Patent ID: 9690628
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: G06F,G06Q,H04N

Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method of operating a server computer serving a group of scanners connected to the server computer via a data network; wherein the group of scanners are registered in a database with a respective indication of reservation status; the method comprising: receiving, at the server computer, a request for a scanning operation from a user's electronic device; wherein the request comprises a user identifier and a scanner identifier selecting a scanner as a selected scanner from among the group of scanners; granting a reservation of the selected scanner upon reception of the request for the scanning operation, comprising altering the reservation status in the database; wherein the reservation lapses when a predefined time period lapses, unless the request for the scanning operation is confirmed via a predefined user generated confirmation event within the predefined time period, wherein the predefined time period is less than 35 seconds; receiving, at the server computer and from the selected scanner, the predefined user generated confirmation event which is transmitted from the selected scanner upon detection at the scanner of one or both of: the user pressing a button when an object to be scanned is properly inserted into the scanner without the user entering user credentials via the scanner; and a sensor of the scanner detecting that the object to be scanned is inserted into the scanner without the user entering the user credentials via the scanner; wherein, upon reception of the predefined user generated confirmation event within the predefined time period, the server: activates the scanning operation, maintains the reservation until the scanning operation is terminated or cancelled, and receives electronic reproduction resulting from the selected scanning operation performed at the selected scanner and assigns the electronic reproduction resulting from a selected scanning operation performed at the scanner to the user identified by the user identifier.