Abstract:
Methods of processing incoming documents. The methods may comprise receiving a plurality of documents in electronic form and classifying each of the plurality of documents into at least one of a plurality of document classifications. The methods may also comprise extracting metadata from the plurality of documents. In addition, the methods may comprise executing a first workflow for processing documents classified in a first document classification selected from the plurality of document classifications and executing a second workflow for processing documents classified in a second document classification selected from the plurality of document classifications.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/825,367 filed on Sep. 12, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Many companies expend significant resources sorting, analyzing and directing incoming mail and other documents. For example, when mail is received, mailroom personnel must sort the mail, determine a recipient or recipients and direct the mail appropriately. In addition, mailroom personnel must handle exceptional mail (e.g., returned mail, mail not directed to a clear recipient, etc.). Because these tasks are often performed by humans, the cost to execute even these simple procedures is often great. Accordingly, there is a need for automation systems for handling mail and other incoming documents. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to methods of processing incoming documents. The methods may comprise receiving a plurality of documents in electronic form and classifying each of the plurality of documents into at least one of a plurality of document classifications. The methods may also comprise extracting metadata from the plurality of documents. In addition, the methods may comprise executing a first workflow for processing documents classified in a first document classification selected from the plurality of document classifications and executing a second workflow for processing documents classified in a second document classification selected from the plurality of document classifications. 
     In another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to methods of processing returned mail documents. The methods may comprise receiving a plurality of returned mail documents in electronic form and extracting metadata from the returned mail documents. In addition, the methods may comprise correlating a returned mail document selected from the plurality of returned mail documents to a first client account considering the extracted metadata. If the returned mail document comprises a forwarding address, instructions may be generated for re-sending the returned mail document to the forwarding address. Also, a status of the first client account may be updated. 
    
    
     
       FIGURES 
       Embodiments of the present invention are described below by way of example in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a flowchart showing a process flow according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a workflow diagram showing a process flow according to various embodiments; 
         FIGS. 3A-3E  illustrate screen shots of a user interface according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a workflow diagram showing a process flow according to various embodiments; 
         FIGS. 5A-5F  illustrate screen shots of a user interface according to various embodiments; 
         FIGS. 6-7  illustrate flowcharts showing process flows according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a workflow diagram showing a process flow according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a workflow diagram showing a process flow according to various embodiments; and 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a diagram of a system according to various embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and systems for handling incoming documents such as, for example, paper mail, faxes, etc.  FIG. 1  shows a process flow  100  illustrating a method, according to various embodiments, for handling incoming documents. At step  102 , an incoming document may be scanned to an electronic image. The document may be scanned according to any suitable method using any suitable hardware. For example, in various embodiments, scanners produced by OPEX and/or KODAK may be used. In various embodiments, scanning the document may also involve performing optical character recognition (OCR) to generate an electronic version of any text present on the document. Also, in various embodiments, for example, when the document is an incoming letter, the envelope as well as its contents may be scanned. It will be appreciated that some kinds of documents may not need to be scanned. For example, some faxes, e-mails, e-mail attachments, etc., may be received directly in an electronic format, alleviating the need for scanning. 
     At step  104 , the document may be classified, for example, based on a document type. The available document types may, in various embodiments, depend on the applications. For example, a system for handling incoming legal documents, such as the one described below, may classify documents as pleadings, complaints, subpoenas, etc. The classification may be based, for example, on text present on or in the document or, in various embodiments, may be based on a barcode or other indication present on the documents. At step  106 , data regarding the document may be extracted and stored. The data may include, for example, a recipient, a sender, an account number to which the information pertains, etc. The extracted information may, in various embodiments, be based on text retrieved from the document through OCR. 
