System and method for archiving documents - Patents.com

Abstract

1. A device for digitizing paper, comprising: a control unit having a processor and memory; a digitizing scanner configured to receive paper, digitize the contents of the paper, and communicate the digitized contents to the control unit; and a program executed by the control unit configured to identify calibration marks or unique fingerprints from specific locations on the paper to be embedded in the digitized contents, the program providing a determination that the digitizing scanner is functioning correctly if the calibration marks or unique fingerprints are identified as correct or by identifying the type of paper being digitized from characteristics of the unique fingerprint.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for archiving documents, and more particularly to systems and methods for archiving documents, in which the system verifies that the documents are authentic to their source. [Background technology]

[0002] Despite technology and the digitalization of the workplace, paper use is still expanding on an annual basis. Global production in the pulp, paper, and publishing sectors continues to grow every year to this day. The majority of printed pages, both at home and in the workplace, are discarded as trash or through recycling, with the average lifespan of a printed piece being less than one day. Thus, the amount of waste is enormous, with over 700 pounds of paper consumed annually by the average American. Although paper is not considered a high-value commodity, the impact of this enormous amount on the economy is enormous, estimated at about 10,000 pages per office worker per year, not to mention the impact on forests worldwide, and the impact on the atmosphere.

[0003] Many businesses are aiming to become less reliant on paper, for example by working in a primarily paperless environment. This typically requires digitizing archives and converting new documents that arrive at the business into digital form. Such a process is costly and risks information loss due to scanning errors, for example by digitizing documents and discarding them only to find out later that the digitization process was unsuccessful.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 9,216,592, issued Dec. 22, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system and method for reprinting paper using an automated digitizing and erasing system for backing up, erasing, and reusing reinforced paper.

[0005] The ease of making copies of documents tends to lead to the general problem of having multiple copies of documents. Digitizing paper documents can reduce clutter, but still leaves the problem of having a database of data that contains multiple copies. Therefore, it is desirable to have a system that can also help with deduplication of paper documents, for example, providing a single digitized copy from multiple copies of a particular paper document. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 9,216,592 Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a device and method for digitizing paper content, where the digitized content is authenticated as being successfully digitized, and where the paper is output from the device to a different output tray in response to a successful or unsuccessful authentication. The authentication is based on scanning the document twice with two separate digitizing scanners and comparing the results from the two digitizing scanners to confirm that the digitized content matches the paper content. Alternatively or additionally, the device includes calibration markings that are digitized together with the document by the first digitizing scanner, and the calibration markings are authenticated to verify whether the digitizing scanner is digitizing correctly. In a further alternative, the device is programmed to identify the calibration markings from the digitized paper, or to identify a unique fingerprint from the digitized paper and / or identify the type of digitized paper from characteristics of the unique fingerprint. The paper digitization process is authenticated based on the identified calibration markings, unique fingerprint, and / or paper type identification.

[0008] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device may be preset to accommodate ordinary disposable paper or enhanced reusable paper. Alternatively, the device may identify the paper type based on the digitized content of the paper. In some cases, the device may select an output tray based on the success or failure of authentication and the type of paper.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device includes an ablation scanner (also referred to as an "ablation scanner") to erase the contents of the paper. Optionally, the ablation scanner is activated if authentication is successful. Optionally, the ablation scanner is activated only for reinforced reusable paper. Alternatively, the ablation process may be enabled regardless of paper type.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device may use an additional digitizing scanner to evaluate the paper after it has been erased by the ablation scanner, and optionally, an output tray for outputting the paper is further selected in response to the evaluation of the paper after it has been erased.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the device is configured to handle dual sided paper and digitize content from both sides of the paper simultaneously or sequentially without flipping the paper.

[0012] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, after digitizing a document, the device can compare the digitized document to previously digitized documents to remove duplicates or to preserve only changes to other documents that are similar.

