Patent Application
20100110464
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-function peripheral devices and, in particular, concerns a multi-function peripheral device that permits a user to adjust various parameters of a scanned document using inputs or functionality of the multi-functional peripheral device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-function peripheral devices (MFP) are devices that are commonly used in conjunction with computer networks. The typical MFP includes the functionality of printing, scanning, and copying. MFP's may also include communication-type functionalities such that documents can be transmitted with the MFP via fax, internet or other protocols. In one particular implementation, documents can be scanned into the MFP and the documents can then be routed either via email or fax or some other communication protocol to a desired email destination.
While MFPs are very useful tools for processing documents, in some circumstances, the use of MFPs is somewhat cumbersome. For example, when a document is scanned, a physical embodiment of the document is captured in an electronic format. Generally, the user then instructs the scanner to where to send the electronic representation of the scanned document. Oftentimes, the user will wish to format the scanned document prior to sending it to its final destination. As an example, if an individual is scanning a document to be sent to another person, the individual may wish to modify certain aspects of the document prior to sending it to the other person.
Presently, the only way that a user can modify an electronic version of a document prior to transmitting the document to another destination, is to send the electronic version of the document to a computer that the user has access to. The user then uses dedicated software on the computer to manipulate the scanned document into the format that the user so desires. Only upon completing this process can the user than transmit the scanned document onto another destination in the format that is desired by the user.
Hence, typical MFPs require the user to make use of an additional piece of equipment, the additional computer, in order to process a scanned document. This results in delays in transmitting documents and can also be somewhat tiresome for the user particularly when the format changes in the scanned document the user seeks to implement are relatively simple.
Hence, there is a need for a simplified process whereby individuals scanning documents can modify the scanned documents without requiring the individual to have the scanned document forwarded to another computer system prior to transmitting the document to it intended final destination.
The aforementioned needs are satisfied, in one implementation, by an MFP which incorporates a scanner. The MFP further incorporates a display and a plurality of user inputs. The MFP further includes a processor that is adapted to review the scanned version of the document and to recognize various components of the document. The processor is further configured to present options to the individual as to how to modify the display of the different components of the scanned document. The MFP is then configured to allow the user to provide instructions to the MFP to allow the MFP to modify the documents in accordance with the user's selections. Subsequently, the MFP can optionally display the modified document and can then further transmit the modified document to a desired destination.
In one implementation, the MFP is adapted to display the options for modifying the various components of the document to the user by printing a page via a printer which has written indications as to the various modification options available to the user. The user then graphically selects the desired option, e.g., by marking the desired option, and rescans the printed page using the scanning functionality of the MFP. The processor then reviews the graphic selections and modifies the electronically stored version of the scanned document according to the user's selections. In this way, an MFP with a limited display capability can be configured to allow a user to modify a scanned document using the MFP.
In another adaptation, the MFP includes a display and the modification options available to the user for the different components of the scanned documents that will be provided to the user via the display. The user can then select desired options using the user inputs off the MFP.
It will be appreciated that, by permitting the user to modify the electronic version of the document via the MFP itself, the user will be better able to modify electronic versions of scanned documents without having to resort to using additional computer systems. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. As is shown in
The MFP 102 is controlled by one or more processors 110 that receive electronic signals and process the documents according to the user inputs and also according to internal commands in a known manner. The processor 110 further includes one or more memories 124 wherein various documents can be stored along with various other protocols for processing documents. It will be appreciated that the operation of the MFP 102 will permit the MFP 102 to perform any of a number of known functions that are currently implemented by MFP devices.
Advantageously, the MFP device 102 of the preferred embodiment is capable of allowing a user to selectively modify a scanned document using the controls of the MFP 102. Thus, the user can modify documents without having to resort to the use of an additional computer. This further allows the user to modify the document and send the document directly in a desired modified state from the MFP device 102.
From a start state 202, the MFP proceeds to scan the document, in state 204, in a known manner. Generally, the scanning results in an electronic version of the original physical document being captured by the processor 110 in the memory 124 of the MFP 102.
