Method and apparatus for electronic image processing of documents for accounting purposes

Claim 2

Apparatus for electronic image processing of documents for banking purposes comprising: means for generating an electronic digitized image of the entire front and back of each document of a group of documents and also including means for assigning identification data to said documents and to their associated said electronic digitized images; means for storing said digitized images and their associated identification data for a said group of documents; means for developing source data for a said group of documents from the associated said electronic digitized images of said documents withdrawn from said storing means in the absence of said documents; and means for performing banking operations while using said source data and said identification data.

Claim 3

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for recording said source data and said electronic images on a record medium for use in the preparation of banking reports and copies of said documents.

Claim 4

Apparatus for the processing of documents for banking purposes comprising: means for generating an electronic digitized image of information from the front and back of each document of a group of documents and also including means for assigning identification data to said documents and to their associated electronic digitized images; means for storing said electronic digitized images and their associated identification data for a said group of documents; means for receiving said electronic digitized images and their associated identification data from said storing means and also including means for developing machine-useable data from said electronic digitized images for a said group of documents in the absence of said documents; means for performing accounting operations for said group of documents while using said machine-useable data and said identification data; and means for recording said machine-useable data and said electronic digitized images on a record medium for use in the preparation of reports and copies of said documents.

Claim 5

Apparatus for the processing of documents for banking purposes comprising: means for generating an electronic digitized image of information from the front and back of each document of a group of documents and also including means for assigning identification data to said documents and to their associated electronic digitized images; means for storing said electronic digitized images and their associated identification data for a said group of documents; means for receiving said electronic digitized images and their associated identification data from said storing means and also including means for developing machine-useable data from said electronic digitized images for a said group of documents in the absence of said documents; means for performing accounting operations for said group of documents while using said machine-useable data and said identification data; and means for recording said machine-useable data and said electronic digitized images on a record medium for use in the preparation of reports and copies of said documents.

Claim 6

A banking system comprising: a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment; said point of acceptance having means for generating an electronic digitized image of the entire front and back of each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also including means for assigning identification information to said documents and to their associated said images; means for transmitting said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said generating means to said processing center; said processing center comprising: image storage means for storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents; data development means for receiving said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said image storage means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor; means for interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with conventional application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; and means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images of information for those documents for which account responsibility is had at said point of payment for use thereat.

Claim 7

A banking system comprising: a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment; said point of acceptance having means for generating an electronic digitized image of the entire front and back of each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also including means for assigning identification information to said documents and to their associated said images; means for transmitting said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said generating means to said processing center; said processing center comprising: image storage means for storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents; data development means for receiving said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said image storage means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor; means for interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with conventional application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; and means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images of information for those documents for which account responsibility is had at said point of payment for use thereat.

Claim 8

A banking system comprising: a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment; said point of acceptance having means for generating an image of information from each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also including means for assigning identification information to said documents and to their associated said images; means for transmitting said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said generating means to said processing center; said processing center comprising: image storage means for storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of documents; data development means for receiving said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said image storage means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor; means for interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with conventional application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; and means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images of information for those documents for which account responsibility is had at said point of payment for use thereat; said generating means including means for generating an electronic image of information of the front and back of each said document; said generating means further including means for compressing said electronic images, and said data development means including means for decompressing said electronic images to produce decompressed electronic images and also including means for automatically reading said decompressed electronic images to produce at least a portion of said machine-useable data; and said data development means further including means for displaying said decompressed electronic images and also including keyboard means for entering data read from said decompressed electronic images to produce a portion of said machine-useable data.

Claim 9

A banking system comprising: a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment; said point of acceptance having means for generating an image of information from each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also including means for assigning identification information to said documents and to their associated said images; means for transmitting said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said generating means to said processing center; said processing center comprising: image storage means for storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of documents; data development means for receiving said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said image storage means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor; means for interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with conventional application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; and means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images of information for those documents for which account responsibility is had at said point of payment for use thereat; said generating means including means for generating an electronic image of information of the front and back of each said document; said generating means further including means for compressing said electronic images, and said data development means including means for decompressing said electronic images to produce decompressed electronic images and also including means for automatically reading said decompressed electronic images to produce at least a portion of said machine-useable data; and said data development means further including means for displaying said decompressed electronic images and also including keyboard means for entering data read from said decompressed electronic images to produce a portion of said machine-useable data.

Claim 10

The banking system as claimed in claim 5 in which said sorting means includes means for utilizing said identification information on said documents to assist in sorting said documents according to said outclearing destinations.

Claim 11

The banking system as claimed in claim 6 further including means for encoding with transit and amount information those of said documents which are associated with banks not included within said banking system.

Claim 12

The banking system as claimed in claim 7 in which each of said image processing centers has a plurality of said points of acceptance and a plurality of said points of payment associated therewith.

Claim 13

The banking system as claimed in claim 8 in which each said point of payment has means for receiving said archival file and also has means for displaying said qualified data and said images of information on said archival file for making acceptance and rejection decisions with regard to said documents associated with said qualified data and said images of information and for answering account holders' inquiries with regard to said documents.

