Document management method

The present invention relates generally to document management, in particular to techniques for identifying a document in a digital storage collection and defining actions to be performed on the document.

Despite the ideal paperless environment expected by the proliferation of computers, paper continues to have a significant impact on office conditions. Ironically, the computer itself is the main cause of the proliferation of paper. Computers have simplified the task of writing documents, thereby allowing an increase in the number of publishers. Documents are often shared with peers, many copies are made, which further increases the amount of paper produced.

Despite technological advances, no practical alternative to paper has yet been developed. Computer displays, PDAs (personal digital assistants), wireless devices, etc. all have a variety of effects, but lack the simplicity, reliability, portability, relative permanence, versatility and familiarity of paper. ing. In many cases, paper remains the simplest and most effective way to store and distribute information.

It turns out that paper is unlikely to be completely replaced, due to the convenience and effectiveness it provides. In other words, the role of computers is not to achieve a paperless society. Instead, the role of the computer can be as a tool that easily moves between paper and electronic representation and maintains a connection between the paper and the electronic media on which the paper was created. ..

Some describe techniques for organizing multimedia documents into one or more collections (see Patent Documents 1 and 2 describing their own related patent applications). The collection cover sheet or document index represents the collection and can be printed on suitable media such as paper. Such a cover sheet may provide access to the collection by using a multifunction peripheral device (MFP). In this way, the individual may share the multimedia document in the collection by distributing a copy of the cover sheet to the recipient.

Most traditional methods of interacting with digitally stored documents allow the user to type commands on hardware, press a button, or select an option from the display menu on the MFP or computer. Requires input. These systems require the user to interact with the hardware and / or follow menu options and other user interface functions on the display device. Some existing paper-based systems require special cover sheets with processing requirements. For example, a cover sheet can be used at the start of a print job to specify the number of copies, paper size, and so on. Such systems require a supply of these cover sheets, and typically require the user to spend more time customizing the sheets by filling in the job details.

Xerox's FlowPort system has three separate types of paper interfaces. The FlowPort Cover Sheet provides instructions for the scanning system and is a Document Token. A Token) can take the place of a single multi-page document, and a Document Catalog with a linear list of filenames can be used to select two or more documents on a piece of paper. A flow port cover sheet is a list of destinations and categories. A Cover Sheet can be used to show how to route subsequent documents. Documents may be emailed, faxed, printed, or categorized. Each destination on the cover sheet has an appropriate fax number, email address, or printer address associated with it in advance. The cover sheet is placed on top of a document, document token, or document catalog before being scanned. The cover sheet needs to be created by a computer and not by a multifunction peripheral (MFP). A flow port document token is a document token that represents a single multi-page document. A thumbnail of the first page of the document, as well as a machine-readable index of the document, is shown in the local Xerox DocuShare database. The token page can be used as a substitute for existing documents in the document sharing database. The Flow Port Document Catalog is a page that contains a linear list of document names stored in the document share repository. The check box next to the document name, user The is possible to select a portion of the document in the target catalog routed using the cover sheet. Each document catalog has a machine-readable index on the document collection.

Each flow port process requires at least two sheets of paper, including one produced by a desktop computer. That is, the flow port creates the cover sheet on the computer. The user starts by specifying the destination, creating a category, and printing out a work-specific cover sheet. This cover sheet may be placed on top of a document token or document catalog. All documents represented by tokens or selected by a check mark on the catalog are routed as shown on the cover sheet.

The Xerox Research Center Europe Project Knowledge Pump allows researchers to exchange, discuss, and recommend documents on web pages. The Knowledge Pump allows you to add comments and categorize documents with cover sheets. Each cover sheet contains a thumbnail of the first page of the document, an index for its electronic version, and space for handwritten notes. Check boxes are provided to rank and classify documents. For example, the user may mark the "Very Interesting" box if the item is found to be useful and interesting. As the cover sheet is scanned, if the check box is marked, the database entry for that document is updated to reflect the selection made by the user.

There is a method of adding a sticker to a hard copy document to specify the services provided for that document (see Patent Document 3 filed on November 8, 1999 by Klotz et al., entitled "Document Processing"). When the sticker is scanned, the requesting service is identified and executed on the document. Such a system does not provide a method for defining the action of the object to be performed on the stored document. Moreover, a drawback of such a system is that the sticker can obscure parts of the original document. In addition, the document is scanned at the same time that the sticker is scanned, so an image of the sticker is present on subsequent copies of the document. Further, according to the method described in Patent Document 3, the sticker only includes an instruction for the sticker to process the document attached thereto.<patcit num="1"><text>U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 10 / 404,916</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 10 / 404,927</text></patcit><patcit num="3"><text>European Patent Application Publication No. 99308879.8</text></patcit>

<p> There is a need for systems and methods that provide instructions for processing documents without requiring the user to interact with the user interface or hardware device. There is a further need for systems and methods that allow users to use stickers to specify document processing behavior for stored documents, including documents other than the document to which the sticker is attached. In addition, there is a need for systems and methods that avoid the limitations of prior art methods with instructions for processing stored documents.</p>

<p> According to a first aspect of the invention, in one embodiment of a method and apparatus for identifying and processing a stored document, the method receives an image of an overview of the collection and a machine-readable pointer that identifies the collection. A step of identifying at least one action represented in the image, and a step of performing at least one action on at least one document.</p><p> Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the user defines the action of the object to be performed on the stored document on the collection cover sheet, the document index, or other identifier sheet by the user performing one or more action stickers. Attach to do. The action sticker, along with other information on the identification sheet, indicates to the MFP: a) the desired action; and b) the document in which the action should be taken against it. Action stickers are available that show different types of actions. Examples include printing documents, emailing documents, faxing documents or deleting documents, grouping documents inside a collection, modifying collections, organizing or hierarchizing documents inside a collection, audio. Includes, but is not limited to, provisions for the playback of files or video files and the level of access to documents or collections.</p><p> In one feature of the second aspect of the invention, the user selects an appropriate type of motion sticker for the desired motion and places the selective motion sticker on a collection cover sheet that identifies the collection. The collection cover sheet may include a document thumbnail (or another particular indicator of the document inside the collection). The user identifies a particular target document for a desired action by overlapping the thumbnail of the document, adjacent to the thumbnail, or by placing a sticker at a position pointing to the thumbnail. Therefore, the motion sticker defines what the action of the target is, and the position and / or orientation of the sticker defines the target document.</p><p> The motion sticker can be self-adhesive. In one feature, the working sticker uses an adhesive similar to that commonly found in removable office notebooks and is therefore removable, repositionable and reusable. Propagating commands to the MFP using a removable self-adhesive motion sticker has several effects. In particular, they are inexpensive, convenient, small, easy to manufacture, user friendly and do not permanently damage the cover sheet.</p><p> According to another feature of the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of stickers can be placed on one cover sheet at the same time. For example, a "grouping" action sticker may be placed on some document in the collection, closest to the document, or on a cover sheet pointing to the document. The MFP interprets the grouping action sticker as an instruction to aggregate the displayed document into a partial collection within the original collection. If the stickers are of different types, the processing dominance rank determines the order in which the processing is completed. For example, if a print action sticker and a delete action sticker exist for the same document, the MFP applies processing logic to perform the print action before the delete action.</p><p> Alternatively, the MFP may detect on the cover sheet the handwritten notation that defines the desired behavior and points to the document thumbnail. However, motion stickers have been found to be easier to detect and read than handwritten notation, as motion stickers can be intended to have distinctive colors, shapes, and / or markings. Moreover, it is generally faster and more convenient to add a motion sticker than to write a notation. The operating sticker is easily removable so that the cover sheet is neither damaged nor spoiled in appearance. Handwritten notation may not be so easy to remove.</p>

Another feature of the invention, its properties, and various effects will be further apparent from the accompanying drawings and the detailed description below.

The accompanying drawings provide some embodiments of the invention and serve to illustrate the principles of the invention as well as the specification and claims.

First, an example according to the first aspect of the present invention will be described.

Disclose methods and equipment for using collectible cover sheets with check boxes. Collection cover sheets can represent documents using thumbnails and can optionally have titles that are irrelevant to their filenames. In one embodiment, the user selects one or more check boxes on the collection cover sheet to identify the target document in the pre-stored document collection by position on the cover sheet. In one embodiment, each selection is non-guessable, with a unique identifier accessible anywhere on the Internet. Check boxes also specify what the target action should be for the target document. The cover sheet is scanned and check boxes are positioned and read to determine which is marked. Further, the specified operation is performed on the target document. If the prescribed action changes the organization or architecture of the document collection, an updated version of the collection can be generated and stored, and a new cover sheet can be printed. Therefore, actions and document selection can be done using a single sheet. A collection may include another collection. That is, the document in the partial collection may be printed or emailed using the cover sheet of the containing collection. Therefore, the selection of check boxes allows you to select the documents contained in the partial collection.

The file name is not used on the cover sheet. Therefore, the entire process can be performed by the MFP. That is, a collection can be created and printed out with a check box, in which case the action can be selected using the check box and can be processed by the MFP.

Describe a check box to identify and process the stored document. The specification below describes many details such as the distance between check box sizes, the position of check boxes, and so on. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the first aspect of the invention can be practiced without these particular details. In other cases, the well-known structure and device are presented in a block diagram format rather than in detail so as not to obscure the first aspect of the invention.

References to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" in the original text of the present specification include the specific features, structures or properties described with respect to the embodiment in at least one embodiment of the first aspect of the invention. Represents. The phrase "in one embodiment" found throughout the original text of this specification does not necessarily represent the same embodiment.

Part of the detailed description below is given by algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits inside computer memory. The description and representation of these algorithms are the means by those skilled in the art of data processing technology to most effectively convey the essence of their work to another person skilled in the art. The algorithm is devised herein and in the claims to be, more generally, a coherent sequence of steps leading to the desired result. The process requires physically manipulating the physical quantity. These quantities are usually in the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, transferred, synthesized, compared or otherwise manipulated, but not necessarily. Representing these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, letters, terms, numbers, etc. has proven useful in some cases, primarily for conventional reasons.

It should, however, keep in mind that these and similar terms should be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels attached to these quantities. Unless otherwise stated, as will be apparent from the description below, terms such as "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" are used throughout this specification and the scope of the claims. The description manipulates data represented as a physical (electronic) quantity within a computer system register and memory, and uses that data in the computer system memory or register or other such information storage device, information. Represents the operation and processing of a computer system or similar computer device that transforms into another piece of data that is also represented as a physical quantity within a transmission device or information display device.

The first aspect of the present invention also relates to an apparatus that performs the operations described in the present specification and claims. The device may comprise a general purpose computer that is specifically constructed for the required purpose or selectively started or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such computer programs include floppy (registered trademark) disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and any type of disk, including optical magnetic disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM). ), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, but not limited to computer-readable storage media, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, each of which is a computer system. It can be stored in what is connected to the bus.

The algorithms and modules shown herein and in the claims are not unique to any particular computer or other device. Various general-purpose systems can be used in conjunction with the disclosure programs described herein and claims, or it can be demonstrated that it is convenient to construct more specialized devices to perform the required method steps. The required structures of these various systems will be clarified from the following specification. Furthermore, the first aspect of the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It can be seen that the disclosure of the present invention and the claims described in the present specification and claims can be carried out using various programming languages.

Machine-readable media includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a format readable by a machine (eg, a computer). For example, machine-readable media include read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media; flash memory devices; and electrical form, optics. Includes propagating signals of physical, acoustic and other forms (eg, carriers, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.);

In the original text of this application, the following terms are used.

"Document" includes, but is not limited to, text, word processing files and spreadsheet files, email messages, voice recordings and audio recordings, images, document archives, and video recordings. , Represents any electronically recordable information collection.

An "Identifier sheet" represents a paper or other readable media item that identifies a stored document or stored document collection. As described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, this identifier sheet may be a collection cover sheet, or may take any other form. In one embodiment, the identifier sheet comprises a document identifier and / or a collection identifier that is either computer-readable, human-readable, or a combination thereof. The identifier sheet is also referred to as "document indexes" in the present specification and the original text of the claims.

A "Collection cover sheet" is a type of identification sheet. The collection cover sheet also identifies the collection and contains a representation of the document within the collection. In one embodiment, the collection cover sheet is: a collection in a machine-readable format (such as a barcode) and / or a human-readable format (such as a uniform resource locator (URL) or other string). identifier. A collection identifier contains information that describes the location of the collection, such as a directory or folder that contains the document in the collection; a collection summary that represents a document in the collection by a thumbnail. Thumbnails are associated with positions in the overview. For example, a thumbnail for Document A can be in the upper left corner of the collection summary, while a thumbnail for Document B can be in the lower right corner;

The collection cover sheet, collection identifier, and collection summary are described in more detail below.

For purposes of illustration, the first aspect of the invention is represented herein by a check box on a collection cover sheet and another display or selection area. However, those skilled in the art may also implement the first aspect of the invention by using another type of check box that identifies the stored document, on an identification sheet, on a document index, or on a media item. It is acknowledged that such practices do not deviate from the essential properties of the first aspect of the invention.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of a check box present on the collection cover sheet 101 is shown. In one embodiment, the collection cover sheet 101 is a sheet of paper containing a machine-readable collection identifier 102 and a collection summary area 501 containing thumbnail representations 503A-H of a digital document. It also includes an operation display area 510 that can specify the operation and an annotation area 502 that can write notes. The specific layouts and components shown in FIG. 3 are merely exemplary.

In the example in Figure 3, check box 501₁, 503A₁-503H₃, And 515 are present on the cover sheet 101. Check box 503A₁-503H₃Is printed on thumbnail representation 503A-H, each representing one of the documents on the collection associated with cover sheet 101. Thumbnail representation 503H has three check boxes 503H₁-503H₃including. Thumbnail 503H, each 503H₁-503H₃Represents a partial collection corresponding to one of the documents (or document collection) in the partial collection of 503H.

Check box 501₁Is on the collection overview area 501, while the check box 515 is on the motion display area. Generally, 503A₁-503H₃Is located somewhere in the overview area 501 in close proximity to one of the thumbnail representations and determines the correct check box to mark the selection by the user who wants to act on a particular document. Can be able to. Similarly, each of the check boxes 515 is in close proximity to a printed word that defines an action that allows the user to select one or more actions of interest for the selected document.

The system of the first aspect of the invention can recognize selected or marked check boxes regardless of the markings made on those check boxes. The user may mark a check box by filling in the check box or by filling in another mark (eg, a check mark). In one embodiment, if any of the check boxes have dark pixels, then the check boxes are considered marked. Considering that a small amount of dust or noise in the scanning mechanism can form dark pixels, it is determined from the check box image that individual dark pixels or small dots are marked with a check box. It is desirable to remove it before. Methods of removing noise from an image are well known and are usually performed using morpheme manipulation. For a description of morpheme manipulation, see Doherty, Edward R; Jaakko Astola, "An Introduction to Nonlinear Image Processing" (Vol TT16) Tutorial See texts in optical engineering, O'Shea, Donald ed., SPIE Optical Engineering Press, Bellingham, WA, 1994.

The check box 515 shown in FIG. 3 has a rectangular shape and is next to or adjacent to a word indicating the desired behavior (eg, "print"). Other formats and shapes (eg, circular, oval, etc.) are conceivable and will be recognized by those skilled in the art in light of the present specification. For example, another display format may be circular or elliptical so as to include an area marking the user to define the action.

In one embodiment, such an arrangement would notify the MFP of the first aspect of the invention that the requested action should be performed on the thumbnail-equivalent document present between the check boxes. ..

One of the check boxes 515 indicates that the user intends to perform a grouping operation, and one of the check boxes 503A-H is a partial collection inside the original collection that the user represents by the cover sheet 101. It identifies a particular document that you want to aggregate as a thing. The MFP interprets the marked check boxes and performs grouping as requested. In one embodiment, grouping and partial collection organization are carried out in a predetermined manner. The grouping process involves creating a new collection and moving it to the new collection by adding two documents or media to the new collection and removing it from the old collection. The new collection is also added to the old collection at about the same location as the original file.

Collectible check box 503H₁Can be marked to select a collection. This is separate from selecting all the documents in the collection. Collectible check box 501H₁Is checked and the cover sheet 101 is printed if the action "Print" is selected by the user. Collectible check box 503H₁Is selected and the process "Delete" is selected, the partial collection will be deleted from the main collection instead of deleting the individual documents contained in the partial collection.

It may be desirable for the user to make a printout of all the documents contained in the collection, not just a printout of a single collection cover sheet. If the collection contains a partial collection, it may also be desirable to print out the documents that are also contained in the partial collection. In one embodiment, the user indicates that the action should be performed on the entire collection, and it is conceivable that the action should be performed on another collection contained within the collection. It is beneficial to give the user the opportunity to perform that action on the entire hierarchy. Of course, if the collection represents a deep hierarchical root collection of the collection, the user may limit the depth of the action so that the action ends before the entire document is reached.

For example, if the user wants to print the collection, the documents in the collection, and all the documents contained in the partial collection of the collection, the user may select the print operation and select a depth of 2. At depth 1, the entire document and cover sheet of the contained collection is printed. At depth 2, all documents inside the containing collection are also printed.

The maximum depth of operation can be indicated using the control panel of the MFP, or a "depth" check box can be provided in the paper user interface on the collection cover sheet.

In one embodiment, the step of positioning the marked check box is performed using morpheme operations well known to those skilled in the art. In particular, a program that performs morpheme manipulation takes in the input image and the object it is looking for, in this case a "kernel" that resembles a checkbox of a given size, and compares the kernel to the input image pixel by pixel. To do. Dark pixels are left in the output image each time the kernel at a given position in the image exactly matches the input image. That is, the output image has dark pixels each time a check box is present in the input image. The processing logic may search for pixels in the compared result image and generate a list of image coordinates with marked check boxes.

Since the map exists for the collection, the processing logic can look for the collection overview and inspect the corners of the object or object. Similarly, the processing logic can figure out where the box will be printed and later look for the box exactly.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the functional architecture of a system that reads a marked check box and operates on a stored document according to the marked check box is shown. Also referring to FIG. 2, a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process of reading a marked check box and performing an operation on a stored document according to the marked check box is shown. The processing can be performed, for example, by the system shown in FIG. 1 or by another functional component and functional system. The order of processing in the described examples is merely exemplary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing can be performed in an order other than the order described.

