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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A method of processing information from a diversity of hard copy
documents, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) receiving output representing a diversity of hard copy documents from
an automated digitizing unit and storing information from said diversity
of hard copy documents into a memory, said information not fixed from one
document to the next;
(b) identifying portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to a
first variable; and
(c) storing information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said first variable into memory locations for said first
variable.
2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (b) includes displaying
an image of a hard copy document on a display based on the contents of
said memory.
3. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
identifying portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to a second
variable, said portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to said
second variable being different from said portions of said hard copy
documents corresponding to said first variable; and
storing information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into memory locations for said
second variable.
4. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (b) includes prompting
identification of said portions of said hard copy documents corresponding
to said first variable.
5. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes storing
image information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said first variable into said memory locations for said
first variable.
6. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes storing
textual information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said first variable into said memory locations for said
first variable.
7. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of
detecting and correcting errors resulting from said inputting.
8. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of
utilizing a template to associate portions of said hard copy documents
with specific variables.
9. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising receiving
instructions identifying at least one character or symbol, located on said
hard copy documents, which identifies a location on said hard copy
documents containing a value of a specific variable.
10. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising receiving
instructions identifying at least one character or symbol, located on said
hard copy documents, which identifies a relative location on said hard
copy documents containing a value of a specific variable.
11. A method as set forth in claim 2, further comprising the steps of:
identifying portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to a second
variable, said portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to said
second variable being different from said portions of said hard copy
documents corresponding to said first variable; and
storing information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into memory locations for said
second variable.
12. A method as set forth in claim 3, further comprising the step of
storing image information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into said memory locations for said
second variable.
13. A method as set forth in claim 3, further comprising the step of
storing textual information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into said memory locations for said
second variable.
14. A method as set forth in claim 3, further comprising the step of
prompting identification of said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable.
15. A method of processing information from a diversity of hard copy
documents, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) scanning a diversity of hard copy documents and storing information
from said diversity of hard copy documents into a memory, said information
not fixed from one document to the next;
(b) identifying portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to a
first variable; and
(c) storing information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said first variable into memory locations for said first
variable.
16. A method as set forth in claim 15, wherein step (b) includes displaying
an image of a hard copy document on a display based on the contents of
said memory.
17. A method as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the steps of:
identifying portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to a second
variable, said portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to said
second variable being different from said portions of said hard copy
documents corresponding to said first variable; and
storing information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into memory locations for said
second variable.
18. A method as set forth in claim 15, wherein step (b) includes prompting
identification of said portions of said hard copy documents corresponding
to said first variable.
19. A method as set forth in claim 15, wherein step (c) includes storing
image information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said first variable into said memory locations for said
first variable.
20. A method as set forth in claim 15, wherein step (c) includes storing
textual information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said first variable into said memory locations for said
first variable.
21. A method as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the steps of
detecting and correcting errors resulting from said scanning.
22. A method as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the step of
utilizing a template to associate portions of said hard copy documents
with specific variables.
23. A method as set forth in claim 15, further comprising receiving
instructions identifying at least one character or symbol, located on said
hard copy documents, which identifies a location on said hard copy
documents containing a value of a specific variable.
24. A method as set forth in claim 15, further comprising receiving
instructions identifying at least one character or symbol, located on said
hard copy documents, which identifies a relative location on said hard
copy documents containing a value of a specific variable.
25. A method as set forth in claim 16, further comprising the steps of:
identifying portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to a second
variable, said portions of said hard copy documents corresponding to said
second variable being different from said portions of said hard copy
documents corresponding to said first variable; and
storing information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into memory locations for said
second variable.
26. A method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising the step of
storing image information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into said memory locations for said
second variable.
27. A method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising the step of
storing textual information from said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable into said memory locations for said
second variable.
28. A method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising the step of
prompting identification of said portions of said hard copy documents
corresponding to said second variable.
29. A method of processing data extracted from a diversity of hard copy
documents, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) receiving output representing a diversity of hard copy documents from
an automated digitizing unit and storing information from said diversity
of hard copy documents into a memory as stored document information;
(b) selecting portions of said stored document information in accordance
with content instructions defining portions of said stored document
information required by an application unit;
(c) formatting selected stored document information into a transmission
format used by said application unit based on transmission format
instructions; and
(d) transmitting formatted selected stored document information to said
application unit.
30. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein step (a) includes storing
textual information representing characters on said hard copy documents.
31. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein step (a) includes storing
digitized image information representing the actual appearance of said
hard copy documents.
32. A method as set forth in claim 29, further comprising detecting and
correcting errors in said stored document information resulting from said
inputting.
33. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein step (a) includes the step
of utilizing a template to associate portions of said hard copy documents
with specific variables.
34. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein step (a) includes receiving
instructions identifying at least one character or symbol, located on said
hard copy documents, which identifies a location on said hard copy
documents containing a value of a specific variable.
35. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein step (a) includes receiving
instructions identifying at least one character or symbol, located on said
hard copy documents, which identifies a relative location on said hard
copy documents containing a value of a specific variable.
36. A method as set forth in claim 29, further comprising the step of
printing textual copies of said hard copy documents based on said stored
document information.
37. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein step (a) includes receiving
output representing a diversity of hard copy documents from a scanner.
38. A method as set forth in claim 31, further comprising the step of
printing copies of said hard copy documents based on said digitized image
information.
39. An application program interface, comprising:
an automated digitizing unit which extracts information from a diversity of
hard copy documents and stores said information from said diversity of
hard copy documents in a memory as stored document information;
a processor selecting portions of said stored document information in
accordance with content instructions, said content instructions
designating portions of said stored document information required by an
application unit;
a formatter formatting selected stored document information into a
transmission format used by said application unit based on transmission
format instructions; and
an output unit transmitting formatted selected stored document information
to said application unit.
40. An interface as set forth in claim 39, wherein said stored document
information includes textual information representing characters on said
hard copy documents.
41. An interface as set forth in claim 39, wherein said stored document
information includes digitized image information representing the actual
appearance of said hard copy documents.
42. An interface as set forth in claim 39, further comprising an error
correcting unit detecting and correcting errors resulting from extracting
by said automated digitizing unit.
43. An interface as set forth in claim 39, further comprising:
a template definition unit for defining a template which associates
locations on said hard copy documents with specific variables.
44. An interface as set forth in claim 39, further comprising a search unit
for searching for at least one character or symbol, located on said hard
copy documents, which identifies a location on said hard copy documents
containing a value for a specific variable.
45. An interface as set forth in claim 39, wherein said automated
digitizing unit includes a scanner.
46. An interface as set forth in claim 41, further comprising a printer
which prints out copies of the actual appearance of said hard copy
documents based on said digitized image information. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a system for efficiently processing
information originating from hard copy documents. More specifically, the
invention is directed to a hard copy document to application program
interface which minimizes the need to manually process hard copy
documents.
In the past, information contained on hard copy documents was manually
entered into a computer via the input controller of a particular computer.
The original document was then filed away for future reference. Automatic
input of data was limited to the input of Magnetic Ink Character
Recognition (MICR) data and to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) data.
This fixed-position data was forwarded directly to a dedicated computer
application specifically designed to accommodate the input format. In more
recent years, typewritten text has been mechanically inputted into a
computer via a text file. Examples of this latter type of system are word
processors and photo-typesetters
These conventional systems have limitations which decrease the efficiency
of processing information from a hard copy document. For example, the
systems discussed above are limited in their application to MICR, OCR, or
typewritten data. Parsing and processing data is limited to the particular
requirements of the particular computer application which requires the
input data. In addition, in these conventional systems, the actual hard
copy document must be retained for future reference at great expense.
In a sophisticated computer network, different users may require different
portions of the information contained on a hard copy document. For
example, if the hard copy document is an invoice returned with payment of
a bill, the accounting department may need all of the monetary information
contained on the bill while the mailroom may need only customer address
information, to update a customer's address. Therefore, there is a need
for a system in which specific information from a hard copy document can
be selectively distributed to various users.
Another problem with conventional systems is that users, even within the
same company, may require that the information extracted from a hard copy
document be transmitted to a particular application program in a specific
transmission format. For example, one department in a company may use a
particular application program which must receive information using a
particular character as a delimiter and other departments may require the
information in a different format using different delimiters.
