JP2003304354A - Method and program for controlling image-reading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control method of an image-read apparatus that can be put into action, even if a control program of the image-reading apparatus is set to be the conventional one or an application program that can be quickly activated. <P>SOLUTION: There are API modules 25, 26, and 27, interface modules 23 and 24, and hardware control modules 28, 29, 30, and 31. When the interface modules are invoked first, they request the reading of images from the API modules. The API modules invoke the hardware control modules, when the reading of the images is required. The interface modules organize an image file based on the acquired image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control method and a program for an image reading device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image reading device such as an image scanner is connected to a control device such as a personal computer and reads an image in response to a control command from the control device.

The control device to which the image reading device is connected generally includes various application programs for processing image data, a control program developed for each image reading device, and the like. Known application programs include, for example, an image processing program for processing image data, a word processor for loading image data as a part of a page, and an OCR program for recognizing image data as characters. The control program is a so-called device driver, and is called from the application program when the image reading device is made to read an image. The called control program generally displays a screen for the user to enter various conditions regarding image reading,
The image reading device is controlled according to the conditions input on the screen, and the read image data is returned to the application program as a return value. As a result, the image data is acquired by the application program, and the above-described various processes are performed.

Generally, an application program that processes image data can organize the acquired image data into an image file. Here, the image data is
This is data representing an image in a JPEG format, a bitmap format, or the like, and an image file refers to data in which information such as a file name is added and organized into a predetermined file format.

[0005]

Image data is not always acquired only for performing processing such as processing.
For example, there is a case in which a versatile image file is simply organized based on the acquired image data. In such a case, processing such as image data processing is not performed in the application program.

However, since the conventional control program is called from the application program, the application program must be started even when the image files are simply organized. Generally, an application program that performs processing such as image data processing has a large program size and requires a long time to start up. Therefore, it takes a long time to acquire image data. Especially, an image file is simply stored in the storage device of the control device. In the case of only storing, there is a problem that the processing required to achieve the purpose is excessive.

The present invention was created in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to make an image reading apparatus operate as a conventional control program or as an application program that can be started in a short time. It is to provide a control method of the device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control program for an image reading apparatus that operates both as a conventional control program and as an application program that can be activated in a short time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control program for an image reading apparatus which can share an interface module and a hardware control module when operating as a conventional control program and when operating as an application program. is there.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus control method, wherein an application program provides an API module for providing an interface for requesting image reading, and an image reading condition is input. Interface module that displays the screen of the image, requests the reading of an image through the interface, and organizes an image file based on the acquired image data, and hardware that generates a control command of the image reading device according to the image reading condition. A method for controlling a image reading device by causing a computer to execute a control program including a control module, wherein the interface module requests the API module to read an image when the interface module is first called.
When the PI module is requested to read an image, it calls the hardware control module, the interface module organizes the image file based on the acquired image data, and the API module is called first and the reading condition is not specified from the application program. When it is requested to read an image, the API module calls the interface module, and the interface module calls the hardware control module and outputs the acquired image data to the application program.

The control program executed by the computer according to the control method of the image reading apparatus is that the interface module has the function of requesting the reading of the image and organizing the image file based on the acquired image data. When called by the control program, the control program itself can operate as an application program that requests reading of an image and organizes an image file based on the acquired image data, that is, an application program that processes the image data. Here, the application program that processes image data is an image processing program that processes image data, a word processor that captures image data as part of a page,
It refers to a program that requests a control program to read an image and processes the acquired image data, such as an OCR program for recognizing image data as characters. Since this control program operates as an application program that only organizes image files based on image data, the program size can be relatively small and can be loaded onto the memory in a short time. Therefore, the control method of the image reading apparatus can operate the control program as an application program that can be started in a short time. According to the control method of the image reading apparatus, if the image file is simply organized based on the image data, it is not necessary to start another application program, and the time required to acquire the image data can be shortened. On the other hand, this control program operates similarly to the conventional control program when the API module is first called from another application program and the image reading is requested from the other application program without specifying the reading condition. When performing processing such as image data processing, another application program can call the control program to acquire image data. Therefore, according to the control method of the image reading apparatus, the control program can be operated as a conventional control program.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an image reading apparatus, wherein when the API module is first called and an application program specifies a reading condition and an image reading is requested, the API module causes the hardware control module to operate. It is characterized in that the image data obtained by calling is output to an application program. When the application program itself specifies the image reading conditions, the screen for inputting the image reading conditions displayed by the interface module is unnecessary. Therefore, according to the control method of the image reading apparatus, when the reading condition is specified by the application program and the image reading is requested,
It is possible to prevent unnecessary display of a screen for inputting image reading conditions.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an image reading apparatus, wherein the interface module stores the organized image file in a storage device. The process of storing the image file in the storage device is relatively simple and small, and the size of the control program can be kept small. Therefore, according to this method of controlling the image reading apparatus, the organized image file can be stored in the storage device while operating the control program as an application program that can be started in a short time.

