GB2604092A - Method and apparatus for determining a folder path for a scanned image file - Google Patents

Abstract

Determining a folder path for a scanned image file S101, comprising: an optical character recognition module configured to perform optical character recognition on the scanned image file to determine one or more OCR block S102; a display configured to display a user interface including a plurality of selectable tokens (500, fig.7), said plurality of selectable tokens including at least one template token derived from the one or more OCR block S103; a reception section configured to receive, via the user interface, a selection of tokens S105; and a determination section configured to determine a folder path based on the selection of tokens S106. The selectable may be a system token (504, fig.7) or a separator token (506, fig.7). May also include a memory configured to store the selection of tokens as a rule, such that said rule may be used to automatically determine a folder path for subsequently scanned images S107.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING A FOLDER PATH FOR A SCANNED IMAGE FILE

[0001] Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining a folder path for a scanned image file. The present invention also relates to a program configured to confer the above functionality.

[0003] Background

[0004] When a user scans a document using a scanning device, a variety of options are typically presented to the user for the resulting scanned image file. For example, a user may be presented with a dialog box, either on a display on the scanning device or on a display of a computer connected to the scanning device, with which a user may perform one or more function, such as saving the scanned image to a destination location by specifying a folder path, or transmitting the scanned image file to another apparatus (e.g. over the Internet, or via fax transmission).

[0005] However, prior art methods of determining a

folder path for the scanned image file can be inconvenient for a user. For example, a user may desire to save the scanned image file in a location according to a predetermined folder structure (e.g. with higher level folders named according to information related to files stored within those folders). Such a predetermined folder structure may simplify and hence speed up subsequent document retrieval. In some folder structures, it may be a system requirement to name higher level folders and/or subfolders in accordance with information within the scanned

image file. In prior art methods, such

information needs to be extracted by the user (e.g. by reading the document) and entered manually.

[0006] In addition, when a user scans a large number of documents, the user may find it inconvenient to repeatedly specify a folder path for each document, as this may require a large number of user inputs (e.g. keystrokes or mouse clicks) and may also slow down the scanning process.

[0007] The present invention attempts to address some of the drawbacks associated with prior art methods of determining a folder path for a scanned image file.

[0008] Summary

[0009] Aspects of the present invention are set out by the independent claims.

[0010] According to a first aspect, there is provided an information processing apparatus according to claim 1. According to a second aspect, there is provided a method according to claim 10. According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program according to claim 19.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium according to claim 20.

[0011] Brief description of the drawings

[0012] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0013] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a system that includes a scanning device and computer connected to a server; [0014] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a computer suitable for use in the system of FIG. 1; [0015] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a server suitable for use in the system of FIG. 1; [0016] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an example of a scanned image file on which an OCR process has been performed; [0017] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a user interface in a first stage of operation; [0018] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the user interface of Fig. 5 in a second stage of operation; [0019] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates the user interface of Fig. 5 in a third stage of operation; [0020] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart that illustrates a method of determining a folder path for a scanned image file using the system shown in Fig. 1; [0021] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart that illustrates a further method of determining a folder path for a scanned image file using the system shown in Fig. 1.

[0022] Detailed description

[0023] Various embodiments, features, and aspects of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Each of the embodiments of the present invention described below can be implemented solely or as a combination of a plurality of the embodiments or features thereof where necessary or where the combination of elements or features from individual embodiments in a single embodiment is beneficial.

[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10. The system comprises a scanning device 12, server 14 and a computer (information processing apparatus) 16. In this application, "server" includes a physical server, an application server, a cloud service provided on hosted or virtualised servers, or a true cloud service. The scanning devise 12 is configured to scan a document, and to transmit a corresponding scanned image file to the server 16 as indicated by arrow A. In the example shown in Figure 1, the transmission of the scanned image file takes place via wireless internet. However, any suitable communication protocol could be used in other examples.

