Electronic check image storage and retrieval system

• US 6,574,377 B1
• Filed: 07/01/1999
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: The Chase Manhattan Bank (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Koroteyev, Vladimir, Cahill, Thomas, McNulty, Louise A., McMonagle, John J., Sferra, Richard H., Levine, Glenn, Goldfisher, Saul, Wilson, Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): COUSO, YON JUNG
• Application Number:
  US09/340,245
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• Field of Search: 382/139, 382/311, 382/135, 382/136, 382/138, 382/140, 382/305, 382/137, 235/379, 707/3, 707/10
• US Class Current: 382/305
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/987 with the intervention of an operator
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/956 Hierarchical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A method and apparatus for storing and retrieving images of documents, e.g. checks. The method comprises placing a plurality of documents in a document imaging machine and forming an electronic image of each document, storing each electronic image in an electronic storage device, providing at least one user interface device in communication on a communication link with the electronic storage device, placing a request for at least one document image on the user interface device, transmitting the request by the communication link to the electronic storage device, searching the electronic storage device for the requested electronic image of the document, retrieving the at least one electronic image or providing an indication that the image was not found, storing the electronic image, if found, in an electronic file, for transmission to the user interface device at user option, providing the electronic image to the user interface device at command of a user at the user interface device for storage at the user interface device and displaying the requested electronic image on a display of the user interface device. Preferably, the electronic; images are stored with embedded identifying information in a TIFF file format and the check images can be displayed on a display device which permits the user to view both sides of the checks simultaneously and perform functions such as zooming and rotation of the images.

Claims

1. A high volume financial document image creation, search and retrieval system for use in processing financial documents from customers of a financial institution, the system comprising:

an imaging system capable of creating computer-readable images of at least one of a front side and a back side of a plurality of financial documents;

a financial document data field containing data from at least one of the financial documents;

a financial institution data field containing data specified by a financial institution;

a customer-generated data field containing data specified by a customer for correlation with said financial document data field and said financial institution data field to facilitate searching of the computer-readable images, the data contained in the customer-generated data field being different from any data contained on the financial documents; and

a search and retrieval system capable of selecting and retrieving selected computer-readable images using one or more of the data contained in the financial document data field, the financial institution data field and the customer-generated data field.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging system is capable of creating computer-readable images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a display coupled to the search and retrieval system and displaying the selected -computer readable images retrieved by the search and retrieval system.

4. The system of claim 3,

wherein the imaging system is capable of creating computer-readable images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents,

wherein the selected computer-readable images retrieved by the search and retrieval system include both the front side and the back side images, and

wherein the display simultaneously displays both the front side and the back side images.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the display automatically displays both the front side and the back side images.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the back side image of a financial document includes an endorsement, and wherein the display displays the front side in an initial horizontal format for normal reading by a user and displays the back side so that the endorsement is disposed in an initial format horizontally for normal reading by the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the data from the financial document contained in the financial document data field includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the search and retrieval system is capable of selecting and retrieving the computer-readable images using the check number.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising

a word processor generating a secondary document and loading at least one of the selected computer-readable images retrieved by the search and retrieval system into the secondary document.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and the secondary document is a letter to a customer who has made an inquiry concerning the check.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein computer readable images of both the front side and back side of the check are loaded into the secondary document.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the secondary document comprises a form letter.

15. An image generation, searching and retrieval system for financial documents comprising:

a document imaging system generating images of at least one of the front and back of plurality of financial documents;

a storage system storing the images, the storage system further storing;

financial document data obtained from at least one of the financial documents, and

customer data related to the at least one financial document, the customer data being generated by a customer of a financial institution, the customer data being different from any data contained on the financial documents; and

a search system coupled to the storage system, the search system accepting a search request by the customer specifying at least one of the financial document data and the customer data, the search system searching the storage system and retrieving images of financial documents which satisfy the search request.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the storage system further stores financial institution data related to the at least one,financial document, the financial institution data being generated by a financial institution, and wherein the financial institution data is capable of being used in the search request.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the document imaging system generates images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

a display coupled to the search system and displaying images of financial documents retrieved by the search system.

19. The system of claim 18,

wherein the document imaging system generates images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents,

wherein the images retrieved by the search system include both the front side and the back side images, and

wherein the display simultaneously displays both the front side and the back side images.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the display automatically displays both the front side and the back side images.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the back side image of a financial document includes an endorsement, and wherein the display displays the front side image in an initial horizontal format for normal reading by a user and displays the back side image so that the endorsement is disposed in an initial format horizontally for normal reading by the user.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the data from the financial document contained in the financial document data field includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the search system is capable of selecting and retrieving the images using the check number.

26. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

a word processor generating a secondary document and loading at least one of the retrieved images into the secondary document.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and the secondary document is a letter to a customer who has made an inquiry concerning the check.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein retrieved images of both the front side and back side of the check are loaded into the secondary document.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the secondary document comprises a form letter.

30. A method of generating, searching and retrieving images of financial documents, comprising the steps of:

generating images of at least one of the front side and back side of a plurality of financial documents;

storing the images;

storing financial document data obtained from at least one of the financial documents;

storing customer data related to the at least one financial document, the customer data being generated by a customer of a financial institution, the customer data being different from any data contained on the financial documents;

accepting a search request by the customer specifying at least one of the financial document data and the customer data; and

searching the stored data and retrieving images of financial documents which satisfy the search request.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of storing financial institution data related to the at least one financial document, the financial institution data being generated by a financial institution.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of generating images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of displaying the retrieved images.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

generating and storing images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents; and

simultaneously displaying both the front side and the back side images.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of automatically displaying both the front side and the back side images.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the back side image of a financial document includes an endorsement, the method further comprising the steps of:

displaying the front side image in an initial horizontal format for normal reading by a user; and

displaying the back side image so that the endorsement is disposed in an initial format horizontally for normal reading by the user.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

38. The method of claim 30, wherein the data from the financial document contained in the financial document data field includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the searching step uses the check number.

41. A computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure, comprising:

images of at least one of a front side and a back side of a plurality of financial documents;

a financial document data field containing financial document data obtained from at least one of the financial documents; and

a customer dat field containing customer data related to the at least one financial document, the customer data being generated by a customer of a financial institution, the customer data being different from any data contained on the financial documents.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, further comprising:

a financial institution data field containing financial institution data related to the at least one financial document, the financial institution data being generated by the financial institution.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the images include images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the financial document data includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 45, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the computer-readable medium is a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM).

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the computer-readable medium is a write once read many (WORM) disk.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the computer-readable medium is a tape.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the computer-readable medium is a magneto-optical disk.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein the images, financial document data and the customer data are stored in a tagged image file format (TIFF) file on the computer-readable medium.

52. A method of generating a computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure, the method comprising:

storing on the computer-readable medium images of at least one of the front and back of a plurality of financial documents;

storing on the computer-readable medium a financial document data field containing financial document data obtained from at least one of the financial documents; and

storing on the computer-readable medium a customer data field containing customer data related to the at least one financial document, the customer data being generated by a customer of a financial institution, the data contained in the customer data field being different from any data contained on the financial documents.

53. The method of claim 52 further comprising the step of storing on the computer-readable medium a financial institution data field containing account data related to the at least one financial document, the account data being generated by a financial institution.

54. The method claim 52, further comprising the step of storing images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents.

55. The method of claim 52, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

56. The method of claim 52, wherein the financial document data includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

58. The method of claim 52, wherein the computer-readable medium is a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM).

59. The method of claim 52, wherein the computer-readable medium is a write once read many (WORM) disk.

60. The method of claim 52, wherein the computer-readable medium is a tape.

61. The method of claim 52, wherein the computer-readable medium is a magneto-optical disk.

62. The method of claim 52, further comprising the step of storing the images, the financial document data and the customer data in a tagged image file format (TIFF) file on the computer-readable medium.

