CONSUMER RETURN OF DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS VIA MOBILE DEVICE PHOTOGRAPH SUBMISSION

• US 20160350756A1
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Published: 12/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Shepard, Margaret Skalko, Ruth, Richard Reed, Tuttle, Lewis Nichols
• Application Number:
  US14/724,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20160350756A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/047 using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/407 Cancellation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/63 Scene text, e.g. street names
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/142 using hand-held instruments; Constructional details of the instruments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324

Abstract

A refund requesting device can include a camera, an optical character recognition (OCR) module, and a transmitter. The camera can capture a defective product photograph of a defective product and a receipt photograph of a purchase receipt for the defective product. The optical character recognition (OCR) module can optical character recognize the receipt photograph to produce receipt textual data. The transmitter can transmit, to a refund processing server, a refund request message comprising at least one of the defective product photograph and the receipt textual data. The refund processing server can processes the refund request message to add a refund money amount to an account associated with a purchaser of the defective product.

Claims

1. A refund requesting device, comprising:

a camera to capture a defective product photograph of a defective product and a receipt photograph of a purchase receipt for said defective product; and

an optical character recognition (OCR) module to optical character recognize said receipt photograph to produce receipt textual data; and

a transmitter to transmit, to a refund processing server, a refund request message comprising at least one of said defective product photograph and said receipt textual data;

wherein said refund processing server processes said refund request message to add a refund money amount to an account associated with a purchaser of said defective product.

2. The refund requesting device according to claim 1, wherein said camera captures an identifying information photograph of identifying information associated with said defective product.

3. The refund requesting device according to claim 2, wherein said identifying information is a universal product code (UPC).

4. The refund requesting device according to claim 2, wherein said OCR module optical character recognizes said identifying information to produce textual identifying data, and said transmitter further transmits said textual identifying data to said refund processing server.

5. The refund requesting device according to claim 1, wherein said refund requesting device is one of a cell phone, a laptop computer, and a tablet computer.

6. The refund requesting device according to claim 1, wherein said transmitter is at least one of short message service (SMS), a multimedia messaging service (MMS), and an email transmitter.

7. A method of requesting a refund for a defective product, comprising:

capturing, with a camera of a refund requesting device, a defective product photograph of said defective product and a receipt photograph of a purchase receipt;

optical character recognizing, with an optical character recognition (OCR) module of said refund requesting device, said receipt photograph to produce receipt textual data; and

transmitting, to a refund processing server with a transmitter of said refund requesting device, a refund request message comprising said receipt textual data and said defective product photograph;

wherein said refund processing server applies a refund money amount for said defective product to an account associated with a purchaser of said defective product.

8. The method of requesting a refund for a defective product according to claim 7, further comprising:

capturing, with said camera of said refund requesting device, an identifying information photograph of identifying information associated with said defective product.

9. The method of requesting a refund for a defective product according to claim 8, wherein said identifying information is a universal product code (UPC).

10. The method of requesting a refund for a defective product according to claim 8, further comprising:

optical character recognizing, with said optical character module of said refund requesting device, said identifying information photograph to produce identifying data associated with said identifying information; and

transmitting, with said transmitter of said refund requesting device, said refund request message further comprising said identifying data.

11. The method of requesting a refund for a defective product according to claim 7, wherein said refund requesting device is one of a cell phone, a laptop computer, and a tablet computer.

12. The method of requesting a refund for a defective product according to claim 7, wherein said transmitter is at least one of a short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), and email transmitter.

13. A refund processing server, comprising:

a receiver to receive a refund request message from a refund requesting device, said refund request message comprising at least a defective product photograph of a defective product;

a graphic user interface (GUI) to display said defective product photograph; and

an account access module to add a refund money amount to an account associated with a purchaser of said defective product in response to said refund request message.

14. The refund processing server according to claim 13, wherein said refund request message further comprises an identifying information photograph of identifying information associated with said defective product.

15. The refund processing server according to claim 14, wherein said identifying information is a universal product code (UPC).

16. The refund processing server according to claim 13, further comprising:

an optical character recognition (OCR) module to optical character recognize a purchase receipt photograph received with said refund request message to produce receipt textual data;

wherein said account access module adds said refund money amount to said account in response to said receipt textual data being associated with said defective product.

17. The refund processing server according to claim 13, wherein said refund requesting device is one of a cell phone, a laptop computer, and a tablet computer.

18. The refund processing server according to claim 13, wherein said receiver is at least one of a short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), and email transmitter.

19. A refund processing method, comprising:

receiving, via a receiver of a refund processing server, a refund request message from a refund requesting device, said refund request message comprising at least a defective product photograph of a defective product;

displaying, via a graphic user interface (GUI) of said refund processing server, said defective product photograph; and

accessing, via an account access module of said refund processing server, an account of a purchaser of said defective product to add a refund money amount to said account.

20. The refund processing method according to claim 19, wherein said refund request message further comprises an identifying information photograph of identifying information associated with said defective product.

21. The refund processing method claim 20, wherein said identifying information is a universal product code (UPC).

22. The refund processing method claim 19, further comprising:

optical character recognizing, with an optical character recognition (OCR) module of said refund processing server, a purchase receipt photograph received with said refund request message to produce receipt textual data; and

adding, with said account access module, said refund money amount to said account in response to said receipt textual data being associated with said defective product.

23. The refund processing method according to claim 19, wherein said mobile device is one of a cell phone, a laptop computer, and a tablet computer.

24. The refund processing method according to claim 19, wherein said receiver is at least one of a short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), and email transmitter.