[0025] The computer 16 comprises a display screen 22 and a user interface 24. In the example shown in Figure 1, the user interface 24 is separate to the display screen 22. However, in other examples the user interface 24 could be integrated with the display screen 22, e.g. as a touch screen. The computer 16 is configured for two-way communication between the computer 16 and the server 14 as indicated by arrow B. In the example shown in Figure 1, the two-way communication takes place via wireless Internet. However, any suitable communication protocol could be used in

other examples.

[0026] In the example shown in Figure 1, the computer 16 is a laptop computer. However, any suitable device (i.e. any device capable of accessing a website) could be used in practice.

Examples include desktop computers, tablets and mobile devices.

[0027] The server 14 comprises a communication module 26, a processor 28 and an optical character recognition (OCR) module 30. In the example shown in Figure 1, the OCR module 30 is shown as a module separate from the processor 28. However, in some examples, The OCR module 30 could be integrated with the processor 28, e.g. as a processing section of the processor 28. The server 14 further comprises a memory 32 capable of hosting a website which is accessible by the computer through two-way communication B. [0028] In the example shown in Fig. 1, the OCR module 30 is a component of the server 14.

However, in other examples the OCR module 30 may instead be a component of the computer 16, with OCR being performed by the computer 16. In examples where OCR is performed by the computer 16, the OCR module 30 may be omitted from the server 14. In yet further examples, the OCR process may be performed by the scanning device 12.

[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates a computer suitable for use as the computer 16 of Figure 1. Figure 2 shows selected standard components that are present in client computers such as the computer 16. The computer 16 is an example of an information processing apparatus, and in the embodiment of Figure 1, it is a general-use laptop computer. The computer 16 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, a keyboard 204, a mouse 205, a display unit 206, an external storage device 207, and a network interface 208 which are all connected to each other via a bus.

[0030] The CPU 201 is a standard processor such as those available from Intel (RTM) or AND (RTM).

The RAM 202 is a conventional RAM and is used as a temporary storage area for instructions being processed by the CPU 201. The ROM 203 is a memory that stores certain applications such as a BIOS.

The keyboard 204 and mouse 205 form input devices for the computer 16 in a conventional manner. The display unit 206 is a TEl display for providing output display for a user. The external storage device 207 is a removable USB hard disk drive.

Network Interface 208 is a set of standard components that allows the computer 16 to communicate with the server 14. Such devices are well known in the art and may include additional components (video cards etc.) or other components.

[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates a server suitable for use as the server 14 cf FIG. 1. Figure 3 shows selected standard components that are present in servers. The server 14 has a CPU 301, a RAM 302, a ROM 303, a storage 304, and a network interface 305 which are all connected each other via a bus. It is possible for those components of the server 16 to be either distributed to multiple physical locations or integrated in a single housing. While the examples of Figures 1 and 3 describe physical servers, some or all of the services provided by such physical (e.g. local) servers may be provided by cloud services. Such services are typically accessed via the Internet. A cloud service can be considered a virtual server, due to the server functionality in fact being provided by any one of a plurality of online servers. Such a plurality of online servers is often referred to as a cloud, due to being located externally and remotely from the network. Thus, the computer 16 may be configured to exchange information with a cloud service. A cloud service can also be considered as a software platform that provides an abstraction layer on top of the server (physical or virtual) layer. This is often referred to as true cloud (rather than hosted or virtualised servers). True cloud software is written to run on a software platform and to request or release resources as required.

[0032] In the example of Figure 3, the CPU 301 is a standard processor such as those available from Intel (RTM) or AND (RTM). The RAM 302 is a conventional RAM and is used as a temporary storage area for instructions being processed by the CPU 301. The ROM 303 is a memory that stores certain applications for use by the server 16, such as the BIOS. The storage 304 is a hard disk drive. Network interface 305 is a set of standard components that allows the server 14 to communicate with the computer 16.

[0033] FIG 4 illustrates an example of a scanned image file 400 on which an OCR process has been performed. The OCR process may be performed by the OCR module 30 of the server 14. Additionally or alternatively, the OCR process may be Performed by the computer 16.

