Transaction document reader
First Claim
1. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
- sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas;
transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area, wherein said transform means comprises means for digitizing said output signals representative of said pixel areas and for providing gray scale digitized output signals, transform memory means for generating and storing bit signals for individual columns as a function of a threshold value, and means for addressing said transform memory means to select a bit signal representative of whether the gray scale digitized output signals are representative of generally dark or light pixel areas;
image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data;
means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; and
means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A transaction document reader reads image data on a transaction document. The image data includes marking areas employed by a user to record marks and includes characters. A sensor senses, one row at a time, rows of image data as the document is transported across the sensor. Each row includes a number of pixel areas. The pixel areas of the rows being aligned in columns. The sensor generates output signals representative of the pixel areas. The output signals are transformed into bit signals representative of each pixel area. The bit signals are stored in image memory which is organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to the rows and columns of the pixel areas of the image data. The marking areas are located in image memory. The marks are identified in the marking areas while additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing the bit signals in image memory. A specific area within image memory representative of a single character is also located. A neural network is utilized to recognize the character within specific area.
218 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area, wherein said transform means comprises means for digitizing said output signals representative of said pixel areas and for providing gray scale digitized output signals, transform memory means for generating and storing bit signals for individual columns as a function of a threshold value, and means for addressing said transform memory means to select a bit signal representative of whether the gray scale digitized output signals are representative of generally dark or light pixel areas; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; and means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, including means for identifying a type of transaction document by probing a predetermined plurality of rows of said image memory means in order to determine dimensions of said document, said type of document having certain dimensions; and wherein said at least one portion of image memory means representative of said at least one of said plurality of marking areas is located as a function of stored predetermined distances measured with respect to said dimensions of said type of transaction document identified, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; and means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating comprising, means for identifying a type of transaction document by probing a predetermined plurality of rows of said image memory means to determine dimensions of said document, said type of document having predetermined dimensions; means for probing at least one column of said image memory means to locate a first mark position, the image data of said document including a plurality of mark positions; and means for locating the at least one portion of image memory means representative of said at least one of said plurality of marking areas as a function of a predetermined distance from said first mark position to said at least one marking area dependent upon said type of transaction document identified, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; and means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; and means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means, said identifying means comprising, means for probing a plurality of lines of bit signals representative of pixel areas extending across said marking area within said at least one portion of said image memory means in order to identify whether said lines contain at least one bit signal representative of a dark pixel area; means for comparing the number of lines containing said at least one bit signal to at least one predetermined number of lines; and means for filtering the result of said means for comparing in order to identify whether a mark appears in said at least one marking area. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means; and means for compensating for distortion across a row of pixel areas when the row is sensed by said sensor means so that probing of rows of bit signals of said image memory representative of said at least one marking area is accurately performed when said marking area is located and marks therein are identified.
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14. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel areas; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means; and means for compensating for distortion across a column of pixel areas when a plurality of rows are sensed so that probing of columns of said bit signals of said image memory representative of said at least one marking area is accurately performed when said marking area is located and marks therein are identified.
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15. An apparatus for reading image data on a transaction document, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, the apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing, one row at a time, a plurality of rows of image data as said document is transported across said sensor means, each row including a plurality of columns, said sensor means comprising means for generating output signals representative of said pixel area; transform means for receiving said output signals and generating bit signals representative of each pixel area; image memory means for storing said bit signals, said image memory means being organized into rows and columns of bit signals corresponding to said plurality of rows and columns of said pixel areas of said image data; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating being operative after rows of bit signals representative of said at least one marking area are stored in said image memory means and while additional rows of bit signals representative of other image data are being sensed, transformed, and stored in said image memory; means for identifying marks made in said at least one marking area while said additional rows of bit signals are being stored and while other marking areas are being located by probing said bit signals within said image memory means; and means for compensating for an improper angle of said document as it is transported across said sensor means so that probing of said rows and columns of said bit signals of said image memory representative of said at least one marking area is accurately performed when said marking area is located and marks therein are identified.
