Adaptive document management system using a physical representation of a document

• US 20060161562A1
• Filed: 06/22/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Alexander, Robert, Hull, Jonathan J., McFarland, Max E., Griffin, Michael G.E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,229,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for creating a Token and using it to operate and modify a case file in a document management system are described. An exemplary embodiment of a Token includes a representation of a case file. A Token may include a representation of a document associated with the case file, where the representation may include a brief description or visual summary of the document with an associated link to an electronic version of the document. In another exemplary embodiment, the Token may be used to facilitate retrieval and viewing of an electronic version of a document using its associated link. In another exemplary embodiment, the Token may be used to update the case file based on user input on the Token.

Claims

1. A Token for interfacing with a document management system, the Token comprising:

a visual representation of a case file, the visual representation including information associated with the case file; and

an index to an electronic version of at least one document, the index including additional information about the document; and

wherein the visual representation and the index are visible on a tangible medium.

2. The Token of claim 1, wherein the visual representation further comprises an action field including a data entry field to allow a user to update a record in the document management system corresponding to the case file.

3. The Token of claim 1, wherein the tangible medium is paper, and the visual representation is printed on the paper.

4. A method for use with a document management system, the method comprising:

retrieving data for a case file from the document management system;

creating an index to an item associated with the case file; and

generating a Token that is a physical representation of the retrieved data and the index.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising formatting the data and the index to create a visual representation of the case file to fit in a predetermined area of the physical representation.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of retrieving includes receiving base information relevant to the case file, and the step of creating includes creating a link to a document.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the document is an electronic file in a database.

8. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

creating an action field to facilitate user modification of the case file; and

wherein the generating step includes the action field.

9. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

determining a subset of electronic files associated with the case;

creating a physical representation of at least one electronic file of the subset; and

associating the physical representation of the at least one electronic file with the Token.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

creating a user profile identifying one or more preferred documents; and

accessing the profile to determine the subset.

11. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

inspecting a current electronic file to identify key text;

determining an intended user; and

accessing a database to determine the subset based on the key text and the intended user.

12. The method of claim 4 wherein retrieving data and creating the index further comprise:

identifying a case identifier;

identifying a subset of electronic files relevant to the case file;

creating a representation for each electronic file; and

assembling the case identifier and compressed representations to fit in a predetermined area.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein retrieving data and creating the index, further comprise:

identifying a case title;

identifying client information;

creating a textual summary for each electronic file;

associating a link with each electronic file; and

assembling the case title, case identifier, client information, textual summaries, and links to fit in a predetermined area.

14. A method of operating a document management system using a physical representation of a case file, the method comprising:

generating a Token representing a case file, the Token including a visual representation of a document associated with the file;

receiving a document identifier included in the visual representation;

retrieving the document associated with the document identifier; and

displaying the document.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of receiving a document identifier comprises receiving data from a bar code scanner.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein receiving a document identifier comprises receiving a reference code from a keypad.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein displaying the document comprises displaying an electronic representation of the document on a computer display.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising browsing a set of electronic files associated with the case file, the set including the document.

19. A method of using a physical representation of a case file to modify the case file in a document management system, the method comprising:

receiving a scanned Token;

retrieving a generated Token;

comparing the scanned Token to the generated Token; and

updating the case file based on a result of the comparison.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising retrieving and displaying a viewable representation of the scanned Token.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein updating the case file comprises:

receiving an electronic file;

storing the electronic file in a database; and

associating the electronic file with the case file.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein updating the case file comprises annotating an electronic file with information pertaining to the case file.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein updating the case file comprises annotating an electronic file with information pertaining to the electronic file itself.

24. A system for generating a physical representation of a case file for a document management system, the system comprising:

an identification module for retrieving information regarding a case file; and

a generation module for creating the physical representation of the case file, the generation module coupled to the identification module to receive information.

25. The system of claim 24 further comprising a formatting module for formatting a visual representation of data corresponding to the case file for inclusion in the physical representation, the formatting module coupled to the generation module.

26. The system of claim 24 further comprising an identification &

capture module for identifying a document to be included as part of the physical representation and retrieving the document from the document management system, the identification &

capture module coupled to the generation module and the document management system.

27. The system of claim 24 further comprising a trigger module to initiate generation of the physical representation, the trigger module coupled to the generation module.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the identification &

capture module further comprises;

at least one user profile identifying a preferred document; and

an accessing module coupled to the profile and the document management system to access the user profile to determine one or more electronic files to add to the physical representation.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein the formatting module further comprises a summarizing module to create a representation for each document identified.

30. A system for using a Token to operate a document management system, the system comprising:

an identification module to identify an input as corresponding to a Token representing a case file, the Token including an index to at least one document associated with the case file; and

a retrieval module coupled to the identification module to retrieve a document identified in the index, the retrieval module coupled to the document management system to retrieve documents.

31. The system of claim 30 further comprising an annotation module coupled to the identification module to attach data to the document pertaining to the case.

32. The system of claim 30 further comprising an annotation module coupled to the identification module to attach data to the document pertaining to the document itself.

33. The system of claim 30 further comprising a browsing module coupled to the retrieval module to list a plurality of documents associated with the case, the browsing module also coupled to provide information to a display device.

34. The system of claim 30 wherein the document management system includes a database having an electronic version of the document, and the system further comprises:

an input device coupled to the database to receive a reference code associated with the electronic version and present on the Token; and

a display device coupled to the database upon which to present the electronic version of the document.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the input device is a bar code scanner.

36. The system of claim 34 wherein the input device is a keypad.

37. A system for using a Token to modify a record corresponding to a case file in a document management system, the system comprising:

a retrieval module for retrieving a generated Token and a scanned Token, the retrieval module coupled to the document management system;

a comparison module for comparing the generated Token to the scanned Token, the comparison module coupled to the retrieval module; and

an updating module coupled to the comparison module and to the document management system for modifying the record in the document management system using output from the comparison module.

38. The system of claim 37 further comprising a generation module to generate the generated Token representing a case file, the Token including an index to at least one action field for user input, the generation module coupled to the document management system.

39. The system of claim 37 wherein the updating module comprises an annotation module to annotate an electronic file with information pertaining to the case file, the annotation module coupled to receive input from a user and coupled to the updating module for modifying the record in the document management system.

40. The system of claim 37 wherein the updating module comprises an annotation module to annotate the electronic file with information pertaining to the electronic file itself, the annotation module coupled to receive input from a user and coupled to the updating module for modifying the record in the document management system.