U.S. patent number RE44,528 [Application Number 13/290,951] was granted by the patent office on 2013-10-08 for method and user interface for performing a scan operation for a scanner coupled to a computer system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Intellectual Ventures I LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Chuan-Yu Hsu, T. J. Hsu, Jay Liu. Invention is credited to Chuan-Yu Hsu, T. J. Hsu, Jay Liu.
United States Patent |
RE44,528 |
Hsu , et al. |
October 8, 2013 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Method and user interface for performing a scan operation for a
scanner coupled to a computer system
Abstract
A method and user interface is provided for use on a computer
system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan operation on an
original document, which allows the user to acquire scanned images
in an easier and more user-friendly manner. The method allows the
user to scan an original document without requiring the user to
have learned knowledge background in the science of image
processing, and also allows the scanner to perform only one scan
operation on the original document. These features allow the use of
the scanner to be easier and more user-friendly than the prior art.
By the, method, the first step is to determine a set of image
processing settings by a scanner driving program that are suited
for optimal scan of the original document; and then the scanner is
activated to perform a scan operation on the original document
based on the image processing settings to thereby obtain a
primitive scanned image. Next, an image-enhancement process is
performed on the primitive scanned image to thereby obtain a
quality-enhanced image; and finally, the quality-enhanced image is
transferred to the application program for use by the application
program.
Inventors: |
Hsu; Chuan-Yu (Hsinchu,
TW), Liu; Jay (Hsinchu Hsien, TW), Hsu; T.
J. (Tainan Hsien, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hsu; Chuan-Yu
Liu; Jay
Hsu; T. J. |
Hsinchu
Hsinchu Hsien
Tainan Hsien |
N/A
N/A
N/A |
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Intellectual Ventures I LLC
(Wilmington, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
21641950 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/290,951 |
Filed: |
November 7, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
11237579 |
Sep 27, 2005 |
Re. 43086 |
|
|
Reissue of: |
09417985 |
Oct 13, 1999 |
6628416 |
Sep 30, 2003 |
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
358/1.15;
382/167; 382/176 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
1/00204 (20130101); H04N 2201/0081 (20130101); H04N
2201/0082 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06K
15/00 (20060101); G06F 3/12 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;358/1.13,400,401,451,452,1.16,1.15,442,444,473,1.6,1.1
;382/298,176,167 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Grant, II; Jerome
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Stolowitz Ford Cowger LLP
Parent Case Text
.Iadd.Notice: More than one reissue application has been filed for
the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,416 filed as application Ser.
No. 09/417,985 on Oct. 13, 1999..Iaddend.
.Iadd.The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/237,579, filed on Sep. 27, 2005, which is a
reissue of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/417,985, filed on
Oct. 13, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,416, each of which is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety..Iaddend.
Claims
What is claimed is:
.[.1. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a
computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan
operation on an original document, the computer system running a
scanner driver and an application program; the method comprising
the steps of: determining a set of image processing settings
required for the original document by a scanner driving program;
obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner
uses image processing settings through the scanner driving program;
performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned
image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic
cutting routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to the application program..].
.[.2. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a
computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan
operation on an original document, the computer system running a
scanner driver and an application program; the method comprising
the steps of: determining a set of image processing settings
required for the original document by a scanner driving program;
obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner
uses image processing settings through the scanner driving program;
performing an image-enhancement, process on the primitive scanned
image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes a distortion
correction routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to the application program..].
.[.3. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a
computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan
operation on an original document, the computer system running a
scanner driver and an application program; the method comprising
the steps of: determining a set of image processing settings
required for the original document by a scanner driving program;
obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner
uses image processing settings through the scanner driving program;
performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned
image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes a color
calibration routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to the application program..].
.[.4. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a
computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan
operation on an original document, the computer system running a
scanner driver and an application program; the method comprising
the steps of: determining a set of image processing settings
required for the original document by a scanner driving program;
obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner
uses image processing settings through the scanner driving program;
performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned
image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic
character recognition routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to the application program..].
.[.5. A user interface for a scanner, comprising: a scanner, for
scanning an original document to an image data; a computer system,
for storing and processing the image data from the scanner; a
scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then
performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in
the computer system; an application program, for receiving a final
image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method
implemented on the user interface comprising the steps of:
determining a set of image processing settings required for the
original document by a scanner driving program; obtaining a
primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses image
processing settings through the scanner driving program; performing
an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image,
wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic cutting
routine; and obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement
process, wherein the final image is transferred to the application
program..].
.[.6. A user interface for a scanner, comprising: a scanner, for
scanning an original document to an image data; a computer system,
for storing and processing the image data from the scanner; a
scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then
performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in
the computer system; an application program, for receiving a final
image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method
implemented on the user interface comprising the steps of:
determining a set of image processing settings required for the
original document by a scanner driving program; obtaining a
primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses image
processing settings through the scanner driving program; performing
an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image,
wherein the image-enhancement process includes a distortion
correction routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to the application program..].
