Method of scanning to a field that covers a delimited area of a document repeatedly

1. A computer-implemented method of scanning a document, comprising the steps of:

acquiring to a memory at least one recording confined to a field that covers a delimited area of a document;

processing the at least one recording to perform character recognition;

when a character is recognized, registering it in the memory; and performing the above steps repeatedly while recording at shifted positions so as to progressively obtain a string of characters;

evaluating the string against a predefined condition;

if the condition is not satisfied, clearing from the memory at least a portion of the string and at least a portion of the at least one recording; and

if the condition is satisfied, determining whether to provide an output.

2. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that the string of characters occurs in one of predefined keywords.

3. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that less than a predefined number of characters is evaluated.

4. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that the character font size is less than a predefined font size.

5. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein determining whether to provide an output is based on whether the string of characters matches one of a predefined keyword.

6. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the output is a reference to a location in the document encompassing the at least one recording that contains content contributing to the string which was evaluated positively to the condition.

7. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein a keyword matched by the string is arranged in a document template at a location representing the location of the corresponding word in the document subjected to the scanning.

8. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein information about position in the document and/or length of the found keywords is generated and stored.

9. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the output comprises codes representing the string of characters that satisfies the predefined condition.

10. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the output comprises a reference to one from among predefined keywords in a predefined keyword list.

11. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the output comprises one from among predefined keywords.

12. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the output comprises one from among predefined keywords and a reference to a location representing the location of the corresponding word in the document subjected to scanning.

13. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the string of characters is cleared when an output is provided.

14. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , comprising stitching together selected recordings to a compounded recording.

15. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein the compounded recording is processed to perform recognition of a character extending across multiple selected recordings.

16. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein a step of stitching together selected recordings to a compounded recording is performed when processing of the at least one recording to recognize a character did not result in recognition of a character.

17. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein the predefined condition comprises whether stitched compounded recordings result in recognition of a character when a predefined number of recordings has been stitched.

18. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that the string of characters occurs in one of a predefined keywords.

19. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that fewer than a predefined number of characters is evaluated.

20. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that the character font size is less than a predefined font size.

21. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14 , wherein the predefined condition comprises that the same colour occur in neighbour recordings.

22. A computer-implemented method according to claim 17 , wherein the compounded recording is cleared when a predefined condition is satisfied.

23. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the field is configured to have a dimension of 11 words arranged next to each other in a consecutive text.

24. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the field is configured to have a dimension corresponding to the width of the document and the height of the font size of the characters.

25. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the field is configured so as to have a dimension less than five times the size of the smallest character subject to character recognition.

26. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein at least two recordings are acquired simultaneously.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a program implementing the method according to claim 1 when run on a computer.

28. A system comprising a scanning device and a computer loaded with a program implementing the method according to claim 1 when the program is run on the computer.

29. A document scanner comprising:

a scanning head for acquiring at least one recording confined to a field that covers a delimited area of a document;

a processor adapted to recognize a character in the recording;

a data memory for storing the at least one recording and for storing a recognized character; and

a program memory storing a set of executable program instructions on the processor to perform the method according to claim 1 .