Abstract:
A method of processing a check prior to electronically depositing the check includes steps of (a) attempting to print a cancellation mark on the check using an energy emitting ink, such as a luminescent ink, (b) radiating first energy, such as UV energy, toward the check, (c) determining whether second energy is emitted from the check as a result of the radiated first energy impinging upon the energy emitting ink present on the check, and (d) allowing the check to proceed to electronic deposit only if it is determined that the second energy is emitted from the check. Also, an apparatus for electronically depositing a check that implements the method.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is related to application Ser. No. 11/413,305, entitled “System And Method For Processing Electronically Deposited Checks” and filed contemporaneously herewith, which related application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to check deposit systems, and in particular to a system and method for canceling checks during a remote check image capture and deposit process. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditionally, businesses have deposited checks received from, for example, customers by physically taking the checks to a branch of their bank and depositing them over the counter with a teller or dropping them into a night deposit box. The actual physical presentation of checks to be deposited was necessary because, under prior banking laws, the depository bank had to present the original of each check to the corresponding paying bank in order to clear the check. This changed in October of 2004 with the enactment of The Check Clearing for the 21 st  Century Act, commonly referred to Check 21. Check 21 removed the legal requirement that an original paper check had to be presented to obtain payment. Instead, banks can now use digital images to transport check data from the bank of first deposit to the paying bank. If the paying bank cannot process a check image, the image can be printed, according to certain specifications, to create what is known as a substitute check, which is the legal equivalent of the original paper check. Check 21 has thus opened the door for remote check deposit solutions wherein check images, rather than original paper checks, are used to make deposits, thereby enabling businesses to eliminate trips to the bank. In addition, the use of check images also reduces check transportation costs among banks and improves funds availability. 
     In order to implement a remote check deposit solution, a depositor must have at their location a device that includes, at a minimum, a scanner and a secure network connection, such as a secure Internet connection. When the depositor wishes to make a deposit, an operator, such an accounts receivable clerk, scans each of the checks to be deposited and provides the dollar amount of each check, such as by keying the dollar amount into the device as each check is being scanned. Alternatively, the device may be provided with optical character recognition (OCR) software that is adapted to obtain the dollar amount of each check directly from the scanned image. In either case, once the images are created and the dollar amount of each check is obtained, that information is transmitted through the network (e.g., the Internet) either directly to the depository bank or to a third party service provider which in turn forwards the information on to the depository bank following some additional processing. Once the check images and corresponding information are received at the depository bank, they are used to make the appropriate deposits to the depositor&#39;s account. 
     While such systems add convenience for depositors and reduce the amount of, and thus the cost of, bank operator intervention, they do introduce the potential for fraud. For example, a depositor may attempt to deposit a single check multiple times by scanning and submitting it for deposit multiple times or by scanning it for electronic deposit and then subsequently attempting to redeposit it physically at a bank branch. Thus, there is a need for a remote check capture system and method that reduces the risk of fraud from multiple attempts to deposit the same check. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One embodiment of the invention relates to a method of processing a check prior to electronically depositing the check. The method includes steps of (a) attempting to print a cancellation mark on the check using an energy emitting ink, such as a luminescent ink (e.g., a fluorescent or phosphorescent ink), (b) radiating first energy, such as UV energy, toward the check, (c) determining whether second energy is emitted from the check as a result of the radiated first energy impinging upon the energy emitting ink present on the check, and (d) allowing the check to proceed to electronic deposit only if it is determined that the second energy is emitted from the check. Preferably, the determining step further includes determining whether the emitted second energy indicates that the cancellation mark has been successfully printed and the allowing step further comprises allowing the check to proceed to electronic deposit only if it is determined that the emitted second energy indicates that the cancellation mark has been successfully printed. This may be done by converting the emitted second energy into a voltage profile and comparing the profile to an expected profile that corresponds to the chosen cancellation mark. The method also preferably includes generating an electronic image of the check prior to step (a) and electronically transmitting at least the electronic image for electronically depositing the check following step (d). 
