Methods for mobile image capture and processing of documents

• US 8,326,015 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitek Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mitek Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Nepomniachtchi, Grigori
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Chan S
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOTSINGER, SEAN T
• Application Number:
  US13/091,087
• Publication Number:
  US 20110194750A1
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/137
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/20 Image preprocessing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00816 Determining the reading area, e.g. eliminating reading of margins
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/387 Composing, repositioning or otherwise geometrically modifying originals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/403 Discrimination between the two tones in the picture signal of a two-tone original
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/001 Sharing resources, e.g. processing power or memory, with a connected apparatus or enhancing the capability of the still picture apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to automated document processing and more particularly, to methods and systems for document image capture and processing using mobile devices. In accordance with various embodiments, methods and systems for document image capture on a mobile communication device are provided such that the image is optimized and enhanced for data extraction from the document as depicted. These methods and systems may comprise capturing an image of a document using a mobile communication device; transmitting the image to a server; and processing the image to create a bi-tonal image of the document for data extraction. Additionally, these methods and systems may comprise capturing a first image of a document using the mobile communication device; automatically detecting the document within the image; geometrically correcting the image; binarizing the image; correcting the orientation of the image; correcting the size of the image; and outputting the resulting image of the document.

Claims

1. A method for mobile image capture and processing of financial documents, comprising:

receiving an image of a financial document captured by a mobile communication device;

geometrically correcting the image to clarify a content of the image, wherein clarifying the content of the image further comprises;

generating a color icon from the image, wherein the color icon is generated so as to suppress color contrasts within the image of the financial document and to preserve color contrasts between the financial document and a financial document background;

generating a grayscale icon from the color icon by reducing the color of the color icon such that the color contrasts between the financial document and the financial document background are preserved; and

identifying corners of the financial document within the grayscale icon;

identifying the content on the corrected image of the financial document; and

extracting financial content from the corrected image which is related to processing of the financial document by a financial institution.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising forwarding the extracted financial content to the financial institution.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising presenting the extracted financial content to a user on a display of the mobile communication device and requesting feedback from the user with regard to the extracted financial content.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the feedback includes a payment amount to pay to the financial institution.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a financial document type based on the identified content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the financial content is extracted from the corrected image based on the identified financial document type.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the financial document type is identified by comparing the corrected image of the financial document with at least one stored image of a financial document.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial content is located in at least one field on the financial document, and wherein each field corresponds to a type of financial content.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying at least one field based on the type of financial content and extracting the financial content from the identified at least one field.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising entering the extracted financial content from identified the at least one field into a new financial document with at least one corresponding field.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the geometrically correcting, identifying and extracting is performed on the mobile communication device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving, geometrically correcting, identifying and extracting is performed at a server connected with the mobile communication device over a network.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating a bitonal image of the financial document, wherein the bitonal image is adapted to be recognized by at least one financial processing system.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of automatic framing, perspective transformation, geometric transformation, de-warping, adaptive binarization and code-line reading of the image.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a color icon from the image of the financial document further comprises:

for a set of one or more color intensities, determining a color intensity for each target pixel of a first image by taking an average of the specified color intensity of each pixel contained within a respective window of pixels, wherein each of the respective windows of pixels is contained within the first image and comprises a central pixel, and wherein each of the target pixels is adapted to map respectively to each of the central pixels.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the target pixels has an x coordinate equal to the ½

of the x coordinate of a corresponding central pixel, and wherein each of the target pixels has a y coordinate equal to ½

of the y coordinate of the corresponding central pixel.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating a color icon from the image of the financial document further comprises:

resizing a first image; and

for a set of one or more color intensities, determining a color intensity for each target pixel of a second image by determining a maximum color intensity among each pixel contained within a respective window of pixels, wherein each of the respective windows of pixels is contained within the second image and comprises a central pixel, and wherein each of the target pixels is adapted to map respectively to each of the central pixels.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the resizing the first image further comprises setting a fixed width and scaled height for the first image, wherein the scaled height is equal to the fixed width times the height of the image divided by the width of the image.