Patent ID: 7012706

Claim:
A driver for interfacing a first application program to first and second scanners, said first application program operative to transmit first and second commands to said first and second scanners and said first and second scanners operative to scan first and second documents and transmit first and second image data and first and second status data from said scans to said first application program, said driver comprising: an application program interface (“API”) coupled with said first application program and operative to receive said first commands from said first application program; a first scanner personality module (“SPM”) coupled with said API and said first scanner and operative to receive said first image data and said first status data from said first scanner and transmit said first commands to said first scanner and provide said first image data and said first status data to said first application program; a second scanner personality module (“SPM”) coupled with said API and said second scanner and operative to receive said second image data and said second status data from said second scanner and transmit said second commands to said second scanner and provide said second image data and said second status data to said first application program and wherein said second SPM is further capable of operating substantially simultaneously with said first SPM; and wherein said API and said first and second SPM's facilitate real time communication between said first application program and said first and second scanners.