       FIG. 2  shows a workflow  200 , according to various embodiments, for handling incoming documents. An incoming document may be scanned at KODAK scanner  202 , OPEX scanner  204 , or any other suitable type of scanner. It will be appreciated that scanning incoming documents may involve opening the documents and placing the documents on the scanners in batches. In various embodiments, the scanners may also be configured to automatically open incoming documents. At box  206 , an image enhancement algorithm may be run. The image enhancement algorithm may be any suitable algorithm for improving the quality of the scanned image of the document. At step  208 , the document may be automatically classified. The classification may be based on any suitable criteria. For example, the document may be classified based on extracted OCR text, a general pattern or shape of the scanned image of the document, a bar code present on the document, the position of certain text or symbols on the documents, etc. 
     If the document classification is successful, then the workflow  200  may proceed to step  210 , for example, as described below. If the classification is unsuccessful, then exception processing may be performed at step  212 . In various embodiments, exception processing may be performed by a human operator utilizing a user interface such as, for example, interface  300  shown in  FIGS. 3A-3E . It will be appreciated that, in various embodiments, exception processing may handle unclassified documents in batches. For example,  FIG. 3A  shows the interface  300  with a new batch button  302  and an open batch button  304 . Selecting the new batch button  302  may cause the interface  300  to create a new batch of unclassified documents. The new batch of unclassified documents may include, for example, documents that have been rejected at the automatic classification step  208 , but have not yet be considered by the interface  300 . Selecting the open batch button  304  may open within the interface  300  an existing batch of unclassified documents. 
       FIG. 3B  shows the user interface  300  with an open batch of documents. Field  308  may display thumbnail images or any other suitable indications of unclassified documents in the batch. Field  310  may show a large image of a single unclassified document. The operator may select the unclassified document shown at field  310 , for example, by selecting the indication of the document at field  308 , or for example, by navigating through the documents in the batch using buttons  312 . The operator may also manipulate the image shown at field  310 , for example, using the controls at field  314 . A scaling box  320  may include controls for changing the scale of the image at field  310 . An orientation box  322  may allow the operator to change the orientation of the image at  310  to a portrait, a landscape and/or rotations thereof. Additional settings at box  324  may allow the operator to manipulate the color, brightness, contrast, etc., of the image at field  310 . 
     When the operator has classified a particular document, the operator may indicate that classification at window  326 , shown in  FIG. 3C . For example, a textual indication of the classification may be entered at field  328 . Also, the textual indication may be selected from the list of possible classifications at field  330 . For example,  FIG. 3D  shows a image of an envelope at field  310 . The operator has selected the appropriate classification for envelope at fields  326 ,  328  and  330 .  FIG. 3E  shows an image of a tax form/1099 document at window  310 . Again, the operator has selected the appropriate classification at fields  326 ,  328  and  330 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , if the operator is unable to classify the unclassified document at step  212 , then the document may be re-scanned at step  214 . The process may then proceed to steps  206 ,  208 , etc., as described above. Also, if the document is found to be of an unsupported type, the document may be otherwise handled. For example, the document, or its scanned image, may be routed manually. 
     After classification, metadata regarding various documents may be extracted at step  210 . The metadata may be extracted, for example, by performing OCR on the scanned images captured by the scanners  202 ,  204 . In various embodiments, the metadata may be extracted automatically. It will be appreciated that, when a document has been identified as a particular type of communication (e.g., a particular form, a letter, etc.), it may be possible to extract specific information from known locations on the document. For example, when a document is identified as a tax form/1099 document, various information, such as, the name of the taxpayer, the account number of the taxpayer, that date that the form was originally mailed etc., may be extracted from known locations. Although the workflow  200  shows OCR performed after document classification, it will be appreciated that, in various embodiments, text derived from OCR may form some or all of the basis for classification. 
