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

Abstract

A method and user interface is provided for use on a computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan operation on an original document, which allows the user to acquire scanned images in an easier and more user-friendly manner. The method allows the user to scan an original document without requiring the user to have learned knowledge a background in the science of image processing, and also allows the scanner to perform only one scan operation on the original document. These features allow the use of the scanner to be easier and more user-friendly than the prior art. By the, method, the first step is to determine In the method, first a scanner driver program suited for optimizing the scan of the original document determines a set of image processing settings by a scanner driving program that are suited for optimal scan of the original document; and then. Then the scanner is activated to perform a scan operation on the original document based on the image processing settings to thereby obtain a primitive scanned image. Next, an image-enhancement process is performed on the primitive scanned image to thereby obtain a quality-enhanced image; and finally, the quality-enhanced image is transferred to the application program for use by the an application program.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to scanner technology, and more particularly, to a method and user interface for performing a scan operation for a scanner coupled to a computer system, which allows the user to acquire scanned images in an easier and more user-friendly manner.

2. Description of Related Art

A scanner allows a user to convert the printed matter on a document into a digital image for further processing by a computer. In the use of a scanner, however, it requires well-learned and highly-experienced users to do the image processing tasks properly. For inexperienced users, it usually requires a long period to learn, typically in a trial-and-error manner, which would make the training quite cost-ineffective since additional electricity and paper cost may be required in the training course.

The U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635 discloses a method that allows the user to acquire a scanned image by first obtaining a primitive scanned image from the scanner, and then specify suited image processing settings such as size and scan area for the scanner to perform a second scan operation on the original document to thereby obtain a final scanned image. By this method, the final scanned image can approach closely to the image qualities of the original document. One drawback to this patent, however, is that it is quite inefficient to use since it requires the scanner to perform two scan operations on the same document.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps involved in a conventional method to obtain a scanned image from an original document.

In the first step P100, the user interface for the scanner is activated. In the next step P102, the user interface commands the scanner to perform a primitive scan operation on the original document. The primitive scanned image is then displayed by the user interface for the user to make enhancements thereon.

In the next step P104, the user interface asks the user to specify suited image processing settings for the enhancement of the primitive scanned image, such as size setting and the desired scan area of the original document.

In the next step P106, the user interface activates the scanner to perform a second scan operation on the original document based on the image processing settings to thereby obtain a final scanned image. In the next step P108, the final scanned image is transferred to an application program for use by the application program.

It is apparent that the foregoing procedure has the drawback of requiring the scanner to perform two scan operations on the same document to obtain the final scanned image, which makes the image acquisition quite inefficient.

Moreover, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635 is still resulted resulting from the image-enhancement process is transferred to the application program 40 for use by the application program 40. The application program 40 can be either an image editing program or a word processor that can accept the quality-enhanced image as an image file.

In the next step S112, the user interface 50 displays a message asking whether the user wants to scan another document. If the user responds with YES, the procedure returns to the step S100; otherwise, the procedure is ended.

In conclusion, the invention has the following advantages over the prior art.

First, it requires the scanner to perform only one scan operation on the original document rather than two scan operations required by the prior art (the U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,635). The invention is therefore more efficient to use than the prior art.

Second, the invention allows the image-enhancement process to be entirely carried out automatically without requiring the user to have knowledge background in the science of image processing, so that the use of the scanner is easier and more user-friendly.

Third, since the invention allows the user to carry out the scan operation without having to spend time and material on training, the use of the scanner is more cost-effective than the prior art.

Fourth, the invention provides an image-enhancement process that includes a comprehensive set of image processing routines which would meet most user's demands in image processing.

Fifth, the invention allows the image acquisition to be mostly performed automatically, allowing the operation of the scanner to be more simplified and user-friendly.

