Preparing mark/read documents with markable boxes and locating the boxes

Abstract

A 'mark read' document is prepared with a pattern of boxes within which marks may selectively be entered, together with printed characters for instructions or other informational purposes. The characters and boxes both are formed on the sheet with printing material having an optical spectrum capable of detection by the optical sensing device to be used for scanning the document. A template sheet then is prepared to present only the pattern of boxes as they appear on the original sheet, without any characters. This template sheet is passed through a computer-controlled optical scanner which examines the pattern of boxes and stores in the computer memory numbers representing coordinates identifying the location of each box. Later, completed (marked) sheets of the original type are passed through the optical scanner which produces and stores in the computer memory a set of rectilinear scan data in the form of binary bits representing pixels (picture elements) defining the entire image presentation on the sheet, i.e. the characters and the boxes. This scan data is analyzed in accordance with a program of the associated processing computer to locate each box. The stored data bits corresponding to the interior of each box are then examined to determine whether the box contains a mark.