Image processing

• US 9,159,101 B1
• Filed: 12/15/2011
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Morris, Michael Frank, Prasad, Bharat, Major, Frank Kyle, Pollack, Jeff, Brady, John Weatherman, Mawyer, Ralph Paige Jr., Reynolds, Clint James, Shah, Kairav Mahesh
• Primary Examiner(s): BLOOMQUIST, KEITH D
• Application Number:
  US13/327,478
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0425 the cheque being electronic only
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/38 Circuits or arrangements for blanking or otherwise eliminating unwanted parts of pictures H04N1/387 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3872 Repositioning or masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3873 defined only by a limited number of coordinate points or parameters, e.g. corners, centre; for trimming

Abstract

An image of a check may be presented for payment in a banking system in place of the physical paper check. The check to be deposited can be collected from a depositor using a scanner. A web site, accessed through a depositor'"'"'s web browser, can be used to drive the process of collecting the check, but in some contexts (e.g., in less popular computing environments, such as those that do not run the most popular operating systems), it is economically infeasible to obtain the certificates that would be used to allow a program executing in the web browser to control the scanner. Thus, a depositor can be instructed to capture and upload images of the check in the form of files, where the image files are then presented for payment through a banking system.

Claims

1. An image processing system comprising:

a memory;

a processor in communication with said memory, and configured to;

receive, via a network from a depositor-controlled computing device, a file comprising an image of a negotiable instrument and an indication of where, in the image, an edge of the negotiable instrument is located, the indication being superimposed on the image of the negotiable instrument and being a representation of input via the depositor-controlled computing device; and

determine which portion of the image to present for processing based on the indication.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises where, in the image, a corner of the negotiable instrument is located.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the indication indicates which part of the image comprises the negotiable instrument and which part comprises background.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the representation is of a manual input.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the indication is the representation of the manual input from a pointing device of the depositor-controlled computing device.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the manual input is input by a user associated with the depositor-controlled computing device.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with a network browser running on the depositor-controlled computing device;

and

wherein the processor is configured to download software to the depositor-controlled computing device, the software configured for execution via the network browser of the depositor-controlled computing device to configure the depositor-controlled computing device to process the manual input related to the negotiable instrument received from the pointing device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor, in response to receiving the file comprising the image of the negotiable instrument, is further configured to:

send, via the network to the depositor-controlled computing device, a system image of the negotiable instrument for display using the depositor-controlled computing device in order for a depositor at the depositor-controlled computing device to input the manual input on the displayed system image, the system image being based on the image of the negotiable instrument.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the system image comprises a copy of the image of the negotiable instrument.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the system image comprises a modification of the image of the negotiable instrument.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the sending of the system image to the depositor-controlled computing device causes the depositor-controlled computing device to display the system image in a new window for input of the manual input on the displayed system image.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive a first image of a first side of the negotiable instrument and a second image of a second side of the negotiable instrument;

and

wherein the indication received from the depositor-controlled computing device comprises a first indication of where, in the first image, a first edge of the first side of the negotiable instrument is located and a second indication of where, in the second image, a second edge of the second side of said negotiable instrument is located.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first indication is indicative of a first corner the negotiable instrument in the first image;

and

wherein the second indication is indicative of a second corner the negotiable instrument in the second image.

14. A processor-implemented negotiable instrument deposit method, comprising:

receiving, via a network from a depositor-controlled computing device, a file comprising an image of a negotiable instrument and an indication of where, in the image, an edge of the negotiable instrument is located, the indication being superimposed on the image of the negotiable instrument and being a representation of input via the depositor-controlled computing device;

determining which portion of the image to present based on the indication; and

presenting at least the portion of the image to a banking system.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication comprises where, in the image, a corner of the negotiable instrument is located.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication indicates which part of the image comprises the negotiable instrument and which part comprises background.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the representation is of a manual input.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication is the representation of the manual input from a pointing device of the depositor-controlled computing device.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising downloading software to the depositor-controlled computing device, the software configured for execution via a network browser of the depositor-controlled computing device to configure the depositor-controlled computing device to process the manual input related to the negotiable instrument received from the pointing device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising, in response to receiving the file comprising the image of the negotiable instrument, sending a system image of the negotiable instrument for display using the depositor-controlled computing device in order for a depositor at the depositor-controlled computing device to input the manual input on the displayed system image, the system image being based on the image of the negotiable instrument.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the system image comprises a copy of the image of the negotiable instrument.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the system image comprises a modification of the image of the negotiable instrument.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein sending of the system image to the depositor-controlled computing device causes the depositor-controlled computing device to display the system image in a new window for input of the manual input on the displayed system image.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving a file comprises receiving a first image of a first side of the negotiable instrument and a second image of a second side of the negotiable instrument;

and

wherein the indication received from the depositor-controlled computing device comprises a first indication of where, in the first image, a first edge of the first side of the negotiable instrument is located and a second indication of where, in the second image, a second edge of the second side of said negotiable instrument is located.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first indication is indicative of a first corner the negotiable instrument in the first image;

and

wherein the second indication is indicative of a second corner of the negotiable instrument in the second image.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions configured for execution using a network browser running on a depositor-controlled computing device, the instructions configured, upon execution to:

enable a user associated with a depositor-controlled computing device to input an indication of an edge of a negotiable instrument on a digital image of the negotiable instrument;

receive input of the indication of the edge of the negotiable instrument in the digital image of the negotiable instrument from the user of the depositor-controlled computing device, the indication being superimposed on the digital image of the negotiable instrument; and

send, via a network to an image processing system, the digital image of the negotiable instrument and the indication of the edge in order for the image processing system to determine, based on the indication of the edge, which portion of the digital image to present for processing.

27. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the indication is configured to indicate a corner of the negotiable instrument in the digital image.