Securing device for transparent documents in a flatbed scanning system

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6637897
  • Patent Number
    6,637,897
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, September 4, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 28, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A transparent document securing device, using in a flatbed scanner, includes a securing frame. The securing frame comprises at least a securing cell, wherein the securing cell further includes a concave, a cover and a clip mechanism. The concave includes at least a first opening and an open slot. The cover includes at least a second opening. The securing device employs the cover to mount a transparent document in a concave. A user is therefore be able to place the securing device along with the transparent document in the document glass of a scanning system. By a predetermined mode, the scanning system is able to directly scan the transparent document; no need to preview the scanned image to adjust the scanning area. Thus, the time for scanning is saved. Further the fixed depth of the concave is utilized to proved a precise focus of the scanning system. The quality of the scanned image is therefore improved.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for mounting transparent documents. Specifically, the present invention is a securing device for securing a transparent document during scanning processes in a flatbed scanner.




2. Background Description




Nowadays flatbed scanners are fully developed computer accessories available on the consumer market. The flatbed scanner can scan colorful documentation and black-white documentation into computer files in order to preserve ordinary images or pictures. The flatbed scanner can also scan particular transparent documents, such as slides or films, by changing the light path from other direction. The transparent scanning operation can be well done in the same manner as ordinary scanning operation.




In the operation for scanning general colorful or black-white documents, the sizes of the documents usually are regular sizes, such as A4, A3, Letter or B5. The flatbed scanner is therefore comprising a document glass for positioning an original document to be scanned. Thus, for the regular sizes, the user simply follows the instructions, such as placing the original document to a predetermined position of the document glass of the scanner, selecting a corresponding size of the original document, and setting parameters of the scanning conditions in a driver program. The scanner will scan the original document by the settings. The scanner is therefore able to scan different documents by acquiring different settings.




However, in case of scanning transparent documents, for examples films, the sizes of transparent documents are regulated but differing from A3, A4, B4, or Letter size. Actually, the sizes of slides are much smaller than the area of the document glass. Thus, the users can scan several transparent documents at one time in order to save scanning time. Problems are occurring by this kind of operation. The user is usually unable to align several transparent documents on the document glass. Therefore, referring to

FIG. 1

, it is necessary to preselect the positions of each transparent document from the selection feature provided by the driver program, before main scanning process. By this preselection, the scanner can scan the transparent documents. Nonetheless, the auxiliary process of preselecting transparent documents from the driver program consumes the operation time and causes user's inconvenience.




To solve the above-mentioned problem, a driver software implementing an automatic transparent document locating feature is available on the market. However, it still takes lots time to locate and scan the transparent documents. Because the sizes of transparent documents are regulated, it is still not efficient if a process of preselecting transparent documents' location is needed.




Thus, there is a locating device provided for scanning original objects which have regulated sizes, for example, transparent documents. The locating device is provided for the scanning process in a flatbed scanner. Referring to

FIG. 2

, the locating device


2


comprises a frame


22


and at least one opening


23


. First, the frame


22


is positioned on the document glass


13


. Next, transparent documents are placed in the opening


23


(transparent documents not shown) in order. After placing down the cover


12


, start the scanning program by a predetermined scanning mode. The scanned images are then acquired.




The frame


22


of the locating device is usually made by soft plastic material. There are several openings as the similar size of transparent documents. However, there is not featured any fixation mechanism in the mentioned locating device. Therefore, the locating device cannot provide precise positions of transparent documents during scanning. Moreover, even though the size of transparent documents is regulated, the thickness of the frame of the transparent documents will vary in different framing brands. The variant thickness of the transparent document frames will cause diffusion of the scanned image because the scanner cannot precisely focus on transparent documents which have different thickness.




In Taiwan Utility Patent (Republic of China Utility Patent) No. 294,428, there is disclosed a fixation device. Once a frame holds several transparent documents, the frame is placed into a holding member. The holding member is then inserted to a dedicated scanner for transparent scanning process. Thus, the holding member needs an upper and a lower portions for holding the frame. In addition, the dedicated scanner must implement a particular apparatus in order to scan transparent documents via a particular method. This operation is too complicated and inconvenient to the user. In addition, because the transparent document is only secured by one clip, the transparent document is able to slip to another position. It causes differences between the actual transparent document position and predetermined position in the driver program. The actual transparent document position therefore cannot be acquired. Further, the focus of the scanner cannot be precisely achieved since the transparent documents are not fully secured in a predetermined position and at a fixed height.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for securing transparent documents on a scanning system in order to acquire precise quality of scanned images.




