Patent Description:
Document scanners typically operate by separating pages from a stack of documents in order and transporting the pages past an imaging device to capture the content on the face of the page. Generally there are two types of document scanners currently available on the market, top feeders and bottom feeders. A top feeder scanner feeds documents one at a time off the top of a document stack to be scanned in order. A bottom feeder scanner feeds from the bottom of a document stack in order. Current scanners also include an input tray to hold a stack of input documents to be scanned. Many bottom feed scanners include two feeder gate stops that provide alignment of the document stack when the stack is placed into the input tray of the scanner. Upon activating the scanner, the feeder gate stops move out of the way of the documents being fed until the last document in the stack is fed into the document scanner. Then the feeder gate stops are repositioned for the next document stack to be loaded. <CIT> describes a sheet-supply device includes a pair of stopper members provided to a bottom plate of a hopper portion so as to move between a protruding position where upper surfaces of the stopper members protrude from a surface of the bottom plate and a retracted position where upper surfaces of the stopper members retract from the surface of the bottom plate, and a position change mechanism moving the stopper members between the protruding and retracted positions. The stopper members moves up and down several times via the position change mechanism at a time between after the sheet feed operation is completed and before a next sheet feed operation starts, thereby positioning the sheets, which may cause the multi-feed problem, at a predetermined sheet holding position. Other technology is shown in <CIT>.

Both top feeder and bottom feeder scanners require that the document stack to be scanned are prepared in such a way that their lead edges are aligned prior to loading to ensure proper feeding and document separation before scanning. If the lead edges of the documents in the document stacks are not aligned within a reasonable distance (for example, under <NUM>"), the documents may not separate properly or may not be separated in their proper order. This can cause the scanner multiple problems such as failing to scan certain documents, scanning documents in an incorrect order, scanning incorrect portions of documents, and/or causing document jams in the document scanner. For example, if the lead edges of the document stack are not aligned, the feeder mechanism that separates the top or bottom sheet from the document stack may separate a sheet that is not on the top or bottom of the document stack. Additionally, several sheets may be selected at the same time causing a document jam or creating overlapping sheets of documents during scanning.

Many scanners provide an angled gravity assist input tray and a feeder gate stop device to properly position the stack of documents before they are fed into the scanner. However, there is no means provided to better align the lead edges of the individual documents within the stack prior to the documents being fed into a separation mechanism, after the stack of document is loaded. Some documents are difficult to align due to the large amount of static between the documents and forcing users to properly align all the documents in a stack before inputting into the machine can be onerous and time-consuming. For example, very thin documents in large stacks can be difficult to align. Additionally, an aligned stack of documents may become misaligned during the placing of the stack of documents into an input tray of a scanner before scanning begins. Accordingly, the user may have to realign the documents, further delaying the scanning process.

Typically, the only way to prevent problems with improperly aligned document stacks has been to align the lead edges of the documents within the stack prior to loading into the scanner. However, this has numerous drawbacks. Manually aligning the lead edge of a document stack to be scanned can be time consuming and difficult in some cases, especially for light weight documents with high coefficients of friction or static charges between the documents. In addition, documents of different types and sizes within a stack can be difficult to pre-align manually. These problems with manual alignment are magnified further when dealing with high volume scanning of large numbers of documents.

Traditionally, document alignment is performed using a standalone "jogger" device. The document stack is loaded into the standalone jogger, which shakes the stack under a high frequency and small amplitude. This "jogs" the stack, causing a vibration in the document stack against the wall of the jogger, resulting in alignment of the lead edges. There are a number of problems with using such devices. For example, the document stack must be manually loaded and unloaded from the standalone jogger, which takes additional time. Further, after the device is finished, the stack must still be manually transported to the document scanner, during which time the lead edges of the documents may become misaligned. In addition, these standalone devices themselves are expensive, noisy, and take up additional office space.

Accordingly, there is a need for a low cost automated document alignment system that may be incorporated into a scanner.

Embodiments are directed to a system and method for automated alignment of the lead edges of a document stack after it is loaded into the input tray of a document scanner. In particular, the systems and methods align the lead edges of the documents by the forward and backward oscillation of feeder gate stops, causing the documents to align their lead edges against the feeder gate stops.

Stacks of documents are typically entered into a document scanner by loading them onto an input tray on the scanner. Typically, a bottom feed document scanner has two feeder gate stops protruding perpendicularly to the document feed direction to place the document stack against during loading. Upon activating the document scanner, these feeder gate stops are driven forward in the document feed direction such that they no longer obstruct the path of the document stack to allow documents to be fed one at a time. Once the final document in the stack has been fed, the feeder gate stops are driven backwards such that they return to their original perpendicular position to accept a new document stack. As noted above, failure to pre-align the lead edges of the document stack before loading the stack into the input tray can cause documents to not scan, scan incorrectly, create document jams in the scanner, and other problems. The system and method described herein provide for automated alignment of the lead edges of the document stack after it has been loaded into the input tray of the document scanner. This eliminates the need to pre-align the lead edges of the document stack prior to loading, leading to faster and better quality scanning.