The control program of the image reading device according to claim 4 is an AP that provides an interface for an application program to request image reading.
I module, an interface module that displays a screen for inputting image reading conditions, requests image reading through an interface, and organizes an image file based on the acquired image data, and depending on the image reading conditions And a hardware control module for generating a control command for the image reading device. When the interface module is first called, the interface module requests the API module to read the image, and the API module requests the image reading. Then, the hardware control module is called, the interface module organizes the image file based on the acquired image data, and the API module is called first and the image reading is performed without specifying the reading condition from the application program. When required the removal observed, API module calls the interface module, the interface module and outputs the image data obtained by calling obtain hardware control module to the application program.

The control program of the image reading apparatus has a function of organizing an image file based on the image data obtained by requesting the reading of an image by the interface module, so that the control program is first called when the interface module is called. It itself can operate as an application program that processes image data. Here, the application program for processing the image data includes an image processing program for processing the image data, a word processor for loading the image data as a part of the page, an OCR program for recognizing the image data as a character, and the like, which requests the control program to read the image. A program that processes the acquired image data. Since this control program operates as an application program that only organizes image files based on image data, the program size can be relatively small,
It can be loaded on the memory in a short time. Therefore, the control program of the image reading apparatus can operate as an application program that can be started in a short time. According to the control program of the image reading apparatus, if the image file is simply organized based on the image data, it is not necessary to start another application program, and the time required to acquire the image data can be shortened. On the other hand, this control program operates similarly to the conventional control program when the API module is first called from another application program and the image reading is requested from the other application program without specifying the reading condition. When performing processing such as image data processing, another application program can call the control program to acquire image data. Therefore, the control program of this image reading apparatus can also operate as a conventional control program.

Further, the control program of this image reading apparatus is such that when the interface module is first called, that is, when it operates as an application program, and when the API module is called first and the reading condition is not specified from the application program. The same interface module and the hardware control module are called when the control program is required to be read, that is, when the control program operates as a conventional control program. Therefore, the control program of the image reading apparatus can share the interface module and the hardware control module when operating as a conventional control program and when operating as an application program.

In the control program of the image reading apparatus according to the fifth aspect, when the API module is first called and the reading condition is specified by the application program to read the image, the API module causes the hardware control module to operate. It is characterized in that the image data obtained by calling is output to an application program.

When the application program itself specifies the image reading conditions, the screen for inputting the image reading conditions displayed by the interface module is unnecessary. Therefore, according to the control program of the image reading apparatus, when the reading condition is specified by the application program and the reading of the image is requested, it is possible to prevent the screen for inputting the reading condition of the image from being displayed unnecessarily. it can.

