Patent Publication Number: US-2005128922-A1

Title: Image scanning and storage system and method thereof

Description:
PRIORITY  
      This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-90112, filed on Dec. 11, 2003, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an image scanning and storage system and a method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image scanning and storage system and a method thereof for storing an image which is formed by an image scanning apparatus in a peripheral device such as a digital camera without using a large system e.g., a computer.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Image scanning apparatuses convert documents, pictures, or films, into digital data that will be stored in computers. The image scanning apparatuses also convert pictures and documents into graphic files and computer readable characters respectively using suitable software. The image scanning apparatuses include scanners, multi-function devices, digital copying machines and facsimiles. The conventional image scanning apparatus will be described below with respect to a scanner.  
      During an operation of a scanner, light is irradiated onto an object and an amount of light reflected from the object is measured. A voltage proportional to the amount of reflected light is applied to a circuit built in the scanner. The voltage applied to the circuit is then converted into certain pixel patterns. In short, the scanner projects an image by measuring the amount of reflected light.  
      Scanners are typically classified as hand scanners, sheet feed scanners and flat bed scanners depending upon an operation process. For the hand scanner, a user holds a device for moving the scanner over an object to be scanned. For the sheet feed scanner, a paper is inserted into an upper portion of the scanner, and the paper is scanned while moving downward as in an ink-jet printer. In the most widely used scanner which is the flat bed scanner, an object to be scanned is placed on a glass plate, and a scanning module scans the object while moving from the lower portion to the upper portion of the glass plate.  
      In order to set a pictorial image area of the object in the scanner, a gray scanning process and a color scanning process may be used.  
      Generally, during the gray scanning process, data in a green channel is used in a charge coupled device (CCD), and a green light source is used in a contact image sensor (CIS) to scan the object. In other words, only a green (G) light source is used among red (R), green (G) and blue (B) light sources in an image sensor such as CCD or CIS, thereby reducing a scanning time. When a pictorial image of the object has a complementary color of green, however, a blank area other than the pictorial image area may be generated depending on the gray data. Hence, some data may be lost, and the pictorial image area may not be properly set.  
      During the color scanning process, for example in multifunction machines, the image sensor such as CCD or CIS uses all of the red (R), green (G) and blue (B) light sources to scan the object. Thus, loss of data may not occur unlike the gray scanning process when the pictorial image has a complementary color of green. The scanning time, however, is relatively long.  
      In the gray scanning and color scanning processes, the overall area of the object is scanned with a constant dot per inch (DPI) to generate reference data and to determine a critical value for setting the pictorial image area. An algorithm is applied, which determines the area having values smaller than the critical value to be the pictorial image area, and determines a continuous area having values greater than the critical value to be the blank area. Accordingly, a large amount of reference data and a high capacity memory are required to process the data.  
      Recently, as office automation machines, for example printers, scanners and facsimiles, produce high quality images, manufacturing costs thereof have increased to affect product costs. Certain space is also required to install those machines. As a result, multifunction machines having most functions of the automation machines have emerged.  
      A multifunction machine generally has a printing member, a scanning member and an information transmitting member such as a modem. Thus, the multifunction machine serves as a printer, facsimile, scanner and copy machine. The multifunction machine has a personal computer interface function for connecting to a personal computer.  
      A computer interfaced with the multifunction machine generally includes a scanner driver that performs PC scan. The scanner driver controls the scanning member in the multifunction machine, i.e. scanner, to scan an object set in the multifunction machine. The scanner driver also receives the scanned image data to display the image data in an application program of the computer.  
      In order to perform the PC scan by operating the scanner driver, a user has to sequentially operate the application program and the scanner driver in the application program.  
