READING PEN

Abstract: A reading pen for reading text has an elongate casing with a reading opening (3) formed in one end thereof, a printed circuit board (5) which is arranged inside the casing, light-emitting diodes (7a, 7b) arranged inside the reading opening and adapted to illuminate the text that is to be read, and a light-sensitive sensor (9) arranged inside the reading opening and adapted to read the illuminated text. The printed circuit board (5) has an end portion at said one end of the casing. The end portion essentially corresponds to the form of the casing. The light-emitting diodes (7a, 7b) and the light-sensitive sensor (9) are arranged on said end portion.

Description: READING PEN Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reading pen for reading text, which has an elongate casing with a reading opening formed m one end thereof, a printed circuit board arranged inside the casing, light -emitting diodes arranged inside the reading opening and adapted to illuminate the text that is to be read, and a light-sensitive sensor arranged inside the reading opening and adapted to read the illuminated text. Background of the Invention A reading pen of the type described above is known from SE 9604008-4. It is also sold by the applicant under the trademark C-PEN. The reading pen is intended for selective recording of text from, for instance, books. The recorded text can be stored and edited m the pen. It can also be transmitted m a wireless manner to another computer . The prior-art reading pen has, among other things, a casing, a light-sensitive sensor, a flexible card, a lens system, a printed circuit board and a reflector. The casing which is made of a plastic material is designed as a pen with a narrowing end, m which a reading opening is formed, through which the text is read. In the casing there is a display which shows the read text. The flexible card is a soft and flexible card having a complicated shape. It supports the light-sensitive sensor and a plurality of, usually ten, light-emitting diodes which are uniformly distributed round an opening m the flexible card. The flexible card is essentially arranged m the narrowing end of the casing. The lens system, which comprises a lens and a mirror, is placed on top of the light-sensitive sensor. The light-sensitive sensor is arranged perpendicular to the reading opening, and the mirror m the lens system is adapted to reflect the imaged text at an angle of 90 degrees to the light -sensitive sensor. The printed circuit board is a hard and essentially rectangular card, on which a plurality of components for processing the recorded information are arranged. It is arranged m the casing inside the narrowing end thereof. When reading text, the text must be illuminated. This is carried out by means of the light-emitting diodes, which have a wavelength corresponding to that to which the light-sensitive sensor is most sensitive. This wavelength is between 500 and 700 nm and corresponds to read light . That part of the flexible card on which the light-emitting diodes are arranged is placed ust inside the reading opening so that the opening of the flexible card is positioned opposite to the reading opening. The light -emitting diodes are arranged to illuminate the text through the reading opening, and their light is uniformly reflected by means of the reflector which is placed round the reading opening. The flexible card, on which the light-sensitive sensor and the light -emitting diodes are arranged, is expensive to manufacture and also difficult and time-consuming to mount, since it must be mounted manually. Summary of the Invention The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a sensor/light-emittmg-diode arrangement which is easier and less expensive to manufacture. According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a reading pen which is of the type stated by way of introduction and has the features that appear from appended claim 1. More specifically, the invention concerns a reading pen for reading text, which has an elongate casing with a reading opening formed m one end thereof, a printed circuit board which is arranged m the casing, light- emittmg diodes arranged inside the reading opening and adapted to illuminate the text which is to be read and a light -sensitive sensor arranged inside the reading opening and adapted to read the illuminated text, the printed circuit board having an end portion at said one end of the casing, said end portion essentially corresponding to the form of the casing, and the light-emitting diodes and the light -sensitive sensor being arranged on said end portion. In the prior-art technique, the light-emitting diodes are mounted on the flexible card, which is expensive and complicated to mount. According to the invention, the light-emitting diodes are mounted on the printed circuit board. This is made possible by an extension of the hard printed circuit board m one end of the cas- mg. In this way, the expensive flexible card can be omitted. Furthermore, the hard printed circuit board has a higher thermal conductivity then the flexible card. This means that the heat emitted by the light -emitting diodes is better and more efficiently removed. In a preferred embodiment, a reflector is arranged m the reading opening to reflect and diffusely spread the light emitted by the light-emitting diodes. As a result, the sensor obtains a uniform light and no extra software need be implemented to compensate for a non- uniform luminous flux. Advantageously, the reflector is white and reflects the light m a diffuse way. It is located on the mside of the casing from the position where the light -emitting diodes are located up to the opening. Preferably, the light-emitting diodes are placed on one large face of the printed circuit board and the light-sensitive sensor is placed on the other large face thereof. This yields a uniform and satisfactory illumination and makes the mounting of the light-emitting diodes and the sensor easier. Additionally it prevents the light emitted from the light-emitting diodes from directly reaching the sensor. In another preferred embodiment, the light -emitting diodes are arranged on both large faces of the printed circuit board. This gives the mounting of the components of the printed circuit board a higher flexibility, since the light-emitt g diodes can be arranged where there is free space. Thus the light-emittmg diodes are provided with reflectors that direct the light outward. In a preferred embodiment, a mirror is arranged to angle the ray path essentially 90 degrees to the surface of the sensor. By angling the ray path essentially 90 degrees a distortion of the reflected light (an image) is avoided. Additionally, use can be made of a plane mirror that is easy to manufacture. In another preferred embodiment, the light-emitting diodes emit light parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board. By using light-emitt g diodes, which angle the ray path of the light essentially 90 degrees, the light-emittmg diodes can be arranged directly on the printed circuit board. Accordingly, there is no need for an additional construction to arrange the light-emitt g diodes order to have them emit light through the reading opening of the reading pen. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will now be described m more detail by way of an example and with reference to the accompanying drawings . Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a reading pen according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one side of a print - ed circuit board. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the other side of the printed circuit board. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a reading pen according to the invention. Description of a Preferred Embodiment The reading pen shown m Fig. 1 has a casing 1 which is made of plastic and has a narrowing front end la. A display 2 is arranged on the casing 1. A reading opening 3, m which a funnel-shaped reflector 4 is arranged, is formed m the narrowing end la. Figs 2 and 3 show one large face 6 of a printed cir- cuit board 5, on which large face four light-emittmg diodes 7a, 7b are arranged, and the other large face 8 thereof, on which a light-sensitive area sensor 9 is arranged. The printed circuit board 5 is arranged mside the casmg 1, and its form essentially corresponds to the inner form of the casmg. The printed circuit board 5 thus has a narrowing portion which mside the casing 1 extends to a position m the vicinity of the reading opening 3. The four light-emittmg diodes 7a, 7b are arranged at the outer end of the narrowing portion of the printed circuit board 5. The light-emittmg diodes 7a, 7b are juxtaposed and cover the width of the reading opening 3. The two outer light-emittmg diodes 7a are positioned closer to the reading openmg 3 than the two central light-emittmg diodes 7b. The light-emitt g diodes 7a, 7b are designed to radiate m parallel with the base on which they are placed and they preferably have built-in mirror, directing the light m said direction. The light-sensitive area sensor 9 is also arranged on the narrowing portion of the printed circuit board 5. Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the reading pen how the components are arranged mside the reading pen and the ray path 20 when reading text. A lens system 10 comprising a lens arrangement 11 and a mirror 12 is arranged on the printed circuit board 5. When reading the text, the text is registered by placing the reading opening 3 of the reading pen against the text . The light-emittmg diodes 7a, 7b emit light towards the text that is to be registered. The ray path 20 of the reflected light moves from the reading opening 3 to the lens arrangement 11 and further to the mirror 12, that angles the ray path 20 essentially perpendicular to the surface of the area sensor 9.Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described above, it is obvious to a person skilled m the art that many alternatives, modi ications and variations are feasible the light of the above description. For example, the reading pen can have an extent of uniform thickness, which means that the end la, m which the reading opening 3a is formed, does not narrow. Moreover, it is not necessary for all the light-emittmg diodes 7a, 7b to be arranged on one large face 6, but a certain number of light- emittmg diodes 7a, 7b can be arranged on one large face 6 and a certain number of light-emittmg diodes 7a, 7b can be arranged on the other large face 8. The invention therefore intends to comprise all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall withm the scope of the appended claims .

