Method for auditing and maintaining an ordered inventory

• US 8,126,198 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2008
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Peter Batt
• Original Assignee: Peter Batt
• Inventors: Batt, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Azarian, Seyed
• Application Number:
  US12/315,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20100135522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382101-103, 382106-108, 382112-114, 382135-140, 382/155, 382/168, 382/173, 382/180, 382181-204, 382/209, 382/224, 382/232, 382/254, 382/274, 382/276, 382286-292, 382/305, 382/312, 382/321, 340/572.1, 235/375, 358/1.13, 705/28, 705/23
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/245 by locating a pattern; Special marks for positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/141 using multiple overlapping images; Image stitching

Abstract

An image based optical character recognition method for auditing, maintaining and storing articles according to an ordered classification scheme not requiring exact physical positions.

Claims

1. A method for determining a call number using a computer readable medium encoded with computer executable instructions and camera, said method comprising the steps of:

capturing an article image where the call number is typically located where the captured article image is a single image or a plurality of images composed of a collection of smaller sufficiently overlapping images, a composite image, where the images making the composite image are not necessarily in the same plane;

identifying areas likely to contain the call number within the said article image;

converting the said area to characters, the character sequence;

the said character sequence is checked for validity according to the classification system in use;

displaying said article image and character sequence to the operator;

storing said character sequence and image;

a list of articles to be found, a search list, such that the call number is checked against the search list and an alert is made;

camera movement is applied to images of adjacent or nearby articles such that a list may be created of a plurality of articles.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said area likely to contain the call number dimensions may be learned.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said character sequence is checked to a database.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said article dimensions are not of sufficient size to position an article'"'"'s call number, an alert is made for a manual inspection.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said list is checked for order and alerts are made for out of order articles.

6. The method according to claim 5, where sorting algorithms are used to identify an article or plurality of articles that must be moved to maintain proper order requiring the least number of movements.

7. The method according to claim 6, where a plurality of list are cross-checked for order.

8. The method according to claim 5, where an article to be stored is scanned followed by articles already in the stored position wherein the method provides guidance to the proper stored placement.

9. The method according to claim 1, where a plurality of lists may be created simultaneously.