Patent ID: 6501855
Filing Date: 2002-12-31
Classification: G06F,G06K,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for finding a handwritten cursive record on a document using automated searching by a computing system and manual searching by an investigator comprising:scanning all documents containing the cursive records to provide electronic images of each document to the computing system; extracting a snippet image of each cursive record on the documents and identifying each snippet image with its document; automated searching of the snippet images by the computing system to select best matches between a query defined by the investigator and snippet images extracted by the extracting act, the best matches forming a candidate list; manual review of the candidate list by the investigator to find select snippet images from the candidate list that match the query close enough to warrant manual review of the source document for the select snippet images whereby the number of documents that must be manually reviewed to find the cursive record are reduced; the act of extracting comprises: identifying a source document for each snippet image; cutting the snippet image out of the document image containing the snippet image; and storing the snippet image and an identification of its source document in snippet description data; recognizing whether each snippet image matches entries in a draft dictionary and providing for each snippet image that does match an entry, a recognition answer and a similarity value for the recognition answer; and adding the lists of recognition answers with associated similarity value to the snippet description data for each snippet image.