.[.7. A user interface for a scanner, comprising: a scanner, for
scanning an original document to an image data; a computer system,
for storing and processing the image data from the scanner; a
scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then
performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in
the computer system; an application program, for receiving a final
image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method
implemented on the user interface comprising the steps of:
determining a set of image processing settings required for the
original document by a scanner driving program; obtaining a
primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses image
processing settings through the scanner driving program; performing
an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image,
wherein the image-enhancement process includes a color calibration
routine; and obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement
process, wherein the final image is transferred to the application
program..].
.[.8. A user interface for a scanner, comprising: a scanner, for
scanning an original document to an image data; a computer system,
for storing and processing the image data from the scanner; a
scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then
performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in
the computer system; an application program, for receiving a final
image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method
implemented on the user interface comprising the steps of:
determining a set of image processing settings required for the
original document by a scanner driving program; obtaining a
primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses image
processing settings through the scanner driving program; performing
an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image,
wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic
character recognition routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to the application program..].
.Iadd.9. A memory device having instructions stored thereon that,
in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing
device to perform operations comprising: obtaining an original
scanned image using an image processing setting through a scanner
driving program; performing an image-enhancement process on the
original scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process
includes at least one of an automatic cutting routine, a distortion
correction routine, a color calibration routine, or an automatic
character recognition routine; and obtaining a final image by the
image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred
to an application program..Iaddend.
.Iadd.10. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the operations
further comprise: checking for another scan job, the checking based
on an input from a user interface; if the checking indicates no
additional scanning, then transferring the final image to the
application program; and if the checking indicates another scan
job, then causing the scanner to scan a second time before
transferring the final image to the application
program..Iaddend.
.Iadd.11. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the operations
further comprise obtaining the image processing setting for a scan
target based on an input from a user interface..Iaddend.
.Iadd.12. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the final image is
obtained using only a single scanning of a scan
target..Iaddend.
.Iadd.13. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the application
program is an image editing program or a word
processor..Iaddend.
.Iadd.14. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the operations
further comprise: selecting, using the scanner driving program, a
subset of available image processing settings, the subset selected
based on a scan target; and issuing a scan request that includes at
least the obtained image processing setting, wherein the obtained
image processing setting is one of the settings from the
subset..Iaddend.
.Iadd.15. An apparatus, comprising: a processing device configured
to: obtain an original scanned image using an image processing
setting through a scanner driving program; perform an
image-enhancement process on the original scanned image, wherein
the image-enhancement process includes at least one of an automatic
cutting routine, a distortion correction routine, a color
calibration routine, or an automatic character recognition routine;
and obtain a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein
the final image is transferred to an application
program..Iaddend.
.Iadd.16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing device
is further configured to: check if there is another scan job; and
transfer the final image to the application program based on a
result of the checking..Iaddend.
.Iadd.17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing device
is further configured to determine the image processing setting
based on a scan target associated with the original scanned
image..Iaddend.
.Iadd.18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the final image is
obtained using only a single scanning of a scan
target..Iaddend.
.Iadd.19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the application
program is an image editing program or a word
processor..Iaddend.
.Iadd.20. A method, comprising: obtaining an image processing
setting for a target of a scan; obtaining an original scanned image
of the scan target using the obtained image processing setting
through a scanner driving program; performing an image-enhancement
process on the original scanned image, wherein the
image-enhancement process includes at least one of an automatic
cutting routine, a distortion correction routine, a color
calibration routine, or an automatic character recognition routine;
and obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process,
wherein the final image is transferred to an application
program..Iaddend.
.Iadd.21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: checking for
another scan target to be scanned, the checking based on an input
from a user interface; if the checking indicates no additional
scanning, then transferring the final image to the application
program; and if the checking indicates another scan target to be
scanned, then causing the scanner to scan a second time before
transferring the final image to the application
program..Iaddend.
.Iadd.22. The method of claim 20, further comprising obtaining the
image processing setting for the scan target based on an input from
a user interface..Iaddend.
.Iadd.23. The method of claim 20, wherein the final image is
obtained using only a single scanning of the scan
target..Iaddend.
.Iadd.24. The method of claim 20, wherein the application program
is an image editing program or a word processor..Iaddend.
.Iadd.25. The method of claim 20, further comprising: selecting,
using the scanner driving program, a subset of available image
processing settings, the subset selected based on the scan target;
and issuing a scan request that includes at least the obtained
image processing setting, wherein the obtained image processing
setting is one of the settings from the subset..Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to scanner technology, and more
particularly, to a method and user interface for performing a scan
operation for a scanner coupled to a computer system, which allows
the user to acquire scanned images in an easier and more
user-friendly manner.
