Hand-held scanner - Patent Review 5574804

Claims

We claim:

1. A hand-held scanner for reading characters arranged in a plurality of lines recorded on a substrate, the scanner comprising:

a housing having an elongate shape with a scanning end and a rear end;

first optical means for viewing a first area of view on the substrate adjacent the scanning end of said housing when said housing is oriented with respect to the substrate such that the scanning end of said housing is adjacent the substrate and the rear end of said housing is lifted off away from the substrate;

second optical means for viewing a second area of view on the substrate adjacent a side of said housing when said housing is oriented with respect to the substrate such that the side of said housing is adjacent the substrate, wherein a longest dimension of the second area of view is at least several times longer than a longest dimension of the first area of view; and

optical detector means, located within said housing, for detecting relative intensity of light reflected from each of a plurality of points in one of the first and second areas of view;

wherein the scanning end of said housing is moved along a line of characters to read the characters through the first area of view and wherein the side of said housing is moved over the substrate line by line to read the characters through the second area of view.

2. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising first movement means, mounted proximate the scanning end of said housing, for detecting movement of the scanner across the substrate when the scanning end of said housing is moved along a line of characters to read the characters through the first area of view.

3. The scanner of claim 2 further comprising second movement means, mounted on the side of said housing, for detecting movement of the scanner across the substrate when the side of said housing is moved over the substrate line by line to read the characters through the second area of view.

4. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising a door mounted over the second optical means to selectively permit light to pass into said second optical means.

5. The scanner of claim 1 wherein said optical detector means comprises a CCD array for detecting light from a plurality of points in the first area of view and a photodiode array for detecting light from a plurality of points in the second area of view.

6. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising wireless communication means for communicating with a host computing means.

7. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising a microphone mounted on said housing and means for selectively activating said microphone.

8. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising means for adjusting the magnification of said first optical means and thereby change the size of the first area of view.

9. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising a comparator coupled to said optical detector means for receiving signals corresponding to the relative intensity of light from said optical detector means to determine whether each such signal is above or below an intensity threshold and means for setting the intensity threshold responsive to the relative intensities of points in an area of view being scanned.

10. The scanner of claim 1 further comprising an image splitter for producing two images of the first area of view, the two images being rotated with respect to each other and for providing the two images to said optical detector means.

11. A hand-held scanner for reading characters from a string of characters on a substrate comprising:

a housing adapted to be held and moved by a hand;

optical means, located within said housing, for viewing an image of an area on the substrate;

an image splitter for receiving the image of the area from said optical means and producing two images of the area wherein one of the two images of the area is rotated with respect to the other of the two images of the area;

optical detector means, located within said housing for detecting the relative intensity of light at a plurality of points in each of the two images and generating an electrical signal representative of the relative intensity of light in the plurality of points in each of the two images.

12. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 wherein said image splitter produces two images that are rotated 90 degrees with respect to each other.

13. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 wherein said optical detector means comprises a linear array of photodetector elements half of which receive the points from one of the two images and the other half of which receive the points from a second of the two images.

14. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 further comprising wireless communication means for communicating with a host computing means.

15. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 further comprising a microphone mounted on said housing and means for selectively activating said microphone.

16. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 further comprising means for adjusting the magnification of said optical means.

17. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 further comprising a comparator coupled to said optical detector means for receiving signals corresponding to the relative intensity of light from said optical detector means to determine whether each such signal is above or below an intensity threshold and means for setting the intensity threshold responsive to the relative intensities of points in at least one of the two images.

18. The hand-held scanner of claim 11 further comprising movement sensor means, mounted to said housing, for detecting movement of the scanner across the substrate.