[0034] The OCR process obtains a plurality of OCR blocks 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414, 416 corresponding to various locations in the scanned image file 400.

[0035] In the example of Fig. 4, a first OCR block 402 is obtained at a location in an upper section of the scanned image file. The first OCR block 402 contains a company name that may be extracted from the first OCR block 402.

[0036] A second OCR block 404 is obtained at a location in an upper section of the scanned image file 400. The second OCR block 404 contains a telephone number that may be extracted from the second OCR block 404.

[0037] A third OCR block 406 is obtained at a location in an upper section of the scanned image file 400. The third OCR block 406 contains a fax number that may be extracted from the third OCR block 406.

[0038] A fourth OCR block 408 is obtained at a location in an upper section of the scanned image file 400. The fourth OCR block 408 contains an address that may be extracted from the fourth OCR block 406.

[0039] A fifth OCR block 410 is obtained at a location in an upper section of the scanned image file 400. The fifth OCR block 410 contains an invoice number that may be extracted from the fifth OCR block 410.

[0040] A sixth OCR block 412 is obtained at a location in a lower section of the scanned image file 400. The sixth OCR block 412 contains an email address that may be extracted from the sixth OCR block 412.

[0041] A seventh OCR block 414 is obtained at a location in a lower section of the scanned image file 400. The seventh OCR block 414 contains a serial number that may be extracted from the seventh OCR block 414.

[0042] An eighth OCR block 416 is obtained at a location in a middle section of the scanned image file 400. The eighth OCR block 416 corresponds to a main body section of the scanned image file. [0043] Various techniques may be used to obtain the plurality of OCR blocks 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414, 416, and to determine what information each OCR block contains that may subsequently be extracted.

[0044] For example, the OCR process may infer the contents of an OCR block from its location in the scanned image file. The first OCR block 402 and the fourth OCR block 406 may be determined to contain a company name and an address respectively, on the basis that such information is commonly located in an upper section of a document (sometimes referred to as a "header"). [0045] As a further example, the OCR process may involve prefix recognition. The second OCR block 404 may be determined to contain a telephone number due to the presence of the prefix "Tel:". Further, the OCR process may assume that a series of digits following the prefix "Tel:" corresponds to a telephone number, and so a telephone number may be extracted from the second OCR block 404 on this basis. Similarly, the third OCR block 406 may be determined to contain a fax number due to the presence of the prefix "Fax:". Further, the OCR process may assume that a series of digits following the prefix "Fax:" corresponds to a fax number, and so a fax number may be extracted from the third OCR block 406 on this basis.

[0046] As a further example, the OCR process may involve format determination. The sixth OCR block 412 may be determined to contain an email address due to the presence of the '@" symbol with a text string immediately on both sides of the "@" symbol. Further, the OCR process may assume that the text on either side of the "@" symbol, and the "@" symbol itself, corresponds to an email address, and so an email address may be extracted from the sixth OCR block 412 on this basis.

[0047] Similarly, the OCR process may distinguish between an Invoice I-Limber (in the fifth OCR block 410) and a serial number (in the seventh OCR block 414) using format determination. For example, the OCR module may be programmed to recognise alphanumeric strings of the format "AAA-111-111-111" as an invoice number, and alphanumeric strings of the format "AAAA-111-111" as a serial number. In this way, even though the fifth OCR block 410 and the seventh OCR block 414 contain alphanumeric strings with no prefix, they may nevertheless be correctly determined by the OCR process to contain an invoice number and a serial number respectively.

[0048] As mentioned above, the eighth OCR block 416 is determined to contain a main body of the scanned image file. In certain examples, the OCR process may determine that this section of the scanned image file does not contain any Information to extract for use as part of the invention (described in detail below). In some examples, the OCR process, having made such a determination, may not obtain an OCR block for this section of the scanned image file 400.

