Image processing network

• US 20030202690A1
• Filed: 03/20/2003
• Published: 10/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cummins-Allison Corporation (Crane Company)
• Original Assignee: Cummins-Allison Corporation (Crane Company)
• Inventors: Mennie, Douglas U., Jones, John E., Jones, William J., Jones, Paul A., Gafron, Ronald M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,566 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/139
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0425 the cheque being electronic only
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/00 General purpose image data processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/95 structured as a network, e.g. client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/96 Management of image or video recognition tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/2253 Recognition of characters printed with magnetic ink G06V30/2247 takes precedence

Abstract

An image processing network for processing image files and coupled to an outside data communication network comprising a plurality of remote image capture units, the units scanning documents and creating a plurality of image files of said documents; the image processing means is coupled to said plurality of remote image capture units for processing the image files; the accounting means is coupled to the image processing means for immediately updating accounts associated with said image processing means; and the plurality of remote capture units are coupled to the outside network, the outside data communication network is connected to outside financial institutions, the image processing means transmits said image files to the outside financial institutions via the data communication network and receives image files from the outside financial institutions over the network.

Claims

1. A system for electronically depositing checks comprising:

a scanning system adapted to scan and generate an image of a check being deposited by a customer who is associated with a bank and including means for sending the image of the check to the bank so that the image is immediately available at the bank for settlement purposes; and

an accounting system at the bank adapted to provide the customer with immediate bank credit for the deposited check.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the scanning system sends an image file to the bank, the image file containing data representing an image of the deposited check and extracted data indicative of information contained in fields of the deposited check.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the accounting system at the bank processes the extracted check field information data included in the image file in order to provide the customer with immediate bank credit.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the extracted check field information data utilized by the accounting system comprises MICR data and check value data.

5. A method of updating financial accounts in response to a deposit transaction initiated by a customer, the financial account being associated with the customer, the deposit transaction involving the deposit of documents having monetary value associated therewith, the method including the steps of:

receiving the documents in an input receptacle;

transporting the documents from the input receptacle past an image scanner;

scanning the documents via the image scanner to generate electronic document image files and further to obtain information from fields within the documents;

electronically tagging the document image files with the information from fields within the documents;

transmitting the tagged document image files to an accounting system; and

updating the financial accounts based on the field information tagged to the image file.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the documents are checks, and the field information tagged to the check image comprises check value.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the documents are checks, and the field information tagged to the check image comprises check MICR data.

8. The method of claim 7 further including the step of power encoding the checks with MICR data, wherein the encoded MICR data entered onto the checks is the check MICR data field information obtained by the image scanner.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the documents are checks, further including the step of physically sorting the checks into on-us checks and transit checks.

10. The method of claim 9 further including the step of power encoding the transit checks with MICR data, wherein the encoded MICR data entered onto the checks is the check MICR data field information obtained by the image scanner.

11. The method of claim 9 further including the step of sorting the image files into on-us check image files and transit check image files.

12. The method of claim 11 further including the step of routing the transit check image files and the physically sorted transit checks to their financial institution.

13. The method of claim 5 wherein the documents are currency bills, and the field information tagged to the currency bill image comprises bill serial number.

14. The method of claim 5 wherein the field information tagged to the document image comprises a document identification number.

15. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of scanning is performed at a rate in excess of 800 documents scanned per minute.

16. The method of claim 5 further including the step of accepting user input of unrecognizable field information, the step of electronically tagging further including the step of tagging the document image with the user input information.

17. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of transporting further includes the step of transporting the documents past a discrimination unit, the method further including the step of discriminating each document to produce discrimination data.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the steps of scanning and discriminating are performed at a rate in excess of 800 documents scanned per minute.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the discrimination data comprises authentication data.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the discrimination data comprises document denomination data.

21. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of tagging further includes the step of tagging the image files with financial institution endorsement data.

22. The method of claim 5 further including the step of sorting the image files into on-us check image files and transit check image files.

23. The method of claim 5 further including the steps of:

receiving a customer deposit summary indicating a value of the deposit transaction;

determining a processed value of the deposit transaction; and

confirming that the indicated value and processed value are the same.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the obtained field information provides the processed value.

25. The method of claim 5 wherein the documents are currency bills, further including the step of automatically generating a financial institution cash-in slip image recording the currency bill deposit transaction.

26. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of electronically tagging tags the document image files with bank identification information with respect to a bank where the deposit transaction was handled.

27. A system which updates financial accounts in response to a deposit transaction initiated by a customer, the financial account being associated with the customer, the deposit transaction involving the deposit of documents having monetary value associated therewith, the system comprising:

an input receptacle receiving the documents;

an image scanner;

a transport mechanism operable to convey the documents from the input receptacle past the image scanner, wherein the image scanner to generates electronic document image files and further obtain information from fields within the documents;

means for electronically tagging the document image files with the information from fields within the documents;

an output for transmitting the tagged document image files; and

an accounting system which receives the tagged document image files and updates the financial accounts based on the field information tagged to the image file.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the documents are checks, and the field information tagged to the check image comprises check value.

29. The system of claim 27 wherein the documents are checks, and the field information tagged to the check image comprises check MICR data.

30. The system of claim 29 further including a power encoder that encodes the checks with MICR data, wherein the encoded MICR data entered onto the checks is the check MICR data field information obtained by the image scanner.

31. The system of claim 27 wherein the documents are checks, further including a document sorter which physically sorts the checks into on-us checks and transit checks.

32. The system of claim 31 further including a power encoder that encodes the transit checks with MICR data, wherein the encoded MICR data entered onto the checks is the check MICR data field information obtained by the image scanner.

33. The system of claim 31 further including an image sorter which sorts the image files into on-us check image files and transit check image files.

34. The system of claim 31 further including a routing functionality that sends the transit check image files and the physically sorted transit checks to their financial institution.

35. The system of claim 27 wherein the documents are currency bills, and the field information tagged to the currency bill image comprises bill serial number.

36. The system of claim 27 wherein the field information tagged to the document image comprises a document identification number.

37. The system of claim 27 wherein the transport mechanism conveys the documents past the image scanner at a rate in excess of 800 documents per minute.

38. The system of claim 27 further including a user input device through which a user enters unrecognizable field information, the means for electronically tagging further operating to tag the document image with the user input information.

39. The system of claim 27 wherein the step of transporting further includes the step of transporting the documents past a discrimination unit, wherein the discrimination device generates discrimination data.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the transport mechanism conveys the documents past the image scanner and the discrimination unit at a rate in excess of 800 documents per minute.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein the discrimination data comprises authentication data.

42. The system of claim 39 wherein the discrimination data comprises document denomination data.

43. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for electronically tagging further tags the document image files with the financial institution endorsement data.

44. The system of claim 27 further including an image sorter that sorts the image files into on-us check image files and transit check image files.

45. The system of claim 27 wherein the input receptacle receives a customer deposit summary indicating a value of the deposit transaction, the system further including a balancing unit operable to determine a processed value of the deposit transaction and confirm that the indicated value and processed value are the same.

46. The system of claim 45 wherein the obtained field information provides the processed value.

47. The system of claim 27 wherein the documents are currency bills, further including a processing unit that automatically generates a financial institution cash-in slip image recording the currency bill deposit transaction.

48. The system of claim 27 wherein the means for electronically tagging tags the document image files with bank identification information with respect to a bank where the deposit transaction was handled.

49. A system for electronically depositing checks comprising:

a scanning system associated with a first bank adapted to scan and generate an image of each one of a plurality of checks being deposited by a customer who is associated with the first bank, the plurality of checks including on-us checks drawn on accounts with the first bank and transit checks drawn on accounts with one or more other banks, the scanning system further including means for sending the images of the on-us checks to the first bank and sending the images of the transit checks to the other banks so that the images are immediately available at the banks for settlement purposes; and

an accounting system at the first bank adapted to provide the customer with immediate bank credit for the deposited checks.

50. The system of claim 49 wherein the scanning system generates an image file for each check containing data representing an image of the deposited check and extracted data indicative of information contained in fields of the deposited check, the scanning system further including:

a sorting device which sorts the image files into on-us image files and transit images; and

means for communicating the on-us image files to the first bank and the transit image files to the other banks.

51. The system of claim 50 wherein the accounting system at the first bank processes the extracted check field information data included in the image files in order to provide the customer with immediate bank credit.

52. The system of claim 51 wherein the extracted check field information data utilized by the accounting system comprises MICR data and check value data.