19. A mouse/scanner for reading characters from a string of characters recorded on a substrate comprising:

a housing;

a ball rotatably mounted in said housing for rotational movement when said housing is moved over the surface of the substrate;

a first movement sensor, responsive to rotation of said ball about a first axis, for generating a first movement signal;

a second movement sensor, responsive to rotation of said ball about a second axis, for generating a second movement signal;

first optical means, located within said housing, for viewing an area of view outside of the projection of the housing's bottom face on the substrate, so that the user may view a field of view that includes the area of view;

optical detector means, located within said housing, for detecting the relative intensity of light reflected from each of a plurality of points in the area of view; and

communication means, located in said housing, for sending any of the signals generated from said first movement sensor means, said second movement sensor means and said optical detector means to a host computing means.

20. The mouse/scanner of claim 19 further comprising a microphone mounted on said housing and wherein said communication means further includes means for sending signals generated from said microphone to the host computing means.

21. The mouse/scanner of claim 19 further comprising second optical means mounted on a side of said housing adjacent the substrate for viewing a line of characters beneath said mouse/scanner and a light source mounted on said mouse/scanner so as to illuminate the line of characters.

22. The scanner of claim 19 further comprising means for adjusting the magnification of said first optical means and thereby changing the size of the area of view.

23. The scanner of claim 19 further comprising a comparator, coupled between said optical detector means and said communication means, to receive signals corresponding to the relative intensity of light from said optical detector means to determine whether each such signal is above or below an intensity threshold and means for setting the intensity threshold responsive to the relative intensities of points in the area of view being scanned.

24. A hand-held scanner for reading characters from a string of characters recorded on a substrate, comprising:

a housing, being adapted such that the scanner may be conveniently moved over the substrate surface, along the string of characters, the housing having a bottom face adjacent the substrate, the bottom face forming a projection on the substrate;

first optical means, located within the housing, for viewing a first area of view;

optical detector means, located within the housing, for detecting the relative intensity of light reflected from each of a plurality of points in the first area of view;

wherein the housing is further adapted such that the first area of view is outside of the projection of the housing's bottom face on the substrate, so that the user may view a field of view which includes the first area of view, and such that the field of view is entirely unobstructed by the housing in at least one direction along the string of characters from the first area of view, so as to facilitate tracking.

25. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising second optical means for viewing a second area of view on the substrate adjacent a side of said housing when said housing is oriented with respect to the substrate such that the side of said housing is adjacent the substrate, wherein a longest dimension of the second area of view is at least several times longer than a longest dimension of the first area of view.

26. The hand-held scanner of claim 25 wherein said housing is adapted to be held by a user in the manner of a pen.

27. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising first movement sensor means, mounted to said housing, for detecting movement of the scanner across the surface of the substrate.

28. The hand-held scanner of claim 27 further comprising second movement sensor means for detecting movement orthogonal to the movement detected by said first movement sensor means.

29. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising a microphone mounted on said housing and means for selectively activating said microphone.

30. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising means for adjusting the magnification of said first optical means.

31. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising a comparator coupled to said optical detector means for receiving signals corresponding to the relative intensity of light from said optical detector means to determine whether each such signal is above or below an intensity threshold and means for setting the intensity threshold responsive to the relative intensities of points in the first area of view.

32. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising an image splitter for receiving an image of the first area of view from said optical means and for producing two images of the first area of view, the two images being rotated with respect to each other and for providing the two images to said optical detector means.

33. The hand-held scanner of claim 24 further comprising wireless communication means for communicating with a host computing means.

34. A hand-held scanner for reading characters arranged in a plurality of lines recorded on a substrate, the scanner comprising:

a housing having an elongate shape with a scanning end and a rear end;

first optical means for viewing a first area of view on the substrate adjacent the scanning end of said housing when said housing is oriented with respect to the substrate such that the scanning end of said housing is adjacent the substrate and the rear end of said housing is lifted off away from the substrate;

second optical means for viewing a second area of view on the substrate adjacent a side of said housing when said housing is oriented with respect to the substrate such that the side of said housing is adjacent the substrate, wherein a longest dimension of the second area of view is at least several times longer than a longest dimension of the first area of view; and

optical detector means, located within said housing, for detecting relative intensity of light reflected from each of a plurality of points in one of the first and second areas of view.