Embodiments include an automated jogger apparatus that oscillate the feeder gate stops forwards and backwards relative to the direction that the documents are fed into the scanner. This repeated oscillation shakes the document stack, causing the documents within to slide relative to each other such that their lead edges align against the feeder gate stops. When the oscillation ends after a number of cycles, the feeder gate stops are driven forwards out of the way of the document transport path, so the now aligned document stack can be fed into the document scanner via the feed roller and urging roller.

In one embodiment of the invention, feeder gate elements are pivotally mounted onto the same drive shaft as a bottom feed roller. This eliminates the need for additional devices such as a motor, cylinder, or solenoid to drive the feeder gate stops, and minimizes the costs of implementing the automated jogger techniques.

In another embodiment of the invention, the ability to set programmable parameters related to the oscillation is provided. These may be adjusted manually by the user, or be selected from a set of preset configurations, such as for different types of document material or different numbers of documents within a stack.

Embodiments are directed to systems, methods, and apparatuses for a document scanner with an automated document alignment system to automatically align the lead edges of a stack of documents prior to scanning. This may be accomplished by having a document scanner with one or more feeder gate components (also referred to as feeder gate stops or feeder gate elements) configured to repeatedly oscillate forward and backward relative to the direction the documents are fed into the scanner. This enables the documents within a document stack to slide against on another such that their lead edges align against the feeder gate stops.

For example, <FIG> shows an unaligned document stack <NUM> where the lead edges of the documents within the document stack are not aligned along a vertical plane. Instead, the lead edges of the various documents in the document stack overlap with one another and do not create a uniform lead edge surface across each of the documents. Accordingly, a separation mechanism that separates the documents using the lead edges of each document in the document stack may separate the wrong document from the document stack, may separate multiple documents at the same time, and/or may not feed a document uniformly into the scanner transport path. Thus, the order that the documents are scanned in may be incorrect or a document jam may occur due to multiple documents being fed at the same time.

In contrast, <FIG> shows an aligned document stack <NUM> where the lead edge of each of the documents within the document stack are aligned along a vertical plane at the front of the document stack. As such, there is no document surface extending from the document stack for a separation mechanism to mistakenly separate the wrong document in the stack and/or to separate multiple documents at the same time.

When the automated jogger system is activated the feeder gate elements will oscillate by being driven forwards and backwards one or more times, shaking the input document stack. The oscillation, which may also be referred to as jogging or shuffling, results in the documents shifting their alignment and position in the stack. The documents slide between each other, causing them to move and rotate towards the feeder gate elements, aligning their lead edges together within a reasonable distance. The oscillation of the feeder gate elements ends after a number of cycles or predetermined time, at which point the feeder gate elements may be driven forwards into a retracted position that is out of the way of the document transport path so the now aligned document stack can be fed into the document scanner via a feed roller and urging roller.

In some embodiments of this invention, the feeder gate elements are pivotally mounted on a feed roller drive shaft. The contact surfaces of the feeder gate elements are initially positioned perpendicular to the document feed direction. The documents to be scanned are loaded on the input tray near or against the feeder gate elements. When the automated jogger system is activated the shaft rotates to drive the feeder gate elements forward by a predetermined angle, and then rotates in the opposite direction to drive the feeder gate elements backwards to their original position or an alternate position (e.g., an intermediate position with a smaller angle of rotation than returning to the original position), with each cycle occurring at a predetermined rate. During this oscillation, the documents within the stack move and rotate towards the contact surface of the feeder gate elements and align their leading edges. After a predetermined amount of time or number of cycles, this oscillation is stopped and the feeder gate elements are driven out of the way to allow the documents to be fed into the document separation device. This embodiment does not require an additional device such as a motor, cylinder, or solenoid to drive the feeder gate elements, and provides a low cost embodiment of the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention ensure that an unaligned document stack <NUM> that is input into a scanner system are converted into an aligned document stack <NUM> before scanning any of the documents. Accordingly, by ensuring that each of the documents in the document stack are aligned, embodiments improve the scanners performance and reduce the document preparation demands on the operator. Further, cycle time can be increased by not requiring an operator to spend the time to align the documents before processing. Additionally, embodiments avoid the re-stacking and re-scanning of entire sets of documents when scanned out of order and minimize delays and operator maintenance caused by document jams. As such, embodiments improve cycle time, throughput, and ease of use of the scanner system.

