Abstract:
A scanner includes a housing defining a front housing opening and, in some instances, a rear housing opening and a movable scanner module located within the housing. The scanner with front and rear housing openings can be mounted on, for example, a computer monitor without obstructing the user&#39;s view of the monitor screen.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS 
     1. Field of Inventions 
     The present inventions relate generally to scanners and, more particularly, to flatbed scanners. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Desktop computers have become an integral part of most homes and offices. In order to make computers more useful, a wide variety of peripheral devices have been introduced. Peripheral devices, which are specialized devices that are connected to the computer, include CD-ROM drives, printers, audio speakers, and high capacity removable storage devices. Another popular peripheral device is the scanner. Scanners are devices that convert visible images (including text images), such as those found on individual sheets of paper, in photographs, as well as in books and other bound material, into digital data. Some scanners can even be used to generate images of a three dimensional objects. 
     Peripheral devices must, of course, share valuable desk space with the computer chassis (which includes the CPU) and monitor and other traditional items such as telephones and in/out boxes. This often results in clutter and leaves little to no work space on the desktop. Fortunately, in recent years, many peripheral devices have been incorporated into the computer chassis itself. For example, CD-ROM drives and high capacity removable storage devices are now commonly incorporated into the computer chassis. Speakers are often incorporated into or mounted on the computer monitor. This saves valuable desktop space. One peripheral device that continues to occupy large amounts of desktop space is the scanner and, more specifically, the so-called flatbed scanner. 
     Generally speaking, there are two types of desktop scanners—sheet feeding scanners and flatbed scanners. Sheet feeding scanners, as the name suggests, are designed to pull (or “feed”) a sheet through a housing that includes the image scanning hardware and processing circuitry. The size of sheet feeding scanners has been steadily reduced to the point where sheet feeding scanners occupy a very small portion of the desktop. 
     Flatbed scanners typically include a relatively large housing and a glass covered opening (or “window”) that is at least large enough to allow the placement of an 8.5 inch by 11 inch sheet thereon. The image scanning hardware and processing circuitry are located within housing. After a sheet or other image bearing substrate is placed on the glass, the image is irradiated by a light source. The reflected light sensed by an image sensor that moves past the glass covered opening and the signals generated by the sensor are processed and digitized. Although larger than sheet feeding scanners, flatbed scanners remain popular because, in addition to scanning images on sheets, flatbed scanners are able to scan images found in books and other bound material and generate images of three dimensional objects. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONS 
     The inventor herein has determined that a need exists for a flatbed scanner which does not occupy as much desktop space as conventional flatbed scanners. Accordingly, one object of the present inventions is to provide a flatbed scanner that occupies less desktop space than conventional flatbed scanners. Another object of the present inventions is to provide a desktop scanner that occupies less desktop space than a conventional scanner with the same window size. 
     In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, a scanner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention includes a housing defining a front housing opening and a rear housing opening and a movable scanner module located within the housing. This combination provides a number of advantages over conventional scanners. For example, the present scanner can be mounted on the front of a computer monitor, thereby saving valuable desktop space, because the scanner housing openings allow the monitor screen to be observed through the scanner. 
     In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, a flatbed scanner in accordance with another preferred embodiment of a present invention includes a scanner housing defining an opening, a scanner module, and a mounting device adapted to secure the scanner housing to a vertically extending object in a substantially vertical orientation. This combination provides a number of advantages over conventional flatbed scanners. For example, the present flatbed scanner can be mounted on a monitor, a computer chassis, a wall, or any other suitable structure, thereby saving valuable desktop space. 
     Accordingly, users of the present inventions will realize the benefits of a flatbed scanner while saving space in a manner heretofore only available with sheet feeding scanners. 
     The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present inventions will become apparent as the inventions become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the inventions will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scanner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention in combination with a monitor. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view, taken from the rear, of the interior and front wall of the scanner illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a scanner module and drive system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention. 
     FIG. 4 a  is a partial side view of an alternate belt and roller arrangement. 
     FIG. 4 b  is a partial side view of another alternate belt and roller arrangement. 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the scanner illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a scanner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the scanner illustrated in FIG. 1 in an upwardly pivoted orientation. 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of a scanner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention mounted over the front of a monitor. 
     FIG. 9A is a partially exploded perspective view of a scanner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention. 
     FIGS. 9B-9D are side section views of the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9A in various orientations. 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a scanner, monitor and computer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention mounted on a wall. 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a scanner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention mounted on a computer chassis. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following is a detailed description of the best presently known modes of carrying out the inventions. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the inventions. Additionally, its is noted that detailed discussions of various operating components of scanners which are not pertinent to the present inventions, such as image processing and interaction with a host computer, have been omitted for the sake of simplicity. 
