Document processing with infra-red extraction

• US 5,557,451 A
• Filed: 06/19/1995
• Issued: 09/17/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Burroughs Payment Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Bakker, Johan, Vala, John, Copenhaver, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Dzierzynski, Paul M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, AUDREY Y
• Application Number:
  US08/491,646
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 382/137, 359/350, 359/353, 235/470, 250/556, 250/227.24
• US Class Current: 359/350
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0005 the light guides being of the fibre type G02B6/0003 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/04 formed by bundles of fibres G02B6/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/06 the relative position of the fibres being the same at both ends, e.g. for transporting images
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2007/10485 Arrangement of optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10584 Source control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10732 Light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/02815 Means for illuminating the original, not specific to a particular type of pick-up head
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0282 Using a single or a few point light sources, e.g. a laser diode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2032 of two pictures corresponding to two sides of a single medium refeeding a sheet for double-sided scanning H04N1/00572

Abstract

A method of processing documents involving: transporting the documents at high speed along a prescribed transport path past at least one image-lift site; scanning the entirety of respective document faces at the sites; providing an energy-shaping ate, disposed at each of the sites and acting to channel the imaging illumination energy there; and providing a heat-dissipation stage acting to extract infra-red energy therefrom and dissipate it so as to shield the sites; this heat-dissipation stage comprising an infra-red extraction unit that includes a selective reflector interrupting the beam path and adapted to divert infra-red energy as an infra-red beam along a second path; and an associated infra-red dissipation unit including multi-blade surface; disposed within an enclosure, adapted to receive the infra-red beams and to trap them and convert them to surface heat.

Claims

1. A method of processing documents in a document processing system, this method involving:

transporting the documents at high speed unidirectionally and without pause along a prescribed transport path past at least one image-lift site;

scanning the entirety of respective document faces at said sites with illumination from light-source means;

providing light-guide means along a path between said light-source means and said sites;

providing energy-shaping gate means, disposed at each of said sites, each acting to channel the imaging illumination energy there; and

providing heat-dissipation means disposed operatively adjacent said light source means and acting to extract IR energy therefrom and dissipate it so as to shield the said sites;

this heat-dissipation means comprising an infra-red extraction means arranged and adapted to remove a substantial part of the infra-red energy projected along a prescribed beam-path from a high-intensity spectral source means;

said extraction means comprising;

selective reflector means interrupting said beam path and adapted to divert infra-red energy as an infra-red beam along a second path; and

associated infra-red dissipation means including multi-blade surface means disposed within enclosure means, adapted to receive said infra-red beams and to trap them and convert them to surface heat;

this surface means being arranged in an infra-red trap configuration to receive infra-red energy beams at an input portion and allow essentially none thereof to re-emerge therefrom;

the reflector means being interposed across said beam path and adapted to divert only infra-red energy to said dissipation means;

said surface means comprising a pair of opposed sets of parallel blades, disposed obliquely to the direction of said infra-red beams, said blades arrayed to converge upon said infra-red beams and block them, to form a convergent, infra-red trap preventing reflection back of any significant portion of an entering infra-red beam.

2. The invention of claim 1, wherein an exhaust means is disposed at an open end of said enclosure means, opposite the infra-red entry portion, whereby the exhaust means is adapted and arranged to pull ambient air coolingly past said blades.

3. The invention of claim 1, wherein the selective reflector means is a hot mirror.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing gate means includes providing beam-adjust means comprising focus/defocus intercepting said beam and adapted to change its focal point;

providing a fibre-optic array in the beam path to thereby define and input beam therefrom, at or near the approximate focal point of said focus means and, said array being arranged to exhibit an entry-face of prescribed diameter D_c and an exit-face configured to illuminate the respective site relatively uniformly thus defining an exit-beam therefrom, the fibers of the array being arranged and distributed, in uniform, random fashion completely across this exit-face; and

arranging and adapting said focus means to variably de-focus said input-beam and change beam-diameter, at said entry-face to thus controllably reduce the amount of the beam entering said entry-face.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each said focus means comprises adjustable-focus lens means.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each said lens means is arranged and adapted to normally project a maximum-diameter input-beam onto said associated entry-aperture, while also being adapted to shift its focus and gradually enlarge the input-beam it projects onto said entry-face, and thereby decrease exit-beam-intensity at the respective exit-face.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fibers of each array are so randomized, yet uniformly distributed across its said exit-face, that anomalies across said input-beam to said entry aperture are uniformly distributed along the said exit-face thereof.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein there are two exit-beams and wherein these two exit-beams are to be balanced and matched in intensity by said varying of said focus and beam-diameter.