According to the present invention, the securing cell includes a concave for containing transparent documents such as a film. Besides, there is a cover able to close the concave in order to fix the transparent documents. The scanner is able to directly scan the transparent documents by a predetermined scanning mode in order to save scanning time. Further, the present invention secures transparent documents at a fixed height. The scanner can scan transparent documents by a fixed focus. The scanning quality is therefore improved.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:





FIG. 1

is a general scheme of prior transparent document scanning process;





FIG. 2

is another transparent document scanning process of prior art;





FIG. 3A

shows the assembly of the cover and the concave of the present invention;





FIG. 3B

shows the protrusion of the present invention;





FIG. 3C

shows the hole for the protrusion of the present invention;





FIG. 4A

shows the mounting clip and the mounting slot of the present invention;





FIG. 4B

shows the enlarged diagram of the cushion aperture of the present invention;





FIG. 5A

shows the open status of the cover of the present invention;





FIG. 5B

shows the transparent document being placed into the concave of the present invention; and





FIG. 5C

shows the close status of the cover of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION




The following shows further description of the best mode of the present invention.




Please referring to

FIG. 3A

, there is shown the transparent document securing device


3


for securing transparent documents on the document glass of the flatbed scanner. The transparent document securing device


3


includes a frame


30


and at least one securing cell


32


which is located in the frame


30


. The frame


30


can be placed on the document glass of the flatbed scanner, as the convention method illustrated in FIG.


2


. The securing cell


32


comprises a concave


300


and a cover


302


. The concave


300


is larger than a transparent document (not shown in FIG.


3


A). Therefore, the transparent document can be placed in the concave


300


. The concave


300


further comprises a first opening


301


which is smaller than the transparent document such as a regulated size of a film. Usually, the first opening


301


is positioned in the central portion of the concave


300


. During the scanning process, the light can be projected through the first opening


301


. The cover


302


further comprises a second opening


303


. The second opening


303


is smaller than the transparent document. Usually, the second opening


303


is positioned at the central portion of the cover


302


. The area of the second opening


303


is same as the area of the first opening


301


in order to let the light passing through. When the cover


302


flaps to the concave


300


, the first opening


301


and the second opening


303


are aligned. In this case, the light will pass through the transparent document to reflect the image of the transparent document.




On the other hand, please refer to

FIGS. 3B and 3C

, in order to open and close the cover


302


in the concave


300


, the cover


302


contains two protrusions


307


in the first side


310


. There are also two holes


308


in the first side


311


of the concave


300


. The protrusions


307


of the cover


302


can be placed in the holes


308


. Therefore, the first side


310


of the cover


302


can contact linearly with the first side


311


of the concave


300


. Thus, the cover


302


can rotate along the first side


310


as an axis in the concave


300


.




When the cover


302


closes at the concave


300


, it would be better that the cover


302


can mount on the concave


300


. Please refer to

FIGS. 4A and 4B

, the present invention shows an embodiment to the mounting issue of the cover.

FIG. 4A

demonstrates a mounting clip and a mounting slot.

FIG. 4B

shows the cushion aperture. The cover


302


includes a mounting clip


306


. The mounting clip


306


extends along the surface of the cover


302


perpendicularly. The concave


300


also includes a mounting slot


305


for receiving the mounting clip


306


. The mounting clip


306


is made by elastic material. Therefore, when the cover


302


closed at the concave


300


, the mounting clip


306


will click on the mounting slot


305


smoothly. The tip


320


of the mounting clip


306


will hook on the mounting slot


305


. In this case, the cover


302


is therefore mounted on the concave


300


. When the users remove the transparent document from the concave


300


, the cushion aperture


304


is further employed. The cushion aperture


304


is located on the second side


312


of the cover


302


. Thus, the second side


312


is parallel elastic along the cover


302


. In this case, the mounting clip


306


is elastic. When the cover


302


is opened, the user can enforce the second side


312


slightly moved to the cover


302


. The mounting clip


306


will therefore be moved slightly. Then the tip


320


of the mounting clip


306


will be released from the mounting slot


305


. The cover


302


is able to be opened and the transparent document is able to be removed.




On the purpose of the convenient usage to open the cover


302


, the concave


300


further includes an open slot


309


. The open slot


309


is located on the second side


313


of the concave


300


. The purpose of the open slot


309


is for putting user's finger in the slot to enforce the second


312


of the cover


302


to the direction of the cover


302


. The cover


302


is therefore easily removed to take the transparent document out of the concave


300


.




For the detailed description of the present invention, please refer to

FIGS. 5A

,


5


B and


5


C.

FIGS. 5A

,


5


B and


5


C show the precesses of inserting a transparent document into a securing device, wherein the transparent document


4


could be a film, a regulated slide (such as A4, A5 or B5 sizes) or any document which the light can go through. However, the securing cell


32


is selected to match the size of the transparent document


4


. If the size of the transparent document is much smaller than the securing frame


30


, there could be implemented many securing cells


32


in one securing frame


30


. The concave


300


of the securing cell


32


should be larger than the transparent document


4


. However, the first opening


301


of the concave


300


should be smaller than the transparent document


4


. The first opening


301


of the concave


300


should be large enough to let the light be transmitted through. After placing the transparent document


4


in the concave


300


, the user can close the cover


302


. A clip mechanism


315


is employed to secure the cover


302


in the concave


300


. In this case, the transparent document


4


is also mounted in the concave


300


. Therefore, the user directly places the securing device


3


in the document glass of a scanning machine. Further the scanning is processed by a predetermined mode. Moreover, the scanning mode is adjusted by referencing the depth of the concave


300


of the securing cell


32


in order to obtain a clear and precise scanning result.




In consideration of the convenient usage of the securing device


3


, the securing frame


30


could be designed the same size as the document glass, such as shown in FIG.


2


. The user can easily place securing frame


30


on the document glass of a scanner. In this concern, the misplacement of the securing frame


30


would be avoided and the scanner would scan right positions of the transparent documents.




Moreover, when the whole securing device along with the transparent document is placed on the document glass, in order to avoid that the thickness of the securing device is too large and therefore the cover of the scanner can be closed, the thickness of the cover


302


is usually not larger than the sum of the depth of the concave


300


and the general thickness of the transparent document. Thus, when the cover


302


is closed, the above mentioned problem will not occur. The securing device


3


can be molded as one piece to reduce the cost and processes of manufacture. By this way, the cost is down and the manufacturing steps are simplified to benefit the competition on the market.




Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in the forgoing description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substituting of parts and elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to encompass such rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions of parts and elements as fall within the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A securing device for transparent documents in a scanning system, comprising:a securing frame, placed on a document glass of a scanner; and a securing cell, formed in said securing frame, comprising, a concave having a larger size than the size of a transparent document in order to contain said transparent document in said concave, wherein said concave further comprises a first opening having a smaller size than the size of said transparent document, and a cover, wherein a first side of said cover linearly contacts a first side of said concave in order to let said cover be able to close said concave, said cover further comprising a second opening, wherein the area of said second opening is smaller than the area of said transparent document.
  • 2. The securing device of claim 1, wherein the size of said frame is same as the size of said document glass.
  • 3. The securing device of claim 1, wherein said securing cell further comprises:a clip mechanism, located on a second side of said concave and a second side of said cover, the second side of said cover opposite to the first side of said cover, the second side of said concave opposite to the first side of said concave, wherein said cover can be mounted on said concave by said clip mechanism when said cover is closed in said concave.
  • 4. The securing device of claim 3, wherein said clip mechanism comprises:a mounting clip, located on the second side of said cover, wherein the second side of said cover is opposite to the first side of said cover, the extending direction of said mounting clip being perpendicular to the surface of said cover; and a mounting slot, located on the second side of said concave, wherein the position of said mounting slot is the same as the position of said mounting clip when said cover closes on said concave in order to mount said mounting clip on said mounting slot.
  • 5. The securing device of claim 3, wherein said clip mechanism further comprises:a cushion aperture, located on the second side of said cover, for providing an elastic force in a parallel direction of the surface of said cover.
  • 6. The securing device of claim 1, wherein the side of said cover is smaller than the size of said concave, the thickness of said cover is less than the thickness of said concave in order to make the surface of said cover the same as the surface of said concave when said cover is closed in said concave.
  • 7. The securing device of claim 1, wherein the area of said first opening is same as the area of said second opening; the position of said first opening is same as the position of said second opening.
  • 8. The securing device of claim 1, wherein said concave comprises:an open slot, located on the second side of said concave, the second side of said concave being opposite to the first side of said concave, for convenient usage of opening said cover from said concave.
  • 9. The securing device of claim 1, wherein said securing frame and securing cell are made in one piece during manufacture.
Parent Case Info

This application is a continuation of Application Ser. No. 09/586,566 filed Jun. 2, 2000, now abandoned.

US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
4980781 Yamamoto et al. Dec 1990 A
5285237 Parulski et al. Feb 1994 A
5546144 Lam et al. Aug 1996 A
5685626 Inaba Nov 1997 A
5814809 Han Sep 1998 A
Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/586566 Jun 2000 US
Child 10/233684 US