Abstract:
The present invention relates to a digital photo frame, which includes a scanner to convert a picture into an image data file, wherein the scanner is a sheetfed scanner, and the scanner can reduce the scanning size limitations of a flatbed scanner and to promote the utility of the digital photo frame.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a digital photo frame. More particularly, it relates to a digital photo frame having a built-in sheetfed scanner. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Nowadays, most of pictures are shot by a digital camera. In order to review these pictures, the image data of the digital camera must be transferred to a personal computer first, and then the pictures from the image data could be printed or displayed on a screen. 
         [0003]    With the development of digital multi-media, a heavy and clumsy conventional photo album has been gradually replaced by a modern digital photo frame. A prior digital photo frame could transfer an image data to a memory in the digital photo frame via wired or wireless transmission and present the image data on the screen of the digital photo frame. Thus, the drawback, reviewing the pictures only via a personal computer, is settled and a digital photo frame makes reviewing the pictures more convenient and time-saving. 
         [0004]    However, some people still use a traditional camera to take pictures and take the films to a photo studio for photos. It makes a scanner a necessary tool for transferring photos into an image data. When using a scanner, it is inevitable to connect the scanner to a computer. The use of a scanner is time-consuming and not convenient. Therefore, a digital photo frame with a built-in scanner consequently becomes a competitive product. 
         [0005]    So far, digital photo frames having a built-in scanner are all based on a “flatbed” scanner, and the scanning scope of a flatbed scanner is usually fixed such as “3×5” or “4×6.” However, a digital photo frame could also show documents, pictures and photos with various sizes like a wide-angle photo and so on. Accordingly, a limitation of scanning scope would decrease the utility of a digital photo frame. Besides this, a built-in flatbed scanner would take a lot of space of a digital photo frame and cause the digital photo frame much bigger than an ordinary one. 
         [0006]    Therefore, it would be useful to invent a digital photo frame to circumvent all the above issues. In order to fulfill this need the inventors have proposed an invention “DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME HAVING A BUILT-IN SCANNER.” The summary of the present invention is described as follows. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    According to the first aspect of the present invention, a digital photo frame includes: a sheetfed scanner scanning a picture and generating an image data; a processor controlling the sheetfed scanner and processing the image data; and a display device coupled to the processor and generating an image output. 
         [0008]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the sheetfed scanner further includes a slot receiving the picture, a cover covering the slot and a cover sensor generating a first signal to start the scanner when the cover is open and generating a second signal to stop the scanner when the cover is closed. 
         [0009]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the sheetfed scanner further includes a suspend mode for power saving, and the processor actuates the sheetfed scanner. 
         [0010]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes an interface module and a memory, wherein the memory is coupled to the processor and stores the image data, and the interface module is coupled to the sheetfed scanner and the processor, transports the image data from the scanner to the processor and further includes a memory card slot. 
         [0011]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the interface module further includes at least one data port coupled to the processor and connecting one of a computer or a multimedia device. 
         [0012]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the at least one data port could be an USB interface, a RS232 interface, an IEEE1394 interface or the conventional interface. 
         [0013]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the interface module further includes a switch circuit coupled to the processor, the sheetfed scanner and a switch data port, and switching between the sheetfed scanner and the switch data port. 
         [0014]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the at least one data port may connects an external scanner. 
         [0015]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes a controlling panel coupled to and controlling the processor. 
         [0016]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes a frame having a supporting base. 
         [0017]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes a signal receiver coupled to the processor and receiving a signal generated by an external remote control. 
         [0018]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes at least one speaker coupled to the processor and outputting the audio data. 
         [0019]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes a rotation detector coupled to the processor and adjusting the orientation of the image output. 
         [0020]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display (LCD) having a light emitting diode (LED) backlight. 
         [0021]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes a lighting sensor coupled to the processor, sensing the ambient light and controlling the brightness of the LCD. 
         [0022]    According to the second aspect of the present invention, a digital photo frame includes: a sheetfed scanner scanning a picture and generating an image data; a processor coupled to the sheetfed scanner and processing the image data so as to generate an image. 
         [0023]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes a memory and a display device, wherein the memory is coupled to the processor and stores the image data, the display device is coupled to the processor and displays the image, and the sheetfed scanner further includes a slot receiving the picture, a cover covering the slot and a cover sensor generating a first signal to start the scanner when the cover is open and generating a second signal to stop the scanner when the cover is closed. 
         [0024]    Preferably, the digital photo frame is provided, wherein the sheetfed scanner further includes a suspend mode for power saving. 
         [0025]    Preferably, the digital photo frame further includes at least one data port connecting an external scanning device. 
         [0026]    According to the third aspect of the present invention, a digital photo frame includes a sheetfed scanner scanning a picture and generating an image. 
