CA1301930C - Method and apparatus for image capture of information on documents - Google Patents
Method and apparatus for image capture of information on documentsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1301930C CA1301930C CA000570141A CA570141A CA1301930C CA 1301930 C CA1301930 C CA 1301930C CA 000570141 A CA000570141 A CA 000570141A CA 570141 A CA570141 A CA 570141A CA 1301930 C CA1301930 C CA 1301930C
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Abstract
"IMPROVED METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMAGE CAPTURE
OF INFORMATION ON DOCUMENTS"
Abstract of the Disclosure Method and apparatus for enhancing the image capture of data, such as MICR characters and handwritten and printed information from the face of financial documents having background patterns and illustrations thereon. The documents are back lighted with sufficient illuminating intensity to wash out the less opaque patterns and illustrations so as to enhance the visibility and image capture of the pertinent data.
OF INFORMATION ON DOCUMENTS"
Abstract of the Disclosure Method and apparatus for enhancing the image capture of data, such as MICR characters and handwritten and printed information from the face of financial documents having background patterns and illustrations thereon. The documents are back lighted with sufficient illuminating intensity to wash out the less opaque patterns and illustrations so as to enhance the visibility and image capture of the pertinent data.
Description
! IMPROVED M33THOD AND APPARI~TUS FOR IMAGE CAPTllRE
OF INFORMATION ON DOCUMENTS
l Field of the Invention _.
OF INFORMATION ON DOCUMENTS
l Field of the Invention _.
2 This invention rela-tes to improvements ln document
3 processing, more particularly to improved methods and apparatus
4 for the image capture of information on a face of the documents, and more particularly to an improved method and apparatus for 6 illuminating the documents for increased reliability of such 7 image capture.
8 Background of the Invention 9 Recently, increased efforts have been devoted to improving the efEiciency of reading written or printed 11 information from the face of paper documents. For example, in 12 the area of processing of financial documents such as checks, 13 deposit slips, remittance advice stubs, and the like, the use of 14 image processing technology has been receiving increased application. In accordance with typical image processing 16 techniques, doculllents are transported to a scanning station at 17 which a camera and assoclated electronlcs are used to capture and 18 digitize all or a portion of the image of a face of each of the 19 documents. The digitlzed image is stored and subsequently processed, for example, to display the lmage (by way of a CRT, 21 for instance) to an operator for keying specific in~ormation into 22 the system processor; the document irnages also being used, for 23 example, for bank statement preparation and/or reproduced for 24 archlval storage on microfilm, magnetic tape, optical discs, etc.
26 A chlef advantage of this technology is that the 27 document images, rather than the documents, are used for viewing 28 and processing, thus increasing -the speed and overall flexlbility 29 of the document processing operation, as well as reducing or ellminating the need for retaining the documents themselves. The 31 archiving, cataloging, and other processes wh~ch are requlrecl for ?l.~3~ ~0 1 record-keeping purposes can be more efflclently carried out, and 2 additionally, the space required for such electronically-3 reprodllced forms can be much reduced from that heretofore 4 requlred.
The increasing use of background lllustrations and 6 safety patterns on checks and other items, however, poses special 7 problems for the image processing of these financial documents.
8 First, these patterns and illustrations increase the amount of 9 data bit storage required in the system processor. Secondly, the various scenes of mountains, seashores, animals, and the like 11 which are imprinted on the checks oftentimes obscure and 12 interfere with pertinent data Erom being image captured from the 13 face of the document, especially the si~natures and dollar 14 amounts written thereon. In particular, these patterns make it difficult, if not lmposslble, for the camera to discriminate 16 between the important information which is to be captured from 17 the face of the check and the background illustrations.
18 Amplifying this problem is that conventional image processing 19 normally relies upon front lighting of the document and such front llghting actually enhances the background patterns, which 21 in turn further obscures the information or data which is to be 22 detected or captured from the face of the document.
23 oblects and Summary _f the Invention 24 In llght of the above, it is therefore an initial ob~ect of the present invention to provide a new and lmproved method and 26 apparatu~ in an image processing system for rellably detecting 27 land capturing information and other data imprinted or hand 28 written on checks and other financial documents.
29 It ls another ob~ect of the present lnvention to provlde a new and lmproved method and apparatus for enhancing the ability 31 to image capture data from the face of patterned or illustrated 32 checks in a documen-t processing system while at the same time 33 ~linimlzing data storage capacity required for same.