     In one particular embodiment, the method, prior to step (a), further includes steps to determine whether the check has already been canceled by radiating the first energy toward the check and determining whether third energy is emitted from the check as a result of the radiated first energy impinging upon the energy emitting ink present on said check. In this embodiment, steps (a) through (d) are performed only if it is determined that the third energy is not emitted from the check. In addition, if it is determined that the third energy is emitted from the check, the method further includes allowing the check to proceed to electronic deposit without attempting to print a cancellation mark on the check. Preferably, if it is determined that the third energy is emitted from the check, the method further includes determining whether the emitted third energy indicates that a particular cancellation mark has been previously printed on the check, wherein the check is allowed to proceed to electronic deposit without attempting to print a cancellation mark on the check only if it is determined that the emitted third energy indicates that the particular cancellation mark has been previously printed on the check. If it is determined that the third energy is emitted from the check, the method may further include allowing the check to proceed to electronic deposit with an indicator that the check is being resubmitted for electronic deposit. 
     Also provided is an apparatus for electronically depositing a check that includes a controller, a scanner in electronic communication with the controller for generating an electronic image of the check, a print head in electronic communication with the controller for printing an energy emitting ink, such as a luminescent ink, on the check, a sensor device in electronic communication with the controller that includes a radiant energy source, such as UV LED, for radiating first energy, such as UV radiation, and a memory in electronic communication with the controller. The memory includes one or more routines that are executable by the controller. The routines include instructions for implementing the various embodiments of the method described above. 
     Therefore, it should now be apparent that the invention substantially achieves all the above aspects and advantages. Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Moreover, the aspects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a remote check capture system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a check scanning device according to an aspect of the invention that may be employed in the remote check capture system shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a sample output voltage profile that may be generated by the sensor device forming a part of the check scanning device shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart that illustrates one embodiment of a method of operation of the check scanning device shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a check scanning device according to an aspect of the invention that may be employed in the remote check capture system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a remote check capture system  5  according to an embodiment of the present invention. Remote check capture system  5  enables a depositor to remotely deposit a number of checks in a particular depository bank. Remote check capture system  5  includes a check scanning device  10  located at a depositor location  15  for scanning and thereby creating electronic images of the checks to be deposited. The check scanning device  10  is in secure electronic communication with a network  20 , which may be, for example, the Internet, one or more private computer networks, or any combination thereof. Remote check capture system  5  further includes a server  25  located at a service provider location  30 . The server  25  is also in secure electronic communication with the network  20 . Finally, the remote check capture system  5  includes a depository bank computer  35 , which is a computer designated by the depository bank to receive and process electronic deposit information. The service provider location  30  may be a facility operated by a third party service provider or a facility operated by the depository bank where the bank provides remote deposit services to its customers. 
     As described in further detail herein, a depositor feeds the checks to be deposited into the check scanning device  10 , which in turn creates an image of each check. Those images, preferably also with dollar amount information either provided by the depositor or obtained automatically from the check images, are transmitted to the server  25  located at the service provider location  30  through the network  20 . The role of the service provider operating the server  25  is to accumulate check images to be deposited and process them so that they can readily be sent to and deposited by the depository bank. Thus, the server  25  receives the images transmitted by the check scanning device  10 , performs certain additional processing steps not relevant to the present description, and then forwards the images and associated information to the depository bank computer  35 . Once the check images and corresponding information are received at by the depository bank computer  35  at the depository bank, they are used to make the appropriate deposits to the depositor&#39;s account. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the check scanning device  10  according to an aspect of the invention. The check scanning device  10  includes a print head  40 , such as, for example, an ink jet print head, that is connected to and under the control of a controller  45 , such as, for example, a microprocessor or microcontroller. The print head  40  is adapted to print information  50  onto a check  55  that is fed into the check scanning device  40  that indicates, as described in further detail herein, that the check  55  has been canceled. As used herein, the term canceled means that the check  55  in question has been scanned and submitted for electronic deposit using the check scanning device  10  or a similar device. The check scanning device  10  further includes a scanner  60  that is connected to and under the control of the controller  45  for generating an electronic image of the check  55 . A transport mechanism (not shown) for transporting the check  55  within the check scanning device  10  is also provided. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the print head  40  is adapted to print the information  50  with a luminescent ink, such as a fluorescent ink or a phosphorescent ink, using an ink jet printing method. Color fluorescent inks are known and are described in, for example, U.S. patent application publication nos. US 2002/0195586 A1, US 2003/0005303 A1, and US 2004/0041774 A1, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The color fluorescent ink could be any suitable color including, for example, red or blue. Invisible luminescent ink jet inks may also be used and are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,538, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Such inks have been used to by government postal services, such as the USPS, to validate that a postage indicium is authentic. Such inks have also been used to place a mark on a postage indicium provided on a mailpiece to indicate that the postage value has been used. A system for detecting such a mark, which is similar to the detection system disclosed herein, is described in U.S. patent application publication no. US 2006/0044341 A1, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 2 , the check scanning device  10  also includes a luminescent ink sensor  65  located downstream from the print head  40 . The function of the luminescent ink sensor  65  is to determine whether the information  50  has been printed on the check  55  that passes thereby. The luminescent ink sensor  65  is in electronic communication with and under the control of the controller  45  and includes a photodetector  70 , a radiant energy source  75 , and a filter  80 . Any suitable photodetector device may be used for the photodetector  70 , which generally comprises a light-to-voltage sensor. The radiant energy source  75  may generally comprise an ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode (LED), although any suitable radiant energy source may also be used. The filter  80  is a wavelength filter, such as a high pass filter. Any suitable filter could be provided, such as a physical filter or a coating provided on an optical lens. The filter  80  is located between the path of travel of the check  55  and the photodetector  70 . 
