US5682540A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for representing electronic files using a paper based medium
Assignee: Xerox Corp
•
Filing: 1994-12-08
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Granted: 1997-10-28
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Expires: 2014-12-08
Abstract
Abstract The present invention involves a novel form and methods for creating and using such forms. These forms are summaries (hereinafter "document surrogates") of associated objects, such as original documents, processes, or their copies, stored in a document processing system. A document surrogate made in accordance with the principles of the present invention comprises at least one sheet of a information storing substrate material that has a human readable area and a machine readable area. The human readable area may contain at least one area of material which summarizes the associated object. Such a summary may either be made manually by the user or created automatically by the document processing system. The machine readable area comprises a document reference code that is readable and recognizable by the document processing system. The code is located by the system and recognized from an image of the entire page. The reference code encodes an indicator to the storage location of the associated object. Upon encountering a document surrogate, the system may interpret the surrogate to be the equivalent of its associated object and uses the indicator to access the appropriate object. A mechanism may be provided to the system to either enable or disable this equivalence. If disabled, the system would treat the document surrogate like a typical page in a document.
Inventors
- 👤 Leigh L. Klotz, Jr.
- 👤 Ramana B. Rao
- 👤 Walter A. L. Johnson
- 👤 M. Margaret Withgott
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 06:45
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32106; H04N1/32122; H04N1/21; H04N1/2166; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3226; H04N2201/3242; H04N2201/3269; H04N2201/3271
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 45
Claim 1
Independent Claim
149 words
A method for creating an instance of a hardcopy medium representing an electronic file received by a document processing system, said document processing system having an input device, an output device, a processor for executing document processing functions upon an input object, and a storage area for storing said electronic file, the steps of said method comprising: (A) receiving an electronic file; (B) storing said electronic file in said storage area; and (C) outputting at least one piece of hardcopy medium representing said electronic file, said hardcopy medium having thereon a machine readable code, said code comprising an indicator to said electronic file stored in said storage area, a flag which instructs said document processing system to retrieve said electronic file and use instead of said hardcopy medium as an input object for a document processing function and human readable information for indicating the contents of said electronic file.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
149 words
A method for creating an instance of a hardcopy medium representing an electronic file received by a document processing system, said document processing system having an input device, an output device, a processor for executing document processing functions upon an input object, and a storage area for storing said electronic file, the steps of said method comprising: (A) receiving an electronic file; (B) storing said electronic file in said storage area; and (C) outputting at least one piece of hardcopy medium representing said electronic file, said hardcopy medium having thereon a machine readable code, said code comprising an indicator to said electronic file stored in said storage area, a flag which instructs said document processing system to retrieve said electronic file and use instead of said hardcopy medium as an input object for a document processing function and human readable information for indicating the contents of said electronic file.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
156 words
A combination comprising: a storage area for storing electronic files; hardcopy media for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said hardcopy media bearing marks thereon, said marks including: a machine recognizable code comprising an indicator to at least one said associated electronic file, a surrogate flag for indicating that said hardcopy media represents an electronic file and human readable information for indicating the contents of said at least one said associated electronic file; a means for inputting images of said hardcopy media; a digital processor connected to said storage area and to said means for inputting images, said digital processor for performing selected processing tasks on instances of said hardcopy media images such that said processor determines whether said surrogate flag is present in said hardcopy media image, and, if present, substitutes said at least one said associated electronic file for said hardcopy media image as the object for performing said selected processing task.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
156 words
A combination comprising: a storage area for storing electronic files; hardcopy media for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said hardcopy media bearing marks thereon, said marks including: a machine recognizable code comprising an indicator to at least one said associated electronic file, a surrogate flag for indicating that said hardcopy media represents an electronic file and human readable information for indicating the contents of said at least one said associated electronic file; a means for inputting images of said hardcopy media; a digital processor connected to said storage area and to said means for inputting images, said digital processor for performing selected processing tasks on instances of said hardcopy media images such that said processor determines whether said surrogate flag is present in said hardcopy media image, and, if present, substitutes said at least one said associated electronic file for said hardcopy media image as the object for performing said selected processing task.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The combination as recited in claim 2, wherein said at least one said associated electronic file is an associated object accessible to said digital processor.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The combination as recited in claim 3 wherein said at least one said associated electronic file is a process accessible to said digital processor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said human readable material contains at least one summary of said at least one said associated electronic file.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is user supplied.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is automatically generated.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is partially user supplied and partially automatically generated.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is a reduced image of a page of said at least one said associated electronic file.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is a list of keywords.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said summary is a list of section headings.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
