DOCUMENT SCANNING APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 3,710,078 A
• Filed: 01/11/1971
• Issued: 01/09/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson
• Original Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson
• Inventors: Lemelson, Jerome H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US05/105,236
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.11E,61.11R 340/146.3D,174.1C 250/219D 179/1.2MI,2DP
• US Class Current: 235/439
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/10 Image acquisition document image scanning and transmission H04N1/00; control of digital cameras H04N23/60

Abstract

A scanning apparatus for reading and generating electrical signals of recordings provided on a sheet containing parallel lines or tracks of said recordings. The scanning transducer is operable to be moved in a plurality of directions with respect to a document which is driven to preposition it with respect to the transducer. Control of the operation of the transducer is effected by scanning marks or signals recorded on the document, generating electrical signals upon detecting such recordings and thereafter initiating or terminating the scanning function which is preceded by the termination or initiation of the operation of the card driving means.

Claims

1. A document reading apparatus comprising:

a support including means for prepositioning a document containing information recorded on a plurality of tracks on the document'"'"''"'"'s surface, reading means operablE to sense the recordings of documents disposed on said support and to transduce the information scanned thereby to representative electrical signals. means for selectively relatively moving a document and said reading means to permit scanning of the recordings of a document by said reading means, means for driving documents across said support, and means for relative stepping said document and said transducing means each time a track of recorded information has been read to bring the reading means and the next line of recorded information into operative relationship with each other, first means operative to control said driving means so as to predeterminately locate a document on said support prior to the main reading operation, second means for controlling said document driving means to drive a document, after it has been read, out of operative relationship with said scanning means, each of said documents having a control recording aligned with a selected track of information, transducing means for scanning said control recording and generating a control signal, means connected to said transducing means and responsive to the signal generated when said transducing means scans said control recording for controlling said second control means to drive said document to move the document out of operative relationship with said reading means after the last track to be read has been scanned by said reading means.

2. A document reading apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including means for adjustably positioning said transducing means on said support for reading control recordings at different locations on said support.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said transducing means includes a transducer operable for scanning control recordings recorded at different locations on different documents, means for relatively moving said transducer and a document supported on said base to permit said transducer to scan the control recording and generate said control signal when the transducer and control recording are in alignment with each other.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein, said transducing means includes a transducer operable to scan said control recording, means for relatively moving a document and said transducer at a first rate of travel to permit the scanning of a control recording by the transducer and means operable in response to the signal generated when the transducer scans the control recording for relatively moving the document and said reading means at a higher rate of speed than the movement effected between said reading means and said document in scanning the control recording.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reading means includes a scanning transducer, means for guiding and driving said scanning transducer laterally across said support in a direction normal to the direction in which drive means drives said document, an means for controlling operation of said means driving said transducer and said means for driving documents to permit the transducer to scan information recorded across substantially the entire face of the document.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said documents contain plural parallel tracks of recorded information and said control recording is disposed in alignment with the last track or recorded information to be readable by said transducing means whereby the signal generated by said transducing means is operable to control the driving of a document out of operative relationship with said reading means.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein certain of said documents contain a plurality of control recordings disposed in alignment with respective tracks of information recorded thereon and said means connected to said transducing means includes control signal counting means operative to receive said plurality of signals generated by said transducing means in scanning said plurality of control recordings, said contrOl signals counting means being operable after receiving a plurality of signals generated by said transducing means to control said means for driving said document to move said document out of operative relationship with said reading means.

8. A method of scanning information recorded on cards and generating electrical signals representative of said information comprising:

driving and stopping a document such as a card containing multiple tracks of recorded information so as to predeterminately locate said card with respect to a base supporting a scanning means, which scanning means is operable to selectively scan each of said tracks of recorded information, relatively moving said scanning means and said card in a first direction to cause said scanning means to selectively scan information recorded on said card and generating electrical signals of the information so scanned, and each time a track of recorded information has been scanned, relatively moving the card and said scanning means to align the scanning means with a new track of recordings on said card and scanning said new track with said scanning means, and when the last line of recorded information on a card has been read, driving said scanning means to a home location and driving said card out of operative relationship with said scanning means and removing said card from said base.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the latter step is initiated by means of a signal generated in scanning a recording on said card.