At+t Corp.

Thomas C Redman

Young U Huh

Philip Silvano DiPiazza

Robert W Pautke

A method and apparatus for enhancing optical character recognition comprises a data processor and memory for maintaining an error detection and correction log. The data processor maintains a memory table of a plurality of rules for generating a rule base determined by recognition of a particular context type of an electronic bit-map portion. The appropriate rule base comprises rules and combinations of rules for application to bit-map portion data. A rule, a rule base or data may be selected and obtained from an internal or external memory. Upon application of the rule base, the error detection and correction log maintains a record of clear errors, corrected data, failed rules of the rule base and the original bit map. Possible errors are flagged and clear errors are automatically corrected provided a confidence level in the correction is reached or exceeded. Through validation by a source or from operator intervention, real-time learning is obtained from detecting and/or correcting errors or updating the rules of the rule table and the data upon which they operate. Through recognition of patterns of errors in the error detection and correction log, new rules may be generated for storage in the rule memory table, erroneous data corrected or incomplete data of the received forms or data fields themselves completed through context based analysis.

Method and apparatus for enhancing optical character recognition

A facility is provided for improving the quality of data that is stored in a data base. Such improved quality is achieved by tracking the operation of various processes controlling respective data processors, which assemble/modify a data record that is ultimately stored in the data base such that random ones of the data records are marked prior to supplying them to a first one of the processors and then obtaining from each of the processors a copy of a marked data record that it processes. Copies of respective data records are then analyzed to determine which of the processes may be corrected to improve the quality of the data that is stored in the data base.

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Rumson, NJ, United States of America

Thomas C Redman