[0049] FIG 5 illustrates a user interface 500 in a first stage of operation. The user interface 500 may be displayed on the display screen 22 of the computer 16 when the computer 16 accesses a website hosted on the server 14. The website may be a file management section, in which scanned image files transmitted from the scanning device 12 are temporarily stored (e.g. using cloud services) until a file path is determined. The user interface 500 may be displayed following the selection of a scanned image file by a user.

[0050] The user interface 500 includes a folder path indicator region 502. The folder path indicator region 502 Includes a token display area 502A, in which selected tokens can be arranged in order to form a folder path for the selected scanned image file, as will be described in more detail below. [0051] The user interface 500 further includes a system token indicator region 504. The system token indicator region 504 is pre-populated with a plurality of system tokens, i.e. tokens that reflect information that is derived from the server 14 and/or the computer 16. In other words, the system tokens do not reflect information that is derived from the selected scanned image file itself. Examples of system tokens include a current date token 504A and a current time token 504B, which may be derived from a calendar/clock of the server 14 and/or the computer 16, to respectively indicate the date and/or time of data processing. A further example includes a device name token 5040, which may indicate a device name of the scanning device 12, the server 14 and/or the computer 16. A further example includes a user name token 504D, which may indicate a user name. Where the file management section in which the user Interface 300 is displayed is a secure section of a website that requires a user to enter log in credentials, the user name may be derived from said log in credentials (e.g. stored on the server 14 and/or the computer 16). However, the invention is not limited to these exemplary system tokens.

[0052] The user interface 500 further includes a separator token indicator region 506. The separator token indicator region 506 is pre-populated with a plurality of separator tokens 506A. In the example of Fig. S, the plurality of separator tokens includes "/", "\", "_", ".", ",", "&", "-", "+", and "*". However, the invention is not limited to these exemplary separator tokens.

[0053] One or more of the plurality of separator tokens may indicate an operation within a file structure of an operating system. For example, the separator token "\" may indicate the division of a folder into a sub-folder. As a further example, the separator token " " may indicate that a token either side of the separator token are to be joined together as part of a filename.

[0054] The user interface 500 further includes a template token indicator region 508. With the user interface in a first stage of operation shown in Fig. 5, the template token indicator region 510 does not contain any selectable tokens, but instead includes a preview selection button 510. If the user selects the preview selection button 510 the user interface 500 moves on to a second stage of operation, shown in Fig. 6.

[0055] The user interface 500 further comprises a save button 512 and a next button 514, the functions of which will be described in more detail below.

[0056] FIG 6 illustrates the user interface SOO of Fig. 5 in a second stage of operation. In the second stage of operation, the user interface 500 shows a preview 600 of the selected scanned image file. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the selected scanned image file corresponds to the scanned image file 400 described above with respect to Fig. 4.

[0057] The user interface SOO in the second stage of operation includes a plurality of selectable template tokens 602, 604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614. [0058] A first template token 602 indicates a company name, and is derived from the first OCR block 402.

[0059] A second template token 604 indicates a telephone number, and is derived from the second OCR block 404.

[0060] A third template token 606 indicates a fax number 606, and is derived from the third OCR block 406.

[0061] A fourth template token 608 indicates an address, and is derived from the fourth OCR block 408.

[0062] A fifth template token 610 indicates an invoice number, and is derived from the fifth OCR block 410.

[0063] A sixth template token 612 indicates an email address, and is derived from the sixth OCR block 412.

[0064] A seventh template token 614 indicates a serial number, and is derived from the seventh OCR block 414.

[0065] As discussed above with respect to Fig. 4, an eighth OCR block 416 is identified in the scanned image file. However, as no alphanumeric strings are detected within the eighth OCR block 416 that correspond to a template token, no selectable template tokens are set with respect to the eighth OCR block 416.

