EP0463471A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Image processing system for documentary data
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 extracting information from a document bearing (a) first indicia detectable in a first scan mode, using light in a first spectral range, but not detectable in a second scan mode, using light outside the first spectral range, and (b) second indicia detectable in either the first scan mode or second scan mode, where the second indicia represent information encoded in one or more forms decodable by automated symbol recognition resources, comprise several steps. One or more areas of interest on the document are defined in which the second indicia may appear, with the definition including information specifying the form of encoding for the second indicia. The document is scanned in the second mode, using a scanner that produces a pixel image of the indicia detected and the resulting pixel data are stored in a memory device. An area of interest is selected from those defined for the document and the pixel image of that area of interest is processed with an automated symbol recognition resource suitable for the form of encoding specified for the second indicia in the selected area of interest to produce one or more output records incorporating symbol information representative of the second indicia.
Inventors
- 👤 Kenneth M. Keogh
- 👤 John V. Mcmillin
- 👤 Gary J. Gustafson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 01:33
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F15/00; G09; G09B; G09B7/00; G09B7/06; G09B7/066; G06F40/00; G06F40/10; G06F40/166; G06F40/174; G06K; G06K17/00; G06K7/00; G06K7/10; G06K7/12; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/10; G06V10/12; G06V10/14; G06V10/143
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
209 words
A method for extracting information from a document bearing first indicia detectable in a first scan mode using light in a first spectral range but not detectable in a second scan mode using light outside the first spectral range and bearing second indicia detectable in either said first scan mode or second scan mode, said second indicia representing information encoded in one or more forms decodable by automated symbol recognition resources, said method comprising the steps of: (a) defining one or more areas of interest on said document in which said second indicia may appear, said definition including information specifying the form of encoding for said second indicia; (b) scanning said document in said second mode, using a scanner that produces a pixel image of the indicia detected; (c) storing the pixel data obtained from step (b) in a memory device; (d) selecting an area of interest from those defined for said document and processing the pixel image of said area of interest with an automated symbol recognition resource suitable for the form of encoding specified for the second indicia in the selected area of interest; and (e) producing one or more output records incorporating symbol information representative of the second indicia produced by the processing of step (d).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting and processing the pixel image of an area of interest comprises determining whether the area of interest contains any of said second indicia and processing the pixel image for the area of interest only when it contains said second indicia.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of transmitting a pixel image of each area of interest containing said second indicia to a visual display for editorial intervention.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting and processing an area of interest comprises processing with one of the following automated symbol recognition resource selected from the group consisting of: a bar code reader, an optical mark reader, a font OCR reader, a reader of handprinted numeric data and a reader of handprinted alphanumeric data.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: (f) scanning a copy of said document containing only said first indicia in said first mode, using a scanner that produces a pixel image of the first indicia detected; and (g) storing the pixel data obtained from step (f) in a memory device.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of transmitting a pixel image of at least one area of interest containing said second indicia to a visual display for editorial intervention.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 6 further comprising: for said at least one area of interest to be transmitted to the visual display, performing a pixel-for-pixel merge of the pixel image of steps (b) and (f) to produce a single merged pixel image containing both first and second indicia within said at least one area of interest.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 7 further comprising: (h) determining whether the automated symbol recognition resource that processes each area of interest has successfully produced symbol information representative of the second indicia; and (i) transmitting to the visual display a single merged pixel image for each area of interest for which the automated symbol recognition resource has failed to produce symbol information representative of the second indicia.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 7 further comprising the steps of: before performing step (c), compressing the pixel image produced in step (b) to reduce the amount of pixel data used to represent areas of the document bearing no indicia detectable in said second mode; and before performing said pixel-for-pixel merge, decompressing the pixel data stored in step (c) to obtain the pixel image of step (b).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
218 words
Apparatus for extracting information from a document bearing first indicia detectable in a first scan mode using light in a first spectral range but not detectable in a second scan mode using light outside the first spectral range and bearing second indicia detectable in either said first scan mode or second scan mode, said second indicia representing information encoded in one or more forms decodable by automated symbol recognition resources, said method comprises: (a) means for defining one or more areas of interest on said document in which said second indicia may appear, said definition including information specifying the form of encoding for said second indicia; (b) means for scanning said document in said second mode, using a scanner that produces a first pixel image of the indicia detected; (c) means for storing the pixel data from the first pixel image in a memory device; (d) means for selecting an area of interest from those defined for said document and processing the first pixel image of said area of interest with the automated symbol recognition resource suitable for the form of encoding specified for the second indicia in the selected area of interest; and (e) means for producing one or more output records incorporating symbol information representative of the second indicia produced by the processing of step (d).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising means for compressing the first pixel image to reduce the amount of pixel data used to represent areas of the document bearing no indicia detectable in said second mode.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for selecting and processing the pixel image of an area of interest comprises means for determining whether the area of interest contains any of said second indicia and means for processing the pixel image for the area of interest only when it contains said second indicia.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising means for transmitting a pixel image of each area of interest containing said second indicia to a visual display for editorial intervention.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the means for selecting and processing an area of interest comprises means for processing with automated symbol recognition resource selected from the group consisting of: a bar code reader, an optical mark reader, a font OCR reader, a reader of handprinted numeric data and a reader of handprinted alphanumeric data.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising: means for scanning a copy of said document containing only said first indicia in said first mode, using a scanner that produces a second pixel image of the first indicia detected; and means for storing the pixel data from the second pixel image in a computer storage device.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
55 words
The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising means for decompressing the stored pixel data to obtain the first pixel image and means for performing a pixel-for-pixel merge of the first and second pixel images to produce a single merged pixel image containing both first and second indicia within said at least one area of interest.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
169 words
A method for extracting information from a form document bearing pre-printed indicia and variable indicia responsive to said pre-printed indicia, said second indicia representing information encoded in one or more forms decodable by automated symbol recognition resources, said method comprising: (a) defining one or more areas of interest on said document in which said variable indicia may appear, said definition including information specifying the form of encoding for said variable indicia; (b) scanning said document using a scanner that produces a pixel image of both pre-printed and variable indicia; (c) storing the pixel data obtained from step (b) in a memory device; (d) selecting an area of interest from those defined for said document and processing the pixel image of said area of interest with an automated symbol recognition resource suitable for the form of encoding specified for the variable indicia in the area of interest; and (e) producing one or more output records incorporating symbol information representative of the second indicia produced by the processing of step (d).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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