Web-enabled mobile image capturing and processing (MICAP) cell-phone

• US 20080203166A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cameron Dee Dryden, Jeffrey Robert Smith, Ole-Petter Skaaksrud, Robert Russell Rhodes, Wayne Luke Gordon, Xiaoxun Zhu
• Original Assignee: Cameron Dee Dryden, Jeffrey Robert Smith, Ole-Petter Skaaksrud, Robert Russell Rhodes, Wayne Luke Gordon, Xiaoxun Zhu
• Inventors: Zhu, Xiaoxun, Skaaksrud, Ole-Petter, Gordon, Wayne Luke, Smith, Jeffrey Robert, Dryden, Cameron Dee, Rhodes, Robert Russell
• Granted Patent: US 7,735,731 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/462.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A Web-enabled mobile image capturing and processing (MICAP) cell-phone for use on a Web-based shipping, tracking and delivery network. The cell-phone include a hand-supportable housing, and a digital image capture and processing engine for capturing and processing digital images of shipping documents at a point of shipment pickup. An imaging-based bar code reading engine is integrated with the housing for recognizing 1D and/or 2D bar-coded labels in captured digital images. A display panel displays digital images. An RF transceiver circuit, with an RF antenna, supports wireless data communication protocols. A microprocessor and memory aboard the cellphone provides a computing platform supporting an operating system (OS) and one or more application programs, including a Web browser program, and a client application program. At least the application program supports the automatically reading of bar-coded shipment tracking numbers graphically represented in the captured digital images, and automatically generates digital image files (i) having headers that are encoded with machine-recognized shipment tracking numbers, and (ii) which are named or titled using the machine-recognized shipment tracking numbers.

Claims

1. A Web-enabled mobile image capturing and processing (MICAP) cell-phone for use on a Web-based shipping, tracking and delivery network, said Web-based MICAP cell-phone comprising:

a hand-supportable housing;

a digital image capture and processing engine for capturing and processing digital images of shipping documents at a point of shipment pickup;

an imaging-based bar code reading engine for recognizing 1D and/or 2D bar-coded labels in captured digital images;

a display panel for displaying said digital images a microprocessor with program memory and non-volatile memory;

an RF transceiver circuit with an RF antenna coupled to the RF transceiver circuits supporting wireless data communication protocols;

a rechargeable battery for providing electrical power to components within said Web-based MICAP cell-phone;

wherein said microprocessor and memory provides a computing platform supporting an operating system (OS) and one or more application programs, including a Web browser program, and a client application program; and

wherein at least said application program supports the automatically reading of bar-coded shipment tracking numbers graphically represented in said digital images, and automatically generates digital image files (i) having headers that are encoded with machine-recognized shipment tracking numbers, and (ii) which are named or titled using said machine-recognized shipment tracking numbers.

2. The Web-enabled MICAP cell-phone of claim 1, which further comprises a switch for generating a trigger signal.

3. The Web-enabled MICAP cell-phone of claim 1, wherein said client application programs support (i) e-mail, and/or other electronic messaging services, (ii) the client-side digital image capture and processing, and digital data file transmission functions, as well as (iii) the client-server based information services supported on said network.

4. A method of operating a Web-based mobile image capture and processing (MICAP) cell-phone in connection with said Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery network, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) upon generation of a trigger signal from said MICAP cell-phone, said MICAP cell-phone automatically captures, at different resolutions, multiple digital images of an original shipping document, and then buffers said digital images in onboard memory storage.

(b) automatically processing said buffered digital images so as to read machine-readable information graphically represented in said digital image of the original shipping document, and produce data representative thereof;

(c) automatically encoding, as a tag, said data into the header of said digital image file;

(d) using said data to name or title said digital image file;

(e) transmitting said digital image files to at network application server on said network, whereupon, such digital image files are transmitted to human-operated data-keying workstation for reading shipping information graphically represented in said digital images, and storing said shipping information in an RDBMS on said network; and

(f) using a Web-enabled client application or a Web browser program running on said Web-based MICAP cell-phone so as to access and view at least one of said digital images and shipping information stored in said RDBMS.

5. The method of claim 4, which further comprises:

(g) accessing said shipping information in said RDBMS, and using said shipping information in sorting and routing said shipment.

6. The method of claim 5, which further comprises:

(h) accessing said shipping information from said RDBMS so as to conduct early billing operations in connection with said shipping document.