The use of check boxes is within the scope of this specification and claims to include a scanner 104, a machine-readable code locator and reader 106, a marked check box locator 107, a document identification and processing device 113, and a printer 115. Described in the meaning of the including multifunction peripheral device (MFP) 100. The marked check box locator 107 may also include the ability to position the collection overview area 501 inside the collection cover sheet 101. Alternatively, such functionality may be provided in a separate component (not shown).

The MFP100 may also include other components thereof, some of which may not be necessary for the operation of the first aspect of the invention. The MFP100 may include a network interface card (not shown) capable of receiving processing requests from external networks, fax interfaces, media capture devices, media capture ports, and the like.

The control interface 117 comprises the mechanism by which the user can, for example, make a copy, scan a document, print a fax, start, configure, monitor, and / or terminate the operation of the MFP100. In one embodiment, interface 117 includes a keypad, display, touch screen, or any combination thereof.

The component represented by the MFP 100 is a functional component that can be implemented by using any combination of hardware components, software, and the like. For example, the functionality of the reader 106 and the locator 107 may be performed within a single hardware component and / or software module, or may be split into separate functional components. Therefore, the architecture shown in FIG. 1 is intended to show the overall functionality of the first aspect of the invention according to one embodiment, limiting the scope of the claimed invention to any particular subgroup. Is not intended.

In one embodiment, the MFP100 is an electronic data input peripheral that includes, for example, a magnetic media reader for magnetic media such as floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic tapes, fixed hard disks, removable hard disks, and memory cards. Other media formats are accessible by the device (not shown). Peripherals may also include optical media readers (not shown) for optical storage media such as CDs, DVDs, magneto-optical disks. In a further embodiment, the MFP 100 is coupled to communicate the digital document collection to a storage device 109, which may be a hard drive or other device capable of storing, for example, in database format. The storage device 109 may be in the same location as the MFP 100, or may be connected via a network, for example, at a remote location.

As described with respect to FIG. 3A, the collection cover sheet 101 includes a machine-readable collection identifier 102 and a collection overview area 501 containing thumbnail representations 503A-H of the digital document. Alternatively, the collection cover sheet 101 may have an embedded RFID tag containing the collection identifier 102. A check box is included on the cover sheet 101 and can be marked to point to one of the thumbnails 503A-H, thereby marking a particular document with one or more check boxes in the action selection area. Is identified as the target of the action specified by marking.

The MFP100 is 201 and receives the image 105 of the cover sheet 101 by scanning the cover sheet 101 with, for example, a scanner 104 according to a well-known technique. Alternatively, the MFP 100 may receive an image of cover sheet 101 using another input mechanism known to those of skill in the art (processing block 201). For example, the MFP100 may receive the image by e-mail, fax, retrieving the image of the pre-stored cover sheet 101, and the like.

The MFP100 further positions the collectible identifier 102 inside the image 105 of the cover sheet 101 and reads the identifier 102 at 202 (processing block 203). In one embodiment, processing blocks 202 and 203 transfer the physical page in the case of image 105 or RFID to a code locator and reader 106, which code locator and reader position and read the collection identifier 102. It is done by doing. Collection identifier 102 identifies the storage location of a document in the collection. In one embodiment, the identifier 102 is, for example, a URL that identifies the document by location and file name. For example, the identifier 102 may identify the document inside the storage device 109. In one embodiment, identifier 102 also identifies a map that associates a document with a particular area within Collection Overview 501.

The code locator and reader 106 transfers the read collection identifier 102 to the document identification and processing apparatus 103, which is described in more detail below.

The MFP100 is 204 and performs positioning of the collection overview 501 inside the image 105 of the cover sheet 101, for example by determining the overall size and shape of the overview 501. In one embodiment, the overview 501 is provided in a standard position within the cover sheet 101, color coded, or otherwise marked to facilitate easier identification of the overview 501. Alternatively, the overview 501 can be in any position and can have any property. In one embodiment, the locator 1076 component of the marked check box of the MFP 100 performs processing block 204. In another embodiment, another component of the MFP 100 (not shown) does this.

The MFP100 is 205 and positions the check box marked on the collection overview 501. In one embodiment, the marked check box locator 107 of the MFP 100 performs processing block 205. Processing block 205 may determine that one or more marked check boxes are present, as specified by the user via control interface 117. Alternatively, the locator 107 may be configured to automatically try to position the marked check box each time the cover sheet 101 is scanned by the scanner 104.

In one embodiment, the marked check box is recognized by the check box locator 107. There is another known method of positioning an object in an image.

Based on which check box is marked in the motion display area of cover sheet 101, check box locator 107 identifies the desired motion at 206. In one embodiment, the motion sticker locator and reader 107 forward the motion request 112 to the document identification and processing device 113.

MFP101 is a check box 503A in Overview 501₁-503H₁Determine the desired target document for operation based on which of the markings is made. In one embodiment, check box locator 107 is marked check box 503 A.₁-503H₃Determining each position, the document identification and processing apparatus 113 determines the target document by comparing the position of the marked check box with the known information about the position of the thumbnail 503 in Summary 501.

In one embodiment, the storage device 109 includes a map 110 corresponding to each collection. The map has coordinates for thumbnail 503 inside overview 501. Therefore, the two-dimensional coordinates inside Overview 501 identify (or map to) documents based on the location of those document thumbnails 503. In one embodiment, the map is implemented as a rectangular list, one of which represents the entire collection overview 501 and the other rectangle represents the location of the document thumbnail 503 within the overview 501. Map 110 may be stored as a separate file, such as a scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file, containing a description of the collection summary 501, along with an identifier that associates the area inside the summary 501 with the document in the collection. Alternatively, the map 110 may be stored as part of the collection information 301.

The document identification and processing device 113 retrieves from the storage mechanism 109 using the collection identifier 102 (obtained from the code locator and reader 106) a map 110 showing the correspondence of the coordinates inside the collection overview 501 to the collection document. The document identification and processing apparatus 113 determines the target document based on the map and the location information 111 of the marked check box. If the marked check box is inside the rectangle that represents the document thumbnail 503, the corresponding document is determined to be the target of action. Alternatively, in situations where there is ambiguity as to whether the document is the target document, the MFP 101 may prompt the user via control interface 117 to specify whether the document is intended to be the target document.

In one embodiment, processing blocks 205 and 206 are performed using known optical feature recognition techniques.

If it is found that two or more check boxes 103 are marked in the operation display, the document identification and processing apparatus 113 sorts the operations in the proper order (processing block 207). For example, if the check box 103 marked in the action display area indicates that one or more documents should be printed or deleted, the print action should be performed before the delete action. In one embodiment, the default sort order is print, email, fax, grouping, ungrouping, and deleting. Alternatively, the MFP100 may warn the user that there are multiple actions on the document and request confirmation (eg, via control interface 117) of the intended instruction to perform those actions.

If a particular action involves transmitting a document, for example, by email or fax, the MFP100 locates the correct routing information (such as an email address or fax number) that indicates the desired destination of the document. The routing information can be contained on the motion display area 515, written in that area, or in a specific separate predetermined area on the cover sheet 101 so that it can be extracted by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). It may include or write to a specific other predetermined area on the cover sheet 101, such as writing on the annotation area 502 of the cover sheet 101. For example, if a single email address is written to the action display area 515 or on the line next to the email action, all documents to be emailed will be sent to that email address. obtain. Alternatively, the MFP100 may prompt the user to enter routing information via control interface 117. Alternatively, the routing information can be written on a second sheet of paper to be scanned or by a second image received by the MFP100. In any of these embodiments, the process of determining routing information can be performed by the locator 107 of the marked check box, by the document identification and processing device 113, or by another component of the MFP 100. ..

When the operation and the target document are determined, the document identification and processing device 113 retrieves the target document 114 from the storage mechanism 109 (processing block 208) using the collection identifier 102 (obtained from the code locator and reader 106). Perform the specified operations in the judgment order (processing block 209). For certain actions (such as deletion), document 114 does not need to be retrieved and processing block 208 is not done. In one embodiment, the document identification and processing apparatus 113 first retrieves the collection information 301 that includes or points to the subject document 114, thereby obtaining the subject document 114.

Some examples of check boxes and their equivalents include:

Print check box. The document identification and processing device 113 sends the target document 114 to the printer 115. The printer 115 outputs the printed document 116.

Email or fax check box. The document identification and processing apparatus 113 sends the document to the e-mail or fax module (not shown) of the MFP100 to be transmitted as appropriate.

Grouping check box. The document identification and printing apparatus 113 creates a new partial collection including the target document, deletes the target document from the original collection, and adds the new partial collection to the original collection. In one embodiment, all documents identified by marked check boxes are placed in the same new partial collection.

Ungrouped check box (on existing partial collection). Documents inside the partial collection are retrieved and placed in the entire collection, which corresponds to cover sheet 101.

Remove check box. The document identification and processing apparatus 113 deletes the specified document or partial collection. In one embodiment, a confirmation dialog box is displayed before the deletion process is performed on control interface 117.

Playback check box. The document identification and processing device 113 sends the target document 114 (such as an audio and / or video file) to a playback target output device, such as an audio I / O device 120.

The document identification and processing apparatus 113 determines at 210 whether any of the actions performed alters the collection map 110 and the overview 501. In the affirmative, document identification and processing equipment 113 was removed at 211, modifying collection map 110 and overview 501 as appropriate to locate thumbnails 503A-H corresponding to new documents and partial collections. Delete one or more thumbnails 503A-H for documents and partial collections. The updated collection information 301, map 110 and / or overview 501 are stored in storage mechanism 109. Optionally, the updated collection information 301 and map 110 are sent to coversheet generator 302 to generate updated coversheet 101A containing the new overview 501, as described below.