2. Description of Related Art
A scanner allows a user to convert the printed matter on a document
into a digital image for further processing by a computer. In the
use of a scanner, however, it requires well-learned and
highly-experienced users to do the image processing tasks properly.
For inexperienced users, it usually requires a long period to
learn, typically in a trial-and-error manner, which would make the
training quite cost-ineffective since additional electricity and
paper cost may be required in the training course.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635 discloses a method that allows the user
to acquire a scanned image by first obtaining a primitive scanned
image from the scanner, and then specify suited image processing
settings such as size and scan area for the scanner to perform a
second scan operation on the original document to thereby obtain a
final scanned image. By this method, the final scanned image can
approach closely to the image qualities of the original document.
One drawback to this patent, however, is that it is quite
inefficient to use since it requires the scanner to perform two
scan operations on the same document.
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps involved in a
conventional method to obtain a scanned image from an original
document.
In the first step P100, the user interface for the scanner is
activated. In the next step P102, the user interface commands the
scanner to perform a primitive scan operation on the original
document. The primitive scanned image is then displayed by the user
interface for the user to make enhancements thereon.
In the next step P104, the user interface asks the user to specify
suited image processing settings for the enhancement of the
primitive scanned image, such as size setting and the desired scan
area of the original document.
In the next step P106, the user interface activates the scanner to
perform a second scan operation on the original document based on
the image processing settings to thereby obtain a final scanned
image. In the next step P108, the final scanned image is
transferred to an application program for use by the application
program.
It is apparent that the foregoing procedure has the drawback of
requiring the scanner to perform two scan operations on the same
document to obtain the final scanned image, which makes the image
acquisition quite inefficient.
Moreover, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635 is still .[.quire.].
.Iadd.quite .Iaddend.insufficient in functionality to meet user
demands in image processing.
In the use of many conventional image scan programs, it requires
the user to have .[.learned knowledge.]. .Iadd.a
.Iaddend.background in the science of image processing.
.[.Therefore, for unlearned and inexperienced users, it would be
highly difficult for them to use these programs rightly, and
requires the user to spend much time and material on training..].
.Iadd.Consequently, inexperienced users have a difficult time using
the programs correctly without spending time, and other resources,
on obtaining the proper training..Iaddend.
In summary, conventional user interfaces for scanner operation have
the following drawbacks.
First, they require the user to have .[.learned knowledge.].
.Iadd.a .Iaddend.background in the science of image processing in
order to properly carry out the image acquisition, which makes the
use of the scanner quite difficult and user-unfriendly.
Second, if a user has no such knowledge background, the user needs
to spend much time and material on training, typically in a
trial-and-error manner, which would make the use of the scanner
quite cost-ineffective.
Third, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635 provides only limited
functionality to the image processing, which would not meet user
demands in high-end image processing.
Fourth, the prior art requires the scanner to perform two scan
operations on the same document to acquire the final scanned image
to be used by the application program, which makes the use of the
scanner quite inefficient. It is desired that only one scan
operation is needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a method
and user interface for use on a computer system coupled with a
scanner for performing a scan operation, which allows the user to
operate the scanner in an easy and user-friendly manner.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a method
and user interface for use on a computer system coupled with a
scanner for performing a scan operation, which allows the scanner
to perform only one scan operation on the original document.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the
invention proposes a new method and user interface for use on a
computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan
operation.
Fundamentally, the invention allows the user to scan an original
document without requiring the user to have learned knowledge
background in the science of image processing, and also allows the
scanner to perform only one scan operation on the original
document. These features allow the use of the scanner to be easier
and more user-friendly than the prior art.
The invention is designed for use with a user interface
incorporated in a computer system coupled with a scanner for
performing an automatic scan operation on an original document. The
computer system mm a scanner driver and an application program. The
scanner driver is used to drive the scanner, and the application
program can process the scanned image as an image file.
The method of the invention includes the following procedural
steps: (1) determining a set of image processing settings by a
scanner driving program that are suited for optimal scan of the
original document; (2) activating the scanner to perform a scan
operation on the original document based on the image processing
settings to thereby obtain a primitive scanned image which is then
transferred to the scanner driver; (3) activating the scanner
driver to perform an image-enhancement process on the primitive
scanned image to thereby obtain a quality-enhanced image; and (4)
transferring the quality-enhanced image to the application program
for use by the application program.
In the foregoing method, the image-enhancement process includes a
comprehensive set of image processing routines, such as automatic
cutting, distortion correction, color calibration, and automatic
character recognition. The quality-enhanced image is then
transferred to the scanner driver in the computer system, and then
transferred via the scanner driver to the application program
specified by the user through the user interface. The application
program can be either an image editing program or a word processor
that can accept the quality-enhanced image as an image file.
