Digital video audit system

• US 7,232,064 B1
• Filed: 01/29/1999
• Issued: 06/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Transcore LP (Roper Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Transcore Incorporated (Roper Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Toohey, William Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): ST CYR, DANIEL
• Application Number:
  US09/239,671
• Time in Patent Office: 3,063 Days
• Field of Search: 235/384, 235/385, 348/143, 348/149, 348/150, 348/159, 348/161, 348/153
• US Class Current: 235/384
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A method and system for building and utilizing a database containing images of transactions. As transactions are performed, a camera takes images of the transactions. These images are correlated to data that outlines the details of the transaction that includes date, time and sometimes the amount of money exchanged. The images and data are stored in a database for easy retrieval using query instructions so that a particular transaction and its corresponding image are quickly retrieved.

Claims

1. A system for collecting and organizing data comprising:

a video camera for capturing video images of transactions;

an input device for collecting transaction data associated with the transactions; and

a database management system for organizing the video images and the transaction data into a digital database;

wherein the video images are stored in the digital database as digital video images;

wherein the digital video images are associated in the digital database with the transaction data such that the digital video images of a transaction can be retrieved based on the transaction data of the transaction;

wherein the video camera is configured to capture a first video image during a first time period;

wherein the database management system is configured to determine, after the video camera has captured the first video image, whether or not the input device collected first transaction data of a first transaction during the first time period; and

wherein the database management system is configured to store, if determining that the input device collected the first transaction data during the first time period, the first video image in the digital database as a first digital video image associated with the first transaction data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the transaction data includes time data.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the transaction data includes date data.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the transaction data includes monetary data.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the video images are captured based upon a clock signal.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a terminal for allowing an operator to input queries into the digital database and receive the digital video images and the transaction data in response to the queries.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the transactions are vehicle toll collection transactions.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the transactions are financial transactions.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the transactions are retail transactions.

10. The system of claim 1,

wherein video images and transaction data are stored in the digital database for each of a plurality of transactions;

wherein the database management system may receive a query to search for a first subset of transaction data that have a particular characteristic; and

wherein a first subset of video images that are associated with the first subset of transaction data can be retrieved by the database management system and be arranged to be displayed in an order in response to the query.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the particular characteristic of the first subset of transaction data is at least one of an unusual occurrence, a class mis-match, and a violation.

12. The system of claim 1,

wherein the database management system can process a query and retrieve a second digital video image in response to the query;

and

wherein the second digital video image can be sent over a digital network to a client terminal for viewing.

13. The system of claim 1,

wherein the database management system is configured to discard the first video image if determining that the input device did not collect the first transaction data during the first time period.

14. The system of claim 1,

wherein the database management system is configured to not store the first video image if determining that the input device did not collect the first transaction data during the first time period.

15. The system of claim 1,

wherein the video camera is directed at a lane of vehicle traffic;

and

wherein the transactions are vehicle toll collection transactions.

16. A method of creating a transaction based database comprising:

capturing an image of the transaction as the transaction occurs;

collecting data associated with the transaction; and

storing the image and the data into a digital database, the image stored into the digital database as a digital image associated with the data;

wherein the image of the transaction is captured before the data associated with the transaction are collected; and

wherein a query into the digital database using a portion of the data acts as a key for retrieving the digital image associated with the data.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

triggering the capturing of the image based on a clock signal.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

retrieving the digital image and the data from the digital database in response to the query.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

displaying the digital image and the data on a monitor for an operator to view.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the operator makes adjustments to the data stored in the digital database.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

displaying a next digital image and associated data on the monitor in response to the operator issuing a request to view the next digital image.

22. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

displaying a next digital image and associated data on the monitor in response to the operator issuing a request to view a next transaction in time.

23. The method of claim 18 further comprising;

displaying a next digital image and associated data on the monitor in response to the operator issuing a request to view a next transaction with a particular value in a particular data field.

24. A method for creating a transaction based database, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing a video image during a time period;

determining, after the video image has been captured during the time period, whether or not a transaction occurred during the time period;

saving the video image in the transaction based database determining that the transaction occurred during the time period;

saving transaction data associated with the transaction in the transaction based database in the event that the transaction occurred during the time period; and

associating the video image with the transaction data in the transaction based database if determining that the transaction occurred during the time period.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of capturing a video image during a time period, comprises the step of:

capturing a video image during a time period in response to a clock signal.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of:

retrieving at least one of the video image and the transaction data in response to a query.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of saving the video image, comprises:

saving the video image in the transaction based database only if determining that the transaction occurred during the time period.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of saving the video image, comprises:

saving the video image in the transaction based database if determining that the transaction occurred during the time period; and

discarding the video image if determining that the transaction did not occur during the time period.

29. A method for displaying video images related to transactions, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing video images for each of a plurality of transactions;

collecting transaction data for each of the plurality of transactions;

associating the video images for each of the plurality of transactions with the transaction data of the corresponding transaction;

retrieving, in response to a query that indicates a particular transaction data characteristic, a subset of the video images that are associated with transaction data having the particular transaction data characteristic; and

displaying the retrieved subset of the video images in an order;

wherein the video images for each of the plurality of transactions are captured before the transaction data of the corresponding transaction are collected.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of retrieving, in response to a query that indicates a particular transaction data characteristic, a subset of the video images that are associated with transaction data having the particular transaction data characteristic, comprises the step of:

retrieving, in response to a query, a subset of the video images that are associated with transaction data reflecting at least one of an unusual occurrence, a class mis-match, and a violation.

31. A method for displaying video images related to transactions, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing video images for each of a plurality of transactions;

collecting transaction data for each of the plurality of transactions,

associating the video images for each of the plurality of transactions with the transaction data of the corresponding transaction;

retrieving, in response to a query that indicates a particular transaction data characteristic, a subset of the video images that are associated with transaction data having the particular transaction data characteristic; and

displaying the retrieved subset of the video images in an order;

wherein the video images for each of the plurality of transactions are captured either before the transaction data of the corresponding transaction are collected or at a same time that the transaction data of the corresponding transaction are collected; and

wherein the step of displaying the retrieved subset of the video images in an order, comprises the step of;

displaying the retrieved subset of the video images in chronological order according to when the transactions associated with the video images occurred, the retrieved subset of the video images displayed without any intervening images.