Information processing methodology

• US 20060181742A1
• Filed: 04/10/2006
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/1991
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Content Extraction and Transmission LLC (Mitchell A. Medina)
• Original Assignee: Millennium LP (VINCI SA)
• Inventors: Elias, Catherine B., Medina, Mitchell A., Lech, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,259,887 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/453
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1444 Selective acquisition, locating or processing of specific regions, e.g. highlighted text, fiducial marks or predetermined fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1452 based on positionally close symbols, e.g. amount sign or URL-specific characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/40 Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00236 using an image reading or reproducing device, e.g. a facsimile reader or printer, as a local input to or local output from a computer image input to or image output from a computer via a network H04N1/00209
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00241 using an image reading device as a local input to a computer input via network, e.g. network scanners H04N1/00225

Abstract

An information processing methodology gives rise to an application program interface which includes an automated digitizing unit, such as a scanner, which inputs information from a diversity of hard copy documents and stores information from the hard copy documents into a memory as stored document information. Portions of the stored document information are selected in accordance with content instructions which designate portions of the stored document information required by a particular application program. The selected stored document information is then placed into the transmission format required by a particular application program in accordance with transmission format instructions. After the information has been transmission formatted, the information is transmitted to the application program. In one operational mode, the interface interactively prompts the user to identify, on a display, portions of the hard copy documents containing information used in application programs or for storage.

Claims

1. A method of processing information comprising:

selecting at least one portion of a hard copy or electronic document; and

performing processing, recognition, and storage of at least said selected one portion of said hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions in such a way as to enable retrieval of the document based on the use of the results of said content instructions.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising converting information representative of at least one character in said at least one selected portion into text using optical character recognition techniques.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising storing said at least one portion as graphics information.

4. A method of processing information comprising routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to content instructions.

5. A method of processing information comprising routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to transmission format instructions.

6. A method of processing information comprising routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to content instructions and transmission format instructions.

7. A method of processing information comprising:

distinguishing from one another at least one area of text and at least one area of graphic information in a hard copy or electronic document; and

transmitting the document as text information and graphic information such that the text and graphic information can be reconstructed at a destination device in a form substantially similar to the appearance of the original document.

8. The method as recited in claim 7 in which the text information is correctible.

9. The method as recited in claim 8 in which the text information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

10. A method as recited in claim 8 in which the transmitted text information is correctible by a receiver of the information.

11. The method as recited in claim 7 in which the transmitted graphic information is correctible.

12. The method as recited in claim 11 in which the graphic information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

13. The method as recited in claim 11 in which the transmitted graphic information is correctible by a receiver of the information.

14. The method as recited in claim 7 in which the information to be transmitted can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a creator of the information.

15. The method as recited in claim 7 in which a receiver of the information may specify whether the transmitted information is correctible by the receiver.

16. A method of data transmission comprising:

segmenting at least one selected portion of a hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions for transmission to a destination device according to transmission format instructions enabling reconstruction of the document at a destination device in form substantially similar in appearance to the original document or selected portion thereof.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 in which said at least one selected portion contains text information, said text information being correctible.

18. The method as recited in claim 17 in which the text information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

19. The method as recited in claim 17 further comprising transmitting the text information to a receiver, wherein said the text information is correctible by the receiver of the text information.

20. The method as recited in claim 16 in which said at least one selected portion contains graphics information, said graphics information being correctible.

21. The method as recited in claim 17 in which the graphics information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

22. The method as recited in claim 17 further comprising transmitting the graphics information to a receiver, wherein said graphics information is correctible by the receiver of the graphics information.

23. The method as recited in claim 16, in which information in said at least one selected portion can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a creator of the information.

24. The method as recited in claim 16, in which information in said at least one selected portion can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a receiver of the information.

25. Apparatus for processing information comprising:

means for selecting at least one portion of a hard copy or electronic document; and

means for performing processing, recognition, and storage of at least said one selected portion of said hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions in such a way as to enable retrieval of the document based on the use of the results of said content instructions.

26. The apparatus as claimed in claim 25 further comprising means for converting information representative of at least one character in said at least one selected portion into text using an OCR device.

27. The apparatus as claimed in claim 25 further comprising means for storing said at least one selected portion as graphics information.

28. Apparatus for processing information comprising means for routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to content instructions.

29. Apparatus for processing information comprising means for routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to transmission format instructions.

30. Apparatus for processing information comprising means for routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to content instructions and transmission format instructions.

31. Apparatus for processing information comprising:

means for distinguishing from one another at least one area of text and at least one areas of graphic information in at least one selected portion of a hard copy or electronic document; and

means for transmitting said at least one selected portion of the document as text information and graphic information such that the text and graphic information can be reconstructed at a destination device in a form substantially similar to the appearance of the original document or selected portion thereof.

