Patents by Inventor R. Alexander Proudfoot

R. Alexander Proudfoot has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7639406
    Abstract: Systems and methods for moving a document cradle to facilitate imaging of a bound document are disclosed. The system may include a cradle supporting a document, such as a book, a cradle positioner for selectively positioning the cradle relative to a camera, and a controller for controlling the positioner to automatically position the cradle based on the location of the page being imaged relative to the camera. The cradle may be positioned such that a gutter of the book or a surface plane of each page being imaged remains in approximately the same position relative to the camera. The cradle positioner may include a servo motor controlling a shaft to position the cradle supported and guided by a bearing. A sensor (e.g., 3D camera, range finder, laser, and/or edge detector) may be provided to facilitate the controller in controlling the cradle positioner based on the location of the page being imaged relative to the camera.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: R. Alexander Proudfoot, Christopher R. Uhlik, Joseph K. O'Sullivan
  • Patent number: 7619784
    Abstract: Systems and methods for pacing and error monitoring of a manual page turning operator of a system for capturing images of a bound document are disclosed. The system includes a speaker for playing music having a tempo and a controller for controlling the tempo based on an imaging rate and/or an error rate. The operator is influenced by the music tempo to capture images at a given rate. Alternative or in addition to audio, error detection may be implemented using OCR to determine page numbers to track page sequence and/or a sensor to detect errors such as object intrusion in the image frame and insufficient light. The operator may be alerted of an error with audio signals and signaled to turn back a certain number of pages to be recaptured. When music is played, the tempo can be adjusted in response to the error rate to reduce operator errors and increase overall throughput of the image capturing system. The tempo may be limited to a maximum tempo based on the maximum image capture rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph K. O'Sullivan, R. Alexander Proudfoot, Christopher R. Uhlik