~ 3~
1 It is another object of the invention to provide a 2 method and apparatus of the type described in which the 3 undesirable effects of front document lighting are minimized and 4 the reflected light variations due to imprinted design patterns are minimized.
6 These and other objects, feature~ and advantages will be 7 apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed 8 description, when read in conjunction W7 th the accompanying g drawings and appended claims.
In accordance with a broad aspect of the invention, an 11 apparatus and method are provided for uniquely illuminating the 12 financial document so as to enhance the electronic detection and 13 image capture of imprinted and handwritten information on the 14 ~aces of the document, as distinguished from the background illustration or patterns on such document face. The illumination 16 approach provides back lighting of the document so that the light 17 passes through the document to an electroni.c detection means, such 18 as a document digitizing camera, whereby the imprinted or 19 handwritten information is emphasized or enhanced and the lighter, or less opaque, background patterns are de-emphasized or 21 eliminated altogether.
22 Broadly stated, the invention is an improved method for 23 the image capture of data from the face of documents having 24 background patterns or i7lustrations of lesser opacity than the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, comprising the 26 step of: directing a first light at a back side of a document of 27 intensity sufficient to travel through said document and render 28 said patterns or illustrations substantially invisible to image 29 capture, thereby to enhance the image capture of said data;
concomitantly directing a second light at the front side of said 31 document; and captuxing the image data on said document from only 32 one of said sidesO
~ 3~
1 In another broad aspect~ the invention is an apparatus 2 for enhancing the image capture of data from the face of documents 3 having background patterns or illustrations of lesser opacity than 4 the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, said apparatus comprising: means for transporting each of said 6 documents in a transport path past a viewing station operative for 7 capturing document data only from one side of said transport path;
8 image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for 9 capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents; first illumination means for illuminating a back side 11 of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said 12 patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image 13 capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data; and 14 second illumination means for concomitantly illuminating the front side of said documents.
16 Brief Description of the Drawinqs 17 Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated 18 in the accompanyi.ng drawings in which:
19 P.TGURE 1 is a perspective, diagrammatic illustration of 20 one preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present 21 invention;
22 FIGURE 2 is a p~rspective, diagrammatic illustration of 23 an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the invention for 24 focusing back-light onto a particular portion of the document;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective diagrammatic illustration of 26 another alternate embodiment of tAe apparatus of the invention .
- 3a -- ~3~
1 for focllsing back llght onto a very small selectlve portion of 2 the document.
3 Detailed Descrip-tion of the Preferred Embodiments 4 Referring now to Flgure 1, the back-lighting apparatus of the invention ls used in conjunction with known lmage capture 6 or detection means (not shown) which may be, for example, a 7 conventional document digitizing camera (and associated 8 electronics~ or other type of image scanning equipment. One type 9 of suitable image capture apparatus is described in U.S. Patent 4,510,619 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
11 A conventlonal transport assembly (not depicted~ is provided by 12 which documents 12 are manually or automatlcally transported 13 (along a transport guide 11) in the direction of the arrow A into 14 the viewlng area of the image detection means. The most widely used image detection means is a digitizing camera ln which a 16 small area, such as the illustrated area 13, is scanned. As the 17 document 1~ is transported past the viewing area 13, a face of 18 the document 12 (or selected portions thereoE) are scanned, with 19 the captured image stored and used for subsequent processing, as deslred. For the purpose of this description, and for 21 illustrative purposes, the document 12 ls a check haviny 22 background illustrations or patterns on the face of the check.
23 As illustrated, the check 12 has a number of MICR
24 (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) characters 19,- usually alon~
a lower marginal area or field 20. As is conventional, various 26 lines and block 22 are provided indicating locations for entering 27 the identification of the payor and payee, dollar amount of the 28 instrument, etc. Of particular concern, patterns or scenic 29 designs 23 have been pre-printed on the face of th~ check and, as shown, such designs may extend into the areas or fields 31 in whlch the MICR characters 19 are located or in whlch the 32 dollar amounts or payor/payee ldentlfications have been 33 ~handwrltten O prlnted. Som~ Of the prlnted characters 19 or `- ~3~
, . .............................. I
1 handwritten data may ln fact be located directly over portions of I
2 the scenic design 23 so that such deslgn portions practically , 3 obscure the important check data.
