Patent ID: 8401293

Claim:
A method for identifying words in a textual image undergoing an OCR process, comprising: (a) receiving a bitmap of an input image that includes textual lines that have been segmented by chop lines to define symbols therebetween, wherein each of the chop lines is associated with a chop line confidence level reflecting a degree to which the respective chop line properly segments the textual line into individual characters; (b) maintaining a data structure that stores data elements including the bitmap, the chop lines with their respective chop line confidence levels and the symbols; (c) producing a first set of candidate characters with character confidence levels associated therewith from a first subset of the data elements in the data structure, the first subset of data elements having respective candidate confidence levels that each exceed a respective one of a first set of data element threshold values; (d) updating the data structure by further including the first set of candidate characters with their respective character confidence levels; (e) identifying at least a first word from the first set of candidate characters, wherein the first word has a first word confidence level associated therewith; (f) if the first word confidence level is below a first word threshold level, updating the data structure to further include the first word and its first word confidence level and (g) if the first word confidence level is below a first word threshold level, repeating steps (c)-(e) for a second subset of the data elements in the updated data structure having respective data element confidence levels that each exceed a respective one of a second set of data element threshold values lower than the first set of data element threshold values to thereby produce at least a second word and a second word confidence level associated therewith.