Media scanner
First Claim
1. A media scanner, comprising:
- a bed for receiving a medium to be scanned;
a scanning element disposed in the bed, the scanning element being capable of scanning information disposed on a medium when the medium is caused to move past the scanning element; and
a lip formed along a side of the bed, the lip including a detector capable of detecting the movement of the medium as the medium is caused to be moved past the scanning element wherein the scanning element scans the information according to the movement of the medium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A media scanner scans information disposed on a media such as a business card or envelope. The media scanner requires no moving parts and may be incorporated in a portable, hand held, battery powered information handling system such as an electronic address book or personal digital assistant. The scanner includes a scanning element such as a linear CCD element for scanning the information stored on the medium, which is converted into a graphical image or text file. As the medium is fed past the scanning element, a detector detects the movement of the medium as the medium is fed through the scanner. Any variation of the movement of the medium, for example due to inconsistent movement or pausing caused by hand scanning, etc., is detected by detector, and scanning is executed according to the detected movement so that optimal scanning is maintained. The accommodation of the varying movement of the medium past the scanning element thereby minimizes or eliminates any errors or artifacts in the resulting scanned information (e.g., skewing) that would otherwise be caused by variable scanning movement. The detector may include an array of light detecting elements such as photodiodes or phototransistors, light detecting resistors, etc. such that light blocked from the array by the medium may be detected as a movement signal proportional to the movement of the medium. The detector may be utilized to determine the rate (relative scanning) or the position (absolute scanning) of the medium during scanning.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A media scanner, comprising:
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a bed for receiving a medium to be scanned;
a scanning element disposed in the bed, the scanning element being capable of scanning information disposed on a medium when the medium is caused to move past the scanning element; and
a lip formed along a side of the bed, the lip including a detector capable of detecting the movement of the medium as the medium is caused to be moved past the scanning element wherein the scanning element scans the information according to the movement of the medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
first and second light transmissive sheaths hingeably attached together for allowing the insertion of a medium there between; and
an array of scanning indicia disposed along an edge of at least one of the light transmissive sheaths so as to extend under the lip for facilitating the detection of movement of the caddy past the detector.
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8. A media scanner, comprising:
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means for receiving a medium to be scanned;
means for scanning information disposed on a medium when the medium is caused to move past a scanning element;
means for detecting movement of the medium as the medium is caused to be moved past the scanning element wherein the scanning element scans the information according to the movement of the medium; and
means for controlling the scanning of the scanning means in response to the detected movement of the medium such that scanning of the information disposed on the medium is optimized. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A media scanner, comprising:
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a housing having a slot for receiving a medium to be scanned;
a scanning element disposed in the housing, the scanning element being capable of scanning information disposed on a medium when the medium is caused to move past the scanning element; and
a detector disposed in the housing, the detector being capable of detecting the movement of the medium as the medium is caused to be moved past the scanning element wherein the scanning element scans the information according to the movement of the medium. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification