Patents by Inventor Charles H. Downs, Jr.

Charles H. Downs, Jr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7761358
    Abstract: A real time financial instrument image exchange system and method deliver a digital image of a financial instrument (for example, a bank check) very quickly through an image exchange network to a payor institution by promptly forwarding the digital image when it is created at a depositing institution. This may expedite pay or return decisions to be made by payor institutions, which may enable banks to truncate checks, to reduce fraud and its costs, and to facilitate compliance with banking regulations. Such image capture, as well as related data capture, and real-time transfer enable emulation to an item processing system of the payor institution whereby the payor's item processing system processes the image and data as if it did the original capture actually performed at the depositing institution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Inventors: Mark S. Craig, Michael M. Miller, Charles H. Downs, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20090198606
    Abstract: A real time financial instrument image exchange system and method deliver a digital image of a financial instrument (for example, a bank check) very quickly through an image exchange network to a payor institution by promptly forwarding the digital image when it is created at a depositing institution. This may expedite pay or return decisions to be made by payor institutions, which may enable banks to truncate checks, to reduce fraud and its costs, and to facilitate compliance with banking regulations. Such image capture, as well as related data capture, and real-time transfer enable emulation to an item processing system of the payor institution whereby the payor's item processing system processes the image and data as if it did the original capture actually performed at the depositing institution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Publication date: August 6, 2009
    Inventors: Mark S. Craig, Michael M. Miller, Charles H. Downs, JR.
  • Patent number: 7092561
    Abstract: An automated analysis method and tool for a digitally imaged financial item can digitally recognize a plurality of characters across an area of a digital image containing character indicia at predetermined positions in the area and also possibly containing non-character indicia in the area. This finds exemplification in an automated check processing method and check sorting system in which a check's MICR line that has been read and interpreted as invalid can be digitally analyzed, via a digital image of the check, to identify MICR characters that could not be validly read or interpreted by the conventional MICR processing equipment. This includes digitally applying character recognition processing to an invalidated MICR line in a digital image of the financial item (e.g., a check). Previously invalidated MICR line data can then be corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Advanced Financial Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles H. Downs, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6654487
    Abstract: An automated analysis method and tool for a digitally imaged financial item can digitally recognize a plurality of characters across an area of a digital image containing character indicia at predetermined positions in the area and also possibly containing non-character indicia in the area. This finds exemplification in an automated check processing method and check sorting system in which a check's MICR line that has been read and interpreted as invalid can be digitally analyzed, via a digital image of the check, to identify MICR characters that could not be validly read or interpreted by the conventional MICR processing equipment. This includes digitally applying character recognition processing to an invalidated MICR line in a digital image of the financial item (e.g., a check). Previously invalidated MICR line data can then be corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Inventor: Charles H. Downs, Jr.