U.S. patent number RE31,692 [Application Number 05/912,277] was granted by the patent office on 1984-10-02 for combined magnetic optical character reader.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Optical Recognition Systems, Inc.. Invention is credited to Joseph R. Kenney, Brian D. Mayberry, Donald W. Russell, Robert M. Tyburski.
United States Patent |
RE31,692 |
Tyburski , et al. |
October 2, 1984 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Combined magnetic optical character reader
Abstract
A system and method for character recognition in which each of a
plurality of characters is recognized both magnetically and
optically. If the magnetic reader fails to recognize a character
while the optical reader is successful in recognizing it, a
character identification signal corresponding to the character
recognized by the optical reader is generated while if the optical
reader fails to recognize a character and the magnetic reader is
successful in recognizing it, an identification signal
corresponding to the character recognized by the magnetic reader is
generated. Where the magnetic and topical readers provide signals
indicative of different characters while attempting to read the
same character, depending on the parameters of the system an
identification signal corresponding to one or the other recognition
signals, or a reject signal is generated.
Inventors: |
Tyburski; Robert M. (Fairfax,
VA), Russell; Donald W. (Potomac, MD), Mayberry; Brian
D. (Alexandria, VA), Kenney; Joseph R. (Woodbridge,
VA) |
Assignee: |
Optical Recognition Systems,
Inc. (Reston, VA)
|
Family
ID: |
26940233 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/912,277 |
Filed: |
June 5, 1978 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
249643 |
May 2, 1972 |
03764978 |
Oct 9, 1973 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
382/140; 235/437;
235/440; 235/449; 235/454; 382/310; 382/318; 382/320; 382/321 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06K
9/03 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06K
9/03 (20060101); G06K 009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;235/449,454,440,462,437
;340/146.3D,146.3ED,146.3R,146.3C,146.3Z ;382/7,57,62,64,65 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
820283 |
|
Sep 1959 |
|
GB |
|
977662 |
|
Dec 1964 |
|
GB |
|
1131468 |
|
Oct 1968 |
|
GB |
|
1182713 |
|
Mar 1970 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Boudreau; Leo H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Beveridge, De Grandi &
Kline
Claims
I claim: .[.1. A character recognition system for recognizing
characters, at least some of which are printed in magnetic ink
comprising magnetic character recognition means for providing a
first character recognition signal in response to the magnetic
properties of each of said characters, optical character
recognition means for providing a second character recognition
signal in response to the optical properties of each of said
characters, and means including means for comparing said first and
second recognition signals for providing a final identification
signal corresponding to each of said characters..]. .[.2. The
system of claim 1 wherein said means for comparing includes means
for deciding whether said first and second recognition signals for
each character are the same..]. .[.3. The system of claim 2 wherein
said means for providing an identification signal further includes
means responsive to said means for deciding, for providing an
identification signal corresponding to the same character as each
of said recognition signals when said first and second
recognition signals are the same..]. .[.4. The system of claim 2
wherein said means for providing an identification signal includes
means responsive to said means for deciding, for providing a reject
identification signal when said first and second recognition
signals are not the same..]. .[.5. The system of claim 2 further
including means for simultaneously supplying said first and second
recognition signals to said means for providing an identification
signal..]. .[.6. The system of claim 5 wherein one of said magnetic
and optical character recognition means provides a recognition
signal before the other and wherein said means for simultaneously
supplying said first and second signals to said means for providing
an identification signal comprises means for delaying said
recognition signal which is provided before the other..]. .[.7. The
system of claim 1 wherein said means for providing a final
identification signal further includes means responsive to the
comparison performed by said means for comparing for determining
said final identification signal..].
.[.The system of claim 7 wherein said means for providing said
final identification signal is.]. .Iadd.A character recognition
system for recognizing characters, at least some of which are
printed in magnetic ink comprising magnetic character recognition
means for providing a first character recognition signal in
response to the magnetic properties of each of said characters,
optical character recognition means for providing a second
character recognition signal in response to the optical properties
of each of said characters, and means .Iaddend.responsive to at
least a preselected parameter of said characters being recognized
.Iadd.and including means for comparing said first and second
recognition signals and means responsive to the comparison
performed by said means for comparing for determining and providing
a final identification signal
corresponding to each of said characters.Iaddend.. 9. The system of
claim 8 wherein said characters being recognized are located on a
document and said preselected parameter is in the position on the
document of the
character being recognized. 10. The system of claim 9 wherein said
characters on said document are disposed in a plurality of
character fields and wherein said at least a preselected parameter
is the character
field in which the character being recognized is disposed. 11. The
system of claim 8 wherein said preselected parameter is the unique
pair of characters corresponding to said first and second
recognition signals.
