Advanced data capture architecture data processing system and method for scanned images of document forms

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In a data processing system, an advanced data capture method for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising the steps of:

defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program in said data processing system;

defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables;

forming a first mapping table in said data processing system correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list in said data processing system, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

forming a data structure including said first field data segment;

extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure in said data processing system and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment in said data processing system;

running said first application program using said first recognition coded data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of inputting a digital image further comprises:

accessing a digital image of said document form stored in a storage device coupled to said data processing system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of inputting a digital image further comprises:

receiving a digital image of said document form transmitted from a second data processing system coupled to said data processing system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of inputting a digital image further comprises:

receiving a facsimile image of said document form from a facsimile receiving device coupled to said data processing system.

5. The method of claim 1, which further comprises:

said step of assembling a document form definition of a document form is performed at a first processor in said data processing system;

said step of deriving first recognition coded data from said form is performed at a second processor in said data processing system; and

said step of setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data is performed at a third processor in said data processing system.

6. The method of claim 1, which further comprises:

said step of assembling a document form definition of a document form is performed at a first processor in said data processing system;

said step of deriving first recognition coded data from said form is performed at said first processor in said data processing system; and

said step of setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data is performed at a second processor in said data processing system.

7. The method of claim 1, which further comprises:

said step of assembling a document form definition of a document form is performed at a first processor in said data processing system;

said step of deriving first recognition coded data from said form is performed at said first processor in said data processing system; and

said step of setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data is performed at said first processor in said data processing system.

8. In a data processing system, an advanced data capture method for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising the steps of:

defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program in said data processing system, said first program providing an operating environment for other application programs;

defining a second plurality of program variables for a second application program in said data processing system, said second program operating using said operating environment provided by said first application program;

defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables and a second subplurality of which corresponds to said second plurality of program variables;

forming a first mapping table in said data processing system correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

forming a second mapping table in said data processing system correlating said second subplurality of field association names with said second plurality of program variables;

assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list in said data processing system, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

further assembling said document form definition by selecting a second field association name from said field association list in said data processing system, inputting a second field name and associating said second field association name and said second field name in a second field data segment for a second field of said document form;

inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

performing a character recognition operation on said second field, deriving second recognition coded data from said second field and transferring it to said second data segment;

forming a data structure including said first and said second field data segments;

extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure in said data processing system and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment in said data processing system, and running said first application program using said first recognition coded data;

extracting said second field association name from said second data segment of said data structure in said data processing system and using it to look up a corresponding second program variable in said second mapping table;

setting said second program variable equal to said second recognition coded data in said second field data segment in said data processing system, and running said second application program using said second recognition coded data.

9. The method of claim 8, which further comprises:

said first application program being an object index management program;

said first application program forming an index value for said document form using said first recognition coded data, said index value relating said document form to related objects stored in said data processing system;

calling said first application program with said second application program, to provide identity information for said related objects using said index value;

running said second application program using said identity information provided by said first application program.

10. The method of claim 8, which further comprises:

said first application program being an object routing management program;

said first application program forming a routing value for said document form using said first recognition coded data, said routing value identifying a data communication route in said data processing system;

calling said first application program with said second application program, to provide routing information for said document form;

running said second application program using said routing information provided by said first application program.

11. The method of claim 8, which further comprises:

said first application program being an object storage management program;

said first application program forming a storage value for said document form using said first recognition coded data, said storage value relating said document form to a data storage device in said data processing system;

calling said first application program with said second application program, to provide storage information for said document form;

running said second application program using said storage information provided by said first application program.

12. In a data processing system, an advanced data capture method for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising the steps of:

defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program in a first data processor;

defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables;

forming a first mapping table in said first data processor correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

accessing said field association list and storing it in a second data processor coupled to said first data processor;

assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list at said second data processor, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

forming a data structure including said first field data segment and transmitting said data structure to said first data processor;

extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure at said first data processor and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment at said first processor;

running said first application program using said first recognition coded data.

13. In a data processing system., an advanced data capture method for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising the steps of:

defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program in a first data processor, said first program providing an operating environment for other application programs;

defining a second plurality of program variables for a second application program in said first data processor, said second program operating using said operating environment provided by said first application program;

defining a field association list as a plurality of field

association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables and a second subplurality of which corresponds to said second plurality of program variables;

forming a first mapping table in said first data processor correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

forming a second mapping table in said first data processor correlating said second subplurality of field association names with said second plurality of program variables;

accessing said field association list and storing it in a second data processor coupled to said first data processor;

assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list at said second data processor, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

further assembling said document form definition by selecting a second field association name from said field association list at said second data processor, inputting a second field name and associating said second field association name and said second field name in a second field data segment for a second- field of said document form;

inputting a digital image of said document form,

performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

performing a character recognition operation on said

second field, deriving second recognition coded data from said second field and transferring it to said second data segment;

forming a data structure including said first and said second field data segments and transmitting said data structure to said first data processor;

extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure at said first data processor and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment at said first processor, and running said first application program using said first recognition coded data;

extracting said second field association name from said second data segment of said data structure at said first data processor and using it to look up a corresponding second program variable in said second mapping table;

setting said second program variable equal to said second recognition coded data in said second field data segment at said first processor, and running said second application program using said second recognition coded data.