[0013] Thus, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a device for digitizing paper, comprising: a controller having a processor and a memory; an input tray for feeding paper; a first digitizing scanner configured to receive paper from an input tray, digitize the contents of the paper, and transmit the digitized contents to a controller; calibration indicia that are digitized with each sheet of paper that is digitized by the first digitizing scanner or by a second digitizing scanner configured to receive the sheet of paper from the first digitizing scanner, digitize the contents of the sheet of paper, and transmit the digitized contents to a controller; a program executed by the controller to provide a determination that the calibration indicia were accurately scanned with each piece of paper digitized by the first digitizing scanner, or to compare the digitized content of the paper from the first digitizing scanner with the digitized content of the paper from the second digitizing scanner to provide a determination whether the content of the paper from the first digitizing scanner matches the content of the paper from the second digitizing scanner; Two or more output trays; Equipped with A device is provided in which a controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the determination.

[0014] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller identifies whether the paper is normal disposable or enhanced reusable based on the digitized content from the first digitizing scanner, the digitized content from the second digitizing scanner, or a predetermined parameter. Optionally, the device includes an ablation scanner configured to erase the content of the paper, the ablation scanner being activated by the controller based on the determination and based on the identification of whether the paper is enhanced reusable. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device includes a third digitizing scanner configured to evaluate the paper after it has been erased by the ablation scanner, and the controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the determination plus the evaluation. Optionally, the device is configured to direct the paper to a successful output tray if the determination is positive and the erasure is evaluated as successful.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device is configured to direct the paper to a failed output tray if the determination is negative or the erasure is evaluated as unsuccessful. Optionally, the device is configured to direct the paper to a shredder output tray if the determination is positive and the paper is identified as ordinary disposable paper. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device is configured to direct the paper to a duplex output tray if the paper needs to be processed on another side. Optionally, the first digitizing scanner and the second digitizing scanner include a pair of scanners configured to simultaneously or consecutively digitize both sides of the paper without turning the paper over. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the ablation scanner includes a pair of ablation scanners configured to simultaneously or consecutively erase both sides of the paper without turning the paper over.

[0016] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, accepting paper into an input tray for digitization; digitizing the content of the paper using a first digitizing scanner; digitizing calibration indicia with each sheet of paper that is digitized by a first digitizing scanner or digitizing the contents of the sheet of paper using a second digitizing scanner; comparing the calibration marks to predetermined marks or comparing the digitized content of the paper from the first digitizing scanner to the digitized content of the paper from the second digitizing scanner; determining based on the comparison whether the paper content from the first digitizing scanner was accurately scanned; and directing the paper to one of two or more output trays by a controller in response to the determination; There is further provided a method of digitization comprising:

[0017] The present disclosure will be understood and better appreciated from the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which: Identical structures, elements, or parts that appear in more than one figure are generally labeled with the same or similar numbers in all the figures in which they appear. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1A] 1 is a schematic diagram of a device for processing one side of a paper document according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 1B] 1 is a schematic diagram of a device for simultaneously processing two-sided paper documents according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flow diagram of a method for processing a paper document according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a device 100 for processing one side of a paper document. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the system 100 includes an input tray 140 for placing used paper 110 with embedded images, e.g., text or photos. The images can be embedded using a standard ink or laser printer 120 or other device. In some cases, the paper 110 can be a standard printing paper typically used in a standard ink or laser printer, or a reinforced paper that is ablation resistant and can be erased by an ablation process and reused, e.g., paper made from ceramic fibers or coated with an ablation resistant coating. The size of the paper handled by the device 100 can be a standard paper size (e.g., A4, letter, or legal) or can be user adjustable (e.g., custom size).

[0020] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, paper 110 from an input tray 140 is fed into device 100 for processing. In some cases, the device may use a conveyor 142 or other elements to transport the paper through various processing stations. Device 100 may also use rollers 145 or other elements to transport paper 110 from station to station.

[0021] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first station includes a digitizing scanner 152 that scans the face up side of the paper and converts it into digitized data. The digitized data is provided to the controller 102 and stored in a storage device 106 (e.g., a hard disk or other hardware for storing data). The controller 102 may be an internal computer, an external computer, or a processor and memory built into the device 100 that may also function as the controller 102 to instruct each station how to handle each sheet of paper 110 that passes through the device 100.

[0022] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first scanning station may include calibration landmarks 131 outside the width of the paper 110. The calibration landmarks are digitized along with the paper 110 to verify that the digitizing scanner 152 is functioning properly (e.g., by comparing the calibration landmarks to predetermined landmarks). In some cases, if the calibration landmarks do not appear correctly in the digitized data, the device 100 may determine that the digitization process has failed.

[0023] Alternatively, or in addition, the device 100 may include a second station, where the paper is scanned again by the digitizing scanner 154 and provided to the controller 102. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 102 executes a program 135 that compares the results of the first scan with the results of the second scan to verify that the contents of the paper 110 have been correctly digitized (e.g., if the two essentially match). In some cases, if there are significant differences between the first and second scans, the paper 110 is rejected. For example, the digitizing process may be interrupted and all papers 110 being processed may be removed, or only the particular paper 110 that failed authentication will be removed without further processing while the processing of the other papers 110 continues. Authenticating the digitizing scanning process reduces to a minimum the risk of erasing papers that were not correctly digitized (e.g., due to dirt, paper folds, or failure of the first digitizing scanner 152 or the second digitizing scanner 154). If multiple consecutive papers fail authentication, the device 100 will alert the device user that there is a problem with the digitizing scanners 152, 154 or with the paper 110 being scanned, for example if the paper 110 is of the wrong size and cannot be handled by the device 100.

[0024] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the paper 110 is pre-processed to include pre-selected calibration marks 133 (visible or invisible to the naked eye). In some cases, only one digitizing scanner 152 is needed. The device 100 uses the first digitizing scanner 152 to scan the paper 110 and certify that the digitizing scanner 152 is functioning properly by identifying the calibration marks 133 on the paper 110 and determining that they are accurate based on the pre-stored calibration marks.

[0025] Alternatively, or in addition, specific locations on the papers 110 may be pre-sampled to identify one or more unique fingerprints 137 for each paper 110 at specific locations on the paper, for example, by scanning a stack of papers 110 before it is used. Optionally, the unique fingerprints 137 may be stored in a database in storage device 106. When the pre-sampled papers are scanned, the results are analyzed by controller 102 to extract fingerprints 137 from the same pre-selected locations. It is then determined that digitizing scanner 152 is functioning properly by identifying that the fingerprint of the current paper 110 matches a fingerprint of a paper 110 previously recorded in the database in storage device 106.

[0026] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, specific locations of the paper 110 are analyzed to identify a unique fingerprint 137 of the paper 110 without having the paper 110 pre-sampled. In some cases, the characteristics of the fingerprint 137 provide an indication of the type of paper used, as opposed to the paper not being scanned or the digitizing scanner 152 malfunctioning, for example if the paper used is plain or reinforced paper. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the characteristics include the type of pattern made by the paper in a magnified macrophotograph, the thickness and geometry of the fibers, defects, interference between fibers, texture of the coated surface, and variations in opacity and brightness mottling, etc. In some cases, these characteristics are unique to each location on the paper and to each paper or medium used. These characteristics can be used to identify the presence of paper and the type of paper used.

[0027] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 102 determines whether the paper 110 has been scanned, what the type of paper 110 is, and the unique fingerprint 137 from the paper. Thus, if the paper 110 is erased and reused, the paper 110 can be identified in future processing as having already been handled by the device 100. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device 100 can count the number of times a particular paper 110 has been erased based on the recorded unique fingerprint. Similarly, the controller 102 identifies that the digitizing scanner 152 is functioning properly based on the ability of the digitizing scanner 152 to identify that the paper has been scanned and that a unique fingerprint has been identified. Optionally, the digitizing scanner 152 can also determine the size of the paper 110 (e.g., A4, letter, custom) based on the presence of the unique fingerprint 137 along the length of the paper 110.

[0028] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, if the authentication is successful, the paper 110 may be erased in a third station using an ablation scanner 190 that uses a light source 180 including optical elements (e.g., mirrors and / or lenses) to remove the image 110 on the paper 110. Optionally, the device 100 may include a counter 160 to count the paper 110, or the controller 102 may count the pages based on the digitization or erasure results. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the device 100 may include a blower 170 to dissipate debris from the ink or toner released in the ablation process. Optionally, after erasing the paper 110, a third digitization scanner 156 in a fourth station scans the paper 110 to verify that the paper 110 has been completely erased and / or to evaluate the condition of the paper 110.