35. The hand-held scanner of claim 18 wherein said movement sensor means comprises means for sensing movement along a first direction and means for sensing movement along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

36. A mouse-scanner for reading characters from a string of characters recorded on a substrate comprising:

a housing;

a ball rotatably mounted in said housing for rotational movement when said housing is moved over the surface of the substrate;

a first movement sensor, responsive to rotation of said ball about a first axis, for generating a first movement signal;

a second movement sensor, responsive to rotation of said ball about a second axis, for generating a second movement signal;

first optical means, located within said housing, for viewing an area of view;

optical detector means, located within said housing, for detecting the relative intensity of light reflected from each of a plurality of points in the area of view;

a microphone mounted on said housing; and

wireless communication means for communicating with a host computing means so as to be able to provide the host computing means with any of signals generated through said optical detector means and signals generated through said microphone.

37. The mouse-scanner of claim 36 wherein said housing is adapted to be held by the user in the manner of a pen.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to hand-held scanners and other data-input devices, and more specifically to hand-held scanners for scanning text.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It was generally found in conventional hand-held scanners that the user's view of the string of characters surrounding the character being scanned is at least partially obstructed. As such, it can be difficult for users to aim a hand-held device. Numerous art scanners provide an optical window or LCD panel to view the material directly under the scanner. However, the user must then look at the window and the characters on the page at the same time to properly aim the scanner across the line of characters. Other scanners have been known to provide no viewing capability of the characters beneath the scanner at all.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,444 (Suzuki et al.) discloses the use of the scanner with an optical window on the side of the device that faces the user. The user is required to aim the device, held sideways, along the character string while simultaneously viewing the material under the device in the optical window. U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,349 (deFay) discloses a scanner with an LCD panel fitted into the handle. This device must be preset for narrow character heights and rolled sideways directly over the character string. U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,248 (Young) discloses the use of a magnifying member on the scanner. Here, not only must the user view two areas including the window and the character string on a paper, but also the user will experience distortion of the optically viewed materials. U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,261 (Ishikawa et al.) discloses a scanner that should be held vertically over the characters in order to read them into the scanner. No assistance is provided for viewing the material beneath the scanner. The scanner may be equipped with interchangeable lenses having different focal lengths for achieving various magnifications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,218 (Takasu et al.) discloses another scanner that is held vertically over the characters to be scanned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A hand-held scanner is provided for reading characters from a string of characters recorded on a substrate. The housing of the scanner is shaped so that it may be held like a pen and conveniently moved, in contact with the substrate, along the substrate so as to scan the string of characters. Movement of the scanner across the surface of the substrate is sensed by a sensor. An optical system, located within the housing, uses a small area of the substrate and an optical detector detects the relative intensity of light reflected from each of several points in the area of view. The area of view is advantageously clearly visible to the user and unobstructed by the scanner while being used for scanning. The string of characters adjacent to the area of view is also clearly visible while using the scanner of the invention.

An embodiment of the scanner of the present invention further provides multiple inputs of information. For example, a microphone mounted on the hand-held scanner converts voice and other sound signals into electrical signals for recording. The scanner may also be provided with a wide area scanner that can be used for scanning an entire page. The wide-area scanner may be a four-inch scanner stored in the handle of the hand-held scanner which is used by placing the scanner sideways on the substrate and scanning over the page line by line.

Another embodiment of the scanner of the present invention includes optics for producing two images encompassing one area of view. This may be accomplished with an image splitter which preferably rotates the two images with respect to one another. The optical detector generates electrical signals in response to each of the two images. By applying optical character recognition software to the two images in a host computer, the reliability of character recognition is improved. Instead of using a wheel to track the position of the scanner along the substrate, a ball rotatably mounted in the housing may be used to provide movement information in two directions. While only one direction is needed for scanning a horizontal line of characters, the scanner can be advantageously switched into a mouse mode for controlling the movement of a cursor on a host computer.