According to a sixth aspect of the control program of the image reading apparatus, the interface module stores the organized image file in a storage device. The process of storing the image file in the storage device is relatively simple and small, and the size of the control program can be kept small. Therefore, according to the control program of this image reading apparatus, the organized image file can be stored in the storage device while operating the control program as an application program that can be started in a short time.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control device 1 that executes the control program according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the control device 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a display device 14,
HD (hard disk) 15, HD as a storage device
A (hard disk) controller 16, an I / F (device interface) 17, and an operation unit 18 are provided and are connected to each other via a bus 19. CPU11 is ROM1
2 and a program stored in the hard disk 15 to control each part of the control device 1, and also execute a program such as a control program and an application program of the image reading device according to the embodiment of the present invention. ROM
Reference numeral 12 denotes a memory in which minimum programs and data necessary for the CPU 11 to operate are stored in advance, and a RAM
Reference numeral 13 is a memory that temporarily stores programs and various data. The display device 14 is a liquid crystal display device (LCD).
A display device such as a CRT or the like is provided to display the processing result of the CPU 11. The operation unit 18 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. The hard disk controller 16 controls the hard disk 15.
An operating system (OS), a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention, an application program, and the like are stored in the reference numeral 5. Device interface 17
Is configured to be connectable to one or more image scanners 2 as image reading devices according to interface standards such as USB and IEEE1394. Incidentally, FIG.
It is assumed that the plurality of image scanners 2 shown in FIG. 2 are different models in this embodiment. The control device 1 is L
You may make it connect with the image scanner 2 via networks, such as AN.

The hardware configuration of the control device 1 has been described above. Hereinafter, a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, TWAIN
An example of a control program conforming to is explained. TWAIN
Is an interface standard between an image reading device such as an image scanner and an application program, and defines a TWAIN protocol which is a communication protocol between the image reading device and the application program. Generally, a TWAIN-compliant control program not only controls the hardware of the image reading apparatus but also has a user interface (UI) for inputting image reading conditions.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a module structure of a control program 3 (hereinafter referred to as "driver program 3") of an image reading apparatus and an application program 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The arrows indicated by broken lines in the figure indicate that communication is performed between modules according to the TWAIN protocol.

The application program 21 is an image processing program, a word processor, an OCR program or the like. The application program is DS, which will be described later.
A program that requests the driver program 3 to read an image through the interface provided by the manager 25 and processes the acquired image data. These application programs 21 correspond to TWAIN, and the driver program follows the TWAIN protocol. 3 is required to read an image.

The driver starting program 22 is a program having a small program size for only calling the UI module 23, and the driver starting program 22 is also included in the driver program 3 in this embodiment. When the user performs an operation for instructing the execution of the driver start-up program 22 with the mouse or the keyboard, the interface module among the interface module, the API module and the hardware control module is called first. Although the driver starting program 22 is also included in the driver program 3 in this embodiment, the driver starting program 22 may not be included in the driver program 3.

The data source (DS) manager 25 is
AP for the application program 21 to communicate with the driver program 3 according to the TWAIN protocol
It is a module that provides I to an application program. The application program 21 is TWAIN
A in a predetermined sequence according to the processing according to the protocol
The PI is called to communicate with the DS manager 25, thereby requesting image reading and acquiring image data. Generally, it is possible to connect a plurality of image scanners 2 to the control device 1 via a cable or a network. Therefore, when the DS manager 25 is called by the application program 21, the connected image scanners 2 are displayed in a list on the scanner selection screen 60 (see FIG. 3), and when the user selects the image scanner 2, the selected image scanner 2 of the selected image scanner 2 is displayed. The process of returning the model name to the application program 21 and the process of calling the DS entry module 26 in which the model name of the selected model is set are performed.

The data source (DS) entry module 26 is a module that indicates the location where the information unique to the model is stored. Model-specific information refers to unique information that differs depending on the model, such as the range of readable resolution and the readable document size. Such model-specific information is stored in the location indicated by the DS entry module 26. The DS entry module 26 in the present embodiment is "xxx.ds"
The model name of each model is set in the "xxx" part. Each module described below operates according to model-specific information stored in the location indicated by the DS entry module 26.

