Wide image scanner

Abstract

A wide image scanner which can scan the image of a large scale original using only a regular image sensor is provided. The invention includes a sliding shaft, an image reading device, a number of paper width sensors, a paper edge sensor, and a control module. Whenever the paper edge sensor detects the presence of an end edge of the original, it will send a vertical control signal to the control module to control the rotation direction of the rollers. On the other hand, the paper width sensors detect the width of the original and send the horizontal control signals to the control module. From the horizontal control signals, the control module can determine the number of horizontal displacement positions and control the horizontal displacement each time for the image reading device after the paper edge sensor detects the end edge of the original. The procedure continues until the image reading device has been moved to the final displacement position predetermined by the horizontal control signal. Consequently, the entire image of the origin can automatically be read portion by portion without manual operation.

1. A wide image scanner, comprising:
 a housing having a paper feeding opening and a paper output opening;  
 a first set of rollers disposed close to said paper feeding opening and cooperating to form a nip for an original to pass therebetween;  
 a second set of rollers disposed close to said paper output opening and cooperating to form a nip for said original to pass therebetween;  
 an image reading device for reading the image if  of said original;  
 driving means for driving said image reading in a horizontal direction, comprising: 
 a sliding shaft, wherein said image reading device is mounted on said sliding shaft;  
 a conveying element, wherein said image reading device is controllable by said conveying element to move reciprocally on said sliding shaft; and  
 a motor;  
 
 a paper edge sensor disposed at one side of said housing for detecting the end edge of said original and generating a vertical control signal in response to the presence of the end edge of said original;  
 a plurality of paper width sensors fixed at the inner top of said housing and each located corresponding to a plurality of predetermined displacement positions for detecting the  a width of said original and generating a horizontal control signal in response to the presence of the side edge of said original; and  
 control means for controlling the rotation directions of said first set of rollers and said second set of rollers in response to said vertical control signal, and for controlling said driving means and driving said motor to move said image reading device to one of said predetermined displacement positions in response to said horizontal control signal.  
 
     
     
       2. The wide image scanner as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transparent paper support means disposed above said image reading device for supporting said original.  
 
     
     
       3. The wide image scanner as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said image reading device is a contact type image sensor. 
     
     
       4. The wide image scanner as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said image reading device is a charge coupled device. 
     
     
       5. The wide image scanner as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said driving means comprising:
 a motor; and    a conveying element for reciprocally driving said image reading device in horizontal direction.    
     
     
       6. The wide image scanner as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said control means is a control circuit. 
     
     
       7. The wide image scanner as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of said predetermined displacement positions determines a horizontal position for merging images of said original. 
     
     
       8. An apparatus, comprising:
   a first set of rollers and a second set of rollers;        an image reading device configured to read one or more images of a document, wherein said first and second set of rollers are configured to move said document proximate to said image reading device;        a driving device configured to drive said image reading device in a first direction;        an edge sensor configured to generate a second direction control signal, wherein the second direction is generally transverse to the first direction;        a plurality of width sensors corresponding to a plurality of predetermined displacement positions, wherein one or more of said width sensors is configured to detect a width of said document and generate a first direction control signal; and        a control module configured to control rotation directions of said first set of rollers and said second set of rollers in response to said second direction control signal, and wherein the control module is configured to control said driving device to move said image reading device to one of said predetermined displacement positions in response to said first direction control signal.     
     
     
       9. A method, comprising:
   moving a document in a first direction proximate to an image reading device using a first and a second set of rollers;        driving said image reading device in a second direction using a driving device, wherein the second direction is generally transverse to the first direction;        sensing an edge of said document;        generating a first direction control signal in response to the sensed edge of said document;        detecting a width of said document;        generating a second direction control signal in response to the detected width of said document;        moving the document in response to said first direction control signal; and        moving said image reading device in response to said second direction control signal.     
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the driving device includes a conveying element operably coupled to a sliding shaft and a motor, wherein said image reading device is mounted on said sliding shaft and controllable by said conveying element. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a transparent support plate positioned proximate to the image reading device, wherein said transparent support plate supports the document. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the image reading device includes at least one of a contact image sensor ( CIS )  and a charge coupled device  ( CCD ). 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a housing at least partially surrounding the first and second set of rollers, wherein the housing includes an input opening and an output opening. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein each of the predetermined displacement positions determines a position in the first direction for merging the one or more read images of said document. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 9  wherein driving said image reading device includes mounting said image reading device on a sliding shaft and controlling motion of the image reading device along the shaft with a conveying element. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9  wherein detecting the width of the document includes detecting the width using a plurality of sensors positioned at predetermined displacement positions. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 9  wherein moving the document includes controlling rotation directions of said first set of rollers and said second set of rollers in response to said second direction control signal. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 9  wherein moving said image reading device includes moving said image reading device to one or more predetermined displacement positions in response to said first direction control signal. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving the document through an input opening in a housing at least partially surrounding the first and second sets of rollers, and outputting the document through an output opening in the housing. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
   reading a first image and a second image from the document with the image reading device; and        merging the first and second images.     
     
     
       21. An apparatus, comprising:
   a first set of rollers and a second set of rollers configured to move a document proximate to an image reading device;        means for detecting a width of said document, wherein the means for detecting the width correspond to a plurality of predetermined displacement positions;        means for moving the image reading device in a first direction in response to the detected width;        means for sensing an edge portion of said document; and        means for controlling the first and second rollers to move the document in a second direction in response to the sensed edge portion, wherein the second direction is generally transverse to the first direction.     
     
     
       22. The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the detecting means includes a plurality of sensors located at corresponding predetermined displacement positions, and wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to detect a side edge portion of the document. 
     
     
       23. The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the moving means includes a driving device having a conveying element operably coupled to a sliding shaft and a motor, and wherein said image reading device is mounted on said sliding shaft and controllable by said conveying element. 
     
     
       24. The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the sensing means includes an edge sensor positioned proximate to the first set of rollers.