The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 12, 1991
Filed:
Dec. 28, 1989
Applicant:
Inventors:
Assignee:
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
350413 ; 350452 ;
Abstract
This image reading apparatus includes a light source for illuminating an object, a lens array for focusing reflected light from the object into a predetermined position, and an image sensor for reading an image formed by the focused light. The lens array includes a transparent base and a diffraction element provided on at least an incident plane and an emission plane of the base. The lens array includes an array having a plurality of lens areas. The employment of the diffraction element renders a shorter imaging distance of light from the object and thus a reduction in the size of the apparatus.