Contact type image sensor comprising a plurality of microlenses
US5877492A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 1996 |
| Grant date | Mar 2, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 13, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B2006/12102
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A full-contact type image sensor which includes a light source, a plurality of photo-electric conversion elements having apertures, a photoelectric conversion region, a plurality of micro-lenses, and an optical fiber converging member. The light from the light source is allowed to pass solely through the apertures and is blocked by the photoelectric conversion regions. The micro-lenses may be provided in one-to-one correspondence to a plurality of apertures or one-to-one correspondence to a plurality of optical fibers. The micro-lenses may be provided at least at one of a photoelectric conversion element side end and an original document side end of the optical fiber converging member. Instead of using such micro-lenses, the optical fiber converging member may be arranged such that a numerical aperture of the optical fibers at its first region on a side of the photoelectric conversion elements is set to be greater than a numerical aperture of the optical fibers at its second region on a side of the original document. It is possible to provide increased light utilization efficiency.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.