This application is related to U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD OF USING SAME HAVING A SEND CAPABILITY FOR STORED DATAxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,869, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD OF USING SAME HAVING A USER HELP CAPABILITYxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,080, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD OF USING SAME FOR CAPTURING IMAGESxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,573, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD OF USING SAME HAVING A DELETE CAPABILITY FOR SAVED DATAxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,081, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD OF USING SAME HAVING A CAPABILITY TO GRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATE AND DISASSOCIATE DATA WITH AND FROM ONE ANOTHERxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,789, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLICATION AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING AND VIEWING MULTIPLE CAPTURED IMAGESxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,081, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD FOR NAVIGATING AMONG MULTIPLE CAPTURED IMAGES AND FUNCTIONAL MENUSxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,584, U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD FOR CAPTURING IMAGES HAVING A USER ERROR INTERFACExe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,572, and U.S. application entitled xe2x80x9cAPPLIANCE AND METHOD FOR MENU NAVIGATIONxe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/130,868, which are filed contemporaneously herewith and are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of digital capturing and, more particularly, relates to a user interface for a portable hand-held capturing and communicating appliance for capturing and manipulating images through digital scanning or other means of capturing and communicating those images to other devices.
2. Related Art
Intangible information is a vital business asset that can be exploited for competitive advantage if managed properly. In the past fifteen years, improvements in information processing have been achieved primarily from the widespread use of microcomputers in the workplace and their application in local and wide area networks. Through such applications as electronic mail (email) and networked access to document storage servers, the electronic communications market has exploded. Nevertheless, business is still far from reaching a xe2x80x9cpaperlessxe2x80x9d workplace. For example, according to a 1993 report by BIS Strategic Decisions (hereinafter BIS), an information technology consulting firm, more than 90 billion documents were created in 1992 and more than 1 trillion copies of those documents were made. Moreover, BIS estimated that printing and copying expenses average between 6% and 13% of a typical company""s revenue. These statistics illustrate the economic savings available for those businesses that are able to merge paper and technology in a unified information processing strategy.
One tool that has proven useful for translating between paper and electronic information is the digital scanner. Scanner-enabled document distribution endows paper-based documents with the speed and convenience of electronic communications. A desktop scanner or network scanner allows business professionals to scan paper-based documents, manage them effectively and distribute them in a timely fashion. Users can share and distribute information easily by scanning directly to their email or PC fax applications. The growing popularity of fax modems and email is driving the acceptance of scanner-enabled document distribution in offices of all sizes. Fax/modem capabilities, which are available with virtually all modem PCs, enable users to send and receive faxes directly from a computerxe2x80x94at their desk or while travelingxe2x80x94and to check email remotely.
Nevertheless, while scanners are ideal for users who need to disseminate paper-based information to colleagues through PC facsimile and/or email, traditional flatbed scanners lack the convenience and flexibility that users have become accustomed to through such products as notebook computers and cellular phones. Hand-held scanners are an improvement in this regard; however, they are typically dependent on a host computer for displaying the scanned images and for providing power. U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,938 to Hayakawa et al. (hereinafter Hayakawa) discloses a portable image scanner designed to overcome these disadvantages. Specifically, Hayakawa discloses a hand-held cordless image scanner having a display/control screen, a memory for storing scanned images, a self contained power supply and an interface that allows the scanner to be received by a host computer as a memory card for transferring stored images from the scanner to the computer. While Hayakawa""s scanner is effective in breaking the dependency on a host computer for image display and power, it still has several drawbacks. For example, Hayakawa""s scanner offers no image processing features other than the capabilities of storing or discarding a newly scanned image and reviewing those images that have been stored previously. More advanced image processing would necessarily be done after transfer to a host computer. Moreover, Hayakawa does not offer a graphical user interface (GUI) containing icons and/or animations to assist users in operating their device. Finally, transfer of images is limited to those devices having ports for receiving an external memory card or the capability of reading the scanner memory through a memory card drive.
Accordingly, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for providing a hand-held image capturing device, system and method that allows users to view, manipulate and process scanned images in the device before transfer, and the ability to communicate directly with some other unit such as a computer, printer, or facsimile machine. In addition, the capturing device should provide cordless operation and use a standard interface for transferring images to other devices. A GUI is preferred to assist users, particularly novices, in operating the device.
The present invention overcomes the inadequacies and deficiencies of the prior art as discussed hereinbefore. The present invention provides an image capturing appliance incorporating a viewing system and method for communicating with and allowing the user to view captured images on the appliance. The viewing system and method facilitate ease of use and hardware simplification and miniaturization of the capturing appliance for seamless integration of the appliance into a consumer""s existing tools and processes.
The capturing appliance contains a capturing means, such as an array of photocells, and a storage means for storing captured images. A processing means is also provided for processing the acquired image and displaying it on a self-contained display of the appliance. Program instructions are provided in the memory of the appliance which allows the user to view and manipulate the captured image in a variety of pixel resolutions on the display of the appliance.
The viewing system and method provides a user interface incorporating an on-screen icon, a three-button press zoom of the image, and navigation buttons for designating specific areas of a scanned image to be viewed. Also included are animated transitions to communicate the manipulation of pixel resolutions on the display of the captured image to the user.
The viewing system and method of the present invention have many advantages, a few of which are delineated hereafter, as examples.
An advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they provide a simple procedure for zooming into a specific area of an image so that a single button can enable the user to view the image in a plurality of pixel resolutions (dots-per-inch; dpi).
Another advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they provide a more flexible and user friendly procedure for inspecting any area of an image.
Another advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they allow inspection of an image to verify quality and content and to identify mistakes in the capturing process.
Another advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they have the ability to orient the page for easier viewing.
Another advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they provide a novel way of communicating functionality to the user through the use of animation.
Another advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they provide for a procedure for viewing an image which is simple, easy to learn and efficient.
Another advantage of the viewing system and method of the present invention is that they can be employed in virtually any graphical user interface (GUI).
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional features and advantages be included herein within the scope of the present invention, as is defined by the claims.