Apparatus and method for scanning and storing information located on rapidly moving articles

• US 3,868,478 A
• Filed: 08/24/1973
• Issued: 02/25/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citicorp Credit Services Incorporated (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Michael N. Zeenkov
• Inventors: Zeenkov, Michael N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Application Number:
  US05/391,364
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 178/6.8,7.2,DIG.1 340/146.3H
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/20 Arrangements for facilitating the visual reading of addresses, e.g. display arrangements coding stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

An apparatus and method for scanning and storing addresses located on rapidly moving articles such as pieces of mail in which rapidly moving pieces of mail are passed over a transparent sheet and the upper and lower sides of the pieces of mail which have an address located on one side are subjected to illumination from short duration light pulses from a respective overhead strobe light and a lower strobe light. An overhead television camera views the upper sides of the moving pieces of mail and a lower television camera views the undersides of the moving pieces of mail which are illuminated by the strobe lights. The images of the upper and lower sides of the pieces of mail are temporarily stored in the respective overhead television camera and in the lower television camera. These images are then conveyed to separate television storage units and they are displayed on the screens of separate closed circuit television monitoring units to permit an operator to read the addresses. Various controls are provided for manipulating the image on the screen of the closed circuit television monitors to permit the more accurate viewing of the addresses.

Claims

1. Apparatus for scanning and storing information located on rapidly moving articles to be viewed comprising:

means for detecting the presence of a rapidly moving article to be viewed;

means activated by said detecting means for illuminating the rapidly moving article with a short duration flash of light;

a television camera having a vidicon tube for viewing and for temporarily storing an image of the illuminating article;

separate storage means for receiving and storing the image of the illuminated article which has been temporarily stored by the vidicon tube of said television camera, said separate storage means having means for enhancing the imaging received from said television camera while not enhancing random noise associated with the image; and

monitoring means having a screen for displaying the enhanced image stored in said separate storage means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising transparent supporting means comprising a transparent sheet member for supporting the rapidly moving article and for permitting the underside of the fast moving article to be viewed through the transparent sheet member, second means activated by said detecting means for illuminating the underside of the fast moving article through said transparent sheet member with a short duration flash of light, a second television camera having a vidicon tube for viewing and for temporarily storing an image of the underside of the illuminated article, separate storage means for receiving and storing the image of the illuminated underside of the article which has been temporarily stored in the vidicon tube of the second television camera, said separate storage means having means for enhancing the image received from said second television camera while not enhancing random noise associated with the image, and monitoring means haVing a screen for displaying the enhanced underside image stored in said underside image storage means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said separate storage means has a write gate and said means for enhancing the image received from said television camera while not enhancing random noise associated with the image comprises means for increasing the writing time associated with said write gate to that associated with a plurality of frames.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising means associated with said monitoring means for permitting an operator to manipulate the image displayed on the screen of said monitoring means for more accurate viewing of the image.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 including horizontal and vertical sweep generators and horizontal and vertical deflection yokes associated with the screen of said monitoring means and wherein said means for manipulating the image displayed on the screen of said monitoring means comprises means for altering the interconnections between said horizontal and vertical sweep generators and the horizontal and vertical deflection yokes.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said manipulating means comprises means for increasing the size of at least a portion of the image on the screen of said monitoring means.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said manipulating means comprises means for inverting the image on the screen of said monitoring means.

8. A method of scanning and storing information located on rapidly moving articles to be viewed comprising the steps of:

sensing the presence of a rapidly moving article to be viewed;

illuminating the rapidly moving article with a flash of light of very short duration after sensing the presence of the article;

viewing the illuminated article with a television camera;

temporarily storing the image of the illuminated article in the television camera for a period of time after the article is no longer illuminated by the flash of light;

storing the image of the illuminated article which has been temporarily stored in the television camera in separate storage means to permit the television camera to view additional articles;

during the process of storing the image of the illuminated article in the separate storage means, enhancing the image of the illuminated article while reducing the effect of the random noise associated with the image by storing a plurality of viewed image frames; and

monitoring the stored enhanced image which is present in said separate storage means by viewing the image on a screen.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of illuminating the rapidly moving article comprises illuminating the underside of the article through a transparent sheet with a flash of light of very short duration and wherein the step of viewing the illuminated article with a television camera comprises viewing the underside of the article through the transparent sheet as the underside of the article is being illuminated through the transparent sheet with a flash of light of very short duration.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of monitoring the stored image which is present in said separate storage means comprises the step of manipulating the image stored in said separate storage means to permit more accurate viewing of said image.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of manipulating the image stored in said separate storage means comprises shifting the location of the stored image on the screen upon which the image is being monitored.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of manipulating the image stored in said separate storage means comprises increasing the size of at least a portion of the image.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of manipulating the image stored in said separate storage means comprises erecting the image from a side facing position.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of manipulating the image stored in said separate storage means compriseS inverting the image.