Patent ID: 7535559

Claim:
An object image digitizing device using an integrating sphere wave source comprising; (a) an integrating sphere, without any spatial opening, the integrating sphere including a smooth continuous non-directional reflective layer formed on an internal surface of the integrating sphere to provide spatially uniform and temporally stable light or waves to a transmissive object to be digitized; (b) a partially-transparent and partially-reflective input port of the light and waves of the integrated sphere created by making a part of the reflective layer thinner than other parts of the layer through which the original external light and waves are configured to enter into the sphere so that the input port permits light or waves to pass through as well as to reflect light and waves toward the internal space of the sphere but keeping the internal distribution of the light and waves inside the sphere uniform and stable; (c) a partially-transparent and partially-reflective output port of the light and waves of the integrated sphere created by making a part of the reflective layer thinner than other parts of the layer through which internal light or waves are configured to escape from inside of the sphere to illuminate the transmissive object so that the output port permits light or waves to pass through as well as to reflect light and waves toward the internal space of the sphere but keeping the internal distribution of the light and waves inside the sphere uniform and stable; (d) a transmissive object mounting assembly for the transmissive object placed near the output port; and (e) a two-dimensional imaging device for imaging the transmissive object placed on the mounting assembly and converting the object image into digital form, wherein the sphericity of the shape of the internal non-directional reflective layer is provided such that the internal distribution of the light and waves inside the sphere is made spatially uniform and temporally stable to a precision degree that the digitization requires.