     Where the extraction of metadata of a particular document is successful, the workflow may proceed to export the scanned image of the document and the extracted metadata to a database or databases at steps  218  and  220  respectively. If the metadata extraction is not successful, then an operator may manually extract and/or verify the metadata at step  216 . The metadata extraction may be unsuccessful, for example, if the OCR fails to recognize any characters in an expected location, or if the OCR does recognize characters, but fails to do so to a predetermined level of confidence, accuracy, etc. The operator may manually extract and/or verify metadata, for example, through a user interface (not shown). The user interface may include an image of a document and an indication on the image of a region where the desired metadata should be. In various embodiments, the interface may also give an indication of the results of an OCR scan of the region, for example, if the OCR scan generated a result, but that result was unacceptable. After reviewing the image and the region, the operator may enter the desired metadata into the interface and the workflow  200  may proceed to steps  220  and  218  as described above. If the operator is unable to identify the desired metadata, then the workflow  200  may proceed to step  214 , where the document may be rescanned. 
     At step  222 , the image and metadata information regarding the documents may be used according to any suitable workflow. The type of workflow chosen may depend on the kind of documents considered. Exemplary workflows for handling returned mail and handling incoming legal documents are described below, however, it will be appreciated that any suitable workflow for handling any suitable type of documents may be selected. 
       FIG. 4  shows a workflow  400  for handling returned mail documents. As described, the workflow  400  may be tailored to pertain to documents that may be returned to a financial services firm such as, for example, tax form/1099 documents, confirmations, account statements, etc. It will be appreciated, however, that the workflow  400  may be adapted for handling returned mail documents in various other settings. In addition, the workflow  400  as shown in  FIG. 4  indicates the locations and/or systems where various steps are performed. For example, steps in row  402  may be performed at a mail-room location. Steps in row  404  may be performed in an auxiliary mailroom or address research location. Steps in row  406  may be performed by an interface between the workflow  400  and a system for maintaining client information for the firm. Finally, row  408  shows steps performed by the system. It will be appreciated, though, that various embodiments of the workflow  400  may have various steps performed at locations, and/or by systems, other than those indicated. 
     Referring again to the workflow  400 , undeliverable mail may be received at the mailroom at step  410 . It will be appreciated that, in various embodiments, the workflow  400  may be implemented to handle all or most returned mail, or may alternatively be implemented to handle only selected groups of returned mail. For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the workflow  400  is configured to handle returned tax forms/1099&#39;s, account statements, and confirmations. A rough sort may be performed at step  412  to identify physical mail  414  that does not fall into one of the selected groups. This physical mail  414  may be set aside for further analysis at step  416 . 
     The physical mail that does fall into the selected groups may be scanned at step  418 , for example, according to the process flow  200  described above. In various embodiments, the physical mail may be scanned in batches of like documents (e.g., tax forms/1099&#39;s may be scanned together). Also, in various embodiments, it may only be necessary to scan the envelope and the first page of its contents. Also, as described above, various embodiments may include extracting metadata from the returned mail. Example metadata categories may include, the addressee, the address that the mail was sent to, any forwarding address sticker that may be present, the type of form, the client account that the form relates to, etc. After scanning, the physical mail  420  may be stored. In various embodiments, the physical mail  420  may be stored for a given amount of time, (e.g., 30 days, 60 days, etc.). If the physical mail  420  has not been remailed or otherwise dealt with at the end of the given amount of time, then it may be destroyed. In this way, additional research may be performed on the mail, if necessary, but it may not occupy storage space indefinitely. 
     At step  422 , the scanned images of the returned mail may be correlated to a client account. In various embodiments, this may simply involve analyzing a client account number stored with metadata. Sometimes, however, the client account number stored with the metadata may be incorrect and/or the correlation may fail. In various embodiments, a human operator may review cases where the correlation fails and make corrections, if possible. At step  424 , it may be determined if the particular item has been returned to the firm more than once. If so, then a client information database (not shown) may be updated accordingly at step  425 , for example, according to one or more of process flows  600  and  700  described below. Also, information regarding the returned mail and the account may be forwarded to the branch office handling the account at step  427 . In this way, the branch office may be able to contact the client and obtain new contact information. 
     At step  426 , it may be determined whether the returned mail has a forwarding address. If it does, then an instruction may be generated and other steps taken to re-mail the document to the forwarding address. Regardless of whether the returned mail has a forwarding address, its image may be forwarded at step  430  to client information system interface  406 , which may update the client information database (not shown), for example, according to one or more of process flows  600  and  700  described below. 