63. An image workstation for searching and retrieving images of financial documents, the image workstation comprising:

a processing unit;

an electronic storage media coupled to the processing unit, the electronic storage media storing;

images of at least one of a front side and a back side of a plurality of financial documents,

financial document data obtained from the financial document, and

customer data supplied by a customer of a financial institution, the customer data being different from any data contained on the financial documents; and

search and retrieval software executed by the processing unit, the search and retrieval software;

accepting a search request by the customer specifying at least one of the financial document data and the customer data,

searching the electronic storage media in response to the search request, and

retrieving images of financial documents which satisfy the search request.

64. The image workstation of claim 63, wherein the electronic storage media further stores financial institution data generated by the financial institution.

65. The system of claim 63, wherein the electronic storage media stores images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents.

66. The image workstation of claim 63, further comprising a display coupled to the processing unit and displaying the images retrieved by the search and retrieval software.

67. The system of claim 66,

wherein the electronic storage media stores images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents,

wherein the images retrieved by the search and retrieval software include both the front side and the back side images, and

wherein the display simultaneously displays both the front side and the back side images.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the display automatically displays both the front side and the back side images.

69. The system of claim 67, wherein the back side image of a financial document includes an endorsement, and wherein the display displays the front side image in an initial horizontal format for normal reading by a user and displays the back side image so that the endorsement is disposed in an initial format horizontally for normal reading by the user.

70. The system of claim 63, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

71. The system of claim 63, wherein the financial document data includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

72. The system of claim 71, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

73. The system of claim 72, wherein the search and retrieval software is capable of selecting and retrieving the images using the check number.

74. The system of claim 63, further comprising a word processor generating a secondary document and loading at least one of the -retrieved images into the secondary document.

75. The system of claim 74, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and the secondary document is a letter to a customer who has made an inquiry concerning the check.

76. The system of claim 75, wherein retrieved images of both the front side and back side of the check are loaded into the secondary document.

77. The system of claim 63, wherein the secondary document comprises a form letter.

78. A method of storing and retrieving data related to financial documents, the method comprising:

storing images of at least one of a front side and a back side of a plurality of financial documents;

storing financial document data obtained from the financial documents;

storing customer data supplied by a customer of a financial institution, the customer data being different from any data contained on the financial documents;

accepting a search request by the customer specifying at least one of the financial document data and the customer data;

searching the electronic storage media in response to the search request; and

retrieving images of financial documents which satisfy the search request.

79. The method of claim 78, further comprising the step of storing financial institution data related to the financial documents, the financial institution data being generated by a financial institution.

80. The method of claim 78, wherein the step of storing images further comprises the step of storing images of both the front side and the back side of the financial documents.

81. The method of claim 78, further comprising the step of displaying the retrieved images.

82. The method of claim 81, wherein the step of storing images further comprises storing images of both the front side and the back side of the plurality of financial documents;

and

wherein the -step of displaying further comprises simultaneously displaying both the front side and the back side images.

83. The method of claim 82, further comprising the step of automatically displaying both the front side and the back side images.

84. The method of claim 82, wherein the back side image of a financial document includes an endorsement, the displaying step further comprising the steps of:

displaying the front side image in an initial horizontal format for normal reading by a user; and

displaying the back side image so that the endorsement is disposed in an initial format horizontally for normal reading by the user.

85. The method of claim 78, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check.

86. The method of claim 79, wherein the financial/document data includes magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data.

87. The method of claim 86, at least one of the financial documents is a check and wherein the MICR data includes a check number.

88. The method of claim 87, wherein the searching step uses the check number.

89. The method of claim 78, further comprising the steps of:

generating a secondary document; and

loading at least one of the retrieved images into the secondary document.

90. The method of claim 89, wherein at least one of the financial documents is a check and the secondary document is a letter to a customer who has made an inquiry concerning the check.

91. The system of claim 89, wherein the step of loading further includes the step of loading images of both the front side and back side of the check into the secondary document.

92. The system of claim 89, wherein the secondary document comprises a form letter.