Dual imaging station photoprint scanner

Abstract

A dual image station photoprint scanner comprises a cabinet having an upper, album imaging station and a lower, magazine-fed, platen imaging station. The upper imaging station includes a translatable unit having a glass plate upon which a photoprint is placed in a face- down position. Adjacent to the top plate, the translatable cabinet has a sloped support surface, to accommodate a photo album. A lower portion of the cabinet contains a platen feed mechanism, which translates a photographic print support platen from a supply magazine to a platen imaging station, and then feeds the platen to a storage magazine. A high resolution CCD image sensor is supported at an image projection plane of a multidirectional image projection mechanism. A digital imagery data recording mechanism is coupled to the image sensor and is operative to record, on a digital data storage medium, a digitized image that has been projected on the image sensor. The multi-directional image projection mechanism comprises an adjustable image magnification device, such as an adjustable focal length, adjustable focus, zoom lens, which is operative to controllably vary the size of the image projected onto the image sensor in accordance with the contents of one or more photoprint parameter regions on the platen. The image projection mechanism also includes a controllably rotatable mirror disposed between the top plate and the platen imaging station for selectively providing an optical projection path from one of the imaging stations to the CCD sensor.