       FIG. 6  shows a process flow  600 , according to various embodiments, for updating address information in a client database in response to a returned mail document. At step  602 , the date of the returned mail document (e.g., the date on which it was sent) may be compared to the date of the last change in the recorded address for the corresponding client. If the date of the returned document is older than the date of the last address change, it may indicate that the client&#39;s recorded address has changed since the mailing of the returned document. The returned document may be referred to exception handling at step  606 , for example, to verify that the client&#39;s address has changed since the returned mail document was sent and resend the document to the new address. 
     If the date of the returned mail document is newer than the last change in the client&#39;s recorded address, then the process flow may proceed to step  608 , where it is determined whether the returned mail document includes a forwarding address. If a forwarding address is included, then an undeliverable indicator describing the client may be updated at step  610 . If the client&#39;s account is marked deliverable, then the indicator may be changed to “pending undeliverable” and the date set to the current date. If the indicator is marked “pending undeliverable,” then it may be changed to “undeliverable” and the date set to the current date. If the client&#39;s account is already marked undeliverable, then no action may be taken. After the undeliverable indicator has been updated, various embodiments of the process flow  600  may involve requesting that the mail-room resend the returned mail document to the forwarding address at step  612 . 
     At step  614 , it may be determined whether the client account corresponding to the returned mail document is open. If the client account is closed, then its undeliverable indicator may be updated at step  616  (e.g., the indicator may be changed to “undeliverable”). At step  618 , it may be determined whether the returned mail document has been returned more than once. If it has, then the undeliverable indicator relating to the account may be set to “undeliverable” at step  622 . If the returned mail document has only be returned once, then the undeliverable indicator may be sent to “pending undeliverable” at step  620 . It will also be appreciated that, in various embodiments, the client information database may periodically update clients&#39; undeliverable indicators. For example, if a client&#39;s undeliverable indicator has been set to “pending undeliverable” for a given amount of time (e.g., six months) without being subsequently updated to “undeliverable,” then the indicator may be updated to read “deliverable.” In this way, if mail is returned a first time, but not a second, the client&#39;s undeliverable indicator may not be indefinitely set to “pending undeliverable.” 
       FIG. 7  shows an additional process flow  700  for handling linked client accounts (e.g., accounts having the same associated client address). At step  702 , it may be determined whether a given returned mail document corresponds to a linked account. If so, an indicator of the linked account may be returned at step  704 . If the linked account is a parent account (step  706 ), then the process flow may return to the child account at step  708 . The undeliverable indicator status of the child account may be determined at step  710 , for example, according to the process flow  600 . The parent account may have its undeliverable indicator updated similarly at step  712 . 
       FIG. 8  shows an additional workflow  800  illustrating various embodiments of a workflow for handling returned mail. At mailroom  802 , returned mail documents may be scanned into a document handling software package  804 , such as, for example, that available from CAPTIVA. The software package  804  may perform OCR and extract metadata, for example, as described above. The metadata may be forwarded to a digital mail workflow system  808 . Scanned images of the returned mail documents may also be forwarded to the digital mail workflow system, but may also be forwarded to an image repository  806 . 
     The system  808  may perform various steps for analyzing the documents, correlating the documents to client accounts, updating the client accounts on client databases  810 , etc., for example, as described above with respect to  400 ,  600  and  700 . Operators, for example, at address management location  810 , may handle exceptions encountered by the system  808 . It will be appreciated that when the system  808  determines that a clients undeliverable indicator status has changed, an e-mail may be directed toward the branch or branches  812  that handle the client. 
     It will be appreciated that various portions of the process flows  100 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  700  and  800  may be observed and/or facilitated by an operator.  FIGS. 5A-5F  show a user interface  500 , according to various embodiments, for providing an operator with tools to observe and/or facilitate the various process flows. At field  502 , shown in  FIG. 5A , the operator may execute one or more of the process flows for example, by selecting the appropriate button. This may cause the various process flows to execute automatically. A report of their execution may be provided, for example, at field  504  shown in  FIG. 5B . The report may list the number of returned mail documents that were successfully processed, and the number that failed processing, for example, because they could not be correlated to a client account. A field  506 , under tab  505 , is shown in  FIG. 5C . The field  506  lists information regarding any pending returned mail documents. The information may include, for example, a processing date  508 , a document type  510 , an account number  512 , a document date  514 , whether the document has been returned more than once  516 , whether the returned mail document included a forwarding address  518 , and links  520  to the scanned image of the document. When the links  520  are selected, one or more scanned image of the document may be displayed, for example, in window  522  shown in  FIG. 5D . 
     In various embodiments, field  506  may list returned mail documents that were not successfully correlated to a client account. In this case, the operator may view the images associated with links  520  and attempt to manually correlate the documents to a client account. In various embodiments, individual operators may select batches of uncorrelated mail documents and lock them. In this way, other operators may not be permitted to access the locked documents, preventing multiple operators from accessing or changing the documents simultaneously. 
       FIG. 5E  shows a search window  526 , according to various embodiments. The search window  526  may allow an operator to search the returned mail documents listed in field  506  according to various criteria including, for example, document type, processing date, document date, account number, etc.  FIG. 5F  shows an additional window for e-mailing or otherwise contacting a concerned individual regarding a client account whose undeliverable status has changed. The e-mail may be sent manually, or automatically upon a change in the state of a client&#39;s undeliverable indicator. The concerned individual may be any individual or computer system charged with responsibility for the client including, for example, the financial professional handling the client, an administrator, etc. 
     Various metrics regarding the performance of one or more of process flows  100 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  700  and/or  800  may be displayed, for example, in a user interface  900  shown in  FIG. 9 . The user interface  900  may display the number of returned mail documents by document type, time period, exceptions, etc. 
     In various embodiments, the methods and systems of the present disclosure may also be used to handle incoming legal documents. For example,  FIG. 10  shows a workflow  1000  for handling legal documents that are received without a specific valid addressee (e.g., legal documents addressed to a firm, a division of a firm, an individual no longer employed by the firm, etc. The workflow  1000  indicates a party or parties who perform various steps and/or a location or locations where documents are stored. For example, the steps in column  1001  may be performed by a mailroom. Steps listed in column  1003  may be performed by a legal department or law division. Column  1005  indicates a legal department document database. 
     At step  1002 , physical mail including legal documents may be stored. According to various embodiments, the physical mail may be stored only for a limited period of time (e.g., 30 days). At step  1004 , legal documents included in the physical mail may be scanned. In various embodiments, this may involve scanning the envelope, and all pages of the legal documents. As shown at step  1008 , it will be appreciated that legal documents may also be received by fax. Faxed legal documents may be printed and scanned. Also, in various embodiments, some legal documents (e.g., faxes, e-mails, e-mail attachments, etc.) may be received directly in electronic format, making scanning unnecessary. 
     At step  1006 , the received legal documents may be subjected to OCR and categorized, for example, using a keyword search. Based on the categorization, the legal documents may be dropped in to various bins  1010 ,  1012 ,  1014 ,  1016  depending on document type. Each of the bins  1010 ,  1012 ,  1014 ,  1016  may correspond to a particular legal document type. The contents of the bins  1010 ,  1012 ,  1014 ,  1016  may be verified at step  1022 . This step may be automated or, in various embodiments, one or more members of the legal department  1003  may have responsibility for doing so. If a particular legal document has been incorrectly categorized, then it may be determined whether it is actually a legal document at step  1024 . If it is, then the document may be re-routed to the appropriate bin  1010 ,  1012 ,  1014 ,  1016 . If it is not a legal document, then the document may be routed to a non-law bin  1018 . If a particular legal document has been correctly classified, then it may be determined which legal entity or department that it pertains to at step  1020 . The document may then be forwarded to one of bins  1026 ,  1028 ,  1030 ,  1032 ,  1034 ,  1036 ,  1038  and  1040  based on its legal document type, and the department or entity to which it pertains. 
