Methods and apparatus for bounded image data analysis and notification mechanism

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for preliminary optical character recognition document imaging and user notification on an electronic device with image capture capabilities. More specifically, this disclosure relates to an electronic device capable of connecting to a network, wherein a document image may be transmitting and stored securely in an external server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An image feature processing apparatus comprising:
 an image capture device for capturing a set of image data;   a preliminary image recognition mechanism operative to identify and analyze potential characteristics included in the set of captured image data, wherein preliminary image recognition comprises automated identification of a feature based upon at least partial recognition of the feature; and   a notification mechanism configured to notify a user, without artificial delay, of a result of the preliminary image recognition as compared to predefined parameters.   
     
     
         2 . The image feature processing apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the preliminary image recognition mechanism provides optical character recognition identifying potential text characters from the image data, wherein preliminary optical character recognition comprises one or both of: partial character recognition of potential text characters and character recognition of a portion of at least one text character; and
 the notification mechanism notifies a user of a preliminary optical character recognition based on predefined parameters as specified by the user for a document type captured in the image data. 
 
     
     
         3 . The image feature processing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the image capture device is capable of connecting to cloud storage and processing server. 
     
     
         4 . The image feature processing apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the image capture device comprises a mobile device. 
     
     
         5 . The image feature processing apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the image capture device comprises a digital camera. 
     
     
         6 . The image feature processing apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the preliminary image recognition mechanism is configured to identify potential text characters from a document image and analyze the potential text characters with optical character recognition to provide a degree of character recognition. 
     
     
         7 . A method of preliminary optical character recognition and notification, the method comprising the method steps of:
 identifying at least one potential text character from a captured document image, wherein an electronic device with image capture capabilities is configured to store the document image;   analyzing the at least one potential text character with preliminary optical character recognition, wherein the analyzing creates results based on an ability to recognize at least one text character, and wherein the preliminary optical character recognition comprises one or both a partial character recognition or a character recognition of a portion of the at least one text character; and   transmitting the results to a notification device configured to notify a user of the results based on predefined parameters of a fail result or a success result.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising the method steps of transmitting the captured document image to a cloud server for storage of the document image on the cloud server. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein a transmission is based a result of analyzing wherein the result comprises a success result based upon recognition of one or both the partial character recognition or the recognition of the portion of the at least one text character. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the method steps of:
 transmitting the document image to an external server, wherein the external server is configured to identify the potential text characters from the document image and analyze the potential text characters with optical character recognition.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the notifying comprises at least one of an audible notification, a visual notification, or a tactile notification. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising the method steps of:
 identifying borders of the document image; and 
 recognizing an orientation of the at least one potential text character. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the method steps of:
 categorizing the document image based on predefined content criteria of the recognized text. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the method steps of:
 prompting the user to accept or reject the document image. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the method steps of prompting the user to input authorization information, wherein the authorization information is capable of granting access to a secure data storage system. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the notification of a fail results comprises prompting the user to select or capture an alternate document image.