4 Two lamps, such as elongated fluorescent tubes 1~ and 16, are in conventional systems normally provided ad~acent to the I
6 front face oE the check 12. The tubes 1~ and 16 are typically I
7 located side-by-side, on each side of the viewing area 13, the j 8 detection means (carnera) ordinarily detecting light reflected 9 from the document 12 (and the data on the face of the document) within the viewing area 13. It has been found that because of 11 the nature by which light is reflected from the document 12, and 12 particularly under the circumstances of this front lighting by 13 itself, that the dark areas of the design 23 oftentimes 14 completely obscure the information which is desired to be image captured, particularly the handwritten informatlon (dollar 16 amount, slgnature, etc.), and the ability of the camera to 17 capture such information~
18 To overcome such problem, and in accordance with a 19 preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more lamps, for instance fluorescent tubes 17 and 18, are disposed behind the 21 document 12, as shown in Figure 1. The lamps 17 and 18, ln the 22 preferr~d embodiment of Figure 1, back-light ea~h document 12 23 generally in the same area and in the same manner as the tubes 15 i 24 and 1~, only on the back side thereof. The result is that light ¦
from the tubes 17 and 1~ travels through the document 12 and 26 tends to ~wash out~' tha less opaque or halftone lnk that is 27 typically used for printing the scenic illustrations and safety 2~ patterns on the checks.
29 More specifically, the back-llghting approach of the !
invention takes advantage of the fact that the opacity of the i 31 medium of which the pertinent data that is desired to be image 32 captured ~dollar amounts, signatures, MIC~ characters) is printed 33 or written is greater than the opaclty of the ink used to print ~ ~ L~?3~ `~
1 the background patterns and illustrations. Thus, the light from 2 the tubes 17 and 18 passes through the document, and in a 3 diffused manner through the designs and patterns 23, and is more 4 effectlvely blocked by the more opaque handwritten and printed data, thus efectively washing out the background illustrations 6 and patterns, and enhancing the image capture of the pertlnent 7 data.
8 Additionally, digltizlng camera apparatus which is 9 typically used to "capture" the image in many document processlng image systems essentially operates on the basic principal of 11 detecting and storing transltions between light and dark areas on 12 the document; and by utllizing the back-llghting technique of the 13 invention, the halftone patterned areas are washed out 14 sufficiently so that no light-to-dark transitions appear to occur in those areas. Consequently, in addition to enhancing the 16 capture oE the relevant data from the document, the method and 17 apparatus of the invention enables a reductlon in the amount of 18 memory that is requlred to accompllsh the requlred storage and 19 processing.
It should also be noted that in optlmizlng the image 21 capture of the desired relevant data from the document, the data 22 must in the first lnstance be reliably detected; and there is 23 virtually no way to predict ln advance the type, nature or 24 quality of such data, particularly the handwritten data.
Accordingly, to achleve such optimization, the back lighting of 26 the document is preferably used in con~unction with the front 27 lightlng of the document, as shown in Figure l.
28 Furthermore, lt has been found that when such 29 combinàtion ls employed, it may be desirable to ad~ust the relative intensities of the llght emi-tted from the rear tubes 17 31 and 18 wlth respect to the front tubes 15 and 16; and for thls 32 purpose, separate power supplies 25 and 26 are provided to 33 lndep dently control the respestlve lntenslties of the set oL
~ , ~L3~3C~
.. .~ I
1 tubes 15 and 16 and the set of tubes 17 and 18. In addition, it 2 may be desirable to use automatic gain type controls for 3 regulating the intensltles as a function of the amount of light reflected from the document. secause the kind, quality and nature of the particular documents belny processed may vary from 6 one geographlcal area of the country to the other, or even from I
7 batch to batch, some experimentation may be necessary to ¦
8 de-termine the desired respective light intensities from the front 9 and rear lights which will optimize image capture of the desired data.
11 It should be appreciated that although elongated 12 fluorescent tubes 17 and 18 have been previously described as the 13 back-lightlng source, various other types of lighting means can 14 be alternatively employed. For example, one could use I
incandescent lamps or, alternatively, light sources which emit !
16 light of particular wavelength compatible with the spectral ¦
17 sensitlvity of the particular detection means.
