Lost baggage inventory and claim system
First Claim
1. A baggage tracing system, comprising:
- a plurality of workstations, each programmed for providing for the input of bag data;
a data base associated with said workstations for storing bag data;
each workstation being associated with a bag inventory station for providing bag content data to the respective workstation; and
imaging apparatus for capturing a video image of a lost bag, said video image defining image data stored in association with bag data in said data base.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A baggage tracing system includes a plurality of bag inventory stations, each equipped with a menu-driven workstation for entering documentary information related to the bag. Bag content data is also entered, as well as video images illustrating the bag and its contents. Each workstation is also menu-driven for entering claim requests. Bag records and claim records input via the workstation are transferred to a centralized data base for storage, and for retrieval on request to carry out matching functions for matching claim requests with bag records. The baggage tracing system of the invention can operate autonomously, or transmit and receive bag and claim records with respect to other remotely located systems or equipment.
157 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A baggage tracing system, comprising:
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a plurality of workstations, each programmed for providing for the input of bag data; a data base associated with said workstations for storing bag data; each workstation being associated with a bag inventory station for providing bag content data to the respective workstation; and imaging apparatus for capturing a video image of a lost bag, said video image defining image data stored in association with bag data in said data base. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operation of a baggage tracing system, comprising the steps of:
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inputting bag file data into a workstation; inputting video image data of a bag into the workstation; assigning a file number to the bag file data and the video image data; transferring the bag file data and the video image data from the workstation to a centralized data base for storage as a bag record; and retrieving the bag file data and the video image data from the centralized data base in response to a request to match a lost bag with a claim. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of tracing lost baggage in a baggage tracing system, comprising the steps of:
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retrieving lost bag claim data from a data base; retrieving a bag record including bag file data and video image data from a data base and displaying the bag file data and video image data on a monitor screen; comparing the lost bag claim data with the bag file data and the video image data to determine if a match exists; if a match does not exist, displaying on the monitor screen other bag data from a different bag record to determine if a match then exists; and if a match is found, returning the lost baggage to an owner thereof. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of operating a processor controlled workstation to carry out bag tracing functions, comprising the steps of:
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operating a workstation program to retrieve bag record data from a data base having stored therein lost bag records and corresponding video image data; displaying on a monitor screen a menu related to tracing functions; in response to a workstation input indicating a selection of a tracing function, selecting bag records from the data base according to a predefined criterion; and retrieving video image data from the selected bag record and displaying on the monitor screen the retrieved video image data. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An article tracing system for finding lost articles in response to article claim requests, comprising:
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a plurality of article processing stations, each having an article receiving area for inspecting unclaimed articles and contents thereof, each article processing station having a computerized article processing unit for entry therein of article data for creating an article file associated with an unclaimed article and its contents; video capture apparatus for providing image data of an unclaimed article; a centralized data base connected to each said article processing station for receiving article files and image data for providing centralized storage thereof; and a plurality of computerized article tracing units programmed for carrying out article tracing functions, said computerized article tracing units being adapted for accessing said centralized data base for retrieving the article files and image data for display thereof so that the displayed data can be compared with an article claim request. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. In a baggage tracing system of the type utilized in matching unclaimed baggage with owners thereof, and of the type having computerized facilities for storing data identifying an owner and an unclaimed bag, the improvement comprising:
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a video image for generating video signals defining an unclaimed bag; a converter for converting the video signals to corresponding digital signals defining the unclaimed bag; and said computerized facilities being programmed to store the digital signals in association with a unique file associated with the unclaimed bag. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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Specification