If the document moves between collections, thumbnail 503A-H can be placed using the default layout. Alternatively, the user may be given the opportunity to show the layout.

Printer 115 prints a new collection cover sheet 306 representing the collection on the 212, optionally (or automatically), especially if the collection organization has been modified or if a check box has been marked. obtain.

For example, printing of a document in a collection may be requested by marking a print check box on the cover sheet 101. The machine-readable code locator and reader 106 reads the collection identifier 102. The check box locator 107 positions the marked print check box, reads the box, and transfers the marked check box position information 111 and the print operation request 112 to the document identification and processing apparatus 113. .. The document identification and processing apparatus 113 identifies the target document based on the location information 111 of the marked check box and the map 110 retrieved from the storage mechanism 109. The document identification and processing device 113 retrieves the document 114 from the storage mechanism and transfers it to the printer 115. The printer 115 outputs the printed document 116.

In one embodiment, if the collection organization is modified (eg by changing the hierarchy, layout, or access level), a new version of the collection is created. Therefore, rather than overwriting the collection with new information, an updated version of the collection is generated, stored in a new location inside the storage mechanism 109, and a new collection identifier 102 pointing to the new location is generated. The new cover sheet 101A is printed with the new collection identifier 102. In this way, the previous version of the collection is preserved.

For example, if a document is deleted, a new collection is created that is exactly the same as the original collection, except that the deleted document is omitted. Map 110 and Overview 501 are modified to reflect that the document has been deleted. The new collection can be a new version of the original collection.

In one embodiment, the MFP 100 includes a separate functional module, a component of the document identification and processing device 113, or a cover sheet generator 302 as a specific separate component. The coversheet generator 302 is therefore any component that may not be included and does not actually exist in a particular embodiment. If included, coversheet generator 302 executes processing block 211 to receive updated collection information 301A from document identification and processing apparatus 113, modifies collection map 110, and outputs as print coversheet 306. Generates the update cover sheet 101A to be sent to the printer 115, which is the target of.

Cover Sheet A Collection Cover Sheet is a paper that represents a collection, and in one embodiment, it includes a header, a text string printed in a machine-readable format, a collection summary page, and optionally an area where notes can be written. In addition, it optionally has a human-readable version of the text encoded in the machine-readable code.

The header contains print information about the collection. This information includes the creator of the collection, a list of zero, one or more people who will be notified if the collection is modified, and the time and date the collection was last modified. , This cover sheet may include information with the time and date of printing, and may optionally include the topic or subject of the collection.

In one embodiment, the machine-readable code comprises an encoded version of a unique pointer to the collection on the collection server. In one embodiment, this pointer, when presented in a human-readable format, is similar to the uniform resource locator or URL used on the World Wide Web, as described herein and claims. In the range of, it is expressed as a collection identifier, a distributed resource identifier, or a DRI. In one embodiment, the collection server uses these DRIs as unique collection pointers. In one embodiment, the DRI is globally unique, difficult to guess, and can provide access to the collection from anywhere on the Internet.

The terms "collection identifier," "distributed resource identifier," and "DRI" in this specification are used interchangeably and the same, that is, media and documents stored on the collection server. It shall represent the unique identifier pointed to in the collection of. Further, the identifier may be written in a human-readable format or a machine-readable format. Both print formats represent the same identifier, pointing to the same collection even if they do not look similar to each other.

In one embodiment, the DRI used for the collection points to a directory containing the document and the collection summary as well as the collection of information used to construct some other metadata. DRIs can point to individual files directly, just as URLs can point to directories or files.

Since collections usually include a variety of documents, DRIs are often directory references rather than references to specific files. For example, on an operating system (OS) such as Unix®, the DRI can be a directory reference such as / usr / collection. Alternatively, the DRI can represent a file, which also leads to identifying the components that make up the collection. In yet another alternative, the DRI can be a reference to a database that stores the collection.

The DRI510 text may include a string containing random text components. Such random (and therefore unguessable) generated text serves to impede access to the collection, as it is virtually impossible to infer.

The DRI example "/ root / usr / collection" assumes a single machine architecture. In a more generalized configuration of two or more machines, the DRI may include a machine name component. A more accessible format, such as a URL (Universal Resource Locator) that identifies a page on the World Wide Web (WWW), may be appropriate. In one embodiment, the DRI constitutes the path portion of the URL. By convention, the path portion simply uses the naming format "... / -DDS- / ORIGIN / ..." according to a particular embodiment of this feature of the invention, where the DDS is specific to the collection. The name of the repository, ORIGIN, is the fully qualified host name of the original server for the collection identified by DRI.

So, for example, the collection can be identified by the URL: http://machine1/com/-msg-/machine2.com/2002/1022/298hy9y8h8#$30er#1/.

The IP address of the machine is identified by "machine1.com". The path portion represents a collection stored in a repository named "-msg-". The original copy of the collection (ie, where it was created) resides on a machine named "machine2.com". So in this case, "machine1" includes a copy of the collection. In one embodiment, the collection is contained in a directory, but another data storage rule may be used, such as, for example, the collection may be stored and managed in a database. The collection represented in the above example is stored in a directory called: "/ 2002/1022/298hy9y8h8 # $ 30er # / 1 /.". The path name part "2002/1022" represents a date, for example, the creation date of the collection. The "398hy9y8h8 # $ 30er #" column represents randomly generated text. Finally, as described below, the directory represented by the final pathname "/ 1 /" represents the first (original, original, base, etc.) version of the collection.

In one embodiment, both the host machine (machine1) and the original machine (machine2) use the following directory structure and URL naming structure. The host machine has a directory called "-msg-" that is included in its "root" directory for storing collections. The "-msg-" directory has a subdirectory called "machine2.com" that contains all the collections from which "machine2.com" originated. In general, subdirectories can be prepared for each machine that can be the source of the collection.

With DRI, an individual or machine will either add to or modify the collection with sufficient information to access it.

The DRI's two-dimensional bar code representation allows automatic access to the collection without the user having to manually enter a location. It is understandable that any machine-readable indicator can be used in place of a bar code system that includes human-readable DRI Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

It is conceivable to create and modify the collection on the collection server using the MFP and / and processing logic and techniques described herein and in the claims. You can create a new free collection. New non-vacant collections can be created using available documents and media. Electronic media and paper documents can be added to existing collections. The collection can be printed. The collection can be added or integrated. In addition, actions can be performed on the individual media in the collection using notes on the cover sheet or actions selected on the cover sheet.

In one embodiment, a scalable vector graphic file or SVG file can be used to represent the collection summary. SVG files are the standard way to create visual representations on the World Wide Web, and there are many viewers and tools for creating SVG. The collection preferably includes a specially named SVG file that can be used to build a cover sheet or an overview image for any display. In one embodiment, the SVG file contains information that displays thumbnails of individual documents and media stored in the collection.

Metadata about the individual files in the collection and their relationship to another file in the collection is preferably stored in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file. In one embodiment, this information includes the width and height of the images, the links between the images and their thumbnails, and the links between the documents and the images that represent the documents. The exact format is not important as long as the collection server knows how to read and write the format.

Additional information about the entire collection may also be stored in the metadata file. This information includes contact information such as when the message was created, the subject of the message, the name of the creator of the collection, and the email address, fax number, etc. to which the collection will be notified if it is modified. obtain.

While creating a new collection, a printout will be made or at least information about the new collection, including DRI, will be sent by email or fax to specific recipients. Otherwise, the DRI will be missing on everything except the collection server and will not be available to add documents, but it is entirely present for those who have the DRI and who can guess the DRI. Because it will not be.

The MFP contacts the collection server over the network and requests a new collection identifier or DRI. Since the MFP can request an identifier in advance, the MFP may still create a new collection if the collection server is busy or temporarily offline.

If you plan to print the cover sheet, the MFP constitutes the cover sheet. In one embodiment, a header block containing at least the date and time of creation of the new collection is created. The DRI or identifier obtained from the collection server is added to the bottom of the cover sheet in a human-readable format, further encoded with the industry standard 2D PDF417 barcode in one embodiment, and in the upper right corner of the cover sheet. Will be added to. The overview SVG is converted to image format and added in place on the cover sheet. The additional information may be added when it is deemed appropriate. Although the cover sheet configuration described in the present specification and the claims is one possible one, those skilled in the art have many methods for laying out or configuring the cover sheet within the scope of the present invention. Is to recognize.

The task of adding to an existing collection requires the collection to be present. The user uses a cover sheet from an existing collection to add to the collection with the MFP. As mentioned above, each collection identifier represents a single collection, but the collection can change over time. In one embodiment, the last path element in the DRI is modified each time the collection changes. Those who have access to a single collection are thereby easily granted access to all versions of that collection. In one embodiment, the / 0 / version name or final pathname has a special meaning and represents the "last" or "closest-to-live" version.

In one embodiment, pathname / 1 / indicates the first version of the collection, / 2 / indicates the second version, and so on. When the new collection is uploaded to the collection server, a new directory is created with the following integers: The next collection after / 2 / will preferably be referred to as 3 /. To maintain a unique version number, it is important that only one device, the collection server, creates the version number for the final pathname. The version number is not created by the MFP, because it is possible for multiple MFPs to create one number at the same time and select the same name. Instead, the MFP creates the collection, uploads it to a temporary directory on the collection server, and when the upload is complete, the collection server moves it to a designated location and assigns it a final pathname.

