Action stickers for identifying and processing stored documents

• US 7,536,638 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2003
• Issued: 05/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Savitzky, Stephen R., Barrus, John W., Piersol, Kurt Wesley
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton; Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hillery; Nathan
• Application Number:
  US10/665,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20060262995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,072 Days
• Field of Search: 715/500
• US Class Current: 715/233
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/34 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/38 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

A user affixes one or more action stickers to a collection coversheet to identify, by location on the coversheet, target documents within a previously stored collection of documents. The action stickers also specify actions to be performed on the target documents. The coversheet is scanned and the affixed stickers are located and read. The specified actions are then performed on the target documents. If the specified actions change the organization or architecture of the document collection, an updated version of the collection may be generated and stored, and a new coversheet may be printed. The action stickers may be removable, self-adhesive labels.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing stored documents, comprising:

receiving an electronic image of a document index, the document index being on a printed medium and comprising a plurality of graphic representations of stored documents and a plurality of removable self-adhesive stickers, each graphic representation uniquely identifies each corresponding stored document;

locating, within the plurality of graphic representations of the stored documents on the document index image, at least a first graphic representation of a first stored document;

locating, on the document index image with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document, an image of a first sticker specifying a first action;

determining that the first sticker specifies that the first action be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document and

performing the first action to cause a change to the first stored document as specified by the first sticker.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first stored document is part of a stored collection of documents, and wherein the document index image comprises a collection coversheet image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the collection coversheet image comprises a collection overview image.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the collection overview image comprises a plurality of thumbnail depictions of documents.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the collection coversheet image comprises a machine-readable collection identifier specifying a storage location for the collection of documents, the method further comprising, prior to performing the first action:

retrieving the identified first stored document from the specified storage location.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising modifying the stored collection of documents.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising generating an updated collection coversheet image.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing a new version of the collection of documents.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating an updated collection coversheet image including a collection identifier specifying a location for the new version.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first sticker specifies the first action to be performed on the first stored document based on a location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document comprises determining whether the first graphic representation of the first stored document is overlapped by the first action sticker.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first sticker specifies the first action to be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation comprises determining a proximity of the first action sticker to a second graphic representation of a second stored document.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first sticker specifies the first action to be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation comprises determining the first graphic representation of the first stored document is pointed to by the first sticker.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first sticker comprises an action point; and

determining that the first sticker specifies the first action be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation comprises determining a proximity of the action point of the first sticker to one of the document representations.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first sticker comprises an action point; and

determining that the first sticker specifies the first action to be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with

respect to the location of the first graphic representation comprises;

determining a coordinate location for the action point;

determining a coordinate location for the first graphic representation of the first stored document; and

comparing the coordinate location for the action point with the coordinate location for the first graphic representation of the first stored document.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the document index image comprises a list of stored documents.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein each graphic representation comprises a thumbnail depiction of one of the plurality of graphic representations of documents.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of graphic representations comprises an icon representing a stored document.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first action comprises one selected from the group consisting of:

printing;

e-mailing;

faxing;

grouping;

reordering;

playing;

ungrouping; and

deleting.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the first action comprises specifying an access level for the first stored document.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

locating, on the document index image, at least a second graphic representation of a second stored document;

locating, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a second action;

determining that the second sticker specifies the second action be performed on the second stored document based on a second location of the second sticker with respect to the second graphic representation; and

performing the second action to cause a change to the identified second stored document.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

prior to performing the first action, retrieving the first stored document from a storage device; and

prior to performing the second action, retrieving the second stored document from a storage device.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sticker specifies a grouping action, the method further comprising:

locating, on the document index image, at least a second graphic representation of a second stored document;

locating, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a grouping action; and

determining that the second sticker specifies the grouping action be performed on the second stored document based on a location of the second sticker with respect to the second graphic representation;

and wherein performing the first action comprises grouping the first stored document and the second stored document.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein grouping the first stored document and the second stored document comprises forming a sub-collection of documents comprising the first stored document and the second stored document.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

locating, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a second action;

determining that the second sticker specifies the second action be performed on the first stored document based on a location of the second sticker with respect to the first graphic representation;

determining an order for performing the first action and the second action; and

performing the second action on the first stored document;

wherein the first and second actions are performed according to the determined order.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein determining an order comprises sorting according to a predetermined sequence of actions.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the first action comprises transmitting the first stored document to a destination, the method further comprising:

determining the destination.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the destination comprises receiving user input specifying a destination.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the destination comprises reading an indicator of the destination from the image of the document index.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the destination comprises reading an indicator of the destination from the first sticker.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the destination comprises determining at least one selected from the group consisting of:

an e-mail address;

a fax number;

a uniform resource locator;

a telephone number; and

a mailing address.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the image of the document index comprises scanning a piece of paper comprising the document index image.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the image of the document index comprises receiving an e-mail message comprising the document index image.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the image of the document index comprises receiving a fax message comprising the document index image.

34. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first action by reading the first sticker.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first action by performing optical character recognition on the first sticker.

36. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first action by determining a shape of the first sticker.

37. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first action by determining a color of the first sticker.

38. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first action by reading a machine-readable icon on the first sticker.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the document index image comprises an identifier specifying a storage location, the method further comprising, prior to performing the first action:

retrieving the first stored document from the storage location.

40. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to performing the first action, retrieving the first stored document from a storage device.

41. A computer-implemented method for processing stored documents, comprising:

receiving an electronic image of a document index, the document index being on a printed medium and comprising a plurality of graphic representations of stored documents and a plurality of removable self-adhesive stickers, each graphic representation uniquely identifies each corresponding stored document;

locating, within the plurality of graphic representations of the stored documents on the document index image, at least a first graphic representation of a first stored document;

locating, on the document index image with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document, an image of a first sticker;

determining that the first sticker specifies receiving input in association with the first stored document

based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the first graphic representation of the first stored document;

receiving input specifying an action; and

performing the specified action to cause a change to the first stored document.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein receiving input specifying an action comprises receiving input via a user interface.

43. A computer program product for processing a first stored document, comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

receiving an electronic image of a document index, the document index being on a printed medium and comprising a plurality of graphic representations of stored documents and a plurality of removable self-adhesive stickers, each graphic representation uniquely identifies each corresponding stored document;

locating, within the plurality of graphic representations of the stored documents on the document index image, at least a first graphic representation of a first stored document;

locating, on the document index image with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document, an image of a first sticker specifying a first action;

determining that the first sticker specifies that the first action be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document and

performing the first action to cause a change to the first stored document as specified by the first sticker.

44. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the first stored document is part of a stored collection of documents, and wherein the document index image comprises a collection coversheet image.

45. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the collection coversheet image comprises a collection overview.

46. The computer program product of claim 45, wherein the collection overview image comprises a plurality of thumbnail depictions of documents.

47. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the collection coversheet image comprises a machine-readable collection identifier specifying a storage location for the collection of documents, the computer program product further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for, prior to performing the first action:

retrieving the first stored document from the storage location.

48. The computer program product of claim 44, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for modifying the stored collection of documents.

49. The computer program product of claim 48, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for generating an updated collection coversheet image.

50. The computer program product of claim 44, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for storing a new version of the collection of documents.

51. The computer program product of claim 50, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for generating an updated collection coversheet image including a collection identifier specifying a location for the new version.

52. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the first action comprises one selected from the group consisting of:

printing;

e-mailing;

faxing;

grouping;

reordering;

playing;

ungrouping; and

deleting.

53. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the first action comprises specifying an access level for the first stored document.

54. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the first sticker specifies a grouping action, the computer program product further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for:

locating, on the document index image, at least a second graphic representation of a second stored document;

locating, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a grouping action; and

determining that the second sticker specifies the grouping action be performed on the second stored document based on a location of the second sticker with respect to the second graphic representation;

and wherein the computer program code for performing the first action comprises computer program code for grouping the first stored document and the second stored document.

55. The computer program product of claim 54, wherein the computer program code for grouping the first document and the second document comprises computer program code for forming a sub-collection comprising the first stored document and the second-stored document.

56. The computer program product of claim 43, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for:

locating, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a second action;

determining that the second sticker specifies an second action to be performed on the first stored document based on a location of the second sticker with respect to the first graphic representation;

determining an order for performing the first action and the second action; and

performing the second action on the first stored document;

wherein the first and second actions are performed according to the determined order.

57. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the first action comprises transmitting the first stored document to a destination, the computer program product further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for:

determining the destination.

58. The computer program product of claim 43, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for determining the first action by reading the first sticker.

59. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the document index comprises an identifier specifying a storage location, the computer program product further comprising, computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for, prior to performing the first action:

retrieving the first stored document from the storage location.

60. The computer program product of claim 43, further comprising, computer program code, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, for, prior to performing the first action, retrieving the first stored document from a storage device.

61. A system for processing stored documents comprising:

a document index input device, for receiving an electronic image of a document index, the document index being on a printed medium and comprising a plurality of graphic representations of stored documents and a plurality of removable self-adhesive stickers, each graphic representation uniquely identifies each corresponding stored document;

a document locator, for locating, within the plurality of graphic representations of the stored documents on the document index image, at least a first graphic representation of a first stored document;

a sticker locator, coupled to the document input index device and the document locator, for locating, on the document index image with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document, an image of a first sticker specifying a first action and for determining that the first sticker specifies that the first action be performed on the first stored document based on the location of the first sticker with respect to the location of the first graphic representation of the first stored document; and

a document processor, coupled to the document identifier, for performing the first action to cause a change to the first stored document as specified by the first sticker.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the first document is part of a stored collection of documents, and wherein the document index image comprises a collection coversheet image.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the collection coversheet image comprises a collection overview image.

64. The system of claim 63, wherein the collection overview image comprises a plurality of thumbnail depictions of stored documents.

65. The system of claim 62, wherein the collection coversheet image comprises a machine-readable collection identifier specifying a storage location for the collection of documents, the system further comprising:

a document retriever, coupled to the document identifier, for retrieving the first stored document from the specified storage location.

66. The system of claim 62, wherein the document processor modifies the stored collection of documents.

67. The system of claim 66, further comprising a coversheet generator, coupled to the document processor, for generating an updated collection coversheet image.

68. The system of claim 62, further comprising a storage device, coupled to the document processor, for storing a new version of the collection of documents.

69. The system of claim 68, further comprising a coversheet generator, coupled to the document processor, for generating an updated collection coversheet image including a collection identifier specifying a location for the new version.

70. The system of claim 61, wherein the first action comprises one selected from the group consisting of:

printing;

e-mailing;

faxing;

grouping;

reordering;

playing;

ungrouping; and

deleting.

71. The system of claim 61, wherein the first action comprises specifying an access level for the first stored document.

72. The system of claim 61, wherein the first sticker specifies a grouping action, wherein:

the document locator locates, on the document index image, at least a second graphic representation of a second stored document;

the sticker locator locates, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a grouping action and determines that the second sticker specifies a grouping action to be performed on the second stored document based on a location of the action sticker with respect to the second graphic representation; and

the document processor groups the first identified stored document and the second identified stored document.

73. The system of claim 72, wherein the document processor groups the first stored document and the second stored document by forming a sub-collection of documents comprising the first stored document and the second stored document.

74. The system of claim 61, wherein:

the sticker locator locates, on the document index image, an image of a second sticker specifying a second action;

the sticker locator determines that the second sticker specifies a grouping action to be performed on the first stored document based on a location of the first sticker with respect to the first graphic representation; and

the document processor determines an order for performing the first action and the second action, and performs the second action on the first stored document according to the determined order.

75. The system of claim 61, wherein the document index comprises an identifier specifying a storage location, the system further comprising:

a document retriever, coupled to the document identifier, for retrieving the first stored document from the specified storage location.

76. The system of claim 61, further comprising:

a document retriever, coupled to the document identifier, for retrieving the first stored document from a storage device.