Rendering with substituted validation input

• US 20050231746A1
• Filed: 08/29/2003
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Sesek, Robert, Parry, Travis J., Stevens, Chad A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,542,160 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.130
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00352 Input means H04N1/00411 takes precedence; input arrangements for computers G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00355 Mark-sheet input sensing record carriers G06K7/00; character recognition G06V30/10; document-oriented image-based pattern recognition G06V30/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00358 Type of the scanned marks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00374 on the same page as at least a part of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00392 Other manual input means, e.g. digitisers or writing tablets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00411 the display also being used for user input, e.g. touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00413 using menus, i.e. presenting the user with a plurality of selectable options H04N1/00464 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00427 using a menu list H04N1/00421, H04N1/00424, H04N1/00429 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00474 outputting a plurality of functional options, e.g. scan, copy or print
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00482 outputting a plurality of job set-up options, e.g. number of copies, paper size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4406 Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity mechanisms actuated y cards, PIN or the like in apparatus for dispensing G07F7/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4426 involving separate means, e.g. a server, a magnetic card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3245 of image modifying data, e.g. handwritten addenda, highlights or augmented reality information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3273 Display

Abstract

Predetermined indicia are detected in a digital image that is formed by optical scanning. Alternatively, or in addition, a digital image can have a predefined insertion field. Input and/or an optically scanned image is substituted in the digital image for the predetermined indicia and/or for the predefined insertion field. The digital image having the substitution is rendered.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions which, when executed on one or more processors of a digital transmitter device, direct the digital transmitter device to perform a method comprising:

composing a digital image from an optically scanned image at the digital transmitter device;

detecting predetermined indicia in the digital image;

receiving a handwriting image at a touch sensitive input device of the digital transmitter device corresponding to the detected predetermined indicia in the digital image;

forming the received handwriting image into the digital image as a substitute for the detected predetermined indicia in the digital image;

performing a validation routine of the handwriting image against an access control database; and

when the result of the validation routine is positive, outputting a rendering of the digital image.

2. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein the composing further comprises transforming optically scanned images of one of more sheets of paper into the digital image, wherein one of more sheets of paper were received from a sheet feeder at a scanning mechanism of the digital transmitter device.

3. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein the detecting further comprises locating a portion of the digital image corresponding to the predetermined indicia, wherein the portion exhibits a predetermined range of reflectance values.

4. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 3, wherein the predetermined range of reflectance values is detectable at the portion when the portion is illuminated by light having a predetermined range of wavelengths.

5. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein the detecting further comprises locating a portion of the digital image corresponding to the predetermined indicia, wherein the portion includes a bar code.

6. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 5, wherein the bar code has a value corresponding to the object to be substituted.

7. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the detecting predetermined indicia in the digital image further comprises detecting a symbol corresponding to the predetermined indicia in the digital image; and

the symbol represents the object to be substituted.

8. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein the substituting further comprises:

determining a value for the detected predetermined indicia; and

looking up the determined value in a table of values having objects respectively corresponding thereto in order to determine the object to be substituted.

9. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the predetermined indicia are detected in the digital image at a portion thereof having a perimeter;

the object to be substituted has a predetermined size and shape; and

the substituting further comprises;

changing the predetermined size and shape of the object to be substituted into a size and shape not larger than the perimeter of the portion of the detected predetermined indicia; and

substituting the changed predetermined size and shape of the object for the detected predetermined indicia in the digital image.

10. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the predetermined indicia is detected in the digital image at an indicia portion thereof; and

the substituting further comprises;

determining whether the indicia portion intersects any non-blank region of the digital image; and

situating the object in the digital image such that the object does not intersect a non-blank region of the digital image.

11. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the substituting further comprises receiving input of an electronic address; and

the outputting a rendering of the digital image further comprises forming a transmission for transmitting a network message including the digital image from the digital transmitter device to the electronic address including an address of a network resource and a destination location thereat.

12. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, wherein the rendering of the digital image is selected from the group consisting of a print out, a facsimile transmission of the digital image, an e-mail message containing a representation of the digital file, and an e-mail message having a file attached thereto that contains a representation of the digital file.

13. Computer-readable instructions stored on a medium for recording computer-readable instructions, comprising instructions for causing a digital transmitter device to scan an image for inclusion in a document, wherein said document includes on a form template that incorporates said scanned image in a predefined insertion field, the form template or parameters of said form template being stored in or accessible to said digital transmitter device, wherein:

said computer-readable instructions cause;

an optical scanner of said digital transmitter device to scan said image for inclusion in said form template in accordance with a size or position of said predefined insertion field; and

a validation of the scanned image, or representation thereof, against an access control data base such that, upon such validation, the instructions further cause said scanning device to incorporate said scanned image into the predefined insertion field of the form template.

14. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 13, wherein said instructions further cause the digital transmitter device to:

receive input of an electronic address that includes an address of a network resource and a destination location thereat;

output a rendering of the scanned image incorporated into the form template; and

form a transmission for transmitting a network message including the rendering from the digital transmitter device to the electronic address.

15. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 13, wherein:

said instructions further cause the digital transmitter device to output a rendering of the scanned image incorporated into the form template; and

the rendering of the digital image is selected from the group consisting of a print out, a facsimile transmission of the digital image, an e-mail message containing a representation of the digital file, and an e-mail message having a file attached thereto that contains a representation of the digital file.

16. A digital transmitter device comprising:

means for making input;

means for composing a digital image from an optically scanned image;

means for detecting predetermined indicia in the digital image;

means for substituting an object for the detected predetermined indicia in the digital image;

means for storing an access control database;

means for validating manual input received at the means for making input against the access control database;

means, when the means for validating validates the manual input, for making the object to be the manual input;

means, when the means for validating does not validate the manual input, for making the object to be a diagnostic reflecting the absence of validation of the manual input; and

means for outputting a rendering of the digital image.

17. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 16, wherein the means for detecting further comprises means for locating a portion of the digital image corresponding to the predetermined indicia, wherein the portion exhibits a predetermined range of reflectance values.

18. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 17, wherein the predetermined range of reflectance values is detectable at the portion when the portion is illuminated by light having a predetermined range of wavelengths.

19. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 16, wherein the means for detecting further comprises locating a portion of the digital image corresponding to the predetermined indicia, wherein the portion includes a bar code.

20. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 19, wherein the bar code has a value corresponding to the object to be substituted.

21. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 16, wherein the means for making the object to be the manual input further comprises means for forming a transmission message to be transmitted over an interconnected network to an electronic mail address.

22. A digital transmitter device comprising:

means for composing a digital image from an optically scanned image;

means for detecting predetermined indicia in the digital image;

means for receiving handwriting image at a touch sensitive input device of the digital transmitter device;

means for performing a validation routine of the handwriting image against an access control database; and

means, when a result of the validation routine is positive, for;

forming the handwriting image, or representation thereof, as a substitute for the detected predetermined indicia in the digital image; and

outputting a rendering of the digital image.

23. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 22, wherein the means for detecting further comprises means for locating a portion of the digital image corresponding to the predetermined indicia, wherein the portion exhibits a predetermined range of reflectance values.

24. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 23, wherein the predetermined range of reflectance values is detectable at the portion when the portion is illuminated by light having a predetermined range of wavelengths.

25. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 22, wherein the means for detecting further comprises locating a portion of the digital image corresponding to the predetermined indicia, wherein the portion includes a bar code.

26. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 25, wherein the bar code has a value corresponding to the object to be substituted.

27. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 22, wherein the means for outputting further comprises means for forming a network message to be transmitted, wherein the network message includes the digital image and is addressed to an electronic address including an address of a network resource and a destination location thereat.

28. A digital transmitter device for producing documents based on a form template that incorporates a scanned image, the digital transmitter device comprising:

a processor;

an optical scanner controlled by said processor; and

a memory unit including an access control database and an access control program, wherein;

the memory unit is accessible to said processor in which said form template or parameters of said form template are stored, said form template including a predefined insertion field for accepting the scanned image, wherein said processor controls said scanner to scan an image for inclusion in said form template, said processor controlling said scanner to automatically scan said image in accordance with a size or position of the predefined insertion field; and

the processor executes the access control program to validate the scanned image, or representation thereof, against the access control database such that when the validation for the scanned image is;

negative, output a diagnostic reflecting the absence of validation; and

positive, output a rendering of the digital image that includes the scanned image inserted into the predefined insertion field.

29. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 28, wherein the processor executes a program to form a network message to be transmitted to an electronic address that includes an address of a network resource and a destination location thereat, and wherein the network message includes the rendering of the digital image that includes the scanned image inserted into the predefined insertion field.

30. A digital transmitter device for producing documents that incorporate scanned images based on a form template, the digital transmitter device comprising:

an optical scanning means;

memory means in which said form template or parameters of said form template are stored, said form template including a predefined insertion field for accepting a scanned image;

means for controlling said scanning means to scan an image for inclusion in said form template, said means for controlling said scanning means causing said scanning means to automatically scan said image in accordance with a size of said predefined insertion field;

means for storing an access control database;

means for validating the scanned image, or representation thereof, against the access control database;

means, when the means for validating validates, for outputting a rendering of the form template with the scanned image included therein; and

means, when the means for validating does not validate, for outputting a diagnostic.

31. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 30, further comprising:

means for receiving input of an electronic address that includes an address of a network resource and a destination location thereat; and

means for forming a transmission for transmitting a network message including the rendering from the digital transmitter device to the electronic address.

32. The digital transmitter device as defined in claim 30, wherein the rendering is selected from the group consisting of a print out, a facsimile transmission of the digital image, an e-mail message containing a representation of the digital file, and an e-mail message having a file attached thereto that contains a representation of the digital file.

33. A method comprising:

forming an optically scanned image at a digital transmitter device of media bearing predetermined indicia;

composing, at the digital transmitter device, a digital image from the optically scanned image;

detecting, with the digital transmitter device, a portion of the optically scanned image at which the predetermined indicia is situated;

identifying, with the digital transmitter device, an object corresponding to the predetermined indicia;

performing a validation routine of the object against an access control database; and

when the validation routine returns a positive access result;

substituting the object, or representation thereof, into the digital image at the portion of the optically scanned image at which the predetermined indicia is situated; and

outputting, at the digital transmitter device, a rendering of the digital image.

34. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein the outputting further comprises forming a network message that includes the rendering and that is addressed to an electronic address including an address of a network resource and a destination location thereat.

35. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein the portion exhibits a predetermined range of reflectance values.

36. The method as defined in claim 35, wherein the predetermined range of reflectance values is detectable at the portion when the portion is illuminated by light having a predetermined range of wavelengths.

37. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein the portion includes a bar code.

38. The method as defined in claim 37, wherein the bar code has a value corresponding to the object to be substituted.

39. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein the rendering is selected from the group consisting of a print out, a facsimile transmission, and an e-mail message.

40. A method of producing a document with a digital transmitter device, wherein the document is based on a form template that incorporates a scanned image into a predefined insertion field, the form template, or parameters of said form template being stored in or accessible to said digital transmitter device, the method comprising:

scanning an image for inclusion in said form template, said scanning being automatically performed in accordance with a size or position of said predefined insertion field;

validating the scanned image, or representation thereof, against an access control database such that when the validation for the scanned image is;

negative, the method further comprising outputting a diagnostic reflecting the absence of validation of the scanned image; and

positive, the method further comprises incorporating said scanned image into said form template at the predefined insertion field and outputting a rendering of the form template.

41. The method as defined in claim 40, further comprising automatically shaping said scanned image in accordance with a shape of said predefined insertion field.

42. The method as defined in claim 40, further comprising adding a dynamic data item to said form template.

43. The method as defined in claim 40, further comprising repositioning, reformatting, reshaping or resizing elements of said form template in accordance with a predetermined position of said scanned image and a size of said scanned image.

44. A method performed by a digital transmitter device, the method comprising:

optically scanning an image;

substituting into a digital image at least one of;

input received at the digital transmitter device, wherein;

the digital image is formed by the optically scanning;

the input is substituted for predetermined indicia in the digital image; and

the predetermined indicia is detectable by the digital transmitter device in the digital image; and

the optically scanned image, wherein the optically scanned image is substituted for a predefined insertion field in the digital image;

validating what is substituted for predetermined indicia in the digital image against an access control database such that when the validation for the scanned image is;

negative, the method further comprising outputting a diagnostic reflecting the absence of validation; and

positive, the method further comprises rendering the digital image having the substitution.