By the invention, the scanner needs just to perform one scan
operation on the original document rather than two scan operations
required by the prior art (the U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635). The
invention is therefore more efficient than the prior art. After
this, the invention will automatically perform an image-enhancement
process on the primitive scanned image to thereby obtain the
quality-enhanced image, without requiring the user to have learned
knowledge background in the science of image processing in order to
perform the image enhancement, and therefore no training is
required. Since the user needs not to spend time and material on
learning the operation of the scanner, it makes the use of the
scanner more cost-effective and user-friendly. Furthermore, the
invention provides an image-enhancement process that includes a
comprehensive set of image processing routines which would meets
most user's demands in image processing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference
made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART) is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps
involved in a conventional method to obtain a scanned image from an
original document;
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the incorporation of the
user interface of the invention in a computer system coupled with a
scanner; and
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps involved in
the method of the invention for performing a scan operation on an
original document.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the incorporation of the
user interface of the invention, as the block designated by the
reference numeral 50, in a computer system 20 coupled with a
scanner 10. The computer system 20 runs a scanner driver 30, which
is a software program, for driving the scanner 10. Further, the
computer system 20 runs an application program 40 which can process
the scanned image from the scanner 10 as an image file. The block
designated by the reference numeral 60 is used to represent the
input from user operation. The user can specify a set of proper
image processing settings into the user interface 50.
When the user wants to acquire a scanned image from an original
document (not shown), the user first needs to place the original
document (not shown) on the scanner 10, and then specify a set of
image processing settings that are suited for optimal scan of the
original document (not shown). Next, the user interface 50
activates the scanner 10 to perform a scan operation on the
original document (not shown) based on the image processing
settings in the user interface 50 to thereby obtain a primitive
scanned image. The primitive scanned image is then transferred to
the scanner driver 30 in the computer system 20.
Next, the scanner driver 30 performs an image-enhancement process
on the primitive scanned image to thereby obtain a quality-enhanced
image. The image-enhancement process includes a comprehensive set
of image processing routines, including automatic cutting,
distortion correction, color calibration, and automatic character
recognition.
After this, the scanner driver 30 checks whether there is still
another document waiting to be scanned. If YES, the scanner driver
30 will perform another scan operation. The quality-enhanced image
is then transferred to the application program 40 for use by the
application program 40.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps involved in
the method of the invention for performing a scan operation on the
original document. This method is used with the computer system 20
and the scanner 10 shown in FIG. 2 and is performed by the user
interface 50.
In the first step S100, a set of image processing settings that are
suited for optimal scan of the original document is determined by a
scanner driving program, and then stores these settings into the
user interface 50.
In the next step S102, the user interface 50 issues a scan request
to the scanner 10. In response, in the next step S104, the scanner
10 is activated to perform a scan operation on the original
document based on the image processing settings in the user
interface 50 to thereby obtain a primitive scanned image. The
primitive scanned image is then transferred to the scanner driver
30.
In the next step S106, the scanner driver 30 is activated to
perform an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image
to thereby obtain a quality-enhanced image. The image-enhancement
process includes a comprehensive set of image processing routines,
including automatic cutting, distortion correction, color
calibration, and automatic character recognition.
In the next step S108, the user interface 50 checks whether there
is still another document waiting to be scanned. If YES, the
procedure returns to the step S104; otherwise, the procedure goes
to the step S110.
In the step S110, the quality-enhanced image .[.resulted.].
.Iadd.resulting .Iaddend.from the image-enhancement process is
transferred to the application program 40 for use by the
application program 40. The application program 40 can be either an
image editing program or a word processor that can accept the
quality-enhanced image as an image file.
In the next step S112, the user interface 50 displays a message
asking whether the user wants to scan another document. If the user
responds with YES, the procedure returns to the step S100;
otherwise, the procedure is ended.
In conclusion, the invention has the following advantages over the
prior art.
First, it requires the scanner to perform only one scan operation
on the original document rather than two scan operations required
by the prior art (the U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635). The invention is
therefore more efficient to use than the prior art.
Second, the invention allows the image-enhancement process to be
entirely carried out automatically without requiring the user to
have knowledge background in the science of image processing, so
that the use of the scanner is easier and more user-friendly.
Third, since the invention allows the user to carry out the scan
operation without having to spend time and material on training,
the use of the scanner is more cost-effective than the prior
art.
Fourth, the invention provides an image-enhancement process that
includes a comprehensive set of image processing routines which
would meet most user's demands in image processing.
Fifth, the invention allows the image acquisition to be mostly
performed automatically, allowing the operation of the scanner to
be more simplified and user-friendly.
The invention has been described using exemplary preferred
embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the
invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the
contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar
arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be
accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and similar arrangements.
* * * * *