Patents Assigned to Mustek System Inc.
  • Patent number: 6023349
    Abstract: The present invention includes a housing for providing space to hold elements of the scanning system, a document holder is used for holding a document, which can be separated from the scanning system. Further, the document holder includes a transparent plate and a document cover. The document cover includes a memory alloy for covering a document and a rotatable rod. A plate having an opening for feeding the document holder into the scanning system. An image capturing device is set in the scanning system for capturing the image of the document. A pair of tracks are formed in the housing for holding the document holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2000
    Assignee: Mustek Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: John Lin
  • Patent number: 6018401
    Abstract: A carriage with a stretched function is provided for being used in an image scanning apparatus. The carriage includes a first part, having a first contact surface and a second contact surface and movable between a start position and an end position of a scanning area of the image scanning apparatus, for disposing thereon the light source and initial reflector of the image scanning apparatus, and a second part having a third contact surface and a fourth contact surface for disposing thereon a reflector set of the image scanning apparatus, wherein the second contact surface is separated from the fourth contact surface by a distance and the first contact surface will contact the third contact surface when the first part is positioned on the start position, and the second contact surface will contact the fourth contact surface and the first contact surface is separated from the third contact surface by the distance when the first part is positioned on the end position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2000
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 6008501
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a scanned document auto-detecting apparatus for detecting the presence of a scanned document without additional control circuit. Based on the decision result, a scanning procedure starts to degrade cost by removing the additional control circuit, and furthermore, the scanned document auto-detecting apparatus can prevent users from running the scanning procedure wastefully when there is no scanned document. The scanned document auto-detecting apparatus sets a specific pattern at inner side of the cover. This specific pattern is first scanned before the scanning procedure starts as to decide the presence of the scanned document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Gordon Pan
  • Patent number: 6008944
    Abstract: An optical device with optional resolutions is provided for converting an image into electronic signals. The optical device includes a housing, a plurality of focusing units with various magnifying powers and the same optical path lengths mounted immobily in the housing for variously proportionally receiving the image and generating a focused image, a photoelectric conversion unit mounted immobily in the housing for converting the focused image into electronic signals, a selecting unit for having one of the focusing units selected according to the desired resolution, and a light-reflecting unit mounted immobily in the housing and between the photoelectric conversion unit and the focusing units for transmitting the focused image from the selected focusing unit to the photoelectric conversion unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 6005685
    Abstract: A transmission mechanism for a contact-type image scanner is provided to reduce the height of a contact-type image scanner. The transmission mechanism mainly includes a Contact-Type Image Sensor (CIS) module with two bracket arms disposed beneath the sheet table of a housing, said CIS module having two bracket arms, a pair of shafts parallel to each other and engaged to the arms of the CIS module for supporting said CIS module to contact tightly with the bottom surface of said sheet table, two sets of pulleys each set located at the ends of the shafts, conveying device surrounding the pulleys in a shape of a twisted closed loop, and a driving device connected to one of the pulleys for rotating the conveying device to reciprocally drive the CIS module along the sheet table to and forth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 6005684
    Abstract: A sheet-feed type scanner including a scanner base defining a scanning plane and having a document feed hole at one end into which document to be scanned is inserted; an image pick-up mechanism fixedly mounted in the scanner base and comprised of a light source, a reflector, a focus lens and an image sensor, and adapted to pick up image of inserted document within the scanning plane and to convert detected image signal into corresponding electrical signal; a document sheathe adapted for holding document for scanning, the document sheathe having a first flat sheet member and a second flat sheet member connected together for holding document in there between in a flat manner for scanning; and a transmission mechanism controlled to move the document sheathe along the scanning plane, for permitting document to be scanned by the image pick-up mechanism; and a document guide adapted for guiding the document sheathe through the scanning plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Hsin-Hung Tu, Hsien-Che Hung
  • Patent number: 5999277
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a new CIS information reading apparatus which employs rolling elements interposed between a sheet table and a CIS module for allowing the CIS module to roll over the bottom surface of the sheet table in linear direction. The CIS module is mounted on a pair of supports which uplift the CIS module in a manner that the CIS module presses tightly on the rolling elements to roll over the bottom surface of the sheet table. The pair of supports move along a pair of U grooves for guiding the CIS module along the sheet table. Since the rolling elements and the sheet table remain point or line contacts, so the friction between the CIS module and the sheet table will be very small. This helps to improve the picture duality of the images generated by the CIS module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 5997199
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a paper feeding module of a color picture printer for driving a picture back and forth through a printing module of the printer for printing. The printer comprises a housing. The printing module is installed inside the housing for printing the paper. The paper feeding module comprises a first roller, a second roller and an elastic device. The first roller is horizontally installed inside the housing and is rotatable. The second roller comprises at least two cylindrical sleeves mounted onto a revolving axle for clamping the paper with the first roller. The second roller is installed in parallel with, in contact with and above the first roller inside the housing, is moveable in a vertical direction, and is rotatable. When the first and second rollers are rotated in opposite directions, the paper is clamped and driven between the first roller and the sleeves of the second roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Sheng, Hans Chang
  • Patent number: 5995683
    Abstract: The present invention is related to an image scanner including a housing; an optical device installed in the housing for performing photoelectric conversion of an image of a scanned object in response to a scanning light signal; a scan-monitoring device arranged on a surface of the housing for indicating a scanning state of the image scanner in response to an indicating light signal; and a light source installed in the housing for emitting light when the image scanner is powered, with a first portion of the light provided to the optical device as the scanning light signal and a second portion of the light provided to the scan-monitoring device as the indicating light signal. The scan-monitoring device can be easily provided, and owing to the omission of the LED compared to the conventional image scanner, the present invention is more cost-effective.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Julian Liu
