Abstract:
The present disclosure provides a system and method for providing an improved system and method for document imaging management.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is not related to any pending application. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to document management and, more particularly, to a method and system for management of document images. 
     There are several document management systems available, but none of the available systems efficiently manage document imaging. 
     Therefore, what is needed, is a system and method that provides an improved system and method for document imaging management. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure provides a system and method that provides an improved system and method for document imaging management. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown herein. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
       The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts. For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1-5  are example dialog boxes used in the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a chart of an initiation process of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a chart of a reservation creation for the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a chart of a monitoring process for the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present disclosure can be described by the embodiments given below. It is understood, however, that the embodiments below are not necessarily limitations to the present disclosure, but are used to describe a typical implementation of the invention. 
     Example dialogs are described through  FIGS. 1-5  and in general terms, but then later illustrated in greater detail through  FIGS. 6-8  and the associated description. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a blank reservation creation form  10  that is to be used by a user to create a reservation for a location of a later to be scanned image. Another reservation creation form  20  is illustrated with example text listing a title, a billing code and an amount of pages. 
       FIGS. 2-5  illustrate a few options within the invention.  FIG. 2  is an example configuration dialog  30 , while  FIG. 3  is an example error report  40 . In addition,  FIG. 4  is an example billing report dialog  50 . Moreover,  FIG. 5  is an example of a usage report dialog  60 . 
     In order to illustrate greater detail of the invention, the system of the invention is now described through a number of flow diagrams. The system includes a monitor process and a client process. The monitor process and the client process are loaded on a client computer. Now referring to  FIG. 6 , a user first creates a new document reservation as indicated in module  100 . The client process then passes a local path variable as shown in module  102 . The client process then retrieves variables stored in the Microsoft Windows Registry as shown in module  104 . The client process then checks to see if this is the first time the process has been used  106 . If the client process has been configured, the system then proceeds to module  108  and determines if a billing code exists for the path variable. If the client process has not been configured, the system then proceeds to module  112  and allows the user to configure the client process. Now turning back to module  108 , the software displays a form. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a flow for creating a reservation. The client process first starts by the User filling out a reservation form as shown in module  200 . The client process then checks to see if a title was supplied as shown in module  202 . If a title was not supplied, the client process then goes back to module  200  for the User to fill out the title. If the title was supplied, the client process then proceeds to check if a billing code that the User entered earlier is new as shown in module  204 . If the billing code is new, the client process associates the billing code with the local path variable as shown in module  206  and proceeds to create a new reservation record in the reservation database as shown in module  208 . If the billing code is not new, the client process then proceeds to create a new reservation record in the reservation database as shown in module  208 . The client process then checks to see if a record was created in the database as shown in module  210 . If a record was not created, the client process records the error in the database as shown in module  212  and informs the user of the error as shown in module  214 . If a record was created, the client process then proceeds to create a barcode as shown in module  216 . The client process then prints a label or document cover sheet with the barcode as shown in module  218 , and then proceeds to close the dialog as shown in module  220 . 
     Now turning to  FIG. 8 , the monitor process first determines if a file exists as indicated in module  300 . If the file does not exist, the monitor process periodically checks until it finds one. Once a file is found, the monitor process then proceeds to open the file as shown in module  302 . The process then checks to see if it&#39;s a TIFF or PDF image file as shown in module  304 . If the file is a valid format, then the process proceeds to check if a barcode exists for the file as shown in module  306 . If a barcode exists, the process then proceeds to split the image file into separate documents at each barcode as shown in module  308 . The barcode value is read as shown in module  310 . The process then proceeds to query the reservation database and find the record for the associated barcode as shown in module  312 . The process then checks to see if a reservation exists for the barcode value as shown in module  314 . The process then proceeds to generate a PDF file as shown in module  312 . The process then determines if the page count created in the reservation matches the actual pages of the image file as shown in  316 . If the page count is correct, the image file is converted to PDF as shown in module  318 . The process then moves the file to the client computer using the reservation&#39;s path variable as shown in module  320 . If the page count is incorrect, the process creates a record in the error database as shown in module  322 , and sends the image file to the orphans folder as shown in module  324 . If no reservation exists for a barcode, the process creates a record in the error database as shown in module  322 , and sends the image file to the orphans folder as shown in module  324 . If no barcode exists, the process creates a record in the error database as shown in module  322 , and sends the image file to the orphans folder as shown in module  324 . If the file is not a valid TIFF or PDF, the process creates a record in the error database as shown in module  322 , and sends the image file to the orphans folder as shown in module  324 . 
     It is understood that several modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.