     The check scanning device  10  also includes a memory  95 , which is coupled to or be a part of the controller  45 . The memory  95  may be any of a variety of types of internal and/or external storage media such as, without limitation, RAM, ROM, EPROM(s), EEPROM(s), and the like that provide a storage register for data storage such as in the fashion of an internal storage area of a computer, and can be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory. The memory  95  stores routines that are executable by the controller  45  and that implement the functionality of the check scanning device  10  according to the various embodiments of the present invention as described herein. 
     In operation, the radiant energy source  75  emits radiant energy  85  of a particular wavelength. The information  50 , being printed with a luminescent ink, will transform the radiant energy  85  into a light signal  90  having a particular wavelength depending on the nature of the luminescent ink and the wavelength of the radiant energy  85 . The light signal  90  will pass through the filter  80  and the resulting filtered signal will be absorbed by the photodetector  70 , which converts it to an output voltage that is provided to the controller  45 . As will be appreciated, with a given type of ink, the expected output voltage will be known. In addition, the nature of the waveform or profile of the output voltage will depend upon and correspond to the words or symbols included in the information  50 . As a result, known words or symbols will generate relatively consistent, expected profiles. For example, the word “CANCELED” will, in response to the radiant energy  85 , produce a particular light signal  90  which will result in an output voltage profile having a particular, generally consistent shape. That output voltage profile may, for example, take the shape of the profile A shown in  FIG. 3 , which is depicted along with a baseline (from the check stock) profile B. 
     Thus, the luminescent ink sensor  65  as just described may be used to detect whether the information  50  is in fact present on the check  55 . In particular, if, in response to the radiant energy  85 , an appropriate voltage profile (i.e., a profile having a particular shape and amplitude characteristics) is not generated by the photodetector  70 , then that is an indication that the information  50  is not present on the check  55 . Conversely, if, in response to the radiant energy  85 , an appropriate voltage profile is generated by the photodetector  70  (in response to the light signal  90 ), then that is an indication that the information  50  is present on the check  55 . 
     In one particular embodiment, the radiant energy source  75  is a ultraviolet (UV) LED that provides 410 nm light energy as the radiant energy  85 , and the luminescent ink used to print the information  50  is a fluorescent ink that transforms 410 nm light into  600  nm orange light. In this embodiment, the filter  80  is a 550 nm or 600 nm high pass filter, and thus will only pass light having that wavelength or higher and will absorb lower wavelength light. In this way, the luminescent ink sensor  65  is adapted to detect 600 nm light. This is advantageous since many types of check stock include fluorescent fibers, and the filter  80  will prevent light from those fluorescent fibers from being absorbed by the photodetector  65 . 
