Method and system for operating a scanner which emulates a disk drive
First Claim
1. A method of operating an optical scanner having a disk drive emulator, comprising the steps of:
- connecting said optical scanner having said disk drive emulator to a host computer via a computer interface;
executing an application program interface (API) program resident in a memory;
reading operational parameters of said optical scanner from said disk drive emulator in response to execution of said API program;
displaying a user interface of said API program including said operational parameters which have been read that allows a user to modify said operational parameters at said host computer;
saving said operational parameters modified by said user via a Save File command from said API program to said disk drive emulator; and
operating said optical scanner and performing a scanning operation in accordance with the stored operational parameters in response to a File Open command being received by said disk drive emulator.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A scanner is provided with a disk drive emulator and is attached to a general purpose computer via a SCSI bus. The disk drive emulator provides signals such that the general purpose computer identifies the scanner as a disk drive. Applications running on the general purpose computer direct operation of the scanner via standard operating system disk drive commands. To facilitate the transfer of commands to the scanner, a scanner parameters setup program, also known as an Application Program Interface (API), is provided that is resident on the scanner and accessible to the general purpose computer via the disk drive emulator. When executed, the scanner parameters setup program provides a graphically oriented menu allowing a user to enter parameters such as resolution, brightness, contrast, etc. Once entered, the parameters are saved to the scanner via a File Save command. An application running on the general purpose computer then operates the scanner in accordance with the parameters thus saved by performing a File Open command on a file visible to the general purpose computer via the disk drive emulator and corresponding to the saved parameters. Image data resulting from operation of the scanner is transferred from the scanner via the disk drive emulator to the general purpose computer as if a file is being opened. Alternatively, the scanner is operated upon the saving of the parameters to the scanner, and image data resulting therefrom is saved as a file to a storage device accessible to the general purpose computer.
47 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of operating an optical scanner having a disk drive emulator, comprising the steps of:
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connecting said optical scanner having said disk drive emulator to a host computer via a computer interface; executing an application program interface (API) program resident in a memory; reading operational parameters of said optical scanner from said disk drive emulator in response to execution of said API program; displaying a user interface of said API program including said operational parameters which have been read that allows a user to modify said operational parameters at said host computer; saving said operational parameters modified by said user via a Save File command from said API program to said disk drive emulator; and operating said optical scanner and performing a scanning operation in accordance with the stored operational parameters in response to a File Open command being received by said disk drive emulator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A disk drive emulator for use with a peripheral device, comprising:
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a computer interface for connecting said disk drive emulator to a host computer; a means for emulating a disk drive connected to said computer interface; a memory for storing operational parameters for operation of said peripheral device of said disk drive emulator; a command identification device for identifying File Open and File Save commands issued from said host computer to said disk drive emulator; means for storing said operational parameters transmitted from the host computer in response to a File Save command; means for operating said peripheral device to perform a scanning operation in accordance with the stored operational parameters upon receipt of a File Open command. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of operating an optical scanner having a disk drive emulator, comprising the steps of:
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connecting said optical scanner having said disk drive emulator to a host computer via a computer interface; reading, by said host computer, of operational parameters of said optical scanner from said disk drive emulator; displaying a user interface including said operational parameters which have been read that allows a user to modify said operational parameters at said host computer; saving said operational parameters modified by said user via a save file command; and operating said optical scanner and performing a scanning operation in accordance with the stored operational parameters in response to a file open command.
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Specification