The data source (DS) control module 27 is a module having a communication procedure with the TWAIN protocol manager 28 and a communication procedure with the UI module 23. DS control module 27
DS when the UI module 23 is first called
Directly from the entry module 26 TWA
When the DS manager 25 is first passed through to the IN protocol manager 28 and the image reading is requested from the application program 21 without specifying the reading condition, the UI module 23
Is called. Further, when the DS manager 25 is called for the first time and the reading condition is specified by the application program 21 to read an image, a process for calling the TWAIN protocol manager 28 is performed.

The API modules described in the claims are the DS manager 25 and the DS entry module 26.
And DS control module 27. The user interface (UI) module 23 has a setting screen 40 as a screen for inputting image reading conditions.
(See FIG. 4). Besides this, U
The I module 23 returns the image data read by the image scanner 2 as a return value to the DS control module 27 when the DS manager 25 is first called, and the image data when the UI module 23 is first called. After the save setting screen 50 (see FIG. 5) for setting the storage location when storing the file, the image file name, and the like is displayed, and the user makes the setting, the UI-TW to be described later is displayed.
The DS manager 25 is requested to read image data via the AIN bridge 24, the read image data is received via the UI-TWAIN bridge 24, an image file is organized based on the image data, and a save setting screen 50 is displayed. The image file name stored in the storage location set on the hard disk 15 is stored. The UI module 23 also performs a process of displaying the scanner selection screen 60 (see FIG. 3) when first called.

The UI-TWAIN bridge 24 is always U
Is a module called from the I module 23,
It has a communication procedure according to the TWAIN protocol with the DS manager 25 and the TWAIN protocol manager 28. The UI-TWAIN bridge 24 communicates with the TWAIN protocol manager 28 when the DS manager 25 is first called, and requests reading of an image according to the reading condition input by the UI module 23.
On the other hand, when the UI module 23 is first called, U
D according to the scanning conditions input by the I module 23
Communicate with the S manager 25.

The interface module described in the claims corresponds to the UI module 23 and the UI-TWAIN bridge 24. UI module 23 and UI
-The TWAIN bridge 24 causes the UI module 23 to display the save setting screen 50, and after setting, requests the DS manager 25 to read the image data via the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 and sends the read image data to the UI-T.
The image files received via the WAIN bridge 24 are organized and stored. As a result, the UI module 23 and the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 operate as an application program that stores the organized image file in the storage device.

The TWAIN protocol manager 28
It is a module that controls a scan control module 29 described later in response to an image reading request instructed according to the TWAIN protocol. Requests designated by the application program 21 or the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 according to the TWAIN protocol are substantially processed by the TWAIN protocol manager 28.

The scan control module 29 is
This is a module that controls the device control module 30 to obtain an image, and performs image processing such as filter processing relating to image quality on the obtained image data.

The device control module 30
It is a module that generates a control command specific to the selected image scanner 2 in accordance with the input reading conditions. The other device control module 30 performs a process of acquiring information for control from the image scanner 2. The information for control here is, for example, status information indicating whether the auto sheet feeder of the image scanner 2 is detachable, whether the auto sheet feeder is attached or detached.

The device interface module 31 is an I / O driver, and the driver program 3 accesses the device interface 17 through the device interface module 31 to exchange commands with the image scanner 2 and receive image data.

The hardware control procedure described in the claims corresponds to the TWAIN protocol manager 28, the scan control module 29, the device control module 30, and the device interface module 31.