         [0027]    The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the following descriptions with reference to the drawings: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  shows the electrical connection of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 2   a  is a diagram showing a front view for a digital photo frame of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2   b  is a diagram showing a rear view for a digital photo frame of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 2   c  is a diagram showing a digital photo frame of the first embodiment of the present invention (scanning); 
           [0032]      FIG. 3  is a diagram showing the electrical connection of the second embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0033]      FIG. 4  is a diagram showing a digital photo frame of the second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0034]    The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for the aspect of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise from disclosed. 
         [0035]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  which shows the electrical connection of the first embodiment of the present invention. A sheetfed scanner  101  is coupled to interface module  102 . The interface module  102  includes a switch circuit  1021 , a switch data port  1022 , at least one data port  1023  and a memory card slot  1024 . The switch circuit  1021  is further coupled to the sheetfed scanner  101  and the switch data port  1022  respectively. Besides, a processor  103  is coupled to the switch circuit  1021 , the at least one data port  1023 , the memory card slot  1024 , a display device  104 , a memory  105 , a controlling panel  106 , a remote controlling module  107 , a speaker  108 , a rotation detector  109  and a lighting sensor  110 . 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIGS. 2   a ,  2   b  and  2   c  which show a digital photo frame of the first embodiment of the present invention. The elements of the first embodiment are described with these Figs. as follows. When a picture enters an import slot  2301 , a sheetfed scanner of the digital photo frame starts to scan the picture and transfers the picture to an image data, such as a JPG file, a TIF file, a BMP file, a GIF file or other files with conventional formats. When the scanning process is finished, the picture is outputted from an export slot  2201 . The image data is stored in a memory of the digital photo frame, such as hard discs, memory cards, a flash memory or any other conventional memory device. By this way, time for scanning pictures and transporting data via personal computer is correspondingly reduced. Furthermore, the sheetfed scanner  101  has no length limitation for a picture so as to promote the utility of the digital photo frame. The advantages can not be reached by a flatbed scanner since the flatbed scanner has a width limitation and a length limitation. The sheetfed scanner  101  can further include a cover  2101  and a switch (not shown) or a sensor (not shown). The cover  2101  provides a function to prevent dust from entering the sheetfed scanner  101  so that the scanning would not be affected. The switch or the sensor can use a mechanical method, magnetic method, photo-electrical method or other circuit to detect whether the cover  2101  is open or not. Once the cover  2101  is open, a signal is generated to start the sheetfed scanner  101  and the display device  104 . By this way, the sheetfed scanner  101  could be waked up without using a controlling panel and users could enjoy the fun of scanning and reviewing at the same time. Consequently the sheetfed scanner  101  would be set into suspend mode for power saving when the cover  2101  is closed. It is noted that the cover  2101  covers the import slot  2301 , which is used to receive a picture, of the sheetfed scanner  101 . The import slot  2301  is preferably configure in the front of the digital photo frame (the same side as the display device  104 ) so that users could reviewing the image conveniently while scanning, and the situation of picture jamming or incapability of rejecting pictures due to the shorter picture length would be avoided. Furthermore, the sheetfed scanner  101  preferably has a suspend mode. That is to say, when the sheetfed scanner  101  is active for a period of time and do not process any scanning, the sheetfed scanner  101  would be set into suspend mode for power saving. 
         [0037]    The interface module  102  of the first embodiment transports data between the processor  103  and sheetfed scanner  101  or other device. The interface module  102  includes the switch circuit  1021 , the switch data port  1022 , the at least one data port  1023  and the memory card slot  1024 . Certainly, the interface module  102  may include a combination of these components. The memory card slot  1024  is connected to a memory card to receive data from the memory card or transmit data to the memory card. The memory card slot  1024  could be a SD card slot, CF card slot, MS card slot, xD card slot, MMC card slot, Multi in 1 card slot and other conventional memory card slot. The at least one data port  1023  could be connected to a computer or a multimedia device, such as a digital camera, a printer, a scanner, a hard drive, a camcorder and so on. The switch circuit  1021  coupled to the processor  103  is used to switch the connection between the switch data port  1022  and the sheetfed scanner  101 . That is, when the switch data port  1022  is connected to an external device, the connection would be switched to the switch data port  1022  by the switch circuit  1021 . Furthermore, the interface adopted by the interface module  102  could be an Universal Serial Bus (USB 1.0, USB 1.1, USB 2.0, USB 3.0), a Recommended Standard 232 (RS232) interface, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers  1394  (IEEE 1394) interface or other conventional interfaces. 
         [0038]    The digital photo frame of the first embodiment further includes a frame  2103 , the controlling panel  106 , the remote controlling module  107 , the speaker  108 , the rotation detector  109  and the lighting sensor  110 . The frame  2103  has a base  2102  to support the digital photo frame. Users can input instructions to operate the digital photo frame via the controlling panel  106 , such as reviewing pictures, scanning, storing data and so on. The remote controlling module  107  includes a receiver and an external remote controller. The receiver could receive a signal from the external remote controller to operate the digital photo frame. The speaker  108  outputs audio data, such as MP3, WMV or other audio file with a conventional format, for users&#39; listening. The rotation detector  109  can detect whether the digital photo frame is placed in portrait or landscape orientation by a roll ball switch and adjust the orientation of the image output accordingly. Moreover, the display device  104  is a liquid crystal display (LCD) and has a light emitting diode (LED) backlight so that users could watch the display device in a dark circumstance without any light. The digital photo frame preferably has a lighting sensor  110  and the lighting sensor  110  could sense the ambient light and control the brightness of the LCD. 
