Embedding barcode data in an auxiliary field of an image file

• US 20050274807A1
• Filed: 06/09/2004
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Barrus, John, Wolff, Gregory J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,150,399 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/462.250
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

Information decoded from a barcode or other machine-readable code within an image file is stored as character-based data in an auxiliary field, such as a comment field, of the image file. Subsequently, the information can be extracted from the auxiliary field so as to avoid the need to repeat the image analysis and decoding operation. In one aspect, the extracted data is validated to ensure that it is consistent with the machine-readable code.

Claims

1. A method for storing data obtained from a machine-readable code, comprising:

obtaining image data comprising a machine-readable code;

retrieving the machine-readable code;

decoding the machine-readable code to obtain data; and

storing the obtained data, in a non-image format, in a storage area associated with the image data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining image data comprises obtaining an image file comprising image data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the image data comprises data from a scanned document.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining image data comprises scanning a document.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable code comprises a barcode.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a field of an image file comprising the image data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a comment field of an image file.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein- storing the obtained data comprises embedding the data in an image file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a text field of an image file.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a separate file and associating the separate file with an image file comprising the image data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a separate file having a name indicating that the separate file is associated with an image file comprising the image data.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a separate file having a name including a file name component identical to a corresponding file name component of an image file comprising the image data, the separate file having an extension that is different than the extension of the image file.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining image data comprises obtaining image data from an image file located in a directory, and wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a separate file in the same directory as the image file.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in a separate file and storing, in an image file comprising the image data, a reference to the separate file.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data as a character string.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the data in XML format.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing at least one of:

the position of the machine-readable code in the image data;

the orientation of the machine-readable code in the image;

a visual characteristic of the machine-readable code.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a hash function to the obtained data and storing the result of the hash function.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a hash function to the image data and storing the result of the hash function.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising encrypting the obtained data, and wherein storing the obtained data comprises storing the encrypted data.

21. A method for retrieving stored data representing a machine-readable code in an image, comprising:

obtaining an image file comprising image data, the image data comprising a machine-readable code; and

retrieving, from a storage area associated with the image data, a representation of the machine-readable code in non-image format.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the image file comprises a scanned document.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the machine-readable code comprises a barcode.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the image file comprises a data field, and wherein retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises retrieving the representation from the data field.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the image file comprises a comment field, and wherein retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises retrieving the representation from the comment field.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises retrieving the representation from the image file.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the image file comprises a text field, and wherein retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises retrieving the representation from the text field.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises retrieving the representation from a separate file associated with the image file.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the representation of the machine-readable code comprises a character string.

30. The method of claim 21, wherein the representation of the machine-readable code comprises data in XML format.

31. The method of claim 21, further comprising retrieving, from the storage area, at least one of:

the position of the machine-readable code in the image represented by the image file;

the orientation of the machine-readable code in the image; and

a visual characteristic of the machine-readable code.

32. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

retrieving, from the storage area, a first hash function value;

applying a hash function to at least a portion of the image data to obtain a second hash function value; and

comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value to determine validity of the representation of the machine-readable code.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising, responsive to the representation not being valid:

retrieving the machine-readable code from the image data;

decoding the machine-readable code to obtain data; and

storing the obtained data, in a non-image format, in the storage area.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein applying the hash function comprises applying the hash function to at least a portion of the compressed image data.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein applying the hash function comprises decompressing the image data and applying the hash function to at least a portion of the decompressed image data.

36. The method of claim 21, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises retrieving the representation without decompressing the image data.

37. A computer program product for storing data obtained from a machine-readable code, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

obtaining image data comprising a machine-readable code;

retrieving the machine-readable code;

decoding the machine-readable code to obtain data; and

storing the obtained data, in a non-image format, in a storage area associated with the image data.

38. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for obtaining image data comprises computer program code for obtaining an image file comprising image data.

39. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the image data comprises data from a scanned document.

40. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for obtaining image data comprises computer program code for scanning a document.

41. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the machine-readable code comprises a barcode.

42. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a field of an image file comprising the image data.

43. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a comment field of an image file.

44. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for embedding the data in an image file.

45. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a text field of an image file.

46. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a separate file and associating the separate file with an image file comprising the image data.

47. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a separate file having a name indicating that the separate file is associated with an image file comprising the image data.

48. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a separate file having a name including a file name component identical to a corresponding file name component of an image file comprising the image data, the separate file having an extension that is different than the extension of the image file.

49. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for obtaining image data comprises computer program code for obtaining image data from an image file located in a directory, and wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a separate file in the same directory as the image file.

50. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in a separate file and storing, in an image file comprising the image data, a reference to the separate file.

51. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data as a character string.

52. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the data in XML format.

53. The computer program product of claim 37, further comprising computer program code for storing at least one of:

the position of the machine-readable code in the image data;

the orientation of the machine-readable code in the image;

a visual characteristic of the machine-readable code.

54. The computer program product of claim 37, further comprising computer program code for applying a hash function to the obtained data and storing the result of the hash function.

55. The computer program product of claim 37, further comprising computer program code for applying a hash function to the image data and storing the result of the hash function.

56. The computer program product of claim 37, further comprising computer program code for encrypting the obtained data, and wherein the computer program code for storing the obtained data comprises computer program code for storing the encrypted data.

57. A computer program product for retrieving stored data representing a machine-readable code in an image, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

obtaining an image file comprising image data, the image data comprising a machine-readable code; and

retrieving, from a storage area associated with the image data, a representation of the machine-readable code in non-image format.

58. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the image file comprises a scanned document.

59. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the machine-readable code comprises a barcode.

60. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the image file comprises a data field, and wherein the computer program code for retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises computer program code for retrieving the representation from the data field.

61. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the image file comprises a comment field, and wherein the computer program code for retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises computer program code for retrieving the representation from the comment field.

62. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the computer program code for retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises computer program code for retrieving the representation from the image file.

63. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the image file comprises a text field, and wherein the computer program code for retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises computer program code for retrieving the representation from the text field.

64. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the computer program code for retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises computer program code for retrieving the representation from a separate file associated with the image file.

65. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the representation of the machine-readable code comprises a character string.

66. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the representation of the machine-readable code comprises data in XML format.

67. The computer program product of claim 57, further comprising computer program code for retrieving, from the storage area, at least one of:

the position of the machine-readable code in the image represented by the image file;

the orientation of the machine-readable code in the image; and

a visual characteristic of the machine-readable code.

68. The computer program product of claim 57, further comprising computer program code for:

retrieving, from the storage area, a first hash function value;

applying a hash function to at least a portion of the image data to obtain a second hash function value; and

comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value to determine validity of the representation of the machine-readable code.

69. The computer program product of claim 68, further comprising computer program code for, responsive to the representation not being valid:

retrieving the machine-readable code from the image data;

decoding the machine-readable code to obtain data; and

storing the obtained data, in a non-image format, in the storage area.

70. The computer program product of claim 68, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein the computer program code for applying the hash function comprises computer program code for applying the hash function to at least a portion of the compressed image data.

71. The computer program product of claim 68, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein the computer program code for applying the hash function comprises computer program code for decompressing the image data and applying the hash function to at least a portion of the decompressed image data.

72. The computer program product of claim 57, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein the computer program code for retrieving the representation of the machine-readable code comprises computer program code for retrieving the representation without decompressing the image data.

73. A system for storing data obtained from a machine-readable code, comprising:

an image input device, for obtaining image data comprising a machine-readable code;

an image processor, coupled to the input device, for retrieving the machine-readable code from the image data;

a decoder, coupled to the image processor, for decoding the machine-readable code to obtain data; and

a storage device, coupled to the decoder, for storing the obtained data, in a non-image format, in a storage area associated with the image data.