     It will be appreciated that the various processes described herein may be implemented at a single location, or may be implemented by a company having multiple locations.  FIG. 11  shows a system  1100  for implementing the various processes across multiple branch locations. In the system  1100 , branch mail rooms  1102  may include personnel and equipment for opening mail, performing initial pre-sorts, and scanning mail. In various embodiments, the branch mail rooms  1102  may include a workstation or workstations in contact with a server or other computer of a hub location  1104 . The server may run a software package that facilitates scanning, OCR, and various other processing steps. The software package may be any suitable software package including, for example, CAPTIVA, and may be served to the workstations at the branch mail rooms  1102 . As mail is scanned at the branch mail rooms  1102 , the resulting images may be uploaded to the servers at the hub locations  1104 . The servers may execute the software package to perform OCR and potentially classification and metadata extraction also. The software package may also allow other operations to be performed. For example, the format of scanned data may be modified. 
     The scanned images, metadata, classifications, transformations, etc. generated at the hub locations  1104  may be transmitted to one or more central content management centers  1106 . There the data may be stored and archived, for example, using any suitable database or other storage mechanism. One or more software packages at the central content management centers may execute one or more of the process flows  100 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  700 ,  800  and/or  1000 . In various embodiments, the hub locations  1104  may also forward exception information to the location(s)  1106 . The exceptions may be handled by an address research team  1108  in contact with the location  1106 . In various embodiments, the address research team  1108  may perform other various tasks including, for example, managing aspects of the process flows  100 ,  200 ,  400 ,  600 ,  700 ,  800  and/or  1000  as described above. 
     According to various embodiments, the step  222  of the workflow  200  may include a workflow for processing incoming client correspondence documents. For example, client correspondence documents may be one of the classifications of documents described above. Client correspondence documents may be documents received by a firm from its clients or customers. In some settings, for example, when the firm is a financial services firm, it may be advantageous to monitor client correspondence for evidence of client complaints or other indications of irregular activity that may suggest a remedy by the firm. Electronic versions of the client correspondence documents may be searched for indications of client complaints or other irregular activity. For example, in one embodiment, the text of each client correspondence document may be compared to a list of keywords indicating complaints or other irregular activity. If any client correspondence documents are identified as containing indications of complaints or other irregular activity, they may be aggregated and reported to appropriate personnel within the firm such as, for example, the legal department, a manager, etc. 
     According to various embodiments, the workflow implemented at step  222  may include a workflow for processing new account documents. New account documents may include requests for new client accounts as well as other documentation relating to new client accounts. For example, new account documents may be one of the classifications of documents described above. Once identified, new account documents may be forwarded to appropriate personnel. 
     As used herein, a “computer” or “computer system” may be, for example and without limitation, either alone or in combination, a personal computer (PC), server-based computer, main frame, server, microcomputer, minicomputer, laptop, personal data assistant (PDA), cellular phone, pager, processor, including wireless and/or wireline varieties thereof, and/or any other computerized device capable of configuration for processing data for standalone application and/or over a networked medium or media. Computers and computer systems disclosed herein may include operatively associated memory for storing certain software applications used in obtaining, processing, storing and/or communicating data. It can be appreciated that such memory can be internal, external, remote or local with respect to its operatively associated computer or computer system. Memory may also include any means for storing software or other instructions including, for example and without limitation, a hard disk, an optical disk, floppy disk, ROM (read only memory), RAM (random access memory), PROM (programmable ROM), EEPROM (extended erasable PROM), and/or other like computer-readable media. 
     While several embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be apparent that various modifications, alterations and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the art with the attainment of some or all of the advantages of the present invention. It is therefore intended to cover all such modifications, alterations and adaptations without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.