If only particular areas of the document, rather than ¦
19 the entire document, are o~ lnterest ln particular applications, the light apparatus can be arranged to back-illuminate primarlly, I
21 or only, that particular area of lnterest. For example, as shown ¦
22 in Figure 2, the rear llght arrangement may utillze a pair of ¦
23 vertically dlsposed and shaped llght plpes ~or other similar type 24 light-directlng means) 30 and 31 in combinat~on wlth one or more lncandescent ~or other type) light sources 34 and 3s so as to 26 concentrate the light on a particular vertical segment at the 27 back of the document 12.
28 Alternatively, and as shown in Flgure 3, it may be !
29 desirable to back-illumlnate, for example, only a por-tion of the I
lower marginal area 20 of the document 12 whlch contain the MICR ¦
31 characters 19; and for this purpose, a llght p~pe ~Q having a ¦
32 narrow, shorter vertical height portion 41 aligned with, and 33 ad~acent to, the lower marginal area 20 can be employed w1th a 34 single incandescent lamp 43 used as the light ~source.
~33c~
. ., `J
1 ~lthough the inventlon has been descr~bed and Z illustrated wlth respect to partlcular preferred embodiments, it I
3 is understood that such descriptlon has been made by way of ¦
4 example only and that numerous changes in the combination and ¦
S arrangement of parts can be resort~d to by those skllled in the I
art wlthout departlng from the spirlt and the scope of the !
7 invention as herelnafter clalmed.
8 Background of the Invention 9 Recently, increased efforts have been devoted to improving the efEiciency of reading written or printed 11 information from the face of paper documents. For example, in 12 the area of processing of financial documents such as checks, 13 deposit slips, remittance advice stubs, and the like, the use of 14 image processing technology has been receiving increased application. In accordance with typical image processing 16 techniques, doculllents are transported to a scanning station at 17 which a camera and assoclated electronlcs are used to capture and 18 digitize all or a portion of the image of a face of each of the 19 documents. The digitlzed image is stored and subsequently processed, for example, to display the lmage (by way of a CRT, 21 for instance) to an operator for keying specific in~ormation into 22 the system processor; the document irnages also being used, for 23 example, for bank statement preparation and/or reproduced for 24 archlval storage on microfilm, magnetic tape, optical discs, etc.
26 A chlef advantage of this technology is that the 27 document images, rather than the documents, are used for viewing 28 and processing, thus increasing -the speed and overall flexlbility 29 of the document processing operation, as well as reducing or ellminating the need for retaining the documents themselves. The 31 archiving, cataloging, and other processes wh~ch are requlrecl for ?l.~3~ ~0 1 record-keeping purposes can be more efflclently carried out, and 2 additionally, the space required for such electronically-3 reprodllced forms can be much reduced from that heretofore 4 requlred.
The increasing use of background lllustrations and 6 safety patterns on checks and other items, however, poses special 7 problems for the image processing of these financial documents.
8 First, these patterns and illustrations increase the amount of 9 data bit storage required in the system processor. Secondly, the various scenes of mountains, seashores, animals, and the like 11 which are imprinted on the checks oftentimes obscure and 12 interfere with pertinent data Erom being image captured from the 13 face of the document, especially the si~natures and dollar 14 amounts written thereon. In particular, these patterns make it difficult, if not lmposslble, for the camera to discriminate 16 between the important information which is to be captured from 17 the face of the check and the background illustrations.
18 Amplifying this problem is that conventional image processing 19 normally relies upon front lighting of the document and such front llghting actually enhances the background patterns, which 21 in turn further obscures the information or data which is to be 22 detected or captured from the face of the document.
23 oblects and Summary _f the Invention 24 In llght of the above, it is therefore an initial ob~ect of the present invention to provide a new and lmproved method and 26 apparatu~ in an image processing system for rellably detecting 27 land capturing information and other data imprinted or hand 28 written on checks and other financial documents.
29 It ls another ob~ect of the present lnvention to provlde a new and lmproved method and apparatus for enhancing the ability 31 to image capture data from the face of patterned or illustrated 32 checks in a documen-t processing system while at the same time 33 ~linimlzing data storage capacity required for same.
~ 3~
1 It is another object of the invention to provide a 2 method and apparatus of the type described in which the 3 undesirable effects of front document lighting are minimized and 4 the reflected light variations due to imprinted design patterns are minimized.
6 These and other objects, feature~ and advantages will be 7 apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed 8 description, when read in conjunction W7 th the accompanying g drawings and appended claims.
