Abstract:
A scanning system routes scanned document information ( 110 ) to a specified location ( 120 ) based on scanned control sheet information ( 108 ). Each location ( 120 ) is associated with an existing identifier ( 118 ). Scanned control sheet information ( 108 ) is retrieved by the scanning system from graphical information displayed on a control sheet ( 102 ). The system compares a tentative identifier ( 124 ) obtained from the scanned control sheet information ( 108 ) to existing identifiers ( 118 ) to determine a location ( 120 ) to which scanned document information ( 110 ) should be routed.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention pertains to the field of routing scanned document information. More specifically, this invention pertains to the use of scanned control sheets to route scanned document information to an existing location. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Scanners are commonly used in business enterprises and other organizations to convert paper documents into electronic form. Because scanners are expensive, complex pieces of equipment, it is common for many persons in an organization to share the use of a single scanner. Typically, the scanned document information generated when a user scans a document is stored in a default location. When the scanner is attached to a computer network, the scanned document information may ultimately be moved over the network to a desired location on the network, for instance a particular sub-directory of a user&#39;s file directory. In order to do this, however, the user needs to interact with a computer on the network after the document has been scanned. 
     Rather than putting scanned document information in a default storage area until claimed by someone on the network, a scanner may allow a user to enter a desired destination prior to scanning. Then the scanned document information can be routed directly to the desired destination, without further user intervention. 
     With either of these conventional systems, however, a user may not place a number of separate documents, each with a separate destination, into the scanner and expect the scanned document information to arrive at the correct locations without further intervention. When using a system of the first type, the user will need to later use a computer on the network to move the scanned document information to the appropriate locations. With the second type of system, the user will need to enter each separate destination into the scanner prior to the scanning of each document. Even though it may take a while for the scanner to work its way through each document, the user will typically need to wait for the scanner to finish scanning each document in order to enter the next destination. 
     What is needed is a scanning system which allows a user to communicate a desired destination for a scanned document in a way which allows the destination information to stay with the physical document. This would allow a set of documents, each with a unique destination, to be scanned and routed automatically, without further user intervention. This would also allow documents to be routed without the user having to interact with a computer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a system and method for directing the routing of scanned document information ( 110 ) with control sheets ( 102 ). A control sheet ( 102 ) is typically a piece of paper with graphical information on it. This information indicates to the system where the scanned document information ( 110 ) should be routed. It may be in the form of human-readable writing, it may be in the form of machine-readable markings, or it may be a combination of the two. The system retrieves this information by scanning the control sheet ( 102 ). In one embodiment, the invention routes the scanned document information ( 110 ) to the destination ( 120 ) which most nearly matches the scanned control sheet information ( 108 ). This allows for proper operation in the case of minor errors in the analysis of the control sheet information ( 108 ). 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the use of existing identifiers  118  and tentative identifiers  124  to determine document identifiers  126 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention is shown to include scanner  106 . Document  104  to be scanned and routed to a particular one of several locations  120  is fed into scanner  106  with control sheet  102 . Control sheet  102  of the described embodiment is a piece of paper. In alternate embodiments control sheet  102  may be any object which can be scanned by scanner  106 , including transparencies, cardboard, etc. Control sheet  102  displays information in a graphical form which may be detected by scanner  106 . In the described embodiment, this information takes the form of human-readable text. In an alternate embodiment, this information may be in a form other than a human-readable form, such as conventional bar codes. Control sheet  102  may be fed into scanner  106  either immediately prior or immediately following document  104  being fed into scanner  106 . Scanner  106  can include modes, selectable by the user, which indicate whether control sheet  102  precedes or follows document  104 . Alternately, information contained in control sheet  102  can indicate whether it is associated with the preceding or following document  104 . 
     FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for practicing the invention. The modules which make up the steps of the flowchart can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software or any combination thereof. Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, when scanner  106  scans  202  control sheet  102 , scanned control sheet information  108  is produced. Scanned control sheet information  108  is an electronic image of the graphical information displayed by control sheet  102 , and is stored in scan storage memory  112 . Scan storage memory  112  is a digital memory device which is capable of being written to and read from. Central processing unit (CPU)  114 , which can reside either within scanner  106  or outside scanner  106 , reads scanned control sheet information  108  out of scan storage memory  112  and interprets it using Optical Character Recognition (OCR)  206 . OCR is a conventional process by which human-readable graphical characters are converted into machine-readable digital information. These human-readable characters may be either handwritten or machine produced. Alternatively, CPU  114  may use other methods of image analysis to determine machine-readable digital information from scanned control sheet information  108 . Other forms of machine-readable information include bar-codes and dot-patterns. Such machine-readable information can include checksum information to increase the accuracy of the scanned control sheet information  108 . 
     The information extracted from scanned control sheet information  108  in step  206  is tentative identifier  124 . Tentative identifier  124  is used to determine the appropriate document identifier  126  for information from document  104 . Document identifier  126  is an identifier which is associated with a scanned document and with the location  120  to which the scanned document information  110  is to be routed. CPU  114  accesses  208  a list of existing identifiers  118 , each of which is associated with a particular location  120 . There are an arbitrary number, m, of existing identifiers  118  and locations  120 . In alternate embodiments of the present invention the number of existing identifiers  118  and the number of locations  120  may be different. For example, an existing identifier  118  could be associated with more than one location  120 , and a location  120  could be associated with more than one existing identifier  118 . 
     Each location  120  can comprise one or more of the following: a computer file folder, a computer file directory, and an entry in a database linking the location to information necessary to retrieve the scanned document information. 
     After accessing  208  the list of existing identifiers  118 , CPU  114  compares  210  tentative identifier  124  to the list of existing identifiers  118 , to determine  212  whether any existing identifier  118  matches tentative identifier  124 . If an existing identifier  118  does match tentative identifier  124 , document identifier  126  is set to that tentative identifier  224 . Otherwise, a fuzzy matching method is used  214  to determine whether any existing identifier  118  is similar enough to tentative identifier  124  to be considered a match. Fuzzy matching encompasses all non-literal matching methods. 
     An example of a fuzzy matching method which can be used is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,835 to Harry T. Garland et al., which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This fuzzy matching method compares two character strings and generates a “dissimilarity value,” which is a measure of how different the character strings are. In step  214 , a dissimilarity value is computed for each existing identifier  118 , as compared to the tentative identifier  124 . CPU  114  then compares  216  each generated dissimilarity value to a predetermined threshold, in order to determine whether any dissimilarity value is lesser than the threshold  218 . If no dissimilarity value is lesser than the threshold, document identifier  126  is set  220  to an identifier associated with a location for documents with unrecognized tentative identifiers. If there is an existing identifier  118  for which the dissimilarity value is lesser than the threshold, the document identifier  126  is set  222  to equal the existing identifier  118  with the smallest dissimilarity value. As illustrated in FIG. 3, tentative identifiers  124  which exactly or nearly match one of the existing identifiers  118  cause the document identifier  126  to be set to that existing identifier  118 . Those tentative identifiers  124  which do not nearly match an existing identifier  118  (such as “Walter” in FIG. 3) result in a document identifier  126  which is used for unrecognized tentative identifiers  124  (“Unrecognized,” in FIG.  3 ). All unrecognized document information  110  is routed to a location  120  for such “lost” document information  110 . In the illustrative embodiment, the threshold value is either a default value, or is set by the user of the system through a user interface. There are other methods known and available to those skilled in the art for performing fuzzy matching. Thus, any method for fuzzy matching may be incorporated into the inventive system. 
     After the document identifier  126  has been set in any of steps  220 ,  222 , or  224 , the document  104  is scanned  226  into scanner  106 , resulting in scanned document information  110 . As described earlier, this step  226  could instead take place prior to the scanning  202  of control sheet  102 . Scanned document information  110  is stored in scan storage memory  112 . In an alternate embodiment, scanned control sheet information  108  and scanned document information  110  are stored in separate scan storage memories  112 . CPU  114  then transfers  228  scanned document information  110  to the location  120  associated with document identifier  126 . There are many known methods for routing document information  110  to an identified location  120 . 
     The use of the present invention allows for scanned document information  110  to be centrally directed. For example, a worker may receive a work order for a particular job. This work order, while communicating to the worker what is to be done, might also include machine-readable identification, and be a control sheet  102 . After completing the job, which includes producing or retrieving documents which need to be scanned, the worker puts the documents  104  and the control sheet  102  into a scanning system which operates in accordance with the present invention. Because the control sheet  102  is specific to the job, it can route scanned document information  110  to a location  120  which is also job-specific. Such a system would be useful to persons such as insurance adjusters, who need to retrieve, scan, and store case-specific documents  104  which might already exist in paper form. 
     Because scanning is non-destructive, this invention also allows users to keep a few control sheets  102  for repeated use. One control sheet  102  could be for personal documents, while others might be client specific. Any time a document  104  in one of these categories is to be scanned, the appropriate control sheet  102  would be included, to ensure the scanned document information  110  is routed to the proper location  120 . 
     The above description is included to illustrate the operation of an exemplary embodiment and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims. From the above description, many variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art that would yet be encompassed by the spirit and scope of the present invention.