Patent Application
20140063519
This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. ยง119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-204972, filed on Aug. 30, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copier configured with a detachable image scanner, and more particularly, to an improved, more sophisticated copier employing a specialized digital camera in the image scanner, with the image scanner being detachable from the copier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional copiers combine the image scanner and the printer in a single unit. Conventionally, scanning involves moving the image scanner across the face of the document to be scanned. As a result, the configuration not only limits the image scanner to a particular position and requires a complicated image scanner drive mechanism but also limits the types and sizes of documents and objects that can be scanned.
By contrast, the present invention provides a novel copier configuration in which the digital camera module is fixedly mounted inside the image scanner, with the image scanner being detachable form the copier. This configuration allows the image scanner to be used anywhere to scan anything. To print out a copy of the scanned image, the image scanner and the printer are in wire or wireless communication with each other to provide copying at a remote location, whether in another room or on another floor, by either the person who performed the scan or by someone else, substantially in real time or at some point after the scan is completed.
More specifically, the present invention provides a copier configured as a printing unit and a detachable image scanner that is physically detachable from the printing unit and communicably connectable to the printing unit. The image scanner is constructed of a substrate, a microprocessor mounted on the substrate, a digital camera module mounted on the substrate and connected to the microprocessor, and a light-emitting diode (LED) array mounted on the substrate and connected to the microprocessor. The image scanner is configured to illuminate an object to be scanned with the LED array and image the object to be scanned with the digital camera module to produce an image signal that is then transmitted to a central processing unit (CPU) through the microprocessor and from the CPU to the printing unit for output as a printed copy.
Making the image scanner detachable allows the digital camera module to have an uncomplicated construction, which in turn makes the scanner easily portable and usable horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc., to provide the ability to scan and make two-dimensional copies of even three-dimensional objects.
Configured appropriately, the detachable image scanner can be linked to different models of copiers or printers as well as communicably connected to mobile phone devices, resulting in a greatly expanded range of applications.
Moreover, the copier can be connected to external electronic devices such as tablets, personal computers, and the like, to enable import and export of image files between the copier and the external device.
A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be more readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A description will now be given of preferred embodiments of the present invention, in the first instance with reference to
As shown in
Thus, an image on an electronic tablet or other external electronic device, or a three-dimensional object, can be imaged by detaching the image scanner 100 from the printer 200, and then a two-dimensional copy of the two- or three-dimensional image can be printed out at the printer 200 onto a recording medium such as a sheet of copier paper 202.
A detailed description will now be given of the digital camera module 2, which is fixedly mounted inside the image scanner 100.
As shown in
The conical projecting portion 51 of the proximal end of the lens mount 5 of the heat-resistant plastic lens 4 is fitted snugly into the conical concavity 72 of the lens holder 7, thereby regulating the coaxiality of the installed heat-resistant plastic lens 4.
A flange 41 of the heat-resistant plastic lens 4 is directly seated on and supported by the lens holder 7, thereby regulating the parallelity of the installed heat- resistant plastic lens 4 and aligning it with the imaging element 12.
The lens barrel 6, in which the heat-resistant plastic lens 4 and the lens mount 5 are formed as a single integrated unit, is snapped onto the top of the lens holder 7 to ensure that the lens barrel 6 is fixedly mounted in place.
Further, the present invention, in which an object is imaged by the digital camera module 2 fitted with the heat-resistant plastic lens 4 and the resulting image signal is transmitted to the controller 10 via the DSP 8 and processed by the controller 10 as described above, provides together with a scanning capability for scanning documents a sensor capability configured to enable adjustment of the size of the document, its position, color, and contrast of text of the document from either a control panel 103 on the image scanner 100 or a control panel 201 on the printer 200, for printout on the copy paper 202 loaded into the printer 200.
The resolution of the copier 9 may be enhanced by appropriate processing of the image by the controller 10. The controller 10 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that executes software programs and associated memory devices; i.e., a Read Only Memory (ROM) that stores control programs and control data used by the CPU, a Random Access Memory (RAM) used as a working memory that temporarily stores image data for output generated by the control programs and data necessary for the software programs, and a Nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) that stores setting data such as processing conditions. The type of image processing performed by the controller 10 includes, but is not limited to, pixel interpolation.
With the copier of the present invention configured as described above, the digital camera module 2 is fixedly mounted in the detachable image scanner 100, enabling the image scanner 100 to be freely used almost anywhere to scan almost anything. To print out, the image scanner 100 and the printer 200 can be communicably connected by either a communications cable 101 or wirelessly. Thus, the copier of the present invention can provide a copying capability at a remote location, whether in another room or on another floor, by either the person who performed the scan or by someone else, substantially in real time or at some point after the scan is completed.
As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, numerous additional modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-204972 | Aug 2012 | JP | national |
