High-speed digital scanner and method
OwnerJean-Paul Ciardulloinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Devices and methods are disclosed for the high speed digitization of large collections of thin, flexible sheets such as photographic prints. The sheets are inserted into transparent pockets on an elongated belt, and the belt is driven rapidly without stopping past a high speed digital camera. A glare reduction means is employed to avoid glare off the transparent pockets, and motion blur is eliminated through the use of high speed strobe illumination or a high speed shutter. The invention can be commercialized by having a customer load the belt with photographs (or other thin sheets) and deliver the belt to a processing location. Digital images of the sheets may then be provided to the customer, and the original sheets may be left in the pockets on the belt for convenient storage.
Claims34
A device for capturing digital images of a plurality of sheets, said sheets having a thickness of less than a millimeter and being flexible enough to be susceptible to creasing by pressure from a human hand, said device comprising:
- (a) an elongated pocketed belt with a plurality of pockets along the length of said belt;
- each of said pockets having a front wall and a back wall opposite said front wall;
- each of said pockets capable of holding at least one of said sheets between said front wall and said back wall;
- each of said sheets having a surface to be imaged adjacent to said front wall;
- (b) a scanner capable of capturing in a single exposure, for each of said sheets, a digital image of said surface to be imaged, said scanner including (A) a digital camera viewing a target area along a line of sight, the field of view of said digital camera in said target area encompassing at least said surface to be imaged;
- and (B) a light source for shining light on said target area;
- (c) each of said front walls having a portion transparent to said light, said transparent portion being at least coextensive with said surface to be imaged of said sheet;
- (d) an automated drive mechanism for moving said belt past said target area with each of said pockets moving through said target area in succession without stopping;
- (e) an automated image-freezing means comprising said light source employed as a strobe;
- (f) a glare reducer.
A method of capturing digital images of a plurality of sheets, said sheets having a thickness of less than a millimeter and being flexible enough to be susceptible to creasing by pressure from a human hand, said method comprising:
- (a) providing an elongated pocketed belt with a plurality of pockets along the length of said belt;
- each of said pockets having a front wall and a back wall opposite said front wall;
- each of said pockets capable of holding at least one of said sheets between said front wall and said back wall;
- each of said sheets having a surface to be imaged;
- (b) providing a scanner capable of capturing in a single exposure, for each of said sheets, a digital image of each of said surfaces to be imaged of said sheets, said scanner including (A) a digital camera viewing a target area along a line of sight, the field of view of said digital camera in said target area encompassing at least said surface to be imaged, and (B) a light source for shining light on said target area;
- each of said front walls having a portion transparent to said light, said transparent portion being at least coextensive with said surface to be imaged of said sheet;
- (c) providing a glare reducer;
- (d) providing an automated drive mechanism for moving said belt past said target area with each of said pockets moving through said target area in succession without stopping;
- (e) obtaining the insertion of a plurality of said sheets into said pockets on said belt;
- (f) feeding said belt through said target area using said drive mechanism;
- (g) strobing said light source so as to effectively permit said digital camera to capture said digital images of said surfaces of said sheets in said target area with said digital images being substantially free of motion blur;
- (h) capturing said digital images with said digital camera.
A device for rapidly capturing digital images of a plurality of thin, flexible sheets, said device comprising:
- (a) an elongated pocketed belt with a plurality of pockets along the length of said belt;
- each of said pockets having a front wall and a back wall opposite said front wall;
- each of said pockets capable of holding at least one of said sheets between said front wall and said back wall;
- each of said sheets having a surface to be imaged adjacent to said front wall,
- (b) a scanner capable of capturing in a single exposure, for each of said sheets, a digital image of said surface to be imaged, said scanner including (A) a digital camera viewing a target area along a line of sight, the field of view of said digital camera in said target area at least encompassing said surface to be imaged;
- and (B) a light source for shining light on said target area;
- (c) each of said front walls having a portion transparent to said light, said transparent portion being at least coextensive with said surface to be imaged of said sheet;
- (d) an automated drive mechanism for moving said belt past said target area with each of said pockets moving through said target area in succession without stopping;
- and
- (e) an automated image-freezing means comprising a shutter on said digital camera.
A method of rapidly capturing digital images of a plurality of thin, flexible sheets, said method comprising:
- (a) providing an elongated pocketed belt with a plurality of pockets along the length of said belt;
- each of said pockets having a front wall and a back wall opposite said front wall;
- each of said pockets capable of holding at least one of said sheets between said front wall and said back wall;
- each of said sheets having a surface to be imaged;
- (b) providing a scanner capable of capturing a digital image of each of said surfaces to be imaged of said sheets, said scanner including (A) a digital camera viewing a target area along a line of sight, and (B) a light source for shining light on said target area;
- each of said front walls having a portion transparent to said light, said transparent portion being at least coextensive with said surface to be imaged of said sheet;
- (c) providing an automated drive mechanism for moving said belt past said target area with each of said pockets moving through said target area in succession without stopping;
- (d) obtaining the insertion of a plurality of said sheets into said pockets on said belt;
- (e) feeding said belt through said target area using said drive mechanism;
- (f) opening and closing said shutter at a sufficient rate to effectively permit said camera to capture said digital images of said surfaces of said sheets in said target area with said digital images being substantially free of motion blur;
- and
- (g) capturing said digital images with said digital camera.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.