In accordance with a broad aspect of the invention, an 11 apparatus and method are provided for uniquely illuminating the 12 financial document so as to enhance the electronic detection and 13 image capture of imprinted and handwritten information on the 14 ~aces of the document, as distinguished from the background illustration or patterns on such document face. The illumination 16 approach provides back lighting of the document so that the light 17 passes through the document to an electroni.c detection means, such 18 as a document digitizing camera, whereby the imprinted or 19 handwritten information is emphasized or enhanced and the lighter, or less opaque, background patterns are de-emphasized or 21 eliminated altogether.
22 Broadly stated, the invention is an improved method for 23 the image capture of data from the face of documents having 24 background patterns or i7lustrations of lesser opacity than the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, comprising the 26 step of: directing a first light at a back side of a document of 27 intensity sufficient to travel through said document and render 28 said patterns or illustrations substantially invisible to image 29 capture, thereby to enhance the image capture of said data;
concomitantly directing a second light at the front side of said 31 document; and captuxing the image data on said document from only 32 one of said sidesO
~ 3~
1 In another broad aspect~ the invention is an apparatus 2 for enhancing the image capture of data from the face of documents 3 having background patterns or illustrations of lesser opacity than 4 the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, said apparatus comprising: means for transporting each of said 6 documents in a transport path past a viewing station operative for 7 capturing document data only from one side of said transport path;
8 image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for 9 capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents; first illumination means for illuminating a back side 11 of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said 12 patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image 13 capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data; and 14 second illumination means for concomitantly illuminating the front side of said documents.
16 Brief Description of the Drawinqs 17 Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated 18 in the accompanyi.ng drawings in which:
19 P.TGURE 1 is a perspective, diagrammatic illustration of 20 one preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present 21 invention;
22 FIGURE 2 is a p~rspective, diagrammatic illustration of 23 an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the invention for 24 focusing back-light onto a particular portion of the document;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective diagrammatic illustration of 26 another alternate embodiment of tAe apparatus of the invention .
- 3a -- ~3~
1 for focllsing back llght onto a very small selectlve portion of 2 the document.
3 Detailed Descrip-tion of the Preferred Embodiments 4 Referring now to Flgure 1, the back-lighting apparatus of the invention ls used in conjunction with known lmage capture 6 or detection means (not shown) which may be, for example, a 7 conventional document digitizing camera (and associated 8 electronics~ or other type of image scanning equipment. One type 9 of suitable image capture apparatus is described in U.S. Patent 4,510,619 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
11 A conventlonal transport assembly (not depicted~ is provided by 12 which documents 12 are manually or automatlcally transported 13 (along a transport guide 11) in the direction of the arrow A into 14 the viewlng area of the image detection means. The most widely used image detection means is a digitizing camera ln which a 16 small area, such as the illustrated area 13, is scanned. As the 17 document 1~ is transported past the viewing area 13, a face of 18 the document 12 (or selected portions thereoE) are scanned, with 19 the captured image stored and used for subsequent processing, as deslred. For the purpose of this description, and for 21 illustrative purposes, the document 12 ls a check haviny 22 background illustrations or patterns on the face of the check.
23 As illustrated, the check 12 has a number of MICR
24 (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) characters 19,- usually alon~
a lower marginal area or field 20. As is conventional, various 26 lines and block 22 are provided indicating locations for entering 27 the identification of the payor and payee, dollar amount of the 28 instrument, etc. Of particular concern, patterns or scenic 29 designs 23 have been pre-printed on the face of th~ check and, as shown, such designs may extend into the areas or fields 31 in whlch the MICR characters 19 are located or in whlch the 32 dollar amounts or payor/payee ldentlfications have been 33 ~handwrltten O prlnted. Som~ Of the prlnted characters 19 or `- ~3~
, . .............................. I
1 handwritten data may ln fact be located directly over portions of I
2 the scenic design 23 so that such deslgn portions practically , 3 obscure the important check data.
