Appliance and method of using same having a capability to graphically associate and disassociate data with and from one another

A hand-held image capture and communication appliance and method of using same are provided wherein images may be captured via the appliance and saved in an internal memory. The capture and communication appliance includes a processor for manipulating and exhibiting the images on a built-in display screen. Program code stored in the internal memory includes an image attachment module that allows the user to associate captured images with one another (i.e., electronically attach the images) to form a group and provides a graphical representation of this association on the display screen. Moreover, a group of captured images is treated as a single logical unit, which allows operations (e.g., send to another device or appliance, delete, etc.) to be performed on several captured images (i.e., the entire group) at once instead of on an individual basis. According to another aspect of the invention, the program code includes an image detachment module that allows the user to disassociate scanned image(s) (i.e., electronically detach the image(s)) from a previously formed group.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is an elevation view of the hand-held image capture and communication appliance according to the present invention, which depicts a side of the unit containing the display screen, operation buttons, and navigation buttons;

FIG. 1B is an elevation view of the appliance of FIG. 1A depicting the opposing side to that illustrated in FIG. 1A, which contains the capture button for performing an image capture;

FIG. 1C is an elevation view of the appliance of FIGS. 1A and 1B depicting an end of the unit, which contains the power switch;

FIG. 1D is an elevation view of the appliance of FIGS. 1A,

1B, and

1C depicting the opposing end to that illustrated in FIG. 1C, which contains a brightness button for adjusting the visual clarity of the display screen;

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of the internal hardware and software architecture of the appliance illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1D;

FIG. 3 is a high-level state diagram of the application software of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the tools menus displayed on the display screen of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5 illustrates the send menu displayed on the display screen of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 illustrates the delete menu displayed on the display screen of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 7 illustrates the help menu displayed on the display screen of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 8A and 8B depict memory usage indicator icons on the display screen of FIG. 1A that provide a memory utilization report for the appliance;

FIG. 8C illustrates a thumbnail view of a captured image on the display screen of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 8D illustrates a zoom view of a captured image on the display screen of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 9A,

9B, and

9C are a flow chart describing the operation of the attach page and detach page software modules of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10A illustrates a thumbnail view on the display screen of FIG. 1A of the first page of a set of attached pages; and

FIG. 10B illustrates a thumbnail view on the display screen of FIG. 1A of the twelfth page of a set of attached pages.

1. A image capture and communication appliance, comprising:

2. The appliance of claim 1, wherein said image attachment module comprises:

3. The appliance of claim 1, wherein said image detachment module comprises:

4. A hand-held scanner appliance, comprising:

5. The appliance of claim 4, wherein said program code further comprises:

6. The appliance of claim 4, wherein said image detachment module comprises:

7. The appliance of claim 6, wherein said first code segment comprises:

8. The appliance of claim 7, wherein said metaphoric icon is a paper-clip.

9. The appliance of claim 4, wherein said image attachment module comprises:

10. The appliance of claim 9, wherein said first code segment comprises:

11. The appliance of claim 10, wherein said first code segment further comprises:

12. The appliance of claim 10, wherein said metaphoric icon is a paper-clip.

13. A hand-held image capture and communication system, comprising:

14. A method for graphically associating images in a hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising the steps of:

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said displaying an animation step further comprises:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said displaying an animation step further comprises:

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said metaphoric icon is a paper-clip.

19. A method for graphically associating data entities in a system having a display means, comprising the steps of:

20. A method for graphically disassociating images stored in a hand-held image capture and communication appliance, comprising the steps of:

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

22. The method of claim 20, wherein said displaying said animation step comprises:

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said displaying said animation step further comprises:

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said metaphoric icon is a paper-clip.

25. A method for graphically disassociating data entities in a system having a display means, comprising the steps of:

26. A computer readable medium having a program for manipulating image data acquired by a hand-held image capture and communication appliance, said program comprising:

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, further comprising:

28. The computer readable medium of claim 26, further comprising:

29. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein said image disassociation logic comprises:

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein said animation display logic comprises:

31. The computer readable medium of claim 30, wherein said metaphoric icon is a paper-clip.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 27, wherein said image association logic comprises:

33. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein said animation display logic comprises:

34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein said animation display logic further comprises:

35. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein said metaphoric icon is a paper-clip.

36. A computer readable medium having a program for manipulating information stored as a plurality of data entities in a memory, said program comprising: