Optical fiber array plate

Claim 1

An optical fiber array plate in combination with an optical reading system having a light source, which comprises: a parallel array of optical glass fibers which have no light absorber sandwiched between a pair of transparent material layers such that a surface defined by one end of the array of glass fibers constitutes a reading surface of the array, said array plate receiving incident light from a light source positioned so that said incident light passes through the transparent material layers and glass fibers of the array plate, so as to be reflected off of a paper surface of an original placed contiguous to said reading surface of the array plate into and through said glass fibers with the reflected light being received by a photoelectric converter positioned at a top surface of said fiber array plate to receive the light passing through said glass fibers, wherein said optical fiber array is positioned at an angle of inclination of from 0° to 30° relative to the perpendicular to said reading surface; and a light absorbing material associated with said transparent material layers at a location between said light source and said fibers except for the portion of said transparent material layers in a path through which said incident light passes to strike the paper surface of said original.