[0066] In the example shown in Fig. 6, each selectable template token is positioned next to the preview 600, and arrows are displayed which link each selectable template token to the respective OCR block from which each token is derived. However, in other examples, tokens may be placed directly on their respective OCR blocks. [0067] With the user interface 500 in the second stage of operation, a user may interact with the preview 600. For example, a user may interact with the OCR blocks to reposition and/or resize each OCR block. For example, the fourth OCR block 408 (corresponding to the 'address' template token 608) may include information that the user does not wish to include in a folder path due to the size and/or position of the OCR block 408. For example, the address contained within the OCR block 408 may include a country in its final line. To exclude the country from the 'address' template token 608, a user may reposition the entire OCR block 408 such that the final line of the address does not fall within the OCR block 408. Additionally or alternatively, the user may resize the OCR block 408 (e.g. by selecting and dragging a corner of the OCR block 408) such that the final line of the address no longer falls within the OCR block 408.

[0068] The above operation may be applied to any OCR block appearing in the preview 600. Further examples include repositioning/resizing telephone and fax number OCR blocks to exclude country/area codes. Yet further examples include repositioning/resizing invoice and serial number OCR blocks to exclude text strings erroneously included as part of the invoice or serial number.

[0069] FIG 7 illustrates the user interface SOO of Fig. 5 in a third stage of operation. In the third stage of operation, the user interface 500 substantially replicates the first stage of operation, but with template tokens selected by the user in the second stage of operation displayed in the template token indicator region 508.

[0070] In the example shown in Fig. 7, it can be seen that the user selected the selectable template tokens 602, 610 and 612, respectively corresponding to a company name template token, an invoice number template token, and an email address template token.

[0071] In the third stage of operation, system tokens, separator tokens and template tokens can be selected from their respective indicator regions and placed in the token display area 502A to create a folder path for the scanned image file.

[0072] In the example shown in Fig. 7, the user has selected a combination of system tokens, separator tokens and template tokens, and has arranged them in the token display area 502A to create a folder path of "company name" "\" "current date" "current time" " " "invoice number".

[0073] In the third stage of operation, a user may select the next bur_ton 514 to execute a save operation that creates folders in accordance with the folder path in the token display area 502A, and saves the scanned image file in the destination location specified by the folder path. However, before selecting the next button 314, the user may optionally select the save rule button 512.

[0074] When the save rule button 512 is selected, the tokens in the token display area 503A are saved (e.g. to a memory of the server 14 or the computer 16) as a rule for use with subsequent scanned image files.

[0075] In a mode of operation corresponding to the scanning of a batch of similar documents, a user may select a previously saved rule to be applied to all of the documents in the batch. In the example given with respect to Figs. 4-7, the saved rule would automatically derive the company name and invoice number from each document in the batch, derive the current date and current time from the from the server 14 and/or the computer 16, and apply the appropriate separator tokens to arrive at the folder path indicated in the token display area 502A of Fig. 7, and can automatically save each scanned image file of the batch to an appropriate destination location without further intervention from the user.

[0076] The above mode of operation has several benefits. Firstly, the time taken for scanning and saving of image files is reduced, as data entry by the user is automated through the use of OCR blocks, tokens and rules. Secondly, the reliability of the saving of image files is improved, as the user has fewer chances to incorrectly read data from scanned documents (e.g. an invoice number) and to incorrectly input data into the computer 16. Finally, as the scanned image files are saved according to a rule determined by the user, the searchability of saved image files is improved. For example, using the folder path used in the example of Fig. 7, a batch of documents saved using this selection of tokens as a rule can be easily found by searching for file names including the time and date when the batch of documents was scanned.

[0077] A method of determining a folder path for a scanned image file using the system shown in Figure 1 will now be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 8.