36 words
The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said hardcopy media further includes: at least one selection area corresponding to individual electronic files such that a user may select any subset of said individual electronic files.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
45 words
The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said hardcopy media further includes: an override selection area such that a user may instruct said digital processor to select said hardcopy media image instead of said at least one said associated electronic file for further processing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
38 words
The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said combination further comprises: a disable mechanism for instructing the digital processor to select said hardcopy media image instead of said least one said associated electronic file for further processing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
159 words
A combination comprising: a storage area for storing electronic files; hardcopy media for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said hardcopy media bearing marks thereon, said marks including: a machine recognizable code comprising an indicator to at least one said associated electronic file, a surrogate flag for indicating that said hardcopy media represents an electronic file and human readable information for indicating the contents of said at least one said associated electronic file; a means for inputting images of said hardcopy media; a digital processor connected to said storage area and to said means for inputting images, said digital processor for performing selected processing tasks on electronic files represented by said hardcopy media images such that said processor determines whether said surrogate flag is present in said hardcopy media image, and, if present, selects said hardcopy media image instead of said at least one said associated electronic file as the object for performing said selected processing task.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
159 words
A combination comprising: a storage area for storing electronic files; hardcopy media for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said hardcopy media bearing marks thereon, said marks including: a machine recognizable code comprising an indicator to at least one said associated electronic file, a surrogate flag for indicating that said hardcopy media represents an electronic file and human readable information for indicating the contents of said at least one said associated electronic file; a means for inputting images of said hardcopy media; a digital processor connected to said storage area and to said means for inputting images, said digital processor for performing selected processing tasks on electronic files represented by said hardcopy media images such that said processor determines whether said surrogate flag is present in said hardcopy media image, and, if present, selects said hardcopy media image instead of said at least one said associated electronic file as the object for performing said selected processing task.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said at least one said electronic file is a document accessible to said digital processor.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said at least one said electronic file is a process accessible to said digital processor.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said human readable material contains at least one summary of said at least one said electronic file.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
13 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is user supplied.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
13 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is automatically generated.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
18 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is partially user supplied and partially automatically generated.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a reduced image of a page of said at least one said electronic file.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
15 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a list of keywords.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
16 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a list of section headings.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
39 words
The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said hardcopy media further includes: at least one selection area corresponding to individual electronic files such that a user may select any subset of said individual electronic files for further processing.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
44 words
The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said hardcopy media further includes: an override selection area such that a user may instruct said digital processor to select said at least one said electronic file instead of said hardcopy media image for further processing.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
38 words
The combination as recited in claim 15 wherein said combination further comprises: an enable mechanism for instructing said digital processor to select said at least one said electronic file instead of said hardcopy media image for further processing.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
21 words
The combination as recited in claim 18 wherein said summary is a page of said at least one said electronic file.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
237 words
A document processing system comprising: a storage means for storing a plurality of electronic files; a source medium for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said source medium capable of having a first indicator indicating that said source medium has a second indicator, said second indicator indicating one of said plurality of electronic files, said source medium further capable of having human readable information for indicating the contents of said one of said plurality of electronic files; an input means for receiving a representation of a source medium; a function selection means for indicating a document processing function to be performed on one of said plurality of electronic files; a processing means coupled to said input means, said storage means, and said function selection means, said processing means comprised of: a plurality of document processing function means each for performing a corresponding document processing function on said source medium; means for identifying an instance of said first indicator on said representation of said source medium; means for identifying one of said plurality of electronic files corresponding to an instance of said second indicator on said representation of said source medium; and means for substituting said identified one of said plurality of electronic flies for said source medium for processing by said document processing function; and an output means coupled to said processing means, said output means for providing an output of a document processing function.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
