DYNAMIC SCANNER SYSTEM

• US 20070247673A1
• Filed: 04/21/2006
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rosenfeld, Daniel, Haugen, Todd, Dietz, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,040 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00236 using an image reading or reproducing device, e.g. a facsimile reader or printer, as a local input to or local output from a computer image input to or image output from a computer via a network H04N1/00209

Abstract

A printer, scanner device and methods for using same are described herein. A printer device may include a dedicated input that, when actuated, generates and sends a request to a computer for known data or a predetermined print job, e.g., schedule information from a personal information management (PIM) application. A scanner device may include another dedicated input that, when actuated, automatically scans a document fed to the device by the user and sends the scanned image to IM (or other) software on a computer, bypassing the need to manipulate the scanned image using scanner software. The device may be used with printed metapaper, which includes a barcode or other indicia identifying the metapaper and corresponds to a stored template image of the metapaper. When the metapaper is rescanned, the scan can be compared to the stored template information to identify changes and synchronize the changes with the IM software.

Claims

1. A scanner device, comprising:

an interface module providing two-way communications between the scanner device and a separately housed computer;

an input system providing a first input device;

a scanner module that, upon actuation of the first input device, scans a document to create a digital image of the document;

a processor controlling operation of the scanner, said processor configured with instructions to send data comprising the digital image to the computer for delivery to an information management software application executing on the computer, wherein sending said digital image is based on completion of scanning the document after the actuation of the first input device.

2. The scanner of claim 1, wherein said first input device comprises a scan button.

3. The scanner of claim 1, wherein said data further comprises an indication that said data corresponds to schedule information stored in the information management software application.

4. The scanner of claim 1, wherein said data further comprises an indication that said data corresponds to task or to-do list information stored in the information management software application.

5. The scanner of claim 1, wherein said input system provides a second input device, said second input device usable by a user of the scanner to select a user name, and wherein said data comprises an indication of the selected user name.

6. The scanner of claim 5, wherein said input system provides a third input device, said third input device usable by a user of the scanner to select a software application,

wherein said data comprises an indication of the selected software application, and

wherein the third input device is the same as or different from the second input device.

7. The scanner of claim 1, wherein said input system provides a second input device, said second input device usable by a user of the scanner to select a software application, and wherein said data comprises an indication that the data should be routed to the selected software application.

8. The scanner of claim 1, wherein said input system provides a second input device, said second input device usable by a user of the scanner to select a type of information from a plurality of types of information, and wherein said data comprises an indication that the scanned image comprises the selected type of information.

9. The scanner of claim 8, wherein the plurality of types of information comprise a weekly schedule and a monthly schedule.

10. The scanner of claim 1, further comprising a printer module,

wherein the input system further comprises a second input device that, when actuated by a user, generates a request for predetermined information, sends the request to the information management software application, receives a print job from the information management software application in response to the request, and prints a document comprising the predetermined information based on the received print job.

11. A method for scanning a document, comprising:

at a scanner, receiving an indication that a user has actuated a predetermined input device corresponding to scanning a document having a predetermined type of printed information thereon;

scanning the document to create a digital image of the document; and

sending data comprising the digital image to the computer for delivery to a predetermined software application executing on a separately housed computer, said predetermined software application being other than a device driver and a scanner management application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined input device comprises a print button.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined software application comprises an information management software application.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said data comprises an indication that the predetermined type of printed information comprises schedule information maintained by the information management software application.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said data further comprises an indication of a user, and wherein said schedule information corresponds to the user.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein said data comprises an indication that the predetermined type of printed information comprises to-do list information maintained by the information management software application.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising steps of:

at the computer, comparing the digital image of the document to template information corresponding to the document to identify changes made to the document by a user; and

automatically integrating the changes into the schedule information maintained by the information management software application, based on the comparing step.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of generating and sending a print job to the scanner device for printing via a printer module of the scanner device, wherein said print job comprises updated schedule information based on the integrating step.

19. An image reproducing device, comprising:

an interface module providing two-way wireless communications between the image reproducing device and a separately housed computer;

an input system providing first and second input devices;

a scanner module that, upon actuation of the first input device, scans a document to create a digital image of the document;

a printer module; and

a processor controlling operation of the image reproducing device, said processor configured with instructions to wirelessly send data comprising the digital image to the computer for delivery to an information management software application executing on the computer, wherein wirelessly sending said digital image is based on completion of scanning the document after the actuation of the first input device, and

wherein the processor is further configured with instructions to, upon actuation of the second input device, generate a request for a print job comprising predetermined information and send the request to the information management software application.

20. The image reproducing device of claim 19, wherein the predetermined information comprises schedule information maintained by the information management software application.