If the user has other paper documents, those documents may be placed on the automatic document feeder. If the user has an image or other document on a memory card or some other media, that media may be placed in the appropriate reader.

If the user wants to create some electronic media when creating a new collection, the user records audio, video, still images and other electronic media using a microphone, digital camera or video camera. Alternatively, another media capture device may be used.

Each DRI is associated with the page of the document or image in which each DRI resides. However, the MFP can recognize that the page containing the DRI represents the collection. Including a page with a DRI in either a new collection or an existing collection may be considered a request to add that collection to the new collection. That is, the page containing the DRI represents a request to add the collection pointed to by that DRI to the new collection. An overview image of the collection will be taken and added as a thumbnail to the new collection, and the subject of the collection will be used as the title for the thumbnail.

Since this is a new collection, one or more new identification numbers will be requested and received from the collection server. In one embodiment, only a single collection identifier is required for the new collection.

Each document or page found to contain a DRI in machine-readable format is replaced by an image representing the collection pointed to by that DRI.

Thumbnails are created for each page or document or other media. Thumbnails are preferably a smaller version of the page that looks similar but has a smaller storage capacity and pixel count. In recorded audio, thumbnails are simply a representation of the audio and can be waveforms or standard icons that represent the audio. In a preferred embodiment, the audio is based on audio content in shape and can be displayed as a rectangle whose length corresponds to the duration of the audio recording. A video thumbnail may be a single frame from a video or a small number of representative frames combined into a single small image. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many different ways in which thumbnails can be created to represent media. Each collection cover sheet is replaced by a collection overview image, which is further modified to form a thumbnail.

All media and documents for the new collection will be added to the collection further, indicating that they will be uploaded to the collection server and placed in the directory pointed to by the DRI of the new collection. There are many well-known protocols for uploading files to a server, including FTP, SCP, and HTTP PUT. Preferably, an HTTP PUT protocol is used that allows the MFP to specify the location and content of each media file as each media file is uploaded.

Thumbnails representing new media items will be placed in the collection overview. Thumbnails are placed in the overview in an appropriate manner and the overview size is increased if necessary.

An overview SVG file is written to and uploaded to the collection server, and all thumbnails are uploaded.

One way to place thumbnails is to look for a place in the overview image where the thumbnails can be placed so that they do not overlap with any other thumbnail. An exhaustive search that moves thumbnails to different locations in the overview looking for duplicates with other thumbnails is too slow. Another approach changes the task by placing them at a single point. This reduces the size of the overview by the width and height of the thumbnails to be placed, and enlarges the existing thumbnails by the same dimensions. The origin of the new thumbnail can be placed anywhere in the rest of the space in the overview without overlapping the existing thumbnail. This is because instead of looking for a new thumbnail location in the original two-dimensional space of the overview, its new "available space" area is calculated in which the thumbnail origin is placed in place of the entire thumbnail. Known as the "construction space" technique. Constructive spatial methods in which interference checking is performed are well known in the fields of robotics and route planning.

The size of the target thumbnail to be added to the overview is determined. Thumbnail size is usually measured on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Thumbnails are often selected as a particular standard size. That is, thumbnails are chosen so that neither width nor height is greater than a certain maximum size, and that particular maximum size may be 150 pixels for standard display resolutions or 2 for print thumbnails. It is an inch. This is because some images have a very large or very small aspect ratio. It may be more appropriate to limit thumbnails to the largest area, ie square pixels or square inches, rather than the maximum width and height.

Scaling the image to include less than or equal to a certain total number of pixels, instead of limiting it to be less than or equal to some maximum width and height, improves the overall appearance of the thumbnail and thumbnail size. Is a preferred method of selecting. However, any method of selecting thumbnail size can be used in the first aspect of the invention.

In one embodiment, a single bounding box for all thumbnails previously placed in the overview is calculated and the origin of the new thumbnail is placed outside the bounding box. Instead of calculating only a single bounding box, it is possible to calculate and expand individual binding boxes for each thumbnail to place the new thumbnail in any available location in the overview. , So you can see. This is well understood by veterans of route planning algorithms, similar to allowing a machine to move between obstacles instead of requiring the robot to orbit all of the obstacles. It will be.

It may be achieved to add a second new thumbnail to the overview. However, instead of adding one bounding box to cover all thumbnails, it is a good idea to simply add a single box to represent the newly added thumbnail. Such boxes are calculated to be the size of the newly added thumbnail, and, like the first bounding box, the width and height of the thumbnail to be added are upward and left. Is extended to.

All new thumbnails will be uploaded to the collection server along with the new summary description file and metadata file.

Summary modifications were achieved using object-based draw tools such as those available in Microsoft PowerPoint software or Adobe (Illustrator) Illustrator or similar tools. obtain. These tools and techniques are well known to those of skill in the art.

All modification information, including any changes in the metadata file, SVG summary file, and collection, is sent to the collection server.

The user can bring the media to the MFP, or create it using a media recording device connected to the MFP or a network.

The effect of having a machine-readable collection identifier on the coversheet is that the MFP or any device capable of positioning and decoding the machine-readable code can determine which collection is represented by the coversheet. is there. The user can indicate which collection the new media will be added to by entering the collection identifier or DRI, which is difficult because the DRI tends to be a long random string. It can be work. The DRI can be positioned and decoded from the scanned image or, if encoded in a barcode format, can be read using a handheld barcode scanner. Handheld scanners that read many different 1D and 2D barcodes are available in Palo Alto, California, USA. It is available from many companies, including Hewlett-Packard Company in California. They can be read in text format using optical character recognition techniques or, if properly encoded, decoded from a magnetic strip. If there is a cover sheet for the collection, place the cover sheet on an automated document feeder or on an MFP that can be scanned directly on the glass platen. Alternatively, the barcode can be scanned using a handheld scanner. If the barcode is captured in a digital image, in some cases using a digital camera, the camera can be directly connected to the MFP or a memory card from the camera can be inserted into the card reader. There are many other ways to indicate a machine-readable DRI in an MFP, but those methods and methods are known to those of skill in the art and are not listed herein or in the claims.

In one embodiment, the machine-readable DRI is shown as part of the cover sheet of the collection. In one embodiment, the DRI is included in a PDF417 format 2D barcode on the cover sheet, which is placed on the MFP's Automatic Document Feeder (ADF). Additional documents or pages to be added to the collection are placed after the cover sheet. The additional page can be any document page or a cover sheet for another message.

Each of the document and media is searched for machine-readable DRI. When bar-coded DRIs are scanned using a handheld scanner, the DRIs are stored in the MFP's memory so that they can be accessed at the time of deciding which collection to add new media to. It is possible. If the cover sheet is scanned and loaded using an ADF or platen, or if the DRI is included in the image from the digital camera, the DRI requires reading from the scanned or captured image. It will be. The source of the DRI may be any of them, and usually, if there is no DRI in memory by manually scanning the cover sheet, the first scanning sheet or the first image will contain the DRI. Those skilled in the art recognize that there are many ways to prepare a DRI for an MFP, and it is not necessary to list them comprehensively.

The entire image media, including the image that is a scan of the document page, is searched for machine-readable code. Generally, when you add a page or document to a collection, an image of that page is added to the collection storage and thumbnails are added to the overview. If the page happens to contain a machine-readable DRI, based on user preference, instead of adding the page to the collection, the collection represented by the DRI may be added to the collection. For each page or image that contains a DRI, the "add page" request is converted to a "add collection" request, which represents the collection.

Thumbnails are created for all new images, new documents, new pages and new media. For pages that represent another collection, thumbnails are created for the collection instead of the page. All of these collection media are uploaded to the collection server.

Importantly, the existing collection is modified in a way that makes the current state or version of the collection available later. The new media will not be located in the same storage area as the existing collection.

Usually, new media and new thumbnails in the collection are uploaded to the staging area on the collection server. The staging area is associated with the collection identifier, but does not have a permanent final pathname. As soon as all uploads of information are complete, the collection server moves the collection to the final directory or storage area with a permanent final pathname. The permanent final pathname is usually the next integer after the collection uploaded at the closest point in time, and thumbnails representing new media are added to the collection summary.

Thumbnails, metadata, and summary SVG files are uploaded to the staging area on the collection server. All changes and modifications are finally uploaded to the collection server, at which point the server meets all the requirements for taking the collection out of the staging area and assigning a version number to put it in the final directory.

The collection server may store a mapping of the collection identifier to the collection directory.

While many modifications and modifications of the first aspect of the invention will certainly become apparent to those skilled in the art after reviewing the specification, any particular embodiment represented and described for purposes of explanation is limited. It is not intended to be interpreted as a thing. Therefore, references to the details of the various examples are intended to limit the scope of the claims, which by themselves list only the features that appear to be essential to the first aspect of the invention. It shall not be a thing.

Next, the second aspect of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing some examples of the second aspect of the present invention. The second aspect of the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples described herein and claims. Rather, these examples are prepared so that the disclosure is comprehensive and the second aspect of the invention is fully communicated to those skilled in the art.

For purposes described herein, many specific details are presented so that the second aspect of the invention is thoroughly understood. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the second aspect of the invention can be practiced without these particular details. In other cases, the structure and device are represented in the form of a block diagram so as not to obscure the second aspect of the invention.

