Check reader

• US 6,473,519 B1
• Filed: 02/21/1996
• Issued: 10/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Uniform Industrial Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Pidhirny, John M., Britton, Thomas D., Casey, John L., Jost, Kevin R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jayanti K.
• Application Number:
  US08/604,388
• Time in Patent Office: 2,442 Days
• Field of Search: 194/205, 194/210, 194/342, 194/343, 194/350, 194/351, 235/375, 235/379, 235/432, 235/474-477, 235/480, 235/481, 235/440, 235/439, 235/449, 235/454, 235/462, 235/487, 382/100, 382/115, 382/123, 382/135, 382/137-140, 395/201, 395/235, 395/239, 395/245, 360/40, 360/113
• US Class Current: 382/140
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 13/16 Handling flexible sheets, e.g. cheques
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/084 sensing magnetic material by relative movement detecting flux changes without altering its magnetised state
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/2253 Recognition of characters printed with magnetic ink G06V30/2247 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention is an improved check reader which, in addition to having magnetic ink character recognition capabilities, includes image sensing capabilities. A compact housing is provided which receives a document. Mounted on the housing are an imaging assembly, and a magnetic ink character reader, which form an indicia-determining unit, and a transport mechanism for transporting the indicia-determining unit and a received document relative to one another. The check reader further includes a data format engine in communication with the indicia-determining unit. When a document and the indicia-determining unit are transported relative to one another, the data-format engine captures a first electronic representation of indicia formed on the received document, and a second electronic representation of magnetic ink indicia on the received document.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining at least one of either a magnetically readable indicia and an optically imageable indicia on a document, said apparatus comprising:

a housing having a feed path;

transport means mounted in said housing for transporting documents partially along said feed path, said transport means being positioned in said housing so that a portion of said feed path extends forward of said transport means;

a magnetic ink character reader mounted to said housing proximate said feed path for generating a first type of electrical signal when an indicia printed with magnetic ink and said reader are moved relative to one another;

an imaging assembly mounted to said housing proximate said feed path for generating a second type of electrical signal when an indicia and said imaging assembly are moved relative one another, wherein said imaging assembly is mounted in relation to said transport means so that said imaging assembly is adapted to generate said second type of electrical signal when a document is manually moved relative to said imaging assembly while being loaded into said feed path before being transported by said transport means; and

a control means in communication with said imaging assembly and with said magnetic ink character reader adapted to capture images corresponding to said second type of electrical signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control means is further adapted to attempt to decode any decodable symbols which may be represented in said captured images.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control means is further adapted to attempt to decode any decodable symbols which may be represented in said captured images, wherein said control means is further adapted to generate a good read signal upon successful decoding of a symbol, and wherein said control means is in communication with said transport means such that said transport means is not activated until receiving said good read signal from said control means.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control means is further adapted to generate a good read signal upon successful decoding of a symbol, and wherein said control means is in communication with said transport means such that said transport means is not activated until receiving said good read signal from said control means such that said transport mean does not transport a document until said control means successfully decodes a symbol represented in a captured image corresponding to said electrical signals of said second type from said imaging assembly, said apparatus further comprising a position detector in communication with said communication means, wherein said control means is responsive to said position detector such that said control means does not begin to attempt to decode symbols until said position detector senses the presence of a document in said feed path.

5. A document processing apparatus comprising:

a housing having a feed path;

transport means mounted in said housing for transporting documents partially along said feed path, said transport means being positioned in said housing so that a portion of said feed path extends forward of said transport means;

an imaging assembly mounted to said housing proximate said feed path for generating an electrical signal when an indicia and said imaging assembly are moved relative one another, wherein said imaging assembly is mounted in relation to said transport means so that said imaging assembly is adapted to generate said electrical signal when a document is manually moved relative to said imaging assembly while being loaded into said feed path before being transported by said transport means; and

control means in communication with said imaging assembly, said control means being adapted to capture images corresponding to said electrical signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said control means is further being adapted to attempt to decode any decodable symbols which may be represented in said captured images.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said control means is further adapted to attempt to decode any decodable symbols which may be represented in said captured images, wherein said control means is further adapted to generate a good read signal upon successful decoding of a symbol, and wherein said control means is in communication with said transport means such that said transport means is not activated until receiving said good read signal from said control means.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said control means is further adapted to attempt to decode any decodable symbols which may be represented in said captured images, wherein said control means is further adapted to generate a good read signal upon successful decoding of a symbol, and wherein said control means is in communication with said transport means such that said transport means is not activated until receiving said good read signal from said control means such that said transport mean does not transport a document until said control means successfully decodes a symbol represented in a captured image corresponding to said electrical signals from said imaging assembly, said apparatus further comprising a position detector in communication with said communication means, wherein said control means is responsive to said position detector such that said control means does not begin to attempt to decode symbols which may be represented in captured images corresponding to said electrical signals until said position detector senses the presence of a document in said feed path.