[0029] Optionally, device 100 may be adapted to also handle double-sided paper documents by processing them twice, once face-up and once face-down, and taking into account whether they are in the first or second pass.

[0030] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a selector 165 directs the paper 110 to one of a small number of available paths. One path includes a shredder output tray 172 that includes a shredder or can be automatically fed to a shredder, a second path includes a failure output tray 174 for rejected paper 110, a third path includes a success output tray 176 for paper ready for reuse, and a fourth path includes a duplex output tray 178 to collect paper for inversion and reverse side processing. Optionally, the controller 102 tracks each paper to determine where it should go. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the output trays can be sealed vaults to prevent the paper from being tampered with while it is accumulated. For example, papers in the shredder output tray are protected before they are shredded, or papers in the duplex output tray are protected before they are reprocessed.

[0031] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, papers that are successfully digitized and successfully erased may be sent to a success output tray 176 for reuse. Paper that is successfully digitized but unsuccessfully erased may be sent to a shredder output tray 172 or to a failure output tray 174. Paper that is unsuccessfully digitized may not be erased and may be discharged to the failure output tray 174 for reprocessing or evaluation, such as to determine why the digitization process failed. Optionally, erased papers may be analyzed to determine the deinking level (e.g., according to Ingede deinking performance standards) and directed to an output tray based on the deinking level.

[0032] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 102 can distinguish between paper having a first side processed and paper having a second side processed. For example, when processing the first side, the paper can be fully digitized, possibly erased, and sent to the duplex output tray 178 for processing of the second side. Meanwhile, paper having a second side processed can be erased and sent to the success output tray 176 for reuse, or sent to the shredder output tray 172 to be destroyed or collected for recycling. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, plain paper can be collected for recycling and reinforced paper can be reused. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, plain paper can be digitized without erasing the paper and shredded after processing the second side. In contrast, reinforced paper can be erased after digitization and then placed in the success output tray 176 for reuse after being successfully digitized and erased on both sides.

[0033] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the results of the digitizing scanner (from digitizing scanners 152, 154, and / or 156) and / or the results of the ablation scanning (from ablation scanner 190) are processed by the controller 102 and provided as instructions to the user on the display. The user can then manually process the paper 110 based on the instructions instead of using the selector 165. For example, the user can place the paper in the correct output tray, such as the shredder output tray 172 or the success output tray 176.

[0034] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the digitizing scanner 152, the digitizing scanner 154, and the digitizing scanner 156 may be configured with different lighting parameters or resolution settings to verify that the required information is fully captured. Similarly, the digitizing scanners 152, 154 may be enabled to identify from the digitized data whether the paper is reinforced or plain paper, for example, by identifying special marks on the reinforced paper, by evaluating the result of the paper 110 after erasing with the ablation scanner 156 (e.g., plain paper may be marked or discolored), or by identifying the unique fingerprint 137 described above. Additionally, the user may inform the controller 102 which type of paper (reinforced or plain) is being processed so that the controller 102 can properly route the paper 110 to the output tray and apply the proper processing.

[0035] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the program 135 may include a database for organizing, storing, and retrieving documents to allow a user to search and recall documents by file, date, or other parameters from the storage device 106. Optionally, the documents are stored with meta data, which may include the identity of the user operating the device 100, the date and time of processing, a unique ID for each document processed, and a machine serial number to identify the device 100 that processed the document. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the data in the database is encrypted so that only authorized users may access the data. Optionally, the digitized documents may be digitally signed and / or formatted as PDF / A or other standards.

[0036] In example embodiments of the present disclosure, the paper 110 may include a unique ID embedded in the paper 110 (e.g., a watermark) or based on a physical property of the paper 110 (e.g., fingerprint 137). Optionally, the digitization process may record the unique ID of the paper 110 in the meta data of the digitized paper. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when comparing data from digitizing scanner 152 and data from digitizing scanner 154, the unique ID is also compared to verify that the same document was digitized. The unique ID may be in the form of a barcode, QR code, or other special pre-selected code or symbology.

