Method of shipping, tracking, and delivering a shipment of packages over an internet-based network employing the capture of shipping document images and recognition-processing thereof initiated from the point of pickup and completed while shipment is being transported to its first scanning point in the network, so as to sort and route packages using the original shipment number assigned to the package shipment
First Claim
1. A method of shipping, tracking, and delivering a shipment of packages over an Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network including (i) a digital image capture and processing device with memory storage provided a point of shipment pickup, (ii) at least a first scanning point capable of scanning packages in said shipment and routing said packages to a point of destination, (iii) sorting and routing hubs located along routes leading to said point of destination, and (iv) a central processing station having a network application server and a relational database management system (DBMS) operably connected to the infrastructure of the Internet, wherein said shipment of packages has an original shipping document assigned an original shipment tracking number, and each package in said shipment has an original shipping label containing said original shipment tracking number, said method comprising the steps:
- (A) at said point of shipment pickup,(i) using said digital image capture and processing device to automatically capture a digital image of an original shipping document in connection with said shipment of packages, and then buffering said digital image in the memory storage of said digital image capture and processing device;
(ii) 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 of said machine-readable information and a digital image file for said digital image of the original shipping document;
(iii) automatically encoding said data into said digital image file; and
(iv) transmitting said digital image file over said Internet to said network application server, and storing said digital image file in said DBMS; and
(B) while said shipment of packages is being transported from said point of shipment pickup to said first scanning point,(i) recognition processing said stored digital image file to read shipping information graphically represented in said digital image file, and(ii) storing said extracted shipping information in said DBMS; and
(C) at said first scanning point, and at each said sorting and routing hub,(i) reading the original shipment tracking number on said package, and accessing said shipping information stored in said DBMS associated with said package; and
(ii) using shipping information accessed from DBMS to sort and route said package to said point of destination.
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Abstract
An Internet-based shipping, tracking and delivery network is deployed, wherein at the point of shipment pickup, digital images of shipping documents are captured and processed, shipping information graphically represented the digital images is extracted and encoded into digital image files, and these digital image files are transmitted to an application server and for storage in an information DBMS and subsequent recognition and processing, while the shipment is in transit, from the point of shipment pickup to the first scanning point. At the first scanning point, and subsequent sorting and routing hubs in the network, the original shipment number assigned to the package shipment and graphically represented in said shipping document images, is used to access the DBMS and retrieve recognized shipping information for use in sorting and routing each package in the shipment to its point of destination. By virtue of the present invention, network-assigned shipment tracking numbers need not be assigned, nor special labels generated, for package and delivery operations.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of shipping, tracking, and delivering a shipment of packages over an Internet-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network including (i) a digital image capture and processing device with memory storage provided a point of shipment pickup, (ii) at least a first scanning point capable of scanning packages in said shipment and routing said packages to a point of destination, (iii) sorting and routing hubs located along routes leading to said point of destination, and (iv) a central processing station having a network application server and a relational database management system (DBMS) operably connected to the infrastructure of the Internet, wherein said shipment of packages has an original shipping document assigned an original shipment tracking number, and each package in said shipment has an original shipping label containing said original shipment tracking number, said method comprising the steps:
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(A) at said point of shipment pickup, (i) using said digital image capture and processing device to automatically capture a digital image of an original shipping document in connection with said shipment of packages, and then buffering said digital image in the memory storage of said digital image capture and processing device; (ii) 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 of said machine-readable information and a digital image file for said digital image of the original shipping document; (iii) automatically encoding said data into said digital image file; and (iv) transmitting said digital image file over said Internet to said network application server, and storing said digital image file in said DBMS; and (B) while said shipment of packages is being transported from said point of shipment pickup to said first scanning point, (i) recognition processing said stored digital image file to read shipping information graphically represented in said digital image file, and (ii) storing said extracted shipping information in said DBMS; and (C) at said first scanning point, and at each said sorting and routing hub, (i) reading the original shipment tracking number on said package, and accessing said shipping information stored in said DBMS associated with said package; and (ii) using shipping information accessed from DBMS to sort and route said package to said point of destination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An Internet-based network for shipping, tracking, and delivering a shipment of packages, wherein said shipment of packages has an original shipping document assigned an original shipment tracking number, and each package in said shipment has an original shipping label containing said original shipment tracking number, comprising:
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a digital image capture and processing device with memory storage provided a point of shipment pickup; at least a first scanning point capable of scanning packages in said shipment and routing said packages to a point of destination; sorting and routing hubs located along routes leading to said point of destination; a central processing station having a network application server; and a database management system (DBMS) operably connected to the infrastructure of the Internet; wherein at said point of shipment pickup, (i) said digital image capture and processing device is used to automatically capture a digital image of an original shipping document in connection with said shipment of packages, and then said memory storage is used to buffer said digital image; (ii) said buffered digital image is automatically processed so as to read machine-readable information graphically represented in said digital image of the original shipping document, and produce data representative of said machine-readable information and a digital image file for said digital image of the original shipping document; (iii) said data is automatically encoded into said digital image file; and (iv) said digital image file is transmitted over said Internet to said network application server, and said digital image file is stored in said DBMS; wherein while said shipment of packages is being transported from said point of shipment pickup to said first scanning point, (i) said stored digital image file is recognition processed to read shipping information graphically represented in said digital image file, and (ii) said extracted shipping information is stored in said DBMS; and
wherein at said first scanning point, and at each said sorting and routing hub,(i) the original shipment tracking number on said package is read, and said shipping information stored in said DBMS and associated with said package is accessed; and (ii) shipping information is accessed from DBMS to sort and route said package to said point of destination. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification