Automatic attachment of a captured image to a document based on context

• US 9,191,612 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2010
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Piersol, Kurt W., Amemiya, Kanae, Chemishkian, Sergey
• Primary Examiner(s): Paula, Cesar
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZUBERI, MOHAMMED H
• Application Number:
  US12/826,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,967 Days
• Field of Search: 715/255
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A portable computing device for automatic attachment of a captured image to a document being displayed triggered by the act of capturing the image is disclosed. A new page is added to the current document being reviewed and displayed on the portable computing device, and then the image and metadata are attached in that new page. In other variations, the document includes metadata having a location at which images may be stored and upon capture the image, the captured image is stored at the metadata location.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for automatic attachment of an image to a document, the method comprising:

receiving, with one or more processors, a capture image command on a first computing device;

capturing, with the one or more processors, the image;

determining, with the one or more processors, the document and a page in the document being displayed by the first computing device, the page including text and being displayed by the first computing device for receiving annotation;

determining, with the one or more processors, page metadata stored within the page in the document;

adding, with the one or more processors, the image as a first annotation to a first location on the page in the document, the first location being determined based at least in part on the page metadata;

determining, with the one or more processors, a requirement for routing the document to a next computing device using the page metadata;

determining, with the one or more processors, whether the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page satisfies the requirement for routing the document to the next computing device based on annotation metadata, wherein the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page is marked with the annotation metadata;

responsive to determining that the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page in the document satisfies the requirement for routing the document to the next computing device, determining, with the one or more processors, a next step for the page in the document, the next step being determined based at least in part on the page metadata; and

routing, with the one or more processors, the document to the next computing device to execute the next step on the page in the document, the next step being a second annotation to a second location on the page in the document.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording first computing device metadata that includes at least one of a time of day, a date, a location, a first computing device orientation and first computing device information; and

adding the first computing device metadata to the page metadata.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein adding the image includes adding the image to a same directory location as the document and adding the first computing device metadata to document metadata.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first annotation of the image indicates a status of the page in the document.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether there is a picture rectangle for the page as specified in the page metadata; and

responsive to an absence of the picture rectangle for the page, creating a new page in the document, and adding the image to the new page of the document.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the image further comprises:

determining whether there is a picture rectangle for the page as specified in the page metadata; and

responsive to there being at least one picture rectangle for the page, adding the image to the page in place of the picture rectangle.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

determining whether the picture rectangle has been selected;

responsive to the picture rectangle being selected, replacing the picture rectangle with the image.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

determining whether the picture rectangle has been selected;

responsive to the picture rectangle not being selected, determining a first unfilled picture rectangle, and replacing the first unfilled picture rectangle with the image.

9. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform steps comprising:

receiving a capture image command on a first computing device;

capturing an image;

determining a document and a page in the document being displayed by the first computing device, the page including text and being displayed by the first computing device for receiving annotation;

determining page metadata stored within the page in the document;

adding the image as a first annotation to a first location on the page in the document, the first location being determined based at least in part on the page metadata;

determining a requirement for routing the document to a next computing device using the page metadata;

determining whether the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page satisfies the requirement for routing the document to the next computing device based on annotation metadata, wherein the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page is marked with the annotation metadata;

responsive to determining that the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page in the document satisfies the requirement for routing the document to the next computing device, determining a next step for the page in the document based at least in part on the page metadata, the next step being determined based at least in part on the page metadata; and

routing the document to the next computing device to execute the next step on the page in the document, the next step being a second annotation to a second location on the page in the document.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, the steps further comprising:

recording first computing device metadata that includes at least one of a time of day, a date, a location, a first computing device orientation and first computing device information; and

adding the first computing device metadata to the page metadata.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein adding the image includes adding the image to a same directory location as the document and adding the first computing device metadata to document metadata.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the first annotation of the image indicates a status of the page in the document.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, the steps further comprising:

determining whether there is a picture rectangle for the page as specified in the page metadata; and

responsive to an absence of the picture rectangle for the page, creating a new page in the document, and adding the image to the new page of the document.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein adding the image further comprises:

determining whether there is a picture rectangle for the page as specified in the page metadata; and

responsive to there being at least one picture rectangle for the page, adding the image to the page in place of the picture rectangle.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein adding the image further comprises:

determining whether the picture rectangle has been selected;

responsive to the picture rectangle being selected, replacing the picture rectangle with the image.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein adding the image further comprises:

determining whether the picture rectangle has been selected;

responsive to the picture rectangle not being selected, determining a first unfilled picture rectangle, and replacing the first unfilled picture rectangle with the image.

17. A computing device for automatic attachment of an image to a document, the computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

an automatic capture module stored on a memory and executable by the one or more processors, the automatic capture module configured to receive a capture image command on the computing device, to capture the image, to determine the document and a page in the document being displayed by the computing device, the page including text and being displayed by the computing device for receiving annotation, to determine page metadata stored within the page in the document, to add the image as a first annotation to a first location on the page in the document, the first location being determined based at least in part on the page metadata, to determine a requirement for routing the document to a next computing device using the page metadata and to determine whether the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page satisfies the requirement for routing the document to the next computing device based on annotation metadata, wherein the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page is marked with the annotation metadata; and

a workflow module stored on the memory and executable by the one or more processors, the workflow module coupled to the automatic capture module and configured to, responsive to determining that the first annotation of the image to the first location on the page in the document satisfies the requirement for routing the document to the next computing device, determine a next step for the page in the document, the next step being determined based at least in part on the page metadata and to route the document to the next computing device to execute the next step on the page in the document, the next step being a second annotation to a second location on the page in the document.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first annotation of the image indicates a status of the page in the document.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the automatic capture module responsive to a stroke input, displays a picture rectangle in a visually distinct manner to indicate where the image will be inserted.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the automatic capture module responsive to a stroke input, displays an instruction box with a plurality of commands and associated check boxes.