Data capture from rendered documents using handheld device

• US 20060029296A1
• Filed: 04/01/2005
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Exbiblio BV
• Inventors: Kushler, Clifford A., Stafford-Fraser, James Q., King, Martin T., Grover, Dale L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,593,605 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/316 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/332 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/41 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/433 using audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/434 using image data, e.g. images, photos, pictures taken by a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/117 Tagging; Marking up details of markup languages G06F40/143; Designating a block; Setting of attributes style sheets, e.g. eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation [XSLT], G06F40/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/14 Tree-structured documents parsing G06F40/205; validation G06F40/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0016 : Selecting or retrieving of images by means of their associated code-marks, e.g. coded microfilm or microfiche microfilm reading G03B21/11; computers therefor G06F16/00; teaching devices G09B5/02; accessing record carriers G11B27/002; static digital stores using optical elements G11C13/04; intermediate storage of facsimile picture signals H04N1/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 : Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 : Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 : Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 : specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4012 : Verifying personal identification numbers [PIN]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 : Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 : Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 : Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 : Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 : Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 : Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 : Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 : Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 : Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 : Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 : Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 : Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 : Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 : Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/142 : using hand-held instruments; Constructional details of the instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1444 : Selective acquisition, locating or processing of specific regions, e.g. highlighted text, fiducial marks or predetermined fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1448 : based on markings or identifiers characterising the document or the area
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/248 : involving plural approaches, e.g. verification by template match; Resolving confusion among similar patterns, e.g. "O" versus "Q" G06V30/242 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/262 : using context analysis, e.g. lexical, syntactic or semantic context
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/40 : Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/40 : for devices for accepting orders, advertisements, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/00 : Cash registers alarm indicators G07G3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 : with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• 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 1/0036 : Alphanumeric symbols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00363 : Bar codes or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00374 : on the same page as at least a part of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00381 : Input by recognition or interpretation of visible user gestures manual input means, e.g. digitisers, writing tablets H04N1/00392; gesture input to computers G06F3/017; recognition algorithms G06V40/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/107 : with manual scanning
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2166 : for mass storage, e.g. in document filing systems information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2187 : with image input from a plurality of different locations or from a non-central location, e.g. from one or more users
• 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 1/34 : for coin-freed systems ; Pay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 : Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 : of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3249 : data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 : Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3263 : of a graphical motif or symbol, e.g. Christmas symbol, logo H04N2201/3211 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3266 : of text or character information, e.g. text accompanying an image H04N2201/3226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 : The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 : Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 : Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 : Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 : Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 : Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 : Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 : Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A portable device having scanning, imaging or other data-capture capability is described. In some cases, the portable device can indicate to the user when enough information has been captured to uniquely identify a source document. In some cases, the portable device calculates timestamps and location-stamps indicating when and where a data capture occurred. In some cases, the portable device is controlled by gestures. In some cases, the portable scanning device has associated billing and content/service subscription information.

Claims

1. A portable data capture device, comprising:

control logic;

memory coupled with the control logic for storing data and instructions executable by the control logic;

a data capture element for capturing data from a paper document;

instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the control logic, cause data capture element to capture text from a paper document;

instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the control logic, cause the portable data capture device to automatically submit at least a portion of the captured text to a search engine.

2. A portable device having scanning capability, comprising:

an image capture device for acquiring images;

a processor for processing the images captured by the image capture device;

a memory for storing the images acquired by the image capture device;

a communications interface for transmitting information to external devices and receiving information from external devices; and

a user interface operable to indicate to a user that enough information has been acquired to identify a source document of an acquired image.

3. The portable device of claim 2 further comprising image compression logic for compressing the images captured by the image capture device.

4. The portable device of claim 2 further comprising an internal power supply.

5. The portable device of claim 4 further comprising power management logic for monitoring power consumption of the portable device and prolonging operational life of the internal power supply.

6. The portable device of claim 2 further comprising an illumination source.

7. The portable device of claim 2 further comprising a location module.

8. The portable device of claim 7 in which the location module comprises at least one location determination capability selected from the group of GPS, A-GPS, DGPS, triangulation, monitoring of local transceiver pilot signals, TDOA, EOTD, and angle of arrival.

9. In a portable device having scanning capability, a method for controlling the portable device, the method comprising:

scanning control data;

processing the control data;

identifying an application that corresponds to the control data;

accessing the application in response to the control data; and

performing the application.

10. The method of claim 9 in which the application causes the portable device to store data in memory.

11. The method of claim 9 in which the application causes the portable device to erase data from memory.

12. The method of claim 9 in which the application causes text in an electronic document to be highlighted.

13. A portable scanner, comprising:

a processor;

a first memory operatively connected with the processor;

a second memory operatively connected with the processor for storing at least one selected from the group of billing information, content subscription information, service subscription information, and device identifier.

14. The portable scanner of claim 13 in which the second memory is a subscriber identity module.

15. The portable scanner of claim 13 in which the second memory is a smart card.

16. In computer readable medium, a portable device control application, comprising:

a control identifier that identifies a command associated with short scanned images; and

an processor that acts on the command associated with the short scanned images.

17. In a portable device having scanning capability, a method of informing a user that sufficient data has been scanned from a document to identify the document, comprising:

scanning symbols from the document;

estimating how many symbols have been scanned from the document;

comparing the estimate to a threshold number for identifying a document; and

indicating that sufficient symbols have been scanned to identify the document.

18. The method of claim 17 in which the indicating is a visual signal discernible by a user of the portable scanning device.

19. The method of claim 17 in which the threshold number for identifying a document is within the range of twenty to forty symbols, inclusive.

20. The method of claim 17 in which the threshold number is less than forty-one symbols.

21. The method of claim 17 in which the indicating is an audio signal discernible by a user of the portable scanning device.

22. A method in a computing system for processing a text capture operation, comprising:

determining that a user has used a handheld text capture device to perform a text capture operation from a rendered document that yielded a text sequence; and

acting on the text capture operation.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the rendered document contains at least one line of text, and wherein the text sequence yielded by the text capture operation is a proper subset of the text contained in a single line of the rendered document.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the rendered document contains at least one page of text, and wherein the text sequence yielded by the text capture operation is a proper subset of the text contained in a single page of the rendered document.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein the yielded text sequence is comprised of words, and wherein the text capture operation involved specific user interactions with each of the words of the yielded text sequence.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the user spoke each of the words of the yielded text sequence.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the user directed an optical sensor at each of the words of the yielded text sequence.

28. The method of claim 22 wherein the yielded text sequence is comprised of ordered words, and wherein the text capture operation involved capturing physical phenomenon corresponding to each of the words of the yielded text sequence in the order of the yielded text sequence.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein the yielded text sequence is comprised of ordered words, and wherein the text capture operation involved capturing physical phenomenon corresponding to each of the words of the yielded text sequence in the reverse order of the yielded text sequence.

30. The method of claim 22 wherein the text capture operation involved manually moving an optical sensor across the rendered document.

31. The method of claim 22 wherein the text capture operation involved capturing image data from a non-rectangular region of the rendered document.

32. The method of claim 22 wherein the text sequence yielded by the text capture operation comprises fewer than ten words.

33. The method of claim 22 wherein the text capture operation involved capturing an image of fewer than ten words.