Creating a document template for capturing data from a document image and capturing data from a document image

1. A method of capturing data from a document image, the method comprising:

processing the document image to identify at least one repetitive structure and its structure properties; and

performing a capturing operation including creating a plurality of instances of the repetitive structure based on once-described structure properties of the repetitive structure, and populating each instance with corresponding data from the document image.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the capturing operation comprises validating the data for each instance of the repetitive structure in accordance with the once-described structure properties.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the capturing operation comprises verifying the data for each instance of the repetitive structure in accordance with the once-described structure properties.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the capturing operation comprises exporting the data for each instance of the repetitive structure in accordance with the once-described structure properties.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the document image to identify at least one repetitive structure comprises using placement data stored in the document template to identify the or each repetitive structure.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the document image to identify at least one repetitive structure comprises automatically identifying each repetitive structure.

7. The method of claim 1 , which further comprises selecting the document template from a plurality of pre-defined document templates.

8. A method of creating a document template for capturing data from a document image, the method comprising:

identifying at least one repetitive structure to be encountered in the document image from which data is to be captured; and

storing structure properties as the document template to process the repetitive structure in the document image, wherein the structure properties are described once in the document template, regardless of a number of occurrences of the repetitive structure in the document image.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the structure properties consist of at least one of validation, verification, and export procedures to be followed when capturing data from the or each repetitive structure in the document image.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the structure properties comprise attributes of the or each repetitive structure.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the attributes are selected from the group consisting of an indication of whether or not a particular field within a repetitive structure is optional, an indication of whether or not a particular repetitive structure spans multiple pages in the image document, rules which connect the contents of a particular field to the contents of another field, rules which connect the contents of a particular field to other available data, an expected number of fields, and an expected range of numbers of fields.

12. The method of claim 8 , which further comprises storing placement data for the or each repetitive structure in the document template.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the repetitive structure is a field.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the repetitive structure is a group of fields.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a set of instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

process a document image to identify at least one repetitive structure; and

perform a capturing operation including creating a plurality of instances of the repetitive structure based on once-described structure properties of the repetitive structure in a document template, and populating each instance with corresponding data from the document image.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a set of instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

identify at least one repetitive structure to be encountered in a document image from which data is to be captured; and

store structure properties to process the repetitive structure in the document image, wherein the structure properties are described once in a document template, regardless of a number of occurrences of the repetitive structure in the document image.

17. A system for capturing data from a document image, the system comprising:

an imaging component capable of capturing the document image of a document;

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and in electronic communication with the imaging component, the memory configured with instructions for causing the processor to:

process the document image to identify at least one repetitive structure; and

perform a capturing operation including creating a plurality of instances of the repetitive structure based on once-described structure properties of the repetitive structure, and populating each instance of the repetitive structure with corresponding data from the document image.

18. The system of claim 17 , which is operable, when performing the capturing operation, to validate the data for each instance of the repetitive structure in accordance with the once-described structure properties.

19. The system of claim 17 , which is operable, when performing the capturing operation, to verify the data for each instance of the repetitive structure in accordance with the once-described structure properties.

20. A system for creating a document template for capturing data from a document image, the system comprising:

an imaging component capable of capturing the document image of a document;

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and in electronic communication with the imaging component, the memory configured with instructions for causing the processor to:

identify at least one repetitive structure to be encountered in the document image from which data is to be captured; and

store structure properties as the document template to process instances of the repetitive structure in the document image, wherein the structure properties are described once in the document template, regardless of a number of occurrences of the repetitive structure in the document image.

21. The system of claim 17 , wherein the imaging component is an external input device.

22. The system of claim 17 , wherein the instructions further cause the imaging component to capture the document image of the document.

23. The system of claim 20 , wherein the imaging component is an external input device.

24. The system of claim 20 , wherein the instructions further cause the imaging component to capture the document image of the document.