Abstract: A plurality of pinch rollers are employed to drive sheets of paper containing material to be scanned past an optical scanner to generate an optical image of the material which is converted into electrical signals. Each pinch roller includes a drive roller which is driven by a synchronized drive mechanism and an idler roller. The support shafts for the idler rollers are supported in elongated bearings which provide limited freedom of motion for the idler rollers in a direction substantially normal to their axes of rotation. A pressure plate has spring fingers which resiliently urge the idler rollers towards the drive rollers to resiliently pinch the paper sheets being driven. In the event that the paper should become jammed and needs to be removed or repositioned, a roller release lever can be actuated to drive the pressure plate so as to permit the idler rollers to move freely in their elongated support bearings.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method enabling real-time conversion of the analog video signals from a charge coupled element into digital half-tone data which can be printed on a printer or displayed on a display screen and to a converting device which is developed for use with such method.The method according to the present invention serves six primary functions as follows:1. realization of half-tone patterns and regeneration of gray scales;2. half-tone models of high compression ratio;3. method for controlling and adjusting the contrast and brightness;4. half-tone rules for proportional reduction and enlargement;5. direct current regeneration of analog video signals; and6. compensation for uneven illumination.

Abstract: Material such as a document or picture of which an image is to be reproduced or transmitted, as in a facsimile device, is driven by pinch rollers past a light source in a controlled synchronized manner by means of a stepping motor. As the pinch rollers are driven, successive scan line images of the document are channelled through an elongated slit in a light directing channel and through a lens and a rotatably driven color wheel onto a light sensitive device such a linear array formed by a charge-coupled device (CCD). The color wheel has light filters for the primary colors and is synchronized with the scanning. The images received by the CCD are converted thereby to electrical form and appropriately processed for transmission or local utilization. A mechanism is provided to enable the disengagement of the pinch rollers from the material being scanned to avoid damage to such material should it become jammed in the rollers.