     As illustrated for example in FIG. 1, a scanner  10  in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention may be secured to a monitor such as a computer monitor  12  having a base  14  as well as a monitor screen  16  on the front side  18  on the monitor. The exemplary scanner  10  includes a housing  20  having a front wall  22  with a front opening  24 . The housing  20  also includes side walls  26  and  28 , a top wall  30  and a bottom wall  32 . In the preferred embodiment, there is no rear wall and the rearward ends of the side, top and bottom walls  26 - 32  together define a rear opening. The rearward ends of the side, top and bottom walls  26 - 32  also abut the front side  18  of the monitor  12  and may include an elastomeric gasket (not shown). A sheet  34  of glass or any other suitable transparent material is mounted within the opening  24 . A clip device for holding an image bearing substrate adjacent the front opening  24  such as, for example, a biased clip  36 , is mounted on the front wall  22  of the exemplary scanner  10  and a pair of control buttons  38  are disposed in the front wall. 
     In an area  40  between the front wall  22  of the scanner housing  20  and the front side  18  of the monitor  12 , certain scanning components are located in a concealed manner. That is, certain ones of the scanning components will never be visible when looking straight through the front opening  24 , while certain other scanning components will remain out of view until they are actuated and pass by the front opening during a scanning procedure. As a result, a user sitting in front of the monitor  12  will be able to look through the opening  24  and have an unobstructed view of the monitor screen  16  when the scanner  10  is not in use. 
     It should be noted that a rear wall with an opening, similar to the front wall  22  and opening  24 , may be provided, as may a sheet of glass or any other suitable transparent material within the rear opening. The sheet of glass should, however, be contoured to match the contour of the monitor screen  16 . The rear wall, which will prevent dust particles from entering the housing, is especially useful in dusty environments because the presence of dust particles on the glass  34  and/or scanning module window So (discussed below with reference to FIG. 3) will adversely affect image scanning quality. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the exemplary scanner  10  includes a scanning system  41  having a scanner module  42  that is carried by drive belts  44  and  46 . A cross member  48  may be used to augment the connection between the scanner module  42  and the drive belts  44  and  46 . The scanner module  42  includes a window  50  and a photoelectric element (not shown). Preferably, the photoelectric element is a conventional contact image sensor (CIS) having a light source, focusing lens and image sensor. A preferred CIS is the IG 3008-FA10A, manufactured by Rohm. Because this type of CIS is relatively flat (about 0.25 to 0.50 inch), the overall thickness of the scanner housing  20  may be kept relatively small. Although not so limited, the thickness of the housing  20  may range from about 1.0 to 4.0 inches and is preferably about 2.0 inches or less. Other photoelectric elements, such as a charge coupled device (CCD), may also be used. Image sensors that do not include their own light source may also be used. Here, the monitor screen  16  would act as the light source. 
     The drive belts  44  and  46  ride on a pair of belt supporting rollers  52  and  54 . A tension spring  56  may also be provided to regulate belt tension. As best seen in FIG. 2, the drive belts  44  and  46  and rollers  52  and  54  are located within the scanner housing  20  such that they will not obscure the view of the monitor screen  16  through the front opening  24 . 
     In the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the belts  44  and  46  are frictionally engaged by the rollers  52  and  54 . Nevertheless, in order to reduce belt slippage and improve scanner module tracking, the exemplary drive roller and belt arrangements illustrated in FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b  may be employed. Specifically, the rollers may be provided with teeth  58  that are engaged by corresponding teeth  60  the belts (FIG. 4 a ) or with teeth  62  that mate with holes  63  in the belts (FIG. 4 b ). 
     The exemplary scanning system  41  illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 also includes a drive motor  64  that is connected to the roller  52  by gears  66  and  68 . The drive motor  64  drives the scanner module  42  along a rectilinear path of travel from a rest position adjacent the roller  52 , across the front opening  24  and back to the rest position in a manner conventional to flatbed scanners. In this manner, when an image bearing substrate, such as a substrate  70  (FIG.  5 ), is disposed at the opening  24 , the substrate will be scanned in a conventional manner by the scanner module  42 . 
     Operation of the drive motor  64  is controlled by a controller  72 . The controller  72  also handles other scanner operations, such as image processing, in a manner well known in the art. The controller  72  is also preferably housed within a shielded enclosure (not shown) that, if necessary, may be located on the exterior of the housing  20 . 
     It should be noted that the exemplary belt and roller arrangement is not the only way to advance the scanner module  42  past the front opening  24 . For example, the longitudinal ends of the scanner module  42  may be fitted with sleeves that slide along a track as the scanner module is advanced by a suitable drive mechanism. Other methods of advancing the scanning module  42 , such as a single belt and guide arrangement, may also be employed. 
     As illustrated for example in FIG. 1, the scanner  10  may be connected to a wall outlet by way of a power cord  21 , which is connected to the scanner&#39;s power supply  23  (FIG.  2 ). Alternatively, one or more batteries could be used to power the scanner and the housing  20  could include a battery storage area. With respect to data transmission, the scanner  10  may be directly connected to a computer chassis (which includes the CPU) by way of a conventional cable  25 . The monitor  12  may also be connected to the computer chassis with a conventional cable. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 10, an infrared transmitter  27  and infrared receiver  29  arrangement may be employed. The infrared receiver  29  is connected to a computer chassis  31  by a cable  33 . The cable  33  allows the infrared receiver  29  to be placed at the optimum location relative to the infrared transmitter  27 . 