Another problem, particularly for small businesses, is that current systems
can not efficiently accommodate the inputting of information from a
diversity of hard copy documents. A large business which receives many
forms in the same format can afford a system which inputs a high volume of
information in that format into memory. For example, it is cost-effective
for a bank which processes hundreds of thousands of checks a month to buy
a dedicated machine which can read information off of checks having a
rigidly defined, or fixed, format. However, as the diversity of forms
received by a business increases relative to the number of forms that must
be processed, it becomes less cost-effective to design a dedicated machine
for processing each type of form format. This problem is particularly
significant in small businesses which may, for example, receive fifty
invoices a month, all in different, non-fixed, formats. It is frequently
not cost-effective for a small business to design dedicated systems for
inputting information in each of these various formats. This leaves a
small business with no other practical alternative than to manually input
the information off of each invoice each month.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide an application
program interface which allows a user to select specific portions of
information extracted from a diversity of hard copy documents and allows
the user to direct portions of this information to several different users
in accordance with the needs of the particular user.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a cost-effective system
for inputting hard copy documents which can accommodate hard copy
documents in a diversity of formats.
It is another object of the invention to provide an application program
interface which allows a user to put information, which is to be
transmitted, into a particular transmission format, based upon the needs
of the receiver of the information.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an application program
interface which will allow the extraction, selection, formatting, routing,
and storage of information from a hard copy document in a comprehensive
manner such that the hard copy document itself need not be retained.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system which reduces the
amount of manual labor required to process information originating from a
hard copy document.
A further object of the invention is to reduce the time required to process
information originating from a hard copy document so that a higher volume
of transactions involving hard copy documents can be processed.
The invention provides an application program interface which inputs a
diversity of hard copy documents using an automated digitizing unit and
which stores information from the hard copy documents in a memory as
stored document information. Portions of the stored document information
are selected in accordance with content instructions which define portions
of the stored document information required by a particular application
unit. Selected stored document information is then formatted into the
transmission format used by the particular application program based on
transmission format instructions. The transmission formatted selected
stored document information is then transmitted to the particular
application program. The hard copy documents may contain textual
information or image information or both.
The interface operates in three different modes.
In a first mode, the interface extracts all of the information from hard
copy documents and stores this information in memory. Parsing of various
portions of the extracted information is performed in accordance with
content instructions.
In a second mode, the user operates interactively with the interface by use
of a display and an input device, such as a mouse. In this second mode, a
hard copy document is inputted and displayed on the display. The interface
then prompts the user to identify the location of various information. For
example, the interface can ask the user to identify the location of
address information on the hard copy document. In response, the user
positions the mouse to identify address information using a cursor. The
identified information is then stored as address information in memory.
Subsequently, the interface again prompts the user to identify other
pieces of information, which are then stored in the appropriate locations
in memory. This process proceeds until all of the information which is
desired to be extracted off of the hard copy document is stored in memory.
In a third mode of operation, selected portions of information are
extracted off of hard copy documents in accordance with predetermined
location information which has been specified by the user. For example,
the user can define a template which specifies the location of information
on hard copy documents. Templates can be formed in conjunction with second
mode operation. Alternatively, the user can instruct the interface to
search hard copy documents for a particular character or symbol, located
on the hard copy documents. The information desired to be extracted off of
the hard copy documents is specified relative to the location of this
character or symbol.
The interface can also prompt or receive from an applications program or
another information processing system, required information, content
instructions, and format instructions.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent
from the following detailed description of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described in further detail below with reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates hardware for implementing a preferred embodiment of the
instant invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hard copy document containing
information to be processed by the instant invention;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are enlarged views of the computer of FIG. 1 used to
explain how the invention interactively prompts a user to identify
information;
FIG. 4 is an overall data flow diagram for the FIG. 1 preferred embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a detailed input data flow diagram for the FIG. 1 preferred
embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a detailed information processing data flow diagram for the FIG.