References to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" in the original text of the present specification include the specific features, structures, or properties described with respect to the embodiment in at least one embodiment of the second aspect of the invention. Represents. The phrase "in one embodiment" found throughout the original text of this specification does not necessarily represent the same embodiment.

Part of the detailed description below is given by algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits inside computer memory. The description and representation of these algorithms are the means by those skilled in the art of data processing technology to most effectively convey the essence of their work to another person skilled in the art. The algorithm is devised herein and in the claims to be a coherent sequence of steps, more generally leading to the desired result. The process requires physically manipulating the physical quantity. These quantities are usually in the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, transferred, synthesized, compared or otherwise manipulated, but not necessarily. Representing these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, letters, terms, numbers, etc. has proven useful in some cases, primarily for conventional reasons.

It should, however, keep in mind that these and similar terms should be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels attached to these quantities. Unless otherwise stated, as will be apparent from the description below, terms such as "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" are used throughout this specification and the scope of the claims. The description manipulates data represented as a physical (electronic) quantity within a computer system register and memory, and uses that data in the computer system memory or register or other such information storage device, information. Represents the operation and processing of a computer system or similar computer device that transforms into another piece of data that is also represented as a physical quantity within a transmission device or information display device.

A second aspect of the present invention also relates to an apparatus that performs the operations described herein and claims. The device may comprise a general purpose computer that is specifically constructed for the required purpose or selectively started or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such computer programs include floppy (registered trademark) disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and any type of disk, including optical magnetic disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM). , EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, but not limited to computer-readable storage media, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, each of which is a computer system bus. Can be stored in what is bound to.

The algorithms and modules shown herein and in the claims are not unique to any particular computer or other device. Various general-purpose systems can be used in conjunction with the disclosure programs described herein and claims, or it can be demonstrated that it is convenient to construct more specialized devices to perform the required method steps. The required structures of these various systems will be clarified from the following specification. Furthermore, the second aspect of the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It is understood that the disclosure of the second aspect of the present invention described in the present specification and the claims can be carried out using various programming languages. Moreover, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the modules, characteristics, attributes, methodologies, and other features of the second aspect of the invention are software, hardware, firmware, or a combination of any of the three. Can be implemented as. Of course, when the components of the second aspect of the invention are implemented as software, as a stand-alone program, as part of a larger program, as multiple separate programs, as a library that is statistically or dynamically linked. It can be implemented as a kernel-loadable module, as a device driver, and / or in any way known to those skilled in the field of computer programming now or in the future. Moreover, the second aspect of the invention is by no means limited to implementations in any particular operating system or environment.

In the original text of this application, the following terms are used.

"Document" includes, but is not limited to, text, word processing files and spreadsheet files, email messages, voice recordings and audio recordings, images, document archives, and video recordings. Represents any electronically recordable information collection.

An "Identifier sheet" represents a paper or other readable media item that identifies a stored document or stored document collection. This identifier sheet may be a collection cover sheet or may take any other form. In one embodiment, the identifier sheet comprises a document identifier and / or a collection identifier that is either computer-readable, human-readable, or a combination thereof. The identifier sheet is also referred to as "document indexes" in the present specification and the original text of the claims.

A "Collection cover sheet" is a type of identification sheet. The collection cover sheet also identifies the collection and contains a representation of the document within the collection. In one embodiment, the collection cover sheet is: a collection in a machine-readable format (such as a barcode) and / or a human-readable format (such as a uniform resource locator (URL) or other string). identifier. A collection identifier contains information that describes the location of the collection, such as a directory or folder that contains the document in the collection; a collection summary that represents a document in the collection by a thumbnail. Thumbnails are associated with positions in the overview. For example, a thumbnail for Document A can be in the upper left corner of the collection summary, while a thumbnail for Document B can be in the lower right corner;

The collection cover sheet, collection identifier, and collection summary are described in more detail below.

For purposes of explanation, the second aspect of the present invention is represented herein by a motion sticker on a collection cover sheet. However, those skilled in the art can also implement a second aspect of the invention by using an action sticker on another type of identification sheet, document index, or media item that identifies the stored document. , Recognizing that such practices do not deviate from the essential properties of the second aspect of the invention.

Next, referring to FIG. 6A, an example of the operation sticker 1103A attached to the collection cover sheet 1101 is represented by an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention. In one embodiment, the collection cover sheet 1101 may be used with the machine-readable collection identifier 1102 (although another document representation may be used in place of the thumbnail 1503A-F, eg, a simple text list of documents). ) A sheet of paper containing a collection overview area 1501 containing thumbnail representations 1503A-F of a digital document. It also includes an annotation area 1502 where notes can be written. The specific layout and components shown in FIG. 6A are merely exemplary.

In the example of FIG. 6A, the print operation sticker 1103A is attached to the cover sheet 1101. It overlaps and points to the thumbnail representation 1503A, which represents one of the documents in the collection associated with cover sheet 1101. In general, the motion sticker 1103 can be placed in any orientation in the overview area 1501. The system of the second aspect of the present invention can recognize the motion sticker 1103 regardless of its orientation.

In one embodiment, the operating sticker 1103 is removable, reusable, and recyclable. The operating sticker is 3M (3M) in St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota. Uses a weak adhesive similar to that found on commonly used removable office notes such as Post-It® Notes available from Company. Can be done. One benefit of the removable operating sticker is that the collectible cover sheet 1101 may not be permanently compromised or destroyed by adding the operating sticker 1103. Therefore, the user does not have to reprint a new copy of the cover sheet 1101 in order to execute each document processing request. The reusable operating sticker 1103 reduces the amount of waste generated by the second aspect of the invention and reduces the cost to consumers to implement the second aspect of the invention. By making the working sticker from a recyclable material, it is possible to recycle the cover sheet with the sticker by conventional recycling methods without requiring the sticker to be separated from the cover sheet 1101. However, one of ordinary skill in the art can implement the second aspect of the present invention using an operating sticker 1103 having another form and characteristic. For example, a non-removable and / or non-recyclable operating sticker 1103 can be used without departing from the essential properties of the second aspect of the invention.

The motion sticker 1103A shown in FIG. 6A has an arrow shape and includes a word (print) indicating the desired motion. Other formats and shapes are conceivable and will be known to those skilled in the art in light of the specification and the claims. For example, the motion sticker 1103 is based on its shape and / or color, the orientation or position placed on the cover sheet 1101, or the symbols, icons, letters, words or machine-readable code printed on the sticker 1103. The behavior can be specified. In one embodiment, the motion sticker 1103 is machine readable so that its shape, color, word, icon, symbol, letter, word, or code is machine readable.

One particular example is the motion sticker 1103 in the form of a small "L" that can be used to identify a group of documents for which the motion is to be performed. Place a group of documents with two stickers 1103 attached, a first sticker 1103 in the upper left corner of the thumbnail of the first document to be processed, and a second in the lower right corner of the thumbnail of the last document in the group. It can be separated by placing a sticker 1103. In one embodiment, such an arrangement would notify the MFP of the second aspect of the invention that the requested action should be performed on the document corresponding to the thumbnail between the action stickers 1103. Other formats of the motion sticker 1103, such as points, parentheses, and rectangles, can also be used without departing from the principles of the second aspect of the invention.

In one embodiment, the motion sticker 1103 is smaller in size than the overview area 1501 and facilitates a more accurate interpretation of which document is the target document based on the motion sticker 1103. is there. If the behavior sticker 1103 is placed so that it overlaps, for example, two or more thumbnails 1503, there is potential ambiguity as to which document should be processed. As described in more detail below, the MFP of the second aspect of the present invention may use any of several methods to resolve such ambiguity. In any case, the relatively small size of the motion sticker 1103 is less likely to overlap with more than one thumbnail.

Next, referring to FIG. 6B, an example is shown in which a plurality of operation stickers 1103B-D are attached to the collection cover sheet 1101 according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention. The "grouping" behavior sticker 1103B-D is shown as an example. The grouping operation sticker 1103B-D is the specific document that the user intends to aggregate as a partial collection inside the original collection represented by coversheet 1101 (in this case, the document corresponding to thumbnails 1503A, 1503F, and 1503E). ) Is identified. The MFP interprets the sticker 1103B-D and performs grouping operations on demand.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, a configuration diagram showing a functional architecture of a system that reads an operation sticker and performs an operation on a stored document according to the operation sticker is shown. With reference to FIG. 5, a flow chart showing a method of reading an operation sticker and performing an operation on a stored document according to the operation sticker is shown according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention. The method may be performed, for example, by the system shown in FIG. 4 or by another functional component and functional system. The sequence of steps in the described examples is merely exemplary. Those skilled in the art may perform the steps in an order different from the order in which they are represented.

A second aspect of the invention includes a scanner 1104, a machine-readable code locator and reader 1106, a motion sticker locator and reader 1107, a document identification and processing device 1113, and a printer 1115, as used herein and in the claims. The meaning of the including multifunction peripheral device (MFP) 1100 will be described. The locator and reader 1107 of the operating sticker may also include the ability to position within the collection cover sheet 1101 of the collection overview area 1501. Alternatively, such functionality may be provided in a separate component (not shown). The MFP1100 may also include other components, some of which may not be required for the operation of the second aspect of the invention. The MFP1100 may include a network interface card (not shown) capable of receiving processing requests from external networks, fax interfaces, media capture devices, media capture ports, and the like. The control interface 1117 includes a mechanism that allows the user to initiate, configure, monitor, and / or terminate the operation of the MFP1100, eg, to make a copy, scan a document, and print a fax. In one embodiment, interface 1117 includes a keypad, display, touch screen, or any combination thereof.

