Image-based document processing system providing lost image recovery

Claim 1

In an image based document processing system for processing blocks of documents, wherein each block comprises documents having a predetermined ordered relationship, and wherein each document includes machine-readable data thereon, a method for sorting said documents, capturing images of said documents and for recovering images which become lost or unavailable after their respective documents are sorted, said method comprising: arranging each block of documents for sorting based on its ordered relationship; sorting a plurality of blocks of documents into a plurality of pockets such that the documents of a block are sorted into a plurality of different pockets, thereby disturbing said predetermined ordered relationship; said sorting including reading said machine-readable data on each document for determining the pocket to which each document is to be sorted; capturing images of said documents during said sorting; storing captured images so as to provide for retrievability based on said predetermined ordered relationship; deriving document identifying data during said sorting; also deriving document order data during said sorting indicative of said predetermined ordered relationship; determining a sorted block of documents in said pockets which requires reimaging because documents in said block are lost or unavailable, the documents in said sorted block being in a plurality of different pockets; collecting documents corresponding to said sorted block of documents from said pockets for resorting without reordering the collected documents into said predetermined ordered relationship, again sorting the collected documents while capturing images thereof and deriving document identifying data therefrom during said again sorting; and storing the captured images produced by the step of again sorting using the document identifying data derived therefrom in conjunction with the document identification data and document order data derived from the first sorting so as to provide for retrievability of the stored images based on said predetermined ordered relationship.