Westport, Connecticut-based University Patents Inc takes a parental pride in a new portable image processing that uses a 21.3 diagonal alternating current plasma screen from Plasmaco Inc. The prototype image processing machine can store up to 25,000 documents in image form. University Patents Inc holds an interest in Plasmaco, which makes the 1,280 by 1,024 monitor and claims it offers the widest viewing angle of any type of display. The high-resolution images are claimed to be free of perimeter or corner distortion so that every character of the document is visible. Bitwise Designs Inc of Rotterdam, New York makes the portable processor that uses the screen and enables the user scan 50 documents a minute into the system, store them in an optical storage system, then search for and print out a specific document in seconds. The Plasmaco screen has the ability to show four full pages of information simultaneously. The Bitwise processor is designed for large corporate users and for medium-sized businesses like doctors’ and lawyers’ offices. It will be expensive, and Bitwise says it may offer users the option of renting the the thing once production set for this quarter is under way. University Patents owns 17% of Plasmaco and because it owns the patent covering some of the screen’s features, collects royalties on all sales too. It acts as a technology transfer agent for university-developed inventions, and the new plasma display was developed at the University of Illinois.