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A reading pen for reading text, said reading pen having an elongate casing (1) with a reading opening (3) formed m one end (la) thereof, a printed circuit board (5) which is arranged mside the casing (1) , light -emitting diodes (7a, 7b) arranged mside the reading opening (3) and adapted to illuminate the text which is to be read, and a light-sensitive sensor (9) arranged side the reading opening (3) and adapted to read the illuminated text, c h a r a c t e r i z e d m that the printed circuit board (5) has an end portion at said one end (la) of the casing, said end portion essentially corresponds to the form of the casing (1) , and that the light- emittmg diodes (7a, 7b) and the light-sensitive sensor (9) are arranged on said end portion. 2. A reading pen as claimed m claim 1, wherein a reflector (4) is arranged the reading opening (3) to reflect and diffusely spread the light emitted by the light-emittmg diodes (7a, 7b) . 3. A reading pen as claimed m any one of the preceding claims, wherein the light-emitt g diodes (7a, 7b) are arranged on one large face (6) of the printed circuit board (5) , and the light-sensitive sensor (9) is arranged on the other large face (8) thereof. 4. A reading pen as claimed m claim 1 or 2 , wherein the light-emittmg diodes (7a, 7b) are arranged on both large faces (6, 8) of the printed circuit board (5) . 5. A reading pen as claimed m any one of the preceding claims, wherein the light-emitt g diodes (7a, 7b) are juxtaposed and essentially cover the width of the reading opening (3) . 6. A reading pen as claimed m any one of the pre- ceding claims, wherein the said one end (la) of the elongate casing (1) has a narrowing shape. 7. A reading pen as claimed m any one of the preceding claims, wherein a mirror (12) is arranged to angle the ray path (20) essentially 90 degrees to the surface of the sensor (9) . 8. A reading pen as claimed m any one of the preceding claims, wherein the light-emittmg diodes (7a, 7b) emit light parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board (5) .

Inventors: AKHLAGI NOROZ NADER, LOENN FREDRIK, WITTRUP PETER, AKHLAGI, NOROZ, NADER, LOENN, FREDRIK, WITTRUP, PETER
Applicants: AKHLAGI NOROZ NADER, C TECHNOLOGIES AB, LOENN FREDRIK, WITTRUP PETER, AKHLAGI, NOROZ, NADER, LOENN, FREDRIK, WITTRUP, PETER
Application year: 2000
Main classification: G06K9
IPC codes: G06K9, H04N1