The module structure of the driver program 3 and the application program 21 have been described above. Hereinafter, the DS manager 25 and the UI module 2
The screen displayed by 3 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows the DS manager 25 or UI.
Scanner selection screen 60 displayed by module 23
It is a figure showing an example. In the list display field 61, the control device 1
A list of model names of the image scanners 2 that can be used is displayed, and the user selects one of the image scanners 2 with the mouse and then clicks the [OK] button 62 to complete the selection.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the setting screen 40 displayed by the UI module 23. The document type column (Document Type) 41 is a column for specifying the type of document to be read, and types such as positive film (negative film), negative film, illustration, magazine, newspaper, etc. can be selected. The image type column (Image Type) 42 is a column for selecting the number of colors of the document, and one of "Color", "Gray Scale", and "Black &White" is selected. It is possible. Purpose column (Destinat
ion) 43 is a field for specifying the purpose of using the read image, and one of "Screen / Web", "Printer", and "Custom" can be selected. When selecting Custom, the resolution can be selected with "Resolution" below. Image adjustment field (Image Adjustment) 44
Means "Brightness" and "Contrast (Co
This is a field for setting "ntrast)" etc. [Scan]
The button 45 is a button for the user to instruct the start of reading. [Scan Option. ． ． ] Button 46 is a button that is displayed only when UI module 23 is first called, and [Scan Opt
ion. ． ． ] Button 46 is clicked with the mouse,
The save setting screen 50 is displayed. Descriptions of other columns and buttons are omitted. The selection items displayed in the input fields of the setting screen 40 change according to the model of the image scanner 2 selected on the scanner selection screen 60, and the UI module 23 displays the setting screen 40 corresponding to the selected model. To do. For example, if the image scanner 2 that can read only up to 2400 dpi is selected, the UI
Module 23 is the maximum choice for choosing resolution
Up to 2400 "are displayed. For example, in the case of the image scanner 2 which cannot read a transparent original, the transparent original option is not displayed in the original type column.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the save setting screen 50 displayed by the UI module 23. Save setting screen 50
On the setting screen 40, click [Scan Optio
n. ． ． ] Button is displayed with the mouse. The storage location (Location) designation field 51 is a field for designating a location on the hard disk 15 when storing the organized image file. Image file name (File nam
e) The designation field 52 is a field for designating the image file name to be organized, and the character string designated by "Prefix" and "Start Numbe
A character string consisting of a three-digit number starting from the number designated by r "is designated as the image file name. The image format designation field 53 is a field for designating the image data format. [OK] The button 54 is a button for the user to input an instruction to complete the setting.
Descriptions of other columns and buttons are omitted.

The screens displayed by the DS manager 25 and the UI module 23 have been described above. In the driver program 3, the module call relationship dynamically changes depending on when the DS manager 25 is first called and when the UI module 23 is first called. Hereinafter, the operation of the driver program 3 will be described separately for each case.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the calling relationship of the modules when the UI module 23 is first called. When an operation for instructing execution of the driver start-up program 22 is made from the mouse or keyboard of the operation unit 18,
The driver start-up program 22 is loaded into the RAM 13 and starts executing. When the execution is started, the UI module 23 is first called from the driver activation program 22, and the scanner selection screen 60 is displayed on the display device 14. When the user selects one of the image scanners 2, the DS manager 25 is subsequently called from the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 according to the TWAIN protocol. Subsequently, the DS entry module 26 and the DS control module 2 corresponding to the selected image scanner 2
7, the TWAIN protocol manager 28, the scan control module 29, the device control module 30, and the device interface module 31 are sequentially called, and the model-specific information and the status information of the image scanner 2 are acquired. When the model-specific information and status information are acquired, the UI module 23
Then, the setting screen 40 corresponding to the selected function of the image scanner 2 is displayed on the display device 14. The user inputs the scanning conditions of the image and then clicks [ScanOptio
n. ． ． ] Button 46 is displayed, a save setting screen 50 is displayed. After setting, click the [OK] button 54 to return to the setting screen 40. Click the [Scan] button 45 here to call the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 and read it. Reading according to conditions is DS Manager 2
Required to 5. When reading is requested, the DS entry module 26, the DS control module 27, and the TWAI corresponding to the selected image scanner 2 again.
N protocol manager 28, scan control module 29, device control module 30,
The device interface modules 31 are sequentially called, and a control command specific to the image scanner 2 selected by the user is generated and output to the image scanner 2 via the device interface 17 of the control device 1.

