Storage management system for document image database

A method of managing the storage of documents in a document image database system, said documents having been converted into digital data files, comprising the steps of:

• providing as input at least one of said data files, said data file containing undifferentiated regions of both text and non-text;
• analyzing data within said data file to differentiate between at least two regions, said first region containing text and said second region containing non-text;
• modifying said differentiated regions in order to reduce storage size of said regions;
• compiling said reduced regions into a reduced data file;
• storing said reduced data file in said database;
• analyzing said reduced data file, whereby said analyzing is triggered by a condition within said database system to further reduce storage size of said reduced data file;
• and
• modifying said reduced data file according to storage preference rules, wherein said reduced data file is modified by storage reduction means for reducing storage size of said second region of said reduced data file such that storage size of said first region remains unchanged.

A computer-implemented apparatus for supporting storage management system for documents in a document image database, said documents having been converted into a digital data files, comprising:

• a database for storing said data files;
• an input to an analyzing module, said input providing as an input at least one of said data files, said data file containing undifferentiated regions of both text and non-text;
• said analyzing module coupled to said database for identifying at least two regions within the data file, said first region substantially containing text and said second region substantially containing non-text, said analyzing module partitioning said document into said regions;
• and
• a modification module coupled to at least one of said database and analyzing module for reducing storage size of said identified regions as a function of elapsed time.

A computer-implemented apparatus for supporting storage management system for documents in a document image database, said documents having been converted into digital data files, comprising:

• a database for storing said data files;
• an input to an analyzing module, said input providing as an input at least one of said data files, said data file containing undifferentiated regions of both text and non-text;
• an analyzing module coupled to said database for identifying at least two regions within said data file and for partitioning said data file into said regions, said first region containing text and said second region containing non-text;
• a modification module coupled to at least one of said database and analyzing module for reducing storage size of said identified regions of said data file into a reduced data file according to storage preference rules;
• and
• a scheduler module coupled to said analyzing module for triggering reanalysis of said reduced data file based on a condition within said system such that the second region can be reduced in storage size without reducing the first region.