Terminal device with built-in image sensor

• US 6,088,025 A
• Filed: 08/21/1996
• Issued: 07/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Akamine, Takenori, Yamamoto, Hiroshi, Kojima, Yoshihiro, Kayashima, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): AWAD, AMR A
• Application Number:
  US08/701,083
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: 345/207, 345/175, 345/104, 345/156, 358/473, 358/474, 382/321
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1696 the I/O peripheral being a printing or scanning device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1634 Integrated protective display lid, e.g. for touch-sensitive display in handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0464 capable of performing non-simultaneous scanning at more than one scanning station
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1017 the main-scanning components remaining positionally invariant with respect to one another in the sub-scanning direction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1043 of a sensor array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1048 of a lens or lens arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/12 using the sheet-feed movement or the medium-advance or the drum-rotation movement as the slow scanning component, e.g. arrangements for the main-scanningsheet-feed movement by translatory movement of a flat picture-bearing surface H04N1/1008; main-scanning using oscillating or rotating mirrors H04N1/113; using multi-element arrays H04N1/19
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/193 using electrically scanned linear arrays , e.g. linear CCD arrays

Abstract

The terminal device with built-in image sensor allows to use a conventional writing tool as the handwritten input means, and facilitates reading of printed document, and incorporates a scanning image sensor composed of a lens member having the optical path disposed parallel to a transparent panel, a prism member for bending the optical path at right angle to match one focal position of the lens member with the surface of the transparent panel, a light source for illuminating the surface of the transparent panel, and a light sensor disposed at other focal position of the lens member, and reads a document placed on the transparent panel, and conventional writing device is provided in the lid unit, and by closing the lid unit after writing character or picture by the writing device, the character or picture is read by the image sensor.

Claims

1. A terminal device with built-in image sensor comprising

a display unit for displaying information including at least one of character and picture,

a transparent panel disposed at the front panel of said display unit, and

an image sensor disposed movably between said display unit and said transparent panel, for scanning the surface of said transparent panel,

wherein said image sensor comprises a lens member, a prism member for bending an optical path of a light coming from a direction of the transparent panel so that one focal position of the lens member may be adjusted to the surface of said transparent panel, and that the light coming from the direction of the transparent panel may enter said lens member, a light sensor disposed at other focal position of said lens member, said prism member made of a transparent material for lengthening the optical path to the image sensor, a light source for irradiating said transparent panel surface with light, and

wherein said prism memeber, lens member and light sensor are arranged so that an optical path from said prism member to said light sensor is substantially parallel to said transparent panel surface.

2. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 1, wherein

said prism member is a transparent material of which refractive index is 1.5 or more.

3. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 2, wherein

the transparent material has a reflection preventive film formed on its surface.

4. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 1, wherein

roller means for moving a document is rotatably provided at one side vertical to the moving direction of the image sensor on the transparent panel surface, said image sensor has a reading width in a specific length to the direction of the vertical side, and can stop at a position corresponding to the position of the roller means, and can read the moving document, being held between the transparent panel and roller means, at its stopping state position.

5. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 4, wherein

move detecting means is provided for detecting move of the document inserted between the transparent panel and roller means, and reading of the document is started when move of the document is detected.

6. The terminal device of claim 1 wherein said optical path from said prism member to said light sensor is fixed with respect to said transparent panel.

7. A terminal device with built-in image sensor comprising

a main body incorporating a display unit for displaying information including at least one of character and picture,

a transparent panel disposed at the front panel of said display unit,

an image sensor disposed movably between said display unit and transparent panel for scanning the surface of said transparent panel,

a lid unit substantially having at least the same size as the size of the display unit or substantially having at least the same size as the size of the reading area of the image sensor, and having tablet means disposed on said lid unit for writing with a writing tool including at least one of pencil and marker pen on a surface of the tablet means,

wherein said lid unit is provided so as to be free to open or close to said main body unit, the surface of the tablet means is in contact with the transparent panel in a closed state, and said lid unit is mounted so that the surface of the tablet means coincides with the reading area of the image sensor.

8. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 7, wherein

said lid unit possesses a subsidiary lid member having its one end linked to the lower end of said main body unit, and covering a specific side surface of the main body unit in closed state, and a principal lid member linked to the other end of the subsidiary lid member, and covering the transparent panel surface in closed state, and by putting the main body unit on a plane, in the open state of the lid unit, when the outer side of the principal lid member abuts against the plane, the lid unit is held stably on the plane.

9. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 8, wherein

the vicinity of both ends of the subsidiary lid member and the portion of the main body unit corresponding to said vicinity of both ends are provided with fixing members for securely fixing the main body unit and subsidiary lid member in the closed state of the lid unit.

10. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 8, wherein

other subsidiary member for covering other side surface than said specific side surface of the main body unit is linked to the opposite end to the subsidiary lid member of the principal lid member.

11. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 8, wherein

the operation unit of the terminal device main body is provided in said specific side surface of the main body unit.

12. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 7, wherein

said lid unit possesses a principal lid member having one end linked to said main body unit, and covering the transparent panel surface in the closed state, and a subsidiary lid member linked to the other end of the principal lid member, and covering a specific side surface of the main body unit, and by putting the main body unit on a plane, in the open state of the lid unit, when the leading end of the subsidiary lid member abuts against the plane, the opening angle of the principal lid member to the transparent panel surface is defined.

13. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 12, wherein

the operation unit of the terminal device main body is provided in said specific side surface of the main body unit.

14. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 7, wherein

the tablet means is attached to the lid unit through an elastic member so that the tablet means and the transparent panel may contact with each other on the whole surface when the lid unit is closed.

15. A terminal device with built-in image sensor of claim 7, wherein

at least the portion of forming the tablet means of the lid unit is a light shielding member.

16. An image sensor for scanning a surface of a transparent panel comprising:

a lens member disposed so that an optical path of the lens member may be substantially parallel to said transparent panel surface,

a prism member for bending an optical path of a light coming from a direction of the transparent panel so that one focal position of the lens member may be adjusted to the surface of said transparent panel, and that the light coming from the direction of the transparent panel may enter said lens member,

a light sensor disposed at an other focal position of said lens member,

said prism member made of a transparent material for lengthening the optical path to the image sensor,

a light source for irradiating said transparent panel surface with light, and

wherein said prism member, lens member and light sensor are arranged so that an optical path from said prism member to said light sensor is substantially parallel to said transparent panel surface.

17. An image sensor of claim 16, wherein

said prism member is a transparent material of which refractive index is 1.5 or more.

18. The image sensor of claim 16 wherein said image sensor is disposed movably along said surface of said transparent panel, and said optical path from said prism member to said light sensor is fixed with respect to said transparent panel.

19. A terminal device with a built-in image sensor comprising

a display unit for displaying information,

a transparent panel disposed at a front of said display unit,

an image sensor disposed movably between said display unit and said transparent panel for scanning the surface of said transparent panel,

said image sensor comprising a lens member disposed so that the optical path may be substantially parallel to said transparent panel surface, a prism member for bending the optical path so that a focal position of said lens member may be adjusted to the surface of said transparent panel and allow light coming from the direction of the transparent panel to enter said lens member, a light sensor disposed at an other focal position of said lens member, and a light source for irradiating said transparent panel surface with light, and

roller means for moving a document, said roller means rotatably provided at one side vertical to the moving direction of the image sensor on the transparent panel surface,

wherein said image sensor can stop at a position corresponding to the position of the roller means, and can read the moving document held between the transparent panel and roller means, and

wherein said roller means possess rotation angle detecting means for detecting the angle of rotation of the roller, and said image sensor can read the document depending on the detected angle of rotation.

20. A terminal device with built-in image sensor comprising

a display unit for displaying information,

a transparent panel disposed at a front of said display unit,

image sensor disposed movably between said display unit and said transparent panel for scanning the surface of said transparent panel,

said image sensor comprising a lens member disposed so that the optical path may be substantially parallel to said transparent panel surface, a prism member for bending the optical path so that a focal position of said lens member may be adjusted to the surface of said transparent panel and allow light coming from the direction of the transparent panel to enter said lens member, a light sensor disposed at an other focal position of said lens member, and a light source for irradiating said transparent panel surface with light,

a lid unit having at least substantially the same dimension as that of the display unit or reading area of said image sensor,

opening state detecting means for detecting opening and closing states of the lid unit, and

drive means for start of scanning by the image sensor when the closed state of the lid unit is detected.

21. A terminal device with built-in image sensor comprising

a main body incorporating a display unit for displaying information,

a transparent panel disposed at a front of said display unit,

an image sensor disposed movably between said display unit and transparent panel for scanning the surface of said transparent panel,

a lid unit having at least the same size dimension as that of the display unit and having tablet means for writing with a writing tool,

said lid unit provided so as to be free to open and close with respect to said main body, and having a surface on the tablet means contacting the transparent panel surface in a closed state,

state detecting means for detecting open and closed states of the lid unit, and

drive means for start of scanning by the image sensor when the closed state of the lid unit is detected.