74. The system of claim 73, wherein the image input device obtains an image file comprising image data.

75. The system of claim 73, wherein the image data comprises data from a scanned document.

76. The system of claim 73, wherein image input device comprises a document scanner.

77. The system of claim 73, wherein the machine-readable code comprises a barcode.

78. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a field of an image file comprising the image data.

79. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a comment field of an image file.

80. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device embeds the data in an image file.

81. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a text field of an image file.

82. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a separate file and associates the separate file with an image file comprising the image data.

83. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a separate file having a name indicating that the separate file is associated with an image file comprising the image data.

84. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a separate file having a name including a file name component identical to a corresponding file name component of an image file comprising the image data, the separate file having an extension that is different than the extension of the image file.

85. The system of claim 73, wherein the input device obtains image data from an image file located in a directory, and wherein the storage device stores the data in a separate file in the same directory as the image file.

86. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in a separate file and stores, in an image file comprising the image data, a reference to the separate file.

87. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data as a character string.

88. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device stores the data in XML format.

89. The system of claim 73, wherein the storage device further stores at least one of:

the position of the machine-readable code in the image data;

the orientation of the machine-readable code in the image;

a visual characteristic of the machine-readable code.

90. The system of claim 73, further comprising a hash function application module, coupled to the image input device, for applying a hash function to the obtained data, and wherein the storage device stores the result of the hash function.

91. The system of claim 73, further comprising a hash function application module, coupled to the image input device, for applying a hash function to the image data, and wherein the storage device stores the result of the hash function.

92. The system of claim 73, further comprising an encryption module, coupled to the image input device, for encrypting the obtained data, and wherein the storage device stores the encrypted data.

93. A system for retrieving stored data representing a machine-readable code in an image, comprising:

an image file receiver, for obtaining an image file comprising image data, the image data comprising a machine-readable code; and

a reader, coupled to the image file receiver, for retrieving, from a storage area associated with the image data, a representation of the machine-readable code in non-image format.

94. The system of claim 93, wherein the image file comprises a scanned document.

95. The system of claim 93, wherein the machine-readable code comprises a barcode.

96. The system of claim 93, wherein the image file comprises a data field, and wherein the reader retrieves the representation of the machine-readable code from the data field.

97. The system of claim 93, wherein the image file comprises a comment field, and wherein the reader retrieves the representation of the machine-readable code from the comment field.

98. The system of claim 93, wherein the reader retrieves the representation of the machine-readable code from the image file.

99. The system of claim 93, wherein the image file comprises a text field, and wherein the reader retrieves the representation of the machine-readable code from the text field.

100. The system of claim 93, wherein the reader retrieves the representation of the machine-readable code from a separate file associated with the image file.

101. The system of claim 93, wherein the representation of the machine-readable code comprises a character string.

102. The system of claim 93, wherein the representation of the machine-readable code comprises data in XML format.

103. The system of claim 93, wherein the reader further retrieves, from the storage area, at least one of:

the position of the machine-readable code in the image represented by the image file;

the orientation of the machine-readable code in the image; and

a visual characteristic of the machine-readable code.

104. The system of claim 93, wherein the reader further retrieves, from the storage area, a first hash function value, the system further comprising:

a hash function application module, coupled to the reader, for applying a hash function to at least a portion of the image data to obtain a second hash function value; and

a comparison module, coupled to the function application module, for comparing the first hash function value with the second hash function value to determine validity of the representation of the machine-readable code.

105. The system of claim 104, further comprising:

a code reader, for, responsive to the representation not being valid, retrieving the machine-readable code from the image data;

a decoder, coupled to the code reader, for decoding the machine-readable code to obtain data; and

a storage device, coupled to the decoder, for storing the obtained data, in a non-image format.

106. The system of claim 104, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein the hash function application module applies the hash function to at least a portion of the compressed image data.

107. The system of claim 104, wherein the image data is compressed, the system further comprising a decompression module for decompressing the image data;

and wherein the hash function application module applies the hash function to at least a portion of the decompressed image data.

108. The system of claim 93, wherein the image data is compressed, and wherein the reader retrieves the representation of the machine-readable code without decompressing the image data.