<FIG> illustrates a perspective view of an example scanner system <NUM> according to embodiments of the present invention. The scanner system <NUM> includes an input tray <NUM>, an output tray <NUM>, a scan button <NUM>, an upper frame body <NUM>, and a base frame body <NUM>. An unaligned document stack <NUM> may be inserted onto the input tray <NUM>. The input tray <NUM> may be configured to hold a stack of documents <NUM> to be scanned. The input tray <NUM> may be tilted at an angle such that the lead edges of the document stack <NUM> are lower than the trailing edges of the document stack <NUM> and gravity assists the stack <NUM> to move downward to the feeder gate elements (not shown) within the base frame body <NUM>. Each document within the document stack <NUM> may be fed along a transport path (not shown) through an imaging device (not shown) within the base frame body <NUM> of the scanner system <NUM> to scan each of the documents. Once scanned, each of the documents may exit along the transport path and be stacked in the output tray <NUM> in the order that they are scanned. Appendix A, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes, includes a parts list identifying the elements shown in <FIG>.

Note that the scanner system of <FIG> is only one example of the type of systems that can incorporate automated jogger systems as described herein. For example, the techniques described herein could be applied to any systems that rely on aligned documents for processing. For example, stapling machines, hole-punching machines, envelope stuffing machines, and/or any other systems that may use aligned documents may incorporate the techniques described herein. Further, note that the present embodiments focus on bottom-feed types of desktop scanner systems. However, top-feeder and/or other configurations of scanner systems may use the techniques described herein to align documents prior to scanning, as one of ordinary skill would recognize.

<FIG> illustrates an example partial cross-section view of a scanner system <NUM>, in accordance with an embodiment. <FIG> shows an exemplary embodiment of an automated document alignment system that is incorporated into a bottom feed document scanner system <NUM>. The scanner system <NUM> includes the input tray <NUM> that is coupled to a base frame body <NUM>. The base frame body <NUM> is coupled to an upper frame body <NUM> which can be moved to access components within the base frame body <NUM>. The base frame body <NUM> is coupled to an output tray <NUM> that is configured to hold the scanned documents once each document has been scanned.

The input tray <NUM> is configured to hold the document stack such that the lead edges of the documents within the document stack engage with an automated document alignment mechanism (also referred to as a "jogger" system). The automated jogger mechanism may include one or more feeder gate elements (also referred to as a "feeder gate stops") that may be configured to engage the lead edges of a stack of documents in an initial position before scanning begins. The feeder gate elements <NUM> may extend radially/upward into the path of the documents such that the feeder gate elements <NUM> constrict the movement of the documents into one or more rollers configured to feed the documents into a transport path <NUM> of the scanner system <NUM>. In some embodiments, the feeder gate elements <NUM> may be coupled to a feed roller drive shaft <NUM> and may extend radially/upward from one or more apertures in the base frame <NUM> to create a barrier to the further movement of the documents into the scanner system <NUM>. The feeder gate elements <NUM> may be coupled to the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> using one-way bearings <NUM> to ensure the proper movement of the feeder gate elements <NUM> during operation of the transport drive. Thus, the feeder gate elements <NUM> may be rotatable such that the feeder gate elements <NUM> may constrict the movement of the documents in the document stack in an initial blocking position, may articulate over an angle of rotation to oscillate the feeder gate elements <NUM> to align the documents in the document stack, and may retract into the base frame body <NUM> in a retracted position to clear a transport path <NUM> for the documents to travel for scanning. Additional details of the jogger mechanism are provided in <FIG> below. Note that embodiments discussed below incorporate two separate feeder gate elements <NUM>. However, in some embodiments, any number of separate or integrated feeder gate elements <NUM> could be implemented.

Separation devices (not shown) may be positioned behind or in-line with the feeder gate elements <NUM> that are configured to separate a document from the stack of documents upon retraction of the feeder gate elements <NUM>. The separation devices may include any component configured to separate a document from the document stack. The separation devices may be bottom-feeding or top-feeding such that the top or bottom sheet of the stack of documents is separated by the separation devices. Each of the document separation devices may include a separation pad, a separation roller, a retard roller, or other device capable of separating a stack of documents into individual sheets. Accordingly, once the feeder gate elements <NUM> are retracted, the lead edges of the documents in the document stack are pushed to one or more separation devices that separate a single document from the stack of documents.

The separation device may separate a document from the stack of documents and feed the document into a transport drive. The transport drive is configured to move the document from the separation device over an imaging device <NUM> and out of the scanner device along a transport path <NUM>. The transport drive may include one or more feed roller assemblies configured to move the document along the transport path <NUM>. For example, the transport drive shown in <FIG> includes a first transport roller assembly <NUM> and an exit transport roller assembly <NUM> that are configured to push a document between a set of rollers positioned at the start and end of the transport path <NUM>. The set of rollers create a "nip" or pinched area that creates enough force on the document to move the document in the direction of rotation. The first transport roller assembly <NUM> and the exit transport roller assembly <NUM> displace a separated document from the document stack over a camera <NUM> at a constant rate to capture an image of the information on the document.

The imaging device may include a camera <NUM> or any other device configured to capture the contents of the document. Document edge sensors <NUM> may be used to identify lead edges and rear edges of documents as each document passes through the transport path <NUM>. The document edge sensor <NUM> may be used to engage and disengage a drive clutch for moving the transport drive that will be described in further detail below. Additionally, a processor may use the information received form the document edge sensors <NUM> to distinguish different documents that are captured by the imaging device and to identify when scanning of each of the documents in a document stack is complete.

