Systems and methods for alignment of check during mobile deposit

• US 8,699,779 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2009
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Prasad, Bharat, Liang, Minya, Medina, Reynaldo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Tom Y
• Application Number:
  US12/549,443
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: 382/137
• 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 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/24 Aligning, centring, orientation detection or correction of the image
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/245 by locating a pattern; Special marks for positioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence

Abstract

An alignment guide may be provided in the field of view of a camera associated with a mobile device used to capture an image of a check. When the image of the check is within the alignment guide in the field of view, an image may be taken by the camera and provided from the mobile device to a financial institution. The alignment guide may be adjustable at the mobile device. The image capture may be performed automatically by the camera or the mobile device as soon as the image of the check is determined to be within the alignment guide. The check may be deposited in a user'"'"'s bank account based on the image. Any technique for sending the image to the financial institution may be used.

Claims

1. A system for depositing a check, comprising:

a mobile device having a camera, a display and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

project an alignment guide in the display of the mobile device, the display of the mobile device displaying a field of view of the camera;

monitor an image of the check that is within the field of view;

determine whether the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide;

automatically capture the image of the check when the image of the check is determined to align with the alignment guide; and

transmit the captured image of the check from the camera to a depository via a communication pathway between the mobile device and the depository.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to

obtain financial information pertaining to the check from the captured image of the check.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive instructions inputted to the mobile device for adjusting the alignment guide, and adjust the alignment guide according to the received instructions.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to crop the image of the check around the alignment guide prior to transmitting the image to the depository.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to provide corner identification information pertaining to the image of the check, and control the mobile device to transmit the corner identification information to the depository.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the alignment guide is comprised of a three sided opened box.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide when at least one edge of the image of the check aligns with at least one line portion of the alignment guide.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide when at least a first edge and second edge of the image of the check aligns parallel, respectively, to a first line portion and a second line portion of the alignment guide.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide when at least a first edge, second edge and a third edge of the image of the check aligns parallel, respectively, to a first line portion, second line portion and a third line portion of the alignment guide.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for depositing a check, said instructions being executed by a processor of a mobile device to:

project an alignment guide in a display of the mobile device, the display of the mobile device displaying a field of view of a camera of the mobile device;

monitor an image of the check that is within the field of view of the camera;

determine whether the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide;

automatically capture the image of the check when the image of the check is determined to align with the alignment guide; and

transmit the image of the check from the mobile device to a deposit system.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions are further executed by the processor to clean the image of the check prior to transmitting the image to the deposit system.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein cleaning the image comprises at least cropping the image of the check around the alignment guide and performing edge detection on the image of the check.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions are further executed by the processor to adjust the alignment guide according to received inputs corresponding to an adjustment button of the camera.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions are further executed by the processor to adjust the alignment guide so that the image of the check is displayed within the alignment guide.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions are further executed by the processor to determine the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide when at least one edge of the image of the check aligns with at least one line portion of the alignment guide.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions are further executed by the processor to determine the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide when at least a first edge, second edge and a third edge of the image of the check aligns parallel, respectively, to a first line portion, second line portion and a third line portion of the alignment guide.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions are further executed by the processor to determine the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide when at least a first edge and second edge of the image of the check aligns parallel, respectively, to a first line portion and a second line portion of the alignment guide.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the alignment guide is comprised of a three sided opened box.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions for depositing a check, said computer-readable instructions being executed by a processor to:

receive at a server a request for access to a deposit system from a mobile device;

receive at the server an image of the check from the mobile device, wherein at least an edge of the image of the check has been aligned with an alignment guide;

clean the image of the check at a check processing module of the server using information corresponding to the alignment guide; and

deposit funds of the check into an account associated with the deposit system using the cleaned image of the check.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further executed by the processor to clean the image of the check at the check processing module by using corner identification information pertaining to corners of the check in the image of the check, wherein the corner identification information is received from the mobile device.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further executed by the processor to send a self-contained software object to the mobile device that when executed on the mobile device causes the mobile device to automatically capture the image of the check when the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further executed by the processor to send instructions to the mobile device that when executed on the mobile device causes the mobile device to initialize a pre-installed software object on the mobile device directed to providing the alignment guide in a display of the mobile device, wherein the display is configured to display a field of view of a camera of the mobile device and the camera is configured to automatically capture the image of the check when the image of the check aligns with the alignment guide.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the computer-readable instructions are further executed by the processor to clean the image of the check by cropping the image of the check around the alignment guide.