A further embodiment of the invention includes an automatically adjustable threshold for distinguishing between the substrate and the characters on the substrate. The intensity threshold is continuously reset in response to the relative intensities of light detected in the plurality of points in the area of view of the scanner. A still further embodiment of the invention includes the use of an optical lens with an adjustable magnification. This permits the user to zoom in on small print as the substrate is being scanned. A still further aspect of the invention is the provision of wireless communication means within the scanner so that the scanner need not be connected by a cable to the host computer.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent during the following description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general view of a hand-held scanner of the invention being used to scan a line of text.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the hand-held scanner of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cut-away view of the door on the handle of the scanner of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial isometric bottom view of the front end of the scanner of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cut-away view of the scanner of FIG. 2 illustrating the components relative to the optical scanner at the front tip of the hand-held scanner.

FIG. 6 is a cut-away view of the scanner of FIG. 2 emphasizing the long scanner mounted behind the door of the scanner in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the production of two images for detection by the optical detector of a scanner of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the functional components of the scanner of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a more detailed block diagram illustrating the optical detector system and the movement sensor of the invention.

FIG. 10 is an electrical schematic of a threshold setting circuit of the scanner of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of an alternate embodiment of a hand-held scanner of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a bottom isometric view of the mouse/scanner of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention provides a hand-held, pen-like scanner 10 for note taking, i.e., acquiring textual information from written and printed sources. The scanner is capable of reading and storing selected information, for example, some or all of the characters from a given line of text. The scanner has a scanner head at its front end having an area of view sized for compatibility with printed characters having conventional point sizes. An embodiment of the scanner of the invention may be advantageously provided with a lens of variable magnification to accommodate a wide range of point sizes. The scanner 10 is stroked along adjacent a line of text, so that each character in turn is partially in the area of view. In this way the area of view accomplishes a succession of substantially vertical slices of each character. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an optical image splitter is provided in the scanner to rotate the area of view so that additionally and simultaneously a horizontal slice may be taken from the character and recorded. Each slice or frame is stored in a series of digital data records. The digital records may be transferred over a cable connected to the scanner or in accordance with the present invention by using a wireless transmitter from the scanner to the host computer. A computer equipped with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software can transform the succession of digital records into an ASCII text file.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a scanner 10 of the present invention is illustrated. The scanner may be used in its character-by-character mode, in which it scans a line of characters on a substrate 12 (e.g., paper) while the scanner is held like a pen underlining that line. The housing 14 of the scanner is elongate in shape in order to allow the scanner to be held like a pen. Moreover, because the scanner is sized and shaped like a pen, it can be used as a pen or a pointing device for pen computing when connected to an appropriate host computer.

The scanner housing 14 has an opening 16 or window through which a light-detector 20 receives the light reflected off of the substrate 12. A light source, for example a pair of lights 18, may be used to direct light onto that portion of the substrate 12 which is being read by the scanner. Ambient light or a single light source may in many cases be sufficient. The lights 18 may be a pair of light emitting diodes. The area of view illuminated by the lights 18 is visible to the user above the front tip of the scanner 10. The entire line being scanned is visible during scanning as shown in FIG. 1.

The character-by-character mode of the scanner may be provided with a zoom capability to allow the scanner to read all point sizes normally encountered on a printed page. The zoom capability may be provided either by an internal multi-element lens configuration adjusted electronically through a motor to read wide or long or by a zoom lens attachment to be affixed to the tip of the scanner.

A microphone 22 may be incorporated into the scanner 10. The microphone 22 records comments spoken by the user of the scanner. The analog recording of the spoken comments may be transmitted from the scanner to a host computer or a recorder. The computer may be provided with a speech recognition processor and/or a digital recorder. A cable may be used to attach the hand-held portion of the scanner 10 to the host computer. Alternatively, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the scanner 10 may be provided with wireless communication capability for transmitting