Registers – Records
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-21
2004-11-23
Le, Thien M. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Records
C235S385000, C235S435000, C235S439000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820815
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to encoded sheet material, and more particularly to systems and methods for managing encoded sheet material having information recorded thereon.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Despite the publicity about the paperless office, paper remains an important media in today's working environment. Many efforts have been made to integrate paper documents with computer-based information systems. These efforts generally involve two scenarios. The first scenario involves scanning an existing physical document to create a digital copy, assigning a digital file name and then managing the digital copy as any other digital file. The second scenario involves creation of a physical document from an existing digital document or file such as by printing. To aid in the integration process, a barcode or a Dataglyph may be printed or otherwise attached to a physical document. Dataglyphs are generally less visually disruptive than barcodes. Both barcodes and Dataglyphs provide a means for the computer to grasp intentionally printed information on the paper document. Since both are generally applied at the time the information is recorded on the sheet of paper (but may be applied later through the use of an adhesive label), both generally appear on the same face of the sheet of paper as the recorded information.
At the organization level, many documents, such as contracts, reports, files, technical documentation, etc., have to be physically stored for legal, administrative or operational reasons. Attention must be paid to their indexing and classification in order to keep document retrieval cost at an acceptable level. One solution is to physically attach a barcode or Dataglyph to an existing paper document and scan the document into the computer-based information system.
Having a record of a paper document in a computer-based information system does not solve the problem of knowing where the actual paper document is located. Even if location information is stored at the time the paper document is input into the system (such as when the barcode or Dataglyph is read by the computer-based information system), the paper document may have been moved when a user retrieved it and later replaced it.
Most paper documents in offices do not contain barcodes or Dataglyphs and are not part of a computer-based information system. Most offices have piles of document on shelves, desks and the like that are classified in an ad-hoc and personal manner. Finding a document in one of these ad hoc filing systems often means browsing through several piles to find a particular document.
The verification that a paper or hard copy version of a document is an original, as opposed to a copy or imitation, is important in many businesses and legal transactions. Examples include contracts, stock certificates, bank notes, premium bonds, etc. Verification of authenticity of an original document has become harder to perform since modern techniques enable the production of high quality copies which are frequently difficult to detect from the original. Even if an original paper document included a barcode or Dataglyph on the face of the document, any copy of the paper document will also include the same barcode or Dataglyph.
Much work has been done in order to verify the integrity of the content of a hardcopy document as well as its origin (this is referred to as authenticating a document). Verifying the content and origin (authenticating) of a hard-copy document consists of making sure that its content was not tampered with, and that it really originates from the supposed source. This prevents manipulation of the content of a document, while true (i.e. not manipulated) copies remain possible. Originality check is concerned with discriminating copies from the original hardcopy document. The problem of originality is closely related to the problem of authentication because in most cases where originality is important, the content is also important. However, in some cases the originality of a sheet of paper itself is important, independently of its content. Consider for instance the case of a sheet of paper being circulated to collect signatures for a petition. When it comes back, the originator expects to have the original sheet (and not a possibly manipulated copy).
The use of edge marking of sheet materials has been proposed for various applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,417 to Copham, Method of Encoding Stacks of Printed Materials, describes a process for using edge markings to identify one customer's order for form checks from another customer's. During manufacture of a sheet of checks, a coded image is provided at the cutting boundaries of the stock sheets, so that when the checks are cut from the stock, an identification code appears on the checks when viewed from the edge. The edge-visible code is obtained by cutting the paper precisely where marks are located. A different code is provided for each customer to enable workers to look at the stacked check books at the edge to determine if another customer's checks were erroneously placed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,084, “Encoded Sheet Material and Sheet Processing Apparatus Using Encoded Sheet Material”, which is assigned to the same assignee as this application, describes pre-marking of edges of paper reams/stacks (during manufacture) with information related to the paper's physical properties (e.g., its weight, color). This encoded information is read and used by printers (and other recording devices which record information on the faces of the sheet material) when selecting paper from paper trays.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An encoded sheet material, according to the invention, includes a sheet of material having a first surface, a second surface disposed opposite the first surface and an edge extending between the first surface and the second surface and peripherally about the sheet of material, the edge having indicia arranged thereon to form a code uniquely identifying the sheet of material. A system for managing an encoded sheet of material includes a code reader operative in conjunction with an encoded sheet of material for reading an edge code; wherein the encoded sheet of material has a first surface, a second surface disposed opposite the first surface and an edge extending between the first surface and the second surface and peripherally about the sheet of material, the edge having indicia arranged thereon to form a code uniquely identifying the sheet of material; a sheet processing apparatus for reading information from and/or writing information to at least one of the first and second surfaces of the encoded sheet material; and a processor in communication with the code reader and the sheet processing apparatus for associating the information with the edge code.
By providing each sheet of material with a unique edge identifier, any information that may be recorded on the sheet of material may be associated with that sheet of material. By placing the unique identifier on the edge, both surfaces are available for recording information. The edge marking can be made with a visible or an invisible ink. If the recording device includes an edge reader coupled to a processor with a memory, whenever a user makes a copy of an electronic file, the recording device reads the edge marking on each sheet of material used, and the processor associates that sheet of material with the electronic file. This association can be stored in memory. This feature is useful for tracking or monitoring physical copies of an electronic file. Additional information or meta data may also be associated with the electronic file.
The association information may be stored and used for other purposes, such as monitoring the number of copies made of a particular file, for monitoring the location of the copies and for monitoring the number of sheets of material used. The association information can be made or updated at any time. For example, if an electronic file is printed on a sheet of material with a unique edge marking, that associat
Dymetman Marc
Fernstrom Christer
Meunier Jean-Luc
Le Thien M.
Taylor April
Walder Jeannette
Xerox Corporation
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