1 preferred embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a more detailed information processing data flow diagram for the
maintain library module of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a more detailed information processing data flow diagram for the
maintain definitions module of FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a more detailed information processing data flow diagram for the
process document module of FIG. 6;
FIG. 10 is a detailed output data flow diagram for the FIG. 1 preferred
embodiment;
FIG. 11 lists data corresponding to the hard copy document of FIG. 2;
FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C illustrate examples of data which can be selected
from the extracted data of FIG. 11 in accordance with content
instructions;
FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C illustrate examples of the data of FIGS. 12A, 12B,
and 12C formatted in accordance with various transmission format
instructions to form input files; and
FIG. 14 illustrates another example of a hard copy document containing
information to be processed by the instant invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hardware
The invention provides an interface between
information originating from a hard copy document and a computer
application unit which uses the information. The computer application unit
can be a particular computer application program or a device which is
controlled in accordance with instructions or information from the hard
copy document. The invention also allows storing a copy of the hard copy
document in a memory and retrieving the copy of the hard copy document. By
providing a comprehensive and integrated system which can accommodate
almost all of the possible uses of information contained on a hard copy
document, the instant invention allows for a paperless office.
The invention includes hardware and software necessary to extract,
retrieve, and process information from the hard copy document. A copy of
the actual image of the hard copy document is stored in memory. Textual
information extracted from the hard copy document is also stored in
memory. Textual information is information, such as alphanumeric
characters, which is recognized on the hard copy document and which is
stored in a form which corresponds to the particular recognized character.
For example, the extracted characters can be stored in the ASCII format in
an electronic memory.
The user can have all of the information extracted from the hard copy
document and stored in memory. Alternatively, the interface can
interactively prompt the user to identify specific pieces of information
for storage. The interface can also extract specific pieces of information
using a predefined template. The interface can also prompt or receive from
another information processing system or an applications program desired
information, content instructions, and format instructions.
The instant invention also provides for parsing information extracted from
the hard copy document and for directing this parsed information to
specific users or application programs as an input file.
The invention also permits the user to define the transmission format of
the input file for a particular computer application unit.
FIG. 1 illustrates hardware for implementing a preferred embodiment of a
hard copy document to application program interface according to the
instant invention. The interface 200 processes information extracted off
of hard copy document 100 and provides information to application units
270 in a form required by each particular application unit. The interface
extracts information off of a hard copy document 100 utilizing a scanner
210. The scanner 210 can be any type of scanner which extracts information
off of hard copy documents, for example, an Optical Reader.
The scanned information is stored in a scanner memory 220 or in main memory
250, as will be described in greater detail below. If main memory 250 or
another memory is available to store the scanned information, then scanner
memory 220 can be omitted.
The information from scanner memory 220 or main memory 250 is transmitted
to computer 230. In the preferred embodiment, computer 230 includes a
display 232, a keyboard 234, and a mouse 236. The display 232 displays an
image of the hard copy document itself and/or information necessary to
process the information extracted off of the hard copy document.
The computer 230 is used to select portions of the stored document
information contained in memory in accordance with content instructions
which define portions of the stored document information required by an
application unit. These content instructions may be provided by the
application program. Alternatively, the content instructions can be
inputted via an input device such as a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse,
a notepad a voice recognition device, or the like.
The computer 230 is also used to format selected stored document
information into the transmission format used by an application unit based
on transmission format instructions. The transmission format instructions
may be provided by the application program. Alternatively, the
transmission format instructions can be inputted via a keyboard, a touch
screen, a mouse, a notepad, a voice recognition device, or the like.
Thus, the computer 230 is used to generate an input file for a particular
application unit. The computer 230 is connected to scanner memory 220,
main, or permanent, memory 250, a printer 260, and application units 270,
via a bus 240. Although FIG. 1 illustrates use of a bus to connect
components together, it is understood that any routing or connecting link,
implemented in hardware or software or both, can be employed instead of,
or in addition to, a bus. Instructions to or in the computer 230 control
the main memory 250, the printer 260, the application units 270, and the
bus 240. Instructions to or in computer 230 can also control exchanges of
information with scanner memory 220.
When the computer 230 generates an input file for a particular document,
the computer 230 can send this input file directly to an application unit
or can store this input file in the main memory 250 until required by an
application unit. The main memory 250 may also optionally store a copy of
the image information for the hard copy document and the textual
information for the hard copy document. Thus, the image information and
textual information from the hard copy document can be retrieved and
printed out on printer 260. In addition, image and textual information
stored in scanner memory 220 or in main memory 250 can be used to form
additional input files at the time of input or at a later time, based on
content instructions and transmission format instructions. Thus, the
invention can, at the discretion of the user, eliminate the need to retain
copies of hard copy documents, permitting a paperless office.