Claim 14

The banking system as claimed in claim 9 in which each said point of payment further comprises means for reproducing a copy of a said document from said archival file.

Claim 15

Apparatus for processing information comprising: means for storing an electronic image of information and identification information for each document of a group of documents; data development means for receiving said images of information and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said storing means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor; and means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images of information.

Claim 16

Apparatus for processing information comprising: means for storing an electronic image of information and identification information for each document of a group of documents; data development means for receiving said images of information and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said storing means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor; and means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images of information.

Claim 17

A banking system comprising: a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment; said point of acceptance having means for generating an electronic digitized image of the entire front and back of each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also including means for assigning identification information to one side of said documents and to their associated said images; means for transmitting said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said generating means to said processing center; said processing center comprising: image storage means for storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents; data development means for receiving said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said image storage means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor and said identification information on said documents; means for interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with conventional application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images for those documents for which account responsibility is had at said point of payment for use thereat; and means for managing the flow of said images and associated identification information and said machine-useable data in said system.

Claim 18

A banking system comprising: a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment; said point of acceptance having means for generating an electronic digitized image of the entire front and back of each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also including means for assigning identification information to one side of said documents and to their associated said images; means for transmitting said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said generating means to said processing center; said processing center comprising: image storage means for storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents; data development means for receiving said images and associated identification information for a said group of said documents from said image storage means and for developing machine-useable data therefrom for said group of documents; said data development means including means for performing transaction balancing on said machine-useable data to produce qualified data from said machine-useable data for a said group of said documents which are in balance; data storage means for storing said qualified data for a said group of documents; means for sorting a said group of documents according to outclearing destinations while using the associated said qualified data therefor and said identification information on said documents; means for interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with conventional application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; means for reproducing on an archival file said qualified data and said images for those documents for which account responsibility is had at said point of payment for use thereat; and means for managing the flow of said images and associated identification information and said machine-useable data in said system.

Claim 19

The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 in which said assigning means includes means for printing said identification data on said one side of said document which is the back side which is opposite to the front side of said document which contains thereon pre-printed data such as an account number.

Claim 20

The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which said generating means includes first and second imagers for generating said electronic digitized image of said front and back of each said document of said group of documents.

Claim 25

In a banking system having at least a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment, the method of banking comprising: generating an image of information from each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also assigning identification information to said documents and to their associated images; storing said electronic images and their associated said identification information in a storage means located at said processing center for a said group of said documents; withdrawing from said storage means said electronic images and associated identification information for a group of said documents and developing machine-useable data from said electronic images rather than from said documents themselves; performing transaction balancing for a said group of documents while using said machine-useable data and said identification information in the absence of said documents; and recording on a record medium said electronic images and said machine-useable data for use in the preparation of reports and copies of said documents for use at said point of payment.

Claim 26

In a banking system having at least a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment, the method of banking comprising: generating an image of information from each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance and also assigning identification information to said documents and to their associated images; storing said electronic images and their associated said identification information in a storage means located at said processing center for a said group of said documents; withdrawing from said storage means said electronic images and associated identification information for a group of said documents and developing machine-useable data from said electronic images rather than from said documents themselves; performing transaction balancing for a said group of documents while using said machine-useable data and said identification information in the absence of said documents; and recording on a record medium said electronic images and said machine-useable data for use in the preparation of reports and copies of said documents for use at said point of payment.

Claim 27

In a banking system having at least a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment, a method of processing documents for banking purposes comprising: generating an image of information from the front and back of each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance, and assigning identification information to the backs of said documents and to their associated images; storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of documents in an image file means located at said processing center; withdrawing said images and associated identification information for a said group of documents from said image file means and developing machine-useable data therefrom; performing transaction balancing for a said group of documents while using said machine-useable data and identification information therefor to produce qualified data for a said group of documents which are in balance; storing said qualified data in a data storage means at said processing center; sorting said group of documents associated with said qualified data while using said machine-useable data developed therefor and said identification information; interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; and producing an archival file of said qualified data and said images for a said group of documents for use by said point of payment in the preparation of reports and copies of said documents.

Claim 28

In a banking system having at least a point of acceptance, a processing center, and a point of payment, a method of processing documents for banking purposes comprising: generating an image of information from the front and back of each document of a group of documents presented at said point of acceptance, and assigning identification information to the backs of said documents and to their associated images; storing said images and associated identification information for a said group of documents in an image file means located at said processing center; withdrawing said images and associated identification information for a said group of documents from said image file means and developing machine-useable data therefrom; performing transaction balancing for a said group of documents while using said machine-useable data and identification information therefor to produce qualified data for a said group of documents which are in balance; storing said qualified data in a data storage means at said processing center; sorting said group of documents associated with said qualified data while using said machine-useable data developed therefor and said identification information; interfacing said qualified data for said group of documents with application systems for the preparation of reports and the like; and producing an archival file of said qualified data and said images for a said group of documents for use by said point of payment in the preparation of reports and copies of said documents.

Claim 33

The method as claimed in claim 20 in which said generating step comprises generating an image of the front and back of each said document.