9. The invention of claim 1, wherein said conveying means are, each being adapted to operate on and scan, one entire face of each document taking optical "slices" thereof as it passes a respective one of said sites.

10. The invention of claim 9, wherein said sites comprise glass-filled slits dimensioned to operate on the contemplated data-portions of the documents.

11. The invention of claim 10, wherein the heat-dissipation means includes a selectively-operable shutter means for directing all the energy projected from the said energy source means to a said IR heat trap, under prescribed conditions.

12. The invention of claim 11, wherein said dissipation means includes a finned, air-cooled IR-trap.

13. The invention of claim 12, wherein said IR trap is a metallic enclosure means presenting two opposing identical set of heat-absorbing fins.

14. The invention of claim 13, wherein the system is adapted to be part of a high-speed check-sorting processor.

15. The invention of claim 14, wherein the system is constructed and adapted to be readily insertable as a module in such a processor.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein so providing heat-dissipation means includes:

dissipating infra-red energy therefrom to direct it along said beam path, by interposing IR-diverter means to selectively divert infra-red energy along said IR beam path;

providing an infra-red trap structure with interception oblique blade means disposed therein; and

disposing said structure so as to intercept effectively all infra-red energy along said IR path with said blade means whereby to block them and convert them, substantially entirely, to surface heat, with essentially no infra-red beam reflection allowed to return back along the IR beam path or to otherwise emerge from said trap structure.

17. The invention of claim 16, wherein an exhaust means is disposed at an open end of said structure, opposite the infra-red entry portion, said exhaust means being adapted and arranged to pull ambient air coolingly past said blade means.

18. The method of claim 1, including providing infra-red diversion/extraction/dissipation means arranged and adapted to remove substantially all the infra-red portion of a light beam projected along a prescribed beam-path;

providing diverter means to selectively divert said infra-red portion along a second IR-beam path;

providing infra-red dissipation means along said IR beam path whereby to receive essentially all infra-red radiation and to convert them to surface heat on surface means, with essentially none of the infra-red radiation reflected back;

this surface means being arranged in a trap configuration to receive said infra-red radiation at an input portion and allow essentially none thereof to re-emerge therefrom.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein exhaust means is disposed at an open end of said enclosure means, opposite the infra-red beam entry portion, said exhaust means being adapted and arranged to pull ambient air coolingly past said blade surface means.

20. The method of claim 1, including diverting, extracting and dissipating infra-red energy from said source which projects a high-intensity beam of spectral radiation along a first beam path,

interposing IR diverter means in said path to selectively divert infra-red energy therefrom along a second IR-beam path;

and

disposing an infra-red trap with intercepting oblique blade means across said IR-beam path so as to intercept essentially all infra-red energy substantially only at said blade means and to block it and convert it to blade surface heat, with essentially no infra-red energy reflection back along this IR-beam path.

21. The method of claim 1, including diverting and extracting infra-red energy from said source which projects a high-intensity beam of spectral radiation,

interposing diverter means to selectively divert infra-red energy from said beam, and direct it along a prescribed IR-beam path;

providing an infra-red-energy-extracting array to terminate said IR-beam path;

this array being arranged to include an infra-red-energy-dissipating black-box with vane means;

disposing this black-box so as to receive the infra-red energy along said IR-beam path primarily at said vane means and to convert it to vane-heat;

said diverter means comprising an IR-diverting hot-mirror along intercepting said beam to divert infra-red energy to said vane means to strike it at one, or two, oblique angles, and thereby trap it, allowing essentially none of said energy to be reflected back along said IR-beam path.

22. A method of processing documents in a document processing system, this method involving:

transporting the documents at high speed past at least one image-lift site;

scanning each document at said sites with illumination from light-source means to capture an image thereof at camera means;

providing light-guide means along a path between said light-source means and said sites and between said sites and said camera means;

providing energy-shaping means for each said site to channel the imaging illumination and also to adapt the images to said camera means; and

providing heat-dissipation means disposed operatively adjacent said light source means and acting to extract IR energy therefrom and dissipate it so as to shield the said sites and the shaping means from adverse IR effects;

this heat-dissipation means comprising an infra-red extraction means arranged and adapted to remove a substantial part of the infra-red energy projected along a prescribed beam-path from a high-intensity spectral source means.