<FIG> show an alternate perspective view of an example scanner system <NUM> with the upper frame body <NUM> removed such that the separation devices <NUM>, feeder gate elements <NUM>, and exit transport roller assembly <NUM> are shown. As can be seen in <FIG>, the scanner system <NUM> includes an urging roller <NUM>, a document present sensor arm <NUM>, a separation device <NUM>, feed rollers <NUM>, a first transport roller assembly <NUM>, an exit transport roller assembly <NUM>, and the feeder gate elements <NUM> in an initial blocking position.

The document present sensor arm <NUM> may be coupled to a document present sensor (not shown) that indicates to one or more controllers (e.g., a motion controller) of the scanner system <NUM> that a document stack is loaded into the input tray <NUM>. The document present sensor arm <NUM> may be forced down into the base frame body <NUM> by the weight of the document stack to indicate that a document stack is present in the input tray <NUM>. For example, as shown in <FIG> where a document stack is inserted into the input tray <NUM>, the document stack pushes against the extended portion of the document present sensor arm <NUM> to rotate the document present sensor arm <NUM> into the base frame body <NUM>. A document present sensor (element <NUM> in <FIG>) may be configured to identify when documents are present by determining when enough weight is applied to the document present sensor arm <NUM> such that the arm rotates a predetermined distance to indicate that one or more documents are present.

In some embodiments, the document present sensor arm <NUM> may be weighted with a predetermined amount of resistance in order to allow the document present sensor <NUM> to determine a weight of the document stack. The weight may allow the document present sensor <NUM> to identify a number of documents within a stack and/or a material that the documents within the document stack are made from. In some embodiments, the material of the documents, length of the documents, width of the documents, and/or the number of documents in a stack may be used to select oscillation parameters for aligning the document stack. For example, a number of oscillations, an angle of rotation for each articulation of the feeder gate element <NUM>, and/or a velocity of the rotation of the feeder gate element <NUM> may be determined according to the sensor information received by the document present sensor <NUM>.

The feeder gate elements <NUM> may be configured to block the movement of documents into the separation device <NUM> in an initial blocking position. In the initial blocking position, the feeder gate elements <NUM> may extend vertically out of apertures within the base frame body <NUM> to block the path of the documents into the separation device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the aperture may be in the form of a slot that is designed to constrain the rear movement of the feeder gate element <NUM> such that an extended document contact surface <NUM> of the feeder gate element <NUM> is perpendicular to the surface of the input tray <NUM> when in the initial blocking position. The slot may be long enough that the feeder gate element <NUM> may be retracted into the base frame body <NUM> to clear a path to the separation device <NUM> when in a retracted position. Accordingly, the feeder gate element <NUM> may be free to rotate at least <NUM> degrees to move from a perpendicular position to a parallel position in relation to the surface of the input tray <NUM>. In some embodiments, the feeder gate element <NUM> may be configured to rotate more than <NUM> degrees when retracted and may be locked into a retracted position within the base frame body <NUM>. Additional details regarding the operation and rotation of the feeder gate elements <NUM> may be provided in relation to <FIG> below.

The urging roller <NUM> may be configured to push the document stack into the separation device <NUM> to assist the separation device <NUM> in separating a document from the document stack. The urging roller <NUM> may be coupled to the transport drive such that the urging roller <NUM> may work in unison with the feed roller <NUM>, first transport roller assembly <NUM>, and exit transport roller assembly <NUM> to move documents through the scanner system <NUM> along a transport path <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate two different views of a scanner transport drive of an example scanner system <NUM>, in accordance with an embodiment. The scanner transport drive may include the first transport rollers <NUM>, the exit transport rollers <NUM>, the feeder roller <NUM>, the urging roller <NUM>, and the feeder gate elements <NUM>. In this embodiment, the first transport rollers <NUM>, exit transport rollers <NUM>, feeder roller <NUM>, urging roller <NUM>, and feeder gate <NUM> are all driven by the motor <NUM> using a motor drive arrangement <NUM>.

The motor drive arrangement <NUM> consists of the motor <NUM> which is fixedly mounted to a portion of the base frame body <NUM>. The motor <NUM> has a pulley <NUM> at its shaft end which drives a first timing belt <NUM>. The first timing belt <NUM> in turn drives a pivotally mounted pulley cluster <NUM> which is also supported by the base frame body <NUM>. The pulley cluster <NUM> drives a second timing belt <NUM>. The second timing belt <NUM> drives the first transport rollers <NUM> and the exit transport rollers <NUM> at the same speed via attached end pulleys <NUM>, <NUM>. The first transport roller assembly <NUM> also has a pulley cluster <NUM>. The pulley cluster <NUM> of the first transport roller assembly <NUM> drives a third timing belt <NUM>. The third timing belt <NUM> drives a clutch pulley <NUM> which is pivotally mounted to the feeder drive shaft <NUM>. The clutch pulley <NUM> has physical features that engage the clutch <NUM>. When the clutch <NUM> is engaged and energized, the clutch pulley <NUM> drives the feeder drive shaft <NUM>.