4 Two lamps, such as elongated fluorescent tubes 1~ and 16, are in conventional systems normally provided ad~acent to the I
6 front face oE the check 12. The tubes 1~ and 16 are typically I
7 located side-by-side, on each side of the viewing area 13, the j 8 detection means (carnera) ordinarily detecting light reflected 9 from the document 12 (and the data on the face of the document) within the viewing area 13. It has been found that because of 11 the nature by which light is reflected from the document 12, and 12 particularly under the circumstances of this front lighting by 13 itself, that the dark areas of the design 23 oftentimes 14 completely obscure the information which is desired to be image captured, particularly the handwritten informatlon (dollar 16 amount, slgnature, etc.), and the ability of the camera to 17 capture such information~
18 To overcome such problem, and in accordance with a 19 preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more lamps, for instance fluorescent tubes 17 and 18, are disposed behind the 21 document 12, as shown in Figure 1. The lamps 17 and 18, ln the 22 preferr~d embodiment of Figure 1, back-light ea~h document 12 23 generally in the same area and in the same manner as the tubes 15 i 24 and 1~, only on the back side thereof. The result is that light ¦
from the tubes 17 and 1~ travels through the document 12 and 26 tends to ~wash out~' tha less opaque or halftone lnk that is 27 typically used for printing the scenic illustrations and safety 2~ patterns on the checks.
29 More specifically, the back-llghting approach of the !
invention takes advantage of the fact that the opacity of the i 31 medium of which the pertinent data that is desired to be image 32 captured ~dollar amounts, signatures, MIC~ characters) is printed 33 or written is greater than the opaclty of the ink used to print ~ ~ L~?3~ `~
1 the background patterns and illustrations. Thus, the light from 2 the tubes 17 and 18 passes through the document, and in a 3 diffused manner through the designs and patterns 23, and is more 4 effectlvely blocked by the more opaque handwritten and printed data, thus efectively washing out the background illustrations 6 and patterns, and enhancing the image capture of the pertlnent 7 data.
8 Additionally, digltizlng camera apparatus which is 9 typically used to "capture" the image in many document processlng image systems essentially operates on the basic principal of 11 detecting and storing transltions between light and dark areas on 12 the document; and by utllizing the back-llghting technique of the 13 invention, the halftone patterned areas are washed out 14 sufficiently so that no light-to-dark transitions appear to occur in those areas. Consequently, in addition to enhancing the 16 capture oE the relevant data from the document, the method and 17 apparatus of the invention enables a reductlon in the amount of 18 memory that is requlred to accompllsh the requlred storage and 19 processing.
It should also be noted that in optlmizlng the image 21 capture of the desired relevant data from the document, the data 22 must in the first lnstance be reliably detected; and there is 23 virtually no way to predict ln advance the type, nature or 24 quality of such data, particularly the handwritten data.
Accordingly, to achleve such optimization, the back lighting of 26 the document is preferably used in con~unction with the front 27 lightlng of the document, as shown in Figure l.
28 Furthermore, lt has been found that when such 29 combinàtion ls employed, it may be desirable to ad~ust the relative intensities of the llght emi-tted from the rear tubes 17 31 and 18 wlth respect to the front tubes 15 and 16; and for thls 32 purpose, separate power supplies 25 and 26 are provided to 33 lndep dently control the respestlve lntenslties of the set oL
~ , ~L3~3C~
.. .~ I
1 tubes 15 and 16 and the set of tubes 17 and 18. In addition, it 2 may be desirable to use automatic gain type controls for 3 regulating the intensltles as a function of the amount of light reflected from the document. secause the kind, quality and nature of the particular documents belny processed may vary from 6 one geographlcal area of the country to the other, or even from I
7 batch to batch, some experimentation may be necessary to ¦
8 de-termine the desired respective light intensities from the front 9 and rear lights which will optimize image capture of the desired data.
11 It should be appreciated that although elongated 12 fluorescent tubes 17 and 18 have been previously described as the 13 back-lightlng source, various other types of lighting means can 14 be alternatively employed. For example, one could use I
incandescent lamps or, alternatively, light sources which emit !
16 light of particular wavelength compatible with the spectral ¦
17 sensitlvity of the particular detection means.
If only particular areas of the document, rather than ¦
19 the entire document, are o~ lnterest ln particular applications, the light apparatus can be arranged to back-illuminate primarlly, I
21 or only, that particular area of lnterest. For example, as shown ¦
22 in Figure 2, the rear llght arrangement may utillze a pair of ¦
23 vertically dlsposed and shaped llght plpes ~or other similar type 24 light-directlng means) 30 and 31 in combinat~on wlth one or more lncandescent ~or other type) light sources 34 and 3s so as to 26 concentrate the light on a particular vertical segment at the 27 back of the document 12.