14. In a data processing system, an advanced data capture method for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising the steps of:

defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program in a first data processor;

defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables;

forming a first mapping table in said first data processor correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

accessing said field association list and storing it in a second data processor coupled to said first data processor;

assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list at said second data processor, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

further assembling said document form definition by selecting a second field association name from said field association list at said second data processor, inputting a second field name and associating said second field association name and said second field name in a second field data segment for a second field of said document form;

inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

performing a character recognition operation on said second field, deriving second recognition coded data from said second field and transferring it to said second data segment;

forming a data structure including said first and said second field data segments and transmitting said data structure to said first data processor;

extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure at said first data processor and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment at said first processor;

extracting said second field association name from said second data segment of said data structure at said first data processor and using it to look up a corresponding second program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said second program variable equal to said second recognition coded data in said second field data segment at said first processor;

running said first application program using said first recognition coded data and said second recognition coded data.

15. In a data processing system, an advanced data capture method for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, the method comprising the steps of:

defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program in said data processing system;

defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables;

forming a first mapping table in said data processing system correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list in said data processing system, inputting a first field name and association said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

forming a data structure including said first field data segment;

extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure in said data processing system and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment in said data processing system;

running said first application program using said first recognition coded data.

16. A data processing system for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising:

a first data processor in said system, for defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program;

said first data processor defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables;

said first data processor forming a first mapping table correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

a second data processor in said system, coupled to said first data processor, for accessing said field association list;

said second data processor assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

said second data processor inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

said second data processor forming a data structure including said first field data segment and transmitting said data structure to said first data processor;

said first data processor extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said data structure and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

said first data processor setting said first program variable equal to said first recognition coded data in said first field data segment;

said first data processor running said first application program using said first recognition coded data.

17. The system of claim 16, which further comprises:

storage device coupled to said data processing system, for storing a digital image of said document form;

accessing means in said second data processor, for accessing said digital image of said document form stored in said storage device.

18. The system of claim 16, which further comprises:

receiving means in said second data processor, for receiving a digital image of said document form transmitted from a second data processing system coupled to said data processing system.

19. The system of claim 16, which further comprises:

receiving means in said second data processor, for receiving a facsimile image of said document form from a facsimile receiving device coupled to said data processing system.

20. The system of claim 16, which further comprises:

a third data processor in said system, coupled to said second data processor, for displaying said first recognition coded data;

said third data processor receiving said data structure from said second data processor, extracting said first field name from said first data segment of said data structure and displaying said first field name with said first recognition coded data.

21. A data processing system for capturing coded data strings from fields in digital images of document forms, comprising:

a first data processor in said system, for defining a first plurality of program variables for a first application program;

said first data processor defining a field association list as a plurality of field association names, a first subplurality of which corresponds to said first plurality of program variables;

said first data processor forming a first mapping table correlating said first subplurality of field association names with said first plurality of program variables;

a second data processor in said system, coupled to said first data processor, for accessing said field association list;

said second data processor assembling a document form definition of a document form by selecting a first field association name from said field association list, inputting a first field name and associating said first field association name and said first field name in a first field data segment for a first field of said document form;

said second data processor inputting a digital image of said document form, performing a character recognition operation on said first field, deriving first recognition coded data from said first field and transferring it to said first data segment;

said second data processor forming a data structure including said first field data segment;

a third data processor in said system, coupled to said second data processor, for displaying said first recognition coded data for verification and error correction;

said third data processor receiving said data structure from said second data processor, extracting said first field name from said first data segment of said data structure and displaying said first field name and said first recognition coded data

said third data processor performing error correction on said first recognition coded data, producing first repaired coded data and transferring said first repaired coded data to said first field data segment of said data structure, forming a repaired data structure;

said first processor in said system, coupled to said third data processor, for receiving said repaired data structure;

said first data processor extracting said first field association name from said first data segment of said repaired data structure and using it to look up a corresponding first program variable in said first mapping table;

said first data processor setting said first program variable equal to said first repaired coded data in said first field data segment;

said first data processor running said first application program using said first repaired coded data.

22. The system of claim 21, which further comprises:

storage device coupled to said data processing system, for storing a digital image of said document form;

accessing means in said second data processor, for accessing said digital image of said document form stored in said storage device.

23. The system of claim 21, which further comprises:

receiving means in said second data processor, for receiving a digital image of said document form transmitted from a second data processing system coupled to said data processing system.

24. The system of claim 21, which further comprises:

receiving means in said second data processor, for receiving a facsimile image of said document form from a facsimile receiving device coupled to said data processing system.

25. The system of claim 21, which further comprises:

said first application program being an object index management program;

said first application program forming an index value for said document form using said first repaired coded data, said index value relating said document form to related objects stored in said data processing system.

26. The system of claim 21, which further comprises:

said first application program being an object routing management program;

said first application program forming a routing value for said document form using said first repaired coded data, said routing value identifying a data communication route in said data processing system.

27. The system of claim 21, which further comprises:

said first application program being an object storage management program;

said first application program forming a storage value for said document form using said first repaired coded data, said storage value relating said document form to a data storage device in said data processing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention disclosed broadly relates to data processing systems and methods and more particularly relates to techniques for the capture of character recognition information derived from scanned images of document forms.

2. Related Patents and Patent Applications

This patent application is related to the co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/870,129, filed Apr. 15, 1992, entitled "Data Processing System and Method for Sequentially Repairing Character Recognition Errors for Scanned Images of Document Forms," by T. S. Betts, V. M. Carras, L. B. Knecht, T. L. Paulson, and G. R. Anderson, the application being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/870,507, filed Apr. 17, 1992, entitled "Data Processing System and Method for Selecting Customized Character Recognition Processes and Coded Data Repair Processes for Scanned Images of Document Forms," by T. S. Betts, V. M. Carras, and L. B. Knecht, the application being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/573,942, filed Aug. 28, 1990, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Document Image Management in a Case Processing System," by M. R. Addink, T. Leyba, C. Y. Hu, A. W. Holmes, C. A. Till, and J. J. Mullen, the application being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/693,739, filed Apr. 30, 1991, entitled "Apparatus and Method of Operation for a Facsimile Subsystem in an Image Archiving System," by H. F. DeBruin, D. C. Bailey, J. T. Argenta, and H. M. Morris, the application being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/305,828, filed Feb. 2, 1989, entitled "A Computer Implemented Method for Automatic Extraction of Data From Printed Forms," by R. G. Casey and D. R. Ferguson, the application being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,650, entitled "Bar Code Recognition Using PC Software," by P. J. Somerville, the patent being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,185, entitled "Object Management and Delivery System Having Multiple Object Resolution Capability," by R. E. Probst, G. L. Youngs, D. Rajagopal, C. A. Parks, and H. M. Morris, the patent being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is also related to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,911, entitled "Distributed Image Storage and Retrieval System," by R. E. Probst, G. L. Youngs, D. Rajagopal, and C. A. Parks, the patent being assigned to the IBM Corporation and incorporated herein by reference.

3. Background Art

Document forms used for the submission of business-related data can have a variety of layouts, even for a narrowly defined line of business. This makes the automatic reading of document forms a challenging task. The purpose of a document form is to isolate information relating to a particular subject matter category into a named field on the form. If the data which has been written on the form can be automatically found and automatically read, then it can be entered as an operand into a computer program designed to perform the business task for which the information was submitted.

Economies of scale can be attained by consolidating the data processing tasks for related lines of business. However, the number of subject matter categories for which data is required is most likely different for each respective business area. Where the related lines of business use document forms for the submission of data related to their respective businesses, the document forms are likely to have different numbers of fields, to be ordered in different sequences, to be arranged in different patterns and to be named with different category names for each respective business area.

An example of this is the insurance industry. An insurer may offer fire insurance, casualty insurance and health insurance. These related lines of business are likely to have their data processing tasks consolidated, for economies of scale. However, the claim forms submitted to the insurer must be different for each respective type of insurance, since the number subject matter categories required for submitted data are not likely to be the same.

As time goes on, existing document forms for a particular line of business will be revised, altering the layout of the form, the order of the fields, the number of fields, or the names of the fields.

What is needed is a means to freely generate new document forms which can be automatically processed, even though the order, arrangement, name and number of the fields on the forms are changed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a means to freely generate new document forms which can be automatically processed, in an improved manner.

It is another object of the invention to provide a means to flexibly generate new document forms which can be automatically processed, even though the order, arrangement, name and number of the fields on the forms are changed.

It is further object of the invention to provide a means to freely generate new document forms which can be automatically processed, without requiring any reprogramming of the data processors which recognize or use the information in the filled out form.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is an advanced data capture architecture. It enables the user to freely define and redefine the format of document forms without requiring any reprogramming of the data processors which capture and use the data on the completed forms.

The advanced data capture architecture invention encompasses the interactive operation of a host processor and one or more workstations in a data processing system. It includes the interaction between a host processor and a workstation in providing a list of common operand names which are meaningful to an application program running on the host. It includes the operation of the workstation creating a new document form using the list of common operand names. It includes the workstation performing character recognition of the filled-out form, transforming its information into coded data. It includes the workstation assembling a field data segment for each field, containing the common operand, the coded data and a popular name for the field.

And it includes the operation of the host processor receiving the assembled field data segments from the workstation and providing the coded data to the application program which processes the information read from the form.

The invention is applied in a data processing system which includes a host processor running an operating environment application program, such as IBM's Folder Application Facility program (FAF). An operating environment program provides services to other application programs which are running concurrently in a multi-tasking or multi-processing mode. Services performed by the FAF operating environment program include managing a system of folder groups for digitized document images and related coded data (collectively referred to as objects), by assigning a common index value to the objects which relates them to a particular folder group. Object routing services are also provided by the FAF operating environment program, to enable the transmission of objects to various destinations in the data processing system.

The user's line of business includes the receipt of document forms which have been filled out with information necessary to the conduct of the business. The user has an application program running on the host computer concurrently with the FAF operating environment program. The application program receives the information on the forms