Expandable hand scanner with lens reduction optics

Expandable scanner apparatus, comprising:

• a main body;
• a detector mounted within said main body;
• a contact head mounted to said main body so that said contact head can be moved toward and away from said main body between a retracted position and an extended position;
• an optical system operatively associated with said main body and said contact head so that said optical system focuses on said detector image light from an object being scanned when said contact head is in the extended position, said optical system comprising:
• a first reflector mounted within said main body so that said first reflector is aligned to reflect image light from the object when said contact head is in the extended position;
• a second reflector mounted within said contact head so that said second reflector is aligned to reflect image light reflected by said first reflector when said contact head is in the extended position;
• and
• a lens mounted within said main body so that said lens is aligned to focus on said detector image light reflected by said second reflector when said contact head is in the extended position.

Expandable scanner apparatus, comprising:

• a main body;
• a detector mounted within said main body;
• a contact head mounted to said main body so that said contact head can be moved toward and away from said main body between a retracted position and an extended position;
• a first reflector mounted within said main body, said first reflector being aligned to reflect image light from the object when said contact head is in the extended position;
• a second reflector mounted within said contact head, said second reflector being aligned to reflect image light reflected by said first reflector when said contact head is in the extended position;
• a lens mounted within said main body, said lens being aligned to focus on said detector image light reflected by said second reflector when said contact head is in the extended position;
• and
• an expandable bellows mounted to said contact head and to said main body, said expandable bellows substantially enclosing a space created between said main body and said contact head when said contact head is in the extended position.

A method for scanning an object, comprising:

• providing a expandable scanner apparatus having a main body portion with a detector mounted therein, a contact head portion mounted to the main body portion so that the contact head portion can be moved toward and away from the main body portion between a retracted position and an extended position, a bellows mounted to the contact head and to said main body, the bellows substantially enclosing an interior region created between the main body and the contact head when the contact head is in the extended position;
• and an optical system operatively associated with the main body portion and the contact head portion so that the optical system focuses on the detector image light from the object being scanned when the contact head is in the extended position;
• moving the contact head portion to the extended position;
• and
• moving the expandable scanner apparatus over the object.

Expandable scanner apparatus, comprising:

• a main body;
• detector means mounted within said main body for producing an output signal representative of image light incident thereon;
• a contact head;
• mounting means operatively associated with said main body and said contact head for allowing said contact head to be moved toward and away from said main body between a retracted position and an extended position;
• bellows means mounted to said contact head and to said main body for substantially enclosing and interior region defined between said main body and said contact head when said contact head is in the extended position;
• and
• optical means operatively associated with said main body and said contact head for focusing on said detector image light from an object being scanned when said contact head is in the extended position.

Expandable scanner apparatus, comprising;

• a main body;
• detector means mounted within said main body for producing an output signal representative of image light incident thereon;
• a contact head;
• mounting means operatively associated with said main body and said contact head for allowing said contact head to be moved toward and away from said main body between a retracted position and an extended position;
• optical means operatively associated with said main body and said contact head for focusing on said detector image light from an object being scanned when said contact head is in the extended position, said optical means comprising:
• first reflector means mounted within said main body for reflecting image light from the object when said contact head is in the extended position;
• second reflector means mounted within said contact head for reflecting image light from said first reflector means when said contact head is in the extended position;
• and
• lens means mounted within said main body for focusing on said detector means image light from said second reflector means when said contact head is in the extended position.