The system of claim 8 wherein said means for determining is
responsive to at least a preselected parameter of said characters
being recognized. .[.13. The system of claim 1 wherein said
magnetic recognition means includes first transducer means
responsive to the magnetic properties of said characters for
generating a first transducer signal and said optical recognition
means includes second transducer means responsive to the optical
properties of said characters for generating a second transducer
signal, said first and second transducer means being spaced from
each other, said characters to be recognized being disposed on
documents, and means for transporting said documents past a
location where said first transducer means responds to the magnetic
properties of said characters and generates said first transducer
signal and past the location where said second transducer means
responds to the optical properties of said
characters and generates said second transducer signal..]. 14.
.[.The system of claim 13 wherein said means for transporting
comprises mechanical transport means, said system further
including.]. .Iadd.A character recognition system for recognizing
characters, at least some of which are printed in magnetic ink
comprising magnetic character recognition means including first
transducer means responsive to the magnetic properties of said
characters for generating a first transducer signal to provide a
first character recognition signal in response to the magnetic
properties of each of said characters, optical character
recognition means including second transducer means responsive to
the optical properties of said characters for generating a second
transducer signal to provide a second character recognition signal
in response to the optical properties of each of said characters,
said first and second transducer means being spaced from each
other, said characters to be recognized being disposed on
documents, mechanical transport means for transporting said
documents past a location where said first transducer means
responds to the magnetic properties of said characters and
generates said first transducer signal and past the location where
said second transducer means responds to the optical properties of
said characters and generates said second transducer signal, means
including means for comparing said first and second recognition
signals for providing a final identification signal corresponding
to each of said characters, .Iaddend.magnetic tape output means,
print list output means and means for inputting said identification
signals to said tape means and said list means. .[.15. A method of
character recognition for identifying characters at least some of
which are printed in magnetic ink comprising the steps of:
recognizing said characters both magnetically and optically,
generating a magnetic recognition signal and an optical recognition
signal indicative of each of said characters,
deriving from said magnetic and optical signals a final
identification signal for each of said characters..]. .[.16. The
method of claim 15 wherein said step of deriving includes the step
of determining whether said optical recognition signal and said
magnetic recognition signal for
each of said characters is the same..]. 17. .[.The method of claim
16 wherein said step of deriving further includes the step of.].
.Iadd.A method of character recognition for identifying characters
at least some of which are printed in magnetic ink comprising the
steps of:
recognizing said characters both magnetically and optically,
generating a magnetic recognition signal and an optical recognition
signal indicative of each of said characters,
deriving from said magnetic and optical signals a final
identification signal for each of said characters, including
determining whether said optical recognition signal and said
magnetic recognition signal for each of said characters is the same
and .Iaddend.generating an identification signal corresponding to
the same character as one of said magnetic and optical recognition
signals when said one of said signals identifies a character as
being a particular one of said characters being recognized while
the other of said signals fails to identify the character as being
a
particular one of said characters being recognized. 18. The method
of claim 17 wherein said other of said recognition signals may be a
reject
signal. 19. The method of claim 17 wherein said step of deriving
further includes the step of providing either an identification
signal corresponding to the same character as one of said
recognition signals or a reject identification signal when said
magnetic and optical recognition signals identify a character as
being different ones of said characters being recognized. .[.20.
The method of claim 16 wherein one of said magnetic and optical
recognition signals is generated before the other, and wherein said
one of said signals is delayed so as to be coincident with said
other of said signals and wherein said identification signal is
derived from said coincident signals..]. .[.21. The method of claim
15 wherein said step of deriving includes the step of comparing
said magnetic and optical recognition signals..]. .[.22. A check
reader for reading stylized characters printed in magnetic ink
along the bottom edge of checks, comprising magnetic character
recognition means for providing a first recognition signal in
response to the magnetic properties of each of said characters on
said checks, optical character recognition means spaced from said
magnetic character recognition means for providing a second
recognition signal in response to the optical properties of each of
said characters on said checks, means for moving said checks past
said magnetic character recognition means and said optical
character recognition means, and means including means for
comparing said first and second recognition signals for providing a
final identification signal corresponding to each of said
characters, said magnetic character recognition means including
magnetic transducer means, said optical character recognition means
including optical transducer means, and mechanical transport means
for moving said checks past said magnetic and optical transducer
means..].
A character recognition system for recognizing characters, at least
some of which are printed in magnetic ink comprising magnetic
transducer means for generating a fast signal in response to the
magnetic properties of each of said characters, optical transducer
means for generating a second signal in response to the optical
properties of each of said characters, and means for generating an
identification signal corresponding to each of said characters,
said means for generating an identification signal including means
for comparing said first and second signals and for selecting one
of said first and second signals. .[.24. A character recognition
system for recognizing characters, at least some of which are
printed in magnetic ink comprising magentic character recognition
means for providing a first character recognition signal in
response to the magnetic properties of each of said characters,
optical character recognition means for providing a second
character recognition signal in response to the optical properties
of each of said characters, and means responsive to said first and
second recognition signals for providing a final identification
signal indicative of each of said characters, said means for
providing a final identification signal including means for
providing an identification signal corresponding to the same
character as the character that each of said recognition signals
corresponds to when said first and second recognition signals are
the same..]. .[.25. The system of claim 24 wherein said magnetic
recognition means includes first transducer means responsive to the
magnetic properties of said characters for generating a first
transducer signal and said optical recognition means includes
second transducer means responsive to the optical properties of
said characters for generating a second transducer signal, said
first and second transducer means being spaced from each other,
said characters to be recognized being disposed on documents, and
means for transporting said documents past a location where said
first transducer means responds to the magnetic properties of said
characters and generates said first transducer signal and past the
location where said second transducer means responds to the optical
properties of said characters and generates said second transducer
signal..]. .[.26. The system of claim 25 wherein said means for
transporting is a mechanical transport means, said system further
including magnetic.]. .Iadd.A character recognition system for
recognizing characters, at least some of which are printed in
magnetic ink comprising magnetic character recognition means
including first transducer means responsive to the magnetic
properties of said characters for generating a first transducer
signal to provide a first character recognition signal in response
to the magnetic properties of each of said characters, optical
character recognition means including second transducer means
responsive to the optical properties of said characters for
generating a second transducer signal to provide a second character
recognition signal in response to the optical properties of each of
said characters, said first and second transducer means being
spaced from each other, said characters to be recognized being
disposed on documents, and mechanical transport means for
transporting said documents past a location where said first
transducer means responds to the magnetic properties of said
characters and generates said first transducer signal and past the
location where said second transducer means responds to the optical
properties of said characters and generates said second transducer
signal, means responsive to said first and second recognition
signals for providing a final identification signal indicative of
each of said characters, said means for providing a final
identification signal including means for providing an
identification signal corresponding to the same character as the
character that each of said recognition signals corresponds to when
said first and second recognition signals are the same, magnetic
.Iaddend.tape output means, print list output means and means for
inputting said identification signals indicative of each of said
characters to said tape
means and said list means. 27. A character recognition system for
recognizing characters, at least some of which are printed in
magnetic ink comprising magnetic character recogniztion means for
providing a first character recognition signal in response to the
magnetic properties of each of said characters, optical character
recognition means for providing a second character recognition
signal in response to the optical properties of each of said
characters, and means responsive to said first and second
recognition signals for providing a final identification signal
indicative of each of said characters, said means for providing a
final identification signal including means for selecting one of
said first and second signals when said first and second signals
are different and for providing an identification signal
corresponding to said selected signal.
8. The system of claim 27 wherein said means for selecting includes
means for selecting the recognition signal which corresponds to one
of said characters being recognized when one of said recognition
signals corresponds to one of said characters being recognized and
the other
recognition signal does not. 29. The system of claim 28 wherein
said other
of said recognition signals my be a reject signal. 30. The system
of claim 28 wherein said other of said recognition signals may be a
blank. .[.31. A character recognition system for recognizing
characters, at least some of which are printed in magnetic ink
comprising magnetic character recognition means for providing a
first character recognition signal in response to the magnetic
properties of each of said character, optical character recognition
means for providing a second character recognition signal in
response to the optical properties of each of said characters, and
means responsive to said first and second recognition signals for
providing a final identification signal indicative of each of said
characters, said means for providing a final identification signal
including means for providing either an identification signal
corresponding to the same character as one of said recognition
signals or a reject identification signal when said first and
second recognition signals correspond to different ones of said
characters being recognized..]. .[.32. The system of claim 31
wherein said means for providing either an identification signal or
a reject signal includes.]. .Iadd.A character recognition system
for recognizing characters, at least some of which are printed in
magnetic ink comprising magnetic character recognition means for
providing a first character recognition signal in response to the
magnetic properties of each of said characters, optical character
recognition means for providing a second character recognition
signal in response to the optical properties of each of said
characters, and means responsive to said first and second
recognition signals for providing a final identification signal
indicative of each of said characters, said means for providing a
final identification signal including means for providing either an
identification signal corresponding to the same character as one of
said recognition signals or a reject identification signal when
said first and second recognition signals correspond to different
ones of said characters being recognized, said last-named means
including .Iaddend.means responsive to at least a pre-selected
parameter of said characters being recognized for determining which
one of said recognition signals said identification signal is to
correspond to or whether said identification signal is to be a
reject
signal. 33. The system of claim 32 wherein said characters being
recognized are disposed in a plurality of character fields and
wherein said at least a pre-selected parameter is the character
field in which the
character being recognized is disposed. 34. The system of claim 32
wherein said at least a preselected parameter is the unique pair of
characters corresponding to said first and second character
recognition signals.
.Iadd.35. A character recognition system for recognizing
characters, at least some of which are printed in magnetic ink,
comprising magnetic character recognition means for providing a
first character recognition signal in response to the magnetic
properties of each of said characters; optical character
recognition means for providing a second character recognition
signal in response to the optical properties of each of said
characters; means for generating a parameter signal indicative of a
parameter of said characters; and means, including means for
comparing said first and second recognition signals and means for
selecting one of the first and second recognition signals in
accordance with the parameter indicated by the parameter signal,
for providing a final identification signal corresponding to each
of said characters. .Iaddend. .Iadd.36. A method of character
recognition for identifying characters, at least some of which are
printed in magnetic ink, comprising the steps of:
recognizing said characters both magnetically and optically,
generating a magnetic recognition signal and an optical recognition
signal indicative of each of said characters,
deriving from said magnetic and optical signals a final
identification signal for each of said characters by selecting one
of the magnetic signal and the optical signal to be said final
recognition signal. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.37. A method of character recognition for identifying
characters, at least some of which are printed in magnetic ink,
comprising the steps of:
recognizing said characters both magnetically and optically,
generating a magnetic recognition signal and an optical recognition
signal indicative of each of said characters;
generating a parameter signal indicative of a parameter of said
characters;
deriving from said magnetic and optical signals a final
identification signal for each of said characters by selecting as
the final identification signal one of the magnetic recognition
signal and the optical recognition signal in accordance with the
parameter indicated by the parameter signal. .Iaddend. .Iadd.38. A
check reader for reading stylized characters printed in magnetic
ink along the bottom edge of checks, comprising magnetic character
recognition means for providing a first recognition signal in
response to the magnetic properties of each of said characters on
said checks; optical character recognition means spaced from said
magnetic character recognition means for providing a second
recognition signal in response to the optical properties of each of
said characters on said checks; means for moving said checks past
said magnetic character recognition means and said optical
character recognition means; and means, including means for
comparing said first and second recognition signals and means for
selecting one of said first and second recognition signals, for
providing said selected signal as a final identification signal
corresponding to each of said characters, said magnetic character
recognition means including magnetic transducer means, said optical
character recognition means including optical transducer means, and
said means for moving including mechanical transport means for
moving said checks past said magnetic and optical transducer means.
.Iaddend. .Iadd.39. A check reader for reading stylized characters
printed in magnetic ink along the bottom edge of checks, comprising
magnetic character recognition means for providing a first
recognition signal in response to the magnetic properties of each
of said characters on said checks; optical character recognition
means spaced from said magnetic character recognition means for
providing a second recognition signal in response to the optical
properties of each of said characters on said checks; means for
moving said checks past said magnetic character recognition means
and said optical character recognition means; means for generating
a parameter signal indicative of a parameter of said characters;
and means, including means for comparing said first and second
recognition signals and means for selecting as the final
recognition signal one of the first and second recognition signals
in accordance with the parameter indicated by the parameter signal,
for providing a final identification signal corresponding to each
of said characters, said magnetic character recognition means
including magnetic transducer means, said optical character
recognition means including optical transducer means, and said
means for moving including mechanical transport means for moving
said checks past said magnetic and optical transducer means.
.Iaddend.
Description
This invention relates to a system and method for character
recognition.
In recent years electronic character recognition systems have
gained increased importance in the commerical world. One problem
associated with presently known character recognition systems is
that they are not always capable of positively identifying
characters. For instance, when a character is misshapen or when a
defect appears in a character or the character environment,
presently known character recognition systems may not be able to
identify the character and will emit a reject signal. Documents
including characters which have been rejected are frequently
segregated from the remainder of the documents read for subsequent
processing.
It is desirable to cause the rate of rejected documents to be as
low as possible. This is because the rejected documents must be
processed separately and as such represent a substantial additional
expense in terms of time and money. For instance, one frequently
used procedure is for the rejected documents to be segregated and
for an operator who is in visual contact with the documents to
manually enter information on the rejected documents to the
system.
The character recognition machines of the prior art have used
either solely magnetic reading techniques or solely optical reading
techniques. It has been found that there are certain types of
character defects or character environment defects which cause an
optical reader to reject a character while a magnetic reader is
capable of correctly identifying the character. Conversely, it has
been found that there are certain other character recognition
situations in which a reader using magnetic techniques is more
likely to produce a reject or an erroneous character indication
that a reader using optical techniques. According to the present
invention therefore, a method and system for recognizing characters
is provided in which characters are read both magnetically and
optically and wherein the magnetic reader recognition signal is
selected as the character identification signal when the optical
reader produces a reject signal and wherein the optical reader
recognition signal is utilized as the character identification
signal when the magnetic reader results in a reject signal. By
therefore providing an identification signal for a character
whenever either the optical or magnetic reader can identify a
character the system is able to recognize a greater percentage of
the characters presented to it than either an optical or magnetic
system by itself. The invention thus harnesses the best qualities
of magnetic reading and optical reading to provide a recognition
system having an extremely low reject rate.
Additionally, a character recognition situation is sometimes
encountered where not all of the characters to be recognized are
susceptible to either solely optical or solely magnetic techniques.
For instance, only some of the characters on a document might be
printed in magnetic ink or only some of the characters might be
printed in black ink which is generally the only color ink which
will be properly absorbed by the infrared radiation which is
sometimes utilized in optical systems. According to the invention,
a system having both magnetic and optical recognition capabilities
is provided wherein the magnetic reader can read those characters
which can be recognized only magnetically and the optical reader
can read the characters which can be recognized only optically and
thus all of the characters on any document can be read.
Furthermore, there are character recognition situations where a
high reject rate can be tolerated but where it is imperative to
hold erroneous recognition of characters to be absolute minimum.
According to a further aspect of the invention characters are read
by both magnetic and optical techniques and are rejected unless the
magnetic identification signal and the optical identification
signal agree with each other. This is a redundant type of system
which results in a somewhat higher reject rate than a magnetic or
optical system by itself, but which results in an extremely low
erroneous identification rate.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a system and
method for recognizing characters which results in an extremely low
reject rate.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a character
recognition system and method which can recognize a group of
characters, some of which are susceptible to only magnetic
recognition techniques or to only optical recognition
techniques.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a system
and method for recognizing characters using a redundant technique
which results in an extremely low rate of erroneous character
identification.
It is still a further object of the invention to combine both
magnetic recognition techniques and optical recognition techniques
in a single system.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the
detailed description of a preferred embodiment below when taken in
conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a recognition system according to
the invention.
FIG. 2 shows a table which indicates the identification signal
resulting from various combinations of magnetic recognition signals
and optical recognition signals.
FIG. 3 is an illustration of a typical bank check which may be read
by the recognition system shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an illustration of typical character pairs utilized by
the invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a portion of a redundant recognition
system according to the invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an overview of the system of the
invention.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention is described with
regard to the recognition of the stylized, magnetically printed
characters located at the bottom of bank checks, it is to be
understood that the invention relates to character recognition
broadly and is not to be limited to the recognition of characters
on checks. It should further be understood that while the invention
utilizes both a magnetic character reader and an optical character
reader the invention does not relate to specific optical or
magnetic recognition techniques by themselves and that any optical
or magnetic reading technique may be used.
An overview of the system according to the invention is shown in
FIG. 6. Here document 1 is fed by mechanical transport means 40
past magnetic reading station 2 and optical reading station 4.
Signals corresponding to the characters read at the reading
stations are inputted to computer 41 which may include recognition
logic blocks 3 and 5 and logic blocks 7 to 15 shown in FIG. 1 as
well as means for controlling mechanical transport means 40 as is
known to those skilled in the art. Magnetic tape unit 42 and print
listing unit 43 are connected to the output of computer 41 and are
activated by the computer to compile a permanent tape and printed
record respectively of the characters recognized by the logic of
computer 41.
Referring to the system in greater detail in FIG. 1, document 1
which may be a check, as discussed above, is fed by a conventional
mechanical transport mechanism through magnetic reading station 2.
As discussed above, any type of magnetic reader may be used such as
for instance a conventional MICR reading head which responds to the
total value of the magnetic flux in the magnetically printed
characters passing adjacent thereto. Each character, because of its
different shape, causes the magnetic reader to generate a different
characteristic electrical waveform which is recognized by logic
recognition circuitry 3 which provides a unique coded recognition
signal for each character, and a reject signal if the reader is
unable to identify the character. The code used may be a four-bit
code in which case there would be four lines 19 fed from
recognition logic circuitry 3 to adjustable delay circuitry 16. Of
course, any code having any number of bits may be used for purposes
of illustration, only a single line 19 is illustrated.
Situated a fixed distance D from the magnetic reading station 2 is
optical reading station 4. The transport mechanism transports the
document 1 at a predetermined speed through reading station 2 and
then through reading station 4 where it is read by an optical
reader which can for example be a scanning beam and associated
photodetector which generates a characteristic signal for each
character. Recognition logic circuitry 5 interprets the signal from
the optical reader and provides a unique coded output signal on
line 18 for each character and a reject signal if the reader is
unable to identify the character. Because the distance D between
reading stations and the speed at which the document travels are
both known, the period of time which it takes the document to
travel from magnetic reading station 2 to optical reading station 4
may be ascertained. Adjustable delay network 16 which may comprise
a shift register is arranged to delay the signals on line 19 so
that the magnetic signal representative of each character arrives
at line 17 at approximately the same time that the optical signal
representative of the same character arrives at line 18. Because of
slight variations in the feed speed of the document and the
relative shortness of the coded recognition signals, it is not
generally possible for the signals to arrive on lines 17 and 18 at
exactly the same instant of time and this is why synchronization
logic circuitry 6 is provided. Delay control 16a, which may be a
clock rate control if the delay network is a shift register, is
adjusted so that each recognition signal on line 18 precedes the
corresponding recognition signal on line 17 and synchronization
logic circuitry 6 holds each signal on line 18 until the instant of
time that the corresponding recognition signal on line 17 occurs at
which time the logic network 6 feeds out both pulses in synchronism
at lines 33 and 34. While in the illustrated embodiment of the
invention the document is read first by the magnetic reader, if
desired, it could be read first by the optical reader or under
appropriate conditions could be read by the magnetic and optical
readers simultaneously.
From synchronization circuitry 6 the optical and magnetic signals
are fed on lines 33 and 34 to logic blocks 7 to 12 which are
standard logical decision blocks known to those skilled in the art.
Logic blocks 7 to 11 are arranged to generate an output signal
corresponding to a predetermined one of two input signals and logic
block 12 is arranged to make a somewhat more complex decision
described in greater detail below. While for the purposes of
illustration, logic blocks 7 to 12 have been drawn as separate
logic blocks, it should be understood that in an actual embodiment,
these blocks could comprise portions of a microcomputer. If
desired, the synchronization system shown could be dispensed with
and the signals on lines 17 and 18 could be fed directly into the
mincomputer which could be designed to correlate each magnetic
signal with the corresponding optical signal on a best match basis
before the signals are presented to logic blocks 7 to 12.
Logic blocks 7 to 12 generate a final character identification
signal on the basis of the optical and magnetic recognition signals
fed in on lines 33 and 34 and may be best understood in conjunction
with the table shown in FIG. 2. Each of the columns from left to
right corresponds to the function performed by each of the logic
blocks 7 to 12, respectively. Thus, referring to logic block 7 and
the first column, it is seen that when both the optical signal and
the magnetic signal are indicative of the same character A.sub.1
which they ordinarily will be assuming that there are no defects in
the character or character environment, then logic block 7
generates an output identification signal which corresponds to the
character A.sub.1.
The situation where the optical reader is unable to recognize a
character and produces a reject signal but where the magnetic
reader is able to read the character correctly is shown in column 2
and at logic block 8 and in this case the identification signal
provided by logic block 8 corresponds to the character recognized
by the magnetic reader. There may be a number of reasons why the
optical reader will fail to recognize a character while the
magnetic reader is successful. One such typical situation arises in
reading the amount field of a bank check. A typical bank check is
illustrated in FIG. 3 and along its bottom edge are disposed the
standard stylized characters which have been adopted by the
American Banking Association and which have been designated as the
E-13B font. From left to right there is shown transit field 25
which consists of characters representative of the payor bank and
the Federal Reserve District with which the payor bank is
associated, account field 24 which consists of characters which
identify the account number of the drawer of the check and amount
field 22 which contains characters indicative of the dollar amount
of the check. The transit and account fields are the same for each
check distributed to an account holder and are magnetically
imprinted on the checks before distribution to the clients of the
bank. Amount field 22 on the other hand, is not known until the
check is drawn, and is magnetically imprinted on the check by bank
personnel after the check is presented to the bank for payment. It
frequently occurs that the bank personnel in magnetically
imprinting amount field 22 do not position it properly so that
check border 22 either obscures or interferes with one or more
characters.
