IP Library Granted Patent US 12,699,835
Granted Patent B2
US 12,699,835 · App. 18/467,592 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Collision avoidance for document field placement

Inventors: Minh Quan Dang Nguyen (San Jose, CA); Jesse Zhou (San Francisco, CA); Flora Jin (Brooklyn, NY)
Assignee: Gusto, Inc.
G06F40/174G06F40/30G06V30/153G06V30/414G06V30/416
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,699,835
App. No.
18/467,592
Filed
Sep 14, 2023
Granted
Aug 4, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2174
USPC
715/226
Abstract

Users of a database management engine may generate fillable digital documents by mapping interface elements onto form documents. When a user maps interface elements onto a form document, the user may accidentally overlap two or more interface elements. To rectify this, the database management engine may modify the position of one of interface elements based on a set of positioning rules. In addition, the database management engine may identify and suggest mappings to users based on similar documents that have been previously mapped. The database management engine identifies similar documents using information about the document, the user, and the mapping itself. The mapping associated with the most similar document may be provided to the user as a suggested mapping. The database management engine converts the form document and finalized mapping into a fillable digital document. The fillable digital document is sent to recipients, who complete the fillable digital document.

Claims (41)

1 . A method comprising:

accessing, by a document system, an image of a form document comprising a plurality of fields each including or adjacent to a set of form text associated with the field, wherein a first interface element corresponding to a first field and a second interface element corresponding to a second field are mapped onto the image of the form document;

in response to determining that the first interface element and the second interface element spatially overlap within the image of the form document at least in part, modifying a position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface based on one or more characteristics of one or both of the first field and the second field such that the first interface element and the second interface element do not overlap;

converting, by the document system, the image of the form document into a fillable digital document, wherein the positions of the first interface element and the second within the fillable digital document are based on the modified positions of the first interface element and the second interface element; and

providing, by the document system, the fillable digital document to one or more recipients.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface element are modified based on a semantic analysis of form text associated with the first field and the second field.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface element are modified such that the first interface element and the second interface element are separated by a threshold distance.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more recipients are identified by:

performing an optical character recognition (OCR) analysis on the image of the form document; and

identifying one or more recipients based on the results of the OCR analysis and data stored in profiles of the one or more recipients.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more recipients are identified by a user.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying a position of the first interface element or the second interface element comprises moving the first interface element or the second interface element in a direction corresponding to a shortest distance such that, when moved, the first interface element and the second interface element no longer overlap.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the fillable digital document to the one or more recipients further comprises:

automatically populating the first interface element with data stored in a profile of each of the one or more recipients in a database based on a pointer associated with the first interface element.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each interface element has a boundary, and wherein determining that the first interface element and the second interface element overlap at least in part comprises determining that a portion of the boundary of the first interface element overlaps at least in part with a portion of the boundary of the second interface element.

9 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing computer program code that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform steps comprising:

accessing, by a document system, an image of a form document comprising a plurality of fields each including or adjacent to a set of form text associated with the field, wherein a first interface element corresponding to a first field and a second interface element corresponding to a second field are mapped onto the image of the form document;

in response to determining that the first interface element and the second interface element spatially overlap within the image of the form document at least in part, modifying a position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface based on one or more characteristics of one or both of the first field and the second field such that the first interface element and the second interface element do not overlap;

converting, by the document system, the image of the form document into a fillable digital document, wherein the positions of the first interface element and the second within the fillable digital document are based on the modified positions of the first interface element and the second interface element; and

providing, by the document system, the fillable digital document to one or more recipients.

10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface element are modified based on a semantic analysis of form text associated with the first field and the second field.

11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface element are modified such that the first interface element and the second interface element are separated by a threshold distance.

12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the one or more recipients are identified by:

performing an optical character recognition (OCR) analysis on the image of the form document; and

identifying one or more recipients based on the results of the OCR analysis and data stored in profiles of the one or more recipients.

13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the one or more recipients are identified by a user.

14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein modifying a position of the first interface element or the second interface element comprises moving the first interface element or the second interface element in a direction corresponding to a shortest distance such that, when moved, the first interface element and the second interface element no longer overlap.

15 . A system comprising:

a hardware processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to:

accessing, by a document system, an image of a form document comprising a plurality of fields each including or adjacent to a set of form text associated with the field, wherein a first interface element corresponding to a first field and a second interface element corresponding to a second field are mapped onto the image of the form document;

in response to determining that the first interface element and the second interface element spatially overlap within the image of the form document at least in part, modifying a position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface based on one or more characteristics of one or both of the first field and the second field such that the first interface element and the second interface element do not overlap;

converting, by the document system, the image of the form document into a fillable digital document, wherein the positions of the first interface element and the second within the fillable digital document are based on the modified positions of the first interface element and the second interface element; and

providing, by the document system, the fillable digital document to one or more recipients.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface element are modified based on a semantic analysis of form text associated with the first field and the second field.

17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the position of one or both of the first interface element and the second interface element are modified such that the first interface element and the second interface element are separated by a threshold distance.

18 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more recipients are identified by:

performing an optical character recognition (OCR) analysis on the image of the form document; and

identifying one or more recipients based on the results of the OCR analysis and data stored in profiles of the one or more recipients.

19 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more recipients are identified by a user.

20 . The system of claim 15 , wherein modifying a position of the first interface element or the second interface element comprises moving the first interface element or the second interface element in a direction corresponding to a shortest distance such that, when moved, the first interface element and the second interface element no longer overlap.

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 25, 2025
From: ZENPAYROLL, INC.
To: GUSTO, INC.
Reel/Frame 073705/0640 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 3, 2025
From: GUSTO, INC.; SYMMETRY SOFTWARE, LLC
To: BLUE OWL CREDIT INCOME CORP., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 073529/0027 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 20, 2023
From: NGUYEN, MINH QUAN DANG; ZHOU, JESSE; JIN, FLORA
To: ZENPAYROLL, INC.
Reel/Frame 064961/0170 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 18065463 · Dec 13, 2022
Continuation 17369100 · Jul 7, 2021
Continuation 16780784 · Feb 3, 2020
Related Publication 20240005090A1 · Jan 4, 2024
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