Rotary scanner

A rotary scanner for scanning both transmissive and reflective documents, comprising:

• A. means for releasably mounting a drum for motion along a drum axis and for rotation about said axis, said drum being transparent and adapted to receive a document on the exterior surface thereof for scanning, said drum mounting means comprising first and second separable carriage segments mounted for translation along a bed, said segments being releasably coupled to each other by spring means, and further including means for driving one of said segments along said drum axis,
• B. an analyzer lens mounted adjacent to, and on the exterior of, said drum for imaging an area of said document,
• C. a first means for illuminating said imaging area from the exterior of said drum,
• D. a second means for illuminating said imaging area from the interior of said drum, and
• E. means mounting said analyzer lens for motion toward and away from said drum to enable focusing of said lens with respect to said image area.

A rotary scanner for scanning both transmissive and reflective documents, comprising:

• A. means for releasably mounting a drum for motion along a drum axis and for rotation about said axis, said drum being transparent and adapted to receive a document on the exterior surface thereof for scanning,
• B. an analyzer lens mounted adjacent to, and on the exterior of, said drum for imaging an area of said document,
• C. a first means for illuminating said imaging area from the exterior of said drum,
• D. a second means for illuminating said imaging area from the interior of said drum, said first and second illuminating means including first and second sources of illumination, respectively, each source of illumination comprising;
• (1) a high intensity lamp, and
• (2) means mounting said lamp on a base, said base having a pair of locator elements therein for mating with a corresponding pair of locator elements on a base of said scanner, and in which said scanner base includes means for mounting illumination transmission elements in fixed relation to each said base, said lamp and said lamp base being replaceable as a unit to ensure alignment of said lamp with said transmission element, and
• E. means mounting said analyzer lens for motion toward and away from said drum to enable focusing of said lens with respect to said image area.

A rotary scanner for both transmissive and reflective documents, comprising:

• A. a drum mounted on a carriage for translation along a drum axis,
• B. a cantilevered arm extending along said drum axis and having a transmittance illuminating source mounted at a free end thereof for illuminating a selected portion of the surface of the drum through said drum,
• C. an analyzer lens mounted adjacent the drum and on the exterior thereof for analyzing said selected portion,
• D. means for positioning a field stop of selectable size in the image plane of said analyzer lens,
• E. a plurality of photodetectors for selectively receiving light transmitted through said field stop by said lens.

A rotary scanner for both transmissive and reflective documents, comprising:

• A. a drum mounted on a carriage for translation along a drum axis,
• B. means for illuminating a focal area on said drum from both the interior and the exterior of said drum,
• C. an analyzer lens mounted adjacent the drum and on the exterior thereof for analyzing said selected portion,
• D. means for positioning a field stop in the image plane of said analyzer lens, the field stop being selected from a plurality of field stops, and
• E. a plurality of photomultuplier tubes for selectively receiving light transmitted through said filed stop by said lens.

A rotary document scanner for scanning documents, comprising:

• A. a drum being adapted to receive a document on the exterior surface thereof for scanning;
• B. means for releasably mounting the drum for motion along a drum axis and for rotation about said axis, comprising first and second separable carriage segments mounted for translation along a bed, said segments being releasably coupled to one another by spring means, and further including means for driving one of the segments along said drum axis;
• and
• C. one or more holding fingers, having an axis in parallel with the drum axis, at least one finger positioned on each of the carriage segments, such that the fingers contact the peripheral ends of the drum while the drum is being loaded into position between the carriage segments.