System for representing electronic files using a paper based medium

• US 5,682,540 A
• Filed: 12/08/1994
• Issued: 10/28/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Withgott, M. Margaret, Rao, Ramana B., Klotz, Leigh L. Jr., Johnson, Walter A. L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Herndon, Heather R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HONG, STEPHEN S
• Application Number:
  US08/352,327
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 395/144-149, 395/766, 395/788, 395/789, 364/419.02, 364/419.03, 235/494, 382/175, 382/305, 382/306, 358/403, 358/448
• US Class Current: 715/209
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2166 for mass storage, e.g. in document filing systems information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• 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 2201/3242 of processing required or performed, e.g. for reproduction or before recording H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3269 of machine readable codes or marks, e.g. bar codes or glyphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 Printing or stamping

Abstract

The present invention involves a novel form and methods for creating and using such forms. These forms are summaries (hereinafter "document surrogates") of associated objects, such as original documents, processes, or their copies, stored in a document processing system. A document surrogate made in accordance with the principles of the present invention comprises at least one sheet of a information storing substrate material that has a human readable area and a machine readable area. The human readable area may contain at least one area of material which summarizes the associated object. Such a summary may either be made manually by the user or created automatically by the document processing system. The machine readable area comprises a document reference code that is readable and recognizable by the document processing system. The code is located by the system and recognized from an image of the entire page. The reference code encodes an indicator to the storage location of the associated object. Upon encountering a document surrogate, the system may interpret the surrogate to be the equivalent of its associated object and uses the indicator to access the appropriate object. A mechanism may be provided to the system to either enable or disable this equivalence. If disabled, the system would treat the document surrogate like a typical page in a document.

Claims

1. A method for creating an instance of a hardcopy medium representing an electronic file received by a document processing system, said document processing system having an input device, an output device, a processor for executing document processing functions upon an input object, and a storage area for storing said electronic file, the steps of said method comprising:

(A) receiving an electronic file;

(B) storing said electronic file in said storage area; and

(C) outputting at least one piece of hardcopy medium representing said electronic file, said hardcopy medium having thereon a machine readable code, said code comprising an indicator to said electronic file stored in said storage area, a flag which instructs said document processing system to retrieve said electronic file and use instead of said hardcopy medium as an input object for a document processing function and human readable information for indicating the contents of said electronic file.

2. A combination comprising:

a storage area for storing electronic files;

hardcopy media for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said hardcopy media bearing marks thereon, said marks including;

a machine recognizable code comprising an indicator to at least one said associated electronic file, a surrogate flag for indicating that said hardcopy media represents an electronic file and human readable information for indicating the contents of said at least one said associated electronic file;

a means for inputting images of said hardcopy media;

a digital processor connected to said storage area and to said means for inputting images, said digital processor for performing selected processing tasks on instances of said hardcopy media images such that said processor determines whether said surrogate flag is present in said hardcopy media image, and, if present, substitutes said at least one said associated electronic file for said hardcopy media image as the object for performing said selected processing task.

3. The combination as recited in claim 2, wherein said at least one said associated electronic file is an associated object accessible to said digital processor.

4. The combination as recited in claim 3 wherein said at least one said associated electronic file is a process accessible to said digital processor.

5. The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said human readable material contains at least one summary of said at least one said associated electronic file.

6. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is user supplied.

7. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is automatically generated.

8. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is partially user supplied and partially automatically generated.

9. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is a reduced image of a page of said at least one said associated electronic file.

10. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is a list of keywords.

11. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is a list of section headings.

12. The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said hardcopy media further includes:

at least one selection area corresponding to individual electronic files such that a user may select any subset of said individual electronic files.

13. The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said hardcopy media further includes:

an override selection area such that a user may instruct said digital processor to select said hardcopy media image instead of said at least one said associated electronic file for further processing.

14. The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said combination further comprises:

a disable mechanism for instructing the digital processor to select said hardcopy media image instead of said least one said associated electronic file for further processing.

