Systems and methods for image monitoring of check during mobile deposit

• US 8,977,571 B1
• Filed: 08/21/2009
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Bueche, Michael Patrick Jr., Prasad, Bharat, Liang, Minya, Medina, Reynaldo, Oakes, Charles Lee III
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil, Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US12/545,127
• Time in Patent Office: 2,027 Days
• Field of Search: 705 3- 45
• US Class Current: 705/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/2253 Recognition of characters printed with magnetic ink G06V30/2247 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An image of a check that is in the field of view of a camera is monitored prior to the image of the check being captured. The camera is associated with a mobile device. When the image of the check in the field of view passes monitoring criteria, an image may be taken by the camera and provided from the mobile device to a financial institution. The image capture may be performed automatically as soon as the image of the check is determined to pass the monitoring criteria. 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. Feedback may be provided to the user of the camera regarding the image of the check in the field of view.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions for depositing a check that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

monitor an image of the check in a field of view of a camera of a mobile device with respect to a monitoring criterion using an image monitoring and capture module of the mobile device;

capture the image of the check with the camera when the image of the check passes the monitoring criterion; and

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

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions that provide feedback, via the mobile device to a user of the mobile device, regarding the image of the check with respect to the monitoring criterion prior to capturing the image of the check.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein the feedback is provided if the image fails to pass the monitoring criterion.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the feedback comprises instructions for the user to follow to obtain a second image of the check in the field of view of the camera that passes the monitoring criterion.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the feedback is provided visually in the field of view of the camera.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein capturing the image of the check is performed automatically without user intervention when the image of the check passes the monitoring criterion.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, where the computer-readable instructions cause the processor to monitor the image of the check in the field of view of the camera with respect to a monitoring criterion without providing feedback, via the mobile device, regarding the monitoring of the image of the check in the field of view of the camera.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, where the computer-readable instructions cause the processor to monitor the image of the check in the field of view of the camera with respect to a monitoring criterion without providing feedback, via the mobile device, regarding the monitoring of the image of the check in the field of view of the camera.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions for depositing a check that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

initialize a software object on a mobile device operated by a user, the software object configured to communicate with a camera;

monitor an image of the check in a field of view of the camera with respect to a monitoring criterion using an image monitoring and capture module associated with the camera;

capture the image of the check using the camera when the image of the check in the field of view passes the monitoring criterion; and

transmit the image of the check from the mobile device to a deposit system configured to clear the check and deposit funds of the check into a deposit account of the user.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions that provide feedback, via the mobile device to the user, when the image of the check in the field of view passes the monitoring criterion, prior to capturing the image of the check.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the feedback comprises instructions to the user to capture the image of the check.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the monitoring criterion comprises light contrast or light brightness of the image.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the monitoring criterion comprises skewing of the image or warping of the image.

14. A system for depositing a check, comprising:

a subsystem that receives at a server a request for access to a deposit system from a mobile device;

a subsystem that receives, at the server from the mobile device, an image of the check in a field of view of a camera associated with the mobile device;

a subsystem that monitors, at a computing device of the server, the image with respect to a monitoring criterion;

a subsystem that provides instructions from the server to the mobile device to create a digital image of the check when the image passes the monitoring criterion;

a subsystem that receives the digital image at the server from the mobile device;

a subsystem that processes the digital image at a check processing module of the server; and

a subsystem that deposits funds of the check into an account associated with the deposit system using the processed digital image and a check clearance module of the server.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the monitoring criterion is based on light in the image.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the subsystem that monitors the image with respect to the monitoring criterion comprises a subsystem that generates a histogram using the image and uses the histogram in determining when the image passes the monitoring criterion.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising a subsystem that provides feedback from the server to the mobile device regarding the image with respect to the monitoring criterion prior to the image passing the monitoring criterion.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein creating the digital image of the check when the image passes the monitoring criterion is performed without user intervention.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the mobile device comprises a video source and the image of the check is provided in a video received from the mobile device.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the image of the check is a frame of a live video of the check.