Pen type data scanning apparatus
First Claim
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1. A data scanner for scanning data from a page into a computer, comprising:
- a generally pen shaped housing;
a light source within the housing for emitting light onto the page;
a light sensor within the housing for sensing light reflected from the page in a first dimension;
a distance encoder for sensing movement of the data scanner across the page in a second dimension in a form such that the data can be transmitted as binary data to the computer; and
electrically conductive means for transmitting signals from said light sensor to the computer;
whereinthe computer is a conventional general purpose personal computer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pen type scanner (10) having an optically conductive light director (24) for directing light from a light emitting diode (20) onto a specific portion of textual data (78) on a page (76). Light reflected from the page is focused by a lens assembly (28) onto a sensor apparatus (30). As the pen type scanner (10) is moved across the page (76) a roller (34) activates a distance encoder (32). The pen type scanner (10) is connected to a parallel port (54) of a computer (56) through an interconnection cable (50) and a port adaptor component (58).
40 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A data scanner for scanning data from a page into a computer, comprising:
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a generally pen shaped housing; a light source within the housing for emitting light onto the page; a light sensor within the housing for sensing light reflected from the page in a first dimension; a distance encoder for sensing movement of the data scanner across the page in a second dimension in a form such that the data can be transmitted as binary data to the computer; and electrically conductive means for transmitting signals from said light sensor to the computer;
whereinthe computer is a conventional general purpose personal computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for capturing data into a computer, in steps comprising:
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positioning an alignment marking of an optical scanner over a printed line of the data; activating said optical scanner and moving said optical scanner horizontally such that the data is scanned by the optical scanner; electrically canceling the background from the output of the optical scanner; performing optical character recognition on the output from the optical scanner as the data is scanned; and storing the data in the computer in character format. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification