Browser interface to scanner

• US 6,429,952 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1998
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Olbricht, Eric Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US09/144,573
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: 358/474, 358/475, 358/468, 358/442, 358/406, 358/438, 358/439
• US Class Current: 358/442
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00241 using an image reading device as a local input to a computer input via network, e.g. network scanners H04N1/00225
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00408 Display of information to the user, e.g. menus
• 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 1/00466 displaying finishing information, e.g. position of punch holes or staple or orientation references
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00469 with enlargement of a selected area of the displayed information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00472 using a pop-up window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00973 from a remote device, e.g. receiving via the internet instructions input to a computer terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0075 by a user operated remote control device, e.g. receiving instructions from a user via a computer terminal or mobile telephone handset
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device

Abstract

A system for interfacing a browser and a scanner includes a computer terminal having a browser loaded thereon; a communications network connected to the computer terminal; a HTTP server connected to the communications network; and a scanning device connected to the HTTP server, wherein the scanning device is controlled by the browser on the computer terminal, and wherein a data stream generated by the scanning device is transmitted to the browser and is manipulated thereby. A scanning device is controlled with a browser residing in a computer terminal includes loading the browser on the computer terminal, wherein the computer terminal is connected to the scanning device; setting scanning parameters for the scanning device from the browser; commanding the scanning device to scan an object, thereby creating a data stream representative of the scanned object; and manipulating the data stream with the browser.

Claims

1. A system for interfacing a browser and a scanner comprising:

a computer terminal having a browser loaded thereon;

a communications network connected to said computer terminal;

a HTTP server connected to said communications network; and

a scanning device connected to said HTTP server, wherein said scanning device is controlled by said browser on said computer terminal, and wherein a data stream generated by said scanning device is transmitted to said browser and is manipulated thereby.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said HTTP server is integrally constructed within said scanning device.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said HTTP server includes an image-to-image translator.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said translator is browser specific.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer terminal controls said scanning device without having a scanning device-specific driver loaded thereon.

6. A method of controlling a scanning device with a browser residing in a computer terminal comprising:

loading the browser on the computer terminal, wherein the computer terminal is connected to the scanning device;

setting scanning parameters in a user interface for the scanning device from the browser;

commanding the scanning device to scan an object, thereby creating a data stream representative of the scanned object; and

manipulating the data stream with the browser.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said creating a data stream includes generating a data stream in a HTML-type format for direct use by the browser.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the user interface is presented in a JAVA®

-type format.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein said commanding includes setting commands taken from the group of commands including setting resolution, setting an image size, setting a color/monochrome mode, setting a single/multiple page mode, setting and encoding type, setting a compression type and assigning a file name.