Once the electronic version of the document is captured, the processor 110 then identifies the document components in state 206. The processor 110 is preferably programmed so as to be able to identify a variety of different types of document components. These document components can include such things as photographs, graphs, images, regions of text, and the like.
For each of the different types of document components that are identified by the processor 110, the processor 110 can access, in state, 210 a plurality of different options in the memory 124. The options are, in one implementation, pre-set options whereby the processor 110 will adjust or otherwise modify the document component in accordance with instructions from the user via the input 122 of the MFP 102. Examples of different options for document components includes such things as changing the size of a document component, changing the coloring or contrast or brightness of a particular document component, altering the shape of the particular document component, etc. Options can also include options for multiple document components or for the document in general and can include such things as specifying a particular location to which the document is to be transmitted or identifying a particular file structure or manner in which the document is to be saved. It will be appreciated from the following description that any of a number of different document or document component options can be implemented in this process without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
Once the different document components have been identified in state 206 and the various options have been retrieved in state 210, the options for each of the document components can then be displayed, in state 212, to the user. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the manner in which the document component options are displayed to the user can vary depending upon the display capabilities of the MFP 102.
In one implementation, the MFP 102 is equipped with a very substantial display 126, such that some or all of the document component options can be displayed to the user via the display 126 thereby allowing the user to select various options using the user inputs 122 of the MFP 102. In another implementation, the MFP 102 has a limited or non-existent display such that the options are displayed to the user by printing an image of the document with overlaid options on the printed document. The user can then graphically select various component options and then re-scan the printed page thereby allowing the MFP 102 to modify the electronic version of the document in the manner that will be described in greater detail below.
The MFP 102 determines whether the user has selected particular display component options, in decision state 214, and, if the user has selected different display component options, the MFP 102 then updates the electronic scanned image in state 216 according to the document component option selected by the user. Subsequently, the MFP 102 can optionally display the updated image in state 218 to the user. The display of the updated image can either be in the form of displaying it on the display 126 provided that the display 126 has the capability of rendering the image in sufficient detail or by printing a copy of the updated electronic image for the review of the user.
It will be appreciated that the user can thus approve the updated scanned image or disapprove it prior to the MFP 102 forwarding the updated image to a desired final destination in state 220. Once the document has been forwarded, the processor 110 and the MFP then proceeds to an end state 222. It will be appreciated that the foregoing process 200 allows the user to scan an image and then alter or change or modify the resulting scanned electronic image using the MFP 102. This facilitates the user in being able to send an electronic version of the document to a destination in a desired format without having to use an additional computer system to modify the electronic version of the document.
As discussed above, there are a variety of different ways in which the different document component options can be displayed. Referring initially to
Referring to
The MFP then reads the user's selected options, in state 356, by reading the user inputs 122. Again, the user inputs 122 can comprise buttons that are mounted on the MFP 102, touch screen buttons, or any of a number of other known user input devices that are implemented on MFP devices.
Once the user selected options are received, the MFP 102 then proceeds to update the electronic version of the document stored in memory in state 216 and optionally display the updated image in state 218 and forward the updated image to a final destination in state 220 in the manner described above. Hence, the processes 300, 350 allows for a wide variety of different ways in which a user can modify a scanned document without requiring the user to utilize a separate computer system.
The processes of
It will be appreciated that the MFP 102 may be programmed so as to be able to recognize subcomponents of the various document components as components in and of themselves. For example, separated sentences of text may be recognized as titles, individual paragraphs may be recognized as separate document components, similarly subcomponents of images, such as photographs, diagrams, and the like, may also be recognized as separate subcomponents for which options may be presented to the user for display.
As indicated in
For example, with respect to each of the document components, options such as image manipulation whereby the document component can be manipulated to fit the page or display options such as brightness whereby the brightness of a particular document component can be either increased or decreased or the like can be implemented as a result of the user selecting the various document component options. As is also shown in
As is illustrated in
Again, the user can select these particular options by either marking them on the printed paper in the process of
Although the above disclosed embodiments have shown, described and pointed out the novel features of the invention as applied to the above-disclosed embodiments, it should be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the detail of the device, systems and methods shown, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Consequently, the scope of the invention should not be limited to the foregoing description, but should be defined by the appended claims.
