Patent ID: 8050485

Claim:
A method for automatically processing of gaming documents of the type having dollar value characters printed on a side thereof; the method comprising the steps of: (a) storing a plurality of templates, each of the templates representing a different possible dollar value character; (b) scanning the printed side of the document; (c) storing an image of the scanned printed side of the document, including the dollar value characters; (d) identifying the value of each of the dollar value characters of the stored image by: (i) selecting a dollar value character for value identification; (ii) locating a reference point on the selected dollar value character based upon finding the first encountered black pixel of the image; (iii) comparing each of the stored templates in turn with the selected dollar value character using the reference point for the selected dollar value character for positioning of each template with respect to the selected dollar value character; (iv) identifying the stored template having the highest degree of match with the selected dollar value character; (v) storing the value represented by the identified template; and (vi) repeating steps (i) through (v) until the value of each dollar value character of the stored image has been identified and stored.