Tracking the reproduction of documents on a reprographic device

• US 5,299,026 A
• Filed: 11/12/1991
• Issued: 03/29/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Guenther, Joachim, Wagner, John W., Vincett, Paul S., Campbell, Andrew R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coles, Sr., Edward L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rogers, Scott A.
• Application Number:
  US07/790,309
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 358/296, 358/401, 358/406, 358/434, 358/440, 358/468, 358/448, 358/467, 358/443, 358/442, 358/408, 358/300, 382/10, 382/36, 382/34, 355/201, 355/202, 283/902, 377/8, 377/13
• US Class Current: 358/401
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/50 Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode copiers, microprocessor control sequencing control G03G21/14
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/02 Counting the number of copies; Billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2166 for mass storage, e.g. in document filing systems information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3216 of a job size, e.g. a number of images, pages or copies, size of file, length of message
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 Printing or stamping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information

Abstract

An apparatus for capturing and recording the content, ownership, and/or bibliographic source of documents reproduced on a reprographic device, and more particularly for tracking the reproduction of specified information, especially copyrighted documents, is connected, preferably detachably, to any of various reprographic devices. The apparatus includes a digitizer for digitizing desired pages (such as those containing title and author information) output from a main portion of the reprographic device, a recording device and medium for storing said digitized pages, a counter for counting the number of reproductions made and optionally inferring the number of originals, a controller for controlling the operation of the apparatus and, optionally, a control panel for interacting with the operator of the reprographic device. When reproducing copyrighted information, an operator makes a reproduction of the pages containing title and author information, digitized images of these pages being stored on the recording medium. The counter counts the total number of copyrighted and other reproductions made, the counted number of reproductions also being recorded on the recording medium. The recording medium is then used to determine the number and nature of copyrighted reproductions made by the reprographic device. The device may also be used for other applications where reproduction of particular types of documents is restricted, or for storing document contents as part of an information storage and retrieval system.

Claims

1. An apparatus for tracking the reproduction of at least a portion of a copyrighted document reproduced in a reprographic job performed by a reprographic device, without requiring special identifying coding, markings or characters on said document, said apparatus comprising:

recording means for automatically recording the bibliographic source information about the document contained on at least one page of the document, at least a portion of said page being reproduced by a reprographic device;

connecting means for connecting said apparatus to a main portion of a reprographic device;

counting means for counting a total number of reproductions in the reprographic job performed by the reprographic device;

supply means for supplying said number to said recording means, said number being recorded by said recording means; and

control means for controlling said recording means, counting means and supply means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means comprises designating means for designating one of two modes of operation of said tracking apparatus, a first of said two modes comprising a mode wherein bibliographic source information is to be recorded and a second of said two modes comprising a mode wherein bibliographic source information is not to be recorded.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising image forming means for forming an image of at least a portion of at least one reproduced page of said document, said image forming means forming said image at least when said designating means designates the first of said modes.

4. An apparatus for recording at least one of content, ownership and bibliographic source information about a document, at least a portion of which is reproduced in a reprographic job performed by a reprographic device, without requiring special identifying coding, markings or characters on said document, said apparatus comprising:

recording means for automatically recording an image of at least a portion of at least one page of the document from said reprographic device; and

control means for controlling said recording means; and

connecting means for at least one of electrically and mechanically connecting said apparatus to a main portion of said reprographic device.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said apparatus tracks the reproduction of at least portions of copyrighted documents, said apparatus further comprising:

counting means for counting at least one of a number of originals in the reprographic job and a total number of reproductions made by the reprographic device in the reprographic job; and

means to supply at least one of said numbers to said recording means, said recording means recording said supplied number.