[0037] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device 102 can instruct the processor to search for the same or similar version of the digitized paper 110 in a database in the storage device 106 to prevent storing duplicate copies of the paper document. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the database in the storage device 106 can be programmed to store similar documents by providing a pointer to a first copy and storing data reflecting the differences from the first copy instead of keeping multiple copies of the same or similar document. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the device 100 can be programmed to provide access to a group of paper documents based on content similarity, for example showing a user multiple documents that are slightly different from each other. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the device 100 can present a user with a group of documents that have similar symbols, for example all documents that contain a particular signature or a particular logo or header. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, multiple devices 100 can be linked together across a network and can allow a user to compare documents locally or across a network. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the documents can be processed by an optical character recognition (OCR) program to compare content.

[0038] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the program 135 can control the processing of each sheet of paper 110 processed by the device 100, such as turning on and off the digitizing scanners (152, 154, 156), the ablation scanner 180 for each sheet of paper, and can also control the selector 165 to control where each sheet of paper 110 is sent. In some cases, the ablation scanner 180 can be instructed what to erase and what not to erase based on the digitized data received from the digitizing scanners (152, 154), such as to erase certain colors, not to erase watermarks, and / or to attempt or not attempt to erase blemishes and dirt marks.

[0039] In some cases, the control device 102 may include input elements, such as a mouse and keyboard, and output elements, such as a screen 104 or a speaker, to provide information to a user and to enable the user to search for documents in a database or view the results of the digitization process.

[0040] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the program 135 may be provided on a non-transitory computer readable medium and installed on the controller 102. The medium may include CDs, DVDs, USB drives, and other types of portable media for transmitting data.

[0041] 1B is a schematic diagram of a device 200 for simultaneously processing two-sided paper documents. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, device 200 includes similar elements as device 100 and can be adapted to simultaneously or sequentially process both sides of a document without flipping the paper.

[0042] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, device 200 includes surface 144 and rollers 145 and / or other elements for transporting the paper from one processing station to another. Optionally, the first station includes a pair of digitizing scanners 152, 153 on either side of surface 144 and an opening 132 on surface 144 to allow for simultaneous or sequential digitization of both sides of paper 110, for example by having an offset between the position of digitizing scanner 152 for digitizing the top side of paper 110 and opening 132 that allows digitizing scanner 153 to digitize the bottom side of the paper.

[0043] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second station includes a pair of digitizing scanners 154, 155 on either side of the surface 144 and an opening 134 on the surface 144, allowing both sides of the paper 110 to be digitized as in the first station. The device 200 can verify that both sides of the paper 110 have been correctly digitized by comparing the results of the digitizing scans from the first and second stations.

[0044] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the third station includes two ablation scanners 190 and 192 on either side of the surface 144 and an aperture 136 on the surface 144 to erase the paper 110 as it passes through and is authenticated by the first and second stations. In some cases, the paper may be erased on one or both sides simultaneously or sequentially based on instructions from the program 125 in the controller 102.

[0045] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, after the paper 110 is erased, a fourth station including a third pair of digitizing scanners 156 and 157 and aperture 138 digitizes the paper 110 to assess the condition of the paper after it has been erased. Optionally, program 135 can determine where to send each paper based on the digitization at the fourth station, for example, based on whether the paper is clean, damaged, or poorly erased.

[0046] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, selector 165 selects three output options for device 200: 1. A shredder output tray 172 for feeding directly to a shredder to physically destroy the paper 110; 2. A failure output tray 174 for collecting papers that fail authentication; and 3. A success output tray 176 for collecting authenticated and successfully erased paper for reuse. The control unit 102 and the program 135 control the selection of one of the above.

[0047] Alternatively, the results may be provided to the user as an indication on a display by the controller 102. Optionally, the user can place the paper in the correct output tray based on the indication.