15. A combination comprising:

a storage area for storing electronic files;

hardcopy media for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said hardcopy media bearing marks thereon, said marks including;

a machine recognizable code comprising an indicator to at least one said associated electronic file, a surrogate flag for indicating that said hardcopy media represents an electronic file and human readable information for indicating the contents of said at least one said associated electronic file;

a means for inputting images of said hardcopy media;

a digital processor connected to said storage area and to said means for inputting images, said digital processor for performing selected processing tasks on electronic files represented by said hardcopy media images such that said processor determines whether said surrogate flag is present in said hardcopy media image, and, if present, selects said hardcopy media image instead of said at least one said associated electronic file as the object for performing said selected processing task.

16. The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said at least one said electronic file is a document accessible to said digital processor.

17. The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said at least one said electronic file is a process accessible to said digital processor.

18. The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said human readable material contains at least one summary of said at least one said electronic file.

19. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is user supplied.

20. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is automatically generated.

21. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is partially user supplied and partially automatically generated.

22. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a reduced image of a page of said at least one said electronic file.

23. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a list of keywords.

24. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a list of section headings.

25. The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said hardcopy media further includes:

at least one selection area corresponding to individual electronic files such that a user may select any subset of said individual electronic files for further processing.

26. The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said hardcopy media further includes:

an override selection area such that a user may instruct said digital processor to select said at least one said electronic file instead of said hardcopy media image for further processing.

27. The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said combination further comprises:

an enable mechanism for instructing said digital processor to select said at least one said electronic file instead of said hardcopy media image for further processing.

28. The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a page of said at least one said electronic file.

29. A document processing system comprising:

a storage means for storing a plurality of electronic files;

a source medium for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said source medium capable of having a first indicator indicating that said source medium has a second indicator, said second indicator indicating one of said plurality of electronic files, said source medium further capable of having human readable information for indicating the contents of said one of said plurality of electronic files;

an input means for receiving a representation of a source medium;

a function selection means for indicating a document processing function to be performed on one of said plurality of electronic files;

a processing means coupled to said input means, said storage means, and said function selection means, said processing means comprised of;

a plurality of document processing function means each for performing a corresponding document processing function on said source medium;

means for identifying an instance of said first indicator on said representation of said source medium;

means for identifying one of said plurality of electronic files corresponding to an instance of said second indicator on said representation of said source medium; and

means for substituting said identified one of said plurality of electronic flies for said source medium for processing by said document processing function; and

an output means coupled to said processing means, said output means for providing an output of a document processing function.

30. The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said processing means is further comprised of means for creating an instance of a source medium having said first indicator and said second indicator for output on said output means.

31. The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said input device is a scanner.

32. The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said output means is coupled to a communications line.

33. The document processing system as recited in claim 32 wherein an associated one of said one or more document processing functions is a distribution by facsimile transmission.

34. The document processing system as recited in claim 32 wherein an associated one of said one or more document processing functions is a distribution by electronic mail.

35. The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said output means is a printer device and one of said one or more document processing functions is a print function.

36. The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said function selection means is comprised of is a predefined check-box control sheet defining a plurality of document processing functions and means for identifying from said control sheet the document processing function selected.

37. A method for specifying documents stored in a document processing system as the object of a document processing function, said method comprising the steps of:

a) generating an electronic representation of a document for storing in said document processing system;

b) storing said electronic representation in said document processing system;

c) generating a form for accessing said stored electronic document, said form having thereon machine readable information comprised of a flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document, and file identifier information for accessing said stored electronic document, said form further comprising human readable information for indicating the contents of the stored electronic document that said form represents;

d) requesting a first document processing function to said document processing system;

e) inputting said form as the object of said first document processing function;

f) said document processing system detecting that said form represents said stored electronic file;

g) said document processing system retrieving said electronic filed represented by said form based on said file identifier information; and

h) said document processing system performing said first document processing function on said retrieved electronic file.

38. The method as recited in claim 37 wherein said step of inputting said form as the object of said first document processing function is further comprised of the steps of:

e1) scanning said form to create a bitmap representation of said form; and

e2) providing said bitmap representation to said document management system as input.

39. The method as recited in claim 38 wherein said step of said document processing system determining that said form represents said stored electronic file is further comprised of the step of detecting that said bitmap representation of said form contains said flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document.

40. The method as recited in claim 39 further comprising the steps of:

i) said document processing system detecting that said bitmap representation of said form does not contain said flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document; and

j) said document processing system performing said first document processing function on said bitmap representation of said form.