The component represented by the MFP1100 is a functional component that can be implemented by using any combination of hardware component, software, and the like. For example, the functionality of the reader 1106 and reader 1107 may be performed within a single hardware component or software module, or may be split into separate functional components. Therefore, the architecture shown in FIG. 4 is intended to illustrate the overall function of the second aspect of the invention according to one embodiment, limiting the scope of the claimed invention to any particular subgroup. Is not intended.

In one embodiment, the MFP1100 is used around electronic data inputs, including, for example, magnetic media readers for magnetic media such as floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic tapes, fixed hard disks, removable hard disks, and memory cards. Another form of media can be accessed by a device (not shown). Peripherals may also include optical media readers (not shown) for optical storage media such as CDs, DVDs, magneto-optical disks. In a further embodiment, the MFP 1100 is communicatively coupled to a storage device 1109, which may be a hard drive or other device capable of storing digital document collections, for example in the form of a database. The storage device 1109 can be in the same location as the MFP 1100, or it can be connected via a network, for example, and located remotely.

As described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the collection cover sheet 1101 includes a machine-readable collection identifier 1102 and a collection overview area 1501 containing a thumbnail representation 1503 of a digital document. The motion sticker 1103 is attached to the cover sheet 1101 to point to the thumbnail 1503, thus identifying a particular document as the subject of the prescribed motion.

The MFP1100 is 1201 and receives image 1105 of coversheet 1101 by scanning coversheet 1101 with scanner 1104, for example, by a well-known technique. Alternatively, the MFP1100 may use another input mechanism known to those of skill in the art to receive the image of cover sheet 1101 at 1201. For example, the MFP1100 may receive the image by e-mail, fax, retrieval from the image of the pre-storage cover sheet 1101 and the like.

The MFP1100 further positions the collection identifier 1102 inside the image 1105 of the cover sheet 1101 at 1202, and reads the identifier 1102 at 1203. In one embodiment, steps 1202 and 1203 transfer image 1105 to a machine-readable code locator and reader 1106, which positions and reads collection identifier 1102. Collection identifier 1102 identifies the storage location of a document in the collection. In one embodiment, the identifier 1102 is a URL that identifies the document by location and file name. For example, identifier 1102 can identify a document inside storage device 1109. In one embodiment, identifier 1102 also identifies a map that associates the document with a particular area within the collection overview 1501.

The code locator and reader 1106 transfers the read collection identifier 1102 to document identification and processing apparatus 1113, which is described in more detail below.

The MFP1100 is 1204, for example, positioning the collection summary 1501 inside image 1105 of cover sheet 1101 by determining the overall size and shape of the summary 1501. In one embodiment, the overview 1501 is provided in a standard position within the cover sheet 1101 or is color coded or otherwise marked to facilitate identification of the overview 1501. Alternatively, the overview 1501 can be in any position and can have any property. In one embodiment, the locator and reader 1107 components of the operation sticker of the MFP 1100 perform step 1204. In another embodiment, another component (not shown) of the MFP 1100 performs this step.

The MFP1100 is 1205 and positions the operating sticker 1103 attached to the collection overview 1105. In one embodiment, the components of the motion sticker locator and reader 1107 perform step 1205. Step 1205 may be performed by the user depending on the presence of one or more motion stickers 1103, as specified via the control interface 1117. Alternatively, the reader 1107 may be configured to automatically try to position the motion sticker 1103 each time the cover sheet 1101 is scanned by the scanner 1104.

In some embodiments, the motion sticker is of a motion sticker in a particular manner, such as by having a unique color, having a specific and recognizable shape that includes a barcode, or by another particular visual characteristic. The locator and reader 1107 are recognizable. Another method of positioning an object in an image is known.

Based on the visual characteristics of motion sticker 1103, motion sticker locator and reader 1107 identify the desired motion at 1206. In one embodiment, the sticker 1103 corresponding to a particular action is visually similar in certain respects, for example, having similar colors or having similar words printed on the sticker. Conversely, the sticker 1103, which corresponds to another action, can be visually dissimilar in certain respects, such as having a different color or having another word printed on the sticker. In one embodiment, the locator and reader 1107 of the operation sticker transfers the operation request 1112 to the document identification and processing apparatus 1113.

The MFP1101 also determines a desired target document for each operation based on the position of the operation sticker 1103. In one embodiment, this determination is made by: a) determining the operating point for each motion sticker 1103; b) determining which thumbnail 1503 is at or closest to the operating point; .. In one embodiment, the operating sticker locator and reader 1107 determine the operating point for each operating sticker 1103, and the document identification and processing device 1113 compares the operating point document with known information about the location of the thumbnail 1503 in overview 1501. The target document is determined by doing so.

The operating point of the sticker 1103 can be the tip of an arrow, or the center of the object, or a specific alternative position on the sticker 1103 indicating the target document. In one embodiment, the locator and reader 1107 of the operating sticker transfers the sticker location information 1111 to the document identification and processing device 1113. This sticker position information may include operating point coordinates. If the operating sticker locator and reader 1107 determine that the sticker operating point is outside the collection overview area 1501, in one embodiment, the sticker 1103 is ignored and the information 1111 is document identification and processing device 1113. It is not intended to be transferred to. In another embodiment, the locator and reader still transfer information 1111 so that the document identification and processing device 1113 can make the best guess about the document of interest.

In one embodiment, storage device 1109 includes a map 1110 that corresponds to each collection. The map has the coordinates of thumbnail 1503 inside overview 1501. Thus, a two-dimensional thumbnail inside Overview 1501 can identify a document or map it to a document based on the location of thumbnail 1503 in that document. In one embodiment, the map is implemented as a list of rectangles, one representing the entire collection overview 1501 and another rectangle representing the location of the document thumbnail 1503 inside the overview 1501. Map 1110 may be stored as a separate file, such as a scalable vector graphic (SVG) file containing a description of the collection summary 1501 with an identifier that associates the area inside the summary 1501 with the document in the collection. Alternatively, map 1110 may be stored as part of collection information 1301.

Document identification and processing device 1113 (obtained from code locator and reader 1106) Using the collection identifier 1102, a map 1110 showing the correspondence between the coordinates inside the collection overview 1501 and the collection document is extracted from the storage mechanism 1109. The document identification and processing apparatus 1113 determines the target document based on the map and the sticker position information 1111. If the operating point fits inside the rectangle that represents the document thumbnail 1503, the corresponding document is determined to be the target of the operation. If the operating point fits inside the rectangle of two or more thumbnails 1503 (in an embodiment where document thumbnails 1503 can overlap), then the action can be performed on both documents, or only the top document or the first document. Can be done. Alternatively, in situations where there is ambiguity as to which document is the target document, the MFP 1101 may do one of the following: That is, specify the document corresponding to Samner 1503 closest to the operating point, which document is most likely to be the intended target based on the type of action being performed and the type of document. Intention to determine which document is most likely to be the intended target based on usage history, to display an error message, and / or which document is the target Prompt the user through control interface 1117 to specify what is being done. Similarly, if the operating point is between the rectangles of the thumbnail 1503, the document identification and processing device 1113 is provided in response to a prompt via the control interface 1117: a) Which thumbnail 1503 is closest to the operating point. ; b) Which thumbnail 1503 is pointed to by the operating sticker 1113; c) Which document is best suited for a particular operation; d) Usage history; or e) Intended based on additional information from the user; The target can be determined.

If the sticker 1103 is in the shape of an arrow, the document identification and processing device 1113 points to a document that is likely to be the intended target. Therefore, in a situation where the operating point of the sticker 1103 is between rectangles, the document identification and processing device 1113 (or the locator and reader 1107 of the motion sticker) determines in which direction the arrow points to make the target document more accurate. It is judged to be.

In one embodiment, the coordinates of the operating point and the overall coordinates of the collection overview 1501 are normalized. Therefore, the coordinates of the operating point are converted from the position on the cover sheet 1101 to the internal position of the outline 1501.

In one embodiment, steps 1205 and 1206 are performed using known techniques for optical feature recognition.

If more than one action sticker 1103 is present, document identification and processing device 1113 sorts the actions at 1207 in the proper order. For example, if the sticker 1103 of a particular target document indicates that the document should be printed or deleted, the print operation should be performed before the delete operation. In one embodiment, the default sort order is print, email, fax, grouping, ungrouping, and deleting. Alternatively, the MFP1100 may warn the user that there are multiple actions on the document and may request confirmation of the intended order of the actions (eg, via control interface 1117).

If the prescribed action relates to transmitting a document by e-mail or fax, the MFP1100 will position the correct routing information (such as an e-mail address or fax number) indicating the desired destination of the document. The routing information can be included or written on the sticker 1103 or written in the annotation area 1502 of cover sheet 1101 and can be extracted by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). For example, if a single email address is written to annotation area 1502, then any document to be emailed may be sent to that email address. Alternatively, the MFP1100 may prompt the user through control interface 1117 to enter routing information. Alternatively, the routing information can be written on a second sheet of paper to be scanned or written on a second image received by the MFP1100. In any of these embodiments, the process of determining the routing information can be performed by the locator and reader 1107 of the operating sticker, by the document identification and processing device 1113, or by another component of the MFP 1100.