     As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, a biased clip  36  may be used to hold the image bearing substrate  70  adjacent to the front opening  24 . Turning to FIG. 6, a shelf  74  may also be provided to support books or other three-dimensional objects adjacent to the front opening  24 . The shelf  74  may be integral with the housing  20 , temporarily secured with a mounting hook (on the shelf) and apertures (in the housing) arrangement, or slidable in and out of the housing between an extend use position and a retracted storage position. Suitable mounting apertures  75  are illustrated in FIG.  5 . 
     The exemplary scanner  10  may be secured to the monitor  12  in a variety of ways, both permanent and temporary. The scanner  10  and monitor  12  may even be combined into an integral unit. As shown by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 7, the scanner  10  may be pivotably secured to the monitor  12  with a hinge  76 . The hinge  76  allows the scanner to be pivoted upwardly from the generally vertical orientation illustrated in FIG. 1, to the generally horizontal orientation illustrated in FIG. 7, and beyond if desired. Image bearing substrates and three-dimensional objects may be placed on top of the glass  34  when the scanner  10  is horizontally oriented. The hinge  76  should have sufficient internal friction to support the weight of the scanner  10  and objects supported thereon. Alternatively, a mechanical locking mechanism could be provided to hold the scanner  10  in the orientation illustrated in FIG.  7 . 
     Turning to FIG. 8, an exemplary scanner  80  may be provided with a housing  82  that is larger than the monitor  12 . Thus, the scanner  80 , which is otherwise similar to the scanner  10 , can be mounted over the front of the monitor  12  in the manner illustrated in FIG.  8 . 
     As illustrated for example in FIGS. 9A-9D, a scanner  84  in accordance with another preferred embodiment includes an outer housing  86  that can be mounted over the front of a monitor in the manner illustrated in FIG.  8  and also includes an inner housing  88 . The scanning components are located within the inner housing  88 . A pair of pins  90  and  92 , which extend outwardly from the sides of the inner housing near the top, ride within slots  94  and  96  on the inner side  96  of the outer housing  86 . The slots  94  and  96  include a top horizontal portion  98 , a vertical portion  100 , and a bottom horizontal portion  102 . If desired, the inner housing  88  can be pivoted upwardly from the position shown in FIG.  9 B and pushed back such that it rests in a horizontal orientation on shelves  104  that are located below the top horizontal portion  98  of each slot (FIG.  9 C). A handle  106  is provided for this purpose. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 9D, the inner housing  88  can be pivoted upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 9B, slid down the vertical slot portion  100 , and pushed back such that it rests in a horizontal orientation on a portion  108  of the outer housing  86 . 
     Power is supplied to the scanning components in the inner housing  88  through electrical connectors in the pins  90  and  92 . The outer housing  86  includes corresponding connectors that mate with the connectors in the pins  90  and  92 . Preferably, the outer housing  86  includes three sets of connectors located such that they will mate with the connectors in the pins  90  and  92  when the inner housing  88  in each of the three positions discussed above. Data connections may also be made via connectors in the pins  90  and  92 . Suitable power and data cables will be provided to connect the outer housing  86  to a power source and a computer. 
     Scanners in accordance with inventions herein may also be mounted on, or supported by, objects other than monitors. A scanner  109  may be mounted on a wall  110  of a cubical  112  with a pair of hooks  114 , as shown in FIG.  10 . The scanner  109  may also be secured to the wall  110  with a hinge in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7, and with other devices such as, for example hook and loop fastening tape. The wall mounted scanner illustrated in FIG. 10 is battery operated and, hence, there is no power cord. Of course, a wall mounted scanner could include a power cord if so desired. As noted above, the scanner  109  makes a data connection with the CPU in the computer chassis  31  by way of the infrared transmitter  27  and the infrared receiver  29 . 
     A scanner  116  may also be mounted on a computer chassis  118  with a hinge  120 , as illustrated for example in FIG. 11, and with hooks such as those illustrated in FIG.  9 . It should be noted that when a scanner  116  is intended to only be mounted on an object without a viewing screen, such as a wall or computer chassis, the rear or the housing  20  may be closed with an openingless wall. 
     Referring to FIG. 8, a cover  122  may be pivotably mounted on the scanner housing  82  with a hinge  124 . A similar cover and hinge arrangement may also be provided on the exemplary scanner  10 . The cover  122 , which is especially useful for flattening wrinkled paper that is held by the clip  36 , may be pivoted to the orientation shown in dashed lines when not in use. Alternatively, the hinge  124  could be located on the side of the housing  82  so that the cover  122  will pivot to the side when not in use. The cover  122  may also be temporarily secured to the front of a scanner housing with hooks similar to those illustrated in FIG.  11 . 
     Although the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiment above, numerous modifications and/or additions to the above-described preferred embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the scope of the present invention extends to all such modifications and/or additions.