The feeder drive shaft <NUM> is also pivotally mounted to the base frame <NUM>. The feeder drive shaft <NUM> supports two one-way bearings <NUM>. These two one-way bearings <NUM> support the feeder gate elements <NUM>. The feeder drive shaft <NUM> also supports the feed roller <NUM> via bearings and a one-way bearing <NUM>. In addition, the feeder drive shaft <NUM> supports a gear <NUM> which drives a gear arrangement <NUM>. The gear arrangement <NUM> drives an urging roller shaft <NUM>. The urging roller shaft <NUM> is pivotally mounted to the base frame <NUM>. The urging roller <NUM> is supported by a one-way bearing <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) which is driven by the urging roller shaft <NUM>.

When the clutch <NUM> is engaged the motor <NUM> can drive the feeder gate <NUM> forward or backwards in relation to the transport path <NUM>, through the friction or interlocking of the one-way bearings <NUM> which support the feeder gate elements <NUM>. Accordingly, the motor <NUM> may drive the oscillation of the feeder gate elements <NUM> in a forward and backward direction in relation to the transport path <NUM> of the document. The motor <NUM> may be driven in a forward and backward direction according to the oscillation parameters based on the type of material of the document and/or the number of documents.

After a leading edge of a document enters the first transport roller <NUM> nip, the clutch <NUM> can be disengaged. With the clutch <NUM> disengaged, the document trailing end can pull the feed roller <NUM> and urging roller <NUM> nips in the free rotational direction of their associated one-way bearings <NUM>. Accordingly, the clutch <NUM> may be engaged to activate the urging roller <NUM> and the feed roller <NUM> to push a document stack into the separation device <NUM> and a separated document into the first transport roller apparatus <NUM>. Once the separated document enters the first transport roller <NUM> nip, the clutch <NUM> can be disengaged and the urging roller <NUM> and the feed roller <NUM> may stop pushing the document in the transport path <NUM>. Instead, the first transport roller <NUM> and the exit transport roller <NUM> nips may move the document along the transport path <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate two different views of a feed roller <NUM> and feeder gate area of a scanner transport drive of an example scanner system <NUM>, in accordance with an embodiment. The feeder gate elements <NUM> are coupled to the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> via a one-way bearing <NUM> that allows the feeder gate element <NUM> to rotate backwards (in relation to the transport path <NUM>). Accordingly, the feeder gate elements <NUM> are mounted onto one-way bearings <NUM> that ride on the feeder shaft. The feeder gate elements <NUM> are driven backwards (in relation to the transport path <NUM>) but are allowed to free-wheel in the forward direction when the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> is rotating in the forward direction. As such, when the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> is rotating in the backward direction (in relation to the transport path <NUM>), the feeder gates are driven backwards, but when the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> is rotating in the forward direction, the one-way bearing <NUM> is not engaged and only friction, gravity, and weight from engaged documents cause the feeder gate elements <NUM> to move in the forward direction along the document transport path <NUM>.

The feeder frame <NUM> may include a feeder frame stop <NUM> that is configured to engage with a lower portion of the feeder gate element <NUM> to constrain the rotational movement of the feeder gate element <NUM> during articulation of the feeder gate element <NUM>. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the feeder frame stop <NUM> may have the shape of a pin or post that extends axially along a feeder drive shaft from the feeder frame <NUM>. Alternatively and/or additionally, the feeder frame stop <NUM> may include any other physical element shape configured to constrict the movement of the feeder gate element <NUM>. The feeder frame stop <NUM> may extend far enough axially into the path of the feeder gate element body <NUM> to interfere with the free movement of the bottom portion of the feeder gate element body <NUM> (also referred to as a gate up position stop <NUM>). Thus, the feeder frame stop <NUM> may constrain the movement of the feeder gate element <NUM> in a backward or rearward direction with respect to the transport path <NUM> of the documents through the scanning system <NUM>. The position of the feeder frame stop <NUM> may be designed to constrain the movement of the feeder gate element <NUM> such that an extended portion of the feeder gate element <NUM> is in a substantially perpendicular position to the surface of the base frame body <NUM> and/or the surface of the input tray <NUM>. Accordingly, the feeder frame stop <NUM> may set a blocking position of the feeder gate elements <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate three different views of an uncoupled feeder gate element <NUM> of an example scanner system <NUM>, in accordance with various embodiments. The feeder gate element <NUM> includes a document contact surface <NUM>, a gate down position stop <NUM>, a gate up position stop <NUM>, and a gate bore <NUM>. The gate bore <NUM> is configured to mount to the one-way bearing <NUM> to rotate the feeder gate element <NUM> when the one-way bearing <NUM> is engaged. The document contact surface <NUM> is configured to extend out of the base frame slot and contact the lead edges of the documents in the document stack. The document contact surface <NUM> may include any suitable design including a flat vertical surface. In some embodiments, the surface may be feathered or otherwise include surface features to engage with the lead edges of the documents. The document contact surface <NUM> may also be curved or have any other suitable design to engage with the lead edges of documents in the document stack. The document contact surface <NUM> may extend from the top to the bottom of the feeder gate element <NUM> along the rear portion (in relation to the transport path <NUM> of the scanner) of the feeder gate element <NUM>. In some embodiments, the document contact surface <NUM> may be stepped or otherwise may have different widths in the radial direction based on the design of the base frame slot. For example, the document contact surface <NUM> of the feeder gate element <NUM> may have a stepped portion that may extend further in the radial direction once clearing the base frame surface of the scanner system <NUM> to contact the documents than the lower portion of the rear end of the feeder gate element <NUM>.

