Method and system for automatically and transparently archiving documents and document meta data
First Claim
1. A method for providing unconscious capture archiving of documents in an automated office environment in which electronic documents are transferred over a network coupling at least one input device and at least one document management workstation having at least one database disposed to receive electronic copies of said documents for archiving, the method comprising:
- receiving an electronic document image data being transmitted over the network in response to the electronic document being scanned by said at least one input device in response to a single user input command;
determining at least one meta data index from said electronic document; and
causing said image data to be stored in the at least one database along with said meta data index to perform the unconscious capture archiving, wherein the aforementioned steps are carried out without further input from the user notwithstanding the single user input command, and the aforementioned steps capture electronic document images of documents scanned and transferred over the network.
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Abstract
According to the present invention, an automatic archiving system that makes document archiving largely transparent to the user. In one embodiment, documents scanned in or printed during the course of office equipment operation are automatically archived. For example, an office local area network (LAN) may interconnect a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a document management workstation. Whenever, a document is copied, printed, or faxed, a document image is archived by the document management workstation without further user intervention. A single user command results in the document being copied and archived, printed and archived, or faxed and archived.
100 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for providing unconscious capture archiving of documents in an automated office environment in which electronic documents are transferred over a network coupling at least one input device and at least one document management workstation having at least one database disposed to receive electronic copies of said documents for archiving, the method comprising:
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receiving an electronic document image data being transmitted over the network in response to the electronic document being scanned by said at least one input device in response to a single user input command;
determining at least one meta data index from said electronic document; and
causing said image data to be stored in the at least one database along with said meta data index to perform the unconscious capture archiving, wherein the aforementioned steps are carried out without further input from the user notwithstanding the single user input command, and the aforementioned steps capture electronic document images of documents scanned and transferred over the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for providing unconscious capture archiving of documents, said system comprising:
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a computer having a long-term storage medium; and
a network interconnecting the computer with devices that transfer image data onto the network via print or copy commands, said image data representing documents, and relay each one of said image data to be archived by the computer for storage on the long-term storage medium along with at least one meta data index in response to a single user input command;
wherein the image data to be stored in the long-term storage medium is relayed to the computer without further input from the user notwithstanding the single user input command, and the image data to be stored in said long-term storage medium is captured from documents being copied or printed without interruption of the copy or the print commands respectively. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer program product for providing unconscious capture archiving of documents in an automated office environment in which electronic documents are transferred over a network coupling at least one input device and at least one document management workstation having at least one database disposed to receive electronic copies of said documents for archiving, the product comprising:
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code for receiving an electronic document image data being transmitted over the network in response to the electronic document being scanned by said at least one input device in response to a single user input command;
code for determining at least one meta data index from said electronic document;
code for causing said image data to be stored in the at least one database along with said meta data index to perform the unconscious capture archiving, wherein the aforementioned steps are carried out without further input from the user notwithstanding the single user input command, and the aforementioned steps capture electronic document images of documents scanned and transferred over the network; and
a computer readable storage medium for holding the codes. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A digital copier comprising:
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a scanning engine, said scanning engine operatively disposed to receive at least one of a plurality of documents to produce image data;
an image processing unit that processes said image data to correct imaging errors introduced by said scanning engine;
a printing engine, said printing engine being operatively disposed to produce hardcopy of said image data;
an image data tap that relays said image data to a storage system to perform unconscious capture archiving, wherein responsive to receiving from said user at least one of a plurality of documents and receiving from said user a single user input command, said single input command entered by said user responsive to a plurality of options displayed to said user, said scanning engine performs a scanning operation on said document to form said image data, said image tap relays said image data, along with at least one meta data index, to said document storage system, and said printing engine prints a document based on said image data, wherein said scanning engine, image processing unit, printing engine and image data tap function without further input from said user notwithstanding said single user input command, wherein said scanning engine, image processing unit, printing engine and image data tap capture image data of each and every document inserted into said digital copier.
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20. An email server for performing unconscious archiving of electronic documents in a network environment, wherein electronic documents are transferred over a network coupling at least one client computer and at least one document management workstation having at least one database disposed to receive electronic copies of said documents for archiving, said server operatively disposed to:
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collect an electronic image data of each and every email document transmitted over the network in response to a single user input command;
cause said image data to be stored in the at least one database to perform the unconscious capture archiving, wherein the aforementioned steps are carried out without further input from the user notwithstanding the single user input command, and the aforementioned steps capture electronic document images of documents transferred over the network.
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Specification