[0048] 2 is a flow diagram of a method 300 for processing paper documents. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the input tray 140 of the device 100 or device 200 accepts one or more sheets of paper 110 for processing (310). Here, the processing may include digitizing the content of each sheet of paper 110 and storing it in a database, for example, in the storage device 106. In some cases, the devices (100, 200) digitize the sheets of paper 110 at a first station (320). The device 100 digitizes one side of the sheet of paper 110 using a single digitizing scanner 152, and the device 200 digitizes both sides of the sheet of paper 110 using a pair of digitizing scanners (152, 153).

[0049] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first digitizing scanner also scans the calibration marks on the surface of the device to verify that the first digitizing scanner 152 is functioning properly, for example by verifying that the calibration marks match predefined marks stored in the memory of the controller 102. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first digitizing scanner 152 scans the calibration marks 133 from the paper 110. Alternatively, the first digitizing scanner 152 can identify a unique fingerprint 137 for each paper and verify pre-sampled fingerprints in a database in the storage device 106 to authenticate that the paper was scanned correctly. In yet another alternative, a specific portion of the paper is analyzed to determine a unique fingerprint 137 for that paper. In some cases, the type of paper is also determined from the characteristics of the digitization result. The scanning process is authenticated based on the identification of the paper type and / or the identification of the unique fingerprint 137.

[0050] Alternatively, or in addition, the paper 110 is transported to a second station in the device (100, 200), which again digitizes (330) the paper 110. The results of the digitization process (330) at the second station are compared (340) with the results of the digitization process (320) at the first station to ensure that the contents of the paper (e.g., a document) have been accurately scanned. If the results are essentially the same (350), a copy of the contents of the paper 110 is stored (360) in the storage device 106. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the results of the digitization process (320) at the first station are kept in temporary memory (RAM) until they are compared with the results of the digitization process (330) at the second station, after which the results of the first digitization process and / or the results of the second digitization process are stored in a database in the storage device 106.

[0051] However, if the results are not the same (350), the paper 110 is advanced (370) to a failure output tray 174 for inspection by a user. Then, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the device (100, 200) can stop processing to prevent mis-sequencing of the paper 110. Alternatively, the device (100, 200) can continue to process successive sheets of paper 110.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the device (100, 200) can identify the type of paper used and whether the paper is plain paper (disposable) or reinforced paper (reusable) based on the results of the digitization process in any one of the digitizing scanners (e.g., before or after erasure). Alternatively, or in addition, the user can select the type of paper in the control device 102. Optionally, if the paper 110 is reusable (380), the paper 110 undergoes an erasure process (400) to prepare the paper for reuse. However, if the paper 110 is not reusable, the paper 110 is sent to the shredder output tray 172 to be destroyed (390). Alternatively, the paper may be erased and the type of paper may be more easily determined based on the results, since plain paper would be burned or decolorized by the ablation process.

[0053] In the erasing step (400), the contents (eg, ink and toner) of the paper 110 are removed with a high intensity light beam that burns away the ink and / or toner particles, leaving a blank paper that can be reused.

[0054] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, after erasing the paper at the third station (400), the paper is transported to a fourth station where the paper 110 is again digitized (410) by a digitizing scanner (145, 146) to evaluate the condition of the paper after erasing. The device (100, 200) determines where to send the paper 110 based on the results of the digitization process at the fourth station. Optionally, if the paper 110 is clean (420) and ready for reuse, the paper 110 is sent to a success output tray 176 for reuse. However, if the paper 110 retains images or marks (not clean), the paper is sent to a failure output tray 174 for failure to pass the erasing process (430) or sent to a shredder 172 to be shredded for recycling. Alternatively, the device (100, 200) may provide a display of the results to a user of the device (eg, on a display), who may then arrange the paper accordingly.

[0055] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, device 100 and device 200 provide authenticated digital original documents that replace original hard copy documents. 1. Verifying the integrity of the digitized copy using an authorized digitizing scanner together with calibration marks or using two digitizing scanners, or using a digitizing scanner programmed to identify the calibration marks 133 on the paper 110 or to identify the paper type and / or the unique fingerprint 137 of the paper 110; 2. Verifying the deletions on the original hard copy using a digitizing scanner; 3. Recording together with the digitised document meta data identifying the identity of the user who carried out the digitisation process (e.g. based on a password or biometric data) and possibly other meta data such as the time of processing; 4. Optionally, recording and / or verifying a unique ID image embedded in the document (e.g., watermark, QR code, paper finger print based on fiber orientation), and 5. Record the authentication process on an immutable blockchain ledger and / or store it in an immutable file format. Offered by.