Once the operation and target document have been determined, document identification and processing device 1113 retrieves target document 1114 from storage mechanism 1109 at 1208 using collectible identifier 1102 (obtained from code locator and reader 1106), and at 1209, Performs specified operations in the judgment order. For certain actions (such as deletion), retrieval of document 1114 is not required and step 1208 is not performed. In one embodiment, the document identification and processing apparatus 1113 first retrieves the collection information 1301 that includes or points to the subject document 1114, which in turn obtains the subject document 1114.

Examples of sticker 1103 and its equivalent behavior are:

Print sticker: The document identification and processing device 1113 sends the target document 1114 to the printer 1115. Printer 1115 outputs the printed document 1116.

E-mail sticker or fax sticker: The document identification and processing device 1113 sends the document to the e-mail module or fax module (not shown) of the MFP100 to be transmitted as appropriate.

Grouping Sticker: Document identification and processing device 1113 creates a new partial collection containing the target document, removes the target document from the original collection, and adds the new partial collection to the original collection. In one embodiment, all documents pointed to by the "grouping" sticker 1103 are placed in the same new partial collection. Alternatively, a new partial collection can be created for each type of grouping sticker 1103 using various grouping stickers 1103 (color-coded or otherwise distinguishable from each other).

Ungrouped sticker (on existing partial collection): Documents inside the partial collection are retrieved and placed throughout the collection, which corresponds to cover sheet 1101.

Delete Sticker: Document identification and processing equipment 1113 deletes the specified document or partial collection. In one embodiment, a confirmation dialog box is displayed before the deletion process is performed on control interface 1117.

Playback Sticker: The document identification and processing device 1113 sends the target document 1114 (such as an audio and / or video file) to the output device to be played back.

The document identification and processing apparatus 1113 determines in 1210 whether any of the execution actions modifies the collection map 1110 and the overview 1501. In the affirmative, document identification and processing equipment 1113 appropriately modifies the collection map 1110 and overview 1501 at 1211 to indicate the location of thumbnails 1503 corresponding to the new document and partial collection, and the removed documents and parts. Remove the collection thumbnail 1503. The updated information 1301, map 1110 and / or overview 1501 are stored in storage device 1109. Optionally, the updated collection information 1301 and map 1110 are sent to coversheet generator 1302 to generate updated coversheet 1101A containing the new overview 1501 as described below.

When moving documents between collections, thumbnails can be placed using the default layout. Alternatively, the user may be given the opportunity to show the layout.

Printer 1115 prints a new cover sheet 1306 representing the collection optionally (or automatically) on the 1212, especially if the collection organization has been modified or a non-removable sticker 1103 is used.

For example, the print motion sticker 1103 can be used to request printing of a document in a collection by placing the print motion sticker 1103 on cover sheet 1101. The machine-readable code locator and reader 1106 reads the collection identifier 1102. The operation sticker locator and reader 1107 position and read the print operation sticker 1103, and transfer the sticker position information 1111 and the print operation request 1112 to the document identification and processing apparatus 1113. The document identification and processing apparatus 1113 identifies the target document based on the sticker position information 1111 and based on the map 1110 retrieved from the storage mechanism 1109. The document identification and processing apparatus 1113 retrieves the document 1114 from the storage mechanism and transfers it to the printer 1115. Printer 1115 outputs the printed document 1116.

In one embodiment, if the collection organization is modified (eg by changing the hierarchy, layout, or access level), a new version or new layer of the collection is added. Therefore, rather than overwriting the collection with new information, an updated version of the collection is generated, stored in a new location inside the storage mechanism 1109, and a new collection identifier 1102 pointing to the new location is generated. The new cover sheet 1101A is printed with the new collection identifier 1102. In this way, the previous version of the collection is preserved.

For example, if a document is deleted, a new collection is created that is exactly the same as the original collection, except that the deleted document is omitted. Map 1110 and Overview 1501 have been modified to reflect the deletion of the document. The new collection may be a new layer of the original collection or a completely new collection unrelated to the original except that it was derived from the original.

In one embodiment, the MFP1100 includes a coversheet generator 1302 as a separate functional module, as a component of document identification and processing apparatus 1113, or as a particular separate component. The coversheet generator 1302 is therefore an optional component that may not be included and does not actually exist in some embodiments. If included, coversheet generator 1302 receives updated collection information 1301A from document identification and processing equipment 1113, modifies collection map 1110, and outputs to the target printer 1115 as print coversheet 1306. Perform step 1211 to generate the update cover sheet 1101A to be sent.

In some examples, the second aspect of the invention includes the following other features and functions: Any of these features can be included alone, in combination with each other and / or in combination with the features and components described above.

Permit level behavior sticker. In one embodiment, the action sticker 1103 is used to specify or modify the permission level for a document or to create a collection with limited permissions on the document in the collection. Upon detecting such behavior sticker 1103, the MFP1100 modifies the permission level in a predetermined manner.

Acting sticker as a physical access key. In one embodiment, the operation sticker 1103 comprises a machine-readable code that includes a key that decrypts an encrypted document stored in a collection. Therefore, the operation sticker 1103 is a physical access key described in its own simultaneous continuation application on August 11, 2003, which is incorporated in the present specification and claims, entitled "PHYSICAL KEY FOR ACCESSING A SECURELY STORED DIGITAL DOCUMENT". To serve as. By placing it on the cover sheet 1101, the operating sticker 1103 identifies which document or collection should be decrypted using the decryption key imprinted on the operating sticker 1103.

General-purpose operation sticker. In another embodiment, a general purpose operating sticker may be added to the collection cover sheet 1101. The general-purpose motion sticker is the motion sticker 1103, which can be identified by specific visual characteristics as those without a specific motion. For example, one format of a generic motion sticker is one that has the same size and shape as another motion sticker 1103, but with no words printed on it. By arranging this on the cover sheet 1101, the general-purpose operation sticker identifies one or more target documents, but does not identify the target operation to be performed. The user is prompted, for example, through control interface 1117 to specify the desired action to be performed on the target document.

<figref num="1">FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system architecture that reads check boxes and operates on stored documents according to the marked check boxes according to the first aspect of the present invention.</figref><figref num="2">FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process of reading a check box and performing an operation on a stored document according to the selected check box according to the first aspect of the present invention.</figref><figref num="3">FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a check box on a cover sheet of a collection according to a first aspect of the present invention.</figref><figref num="4">It is a block diagram which shows the functional architecture of the system which reads the operation sticker and performs operation with respect to the storage document according to the operation sticker by one Embodiment of the 2nd aspect of this invention.</figref><figref num="5">It is a flow chart which shows the method which reads the motion sticker and performs the action with respect to the storage document according to the motion sticker by one Example of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="6A">It is a figure which shows the example of the operation sticker attached to the cover sheet of a collect | collection by one Example of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="6B">It is a figure which shows the example of some operation sticker attached to the cover sheet of a collect | collection by one Example of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.</figref>

Code description

100 Multifunction Peripherals 101 Collection Cover Sheet 101A Update Cover Sheet 102 Machine Readable Identifier 104 Scanner 105 Cover Sheet Image 106 Machine Readable Code Locator and Reader 107 Marked Check Box Locator 109 Storage 110 Map 111 Check box Position information 112 Operation request 113 Document identification and processing device 114 Document 115 Printer 116 Printed document 117 Control interface 120 Audio I / O 200 Processing block 201 Processing block 203 Processing block 204 Processing block 205 Processing block 206 Processing block 207 Processing block 208 Processing block 209 Processing block 210 Processing block 211 Processing block 212 Processing block 213 Processing block 301 Collection information 301A Update collection information 302 Cover sheet generator 306 Print cover sheet 501 Collection overview area 501₁ Check box 502 Annotation area 503 Thumbnail representation 503A Thumbnail representation 503A₁ Check box 503B Thumbnail representation 503B₁ Check box 503C Thumbnail representation 503C₁ Check box 503D Thumbnail representation 503D₁ Check box 503E Thumbnail representation 503E₁ Check box 503F Thumbnail representation 503F₁ Check box 503G Thumbnail representation 503G₁ Check box 503H Thumbnail representation 503H₁ Check box 503H₂ Check box 503H₃ Check Box 510 Operation Display Area 515 Check Box 1100 Multifunction Peripheral Unit 1101 Collection Cover Sheet 1101A Update Cover Sheet 1102 Machine Readable Identifier 1104 Scanner 1105 Cover Sheet Image 1106 Machine Readable Code Locator and Reader 1107 Operation Sticker Locator 1109 Storage mechanism 1110 Map 1111 Sticker location information 1112 Operation request 1113 Document identification and processing device 1114 Document 1115 Printer 1116 Printed document 1117 Control interface 1200 Processing block 1201 Processing block 1203 Processing block 1204 Processing block 1205 Processing block 1206 Processing block 1207 Processing block 1208 Processing block 1209 Processing block 1210 Processing block 1211 Processing block 1212 Processing block 1213 Processing block 1301 Collection information 1301A Update collection information 1302 Cover sheet generator 1306 Print cover sheet 1501 Collection Overview Area 1502 Annotation Area 1503C Thumbnail Representation 1503D Thumbnail Representation 1503E Thumbnail Representation 1503F Thumbnail Representation