  • Patent number: 5995231
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for altering the light traveling distance in an optical scanning module using transparent glass. The optical scanning module comprises a transparent glass module that refracts light to alter the traveling distance of the light as it passes from the document to the optical sensing device. The proper thickness of this transparent glass module is specifically chosen to correctly calibrate the error of the traveling distance of the light created during the manufacturing of the scanner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Jern-Tsair Tsai, Bill Chen, Te-Chih Chang
  • Patent number: 5988779
    Abstract: An improved document tray for scanners includes a supporting part and covering means. The supporting part is used to hold a document for scanning and the covering means is used to press and fix the document. The covering members does not need to be opened for inserting a document into the supporting part. The document tray of the invention indeed improves the drawbacks of the prior art so that the tray will not jam or be damaged when it is pushed into the scanner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Hsin-Hung Tu, Hsien-Che Hung
  • Patent number: 5991054
    Abstract: A window arrangement including a scanning area in a scanner through which document is moved and scanned; a window mounted in the scanning area through which scanning light passes onto document to be scanned; a locating device adapted to hold the window in the scanning area; and a pick-up device fastened to one end of the window through which the window can be pulled away from the locating device out of the scanning area for a maintenance work.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Hsien-Che Hung, Hsin-Hung Tu
  • Patent number: 5986254
    Abstract: A multi-lenses optical device with high resolution is provided for converting an optical image into electronic signals. The multi-lenses optical device includes a focusing unit for focusing a plurality of sections of the optical image to correspondingly generate a plurality of focused image sections with the same ratio and having the same optical path length, a photoelectric conversion unit for converting the plurality of focused image sections into the electronic signals, a switching unit for sequentially having each one of the focused image sections or the optical image sections selected and having the selected image secton transmitted to the photoelectric conversion unit, and a light-reflecting unit mounted between the photoelectric conversion unit and the focusing units for transmitting the plurality of image sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 5979016
    Abstract: A cover hinge structure having self-protection function, which consists of a cylindrical hinge pin and a hook. The hinge pin and the hook are integrated with a body and a cover, respectively. An engaging groove with an opening narrower than the hinge pin forms at the engaging end of the hook. When the cover is lifted to the limit, the action force acted by the pin on the hook from directs toward the opening of the engaging groove and the direction of the action force is the same as the opening direction of the engaging groove. Thus, the pin detaches from the hook automatically before damage to the hinge structure occurs if great force is applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Chung-Chou Fan
  • Patent number: 5973866
    Abstract: The present invention provides a locking device for locking a scanning module in a scanner. The locking device comprises a protruding member installed on the scanning module, a C-shaped shaft sink and an elastic button installed on the bottom panel of the housing of the scanner, an recess installed at the right edge of the housing, a blocking member rotatably installed in the shaft sink for separately locking the protruding member of the scanning module, and a sliding member slidably installed in the recess for horizontally rotating the blocking member to lock or release the protruding member of the scanning module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek System Inc.
    Inventor: Jacky Tseng
  • Patent number: 5971278
    Abstract: The present invention includes an alignment pad set in front of a plurality of charge couple devices. The alignment pad includes a plurality of alignment patterns formed on the pad. The signals detected by the CCDs are respectively fed to a multi-processor. The multi-processor is used to determine which CCD's signal can be fed into next element. A correlated double sampling (CDS) is used to respond the detected signal and adjust dc gain of the detected signal, therefore generating adjusted image signal. A 3 to 1 R, G, B multiprocessor is connected to the CDS. An analogue to digital converter is respond the 3 to 1 R, G, B multiprocessor to convert adjusted image signal to a digital signal. Then, the image data is fed into an application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) to generate a plurality of collation datas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 5969845
    Abstract: The present invention provides a device and a method for determining the resolution of a multiple resolution scanner. The scanner comprises a housing with a transparent platform for placing a document, a scanning module movably installed in the housing, a driving device installed in the housing for driving the scanning module to scan the document, a calibration region installed in the housing with an identification mark, and a control circuit installed in the housing for controlling the operation of the scanner. The scanning module comprises a case with an opening on its top for receiving the light from the document, a sensor installed in the case for transforming the light from the document into corresponding image signals, a lens module installed in the case for converging the light from the document onto the sensor wherein the resolution of the lens module is variable, and a lens module control device installed in the case for changing the resolution of the lens module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Jeun-Tsair Tsai, Te-Chih Chang
  • Patent number: 5953169
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a rotary drum type optical filter apparatus, which comprises a filter unit for receiving an optical signal to spectralize the optical signal; a lens unit provided at the center of the filter unit for varying an optical path of the optical signal; and a driving device engaged with the filter unit for providing a displacement of the filter unit relative to the lens unit to obtain different spectrum colors of the optical signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek System Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 5952669
    Abstract: The double-stair-like capacitor formed on a semiconductor substrate includes a first storage node having stair-like structurs in cross section view to increase the area of the first storage node. A dielectric layer substantially conformally covers a surface of the first storage node. A second storage node having a surface substantially conformally contacts the dielectric layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai
  • Patent number: 5942746
    Abstract: A multi-lenses optical device with high resolution is provided for converting an optical image into electronic signals. The multi-lenses optical device includes a focusing unit for focusing a plurality of sections of the optical image to correspondingly generate a plurality of focused image sections with the same ratio and having the same optical path length, a photoelectric conversion unit for converting the plurality of focused image sections into the electronic signals, a switching unit for sequentially having each one of the focused image sections or the optical image sections selected and having the selected image section transmitted to the photoelectric conversion unit, and a light-reflecting unit mounted between the photoelectric conversion unit and the focusing units for transmitting the plurality of image sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1999
    Assignee: Mustek Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Jenn-Tsair Tsai