On the opposite side of the bottom portion of the feeder gate element <NUM> from the document contact surface <NUM>, the feeder gate element <NUM> may include a gate up position stop <NUM>. The gate up position stop may be configured to engage with the feeder frame stop <NUM> when the feeder gate element <NUM> is in an "up" position, also called an initial blocking position. The gate up position stop <NUM> engages with the feeder frame stop <NUM> to constrict the rotational movement of the feeder gate element <NUM> to the "up" position.

On the opposite side of the top portion of the feeder gate element <NUM> from the document contact surface <NUM>, the feeder gate element <NUM> may include a gate down position stop <NUM>. The gate down position stop may include a magnet or other element that may engage with the feeder frame stop <NUM> when the feeder gate element <NUM> is in a "down" position, also called a retracted position. The gate down position stop may have a magnetic force that is sufficient to fight incidental movement due to vibration or other incidental forces on the drive shaft but not strong enough to hold the feeder gate element <NUM> forward against the backward rotation (in relation to the direction of the document transport path <NUM>) of the drive shaft when the clutch <NUM> is engaged. The feed frame stop may include a metal pin that is made of a ferromagnetic material that will interact with the magnetic force from the magnet and cause the feeder gate element <NUM> to snap down to the metal pin. Accordingly, the gate down position stop keeps the feeder gate element <NUM> out of the way of the transport path <NUM> when the feeder gate elements <NUM> are not engaged, articulating, and/or oscillating to align the documents.

<FIG> illustrate a feeder gate component coupled to a feeder shaft of a transport drive of an example scanner system <NUM> in three different rotational positions, in accordance with various embodiments. <FIG> shows the feeder gate element <NUM> in the "up" position (also referred to as an initial blocking position). As can be seen, the feeder frame stop <NUM> has a pin shape extending axially from the feeder frame. The surface of the gate up position stop is shaped to engage with the pin shape of the feeder frame stop <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the feeder gate element <NUM> in an articulating or transitory position between the up position (i.e., blocking position) and the down position (i.e., retracted position). As can be seen, neither the gate up position stop nor the gate down position stop is engaged with the feeder frame stop <NUM> such that the feeder gate element <NUM> is free to rotate.

<FIG> shows the feeder gate element <NUM> in the "down" position (also referred to as a retracted position). As can be seen, the gate down position stop <NUM> is physically in contact with the feeder frame stop <NUM>. In some embodiments, a magnet may be used to create a force that attracts the gate down position stop to the feeder frame stop <NUM> and to keep the feeder gate element <NUM> snapped in the retracted position. As such, the feeder gate element <NUM> may remain in the retracted position until the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> rotates in the backward direction and the one-way bearing <NUM> engages and rotates the feeder gate element <NUM> in the backward direction in respect to the document transport path <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate a partial view of a feeder gate area of an example scanner system <NUM> with the feeder gate in different rotational positions, in accordance with an embodiment. The rotational positions of the feeder gate elements <NUM> shown in <FIG> correspond to the rotational positions of <FIG> described above, respectively. As such, in <FIG>, the document contact surface <NUM> of the feeder gate element <NUM> can be seen extended vertically out of the apertures in the base frame surface to contact the lead edges of the document stack <NUM>. In <FIG>, the feeder gate elements <NUM> are shown partially rotated in a forward direction (in respect to the document transport path <NUM>) as the feeder gate elements <NUM> are oscillated during an automated jogger operation to align the unaligned document stack <NUM>. In embodiments that implement one-way bearings <NUM>, the weight of the documents may push the feeder gate elements <NUM> forward when the feeder clutch <NUM> is not engaged and/or when the feeder drive shaft <NUM> is rotating in a forward direction that the one-way bearing <NUM> is not configured to engage with. <FIG> shows the feeder gate elements <NUM> in the retracted position or down position after the document stack has been converted into an aligned document stack <NUM>. The feeder gate elements <NUM> may have been oscillated according to one or more oscillation parameters in between <FIG> and <FIG> such that the requisite amount of shuffling or jogging of the documents was performed to align the lead edges of the unaligned document stack <NUM>. <FIG> shows the feeder gate element position upon feeding of the documents through the scanner system <NUM>. As can be seen in <FIG>, the feeder gate elements <NUM> may remain retracted while the documents are fed through the scanner until the scanning operation is completed. Once the scanning operation is completed for an aligned document stack <NUM>, the feeder gate elements <NUM> may be rotated back to the initial blocking position (i.e., to the "up" position) to prepare the scanner system <NUM> for the next scanning operation.

As shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, programmable oscillation parameters may be changed by the scanner operator via an interface <NUM>, which may be part of the document scanner system <NUM> or an external device or computer. Such programmable oscillation parameters may include, but are not limited to, an amplitude <NUM> (the distance or angle the feeder gate elements <NUM> travel during each oscillation), the frequency of oscillation <NUM>, the total number of oscillation cycles <NUM>, the acceleration <NUM> and deceleration <NUM> of the feeder gate elements <NUM>, and how long to pause between each oscillation <NUM>. The ability to change these programmable parameters is desirable to achieve optimal results for different types of document stacks, number of documents within each stack, and/or any other suitable variables.

In some embodiments, combinations of parameter settings may be available as presets for different document types. For example, a preset setting for sturdier document may include higher amplitude but lower frequency oscillations to help separate the heavier documents, while a preset setting for lighter document may include lower amplitude and higher frequency oscillations to reduce the chance of damaging the documents. The operator may further tune the programmable parameters beyond the presets via an interface to achieve optimal results.

Additionally, in some embodiments, feedback sensing of the alignment quality of a document stack may be implemented using one or more sensors that determine the quality of the alignment of the document stack. The alignment quality feedback information may be passed to a processor that determines whether additional oscillations are necessary and/or uses the information to change oscillation parameters associated with the oscillation of the feeder gate elements <NUM>. Additionally, document type sensors may be used to identify a document stack size, a material type for the documents, a width of the documents, a length of the documents, a density of the documents, and any other such conditions that may be used to determine the oscillation parameters of the jogger functionality.

<FIG> shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method of aligning a stack of documents for scanning and scanning the aligned stack of documents, in accordance with an embodiment. At step <NUM>, the document present sensor <NUM> of the scanner system <NUM> senses documents in the input tray <NUM>. As described above, the document present sensor <NUM> may be coupled to a document present sensor arm <NUM> that is pushed forward upon the insertion of one or more documents into an input tray <NUM>. The document present sensor may provide a signal to a processor of the scanner system <NUM> to inform the scanner system <NUM> that documents are present and wake the scanner up and/or otherwise prepare the scanner system <NUM> for a scanner operation.

At step <NUM>, the processor determines that scanning has been initiated and a motion controller oscillates the feeder gate elements <NUM> according to oscillation parameters to align the documents in the document stack. The scanning may be initiated through any suitable method. For example, a user may press a scan button <NUM> on the scanner system <NUM> and/or may send a scan command to the scanner system <NUM>. The processor of the scanner system <NUM> may receive an indication that scanning should be initiated and may activate the scanner system <NUM>. A motor may be initiated and a motion controller may engage the feeder clutch <NUM> in response to the scanner being activated. As such, a feed roller drive shaft <NUM> and an urging roller shaft <NUM> may be energized such that the feeder gate elements <NUM>, feed roller <NUM>, and urging roller <NUM> are engaged and articulate according to one or more oscillation parameters. The feeder gate elements <NUM> may rotate with the feed roller drive shaft <NUM> forward and backward in relation to a transport path <NUM> such that the leading edges of the documents may be shuffled or "jogged" back and forth against the feeder gate elements <NUM>. The jogging and shuffling of the documents in the document stack may create friction between the documents and may align the documents against the feeder gate elements <NUM> creating a uniform leading edge of the document stack.

At step <NUM>, once the oscillation operation has been completed, the motion controller retracts the feeder gate elements <NUM> to clear a transport path <NUM> for the documents. The feeder gate elements <NUM> may be retracted by engaging a feeder gate "down" stop with a feeder frame stop <NUM>. For example, a magnet on the feeder gate element <NUM> may be engaged with a feeder frame stop <NUM> that is made from a magnetic metal material. Accordingly, the feeder gate elements <NUM> may be held in a "down" position such that a path to a separated device is clear for the documents to interface with the separated device.

At step <NUM>, the stack of documents are fed into a separation device <NUM>. The documents may fall to a separation device <NUM> through the force of gravity and/or an urging roller may be initiated to push the document stack into the separation device <NUM>.

At step <NUM>, the separation device <NUM> may separate a document from the document stack for scanning. In some embodiments, the separation device <NUM> may form a separation "nip" area between a separation roller and a feed roller that separates a document from the document stack into a document transport path <NUM> for scanning of the document. Once the document is separated into the transport path <NUM>, a document edge sensor <NUM> may determine that the leading edge of the document has passed into a first transport roller assembly <NUM> and the feeder clutch <NUM> may be disengaged such that the motor no longer feeds power to the feed roller drive shaft <NUM>. At step <NUM>, the separated document is fed past an imaging camera <NUM> to capture an image of the content of the document. The document may be fed at a constant rate to ensure accurate capture of the information on the face of the document. The document edge sensor <NUM> senses the trailing edge of the separated document and indicates to the processor the end of the document. At step <NUM>, the separated document is fed out of the transport path <NUM> into an output tray <NUM>.