[0078] The method begins with step S101, in which a user places a document into the scanning device 12. The scanning device 12 transmits a scanned image file corresponding to the document to the server 14. The method then moves on to step 5102. [0079] In step S102, a character recognition process is performed on the scanned image file (e.g. an OCR process). The character recognition process may be performed either by the server 14, the computer 16, the scanning device 12, or a further device connected to the server 14, e.g. via the Internet. The method then moves on to step 5103. [0080] In step 5103, one or more template token is derived from OCR blocks identified through the character recognition process. Said tokens may be derived through inference (e.g. based on location on the page), alphanumeric string format analysis (e.g. word/number length, letter/number combination, etc.), context analysis (e.g. the identification of a prefix, such as "Tel:" or "Fax:", location on either side of an "@" symbol, etc.), or any other suitable derivation technique. The method then moves on to step 5104.

[0081] In step 5104, selectable tokens are presented to a user through a user interface displayed on the computer 16. The selectable tokens Include at least one template token derived from an OCR block in step 5103. The user may select certain template tokens to be Included in the folder path by selecting the tokens from a preview of the scanned image file, as discussed above with respect to Fig. 6. However, in other examples, the user interface may simply present all identified template tokens to the user in the token selection screen. The method then moves on to step S105.

[0082] In step 5105, the user selects a selection of tokens via the user interface. As shown in Fig. 7, the user may select tokens by placing selected tokens in a token display area, where the order of the selected tokens may be adjusted prior to saving the scanned image file. The method then moves on to step 5106.

[0083] In step 5106, a folder path is determined based on the selection of tokens received via the user interface. The computer 16 may need to create new folders in accordance with the determined folder path in order to arrive at the specified destination location for the scanned image file. The method then moves on to step 5107.

[0084] In step 5107, the selection of tokens received by the user interface is stored as a rule that may be applied to subsequent scanned image files corresponding to subsequently scanned documents in a batch scanning operation. It should be noted that step 5107 is optional. It should be further noted that in some examples (e.g. that described above with respect to Figs. 4-7) step 5107 may be carried out before step 5106, i.e. the selection of tokens may be saved as a rule for future use prior to the saving of the scanned image file.

[0085] A further method of determining a folder path for a scanned image file using the system shown in Figure 1 will now be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 9. Steps S101 to S107 are substantially as described above with respect to Figure 8, and so the description of these steps will not be repeated for brevity.

[0086] The further method shown in Figure 9 differs from that described above with respect to Figure 8, in that the further method includes an additional step 3108, which is executed between steps 5103 and 5104.

[0087] In step 3108, an automatic template detection process is executed by the server 14 or the computer 16. This process includes a determination as to whether the current document corresponds in format to a previously scanned document. In order to perform this determination, the server 14 or computer 16 compares metadata from the current document to saved metadata from a saved template corresponding to a previously scanned document (e.g. stored in a memory of the server 14 or the computer 16, optionally after the completion of step 5106 or S107). The comparison may involve the comparing of one or more type of metadata, such as metadata relating to the size and/or position of derived OCR blocks, metadata relating to the type of token determined to be related to each OCR block, the spatial arrangement of OCR blocks and/or tokens, etc. [0088] The automatic template detection process may return a result of YES when one or more piece of metadata from the current document is determined to match a piece of saved metadata from a saved template. In other examples, a result of YES may only be returned if a predetermined minimum number of pieces of metadata are determined to match pieces of saved metadata from the saved template. In yet further examples, a result of YES may only be returned when a similarity indicator exceeds a predetermined threshold. The similarity indicator may be based on a plurality of different factors, such as how many pieces of metadata match pieces of saved metadata, and/or the extent to which pieces of metadata match pieces of saved metadata, e.g. a piece of metadata may only be determined to 'match' a piece of saved metadata if a derived OCR block matches the shape and/or size of a previous OCR block within a given size/shape threshold, a position of the OCR block matches the position of the previous OCR block within a predetermined distance threshold, and the derived OCR block is determined to relate to the same token as the previous OCR block. Such processes may increase the reliability of the automatic template detection process. In all cases, if the current document is not determined to correspond in format to a previously scanned document, a result of NO is returned in step S108.