[0056] In some cases, some or all of the above may serve to establish certified digital originals that replace hard-copy originals.

[0057] It should be understood that the above methods and apparatus can be modified in many ways, including removing or adding steps, changing the order of steps, and changing the type of device used. It should be understood that various features can be combined in various ways. In particular, not all of the features illustrated above in a particular embodiment are required for every embodiment of the present disclosure. Further combinations of the above features are also considered to be within the scope of some embodiments of the present disclosure. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to what has been specifically shown and described above, but rather is defined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A device for digitizing paper containing image content, comprising: a controller having a processor and a memory; a digitizing scanner configured to receive paper, digitize the image content of the paper, and communicate the digitized content to the controller; a program executed by the controller configured to determine whether the digitizing scanner is functioning properly by identifying information in the digitized content; The information is a. calibration marks from a particular location on the paper by a digitizing scanner that matches a pre-stored calibration mark; or b. A unique fingerprint from a particular location on the paper that matches a unique fingerprint previously obtained and stored from the paper; or c. A unique fingerprint that allows identification of the type of digitized paper from the characteristics of the unique fingerprint; Including, A device, wherein the calibration indicia are formed by pre-treating paper to include an embedded image, and the unique fingerprint is based on a microscopic image of a pre-selected location on the paper.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the controller provides a result of the determination on a display.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device includes two or more output trays, and the controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the determination.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the unique fingerprint is stored in a database for uniquely identifying the paper when it is processed by the device in the future.

5. The device of claim 1 , configured to track the number of times a particular piece of paper has been erased based on the unique fingerprint.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the controller identifies whether the paper type is regular disposable or enhanced reusable.

7. 7. The device of claim 6, further comprising an ablation scanner configured to erase the contents of the paper, the ablation scanner being activated by the controller based on the determination and based on identifying whether the paper is enhanced reusable.

8. 8. The device of claim 7, further comprising a separate digitizing scanner configured to evaluate the paper after it has been erased by the ablation scanner, and wherein the controller updates the determination based on the evaluation.

9. A method for digitizing paper containing image content by a device having a control device, comprising: receiving paper for digitization by said device; digitizing the image content of the paper using a digitizing scanner controlled by the controller; determining, by a program executed by the controller, that the digitizing scanner is functioning properly by identifying information in the digitized content; Including, The information is a. calibration marks from a particular location on the paper by a digitizing scanner that matches a pre-stored calibration mark; or b. A unique fingerprint from a particular location on the paper that matches a unique fingerprint previously obtained and stored from the paper; or c. A unique fingerprint that allows identification of the type of digitized paper from the characteristics of the unique fingerprint; Including, A method wherein the calibration indicia are formed by pre-treating paper to contain an embedded image, and the unique fingerprint is based on a microscopic image of a pre-selected location on the paper.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the controller provides the result of the determination on a display device.

11. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the device includes two or more output trays, and the controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the determination.

12. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the unique fingerprint is stored in a database for uniquely identifying the paper when it is future processed by the method.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the device tracks the number of times a particular paper has been erased based on the unique fingerprint.

14. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the controller identifies whether the paper type is regular disposable or enhanced reusable.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising an ablation scanner configured to erase the content of the paper, the ablation scanner being activated by the controller based on the determination and based on identifying whether the paper is enhanced reusable.

16. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising a separate digitizing scanner configured to evaluate the paper after it has been erased by the ablation scanner, and wherein the controller updates the determination based on the evaluation.

17. 1. A device for digitizing paper containing image content, comprising: a controller having a processor and a memory; an input tray for feeding paper; a first digitizing scanner configured to receive paper from the input tray, digitize image content of the paper, and communicate the digitized content to the controller; calibration indicia that are digitized with each sheet of paper that is digitized by the first digitizing scanner or a second digitizing scanner configured to receive the sheet of paper from the first digitizing scanner, digitize the contents of the sheet of paper, and communicate the digitized contents to the controller; a program executed by said controller to provide a determination that the calibration indicia were accurately scanned with each paper sheet digitized by said first digitizing scanner, or to compare the digitized content of the paper sheet from said first digitizing scanner with the digitized content of the paper sheet from said second digitizing scanner to provide a determination whether the content of the paper sheet from said first digitizing scanner matches the content of the paper sheet from said second digitizing scanner; Two or more output trays; Equipped with The device, wherein the controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the determination.

18. 20. The device of claim 17, wherein the controller identifies whether the paper is regular disposable or enhanced reusable based on the digitized content from the first digitizing scanner, the digitized content from the second digitizing scanner, or predetermined parameters for identifying the type of paper.

19. 20. The device of claim 18, further comprising an ablation scanner configured to erase the contents of the paper, the ablation scanner being activated by the controller based on the determination and based on identifying whether the paper is enhanced reusable.

20. 20. The device of claim 19, further comprising a third digitizing scanner configured to evaluate the paper after it has been erased by the ablation scanner, and wherein the controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the evaluation in addition to the determination.

21. 21. The device of claim 20, configured to direct the paper to a success output tray if the determination is positive and the erasure is evaluated as successful.

22. 21. The device of claim 20, configured to direct the paper to a failure output tray if the determination is negative or the erasure is assessed as unsuccessful.

23. 21. The device of claim 20, configured to direct the paper to a shredder output tray if the determination is positive and the paper is identified as ordinary disposable paper.

24. 21. The device of claim 20, configured to direct paper to a duplex output tray if the paper needs to be processed on another side.

25. 20. The device of claim 17, wherein the first digitizing scanner and the second digitizing scanner comprise a pair of scanners configured to digitize both sides of the paper simultaneously or sequentially without flipping the paper.

26. 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the ablation scanner comprises a pair of ablation scanners configured to erase both sides of the paper simultaneously or sequentially without flipping the paper.

27. A method for digitizing paper containing image content by a device having a control device, comprising: accepting paper into an input tray for digitization by said device; digitizing image content of the paper using a first digitizing scanner controlled by the controller; digitizing calibration indicia with each sheet of paper digitized by the first digitizing scanner or digitizing the contents of the sheet of paper using a second digitizing scanner controlled by the controller; comparing the calibration marks to predetermined marks or comparing the digitized content of the paper from the first digitizing scanner with the digitized content of the paper from the second digitizing scanner; determining whether the contents of the paper from the first digitizing scanner were accurately scanned based on the comparison; and directing the paper to one of two or more output trays with the controller in response to the determination; A method comprising:

28. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the control device identifies whether the paper is regular disposable or enhanced reusable based on the digitized content from the first digitizing scanner, the digitized content from the second digitizing scanner, or predetermined parameters for identifying the type of paper.

29. 30. The method of claim 28, further comprising an ablation scanner configured to erase the contents of the paper, the ablation scanner being activated by the controller based on the determination and based on identifying whether the paper is enhanced reusable.

30. 30. The method of claim 29, further comprising a third digitizing scanner configured to evaluate the paper after it has been erased by the ablation scanner, and wherein the controller directs the paper to one of the output trays based on the evaluation in addition to the determination.

31. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the device is configured to direct the paper to a success output tray if the determination is positive and the erasure is evaluated as successful.

32. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the device is configured to direct the paper to a failure output tray if the determination is negative or the erasure is assessed as unsuccessful.

33. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the device is configured to direct the paper to a shredder output tray if the determination is positive and the paper is identified as ordinary disposable paper.

34. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the device is configured to direct the paper to a duplex output tray if the paper needs to be processed on another side.

35. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first digitizing scanner and the second digitizing scanner comprise a pair of scanners configured to digitize both sides of the paper simultaneously or sequentially without flipping the paper.

36. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the ablation scanner comprises a pair of ablation scanners configured to erase both sides of the paper simultaneously or sequentially without flipping the paper.

Images