         [0039]    The processor  103  is coupled to these components as shown in  FIG. 1  and receive users&#39; instructions via the controlling panel  106  or remote controlling module  107  to operate the digital photo frame for scanning pictures, to gain image data, outputting the image data via the display device  104 , storing the image data in a memory, outputting audio data via the speaker  108  or controlling external multimedia devices to process data. Furthermore, the processor  103  receives a signal from the lighting sensor  110  to control the brightness of the LCD and receives a signal from the rotation detector  109  to adjust the orientation of the image output. It is noted that the processor  103  could also actuate the sheetfed scanner  101 . 
         [0040]    Please refer to  FIG. 3  which shows the electrical connection of the second embodiment of the present invention. A processor  303  is coupled to a sheetfed scanner  301 , a display device  304 , a memory  305 , a controlling panel  306 , a remote controlling module  307 , a speaker  308 , a rotation detector  309  and a lighting sensor  310 . 
         [0041]    Please refer to  FIG. 4  which shows a digital photo frame of the second embodiment of the present invention. When a picture enters the import slot, the sheetfed scanner of the digital photo frame starts to scan the picture and transfers the picture to an image data, such as a JPG file, a TIF file, a BMP file, a GIF file or other files with conventional formats. When the scanning process is finished, the picture is outputted from the export slot  2201 . The image data is stored in a memory of the digital photo frame, such as hard discs, memory cards, a flash memory or any other conventional memory device. By this way, time for scanning pictures and transporting data via personal computer is saved. Furthermore, the sheetfed scanner  301  has no length limitation for a picture so as to promote the utility of the digital photo frame. The advantages can not be reached by a flatbed scanner since the flatbed scanner has a width limitation and a length limitation. The sheetfed scanner  301  can further include a cover  4101  and a switch (not shown) or a sensor (not shown). The cover  4101  provides a function to prevent dust from entering the sheetfed scanner  301  so that the scanning would not be affected. The switch or the sensor can use a mechanical method, magnetic method, photo-electrical method or other circuit to detect whether the cover  4101  is open or not. Once the cover  4101  is open, a signal is generated to start the sheetfed scanner  301  and the display device  304 . By this way, the sheetfed scanner  301  could be waked up without using the controlling panel  306  and users could enjoy the fun of scanning and reviewing at the same time. Consequently the sheetfed scanner  301  would be set into suspend mode for power saving when the cover  4101  is closed. It is noted that the cover  4101  covers the import slot, which is used to receive a picture, of the sheetfed scanner  301 . The import slot is preferably configure in the front of the digital photo frame (the same side as the display device  304 ) so that users could reviewing the image conveniently while scanning and the situation of picture jamming or incapability of rejecting pictures due to the shorter picture length would be avoided. Furthermore, the sheetfed scanner  301  preferably has a suspend mode. That is to say, when the sheetfed scanner  301  actives for a period of time and do not process any scanning, the sheetfed scanner  301  would be set into suspend mode for power saving. 
         [0042]    The digital photo frame of the second embodiment further includes a frame  4103 , the controlling panel  306 , the remote controlling module  307 , the speaker  308 , the rotation detector  309  and the lighting sensor  310 . The frame  4103  has a base  4102  to support the digital photo frame. Users can input instructions to operate the digital photo frame via the controlling panel  306 , such as reviewing pictures, scanning, storing data and so on. The remote controlling module  307  includes a receiver and an external remote controller. The receiver could receive a signal from the external remote controller to operate the digital photo frame. The speaker  308  outputs audio data, such as MP3, WMV or other audio file with a conventional format, for users&#39; listening. The rotation detector  309  can detect whether the digital photo frame is placed in portrait or landscape orientation by a roll ball switch and adjust the orientation of the image output accordingly. Moreover, the display device  304  is a liquid crystal display (LCD) and has a light emitting diode (LED) backlight so that users could watch the display device in a dark circumstance without any light. The digital photo frame preferably has a lighting sensor  310  and the lighting sensor  310  could sense an ambient light and control the brightness of the LCD. 
         [0043]    The processor  303  is coupled to these components as shown in  FIG. 3  and receive users&#39; instructions via the controlling panel  306  or remote controlling module  307  to operate the digital photo frame for scanning pictures, to gain image data, outputting the image data via the display device  304 , storing the image data in a memory, or outputting audio data via the speaker  308 . Furthermore, the processor  303  receives a signal from the lighting sensor  310  to control the brightness of the LCD and receives a signal from the rotation detector  309  to adjust an orientation of the image output. 
         [0044]    While the invention has been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. Therefore the above description and illustration should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims.