The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 23, 2010
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2007
Ole-petter Skaaksrud, Lakeland, TN (US);
Cameron Dee Dryden, West Roxbury, MA (US);
Jeffrey Robert Smith, Westwood, MA (US);
Robert Russell Rhodes, Jr., Hingham, MA (US);
Wayne Luke Gordon, Boston, MA (US);
Xiaoxun Zhu, Marlton, NJ (US);
Ole-Petter Skaaksrud, Lakeland, TN (US);
Cameron Dee Dryden, West Roxbury, MA (US);
Jeffrey Robert Smith, Westwood, MA (US);
Robert Russell Rhodes, Jr., Hingham, MA (US);
Wayne Luke Gordon, Boston, MA (US);
Xiaoxun Zhu, Marlton, NJ (US);
Metrologic Instruments, Inc., Blackwood, NJ (US);
Fedex Corporate Services, Inc., Collierville, TN (US);
Abstract
A method of translating a shipping document regarding one or more shipment items being shipped, tracked and delivered to a final destination using a Web-based shipping, tracking, and delivery information network. At the point of shipment pickup, the method involves digitally imaging an original shipping document (or shipping label) in connection with a shipment, at one or more image resolutions. The bar-coded shipment tracking number graphically represented in the original shipping document is automatically read, and its character data string is automatically encoded into the header of the corresponding digital image file and/or the name of the digital image file. While the shipment is being delivered to the first scanning point in the network, the digital image file is transmitted over a wireless communication link to one or more digital image processing application servers supported on the network. The digital images are processed so that shipping information contained in the digital images (and indexed with the original shipment tracking number) is automatically abstracted/recognized, and loaded into the shipping information RDBMS maintained on the network. When the delivered shipment arrives at the first scanning point in the network, the bar-coded shipment tracking number (contained in the original shipping document) is read, and corresponding shipping information maintained in an RDBMS is accessed. A unique network-assigned shipping label is automatically generated, and the unique network-assigned shipping label is applied to the shipment items at the first scanning point in the network, for use in managing future services supported on the network.