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16. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said image data including at least one marking area for a user to place a transaction mark, comprising:
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means for generating bit signals representative of rows and columns of dark or light pixel areas of said image data; an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data of said document; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory representative of said at least one marking area as a function of particular reference characteristics of said document, said locating means comprising, means for identifying a type of transaction document by probing a predetermined plurality of rows of said image memory to determine dimensions of said document, said type of document having predetermined dimensions, and means for locating the at least one portion of image memory representative of said at least one of said plurality of marking areas as a function of stored predetermined distances measured with respect to said dimensions of said type of transaction document identified; and means for identifying whether said at least one marking area contains a mark or lacks a mark by probing a plurality of lines of said bit signals of said image memory representative of pixel areas extending across said marking areas.
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17. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said image data including at least one marking area for a user to place a transaction mark, comprising:
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means for generating bit signals representative of rows and columns of dark or light pixel areas of said image data; an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data of said document; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory representative of said at least one marking area as a function of particular reference characteristics of said document by probing said bit signals of said image memory representative of a plurality of predetermined columns of said document and by locating at least one strobe mark, said marking area being a predetermined distance from said at least one strobe mark; and means for identifying whether said at least one marking area contains a mark or lacks a mark by probing a plurality of lines of said bit signals of said image memory representative of pixel areas extending across said marking areas.
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18. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said image data including at least one marking area for a user to place a transaction mark, comprising:
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means for generating bit signals representative of rows and columns of dark or light pixel areas of said image data; an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data of said document; means for locating at least one portion of said image memory representative of said at least one marking area as a function of particular reference characteristics of said document; and means for identifying whether said at least one marking area contains a mark or lacks a mark by probing a plurality of lines of said bit signals of said image memory representative of pixel areas extending across said marking areas, said identifying means comprising, means for probing said plurality of lines of bit signals of said image memory representative of said pixel areas within said at least one marking area to identify whether said lines contain at least one bit signal representative of a dark pixel area; means for comparing the number of lines containing said at least one bit signal to at least one predetermined number of lines; and means for filtering the result of said means for comparing to identify whether a mark appears in said at least one marking area. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said image data including a plurality of marking areas employed by a user to record marks, said apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing at least a portion of said document; means responsive to said sensor means for generating bit signals representative of pixel areas of said image data; an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data on said transaction document; means for identifying marks made on a preselected portion of said transaction document stored in image memory while bit signals are being generated for additional portions of said transaction document that are being sensed, whereby marks are identified by determining the status of a portion of said bit signals in said image memory representative of said preselected portion; and means for locating at least one portion of said image memory means representative of at least one of said plurality of marking areas of said transaction document, said means for locating comprising, means for identifying a type of transaction document by probing a predetermined plurality of rows of said image memory means in order to determine dimensions of said document; and
means for locating said at least one portion of image memory means representative of said at least one of said plurality of marking areas as a function of stored predetermined distances measured with respect to said dimensions of said type of transaction document identified.
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23. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing at least a portion of said document; means responsive to said sensor means for generating bit signals representative of pixel areas of said image data; an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data on said transaction document; means for identifying marks made on a preselected portion of said transaction document stored in image memory while bit signals are being generated for additional portions of said transaction document that are being sensed, whereby marks are identified by determining the status of a portion of said bit signals in said image memory representative of said preselected portion; and means for compensating for distortion across a row of pixels when the row is sensed by said sensor means so that determining the status of said digital bits representative of said particular document portion is accurate.
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24. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing at least a portion of said document; means responsive to said sensor means for generating bit signals representative of pixel areas of said image data;
.an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data on said transaction document; means for identifying marks made on a preselected portion of said transaction document stored in image memory while bit signals are being generated for additional portions of said transaction document that are being sensed, whereby marks are identified by determining the status of a portion of said bit signals in said image memory representative of said preselected portion; and means for compensating for distortion across a column of pixels when the column is sensed by said sensor means so that determining the status of said digital bits representative of said preselected portion of said document is accurate.
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25. An apparatus for reading information on a transaction document having image data thereon, said apparatus comprising:
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sensor means for sensing at least a portion of said document; means responsive to said sensor means for generating bit signals representative of pixel areas of said image data; an image memory for storing said bit signals, said image memory being organized in rows and columns corresponding to said pixel areas of said image data on said transaction document; means for identifying marks made on a preselected portion of said transaction document stored in image memory while bit signals are being generated for additional portions of said transaction document that are being sensed, whereby marks are identified by determining the status of a portion of said bit signals in said image memory representative of said preselected portion; and means for compensation for an improper angle of said document as at least one of said document and said sensor means are moved relative to each other so that said determining the status of said digital bits that are representative of said particular document portion is accurately performed.
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Specification