Light supplying optical device
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorsNobuhiro Fujinawa, Masayuki Inami, Eisaku Maeda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In order to provide an approximately straight line of light on an original document that is to be read, for example, by an image reading system, a light-supplying optical device includes a light source that produces a bow-shaped (i.e., curved) line of light in order to nullify the line bow phenomenon caused by an optical member such as, for example, a toric mirror that reflects the light towards the original document.
Claims38
A light-supplying optical device comprising:
- a light source that produces an elongated line of light that travels in a first direction along a path, said elongated line of light having a curved shape when viewed in said first direction;
- a reflector located in said path to reflect the curved line of light produced by said light source toward a planar surface;
- wherein the curved elongated line of light produced by said light source nullifies a line bow phenomenon of the reflector so that a substantially straight elongated line of light is formed on the planar surface.
A light-supplying optical device comprising:
- light producing means for producing an elongated line of light that is output along a first path in a first direction, said elongated line of light being curved in a second direction orthogonal to said first direction so that said elongated line of light has a curved shape when viewed in said first direction;
- reflecting means, located in said first path, for bending lines of light while reflecting said lines of light, said reflecting means bending said curved elongated line of light during reflection to produce a substantially straight elongated line of light, said substantially straight elongated line of light being projected along a second path toward a planar surface so that a substantially straight elongated line of light is formed on the planar surface.
In a document illumination system in which an elongated line of light is formed on a surface of a document after passing through a light path having at least one optical component, a light-supplying optical device comprising:
- a light source that outputs an elongated line of light in a first direction into said path, said elongated line of light being curved in a second direction orthogonal to said first direction so that said elongated line of light has a curved shape when viewed in said first direction;
- the at least one optical component being located between the light source and the document and receiving the curved elongated line of light from the light source and bending the curved elongated line of light to form a straight elongated line of light on the surface of the document.
A method of forming a substantially straight line of light onto a document in a device having at least a light producing source that outputs an elongated line of light along a first path in a first direction, and a reflecting member located in said first path that reflects the elongated line of light along a second path toward a surface of said document, said method comprising the step of:
- outputting said elongated line of light from said light source so that said elongated line of light is curved in a second direction orthogonal to said first direction so that said elongated line of light has a curved shape when viewed in said first direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.