Document scanner

A system, comprising:

• one or more computers;
• one or more storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
• receiving a scan request, wherein the scan request includes a plurality of text images, each text image representing a portion of a text document, wherein the plurality of text images includes a first text image and a second text image that at least partially overlap;
• for each text image of the plurality of text images:
• rectifying the text image to generate a text image with parallel image lines,
• generating a plurality of word bounding boxes that enclose one or more connected components in the text image, wherein each word bounding box is associated with a respective word of the text image, and
• generating, for each respective word bounding box in the text image, a vector that describes a shape of the respective word;
• combining text images of the plurality of text images that at least partially overlap to form a single text document including combining the first text image of the plurality of text images and the second text image of the plurality of text images by matching one or more shape descriptors from a first set of vectors generated for each respective word in the first text image and one or more shape descriptors from a second set of vectors generated for each respective word in the second text image;
• and
• providing the combined image as a scannable document.

A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a scan request, wherein the scan request includes a plurality of text images, each text image representing a portion of a text document, wherein the plurality of text images includes a first text image and a second text image that at least partially overlap;
• for each text image of the plurality of text images:
• rectifying the text image to generate a text image with parallel image lines,
• generating a plurality of word bounding boxes that enclose one or more connected components in the text image, wherein each word bounding box is associated with a respective word of the text image, and
• generating, for each respective word bounding box in the text image, a vector that describes a shape of the respective word;
• combining text images of the plurality of text images that at least partially overlap to form a single text document including combining the first text image of the plurality of text images and the second text image of the plurality of text images by matching one or more shape descriptors from a first set of vectors generated for each respective word in the first text image and one or more shape descriptors from a second set of vectors generated for each respective word in the second text image;
• and
• providing the combined image as a scannable document.