      In the conventional method of operating the scanner driver, the multifunction machine is operated according to the computer operation. Thus, the scanning process may not be performed when the scanner is not connected to the computer. Conducting the scanning process is possible only when the computer is available. In addition, the user has to sequentially operate the application program and the scanner driver to perform the PC scan, which is inconvenient.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, the present invention is provided to substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
      The present invention provides an image scanning and storage system including an image scanning apparatus, a peripheral device connected to the image scanning apparatus and a member for setting a scanning area. The image scanning apparatus has a scanning unit, a host controller and a control unit. The scanning unit scans an object in order to digitize an image of the object, and the host controller communicates with a medium. The control unit controls the scanning unit and the host controller to transmit the image scanned in the scanning unit to the medium through the host controller. The peripheral device has a display member, a memory, a device controller and a control member. The display member displays the image, and the memory stores the image. The device controller communicates with the host controller. The control member displays the image pre-scanned in the image scanning apparatus on the display member and stores the scanned image in the memory according to a command signal of the control unit provided through the device controller. The member for setting a scanning area in the pre-scanned image displayed on the display member is installed either in the image scanning apparatus or in the peripheral device.  
      The peripheral device includes a digital camera, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone or a digital camcorder.  
      The memory corresponds to an external memory that is removable from the peripheral device.  
      The member for setting includes a zoom key and a direction key. The zoom key zooms in or zooms out the image displayed in the display member. The direction key movies the image into up, down, right and left directions.  
      The image scanning apparatus comprises one of a scanner, a multi-function unit, a digital copying machine, and a facsimile.  
      The control member is programmed to provide the image scanning apparatus with information on the scanning area set by the zoom key and the direction key.  
      The communicating is performed using wireless or wireline communication process including USB, RS-232C, IrDA or Bluetooth interfaces.  
      According to one aspect of the present invention, an image scan and storage method is provided for an image scanning apparatus having a scanning unit, and a peripheral device connected to the image scanning apparatus via a communication port and having a display unit for the display of an image. The image scan and storage method include scanning an image in the image scanning apparatus; transmitting the scanned image to the peripheral device; and storing the scanned image to the memory of the peripheral device.  
      The present invention also provides a method of scanning and storing an image using an image scanning apparatus and a peripheral device connected to the image scanning apparatus through a communication port. The image scanning apparatus has a scanning unit for scanning the image, and the peripheral device has a display member for displaying the image. The image is pre-scanned in the image scanning apparatus. The pre-scanned image is primarily transmitted to the peripheral device. The transmitted pre-scanned image is displayed on the display member of the peripheral device. A scanning area is set in the pre-scanned image displayed on the display member. The set area is scanned in the image scanning apparatus. The scanned image is secondarily transmitted to the peripheral device. The scanned image is stored in a memory of the peripheral device.  
      The transmission steps are performed using USB, RS-232C, IrDA or Bluetooth.  
      The scanning area is set using a zoom key and a direction key installed either in the image scanning apparatus or in the peripheral device. The zoom key zooms in or zooms out the image, and the direction key moves the image into up, down, right and left directions.  
      When the zoom key and the direction key are installed in the peripheral device, information on the scanning area is transmitted from the peripheral device to the image scanning apparatus after setting the scanning area. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above aspects and features of the present invention will be more apparent by describing certain embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view illustrating an image scanning and storage system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the image scanning and storage system of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a rear view of the digital camera of  FIG. 1  having a pre-scanned image;  
       FIG. 4  is a rear view of the digital camera of  FIG. 1  showing a scanning area of the pre-scanned image shown in  FIG. 3 ; and  
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating an image scanning and storage method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
      Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that the same or similar elements are denoted by like reference numerals.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
      In an image scanning and storage system and a method using the same, an image scanning apparatus is connected to a peripheral device under an interface condition. An image pre-scanned in the image scanning apparatus is displayed on a display member of the peripheral device to set a scanning area. The scanning area is scanned again, and the scanned image is transmitted to the peripheral device to be stored. The scanning process and storage process are conducted using the peripheral device without computers.  
      Meanwhile, the image scanning apparatus generally operates to scan documents, pictures and films and convert the scanned data into digital data which can be stored in the computer. The image scanning apparatuses mainly include scanners, multi-function units, digital copying machines and facsimiles. Although the flat bed image scanning apparatus is solely described in the following embodiments, the image scanning and storage system and the method thereof according to embodiments of the present invention may also be employed in the sheet feed image scanning apparatus and the flat bed image scanning apparatus.  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view illustrating an image scanning and storage system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the image scanning and storage system of  FIG. 1 .  
      Referring to FIGS.  1  to  2 , the image scanning and storage system includes an image scanning apparatus  10 , a digital camera  20  and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable  30 . The image scanning apparatus  10  scans an image, and the digital camera  20  serves as a peripheral device that displays and stores a scanned image. The image scan apparatus  10  communicates with the digital camera  20  through the USB cable  30 .  