32. The apparatus as recited in claim 31 in which the text information is correctible.

33. The apparatus as recited in claim 32 in which the text information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

34. The apparatus as recited in claim 32 in which the transmitted text information is correctible by a receiver of the information.

35. The apparatus as recited in claim 31 in which the transmitted graphic information is correctible.

36. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 in which the graphic information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

37. The apparatus as recited in claim 35 in which the transmitted graphic information is correctible by a receiver of the information.

38. The apparatus as recited in claim 31 in which the information to be transmitted can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by the creator of the information.

39. The apparatus as recited in claim 31 in which the receiver of the information may specify whether the transmitted information is correctible by the receiver.

40. Apparatus for data transmission comprising:

means for segmenting at least one selected portion of a hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions for transmission to a destination device according to transmission format instructions, and

means for enabling reconstruction of the document at a destination device in form substantially similar in appearance to the original document or said selected portion.

41. The apparatus as recited in claim 40 in which the said at least one selected portion contains text information, said text information being correctible.

42. The apparatus as recited in claim 41 in which the text information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

43. The apparatus as recited in claim 41 further comprising transmitting the text information to a receiver, wherein said the text information is correctible by the receiver of the text information.

44. The apparatus as recited in claim 40 in which the selected portions contain graphics information, said graphics information being correctible.

45. The apparatus as recited in claim 44 in which the graphics information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

46. The apparatus as recited in claim 44 further comprising transmitting the graphics information to a receiver, wherein said graphics information is correctible by the receiver of the graphics information.

47. The apparatus as recited in claim 40, in which information defined by said at least one selected portions can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a creator of the information.

48. The apparatus as recited in claim 40, in which information defined by said at least one selected portion can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a receiver of the information.

49. An application program interface comprising:

means for selecting at least one portion of a hard copy or electronic document; and

means for performing processing, recognition, and storage of said at least one said selected portions of said hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions in such a way as to enable retrieval of the document based on the use of the results generated by said content instructions.

50. The application program interface as claimed in claim 49 further comprising means for converting information representative of at least one character in said at least one selected portion into text using an OCR device.

51. The application program interface as claimed in claim 49 further comprising means for storing said at least one selected portion as graphics information.

52. An application program interface for processing information comprising means for routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to content instructions.

53. An application program interface for processing information comprising means for routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to customizable transmission format instructions.

54. An application program interface for processing information comprising means for routing hard copy or electronic documents for processing at various stations within an enterprise according to content instructions and transmission format instructions.

55. An application program interface for processing information comprising:

means for distinguishing from one another areas at least one area of text and one area of graphic information in at least one selected portion of a hard copy or electronic document; and

means for transmitting at least said selected portion of said document as text information and graphic information such that the text and graphic information can be reconstructed at a destination device in a form substantially similar to the appearance of the original document or selected portion thereof.

56. The application program interface as recited in claim 55 in which the text information is correctible.

57. The application program interface as recited in claim 56 in which the text information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

58. The application program interface as recited in claim 56 in which the transmitted text information is correctible by a receiver of the information.

59. The application program interface as recited in claim 55 in which the transmitted graphic information is correctible.

60. The application program interface as recited in claim 59 in which the graphic information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

61. The application program interface as recited in claim 59 in which the transmitted graphic information is correctible by a receiver of the information.

62. The application program interface as recited in claim 55 in which the information to be transmitted can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by the creator of the information.

63. The application program interface as recited in claim 55 in which a receiver of the information may specify whether the transmitted information is correctible by the receiver.

64. An application program interface for data transmission comprising:

means for segmenting selected portions of a hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions for transmission to a destination device according to transmission format instructions, and

means for enabling reconstruction of the document at a destination device in form substantially similar in appearance to the original document.

65. The application program interface as recited in claim 64 in which the selected portions contain text information, said text information being correctible.

66. The application program interface as recited in claim 65 in which the text information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

67. The application program interface as recited in claim 65 further comprising transmitting the text information to a receiver, wherein said the text information is correctible by the receiver of the text information.

68. The application program interface as recited in claim 64 in which the selected portions contain graphics information, said graphics information being correctible.

69. The application program interface as recited in claim 65 in which the graphics information to be transmitted is correctible by a creator of the information.

70. The application program interface as recited in claim 65 further comprising transmitting the graphics information to a receiver, wherein said graphics information is correctible by the receiver of the graphics information.

71. The application program interface as recited in claim 64, in which information defined by the selected portions can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a creator of the information.

72. The application program interface as recited in claim 64, in which information defined by the selected portions can be specified as correctible or non-correctible by a receiver of the information.

73. A method of doing business comprising:

processing information by performing the steps of;

selecting at least one portion of a hard copy or electronic document; and

performing processing, recognition, and storage of at least said one selected portion of said hard copy or electronic document according to content instructions in such a way as to enable retrieval of the document based on the use of the results of said content instructions.