Patent EP0461622A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0461622A2
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EP
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Method and apparatus for storing and merging multiple optically scanned images
Assignee: National Computer Systems Inc
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Filing: 1991-06-12
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-06-12
Abstract
Abstract A method for storing multiple scanned images of a response-marked form document comprises scanning a copy of the form document on which no response information has been marked, using a scanning method that detects substantially all visual information present on the form document and produces a pixel image thereof and storing that pixel image data in a computer storage device. Additional steps comprise scanning at least one copy of the same form document that has been marked with at least one response mark that absorbs light falling outside the visible spectrum, using a scanning method that detects only the presence of light outside the visible spectrum and that produces a pixel image of said at least one response mark, then compressing that pixel image to reduce the amount of pixel data used to represent areas of the form document bearing no response marks and storing the compressed pixel image data in a computer storage device. The visual scan pixel image and the image resulting from a scan for response marks can be merged together to produce a signal image that is comparable in quality and appearance to an image from a single, conventional visual-mode scan.
Inventors
- 👤 John V. Mcmillin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 22:39
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09B; G09B7/00; G09B7/06; G09B7/066; G06; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/10; H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/41; H04N1/411; H04N1/413; H04N1/417; H04N1/4177
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
166 words
A method for storing multiple scanned images of a response-marked form document, comprising the steps of: (a) scanning a copy of the form document on which no response information has been marked, using a scanning method that detects substantially all visual information present on the form document and produces a pixel image thereof; (b) storing the pixel image data from step (a) in a computer storage device; (c) scanning at least one copy of the form document that has been marked with at least one response mark that absorbs light falling outside the visible spectrum, using a scanning method that detects only the presence of light outside the visible spectrum and produces a pixel image of said at least one response mark; (d) compressing the pixel image produced in step (c) to reduce the amount of pixel data used to represent areas of the form document bearing no response marks; and (e) storing the pixel image data obtained from step (d) in a computer storage device.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of: (f) for each response-marked copy of the form document for which a reproduction of the document is desired, decompressing the pixel data stored in step (e) to obtain the pixel image of step (c), and performing a pixel for pixel merge of the pixel images of steps (a) and (c) to produce a single merged pixel image; and (g) outputting the merged pixel image from the computer processing system.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 2 wherein step (g) comprises printing the merged image or displaying the merged image on a video display apparatus.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the scanning of the document in step (a) is done at a different pixel dimension resolution than the scanning of the document in step (c) and further comprising adjusting the pixel images of steps (a) and (c) with at least one scaling factor to resolve the differences between the two pixel dimension resolutions.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the scanning of the document in step (a) is done at a different pixel grayscale range than the scanning of the document in step (c) and further comprising adjusting at least one of the pixel images of step (a) or (c) in a remapping process to resolve the differences between the two pixel grayscale ranges.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the documents scanned in steps (a) and (c) contain at least three triangulation marks that are detectable by both the visual scanning of step (a) and the nonvisual scanning of step (c) such that the computer processing system can use the triangulation marks in step (f) to properly align the two pixel images.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the triangulation marks are used by the computer processing system to deskew the pixel image data from both step (a) and step (c).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) stores the unmarked form document in terms of one or more predefined areas of interests.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step (e) stores the response-marked form document in terms of one or more predefined areas of interests.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) further includes the step of processing the master form to a predefined grayscale index level to insure that blank information on the master form will prevail in a merge with overlapped blank information in the unique record information.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 2 wherein step (f) further includes the step of processing the pixel images of steps (a) and (c) to correct for optical distortion in the scanning steps (a) or (c), respectively.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the pixel-for-pixel merge uses a merge operator that selects the pixel with the darkest grayscale level as the surviving pixel, or selects the pixel from the response-marked document as the surviving pixel regardless of respective grayscale values.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of storing the merged pixel image in a computer storage device.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus for storing multiple scanned images of a response-marked form document, comprising: first means for scanning a copy of the form document on which no response information has been marked using a scanning method that detects substantially all visual information present on the form document and produces a first pixel image thereof; second means for scanning at least one copy of the form document that has been marked with at least one response mark that absorbs light falling outside the visible spectrum, using a scanning method that detects only the presence of light outside the visible spectrum and produces a second pixel image of said at least one response mark; means for compressing the second pixel image produced by said second scanning means to reduce the amount of pixel data used to represent areas of the form document bearing no response marks; and means for storing the pixel image data obtained from said first and second scanning means in a computer storage device.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
72 words
The apparatus recited in claim 14 further comprising: means for decompressing the stored pixel image data to obtain for each response-marked copy of the form document for which a reproduction of the document is desired, the second pixel image and performing a pixel-for-pixel merge of the first and second pixel images to produce a single merged pixel image; and output means for outputting the merged pixel image from the computer processing system.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the output means comprises a printer or a video.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
177 words
A method for storing multiple scanned images of a response-marked form document, comprising the steps of: (a) scanning a copy of the form document on which no response information has been marked, using a scanning method that is responsive to light of a first spectral range and produces a pixel image of those portions of the form document that absorb light in such range; (b) storing the pixel image data from step (a) in a memory device; (c) scanning at least one copy of the form document that has been marked with at least one response mark that absorbs light falling outside said first spectral range, using a scanning method that detects only the presence of light outside the first spectral range and produces a pixel image of said at least one response mark; (d) compressing the pixel image produced in step (c) to reduce the amount of pixel data used to represent areas of the form document bearing no response marks; and (e) storing the pixel image data obtained from step (d) in a memory device.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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