The application units 270 include particular application programs and
devices which are controlled in accordance with information contained on
hard copy document 100.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hard copy document 100 which contains
information to be processed by the instant invention. The document
illustrated in FIG. 2 is a bill from XYZ Corporation to customer ABC
Corporation. FIG. 2 is only an example of a type of document that can be
processed by the instant invention.
In a first operational mode, the scanner 210 stores all of the information
extracted off of hard copy document 100 in the scanner memory 220 or,
alternatively, in main memory 250. The extracted information is stored in
two forms. The actual image of the hard copy document 100 is stored as
image information in the scanner memory 220. In addition, the scanner
memory 220 stores textual information recognized on the hard copy document
100 by, for example, employing standard character recognition software. In
the preferred embodiment, the textual information is stored in ASCII
format. The scanner memory 220 can be, for example, an electronic,
magnetic, or optical memory.
FIG. 3A illustrates an enlarged view of the computer 230 of FIG. 1. This
view will be used to describe a second mode of operation. In this second
mode of operation, the hard copy document 100 is scanned and a copy of the
document 100 is displayed on display 232 of computer 230, based on the
contents of information temporarily stored in scanner memory 220. After
the document is displayed on display 232, the computer 230 interactively
prompts the user to identify the location of specific pieces of
information on the hard copy document. In the FIG. 3A illustration, this
prompt message is indicated as the message beginning with the arrow.
For example, the prompt message can ask the user to identify the location
of account number information on the hard copy document. The user then
uses an input device, such as keyboard 234 or mouse 236 or a touch screen,
notepad, voice recognition device, or other input device to position a
cursor on the display to identify the location of the information
requested by the prompt message. For example, the cursor could be used to
define a block (which could be highlighted) containing the requested
information, followed by a mouse "enter" click. In this example, the user
would move the mouse to identify the location of the account number
information contained on the hard copy document 100. The computer 230 then
stores the information which has been identified by the user as account
number information in the appropriate address or subfile or as the
appropriate variable or parameter in memory. The computer then prompts the
user to identify the location of other information on the hard copy
document, such as, statement date information. The process proceeds until
all of the desired information has been stored into the appropriate
locations in memory.
FIG. 3B illustrates a variation of the second mode for interactively
prompting the user for information. In FIG. 3B, the display is split into
two portions. A left-hand portion 232L displays the image of the hard copy
document and a right-hand portion 232R displays the required application
program information. For example, in FIG. 3B, portion 232R displays a
spreadsheet used by an application program. While observing the split
display, the user can input instructions to associate specific pieces of
information on the hard copy document (for example, the vendor name
indicated by the mouse arrow 232A) with particular subfiles in memory (for
example, the vendor field next to which the cursor 232C appears), using a
mouse or other input device(s) or both. The split display also allows the
user to generate content format instructions while observing the
information required for a particular application program on the
right-hand portion.
These second modes of operation are efficient for small businesses which
receive a small number of a wide variety of invoices, since the user does
not necessarily have to store all of the information that appears on the
hard copy document. A further advantage is that data input is quicker,
easier, and more accurate than with previous keyboard methodology. In
addition, by specifying the location on the hard copy document of
information, the user may optionally create a template, to be described in
further detail below, for each different type of invoice. This template is
stored for future use when another hard copy document in the same format
is received.
More specifically, instructions from computer 230 can direct the scanner
210 and scanner memory 220, and/or main memory 250, to scan and/or store
only specific portions of hard copy document 100. After the interactive
prompts required to obtain information for a desired application program,
the unused information stored in scanner memory 220 or 250 can be erased.
Further, scanning of a second identical document can be limited to only
those portions of the document which contain needed information.
More specifically, in FIG. 2, the lines 10 drawn around certain portions of
the document represent the areas which the user has previously identified
as the portions of a document to be extracted by the scanner 210 and
stored in scanner memory 220 and/or main memory 250. Since the logo 20 and
the message 30 have not been identified as an area to be scanned and
stored, these areas are not scanned and stored in subsequent documents.