      The image scanning apparatus  10  has a scanning unit  11 , a USB host controller  17  and a control unit  15 . The scanning unit  11  projects an image of an object. The USB host controller  17  provides the peripheral device with the scanned image and controls a USB device controller  27  in the peripheral device. The control unit  15  controls the overall operation of the image scanning apparatus  10 .  
      The scanning unit  11  typically has a scanning module  12  that scans the object and an image processing unit  13  that processes the scanned image.  
      The scanning module  12  includes a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) image sensor, a lens and a light source. A carriage return motor drives the scanning module  12 . The CCD image sensor has a photoelectric conversion part, a charge transmitting part and a signal detection part. The photoelectric conversion part absorbs light reflected from the object among the light irradiated onto the object to generate electrons. The charge transmitting part transmits the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion part to the signal detection part. The signal detection part detects the charge of the signal and converts information on the image supplied to the photoelectric conversion part into electrical signals.  
      The image processing unit  13  performs shading, a gamma correction, dot per inch (DPI) conversion, edge emphasis, error diffusion, etc. on the pictorial image data input from the scanning module  12 .  
      As described in this embodiment, when a computer is connected to the peripheral device or a terminal using a USB method in order to comprise a network, the computer is used as a host, and the peripheral device or the terminal is used as a device. The USB host may be referred to as the USB host controller  17  in terms of hardware. The USB host controller  17  controls software, data flow and drivers needed for peripheral devices connected to a bus.  
      The USB host controller  17  is usually installed in a central unit such as a computer. In this embodiment, however, the USB host controller  17  is installed in the image scanning apparatus  10 . The USB host controller  17  controls the USB device controller  27  of the digital camera  20  while transmitting the image scanned in the scanning unit  11  to the digital camera  20 . Accordingly, a pre-scanned image is displayed on a display member  21  of the digital camera  20 . After a scanning process is completed, the scanned image is stored in a memory  23  of the digital camera  20 .  
      A zoom key  18  and a direction key  19  may be installed on one side face of the image scanning apparatus  10 . The zoom key  18  and the direction key  19  are employed to select the scanning area in the pre-scanned image displayed on the display member  21  of the digital camera  20 . The zoom key  18  zooms in or out of an image. The direction key  19  moves the image into up, down, right and left directions to display the area to be scanned on the display member  21 . In order to detect the area selected by the zoom key  18  and the direction key  19 , the image scanning apparatus  10  has a scanning area detection member  14 .  
      Any terminal that has a display member  21  where the image scanned in the image scanning apparatus  10  is displayed and can interface with the image scanning apparatus  10  using a communication port may be used as the peripheral device connected to the image scanning apparatus  10 . For example, an image recording device such as a digital camera or a digital camcorder, and a communication terminal such as a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) may be used.  
      In this embodiment, as the peripheral device, the digital camera  20  is employed. The digital camera  20  includes the display member  21 , the memory  23 , the USB device controller  27  and a control member  25 . The display member  21  displays the image provided from the image scanning apparatus  10 , and the memory  23  stores the image. The USB device controller  27  is controlled by the USB host controller  17 . The control member  25  controls the overall operation of the digital camera  20 . The digital camera  20  may have various accessories for image sensing, but detailed explanations thereof irrelevant to the present invention will be omitted.  
      Examples of the display member  21  include a super twisted nematic liquid crystal display (STN-LCD) device, a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) device having clear and bright image quality, an ultra fine and brightness liquid crystal display (UFB-LCD) device developed by Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd., and a thin film diode liquid crystal display (TFD-LCD) device developed by Seiko Epson Corporation, Japan. The TFT-LCD is the most widely used. The display member  21  disposed on a rear face of the digital camera  20  displays the image pre-scanned in the image scanning apparatus  10 .  
      A removable external memory such as a memory stick or a memory card is commonly used as the memory  23 . The memory  23  stores an image wave sensed at the digital camera  20  and the image after the scanning process is completed.  
