US5237628A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for automatic optical data entry
Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc
•
Filing: 1991-06-03
•
Granted: 1993-08-17
•
Expires: 2011-06-03
Abstract
Abstract A system and method for automatically processing machine printed forms which are filled out by hand are disclosed. The inventive system and method eliminate the use of a manual data entry step. Typically each form has one or more fields, each field having a machine printed field identifier such as the words "name" or "social security number" and the corresponding information which is filled in by hand. A scanner or other device forms a digital image of each form. An optical recognition engine searches the digital image of each form through use of an algorithm which can recognize machine printed but not handwritten characters to locate the fields in the digital image by locating the machine printed field identifiers. An offline handwritten character recognition algorithm is then utilized to recognize the handwritten characters in each individual field. Symbolic information corresponding to the recognized handwritten characters is then stored in a database in a memory.
Inventors
- 👤 Arthur C. Levitan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 08:35
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06V; G06V30/00; G06V30/10; G06V30/14; G06V30/1444
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
196 words
An electronic data processing system for processing large numbers of machine printed forms containing one or more fields, each field having a machine printed human intelligible field identifier which describes to a person information to be written into the field, and one or more handwritten characters written in response to the corresponding machine printed field identifier, said electronic data processing system comprising: generating means for generating a digital image of each of said forms, and an optical recognition engine comprising a first optical recognizer capable of recognizing machine printed characters but not handwritten characters for searching the digital image of each form to identify the locations of a selected one or more of said fields by recognizing only said human intelligible machine printed field identifiers, and a second optical recognizer capable of recognizing handwritten characters for recognizing the handwritten characters in the fields located by said first optical recognizer in said digital image of each form, wherein said optical recognition engine uses only the same human intelligible field identifiers, which describe to a person information to be written into corresponding fields, for locating said fields containing handwritten characters without using any additional machine printed field identifiers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
196 words
An electronic data processing system for processing large numbers of machine printed forms containing one or more fields, each field having a machine printed human intelligible field identifier which describes to a person information to be written into the field, and one or more handwritten characters written in response to the corresponding machine printed field identifier, said electronic data processing system comprising: generating means for generating a digital image of each of said forms, and an optical recognition engine comprising a first optical recognizer capable of recognizing machine printed characters but not handwritten characters for searching the digital image of each form to identify the locations of a selected one or more of said fields by recognizing only said human intelligible machine printed field identifiers, and a second optical recognizer capable of recognizing handwritten characters for recognizing the handwritten characters in the fields located by said first optical recognizer in said digital image of each form, wherein said optical recognition engine uses only the same human intelligible field identifiers, which describe to a person information to be written into corresponding fields, for locating said fields containing handwritten characters without using any additional machine printed field identifiers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said generating means comprises a scanner.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said generating means comprises a fax machine located remotely from said optical recognition engine.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said optical recognition engine is formed by a general purpose computer.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said second optical recognizer comprises a finder for locating handwritten material in said fields, a segmenter for identifying the location of character boundaries in said handwritten material, and a recognizer for recognizing individual handwritten characters.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
194 words
A method for processing large numbers of machine printed forms containing one or more fields, each field having a machine printed human intelligible field identifier which describes to humans information to be written into the field and one or more handwritten characters written in response to the corresponding field identifier, said method comprising the steps of: electroncially generating a digital image of each of said forms to be processed, utilizing an optical recognition engine to execute an optical character recognition algorithm which recognizes machine printed characters but not handwritten characters, searching the digital image of each of said forms to locate said fields by recognizing said human intelligible machine printed field identifiers, utilizing said optical recognition engine to execute a handwritten character recognition algorithm for recognizing handwritten characters contained in said located fields, and for outputting symbolic information representative of said recognized handwritten characters, and storing said symbolic information in a memory, wherein said optical recognition engine uses only the same human intelligible machine printed field identifiers, which describe to a person information to be written into corresponding fields, for locating said fields containing handwritten characters, without using any additional machine printed field identifiers.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
194 words
A method for processing large numbers of machine printed forms containing one or more fields, each field having a machine printed human intelligible field identifier which describes to humans information to be written into the field and one or more handwritten characters written in response to the corresponding field identifier, said method comprising the steps of: electroncially generating a digital image of each of said forms to be processed, utilizing an optical recognition engine to execute an optical character recognition algorithm which recognizes machine printed characters but not handwritten characters, searching the digital image of each of said forms to locate said fields by recognizing said human intelligible machine printed field identifiers, utilizing said optical recognition engine to execute a handwritten character recognition algorithm for recognizing handwritten characters contained in said located fields, and for outputting symbolic information representative of said recognized handwritten characters, and storing said symbolic information in a memory, wherein said optical recognition engine uses only the same human intelligible machine printed field identifiers, which describe to a person information to be written into corresponding fields, for locating said fields containing handwritten characters, without using any additional machine printed field identifiers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said optical recognition engine is formed by a general purpose computer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said algorithm which can recognize machine printed but not handwritten characters is a template matching algorithm.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said offline handwritten character recognition algorithm comprises the steps of finding handwritten material in said fields, segmenting the handwritten material by locating character boundaries, and recognizing individual characters.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said handwritten character recognition algorithm can recognize only a subset of said handwritten characters and wherein said method comprises the step of comparing said recognized handwritten characters with a database to determine the unrecognized handwritten characters.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 10 wherein said subset of handwritten character comprises numbers.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
178 words
An electronic data processing system for processing machine printed forms containing one or more fields, each field having a machine printed human intelligible field identifier which describes to a person information to be written into the field, and one or more handwritten characters written in response to the corresponding machine printed field identifier, said electronic data processing system comprising: digitizing means for generating a digital image of each of said forms, first optical recognition means which can recognize machine printed but not handwritten characters for searching the digital image of each form to find the location of selected ones of said fields by recognizing said machine printed human intelligible field identifiers, and second optical recognition means which can recognize handwritten characters for recognizing the handwritten characters contained in the fields located by the first optical recognition means, wherein said first optical recognition means uses only the same human intelligible field identifiers, which describe to a person information to be written into corresponding fields, for locating said fields containing handwritten characters without using any additional machine printed field identifiers.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
178 words
An electronic data processing system for processing machine printed forms containing one or more fields, each field having a machine printed human intelligible field identifier which describes to a person information to be written into the field, and one or more handwritten characters written in response to the corresponding machine printed field identifier, said electronic data processing system comprising: digitizing means for generating a digital image of each of said forms, first optical recognition means which can recognize machine printed but not handwritten characters for searching the digital image of each form to find the location of selected ones of said fields by recognizing said machine printed human intelligible field identifiers, and second optical recognition means which can recognize handwritten characters for recognizing the handwritten characters contained in the fields located by the first optical recognition means, wherein said first optical recognition means uses only the same human intelligible field identifiers, which describe to a person information to be written into corresponding fields, for locating said fields containing handwritten characters without using any additional machine printed field identifiers.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3820067A
Cited
US3651459A
Cited
US3810094A
Cited
US3832682A
Cited
US3855715A
Cited
US4162482A
Cited
US4461029A
Cited
US4516262A
Cited
US4821332A
Cited
US4910787A
Cited
US5040226A
Cited
US5031223A
Cited
US5119437A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-08-16 | 1997-02-15 | 1997-08-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-08-16 | 2001-02-15 | 2001-08-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-08-16 | 2005-02-15 | 2005-08-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |