Collaborative drawing device

• US 6,000,946 A
• Filed: 03/09/1998
• Issued: 12/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Snyders, Lawrence M., Multhaup, Jeffrey L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafer, Robert A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rovnak, John Edmund
• Application Number:
  US09/037,211
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 434/81, 434/84, 434/85, 434/98, 434/101, 434/107, 434/365, 434/402, 434/404, 434/405, 434/408-414, 434/416, 434/425, 434/426, 434/427, 434/428, 434/430, 707/541
• US Class Current: 434/365
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 11/29 of a band other than endless

Abstract

Described herein is a collaborative drawing device having a support surface configured to support a drawing medium for drawing thereupon by a human user. The drawing device includes a printer that prints prepared graphics on the drawing medium and a scanner that scans documents that have been printed, drawn by hand, and annotated by hand.

Claims

1. A collaborative drawing device, comprising:

a viewable surface positioned to be drawn on by a human user;

a printer configured to print on the viewable drawing surface;

an image scanner configured to digitize images that have been drawn and printed on the viewable surface.

2. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more storage media that store the digitized images.

3. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the viewable surface comprises a scrollable sheet material.

4. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the viewable surface comprises a sheet material that is removeably attached to a scrollable sheet material.

5. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 1, further comprising input/output ports for exchanging digitized images with other devices.

6. A drawing device, comprising:

a support surface positioned to support a drawing medium for drawing thereupon by a human user;

a printer configured to print on the drawing medium;

one or more digital input ports configured to receive images from other devices to print on the drawing medium with the printer;

an image scanner configured to digitize images that have been printed on the drawing medium with the printer and that have been drawn on the drawing medium by a human user;

one or more digital output ports configured to transmit the digitized images to other devices.

7. A drawing device as recited in claim 6, further comprising a support surface, wherein the drawing medium scrolls across the support surface.

8. A drawing device as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

a support surface;

a sheet material arranged to scroll across the support surface;

wherein the drawing medium is removeably affixed to the sheet material.

9. A collaborative drawing device, comprising:

a support surface positioned to support a drawing medium for drawing thereupon by a human user;

control logic;

a printer that is responsive to the control logic to print on the drawing medium;

an image scanner that is responsive to the control logic to digitize images that have been drawn and printed on the drawing medium;

one or more digital input ports;

one or more digital output ports;

the control logic being configured to receive images from other devices through the one or more input ports and to print said received images on the drawing medium using the printer;

the control logic being further configured to digitize images from the drawing medium using the image scanner, and to transmit said digitized images to other devices through said one or more output ports.

10. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, further comprising one or more digital storage media, the control logic being configured to store digitized images from the input ports on the one or more digital storage media.

11. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, further comprising one or more digital storage media, the control logic being configured to store digitized images from the image scanner on the one or more digital storage media.

12. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, further comprising one or more digital storage media, the control logic being configured to store digitized images from the input ports and from the image scanner on the one or more digital storage media.

13. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to store multiple images and to print and transmit selected ones of the multiple images in response to commands from a human user.

14. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to store multiple images from the input ports and from the image scanner and to print and transmit selected ones of the multiple images in response to commands from a human user.

15. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to control scrolling of the drawing medium, the control logic being further configured to track images that have been previously been printed on the drawing medium and to reposition the drawing medium to a selected one of said previously printed images.

16. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to print an image and to then digitize a marked-up version of the image.

17. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to print an image, to digitize a marked-up version of the image, to save the digitized marked-up version of the image, and to later print the digitized marked-up version of the image.

18. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to print an image, to digitize a marked-up version of the image, and to send the digitized marked-up version of the image to another device.

19. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to receive an image, to print the received image, and to digitize a marked-up version of the received image.

20. A collaborative drawing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the control logic is configured to receive an image, to print the received image, to digitize a marked-up version of the received image, and to send the digitized marked-up version of the received image to another device.