At step <NUM>, the processor determines whether there are more documents to scan. For example, the processor may receive an indicator from the document present sensor <NUM> as to whether additional documents are present in the input tray <NUM>. If additional documents are present, the feeder clutch <NUM> may be re-engaged and the next document may be separated from the document stack and the process steps of <NUM>-<NUM> may be repeated until each of the documents in the document stack have been scanned.

At step <NUM>, once all of the documents have been scanned and fed into the output tray, the motion controller may raise the feeder gate elements <NUM> to an initial blocking position by stopping the forward transport drive, engaging the feeder clutch <NUM>, and reversing the drive motor to raise the feeder gate elements <NUM>. The feeder gate elements <NUM> may block any documents inserted into the input tray <NUM> from contacting the separation device <NUM> when in the initial blocking position. Accordingly, the scanner system <NUM> is ready for the next scanning job and the process may be repeated for any future scan projects.

<FIG> shows a block diagram of an example automated document alignment control system, in accordance with an embodiment. The automated document alignment control system may include a memory <NUM>, data stores <NUM>, sensors <NUM>, a communication interface <NUM>, processor(s) <NUM>, motion controller(s) <NUM>, and a graphical user interface <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> has a RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), or other memory device, a hard disk or other fixed disk device, or flexible disk, optical disk, or other portable storage device. Further, the memory <NUM> stores a computer program, database, and tables, which are used in various control function of the document scanner <NUM> and/or document alignment functionality of the document scanner <NUM>. Furthermore, the system memory <NUM> can also be used to store the captured images or processed images.

The processor <NUM> is provided with a CPU (central processing unit) and operates based on a program which is stored in the system memory <NUM>. The processor <NUM> can be a single programmable processor or can be comprised of multiple programmable processors, a DSP (digital signal processor), LSI (large scale integrated circuit), ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), and/or FPGA (field-programming gate array). The processor <NUM> may be connected to a communication interface <NUM>, a graphical user interface <NUM> for operator display, sensors <NUM> including the document present sensor <NUM> and the document edge sensor <NUM>, a data store <NUM> storing oscillation parameters <NUM> for the automated document alignment system, a motion controller <NUM> for driving the various sub-systems and mechanical devices of the scanner system <NUM>. The processor <NUM> and/or the motion controller <NUM> may control a transport drive and an image acquisition unit to acquire a captured image of a document. Further, the processor may interface with a motion controller <NUM> and an image controller (not shown). These units are functional modules may be realized by software operating on a processor. These units may also be implemented on independent integrated circuits, a microprocessor, DSP or FPGA.

In various embodiments, the document alignment control system <NUM> may be used to implement any of the systems, devices, or methods described herein. The document alignment control system <NUM> can include various subsystems connected by a bus <NUM>.

In system <NUM>, bus <NUM> facilitates communication between the various subsystems. Although a single bus <NUM> is shown, alternative bus configurations may also be used. Bus <NUM> may include any bus or other component to facilitate such communication as is known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Examples of such bus systems may include a local bus, parallel bus, serial bus, bus network, and/or multiple bus systems coordinated by a bus controller. Bus <NUM> may include one or more buses implementing various standards such as Parallel ATA, serial ATA, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Extended ISA (EISA) bus, MicroChannel Architecture (MCA) bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or any other architecture or standard as is known in the art.

In some embodiments, communication interface subsystem <NUM> may include various input and/or output devices or interfaces for communicating with such devices. Such devices may include, without limitation, a touch screen or other touch-sensitive input device, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a motion sensor or other movement-based gesture recognition device, a scroll wheel, a click wheel, a dial, a button, a switch, audio recognition devices configured to receive voice commands, microphones, image capture based devices such as eye activity monitors configured to recognize commands based on eye movement or blinking, and other types of input devices. Communication interface subsystem <NUM> may also include identification or authentication devices, such as fingerprint scanners, voiceprint scanners, iris scanners, or other biometric sensors or detectors. In various embodiments, communication interface subsystem may include audio output devices, such as speakers, media players, or other output devices.

Claim 1:
A system for scanning documents, the system comprising:
an input tray (<NUM>) for holding one or more documents to be scanned;
a transport drive system configured to move a document of the one or more documents along a document transport path (<NUM>);
at least one gate element (<NUM>) configured to:
engage with lead edges of the documents held by the input tray (<NUM>);
oscillate (<NUM>) forward and backward in respect to the document transport path (<NUM>) according to one or more oscillation parameters to align the lead edges of the documents; and
disengage (<NUM>) with the lead edges of the documents held by the input tray (<NUM>) to allow the documents to be transported along the document transport path (<NUM>).