Unisys Corporation

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.

Unisys Corporation (formerly Burroughs Corp.)

John D Vala

Johan P Bakker

Gary B Copenhaver

David J Concannon

Clive E Catchpole

Gerald Banks

David Brian Tratar

David A Strand

Robert Timothy Rourke

David J Valice

Paul Stolis

Zvi Yaniv

John Charles Gudenburr

William Lawrence Kozlowski

Christopher N St John

Ted Concannon

A method and system provide for real-time compensation of an imaging system for variations in illumination intensity. An illumination system provides reflected illumination, and a charge coupled device system directly detects the reflected illumination from the illumination system. The CCD system then converts the reflected illumination into illumination data and a host processor converts the illumination data into adjusted control data and final image data. The adjusted control data is based on an illumination profile and a reference illumination intensity. The reference illumination intensity is measured before each document with a compensation reference, and is compared to the illumination profile to adjust control parameters in a real-time mode. Directly measuring the illumination intensity with the CCD system allows for a reduction in parts, manufacturing steps, and errors.

Illumination compensation using built-in reference

Arrangement for lifting image of checks, with Xenon lamp, Fluorescent lamp or like source of stable-wavelength-output and CCPD Camera means selected to exhibit &ldquo;close-to-human&rdquo; spectral response plus a photopic filter, disposed upstream of the Camera and adapted to shift its received image-light spectrum in the direction of that which is optimal for the human-eye.

Illumination for imaging

In a document processing array, an imaging/illumination arrangement for illuminating and imaging the documents at one or several imaging-sites as they are rapidly transported there-past, each site having, as its illumination source, a hollow Lambertian integrating cylinder housing lamps which project essentially all their light onto the inner cylinder walls to be reflected/diffused thereby in Lambertian fashion and sent to the imaging site(s).

Illumination system

An arrangement for illuminating objects wherein a large number of objects are rapidly and continuously transported past one or more stations, each illuminated by a cylindrical, integrating Lambertian reflecting/diffusing cavity having one or more like light sources therein so as to generate and project a highly intense, highly uniform and highly diffuse beam of illumination, while incorporating optical guide means to couple said illumination beam to the face of the objects at said station and to couple the reflected image of the object back to the cavity.

Methods for illuminating documents

A method of arranging an item imager with a least two imaging site, each lit by a beam through a fibre-optic array, this method including: providing a beam-intensity-adjust array including a lens stage for focusing each beam on each fibre optic array such that a shift in lens-focus changes output light from the array.

Method for imaging of documents

A method of processing documents involving: transporting the documents at high speed unidirectionally and without pause along a prescribed transport path past at least one image-lift site; scanning the entirety of respective document faces at the sites with illumination from a light-source; providing a light-guide along a path between the light-source and the sites; providing an energy-shaping gate, disposed at each of the sites and acting to channel the imaging illumination energy there; and providing a heat-dissipation stage disposed operatively adjacent the light source and acting to extract infra-red energy therefrom and dissipate it so as to shield the sites; this heat-dissipation stage comprising an infra-red extraction unit arranged and adapted to remove a substantial part of the infra-red energy projected along a prescribed beam-path from a high-intensity spectral source; the extraction unit comprising: a selective reflector interrupting the beam path and adapted to divert infra-red energy as an infra-red beam along a second path; and an associated infra-red dissipation unit including multi-blade surfaces; disposed within an enclosure, adapted to receive the infra-red beams and to trap them and convert them to surface heat; these surfaces being arranged in an infra-red trap configuration to receive infra-red energy beams at an input portion and to allow essentially none of them to re-emerge; the reflector being interposed across the beam path and adapted to divert only infra-red energy to the dissipation unit; these blade surfaces comprising opposed sets of parallel blades, disposed obliquely to the direction of the infra-red beams, the blades being arrayed to converge upon the infra-red beams and block them, thus forming a convergent, infra-red trap preventing reflection back of any significant portion of an entering infra-red beam.

Apparatus for extraction of IR from illumination for check processor

In a check processing array, an imaging/illumination arrangement for illuminating and imaging checks at one or several imaging sites as they are rapidly, continuously transported past two or more imaging stations, each station having, as its illumination source, a hollow Lambertian integrating vessel, housing lamps which project a highly uniform, diffuse Lambertian illumination-beam to its respective imaging site.

Document imaging with illumination from lambertian surfaces

Document-imager for imaging documents (e.g. checks that are transported past an imaging-site, where the site is illuminated by one (or two) pairs of lamps symmetrically disposed about the site, with image-reflection sent back between lamps to be captured.

Document-image camera mounted on reversible clamp

Apparatus for illuminating documents

Arrangement for lifting image of checks, with Xenon lamp, Fluorescent lamp or like source of stable-wavelength-output and CCPD Camera means selected to exhibit 'close-to-human' spectral response plus a photopic filter, disposed upstream of the Camera and adapted to shift its received image-light spectrum in the direction of that which is optimal for the human-eye.

Filtering illumination for image lift

Adjusting illumination for image lift

A lamp projecting a high-intensity optical beam of spectral radiation, with an IR-extracting (cooling) array including an IR-dissipating 'black-box' arranged to receive IR and convert it to box-heat, plus an IR-diverting 'hot-mirror' interposed along the beam to divert (only) the IR to this 'black-box'.

Automatic imaging of documents

Illumination with bent fluorescent tubes

A method of processing documents involving: transporting the documents at high speed along a prescribed transport path past at least one image-lift site; scanning the entirety of respective document faces at the sites; providing an energy-shaping ate, disposed at each of the sites and acting to channel the imaging illumination energy there; and providing a heat-dissipation stage acting to extract infra-red energy therefrom and dissipate it so as to shield the sites; this heat-dissipation stage comprising an infra-red extraction unit that includes a selective reflector interrupting the beam path and adapted to divert infra-red energy as an infra-red beam along a second path; and an associated infra-red dissipation unit including multi-blade surface; disposed within an enclosure, adapted to receive the infra-red beams and to trap them and convert them to surface heat.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, MI, United States of America

John D Vala