The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan operation on an original document, the computer system running a scanner driver and an application program;, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic cutting routine; and

obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

2. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan operation on an original document, the computer system running a scanner driver and an application program;, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement, process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes a distortion correction routine; and

obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

3. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan operation on an original document, the computer system running a scanner driver and an application program;, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes a color calibration routine; and

obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

4. A method implemented on a user interface incorporated in a computer system coupled with a scanner for performing a scan operation on an original document, the computer system running a scanner driver and an application program;, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic character recognition routine; and

obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

5. A user interface for a scanner, comprising:

a the scanner, for scanning an original document to an image data;

a computer system, for storing and processing the image data from the scanner;

a scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in the computer system; and

an application program, for receiving a final image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method implemented on the user interface comprising comprises the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a the scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic cutting routine; and

obtaining a the final image by the image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

6. A user interface for a scanner, comprising:

a the scanner, for scanning an original document to an image data;

a computer system, for storing and processing the image data from the scanner;

a scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in the computer system; and

an application program, for receiving a final image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method implemented on the user interface comprising comprises the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a the scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes a distortion correction routine; and

obtaining a the final image by the image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

7. A user interface for a scanner, comprising:

a the scanner, for scanning an original document to an image data;

a computer system, for storing and processing the image data from the scanner;

a scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in the computer system; and

an application program, for receiving a final image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method implemented on the user interface comprising comprises the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a the scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes a color calibration routine; and

obtaining a the final image by the image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

8. A user interface for a scanner, comprising:

a the scanner, for scanning an original document to an image data;

a computer system, for storing and processing the image data from the scanner;

a scanner driving program, for driving the scanner and then performing an image-enhancement process on the image data stored in the computer system; and

an application program, for receiving a final image processed by the image-enhancement process, wherein a method implemented on the user interface comprising comprises the steps of:

determining a set of image processing settings required for the original document by a the scanner driving program;

obtaining a primitive scanned image in a manner that the scanner uses the image processing settings through the scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes an automatic character recognition routine; and

obtaining a the final image by the image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the final image is transferred to the application program.

9. A method, comprising:

obtaining an image processing setting for a target of a scan;

obtaining a primitive scanned image of the scan target using the obtained image processing setting through a scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes at least one of an automatic cutting routine, a distortion correction routine, a color calibration routine, or an automatic character recognition routine; and

obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to an application program.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

checking for another scan target to be scanned, the checking based on an input from a user interface;

if the checking indicates no additional scanning, then transferring the final image to the application program; and

if the checking indicates another scan target to be scanned, then causing the scanner to scan a second time before transferring the final image to the application program.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising obtaining the image processing setting for the scan target based on an input from a user interface.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the final image is obtained using only a single scanning of the scan target.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the application program is an image editing program or a word processor.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

selecting, using the scanner driving program, a subset of available image processing settings, the subset selected based on the scan target; and

issuing a scan request that includes at least the obtained image processing setting, wherein the obtained image processing setting is one of the settings from the subset.

15. A memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a primitive scanned image using an image processing setting through a scanner driving program;

performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes at least one of an automatic cutting routine, a distortion correction routine, a color calibration routine, or an automatic character recognition routine; and

obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to an application program.

16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

checking for another scan job, the checking based on an input from a user interface;

if the checking indicates no additional scanning, then transferring the final image to the application program; and

if the checking indicates another scan job, then causing the scanner to scan a second time before transferring the final image to the application program.

17. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise obtaining the image processing setting for a scan target based on an input from a user interface.

18. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the final image is obtained using only a single scanning of a scan target.

19. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the application program is an image editing program or a word processor.

20. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting, using the scanner driving program, a subset of available image processing settings, the subset selected based on a scan target; and

issuing a scan request that includes at least the obtained image processing setting, wherein the obtained image processing setting is one of the settings from the subset.

21. An apparatus, comprising:

means for obtaining a primitive scanned image using an image processing setting through a scanner driving program;

means for performing an image-enhancement process on the primitive scanned image, wherein the image-enhancement process includes at least one of an automatic cutting routine, a distortion correction routine, a color calibration routine, or an automatic character recognition routine; and

means for obtaining a final image by the image-enhancement process, wherein the final image is transferred to an application program.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for checking if there is another scan job; and

means for transferring the final image to the application program based on a result of the checking.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising means for determining the image processing setting based on a scan target associated with the primitive scanned image.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the final image is obtained using only a single scanning of a scan target.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the application program is an image editing program or a word processor.