Apparatus and method for simultaneously managing paper-based documents and digital images of the same

• US 20020111960A1
• Filed: 10/25/2001
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Imagetag, Inc. (enChoice, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mark F. Wright, Steven W. Irons
• Inventors: Irons, Steven W., Wright, Mark F.
• Granted Patent: US 6,744,936 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00326 with a data reading, recognizing or recording apparatus, e.g. with a bar-code apparatus arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus G11B31/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00334 with an apparatus processing barcodes or the like arrangements for sensing record carriers G06K7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2166 for mass storage, e.g. in document filing systems information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus and method for simultaneously managing paper-based documents and digital images of the same are disclosed. When used in conjunction with a digital filing apparatus, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,165, users of the present invention will be able to deploy a comprehensive system to manage both paper-based documents and the corresponding digital images of the paper-based documents in a digital filing operation. In this context, digital filing refers to the efficient management of paper-based information from its receipt at the desktop through an indexing, scanning, image storage and retrieval process, for both the paper-based document and the digital image of the paper-based document. The preferred embodiments of the present invention provide for easy and effective indexing, imaging, storing, retrieving and managing of paper-based documents, transforming them into electronic documents, and then tracking and selectively retrieving either or both the paper-based document and/or a digital image of the paper-based document, based on the information captured prior to the imaging operation. The user may create a single entry in a digital filing system that will provide an electronic link to the digital image of the paper-based document and, simultaneously, information regarding the physical location of the paper-based document in a paper repository allowing for quick and easy retrieval of the paper-based document and/or the digital images of the paper-based documents.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor;

a memory coupled to the at least one processor;

at least one digital image of a paper-based document, the digital image residing in the memory;

a physical storage location for the paper-based document;

a digital filing application residing in the memory and being executed by the at least one processor, the digital filing application extracting a globally unique identifier from the at least one digital image of the paper-based document and using the globally unique identifier to link the digital image to a computerized database record which was created prior to the creation of the digital image and which record contains information about the physical storage location for the paper-based document.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the digital filing application links the digital image to the database record by using at least a portion of the globally unique document number to create a file name for the digital image.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least a portion of the globally unique document number is the file name for the digital image.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a communication link coupled to the at least one processor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the communication link comprises a computer network.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the globally unique identifier comprises a number represented as a bar code embedded within the at least one digital image of the paper-based document.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising at least one file folder, the at least one file folder containing the paper-based document, the at least one file folder bearing a globally unique identifier.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising at least one storage container, the at least one storage container containing the at least one file folder, the at least one storage container bearing a globally unique identifier.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

at least one file folder containing the paper-based document, the at least one file folder bearing a globally unique identifier; and

at least one storage container containing the at least one file folder, the at least one storage container bearing a globally unique identifier.

10. A method comprising the steps of:

creating a record in a database describing a paper-based document;

the record identifying a physical storage location for the paper-based document;

affixing a globally unique identifier to the paper-based document;

processing the paper-based document to create a digital image of the paper-based document which includes the globally unique identifier;

extracting the globally unique identifier from the digital image of the paper-based document;

storing the digital image, using the globally unique identifier to link the digital image to the record in the database and to the physical storage location for the paper-based document.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of de-speckling and de-skewing the digital image of the paper-based document.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of using the record in the database to display the digital image of the paper-based document.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of using the record in the database to retrieve the paper-based document.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:

using the record in the database to display the digital image of the paper-based document; and

using the record in the database to retrieve the paper-based document.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:

storing the paper-based document in at least one file folder, the at least one file folder bearing a globally unique identifier; and

storing the at least one file folder in at least one storage container, the at least one storage container bearing a globally unique identifier.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:

transporting the at least one storage container to a warehouse facility; and

storing the at least one storage container in the storage facility.

18. The program product of claim 17 wherein the digital filing application is implemented as a web browser based application.

19. The program product of claim 17 wherein the signal bearing media comprises recordable media.

20. The program product of claim 17 wherein the signal bearing media comprises transmission media.

17. A program product comprising:

a digital filing application which decodes at least one digital image of a paper-based document and which extracts a globally unique identifier from a label image contained within the at least one digital image and which uses the globally unique identifier to name and link the at least one digital image to a record in a database, wherein the record in the database identifies a physical storage location for the paper-based document and wherein the record was created at a point in time prior to the creation of the at least one digital image; and

signal bearing media bearing the digital filing application.