User interface for initiating the export of an optimized scanned document using drag and drop

• US 6,751,780 B1
• Filed: 10/01/1998
• Issued: 06/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Jeffrey P., Lopez, Patricia D., Neff, Theodore W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bashore, William L.
• Application Number:
  US09/164,795
• Time in Patent Office: 2,084 Days
• Field of Search: 707/530, 707/526, 358/1.19, 345/339, 345/349, 715/530, 715/526, 382/229
• US Class Current: 715/247
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3873 defined only by a limited number of coordinate points or parameters, e.g. corners, centre; for trimming

Abstract

A user interface method for launching an optimized final scan of a selected region of interest selected from a preview scan of a document. A user may drag the selected region of interest, presented in a preview scan of a document in a scanner window, and drop it on a software application, the desktop, or a writeable folder, which launches an optimized final scan of the selected region of interest. The image data resulting from the optimized final scan automatically resides in the software application, the desktop, or the writeable folder. In selecting a region of interest from the preview scan, scanner software parameters are updated with information about the region of interest which optimize the final scan. The image data from the optimized final scan is then formatted in the format requested and delivered to the software application, the desktop, or the writeable folder.

Claims

1. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring image data from scanner software to a software application, said method comprising:

(a) launching a preview scan of a document creating preview scan data of said document;

(b) displaying said preview scan data on a monitor connected to said computer system;

(c) selecting a region of interest from said preview scan data displayed on said monitor, wherein step (c) further comprises steps (c1) and (c2);

(c1) receiving a data type for said selected region of interest in said memory in said computer system; and

(c2) retrieving at least one data format associated with said data type for said selected region of interest;

(d) receiving, into said memory in said computer system, an input signal, wherein said input signal selects said software application, and further wherein said software application was previously loaded into said memory in said computer system, wherein step (d) further comprises the following steps (d0a) through (d0c);

(d0a) receiving a signal from said software application displayed on said monitor indicating that said software application requests data formats available;

(d0b) supplying at least one data format for said scanned data to said software application; and

(d0c) receiving a selected data format, said selected format being selected from said at least one data format by said software application;

(e) launching, with said scanner software, a final scan of said document creating said image data, wherein said image data of said document corresponds to said selected region of interest;

(f) receiving said image data in said memory in said computer system; and

(g) sending said image data to said selected software application.

2. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 wherein step (a) further comprises step (a0) performed before step (a), and step (e) further comprises step (e1):

(a0) placing said document into a position to be scanned by a scanner connected to said computer system; and

(e1) receiving in said scanner, from said scanner software, a command to launch said final scan of said document, wherein said final scan creates said image data.

3. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 wherein when said data type for said selected region of interest is true color, gray scale, palette, or black and white binary, said data format is a Windows Device Independent Bitmap format.

4. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring datafrom scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 wherein when said data type for said selected region of interest is black and white scalable vector, said data format is a Windows Metafile Clipboard format.

5. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 wherein when said data type for said selected region of interest is text, said data format is an ASCII Text format or a Rich Text format.

6. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 wherein step (d) further comprises step (d0d) performed after step (d0c), and step (f) further comprises step (f0) performed before step (f):

(d0d) requesting, by said software application, that said image data be formatted into said selected data format; and

(f0) formatting said image data into said selected data format.

7. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 wherein step (d0b) further comprises the following step (d0b1):

(d0b1) displaying, in said open application window on said monitor when said software application cannot accept one of said at least one data format supplied to said software application, a universal “

no”

icon in place of a pointer icon.

8. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

(h) receiving said image data in said selected software application in said memory; and

(i) displaying said image data in said open application window on said monitor.

9. A user interface method, within a computer system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 8 wherein said software application is a desktop.

10. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 9 wherein step (h) further comprises steps (h1) through (h3):

(h1) creating a file, by file manager software within an operating system loaded into said memory, upon receiving said image data into said memory, wherein a file type of said file is determined based on said data type;

(h2) saving said file as said file type in said computer system; and

(h3) displaying a representation of said file of said file type as an icon on said desktop.

11. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 8 wherein said software application is a writeable folder.

12. A user interface method, within a computer system, for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 11 wherein step (h) further comprises steps (h1) through (h3):

(h1) creating a file, by file manager software within an operating system loaded into said memory, upon receiving said image data into said memory, wherein a type of said file is determined based on said data type;

(h2) saving said file as said file type in said computer system; and

(h3) displaying a representation of said file as an icon on said writeable folder.

13. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application, said system comprising:

a scanner device, connected to a computer system, for scanning a document and for generating preview scan data of said document;

a monitor, connected to said computer system, wherein said monitor displays said preview scan data of said document in a scanner window, and for displaying an open application window;

a graphical input device, connected to said computer system, for selecting a region of interest from said preview scan data displayed in said scanner window;

an operating system, operating within a memory within said computer system, for receiving a mouse down input signal from said graphical input device to select said selected region of interest, for receiving a mouse over input signal from said graphical input device to identify a software application loaded into said memory and displayed in said open application window, and for receiving a mouse drop input signal from said graphical input device to select said software application;

and scanner software, operating within said memory, within said computer system, for displaying said selected region of interest within said preview scan data of said document in said scanner window, for launching a final scan of said document in said scanner device after said mouse drop input signal is received selecting said software application, and for transferring data from said final scan to said software application;

wherein, after said operating system receives said mouse over input identifying said software application running within said open application window, said software application queries said scanner software to determine if said scanner software offers at least one data format associated with said data type of said selected region of interest, wherein said software application can accept drop input of said data type in one of said at least one data formats.

14. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 13 wherein said software application, after performing said query, requests one of said at least one data formats, and said scanner software, after completing said optimized final scan, formats image data from said optimized final scan into said one of said at least one data formats.

15. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 14 wherein, when said scanner software completes said optimized final scan, said image data from said optimized final scan formatted into said one of said at least one data format is transferred from said scanner software to said software application, wherein said image data in said one of said at least one data format resides within said software application.

16. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 15 wherein said image data in said one of said at least one data formats is displayed in said open application window.

17. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 13 wherein said open application window is a desktop window.

18. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 17 wherein after receiving said image data in said desktop window, file manager software within an operating system loaded into said memory creates a file, wherein a type of said file is determined based upon said data type, and further wherein said file is displayed as an icon in said desktop window.

19. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application according to claim 13 wherein said open application window is a directory window having at least one writeable folder.

20. A system for transferring data from scanner software to a software application document according to claim 17 wherein after receiving said image data in said at least one writeable folder in said directory window, file manager software within an operating system loaded into said memory creates a file, wherein a type of said file is determined based upon said data type, and further wherein said file is displayed as an icon in said writeable folder in said directory window.