An optical reader processing characters which are partially
obscured or interfered with by the check border is likely to be
unable to recognize the characters and will produce a reject
signal. A magnetic reader on the other hand will not "see" the
border at all because the border is not printed in magnetic ink and
hence will respond only to the characters and will therefore be
successful in recongizing the characters. When both an optical
reader and magnetic reader are used together as in the present
invention, logic block 8 will select the recognition signal of the
magnetic reader rather than the reject signal provided by the
optical reader and will generate an identification signal on line
8a indicative of the character A.sub.1 identified by the magnetic
reader. Because the obscured character would have been rejected if
an optical reader were used by itself, it is seen how using both an
optical and magnetic reader together serves to reduce the reject
rate.
Column 3 shows the converse of the situation shown in column 2.
Here the magnetic reader is unable to recognize a character while
the optical reader successfully recognizes the character and logic
block 9 generates an identification signal based on the recognition
signal provided by the optical reader. This situation, for
instance, may occur where a character is somewhat malformed, and
where the optical recognition system is capable of identifying the
character while the magnetic system is not.
Column 4 and logic block 10 illustrate the situation where the
optical signal is a blank or where no signal appears on line 33,
but where the magnetic reader provides either a signal indicative
of a character or a reject signal. In this situation block 10
provides an identification signal corresponding to the recognition
or reject signal provided by the magnetic reader. This situation
may occur if the characters are printed in a color to which the
frequency of radiation used in the optical system is not
responsive. Also in an optical check reading system, the bottom
border of the check, as well as the characters, are scanned by the
reading system and logic circuitry is provided to remove signals
representing the border before the signals are sent to the
recognition circuitry. When characters are printed on the border,
the circuitry which removes the signals indicative of the border
also removes the signals indicative of the characters and a blank
signal is sent to recognition.
Column 5 illustrates the converse of the situation shown in column
4. Here, the magnetic reader produces a blank signal while the
optical reader produces either a character recognition signal or a
reject signal and logic block 11 generates an identification signal
corresponding to the recognition or reject signal of the optical
reader. This situation may occur in a reading application where
some of the characters are not printed in magnetic ink. Hence, it
is seen that according to the invention, not only can the reject
rate be reduced by recognizing characters which could not
heretofore be recognized becuase of defects, but also characters
which could not be recognized because they are not susceptible to
either optical or magnetic recognition, may be recognized.
In the situation shown in column 6, the optical and magnetic
readers provide recognition signals indicative of different
characters and hence an ambiguity results. One way to resolve the
ambiguity is simply to generate a reject signal each time that it
occurs. However, using our knowledge of the various parameters of
the particular recognition application, and the relative strengths
and weaknesses of the optical and magnetic recognition processes,
it is possible to make an intelligent decision and to choose one or
the other of the characters identified under certain conditions.
Throughout the following discussion, it should be kept in mind that
whether a reject is generated in response to the ambiguity or
whether a selection between the optical and magnetic recognition
signals is made, the parameters which form the basis of the
selection and which parameters dominate in any given case are
subject to being varied for any given application in a manner
within the knowledge of one skilled in the art.
In many documents, characters are located in separate fields and
known information about the field in which a character is located
may be used as a parameter to determine whether the magnetic or
optical signal should be chosen when ambiguous readings occur. The
following examples relating to the recognition of characters on
checks illustrate how information about the field in which a
character is located may be used to effect the recognition
process.
Referring to FIG. 3 it is seen that each character field on a check
is set off by unique field identification characters shown at 23,
26 and 27. Recognition signals indicative of these field
identification characters appear on lines 33 and 34 of FIG. 1 and
are fed to logic block 13 which in turn provides a field
identification signal to decision block 12 so that block 12 always
knows which field the character it is processing is in. Logic block
12 may then generate an output signal corresponding to one of the
signals inputted at the bottom of block 12 on lines 33 and 34. When
block 12 receives information indicating that the character is in
the amount field, because of the possibility of interfering borders
and signatures it may be arranged to always generate an output
signal corresponding to the character recognized by the magnetic
reader which is not sensitive to the nonmagnetic borders or
signatures. In the alternative, as discussed above, block 12 may be
arranged to emit a reject signal each time ambiguous readings occur
in the amount field.
The account field, as is known to those skilled in the art, is a
field which checks according to some mathematical scheme such as
Luhn's modulus. After all of the characters in the account field
have been identified, the entire field is automatically checked,
and an erroneous character which has been identified may be
discovered. Hence, there is little risk when an ambiguity occurs in
choosing one or the other of the optical or magnetic recognition
signals and if the amount field does not check then choosing the
other signal. Because the optical recognition process may be more
reliable than the magnetic process outside of the amount field the
optical recognition signal may be chosen first.
