Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Communication
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-09
2004-01-27
Lee, Thomas D. (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Communication
C382S180000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06683697
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a system for efficiently processing information originating from hard copy documents. More specifically, the invention is directed to a hard copy document to application program interface which minimizes the need to manually process hard copy documents.
In the past, information contained on hard copy documents was manually entered into a computer via the input controller of a particular computer. The original document was then filed away for future reference. Automatic input of data was limited to the input of Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) data and to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) data. This fixed-position data was forwarded directly to a dedicated computer application specifically designed to accommodate the input format. In more recent years, typewritten text has been mechanically inputted into a computer via a text file. Examples of this latter type of system are word processors and photo-typesetters.
These conventional systems have limitations which decrease the efficiency of processing information from a hard copy document. For example, the systems discussed above are limited in their application to MICR, OCR, or typewritten data. Parsing and processing data is limited to the particular requirements of the particular computer application which requires the input data. In addition, in these conventional systems, the actual hard copy document must be retained for future reference at great expense.
In a sophisticated computer network, different users may require different portions of the information contained on a hard copy document. For example, if the hard copy document is an invoice returned with payment of a bill, the accounting department may need all of the monetary information contained on the bill while the mailroom may need only customer address information, to update a customer's address. Therefore, there is a need for a system in which specific information from a hard copy document can be selectively distributed to various users.
Another problem with conventional systems is that users, even within the same company, may require that the information extracted from a hard copy document be transmitted to a particular application program in a specific transmission format. For example, one department in a company may use a particular application program which must receive information using a particular character as a delimiter and other departments may require the information in a different format using different delimiters.
Another problem, particularly for small businesses, is that current systems can not efficiently accommodate the inputting of information from a diversity of hard copy documents. A large business which receives many forms in the same format can afford a system which inputs a high volume of information in that format into memory. For example, it is cost-effective for a bank which processes hundreds of thousands of checks a month to buy a dedicated machine which can read information off of checks having a rigidly defined, or fixed, format. However, as the diversity of forms received by a business increases relative to the number of forms that must be processed, it becomes less cost-effective to design a dedicated machine for processing each type of form format. This problem is particularly significant in small businesses which may, for example, receive fifty invoices a month, all in different, non-fixed, formats. It is frequently not cost-effective for a small business to design dedicated systems for inputting information in each of these various formats. This leaves a small business with no other practical alternative than to manually input the information off of each invoice each month.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide an application program interface which allows a user to select specific portions of information extracted from a diversity of hard copy documents and allows the user to direct portions of this information to several different users in accordance with the needs of the particular user.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a cost-effective system for inputting hard copy documents which can accommodate hard copy documents in a diversity of formats.
It is another object of the invention to provide an application program interface which allows a user to put information, which is to be transmitted, into a particular transmission format, based upon the needs of the receiver of the information.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an application program interface which will allow the extraction, selection, formatting, routing, and storage of information from a hard copy document in a comprehensive manner such that the hard copy document itself need not be retained.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system which reduces the amount of manual labor required to process information originating from a hard copy document.
A further object of the invention is to reduce the time required to process information originating from a hard copy document so that a higher volume of transactions involving hard copy documents can be processed.
The invention provides an application program interface which inputs a diversity of hard copy documents using an automated digitizing unit and which stores information from the hard copy documents in a memory as stored document information. Portions of the stored document information are selected in accordance with content instructions which define portions of the stored document information required by a particular application unit. Selected stored document information is then formatted into the transmission format used by the particular application program based on transmission format instructions. The transmission formatted selected stored document information is then transmitted to the particular application program. The hard copy documents may contain textual information or image information or both.
The interface operates in three different modes.
In a first mode, the interface extracts all of the information from hard copy documents and stores this information in memory. Parsing of various portions of the extracted information is performed in accordance with content instructions.
In a second mode, the user operates interactively with the interface by use of a display and an input device, such as a mouse. In this second mode, a hard copy document is inputted and displayed on the display. The interface then prompts the user to identify the location of various information. For example, the interface can ask the user to identify the location of address information on the hard copy document. In response, the user positions the mouse to identify address information using a cursor. The identified information is then stored as address information in memory. Subsequently, the interface again prompts the user to identify other pieces of information, which are then stored in the appropriate locations in memory. This process proceeds until all of the information which is desired to be extracted off of the hard copy document is stored in memory.
In a third mode of operation, selected portions of information are extracted off of hard copy documents in accordance with predetermined location information which has been specified by the user. For example, the user can define a template which specifies the location of information on hard copy documents. Templates can be formed in conjunction with second mode operation. Alternatively, the user can instruct the interface to search hard copy documents for a particular character or symbol, located on the hard copy documents. The information desired to be extracted off of the hard copy documents is specified relative to the location of this character or symbol.
The interface can also prompt or receive from an applications program or another information processing system, required information, content instructions, and format instructions.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the f
Elias Catherine B.
Lech Robert
Medina Mitchell A.
Brinich Stephen
Lee Thomas D.
Millenium L.P.
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