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

• US 7,735,731 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Metrologic Instruments Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Xiaoxun, Skaaksrud, Ole-Petter, Gordon, Wayne Luke, Smith, Jeffrey Robert, Dryden, Cameron Dee, Rhodes, Robert Russell Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US11/981,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20080203166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 958 Days
• Field of Search: 235/384, 235/462.01, 235/462.09, 235/472.01
• US Class Current: 235/384
• 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 image-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 in an Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery network, said Web-based MICAP cell-phone comprising:

a hand-supportable housing;

a digital image capture and processing engine, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, for (i) capturing and processing digital images of shipping documents at a point of shipment pickup, and (ii) recognizing bar-coded shipment tracking numbers graphically represented in said digital images;

a display panel, intergrated with said hand-supportable housing, for displaying said digital images;

a microprocessor, disposed in said hand-supportable housing, along with program memory and non-volatile memory;

an RF transceiver circuit disposed in said hand-supportable housing, along with an RF antenna coupled to said RF transceiver circuit supporting wireless data communication protocols on said Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery network;

a rechargeable battery disposed in said hand-supportable housing for providing electrical power to components with said Web-enabled MICAP cell-phone;

wherein said microprocessor and said program 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 said one or more application programs support automatic reading of bar-coded shipment tracking numbers graphically represented in said digital images, and automatic generation of digital image files (i) named or titled using said bar-coded shipment tracking numbers, and (ii) having headers that are encoded with said bar-coded shipment tracking numbers.

2. The Web-enabled MICAP cell-phone of claim 1, which further comprises a switch integrated with said hand-supportable housing, 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) client-side digital image capture and processing, and digital data file transmission functions, as well as (iii) client-server based information services supported on said Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery network.

4. A method of operating a Web-based mobile image capture and processing (MICAP) cell-phone in connection with an 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 capturing a digital image of an original shipping document associated with a shipment of a packages, and then buffering said digital image in onboard memory storage aboard said MICAP cell-phone;

(b) automatically processing said buffered digital image 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, said data into the header of a digital image file containing said digital image;

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

(e) transmitting said digital image file to a network application server on said Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery network, whereupon, digital image file is transmitted to at least one of a computer-assisted information recognition system, and a human-operated data-keying workstation for reading shipping information graphically represented in said digital image, and storing said shipping information in a relational database management system (RDBMS) on said Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery 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 image files 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 of packages.

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 original shipping document.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said machine-readable information comprises a shipment tracking number.