The address on the RAM 13 storing the image data output from the image scanner 2 is returned to the calling module as a return value in the reverse order of the calling,
Finally, it is stored in the hard disk 15 as an image file in the UI module 23.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the calling relationship of the modules when the DS manager 25 is called for the first time. It should be noted that the following description will be made by taking as an example the case where the image reading is requested from the application program without specifying the reading condition. When an operation for instructing execution of the application program 21 is performed from the mouse or keyboard of the operation unit 18, the application program 2
1 is loaded into the RAM 13 and execution is started. When an operation for instructing to read an image is performed with a mouse or keyboard from a menu or the like displayed by executing the application program 21, the DS manager 25 is first called from the application program 21 according to the TWAIN protocol, and the application program 21 and the DS manager are called. 25, communication according to the TWAIN protocol is performed, and acquisition of the model name of the image scanner 2 is requested. D is requested to get the model name
The scanner selection screen 60 is displayed on the display device 14 by the S manager 25. When the user selects one image scanner 2, the model name of the selected image scanner 2 is returned to the application program 21 as a return value. Application program 2 when the model name is returned
The DS manager 25 is requested to read an image from 1 using the model name as an argument. At this time, the application program 21 does not specify the reading condition. When the image reading is requested, the DS entry module 26 corresponding to the selected image scanner 2,
DS control module 27, UI module 2
3, the UI-TWAIN bridge 24, the TWAIN protocol manager 28, the scan control module 29, the device control module 30, and the device interface module 31 are sequentially called, and model-specific information and status information of the image scanner 2 are acquired. When the model-specific information and status information are acquired, the process returns to the processing of the UI module 23 again, and the setting screen 40 corresponding to the function of the image scanner 2 is displayed on the display device 1.
4 is displayed. When the user inputs image reading conditions and clicks the [Scan] button 45, UI-TW
The AIN bridge 24 is called, and communication according to the TWAIN protocol is performed between the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 and the TWAIN protocol manager 28. Then, the scan control module 29, the device control module 30, and the device interface module 31 are sequentially called again, a control command specific to the image scanner 2 selected by the user is generated, and the image scanner via the device interface 17 of the control device 1. 2 is output.

The address on the RAM 13 storing the image data output from the image scanner 2 is returned to the calling module as a return value in the reverse order of the calling,
Finally, it is acquired as image data in the application program 21.

The flow of processing when the DS manager 25 is first called and the image reading is requested from the application program without specifying the reading condition has been described above.
7 is first called and the reading condition is specified by the application program to read the image, the DS control module 2 in FIG.
7 calls the TWAIN protocol manager 28,
UI module 23 and UI-TWAIN bridge 24
Is not called.

The operation of the driver program 3 has been described above. The effects of this embodiment will be described below.
The driver program 3 of this embodiment is the UI module 2
3 and the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 can operate as an application program by organizing an image file based on the image data acquired by requesting the reading of an image, and by activating the driver starting program 22 having a small program size It can be called without starting the program 21. Furthermore, since the UI module 23 and the UI-TWAIN bridge 24 operate as an application program that only organizes image files based on image data, the driver program 3 can have a relatively small program size and can be stored in the memory in a short time. Can be loaded. Therefore, the driver program 3 can operate as an application program that can be started in a short time. According to the driver program 3 of this embodiment, if the image file is simply organized based on the image data, it is not necessary to start the application program 21, and the time required to acquire the image data can be shortened. On the other hand, in the driver program 3 of this embodiment, when the DS manager 25 is first called and the application program requests the reading of an image without specifying the reading condition, the modules are called in the order shown in FIG. Thus, it can also operate as a conventional control program, and when performing processing such as image data processing, the application program can call the control program to acquire image data. In FIG. 7, when the DS manager 25 is first called and the image reading is requested from the application program without specifying the reading condition, the DS control module 27 calls the UI module 23 and the TWAIN protocol manager 28. Is the DS control module 2
Not called from 7.

Further, the driver program 3 of this embodiment
When the DS manager 25 is first called and the reading condition is specified by the application program to read an image, the DS control module 27 calls the TWAIN protocol manager 28 in FIG. 7, and the UI module 23 and UI- T
The WAIN bridge 24 is not called. Therefore, when the reading condition is designated by the application program and the reading of the image is requested, the setting screen 40 is not displayed unnecessarily.

Further, the driver program 3 of this embodiment
Is the control when the UI module 23 is first called, that is, when it operates as an application program, and when the DS manager 25 is first called and the application program requests reading of an image without specifying a reading condition, that is, control. When the program operates as a conventional control program, it calls the same interface module (23, 24) and hardware control module (28, 29, 30 and 31). Therefore, the control program of the image reading apparatus can share the interface module and the hardware control module when operating as a conventional control program and when operating as an application program.

Further, in this embodiment, the interface module is divided into the UI module 23 and the UI-TWAIN bridge 24. By adapting the UI-TWAIN bridge to other standards, the present invention can be easily applied to other standards.

In this embodiment, the driver program 3 conforming to TWAIN has been described as an example, but the present invention may be applied to a driver program not conforming to TWAIN. Further, in the present embodiment, the driver program 3 has been described as an application program for storing the organized image file in the control device, but may be operated as an application program for transmitting the organized image file as an electronic mail.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a module structure of a control program and an application program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a control device that executes a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting a scanner displayed by a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting image reading conditions displayed by a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for designating a condition regarding storage of image data displayed by a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a module calling relationship when a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention operates as an application program.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a calling relationship of modules when a control program according to an embodiment of the present invention is called from an application program.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 control device 2 image scanner (image reading device) 3 driver program (control program) 14 display device 15 hard disk (storage device) 16 hard disk controller 17 device interface 18 operation unit 19 bus 21 application program 22 driver startup program 23 user interface module ( Interface module) 24 UI-TWAIN bridge (interface module) 25 Data source manager (API module) 26 Data source entry module (API module) 27 Data source control module (API module) 28 TWAIN protocol manager (hardware control module) 29 Scan Control module (hardware Control module) 30 device control module (hardware control module) 31 device interface module (hardware control module) 40 setting screen (screen) 50 storage setting screen 60 scanner selection screen

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoichi Ikeda             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Morinori Mizuno             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation F-term (reference) 2H109 DA03                 5C062 AA05 AA13 AB41 AB42 AB43                       AB44 AC22 BA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An AP that provides an interface for an application program to request image reading.
I module, an interface module that displays a screen for inputting image reading conditions, requests image reading through the interface, and organizes an image file based on the acquired image data, and an image reading condition. A hardware control module for generating a control command for the image reading apparatus according to the method, and a method for controlling the image reading apparatus by causing a computer to execute a control program, wherein the interface module is first called. The module requests the API module to read an image, the API module calls the hardware control module when requested to read the image, and the interface module based on the acquired image data. When the API module is first called and an image reading is requested from the application program without specifying a reading condition, the API module calls the interface module, and the interface module calls the hardware control module. And outputting the acquired image data to an application program. 2. When the API module is first called and a reading condition is designated by an application program to request reading of an image, the API module calls the hardware control module to obtain the acquired image data to the application program. The method of controlling an image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is output. 3. The control method of the image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interface module stores the organized image file in a storage device. 4. An AP that provides an interface for an application program to request image reading.
I module, an interface module that displays a screen for inputting image reading conditions, requests image reading through the interface, and organizes an image file based on the acquired image data, and an image reading condition. A hardware control module for generating control commands for the image reading device according to the present invention, wherein the interface module requests the API module to read an image when the interface module is first called, and the API module Is requested, the hardware control module is called, the interface module organizes an image file based on the acquired image data, and the API module is called first and the application program calls it. When an image is requested to be read without specifying a sampling condition, the API module calls the interface module, and the interface module calls the hardware control module and outputs the acquired image data to an application program. A control program for a characteristic image reading device. 5. When the API module is first called and a reading condition is designated by an application program to read an image, the API module calls the hardware control module to obtain the acquired image data to the application program. The control program of the image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control program is output. 6. The control program for an image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the interface module stores the organized image file in a storage device. 7. A computer-readable recording medium in which the control program of the image reading device according to claim 4, 5 or 6 is recorded.