Character recognition system and method for shipping containers
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for identifying at least one of a truck and a container, comprising:
- receiving one or more crane updates, the crane updates corresponding to a current operational status of a crane;
receiving one or more data updates, the data updates having pre set data relevant to identifying at least one of a truck identification number and a container identification number, the pre set data comprising one or more pre set characters, each of the one or more pre set characters having a relative position within the at least one of a truck identification number and a container identification number;
determining that the container has been selected for a loading or an unloading operation;
based on the determining;
capturing at least a first image of a truck with a first camera, the at least a first image of a truck comprising a visual representation of a truck identification number,capturing at least a second image of a container with a second camera, the at least a second image of a container comprising a visual representation of a container identification number,identifying one or more characters within at least one of the at least a first image and the at least a second image, each of the one or more characters having a relative position within the at least one of the truck identification number of the at least a first image and the container identification number of the at least a second image,comparing at least one of the one or more characters with at least one pre set character that has a relative position comparable to the relative position of the at least one of the one or more characters, andrecognizing, based on the comparison, at least one of the truck identification number within the at least a first image of a truck and the container identification number within the at least a second image of a container.
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Abstract
A system and method, which enables precise identification of characters contained in vehicle license plates, container I.D, chassis I.D, aircraft serial number and other such identification markings. The system can process these identified characters and operate devices, such as access control operations, traffic systems and vehicle and container tracking and management systems, and provide records of all markings together with their images.
59 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for identifying at least one of a truck and a container, comprising:
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receiving one or more crane updates, the crane updates corresponding to a current operational status of a crane; receiving one or more data updates, the data updates having pre set data relevant to identifying at least one of a truck identification number and a container identification number, the pre set data comprising one or more pre set characters, each of the one or more pre set characters having a relative position within the at least one of a truck identification number and a container identification number; determining that the container has been selected for a loading or an unloading operation; based on the determining; capturing at least a first image of a truck with a first camera, the at least a first image of a truck comprising a visual representation of a truck identification number, capturing at least a second image of a container with a second camera, the at least a second image of a container comprising a visual representation of a container identification number, identifying one or more characters within at least one of the at least a first image and the at least a second image, each of the one or more characters having a relative position within the at least one of the truck identification number of the at least a first image and the container identification number of the at least a second image, comparing at least one of the one or more characters with at least one pre set character that has a relative position comparable to the relative position of the at least one of the one or more characters, and recognizing, based on the comparison, at least one of the truck identification number within the at least a first image of a truck and the container identification number within the at least a second image of a container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. The method of claim 1, wherein the container is being transported by, loaded onto, or unloaded from the truck.
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5. The method of claim , wherein the container is being loaded or unloaded by a crane.
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6. The method of claim 5, wherein the crane is a quay crane.
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7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of capturing at least a first image of a truck with a first camera comprises capturing at least a first image of a license plate of the truck with a first camera.
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8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifying step comprises identifying one or more characters within the license plate.
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9. The method of claim 7, wherein the truck identification number comprises a license plate number.
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10. The method of claim 1, further comprising capturing at least a third image of a chassis with a third camera.
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11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
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identifying one or more characters within the third image; and recognizing a chassis identification number based on the characters.
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12. The method of claim 11, wherein the chassis identification number comprises a chassis plate number.
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13. The method of claim 1, wherein the container is a shipping container.
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14. The method of claim 1, wherein the indentifying step comprises identifying one or more characters within at least one of the first image and the second image using a recognition application.
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15. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the truck and the container are in motion.
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16. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying step further comprises:
selecting one or more areas within at least one of the first image and the second image that are likely to contain at least one of a container identification number and the truck identification number; and
limiting the identifying step to the selected area(s).
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17. A method for identifying a container, comprising:
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receiving one or more crane updates, the crane updates corresponding to a current operational status of a crane; receiving one or more data updates, the data updates having pre set data relevant to identifying a container identification number, the pre set data comprising one or more pre set characters each of the one or more pre set characters havin a relative osition within a container identification number; determining that the container has been selected for a loading or an unloading operation; based on the determining; (a) capturing an image of the container with a camera, the image of the container comprising a visual representation of a container identification number; (b) identifying one or more characters within the first image using a recognition application, each of the one or more characters having a relative position within the container identification number; (c) comparing at least one of the one or more characters with at least one pre set character that has a relative position comparable to the relative position of the at least one of the one or more characters; and (d) recognizing, based on the comparison, a container identification number.
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18. The method of claim 17, wherein the container is being loaded or unloaded by a crane.
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19. The method of claim 17 wherein the container is a shipping container.
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20. The method of claim 17, wherein the identifying step further comprises:
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selecting one or more areas within the image that are likely to contain the container identification number; and limiting the identifying step to the selected area(s).
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21. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving at a processing unit a signal from a sensor, the signal being sent in response to an entry of the container into a capture zone.
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22. The method of claim 21, wherein the capturing step is in response to receipt of the signal.
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23. An identification system comprising:
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a first image capturing unit comprising a first camera configured to capture at least a first image containing a first target code, the first target code being on a truck; a second image capturing unit comprising a second camera configured to capture at least a second image containing a second target code, the second target code being on a container; an I/O device; and a processing unit in communication with the I/O device and comprising a recognition application executing therein which is in communication with the first camera and the second camera; wherein at least one of the recognition application and the processing unit is configured to; receive one or more crane updates, the crane updates corresponding to a current operational status of a crane; receive one or more data updates, the data updates having pre set data relevant to identifying at least one of the first target code and the second target code, the pre set data comprising one or more pre set characters, each of the one or more pre set characters having a relative position within the at least one of the first target code and the second target code; determine that the container has been selected for a loading or an unloading operation; based on a determination that the container has been selected for a loading or an unloading operation; (a) receive at least one of the first image and the second image; (b) identify one or more characters within at least one of the at least a first image and the at least a second image, each of the one or more characters having a relative position within the at least one of the first target code of the at least a first image and the second target code of the at least a second image; (c) compare at least one of the one or more characters with at least one pre set character that has a relative position comparable to the relative position of the at least one of the one or more characters; and recognize at least one of a container identification number and a truck identification number based on the comparison.
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24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a sensor in communication with the I/O device and configured to send a signal to the processing unit via the I/O device in response to an entry of an object into a sensor field.
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25. The system of claim 23, wherein the container is being transported by, loaded onto, or unloaded from the truck.
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26. The system of claim 23, further comprising a crane that is configured to load the container.
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27. The system of claim 23, further comprising a crane that is configured to unload the container.
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28. The system of claim 23, wherein the truck identification number comprises a license plate number.
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29. The system of claim 23, further comprising a third image capturing unit comprising a third camera configured to capture at least a third image containing a third target code, the third target code being on a chassis.
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30. The system of claim 29, wherein the recognition application is further in communication with the third camera, and wherein at least one of the recognition application and the processing unit is further configured to:
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receive at least the third image and identify at least the third target code; and recognize at least a chassis identification number based on the third target code.
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31. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first target code and the second target code comprise alphanumeric target codes.
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32. The system of claim 31, wherein the alphanumeric target codes have one or more characters.
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33. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the recognition application and the processing unit is configured to receive at least one of the first image and the second image during a loading or an unloading operation.
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34. A container identification system comprising:
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an image capturing unit comprising a camera configured to capture an image containing a target code; an I/O device; and a processing unit in communication with the I/O device and comprising a recognition application executing therein wherein at least one of the recognition application and the processing unit is configured to; (a) receive one or more crane updates, the crane updates corresponding to a current operational status of a crane; and (b) receive one or more data updates, the data updates having pre set data relevant to identifying the target code, the pre set data comprising one or more pre set characters, each of the one or more pre set characters having a relative position within the target code; and wherein at least one of the recognition application and the processing unit is configured, based on a determination that a container has been selected for a loading or an unloading operation, to; receive the image; identify one or more characters within the image, each of the one or more characters having a relative position within the target code; compare at least one of the one or more characters with at least one pre set character that has a relative position comparable to the relative position of the at least one of the one or more characters; and recognize a container identification number based on the comparison.
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35. The system of claim 34, further comprising a sensor in communication with the I/O device and configured to send a signal to the processing unit via the I/O device in response to an entry of an object into a sensor field.
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36. The system of claim 35, wherein at least one of the recognition application and the processing unit is configured, in response to receipt of the signal, to:
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receive the image and identify the target code; and recognize an identification number based on the target code.
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37. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the at least a first image of a truck and the at least a second image of a container comprise a plurality of images.
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38. The method of claim 37, wherein each of the plurality of images are captured with different capture parameters.
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39. The method of claim 38, wherein the capture parameters of one of the plurality of images is selected based on the capture parameters of a previous image.
Specification