Method and user interface for performing an automatic scan operation for a scanner coupled to a computer system

• US 7,430,066 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2003
• Issued: 09/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Transpacific IP Group Limited
• Inventors: Hsu, Chuan-Yu, Hsu, T. J., Liu, Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II; Jerome
• Application Number:
  US10/626,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20040070787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,897 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/474, 358/476, 358/475, 709/208, 709/326, 382/167, 382/176
• US Class Current: 358/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561

Abstract

A method and user interface is provided for use on a computer system coupled with a scanner for performing an automatic scan operation on an original document, with the computer system running a scanner driver and an application program. By the method and user interface, the scanner is first activated to perform a primitive scan operation on the original document based on the default image processing settings to thereby obtain a primitive scanned image. Next, the scanner driver is activated to perform a set of image processing routines on the primitive scanned image to thereby obtain the image qualities of the original document; and based on the image qualities of the original document, a set of suited image processing settings are specified for optimal scan of the original document. The suited image processing settings are then used to replace the default image processing settings, and the scanner is again activated to perform a final scan operation on the original document based on the suited image processing settings to thereby obtain a final scanned image which is transferred to the application program for use by the application program.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a computing system, the method comprising:

performing a primitive first scan operation on a document based on a set of default image processing settings to obtain a primitive scanned image;

performing a set of image processing routines on the primitive scanned image to obtain image qualities of the document, the image processing routines including determining whether the primitive scanned image represents text;

specifying a set of image processing settings for the document based at least in part on the obtained image qualities; and

performing a second scan operation on the document based at least in part on the specified image processing settings.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified image processing settings are specified in accordance with the obtained image qualities of the document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system is further adapted to execute an application program.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the application program comprises an image editing program.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the application program comprises a word processor program.

6. The method of claim 3, and further comprising transferring an image obtained from the second scan to said application program.

7. A user interface implemented on a computer system, the user interface comprising:

means for performing a primitive first scan operation on a document based on a set of default image processing settings to obtain a primitive scanned image;

means for performing a set of image processing routines on the primitive scanned image to obtain image qualities of the document, the image processing routines including determining whether the primitive scanned image represents text characters;

means for obtaining a set of image processing settings for the document based at least in part on the obtained image qualities; and

means for performing a second scan operation on the document based at least in part on the obtained speei4ied image processing settings.

10. The user interface of claim 7, wherein the application program comprises an image editing program.

11. The user interface of claim 7, wherein the application program comprises a word processor program.

8. A user interface implemented on a computer system, the user interface comprising:

a means for performing a primitive scan operation on a document based on a set of default image processing settings to obtain a primitive scanned image;

means for performing a set of image processing routines on the primitive scanned image to obtain image qualities of the document, the image processing routines including determining whether the primitive scanned image represents text characters;

means for obtaining a set of image processing settings for the document based at least in part on the obtained image qualities; and

means for performing a second scan on the document based at least in part on the specified image processing settings.

9. The user interface of claim 8, wherein the specified image processing settings are obtained in accordance with the obtained image qualities of the document.

12. The user interface of claim 9, wherein the application program comprises an image editing program.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed, perform a method, comprising:

performing a primitive scan on a document based on a set of default image processing settings to obtain a primitive scanned image to provide to the scanner driver;

performing a set of image processing routines on the primitive scanned image to obtain image qualities of the document, the image processing routines including determining whether the document includes color images;

specifying a set of image processing settings for the document based at least in part on the obtained image qualities; and

performing a second scan on the document based at least in part on the specified image processing settings.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when further executed, further results in the specified image processing settings being specified in accordance with the obtained image qualities of the document.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the application program comprises an image editing program.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the application program comprises a word processor program.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

A scanner to perform a primitive scan operation on a document based on a set of default image processing settings to obtain a primitive scanned image;

circuitry to perform a set of image processing routines on the primitive scanned image to obtain image qualities of the document, the image processing routines including automatic character recognition;

circuitry to obtain a set of image processing settings for the document based at least in part on the specified image processing settings.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the specified image processing settings are obtained in accordance with the obtained image qualities of the document.