors being an index detector in alignment with all of the row of index marks and the other said detectors being in alignment with respective rows of the answer spaces, electric circuit means including electric motor means mounted to said housing for driving the sheet from an entrance upstream of said detectors, past said detectors and out an exit downstream of said detectors, pressure means supported by said sheet chute at the location of said detectors for uniformly pressing the sheet toward said detectors, spacer means located between adjacent pairs of said detectors and mounted on said detectors facing said pressure means, said spacer means being removed from the optical paths of said detectors for maintaining the sheet a predetermined distance away from said detectors as determined by the focal length of the optical path of said detectors.
An apparatus for detecting data on a sheet having a horizontal row if index marks aligned with each other along a sheet and a plurality of spaced rows of answer spaces in columns for data to be entered in columnar alignment with each of the index marks, said apparatus comprising a housing having an inclined horizontally elongated sheet chute with a lower ledge extending therealong, a plurality of vertically spaced optical detectors mounted to said housing and positioned with one of said detectors being an index detector in alignment with all of said horizontal row of index marks and the other said detectors being in alignment with respective said horizontal rows of the answer spaces, electric circuit means including electric motor means mounted to said housing for driving the sheet from an entrance upstream of said detectors, past said detectors and out an exit downstream of said detectors, said electric motor means including a motor, a driving shaft connected to said motor, a driven shaft spaced horizontally from said driving shaft, an endless elongated belt connected about said shafts, said belt having a sheet engaging span extending generally horizontally, pressure means supported by said sheet chute spacedly below said detectors for pressing the sheet against said sheet engaging span of said belt to enable said belt to frictional engage the sheet and move same between said entrance and out said exit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.