When the system has processed the characters in the account field,
block 13 provides this information to logic block 12. When an
ambiguity occurs, logic block 12 is arranged to first choose the
optical signal on line 33 and to generate an identification signal
corresponding to the optical signal on line 12a. Each of the
identification signals in the account field is entered to check
logic block 15 where the entire field is checked according to a
known mathematical scheme, if the field does not check, a feedback
signal on line 15a is sent back to blcok 12 and the magnetic signal
is then substituted for the optical signal, for the character with
respect to which the ambiguity occurred, and the field is checked
by block 15 again. If the magnetic signal does not check either,
then another feedback signal on line 15a may be sent to block 12
causing it to generate a reject signal.
The transit field, depending upon the particular check processing
application, may also be checked by logic block 15. For instance,
one very common operation performed by banks is the processing of
"on us" checks, where each check in the batch being processed is
dranwn on the processing bank and where the characters in field 25
are therefore identical for each check. The field is still read,
however, to insure that no check from an outside bank has
accidentally slipped into the batch being processed. Check logic
block 15 has information stored in it relating to the
identification number of the bank and compares the identification
signals on line 12a with the stored signals. As in the case of the
account field, the optical signal would be chosen first because of
its higher reliability and if it does not agree with the stored
information, a feedback signal on line 15a will cause block 12 to
generate the magnetic signal on line 12a. If the magnetic signal
does not agree either, then a reject signal may be generated.
Another parameter which may be used to determine which of the
optical or magnetic signals is chosen when ambiguous readings occur
is the unique pair of different characters which are identified by
the optical and magnetic readers. It is known that the magnetic
recognition system is better at identifying certain characters
while the optical recognition system is better at identifying
certain other characters and that this is particularly true when
certain character pairs are involved. For instance, referring to
FIG. 4, it has been determined that a particular optical
recognition scheme is capable of differentiating between a one and
a seven in E-13B font more effectively than a particular magnetic
recognition scheme. Therefore, when the magnetic reader identifies
a 7 while the optical reader identifies a 1 for the same character,
the optical reader is more likely to be correct and the optical
signal may therefore be chosen. On the other hand, when the
magnetic reader identifies a zero and the optical reader is
actually reading a zero with a horizontal defect across its middle,
such as a pen line, and interpreting it as an 8, and in this case
the magnetic signal may be chosen. It should be understood that the
list of character pairs described herein, is not exhaustive, and
that particular character pairs may vary with the particular
recognition systems and character fonts which are used.
In FIG. 1 logic block 14 decides whether a character pair has been
inputted on lines 33 and 34 and if so provides the appropriate
character pair signal to block 12 which chooses either the optical
or magnetic signal as discussed above.
It should be appreciated that the system represented by blocks 13,
14, 12 and 15 of FIG. 1 is illustrative only and that the
parameters utilized, as well as the decision made by block 12,
could be varied by one skilled in the art to suit individual
applications. Thus, a reject signal could always be generated when
an ambiguity occurs or a decision on the basis of the character
field and/or whether or not a character pair exists could be made.
Further, when the field parameter indicates that one of the
ambiguous signals should be chosen while the character pair
parameter indicates that the other should be chosen, one or the
other parameters could be made to dominate in different
applications.
Referring to FIG. 5 a redundant recognition system according to the
invention is illustrated. As in FIG. 1, optical and magnetic
signals are generated on lines 33 and 34 respectively and are fed
to logic blocks 30 and 31. Logic block 30 is identical to logic
block 7 in FIG. 1, and is arranged to generate an identification
signal corresponding to the character A.sub.1 when identical
recognition signals indicative of the same character A.sub.1 are
inputted on lines 33 and 34. Logic block 31 is arranged to generate
a reject signal when signals indicative of the same character do
not appear on both lines 33 and 34. This would mean that for all of
the situations shown in columns 2-6 of the Table of FIG. 2, a
reject signal is generated. Because the recognition system of FIG.
5 provides an identification signal only when both the magnetic and
optical readers identify the same characters, the system is useful
where a relatively high reject rate can be accepted but where an
extremely low rate of erroneous character identification is
important.
It should be understood that while certain parts of this invention
have been illustrated primarily in conjunction with the recognition
of characters on checks, that the scope of the invention extends to
the recognition of characters in any environment. Further, while
the invention has been illustrated in connection with the
recognition of E-13B characters, it should be understood that the
invention extends to the recognition of characters regardless of
font and may, for instance, be used in the recognition of coded
characters. It should further be understood that the term character
recognition signal, as used in the following claims includes reject
and blank recognition signals and the term identification signal
includes reject identification signals.
Further, while we have described and illustrated a preferred
embodiment of our invention, we wish it to be understood that we do
not intend to be restricted solely thereto, but that we do intend
to cover all modifications thereof which would be apparent to one
skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of
our invention.
* * * * *