Method and apparatus for determining a scan boundary in an image scanner
View Patent ↗A light source control method and apparatus of an image scanner is disclosed. The invention utilizes a determination means and an illumination control device to perform partial or full illumination and adjust brightness so that the light source can be operated more efficiently and more economically.
1. A method, comprising:
providing a document holder on a scan window of an image scanner;
scanning a pattern on the document holder; and
determining a scan boundary based on the scanned pattern.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pattern corresponds to a particular scan boundary.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein scanning a pattern on a document holder comprises scanning one of a plurality of patterns, wherein each of the plurality of patterns corresponds to a scan boundary, and further wherein the scan boundary is determined by sensing which of the plurality of patterns is present on the document holder.
4. An apparatus, comprising:
means for holding a document on a scan window of an image scanner;
means for scanning a pattern on the means for holding a document; and
means for determining a scan boundary based on the scanned pattern.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the pattern corresponds to a particular scan boundary.
6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the means for scanning a pattern comprises means for scanning one of a plurality of patterns, wherein each of the plurality of patterns corresponds to a scan boundary, and further wherein the scan boundary is determined by sensing which of the plurality of patterns is present on the document holder.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a preview scan.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
controlling a plurality of independently controllable sections of a light source of the image scanner based on the determined scan boundary.
9. The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising means for performing a preview scan.
10. The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising:
means for controlling a plurality of independently controllable sections of a light source of the scanner according to the determined scan boundary.
11. A method, comprising:
providing a document holder on a scan window of an image scanner;
detecting a feature on the document holder; and
determining a scan boundary based on the detected feature.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein detecting the feature on the document holder comprises sensing a pattern on the document holder.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein detecting the feature on the document holder comprises sensing a bulge portion of the document holder.
14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising performing a preview scan.
15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
controlling a plurality of independently controllable sections of a light source of the image scanner according to the determined scan boundary.
16. An apparatus, comprising:
a scan window; and
a scan boundary determining portion capable of detecting a feature on a document holder disposed on the scan window, the feature corresponding to a scan boundary.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the document holder comprises a first surface configured to receive a document.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the document holder comprises a second surface housing of a configured to contact the scan window of the image scanner, the second surface comprising the feature corresponding to the scan boundary.
19. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising:
a user interface capable of displaying a preview image of a document.
20. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising:
a power supply configured to selectively provide power to a subset of a plurality of light sources of the image scanner based on the scan boundary.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scan boundary corresponds to a window in the document holder.
22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the document holder comprises a first surface and a second surface, the second surface contacts the scan window, and the pattern is disposed on the second surface.
23. The method of claim 22 , further comprising placing a document on the first surface of the document holder such that the document is aligned with a window in the document holder.
24. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the scan boundary corresponds to a window in the document holder.
25. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the means for holding a document comprises a first surface and a second surface, the second surface contacts the scan window, and the pattern is disposed on the second surface.
26. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising a light source, wherein the light source is configured to selectively provide light to the scan window based on the scan boundary.
27. An assembly, comprising:
a scan window;
a plurality of document holders, each of the individual document holders having a scan boundary, a first surface configured to receive a document, a second surface, and a feature on the second surface corresponding to the scan boundary of the individual document holder;
a scan boundary determining portion capable of detecting the feature on a selected one of the plurality of document holders when the selected one of the document holders is disposed on the scan window; and
a light source configured to selectively provide light to the scan window based on the scan boundary of the selected one of the document holders.