Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Distributed data processing – Client/server
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-30
2001-09-11
Geckil, Mehmet B. (Department: 2152)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Distributed data processing
Client/server
C709S217000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289371
ABSTRACT:
The present invention generally relates to scan control network software and firmware, i.e., software embedded on a system. More particularly, the present invention concerns software and firmware for interactive server-client support of peripherals including scan functions over a network with a web browser.
Scanning peripherals are becoming a larger segment of the peripheral industry. Users find such peripherals usefull as a means of input for text, graphics and images. Many software applications now permit manipulation and use of such data. Some peripherals combine scanning with other functions. These multifunction peripherals are popular, in part, because of their ability to combine multiple useful functions into a single device. Multifunction and scanning peripheral vendors typically provide custom software that takes advantage of features of the peripheral. Usually, however, the custom software is written to communicate only with a single device over a local interface, such as a SCSI bus or a parallel port. While such known local interface designs are simple, they fail to address issues that occur when the peripheral is attached to a network.
A problem exists for such peripheral use over a local interface because the custom software for the peripheral must be developed and tested to run on various computer operating systems such as WINDOWS®, WINDOWS NT®, MACINTOSH®, and UNIX®. Problems are multiplied on a network because software must be adapted to communicate with the device over the network using the device's unique control language. To accomplish scanning, for example, an end-user or a network administrator will have to install special software on each client that wishes to scan from the network peripheral.
Another problem with sharing a peripheral on a network is contention. Contention occurs when multiple users attempt to access the same device simultaneously. For example, two users may try to initiate a scan from their client personal computers (PC) to the same network peripheral. Contention occurs since the peripheral can only handle one scan request at a time. Additionally, contention develops when one user attempts to initiate a scan while another user is using the device as a printer or a walk-up copier. Contention can also occur when another user attempts to initiate a new scan between the pages of a multi-scan job.
Additional problems arise with existing scan servers that cannot dynamically detect and automatically display changes in the peripheral status as to user availability and use. Further, existing scan servers provide no ability for a client to preview and crop an image to scan only a region of interest. Similarly, there is no progress feedback provided from the server to the client as the scan progresses, leaving the client dependent upon its own progress update functionality which works only when the client has knowledge concerning the size of the scan job. These drawbacks are especially apparent in known methods for using a web browser to initiate a scan over a network, since such conventional methods provide no dynamic interaction between a client and a server. Instead, the web browser is only able to address the peripheral and receive the scan results. Thus, even conventional scan servers which can be accessed via a web browser over a network to avoid the need for special purpose software on each client could benefit from improvements including greater interaction between client and server, and greater functionality provided from the server to the client.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved network scan server method which addresses a scan server through a web browser and which creates dynamic interaction between client and server through a general purpose software program sent from the server to the client to provide improved scan control via a web browser over a network.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a method in which a server detects and provides information to the client so that the client may display changes in a peripheral's status in a web browser interface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved method which permits a client to communicate with a server through a web browser interface and control a scan job to preview and select a desired portion of a previewed scanned image for a final scan.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved method which can supply progress feedback from the server to the client as a preview scan progresses.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved method which can run on various operating systems.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved method which can handle multi page scans and contention problems which exist on the network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an interactive networked client-server scan method launched and actively managed through a web browser interface on a client. A server of the method responds to a universal resource locator address identifying the server with a general purpose format software program that creates an interface in the client web browser and enables the client to interact with the server in initiating, altering and monitoring scan jobs and related data.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a server responds to a client scan request by sending the client a Java applet that runs in a Java Virtual Machine of the client web browser and permits client-server interactive scan control through user input to the web page. Parameter selection and alteration is also a preferred functionality enabled for selection and alteration in the client interface through the Java applet provided by the server. The server translates and formats data for the client, and also preferably performs an on-the-fly gamma correction to data prior to transmitting it to the client. Other preferred features include multipage scanning, preview and image area selection.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5913088 (1999-06-01), Moghadam et al.
patent: 5933580 (1999-08-01), Uda et al.
patent: 5946458 (1999-08-01), Austin et al.
patent: 6020973 (2000-02-01), Levine et al.
patent: 6101555 (2000-08-01), Goshey et al.
Kumpf David A.
McAnaney David W.
Pearson Daniel R.
Geckil Mehmet B.
Hewlett--Packard Company
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