     Under certain circumstances, such as a problem encountered during scanning or during processing at the server  25 , it may be necessary for a check that was previously scanned using the check scanning device  10 , printed with the information  50  and submitted to the server  25  to be legitimately re-scanned and resubmitted. As will be appreciated, it such as case, it is not necessary or desirable to have the information  50  reprinted on the check when it is re-scanned and resubmitted. Thus, an aspect of the invention, described below, includes a mechanism for preventing the reprinting of the information  50  for checks being resubmitted. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart that illustrates a method of operation of the check scanning device  10  according to one embodiment of the invention. The method begins at step  100 , where, after an operator of the check scanning device  10  has fed a check  55  to be deposited into the check scanning device  10 , the check  55  is transported along the feed path of the check scanning device  10  to a location adjacent to the luminescent ink sensor  65 . Next, at step  105 , the radiant energy  85  is directed toward the check  55 , and the light signal  90 , if any, is received at the photodetector  70 . At step  110 , a determination is made as to whether the received light signal  90 , if any, indicates a proper cancellation marking, such as the information  50  described above. If the answer at step  110  is yes, then, at step  115 , the check  55  is transported to the scanner  60  and an electronic image of the check  55  is generated. Next, the check  55  is transported to the print head  40  and a print operation is initiated to attempt to properly print a designated cancellation marking, such as the information  50 , onto the check  55  using a luminescent ink. As described above, the cancellation marking may consist of the word “CANCELED” or any other desired word, symbol, or combination thereof. In addition, each check that is processed may be assigned a unique identifier that is used to track the check while working its way through the remote check capture system  5 , and that identifier may be printed as part of the cancellation marking. Then, at step  125 , the radiant energy  85  is again directed toward the check  55 , and the light signal  90 , if any, is received at the photodetector  70 . At step  130 , a determination is made as to whether the received light signal  90 , if any, indicates that a proper cancellation marking, such as the information  50 , was properly printed. For example, a determination may be made as to whether the voltage output generated by the received light signal has an expected profile, such as a profile that corresponds to the word “CANCELED.” This is important to the present system because you do not want a check that has not been properly canceled to be able to continue in the remote check deposit process, since, as described elsewhere herein, an un-canceled check may be used fraudulently. The failure to print a proper cancellation marking may be due to both innocent reasons, such as the print head  40  running out of ink or the check  55  being misfed, or fraudulent reasons, such as the operator tampering with the check scanning device  10 . Thus, if the answer at step  130  is no, then, at step  135 , an error message is generated and the check  55  will not be allowed to proceed through the remainder check deposit process until some corrective action is taken. If, however, the answer at step  130  is yes, then, at step  140 , the check  55  is allowed to proceed through the remainder check deposit process. 
     Returning to step  110 , if the answer is yes, meaning that a cancellation marking is already on the check  55 , then, at step  145 , the check  55  is transported to the scanner  60  and an electronic image of the check  55  is created. Such a check, since it already has a cancellation marking on it, is a check that is being resubmitted as described above. Note that this portion of the method bypasses step  120  so that no attempt is made to print an additional cancellation marking on the check  55 . Following step  145 , the method proceeds to step  140 , where the check  55  is allowed to proceed through the remainder check deposit process. For such a check (i.e., a check being resubmitted), steps will preferably be taken to ensure that it is only actually deposited once. For example, as noted elsewhere herein, the server  25  accumulates information for the checks being remotely deposited. In the case of re-submitted checks, that server  25  may replace any existing data is has accumulated for the check when it was previously submitted with the data accompanying the re-submitted version of the check. In the preferred embodiment, the unique identifier assigned to the check in question is used to facilitate this process, i.e., it is used to identify the relevant data at the server  25 . Alternatively, the resubmitted check may be transmitted to the server with some type of data indicating that it is being resubmitted for deposit so that the server  25  can take the appropriate action. 
     Thus, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for ensuring that a check has been properly canceled before it is allowed to continue through the remote check deposit process, and/or for ensuring that a previously canceled check is not reprinted with a cancellation mark. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , an alternative embodiment similar to that of  FIG. 2  is shown having a second sensor. An additional sensor  65 ′ is placed after the printhead  40  as a security check for the device. The use of a second sensor  65 ′ ensures that the device is functioning properly and that a proper cancellation mark has been placed on the Check. In the event of a failure of the inkjet printhead  40  the system controller  45  would determine that there was a failure and then shut down or take other appropriate action until maintenance is performed. This alternative would also protect against some counterfeit measures such as an attack wherein someone placed cellophane tape on the check. The ink from the printhead  40  would spit on the tape and blur creating a different response curve. Again that check image could be flagged internally watching for duplicates in the future. 
     While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions, deletions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above utilize a luminescent ink (e.g., fluorescent or phosphorescent ink) to create the cancellation mark, it should be appreciated that other types of energy emitting ink may be used. As used herein, energy emitting ink means an ink that will emit a particular type of energy when a first energy impinges upon it. Such inks may include, without limitation, fluorescent, phosphorescent and magnetic inks or an ink having RF elements dispersed therein (RFID ink). Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.