237 words
A document processing system comprising: a storage means for storing a plurality of electronic files; a source medium for representing electronic files stored in said storage area, said source medium capable of having a first indicator indicating that said source medium has a second indicator, said second indicator indicating one of said plurality of electronic files, said source medium further capable of having human readable information for indicating the contents of said one of said plurality of electronic files; an input means for receiving a representation of a source medium; a function selection means for indicating a document processing function to be performed on one of said plurality of electronic files; a processing means coupled to said input means, said storage means, and said function selection means, said processing means comprised of: a plurality of document processing function means each for performing a corresponding document processing function on said source medium; means for identifying an instance of said first indicator on said representation of said source medium; means for identifying one of said plurality of electronic files corresponding to an instance of said second indicator on said representation of said source medium; and means for substituting said identified one of said plurality of electronic flies for said source medium for processing by said document processing function; and an output means coupled to said processing means, said output means for providing an output of a document processing function.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
40 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said processing means is further comprised of means for creating an instance of a source medium having said first indicator and said second indicator for output on said output means.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
16 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said input device is a scanner.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
19 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said output means is coupled to a communications line.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
27 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 32 wherein an associated one of said one or more document processing functions is a distribution by facsimile transmission.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
27 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 32 wherein an associated one of said one or more document processing functions is a distribution by electronic mail.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
31 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said output means is a printer device and one of said one or more document processing functions is a print function.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
43 words
The document processing system as recited in claim 29 wherein said function selection means is comprised of is a predefined check-box control sheet defining a plurality of document processing functions and means for identifying from said control sheet the document processing function selected.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
185 words
A method for specifying documents stored in a document processing system as the object of a document processing function, said method comprising the steps of: a) generating an electronic representation of a document for storing in said document processing system; b) storing said electronic representation in said document processing system; c) generating a form for accessing said stored electronic document, said form having thereon machine readable information comprised of a flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document, and file identifier information for accessing said stored electronic document, said form further comprising human readable information for indicating the contents of the stored electronic document that said form represents; d) requesting a first document processing function to said document processing system; e) inputting said form as the object of said first document processing function; f) said document processing system detecting that said form represents said stored electronic file; g) said document processing system retrieving said electronic filed represented by said form based on said file identifier information; and h) said document processing system performing said first document processing function on said retrieved electronic file.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
185 words
A method for specifying documents stored in a document processing system as the object of a document processing function, said method comprising the steps of: a) generating an electronic representation of a document for storing in said document processing system; b) storing said electronic representation in said document processing system; c) generating a form for accessing said stored electronic document, said form having thereon machine readable information comprised of a flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document, and file identifier information for accessing said stored electronic document, said form further comprising human readable information for indicating the contents of the stored electronic document that said form represents; d) requesting a first document processing function to said document processing system; e) inputting said form as the object of said first document processing function; f) said document processing system detecting that said form represents said stored electronic file; g) said document processing system retrieving said electronic filed represented by said form based on said file identifier information; and h) said document processing system performing said first document processing function on said retrieved electronic file.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method as recited in claim 37 wherein said step of inputting said form as the object of said first document processing function is further comprised of the steps of: e1) scanning said form to create a bitmap representation of said form; and e2) providing said bitmap representation to said document management system as input.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method as recited in claim 38 wherein said step of said document processing system determining that said form represents said stored electronic file is further comprised of the step of detecting that said bitmap representation of said form contains said flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method as recited in claim 39 further comprising the steps of: i) said document processing system detecting that said bitmap representation of said form does not contain said flag for indicating said form represents a stored electronic document; and j) said document processing system performing said first document processing function on said bitmap representation of said form.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-10-27 | 2001-04-28 | 2001-10-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-10-27 | 2005-04-28 | 2005-10-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-10-27 | 2009-04-28 | 2009-10-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |