SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSOCIATING AN ORDER WITH AN OBJECT IN A MULTIPLE LANE ENVIRONMENT

• US 20130141586A1
• Filed: 02/15/2013
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conduent Business Services, LLC (Conduent, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kozitsky, Vladimir, Burry, Aaron Michael, Fan, Zhigang, Mayberry, Frank Bradley, Deppen, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,774,462 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/150
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

Images with respect to an object at an ordering, payment, and delivery locations can be captured utilizing an image capturing system. Capture can be after detecting the presence of the object at each location utilizing an object presence sensor. The captured image can be processed to associate it with a signature and can also be processed in order to extract a small region of interest (e.g., license plate) and can be reduced to a unique signature. Signature can be stored into a database together with the corresponding order and images. Signatures can be matched. The order associated with the object matched by the system together with at least one of the images captured at the delivery point and the order point can be displayed at a user interface located at the payment/delivery point to ensure that the right order is delivered to the right customer asscoiated with the object.

Claims

1. A method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment comprising:

capturing an image of an object on one of a plurality of lanes associated with an order location and defining a signature associated with the image, wherein after the order location, the plurality of lanes are situated to allow the objects into a single lane before at least one of a payment location and a delivery location;

receiving an order placed from the order location;

capturing a subsequent image of the object in the single lane and defining a subsequent signature associated with the subsequent image; and

matching the object to the order using the signatures and thereafter displaying the order associated with the object at a user interface.

2. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 1, wherein the order and at least one of the images are displayed at the user interface.

3. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 1, wherein the payment location and the delivery location are the same location.

4. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 1, wherein the images are captured with respect to an object utilizing an image capturing unit by detecting a presence of the object at at least one of the order location, the payment location, and the delivery location after receiving a signal from an object presence sensor.

5. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 1, wherein images are processed to extract a small region of interest from them in order to thereafter reduce the small region of interest into a unique signature for each of the images wherein the signature associated with the images are stored into a database together for matching.

6. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 5, further comprising extracting the region of interest with respect to the images utilizing an automated license plate recognition technique in order to determine said signature.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said region of interest comprises at least one of the following types of images:

a license plate number;

a bit map of said region of interest; and

a scale-invariant feature transform.

8. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 7, further comprising performing a simple character comparison if said signature comprises a license plate number.

9. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 7, further comprising performing a 2-D correlation type matching if the signature comprises a bitmap.

10. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 7, further comprising automatically deleting the signatures along with the images and the order from a database after dispatching the order to the object.

11. A system to match an order placed at an order location with an object comprising:

a traffic pattern including a plurality of lanes wherein each of the plurality of lanes have an order location associated therewith and wherein the plurality of lanes are accurately situated for a distance in the traffic pattern, the traffic pattern positioned to allow users of the plurality of lanes into a single lane associated with a building before at least one of a payment location and a delivery location;

an image capturing system adapted to capture an image of an object on one of the plurality of lanes, define a signature associated with the image, capture a subsequent image of the object in the single lane, and define a subsequent signature associated with the subsequent image; and

an order processing system adapted to receive an order placed from an order location and thereafter display the order associated with the object at a user interface at at least one of the payment location and the delivery location after the object is located on the single lane and the signatures are matched.

12. The system to match an order placed at an order location with an object of claim 11, wherein the order and at least one of the images are displayed at the user interface.

13. The system to match an order placed at an order location with an object of claim 11, wherein the payment location and the delivery location are the same location.

14. The system to match an order placed at an order location with an object of claim 11, further comprising an object presence sensor associated with the image capturing system wherein the images are captured with respect to an object when the object presence sensor detects a presence of the object at at least one of the order location, the payment location, and the delivery location after receiving a signal from an object presence sensor.

15. A system to match an order placed at an order location with an object comprising:

a plurality of order locations each adapted to receive an order;

an image capturing system adapted to capture a first image of an object associated with the order when the object is detected, define a first signature associated with the first image, capture a subsequent image of the object when the object is subsequently detected, and define a subsequent signature associated with the subsequent image; and

an order processing system adapted to receive the order placed from an order location and thereafter display the order at a user interface at at least one of a payment location and a delivery location after the object leaves the order location and the signatures are matched.

16. The system to match an order placed at an order location with an object of claim 15, wherein the order and at least one of the images are displayed at the user interface.

17. The system to match an order placed at an order location with an object of claim 15, wherein the payment location and the delivery location are the same location.

18. The system to match an order placed at an order location with an object of claim 15, further comprising an object presence sensor associated with the image capturing system wherein the images are captured with respect to an object when the object presence sensor detects a presence of the object at at least one of the order location, the payment location, and the delivery location after receiving a signal from an object presence sensor.

19. A method to associate an order with an object in traffic comprising:

capturing a first image of an object associated with an order location and defining a first signature associated with the first image;

receiving an order placed from the order location;

capturing a second image of the object at a second location and defining a second signature associated with the second image;

matching the object to the order based on the first signature and the second signature; and

displaying the order on a user interface associated with the second location.

20. The method to associate an order with an object in traffic of claim 19, wherein the second location is at least one of a payment location and delivery location.

21. The method to associate an order with an object in traffic of claim 19, wherein the order and at least one of the images are displayed at the user interface.

22. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 19, wherein the images are captured with respect to an object utilizing an image capturing unit by detecting a presence of the object at at least one of the order location, the payment location, and the delivery location after receiving a signal from an object presence sensor.

23. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 19, wherein images are processed to extract a small region of interest from them in order to thereafter reduce the small region of interest into a unique signature for each of the images wherein the signature associated with the images are stored into a database together for matching.

24. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 23, further comprising extracting the region of interest with respect to the images utilizing an automated license plate recognition technique in order to determine said signature.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said region of interest comprises at least one of the following types of images:

a license plate number;

a bit map of said region of interest; and

a scale-invariant feature transform.

26. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 25, further comprising performing a simple character comparison if said signature comprises a license plate number.

27. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 25, further comprising performing a 2-D correlation type matching if the signature comprises a bitmap.

28. The method to associate an order with an object in a multiple lane environment of claim 25, further comprising automatically deleting the signatures along with the images and the order from a database after dispatching the order to the object.