[0089] If a result of YES is returned in step S108, then the process skips steps S104 and 5105, and proceeds directly to step 5106. In step 5106, the folder path is determined based on an automatically determined selection of tokens corresponding to a set of rules associated with the previously scanned document, the template of which the current document was determined to match in step 5108. This has the benefit that no user interaction is regaired to save the current document using an appropriate folder path.

[0090] In an alternative embodiment, indicated by the dashed line in Fig. 9, the process may instead proceed to step S105, but with the selection of tokens pre-populated according to the set of rules associated with the previously scanned document, the template of which the current document was determined to match in step S108. This may give the user a chance to check that the determined folder path is correct for the current document before saving the document.

[0091] If a result of NO is returned in step 5108, then the process proceeds to step S104 and the method continues as described above with respect to Figure 8.

[0092] The above examples can also be realised by a computer of a system or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU or MPU) that reads out and executes a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described examples, and by a method, the steps of which are performed by a computer of a system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functions of the above-described examples. For this purpose, the program is provided to the computer for example via a network or from a recording medium of various types serving as the memory device (e.g., a computer-readable medium such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium).

[0093] While the present invention has been described with reference to embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the principal features of the present invention. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims (4)

1. Claims 1. An information processing apparatus for determining a folder path for a scanned image file, the 5 apparatus comprising: an optical character recognition module configured to perform optical character recognition on the scanned image file to determine one or more OCR block; a display configured to display a user interface 10 including a plurality of selectable tokens, said plurality of selectable tokens including at least one template token derived from the one or more OCR block; a reception section configured to receive, via the user interface, a selection of tokens; and a determination section configured to determine a folder path based on the selection of tokens.
2. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of selectable u_okens includes at least one 20 system token.
3. 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one system token indicates one or more of the following: a time, a date, a device name, a user name.
4. 4. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of selectable tokens includes at least one separator token.

   S. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the one or more separator token indicates one or more of the following: "/", "\", " ", "-", ",", "&", "-", "±", "*".;6. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the at least one template token derived from the one or more OCR blocks indicates one or more of the following: an address, an invoice number, a telephone number, a fax number, a serial number, an email address.;7. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the user interface includes a preview of the scanned image file, wherein a location corresponding to the one or more OCR block is indicated on the preview.;8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein one or more template token derived from the one or more OCR block is selectable by a user selecting the location indicated on the preview that corresponds to the one or more OCR block.;9. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising: a memory configured to store the selection of tokens as a rule, wherein the rule may be used by the 25 apparatus to automatically determine a folder path for subsequently scanned image files.;10. A method of determining a folder path for a scanned image file, the method comprising the steps of: performing optical character recognition on the scanned image file to determine one or more OCR block; displaying a user interface including a plurality of selectable tokens, said plurality of selectable tokens including at leas: one template token derived from the one or more OCR block; receiving, via the user interface, a selection of tokens; and determining a folder path based on the selection of tokens.;11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of selectable r_okens includes at least one system token.;12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the at 15 least one system token indicates one or more of the following: a time, a date, a device name, a user name.;13. A method according to any of claims 10-12, wherein the plurality of selectable tokens includes at least 20 one separator token.;14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the one or more separator token indicates one or more of the following: "/", "\", " ", 25 15. A method according to any of claims 10-14, wherein the at least one template token derived from the one or more OCR blocks indicates one or more of the following: an address, an invoice number, a telephone number, a fax number, a serial number, an email address. Fe, *16. A method according to any of claims 10-15, wherein the user interface includes a preview of the scanned image file, wherein a location corresponding to the one or more OCR block is indicated on the preview.17. A method according to claim 16, wherein one or more template token derived from the one or more OCR block is selectable by a user selecting the location indicated on the preview that corresponds to the one or more OCR block.18. A method according to any preceding claim, further comprising the step of: storing the selection of tokens as a rule, wherein 15 the rule may be used to automatically determine a folder path for subsequently scanned image files.19. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to 20 perform a method in accordance with any of claims 1018.20. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to claim 19.