Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network supporting a plurality of digital image capture and processing instruments deployed aboard a plurality of pickup/delivery vehicles

• US 20080210750A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 09/04/2008
• 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 7,766,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

The Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network supporting a plurality of digital image capture and processing instruments deployed aboard a plurality of pickup/delivery vehicles, wherein each digital image capture and processing instrument can upload digital images of shipping documents wirelessly to a cellular telephone which, in turn, transmits the digital images to one or more application servers and/or human-operated data-keying workstations supported on the network for machine and/or or human-assisted recognition-processing, and acquisition of shipping information contained in the digital images and the entry of said shipping information into an RDBMS maintained on the network for the purpose of supporting its shipping, tracking, and delivery operations.

Claims

1. The Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network supporting a plurality of digital image capture and processing instruments deployed aboard a plurality of pickup/delivery vehicles, wherein each said digital image capture and processing instrument can upload digital images of shipping documents wirelessly to a cellular telephone which, in turn, transmits the digital images to one or more application servers and/or human-operated data-keying workstations supported on said network for machine and/or or human-assisted recognition-processing, and acquisition of shipping information contained in said digital images and the entry of said shipping information into an RDBMS maintained on said network for the purpose of supporting its shipping, tracking, and delivery operations.

3. The Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery information network of claim 1, wherein said pickup/delivery vehicle comprises a vehicles selected from the group consisting of:

ground-transport vehicles such as trucks, vans, cars, bicycles, pedal-carts, rickshaws and the like;

air-transport vehicles such as jets, planes and helicopters;

water/sea-transport vehicles such ships, boats and hydro-planes.

2. The Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery information network of claim 2, wherein each said digital image capture and processing instrument can automatically read machine-readable content graphically represented in shipping labels during the digital imaging thereof, and then automatically encode such bar code number/information in a header of the digital image file, and use an item of said machine-readable content to name the digital image file prior to transmission to said one or more application servers and/or human-operated data-keying workstations supported on said network.

4. The Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery information network of claim 2, wherein said machine-readable content comprises information content selected from the group consisting of:

bar-coded shipment tracking numbers; and

alpha-numerically expressed shipping information, such as the shipper'"'"'s address, the shipment components and its contents, the number of items in the shipment, the destination address including street address and postal code, the shipping and delivery service requested, customs clearance requirements, and the like.

5. An Internet-enabled shipping, tracking, and delivery information network, employing a plurality of mobile image capture and processing systems, wherein each said system is capable of capturing digital images of shipping documents aboard a pickup/delivery vehicle, and transmitting digital image files thereof to image processing application servers and human-operated data-keying workstations supported on said network for recognizing shipping information and entering such information into an RDBMS on said network, so that such information processing can begin at the point of pickup, and during the time it takes for said pickup/delivery vehicle to complete its pickup route and arrive back at its first scanning point, and for the picked up shipment items to be unloaded at said first scanning point, all relevant shipping information contained in a digitally imaged shipping label can be captured from and stored in said RDBMS on the network, and thereby supporting various time-sensitive services provided over said network including, early customs clearance processing, early bill processing, wholesale, retail and mail order distribution, returns processing, as well as manual presentation scanning of shipment items at sorting and routing hubs throughout the network.