Tag validation for efficiently assessing electronic check image quality

• US 8,238,638 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Federal Reserve System)
• Original Assignee: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Federal Reserve System), Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (Federal Reserve System), Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Federal Reserve System), Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Federal Reserve System)
• Inventors: Mueller, Randall Lee, Schaadt, Thomas Edwin, Breeden, Benjamin T. Jr., Nori, V. Srinivas
• Primary Examiner(s): Fitzpatrick, Atiba O
• Application Number:
  US12/012,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20090196485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,650 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382135-140, 194 4- 12, 209534-540, 235379-388, 250200-210, 356 71- 77, 902 7- 11, 705 45- 50
• US Class Current: 382/137
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/993 Evaluation of the quality of the acquired pattern

Abstract

Efficiently assessing the quality of an electronic check image by determining whether the check image is suitable for image quality analysis prior to performing the image quality analysis. A check processing module of a check processor can determine whether the check image is suitable for image quality analysis by validating certain tags in the image. For example, such validation can include determining whether the check image includes certain mandatory tags and whether any optional tags present in the image are valid. The check processing module can determine that the check image is not suitable for image quality analysis if it does not include the mandatory tags or if it includes any invalid optional tags. The check processing module can assign a failure value to any check image that is not suitable for image quality analysis. The failure value can indicate a reason for the unsuitability of the check image.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for determining whether an electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis, comprising the steps of:

reading, by a computer, an electronic check image comprising a plurality of tags;

determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags meet a tag standard;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags do not meet the tag standard, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags meet the tag standard, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis and performing an image quality analysis on the electronic check image to produce an image quality value;

determining, by the computer, an intended purpose of the electronic check image;

reading, by the computer, an image quality threshold based on the intended purpose of the electronic check image;

comparing, by the computer, the image quality threshold with the image quality value;

in response to determining that the image quality value does not meet the image quality threshold, performing, by the computer, an image usability analysis on the electronic check image and reading an image confidence score based on the image usability analysis; and

creating, by the computer, an image composite score based on the image confidence score and the image quality value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the plurality of tags meet the tag standard comprises the steps of:

determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags comprise a predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag; and

in response to determining that the plurality of tags do not comprise the predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag, determining, by the computer, that the plurality of tags do not meet the tag standard.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis further comprises the step of assigning, by the computer, a failure value to the electronic check image.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of reporting, by the computer, the failure value to an entity that created the electronic check image.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of storing, by the computer, the failure value in a database.

3. A computer-implemented method for determining whether an electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis, comprising the steps of:

reading, by a computer, an electronic check image comprising a plurality of tags;

determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags meet a tag standard; and

in response to determining that the plurality of tags do not meet the tag standard, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis, wherein determining whether the plurality of tags meet the tag standard comprises

determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags comprise any optional tags;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags comprise any optional tags, determining, by the computer, whether any optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid; and

in response to determining that any optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid, determining, by the computer, that the plurality of tags do not meet the tag standard.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

in response to determining that no optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid, determining, by the computer, that the plurality of tags meet the tag standard.

8. A computer-implemented method for determining whether an electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis, comprising the steps of:

reading, by a computer, an electronic check image comprising a plurality of tags;

determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags comprise a predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags do not comprise the predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags comprise the predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis and performing an image quality analysis on the electronic check image to produce an image quality value;

determining, by the computer, an intended purpose of the electronic check image;

reading, by the computer, an image quality threshold based on the intended purpose of the electronic check image;

comparing, by the computer, the image quality threshold with the image quality value;

in response to determining that the image quality value does not meet the image quality threshold, performing, by the computer, an image usability analysis on the electronic check image and reading an image confidence score based on the image usability analysis; and

creating, by the computer, an image composite score based on the image confidence score and the image quality value.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of determining not to perform an image quality analysis on the electronic check image further comprises the step of assigning, by the computer, a failure value to the electronic check image.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of reporting, by the computer, the failure value to an entity that created the electronic check image.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of storing, by the computer, the failure value in a database.

9. A computer-implemented method for determining whether an electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis, comprising the steps of:

reading, by a computer, an electronic check image comprising a plurality of tags;

determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags comprise a predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags do not comprise the predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags comprise the predetermined selection of at least one mandatory tag, determining, by the computer, whether the plurality of tags comprise any optional tags;

in response to determining that the plurality of tags comprise any optional tags, determining, by the computer, whether any optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid; and

in response to determining that any optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

in response to determining that no optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid, determining, by the computer, that the electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis.

14. A system for determining whether an electronic check image is suitable for image quality analysis, comprising:

a communications network; and

a processor configured to

receive an electronic check image via the communications network, the electronic check image comprising a plurality of tags,

determine whether the plurality of tags comprise any optional tags,

in response to determining that the plurality of tags comprise any optional tags, determine whether any optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid,

in response to determining that any optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid, determine that the plurality of tags do not meet the tag standard, and

in response to determining that the plurality of tags do not meet the tag standard, determine that the electronic check image is not suitable for image quality analysis.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to, in response to determining that no optional tag in the plurality of tags is invalid, determine that the plurality of tags meet the tag standard.