Geometrical instruments – Distance measuring – Of length by rolling contact
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-04
2001-03-13
Gutierrez, Diego (Department: 2859)
Geometrical instruments
Distance measuring
Of length by rolling contact
C033S780000, C033S772000, C033S773000, C033S708000, C324S174000, C235S472030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199292
ABSTRACT:
THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to electromechanical measuring devices, and, more particularly to an apparatus and method for electromechanically measuring dimensional attributes of objects with a measuring device, then transferring the dimensional attributes from the measuring device to a remote receiving device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Package delivery service companies, such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service (UPS), have begun to deploy technology to track packages from pick-up to delivery. A typical package tracking system encodes a tracking identifier onto packages, and the tracking identifier is scanned at various points within the package delivery system to produce package location information. As a package moves from point-to-point within the delivery system, the package location information is transmitted to a centralized tracking computer. Both the delivery service company and its customers can access the package location information in the centralized tracking computer to accurately pinpoint the location of a package within the delivery system.
While state-of-the-art package tracking systems prove quite useful in tracking the progress of a package through a package delivery system, most package tracking systems do not track information on the physical characteristics of the package, such as package dimensions and volume. The dimensional information is of great interest to the package delivery service company, since such information allows the company to efficiently allocate delivery resources within the package delivery system.
For example, planes usually reach their volume limit before they meet their weight limit. Thus, having early access to dimensional characteristics on each package shipped within the delivery system would enable a delivery service company to schedule a plane having a volume capacity closely matching the aggregate volume of the packages scheduled for a given route within the delivery system. Likewise, the dimensional information would also prove useful in efficiently allocating ground transportation resources, such as semi-trailers and delivery trucks.
In order to be most useful, the dimensional characteristics of a package should be entered into the package tracking system as early as possible, so that the delivery service company has adequate time to adjust delivery resources. Optimally, the dimensional information should be gathered and transmitted as soon as the delivery service company receives the package. Since small trucks making frequent stops at numerous remote locations pick up the majority of packages in the delivery system, there is a need to provide drivers of these small trucks, or other persons receiving packages into the delivery system, with a portable, inexpensive, accurate and rapid method of obtaining and transmitting package dimensional information to a centralized tracking computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an electromechanical dimensioning device which communicates with an external device. The dimensioning device includes a measuring instrument for obtaining a dimensional measurement of an object and providing a dimensional measurement signal representative of the dimensional measurement. The dimensioning device also includes a processor coupled to the measuring instrument for receiving and processing the dimensional measurement signal to generate a set of dimensional transmission data. Finally, the dimensioning device includes an external interface coupled to the processor for receiving the set of dimensional transmission data from the processor, and transmitting the set of dimensional transmission data to the external device.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the dimensioning device is of a portable, wireless design, approximately the size of a pocket pen. An integrated, rechargeable battery provides the power source for the device. The measuring instrument includes a measuring wheel of known circumference located at one end of the device. In one embodiment, the measuring wheel is rolled across the dimensional surfaces of an object, in order to determine the volume of the object. In an alternative embodiment, a spring loaded filament wrapped around the measuring wheel is deployed like a tape measure, rotating the measuring wheel as the filament is deployed.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a transducer converts the rotational motion of the measuring wheel into electrical pulse information. A processor in the dimensioning device converts the electrical pulse information into a linear measurement. In another embodiment of the present invention, the rotational motion of the measuring wheel is measured optically by positioning a light emitting diode (LED) at one side of the measuring wheel and a photodetector at an opposite side of the measuring wheel such that one or more evenly spaced holes formed within the measuring wheel pass between the LED and the photodetector. In another embodiment, the measuring wheel is “encoded” with evenly spaced white and black segments, and light is reflected off the segments as the wheel rotates. A photodetector is used to count the number of reflecting segments that pass by the photodetector as the measuring wheel rotates.
The dimensional device of the present invention optionally includes an optical scanner for reading bar code information from the object. Optically scanning an object's identifying bar code enables dimensional measurement attributes of an object to be associated with the object's identifying bar code. The dimensioning device also includes a radio frequency transceiver and antenna for transmitting the dimensional measurements and optical bar code information for the object to a remote receiving device. Finally, the dimensioning device optionally includes a display for visually representing the current operating conditions of the dimensioning device.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the dimensioning device is coupled to a remote receiving device via a cable connector. In this embodiment, the dimensioning device can either be powered by an internal, rechargeable battery or by the remote receiving device via the cable connector. In this embodiment, there is no radio frequency transceiver/antenna incorporated within the dimensioning device. Rather, the dimensional measurements, and optionally, bar code information, is sent to the remote receiving device via the cable connector.
The present invention offers a small, lightweight and portable dimensioning device for quickly scanning and measuring packages when they are picked up by a delivery service company. The dimensioning device has the capability to seamlessly transmit package dimension information and bar code package identification information to other radio remote equipped devices. By dimensioning packages as they are picked up, the delivery service company can quickly and efficiently match package volume requirements with available delivery resources.
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Agilent Technologies
Fernandez Maria
Gutierrez Diego
Wu Jack H.
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