28 Alternatively, and as shown in Flgure 3, it may be !
29 desirable to back-illumlnate, for example, only a por-tion of the I
lower marginal area 20 of the document 12 whlch contain the MICR ¦
31 characters 19; and for this purpose, a llght p~pe ~Q having a ¦
32 narrow, shorter vertical height portion 41 aligned with, and 33 ad~acent to, the lower marginal area 20 can be employed w1th a 34 single incandescent lamp 43 used as the light ~source.
~33c~
. ., `J
1 ~lthough the inventlon has been descr~bed and Z illustrated wlth respect to partlcular preferred embodiments, it I
3 is understood that such descriptlon has been made by way of ¦
4 example only and that numerous changes in the combination and ¦
S arrangement of parts can be resort~d to by those skllled in the I
art wlthout departlng from the spirlt and the scope of the !
7 invention as herelnafter clalmed.
Claims (9)
1. In a method for the image capture of data from the face of documents having background patterns or illustrations of lesser opacity than the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, the step of:
directing a first light at a back side of a document of intensity sufficient to travel through said docu-ment and render said patterns or illustrations substantially invisible to image capture, thereby to enhance the image cap-ture of said data;
concomitantly directing a second light at the front side of said document and capturing the image data on said document from only one of said sides.
directing a first light at a back side of a document of intensity sufficient to travel through said docu-ment and render said patterns or illustrations substantially invisible to image capture, thereby to enhance the image cap-ture of said data;
concomitantly directing a second light at the front side of said document and capturing the image data on said document from only one of said sides.
2. The method of Claim 1 wherein said light is from a fluorescent light source.
3. Apparatus for enhancing the image capture of data from the face of documents having background patterns or illustrations of lesser opacity than the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, said apparatus comprising:
means for transporting each of said documents in a transport path past a viewing station operative for capturing document data only from one side of said transport path, image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents;
first illumination means for illuminating a back side of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data; and second illumination means for concomitantly illuminating the front side of said documents.
means for transporting each of said documents in a transport path past a viewing station operative for capturing document data only from one side of said transport path, image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents;
first illumination means for illuminating a back side of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data; and second illumination means for concomitantly illuminating the front side of said documents.
4. The apparatus of Claim 3 wherein said first illumination means comprises fluorescent light tubes of suffi-cient length to illuminate the back of said documents.
5. The apparatus of Claim 3 wherein said first illumination means comprises light pipe means to direct light at a specific portion of said document.
6. The apparatus as defined by Claim 3 wherein said data is handwritten information on the face of said documents.
7. Apparatus for enhancing the image capture of data from the face of documents having background patterns or illustrations of lesser opacity than the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, said apparatus comprising:
means for transporting each of said documents past a viewing station;
image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents:
first illumination means for illuminating a back side of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data;
second illumination means for illuminating the front face of said documents; and means for independently adjusting the relative intensities of said first and second illumination means.
means for transporting each of said documents past a viewing station;
image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents:
first illumination means for illuminating a back side of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data;
second illumination means for illuminating the front face of said documents; and means for independently adjusting the relative intensities of said first and second illumination means.
8. The apparatus of Claim 7 wherein said adjusting means is automatic gain control apparatus.
9. Apparatus for enhancing the image capture of data from the face of documents having background patterns or illustra-tions of lesser opacity than the opacity of the medium of which the data is formed, said apparatus comprising:
means for transporting each of said documents past a viewing station;
image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents;
first illumination means for illuminating a back side of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data; and second illumination means for illuminating the front face of said documents.
means for transporting each of said documents past a viewing station;
image capture means disposed in front of said viewing station for capturing the image of at least a portion of a face of said documents;
first illumination means for illuminating a back side of said documents at said viewing station so as to render said patterns or illustrations essentially invisible to said image capture means and to enhance the image capture of said data; and second illumination means for illuminating the front face of said documents.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000570141A CA1301930C (en) | 1988-06-22 | 1988-06-22 | Method and apparatus for image capture of information on documents |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000570141A CA1301930C (en) | 1988-06-22 | 1988-06-22 | Method and apparatus for image capture of information on documents |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1301930C true CA1301930C (en) | 1992-05-26 |
Family
ID=4138256
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000570141A Expired - Fee Related CA1301930C (en) | 1988-06-22 | 1988-06-22 | Method and apparatus for image capture of information on documents |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1301930C (en) |
-
1988
- 1988-06-22 CA CA000570141A patent/CA1301930C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKLA | Lapsed |