6. An apparatus for recording at least one of content, ownership and bibliographic source information about a document, at least a portion of the document being reproduced in a reprographic job performed by a reprographic device, said apparatus comprising:

imaging means for imaging at least a portion of at least one of various pages output from a main portion of said reprographic device after reproduction said various pages comprising a page of the reprographic job and a reproduction of at least a portion of a page of the document containing at least one of ownership and bibliographic source information about the document, the pages to be imaged being supplied to said imaging means from said main portion of said reprographic device without operator intervention;

recording means for recording at least a portion of the images produced by said imaging means;

supply means to supply at least a portion of said images to said recording means;

control means for controlling said imaging means, recording means and supply means; and

connecting means for at least one of electrically and mechanically connecting said apparatus to said main portion of said repro-graphic device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said imaging means produces bit-mapped digital images, and said recording means records at least portions of said images in digital form.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said connecting means permits said apparatus to be conveniently detached from said reprographic device.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said apparatus tracks the reproduction of at least portions of copyrighted documents without requiring special identifying coding of said documents, said apparatus further comprising:

counting means for counting at least one of a number of originals in the reprographic job and a total number of reproductions performed by the reprographic device in the reprographic job; and

means to supply at least one of said numbers to said recording means, said recording means recording said supplied number.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said imaging means automatically digitizes at least a random portion of the reproduced pages output from the main portion of said reprographic device and said recording means records at least a random portion thereof, said apparatus further comprising prevention means for preventing an ordinary operator of said reprographic device from bypassing said imaging means and said recording means.

11. The apparatus according to claim 6, said control means including designating means for designating one of two modes of operation of said recording apparatus, a first of said two modes comprising a mode wherein at least portions of reproduced pages are to be imaged and recorded and a second of said two modes comprising a mode wherein reproduced pages are not to be imaged and recorded.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, said control means further including means for controlling operation of said reprographic device, said operation controlling means preventing operation of said reprographic device until said designating means designates one of said modes.

13. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said imaging means comprises an integrated contact image sensor, said integrated contact image sensor being in close proximity to the page being imaged, said integrated contact image sensor comprising illumination means, a plurality of lenses, and image detection means.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said apparatus tracks the reproduction of at least portions of copyrighted documents, said apparatus further comprising:

counting means for counting at least one of a number of originals in the reprographic job and a total number of reproductions made by the reprographic device in the reprographic job; and

means to supply at least one of said numbers to said recording means, said recording means recording said supplied number.

15. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said imaging means comprises illumination means, one of a linear and a two-dimensional charge-coupled device array, and at least one lens.

16. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising conveying means for conveying the pages to be imaged from a main portion of the reprographic device to said imaging means.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein at least part of said conveying means runs, at least during the operation of said imaging means, at a speed lower than the speed of pages output from the main portion of said reprographic device, said apparatus further comprising means for gently urging the reproduced pages to be imaged by said imaging means to form a buckle in a space provided therefor between said main portion of said reprographic device and said part of said conveying means, in order to accommodate the difference in said speeds.

18. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said reprographic device includes a foreign interface connector, said connecting means connecting said apparatus at least to the foreign interface connector of said reprographic device, said connection of said foreign interface connector to said apparatus constituting the only direct electrical connection between said reprographic device and said apparatus.

19. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising deflection means for deflecting pages to be digitized by said imaging means from a main paper flow path of the reprographic device, to one of the imaging means and a holding tray for later transport to the imaging means.

20. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said apparatus is adapted to be located between a main portion of said reprographic device and at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion of said reprographic device.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising mechanical means for transmitting motion from said main portion of said reprographic device to at least one component of said output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion.

22. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising compensation means for compensating for an increased paper path length between said main portion of the reprographic device and said at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion of the reprographic device.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said compensation means comprises at least one of:

means for intercepting at least one electrical signal between the main portion of the reprographic device and said at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion of the reprographic device and means for delaying the passage of at least one electrical signal between the main portion of the reprographic device and said at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion of the reprographic device.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said compensation means comprises means for intercepting at least one signal from said at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion of said reprographic device, generating means for generating a similar signal in advance of said signal from said at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion, and sending means for sending said similar signal to the main portion of the reprographic device in place of said signal from said at least one of an output paper tray portion, sorting portion and stapling portion.

25. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising storage means for temporarily storing a plurality of the digitized images until a last page of the reprographic job is output from the reprographic device, said storage means discarding any of the stored images not to be recorded after said last page is output and then supplying at least portions of undiscarded stored images to said recording means.

26. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said original number counting means comprises detecting means for detecting a number of pauses between reproductions by said reprographic device, said pauses being longer than a predetermined normal period between successive reproductions of an original.

27. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said original number counting means counts the number of originals to pass through a recirculating document handler of the reprographic device when said recirculating document handler is in use, said original number counting means determining the number of originals present in a document pile in said recirculating document handler.

28. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said reprographic device contains a platen and a cover for said platen, and said apparatus further comprises a detector to detect when said platen cover is open, and said original number counting means utilizes information fed from said detector to infer whether or not an automatic document handler of said reprographic device is in use.

29. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

overlay means for use on at least one of a plurality of control buttons of the reprographic device, said overlay means detecting when an area of said overlay means corresponding to one of said at least one button is pressed by the operator of said reprographic device, said overlay means electrically detecting the presence of pressure on said area of said overlay means, said overlay means at least one of mechanically and electromechanically transmitting said pressure to the corresponding control button; and

transmission means for transmitting a signal indicative of said presence of pressure on said area of said overlay means to at least one of said control means and said recording means.

30. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising transparency detection means connected to said recording means, said transparency detection means detecting the presence of a transparency in the output from the main portion of the reprographic device and said recording means recording the presence of the transparency.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said transparency detection means comprises an optical detection means.

32. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising operator identification means for identifying an operator, said operator identification means providing input to said recording means for recording of the identity of said operator by said recording means, said control means including means for controlling operation of said reprographic device, said operation controlling means preventing operation of said reprographic device until said operator identification means has identified an operator.

33. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising transport means to transport the pages to be imaged from the main portion of said reprographic device to said imaging means, said transport means comprising a moving endless belt placed between said main portion of said reprographic device and said imaging means.

34. An apparatus for recording at least one of content, ownership and bibliographic source information about a document, at least a portion of which is reproduced in a reprographic job performed by a reprographic device, said apparatus comprising:

imaging means for forming bit-mapped digital images of at least a portion of at least one of various pages output from a main portion of said reprographic device, said various pages comprising a page of the reprographic job and a reproduction of at least a portion of a page of the document containing at least one of ownership and bibliographic source information about the document, the pages to be imaged being supplied to said imaging means from said main portion of said reprographic device without operator intervention;

manipulating means to electronically manipulate at least a portion of said bit-mapped digital images fed from said imaging means, said manipulating means comprising means to recognize particular patterns in at least a portion of said digital images and to represent at least one of the presence of said patterns or the content of at least a portion of said patterns in digitally-encoded alphanumeric form;

recording means for recording at least one of;

at least a portion of said digitally-encoded alphanumeric information, and, when said manipulating means recognizes the presence of said particular patterns, at least a portion of at least one of said bit-mapped digital images;

supply means for supplying said information to be recorded to said recording means;

control means for controlling said imaging means, manipulating means, supply means and recording means; and

connecting means for at least one of electrically and mechanically connecting said apparatus to the main portion of said reprographic device.

35. An apparatus for tracking the reproduction of at least a portion of a copyrighted document in a reprographic job by a reprographic device, without requiring special identifying coding, markings or characters, said apparatus comprising:

input means for manually inputting at least one page from a reprographic job;

digital image forming means for forming a bit-mapped digital image of at least a portion of the at least one input page;

recording means for recording at least a portion of the bit-mapped digital image;

electrical connecting means for detachably connecting said apparatus to a reprographic device;

counting means for counting at least one of a number of originals in the reprographic job and a total number of reproductions made by the reprographic device in the reprographic job;

supply means for supplying at least one of said numbers to said recording means, said recording means recording said supplied number; and

control means for controlling said recording means, digital image forming means, counting means and supply means.

36. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein said control means comprises:

designating means for designating one of two modes of operation of said tracking apparatus, a first of said two modes comprising a mode wherein at least portions of pages are to be imaged and recorded and a second of said two modes comprising a mode wherein pages are not to be imaged and recorded;

means for controlling operation of said reprographic device, said operation controlling means preventing operation of said reprographic device until said designating means designates one of said modes; and

means limiting operation of said reprographic device in said first mode to a predetermined number of reproduced pages, until said digital image forming means detects the entry of paper.