Document information extraction system using sequenced comparators

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including computer instructions for determining a hierarchical structure of an electronic document, the computer instructions, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to:

• segment the document into a plurality of elements that, in aggregate, include the hierarchical structure, and each element having one or more visual characteristics and one or more location characteristics;
• apply a master comparator including a set of unit comparators to the plurality of elements to determine the hierarchical structure of the document, the master comparator determining the hierarchical structure by:
• for each pair of elements in the document, apply, in an ordered sequence, the set of unit comparators to determine a familial relationship between the pair of elements using at least the visual characteristics or the location characteristics of the pair of elements, and
• wherein the familial relationships between the plurality of elements identify the hierarchical structure of the document;
• and
• generate a document hierarchy tree representing the hierarchical structure of the document, the document hierarchy tree a visualization of the familial relationships between the plurality of elements.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of 13, wherein:

• the document includes a first element and a second element,
• a parent relationship between the first element and the second element defines the first element having a higher-level hierarchy in the hierarchical structure of the document than the second element,
• a child relationship between the first element and the second element defines a the first element segment having a lower-level hierarchy in the hierarchical structure of the document than the second element, and
• a sibling relationship between the first element and the second element defines the first element and the second element having a same-level hierarchy in the hierarchical structure of the document.

A system for determining a hierarchical structure of an electronic document, the system comprising:

• a computer processor for executing computer program instructions;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer program instructions executable by the computer processor to perform operations comprising:
• segmenting the document into a plurality of elements that, in aggregate, include the hierarchical structure, and each element having one or more visual characteristics and one or more location characteristics;
• applying a master comparator including a set of unit comparators to the plurality of elements to determine the hierarchical structure of the document, the master comparator determining the hierarchical structure by:
• for each pair of elements in the document, applying, in an ordered sequence, the set of unit comparators to determine a familial relationship between the pair of elements using at least the visual characteristics or the location characteristics of the pair of elements, and
• wherein the familial relationships between the plurality of elements identify the hierarchical structure of the document;
• and
• generating a document hierarchy tree representing the hierarchical structure of the document, the document hierarchy tree a visualization of the familial relationships between the plurality of elements.