      The USB device controller  27  connected to the digital camera  20  receives a command signal from the USB host controller  17  in the image scanning apparatus  10  and transmits the signal to the control member  25 . When the image pre-scanned in the image scanning apparatus  10  is transmitted to the digital camera  20  through the USB cable  30 , the USB device controller  27  provides the command signal to the control member  25 . The control member  25  then controls the digital camera  20  in order to display the pre-scanned image on the display member  21 . When the image after the scanning process is completed is transmitted to the digital camera  20 , the USB device controller  27  transmits the command signal again to the control member  25 , and the control member  25  stores the transmitted image in the memory  23 .  
      Hereinafter, an image scanning and storage method using the above described system will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS.  3  to  5 .  
      For performing a scanning process, an image scanning apparatus  10  is connected to a digital camera  20  through a USB cable  30 . An object to be scanned is placed on a holder. In step S 110 , a scanning button on one face of the image scanning apparatus  10  is selected. A control unit  15  drives a scanning module  12  to pre-scan the object in step S 120 . The light reflected from the object is converted into digital data while passing through the CCD image sensor and an image processing unit  13 . The pre-scanned image is transmitted to the digital camera  20  through the USB cable  30  together with a command signal from the control unit  15  in step S 130 . A USB host controller  17  controls a USB device controller  27  of the digital camera  20  to transmit the command signal of the image scanning apparatus  10  to a control member  25  of the digital camera  20 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , when the command signal is transmitted from the control unit  15  to the control member  25  of the digital camera  20 , the pre-scanned image is displayed on a display member  21  by the control member  25  in step S 140 . Then, in step S 150 , the area to be scanned is set while zooming in or out of the image using a zoom key  18  or moving the pre-scanned image displayed on the display member  21  into up, down, right and left directions using a direction key  19  in the image scanning apparatus  10 . As a result, the area displayed on the display member  21  is set to be a scanning area.  
      A scanning area detection member  14  of the image scanning apparatus  10  detects the scanning area by detecting the operation of the zoom key  18  and the direction key  19 . The control unit  15  operates the scanning module  12  to scan the area detected in the scanning area detection member  14  in step S 160 . After the area is scanned, the USB host controller  17  transmits the scanned image and the command signal of the control unit  15  to the USB device controller  27  of the digital camera  20  in step S 170 .  
      In step S 180 , the USB device controller  27  transmits the command signal from the image scanning apparatus  10  to the control member  25 . The control member  25  stores the image that is transmitted from the image scanning apparatus  10  in the memory  23  in step S 180 .  
      When the image is stored in the memory  23 , only the memory  23  is removed from the digital camera  20 . The memory  23  is then connected to computers, etc to transmit the stored image to the computer.  
      According to the image scanning and storage system and the method using the same in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the image scanning apparatus  10  is connected to the digital camera  20  using the USB cable  30 . The pre-scanned image is displayed on the display member  21  of the digital camera  20 . The scanning area is set in the image displayed on the display member  21 , and the image scanning apparatus scans the scanning area to transmit the image back to the digital camera  20 . The image is then stored in the memory  23  of the digital camera  20 .  
      Therefore, the scanning and storage process can be conducted without using computers. Since the scanning process is performed using the image scanning apparatus  10  and a simple peripheral device such as digital camera, the scanning process becomes convenient and simple. Moreover, an application program and an image scanning apparatus driver may not be needed, which is necessary for operating computers.  
      Instead of using the zoom key  18  and the direction key  19  installed in the image scanning apparatus  10 , a zoom key and a direction key of the digital camera  20  may also be used to set the scanning area in the pre-scanned image displayed on the display member  21 . In this case, however, the image scanning apparatus  10  cannot detect the scanning area. Hence, the digital camera  20  needs to be programmed to provide the information on the scanning area from the control member  25  to the image scanning apparatus  10 .  
      Although a USB method for communicating the image scanning apparatus with the peripheral device such as the digital camera has been described in this embodiment, a RS-232C method may be employed. Additionally, a wireless communication method such as IrDA and Bluetooth can be used for communicating the image scanning apparatus with the peripheral device.  
      As described above, scanning and storage processes are performed without using computers according to embodiments of the present invention. Thus, the scanning process is conveniently performed. Moreover, an application program and an image scanning apparatus driver are not operated, which is necessary for operating the computers.  
      The foregoing embodiment and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. Also, the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations should be apparent to those skilled in the art.