Since the user has previously associated each of the areas 10 with a
specific subfile of information, e.g., the account number, the scanned
information is stored in memory locations corresponding to that subfile.
Data Processing
FIGS. 4-10 illustrate the flow of data in the FIG. 1 preferred embodiment.
FIG. 4 illustrates the overall data flow for the FIG. 1 preferred
embodiment. The preferred embodiment includes an input process module 1.0,
an information processing module 2.0, and an output processing module 3.0.
The information processing module 2.0 is equipped to receive instructions
from and transmit information to a user. The information processing module
2.0 can also transmit to and receive information from a remote external
device through communication interface 4.0. Input process module 1.0 and
output processing module 3.0 can also access communication interface 4.0.
A module is implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of
hardware and software. The specific implementation for a particular
business application depends upon a variety of factors, for example, the
relative costs of hardware and software implemented systems, the frequency
with which a user will want to expand or modify the system, and the like.
FIG. 5 is a more detailed diagram of the input process module 1.0 of FIG.
4. The input process module 1.0 includes a character input module 1.1, an
image input module 1.2, and, in the preferred embodiment, a character
recognition device 1.3. The character input module inputs textual
information, such as alphanumeric characters, from
an input device such as keyboard 234. The image input module 1,2 inputs
image information, for example, a digitized image of the actual appearance
of hard copy document 100. Textual information can include textual input
from an input device such as keyboard 234 and textual information
extracted from the document by character recognition device Both types of
information comprise an input document which is transmitted to information
processing module 2.0. In the FIG. 1 preferred embodiment, the processing
performed by input process module 1.0 occurs in scanner memory 220,
computer 230, and main memory 250.
FIG. 6 illustrates information processing data flow for the FIG. 1
preferred embodiment, that is, FIG. 6 illustrates data flow in the
information processing module 2.0.
The information processing module 2.0 includes a maintain library module
2.1, to be described in further detail below in conjunction with FIG. 7, a
maintain definitions module 2.2, to be described in further detail below
in conjunction with FIG. 8, and a process document module 2.3 to be
described in further detail below in conjunction with FIG. 9.
The information processing module 2.0 is the module which coordinates and
drives the entire system. In the preferred embodiment, the information
processing module 2.0 is implemented primarily by computer 230.
FIG. 7 illustrates information processing data flow in the maintain library
module 2.1. The maintain library module 2.1 maintains a library of image
information, for example, a digitized image representing the actual
appearance of the hard copy document, and textual information of the hard
copy documents for reference during processing. This library can be
incorporated within scanner memory 220, main memory 250, or another
independent memory, for example, a RAM disk. The maintain library module
2.1 includes a store document module 2.1.1, a correct errors module 2.1.2,
a retrieve document module 2.1.3, and a document file 2.1.4. These modules
operate collectively to store, retrieve, and correct document information.
The store document module 2.1.1, prior to routing the document to the
document file 2.1.4, may provide information on recognition errors which
may have occurred while inputting the document. For example, the store
document module 2.1.1 identifies that a character contained on hard copy
document 100 was not recognized. The store document module 2.1.1 also
optionally causes a copy of the document and its parsing to be displayed
on the display 232 for confirmation by the user. The user may utilize this
opportunity to identify any errors in the displayed document and, in
conjunction with the correct errors module 2.1.2, to revise the document's
parsing, if necessary, prior to storage of the document in memory. The
module 2.1.1 also provides a facility for the user to name a particular
hard copy document for cataloging, storage, and retrieval purposes. After
the document is named, the store document module 2.1.1 stores copies of
the document in the document file 2.1.4.
The correct errors module 2.1.2 processes instructions from the user to
correct errors identified by the store document module 2.1.1 and errors
that have been spotted by the user during the confirmation process.
The retrieve document module 2.1.3 permits the user to retrieve a copy of a
document previously stored in the document file 2.1.4. As described above,
long-term storage is provided by main memory 250, if necessary.
FIG. 8 illustrates a more detailed information processing data flow diagram
for the maintain definitions module 2.2 of FIG. 6. The maintain
definitions module 2.2 allows the user to define system and document
parameters and maintains the defin | | |
