Photography – Fluid-treating apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-27
2001-03-20
Rutledge, D. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Fluid-treating apparatus
C396S567000, C396S578000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203217
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to methods and systems for tracking items entrusted to an establishment for service or repair and, more particularly, to methods and systems for tracking film entrusted to an establishment for development.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many casual photographers use camera film that they have developed by commercial vendors. These vendors typically have the customers write data onto an envelope in which their photographs and negatives are returned. The film roll container is then placed in the envelope and sent to a photo processing lab. At the lab, the film roll is developed and the negatives and developed photographs are sealed in the envelope from which the film was retrieved. The envelope is then returned to the vendor's location where the customer deposited the film roll container, which is typically a retail store.
When a customer deposits the film roll container, a sign usually informs the customer that film deposited on that day is returned to that location on a particular date. The customer then knows to return to the store on or after that date to pick up the developed film and photographs. This method puts the onus on the customer to check with the store and see if the film has been returned from the processing lab. Customer frustration arises whenever the customer returns after the designated date for the developed photographs and the envelope with the developed film is not available. A variety of reasons exist for this problem. For one, the photo processing lab may have been inundated with significant number of film containers and delays in processing occur from the unanticipated volume. For example, holidays and graduations cause people to take many photographs and submit their film for development. Customers are informed by the personnel at the deposit location that they are unaware of the cause of the delay at the processing lab and that the customer must call or return to the deposit location at a later time for the processed film. Other reasons for film processing delays include development equipment failure and errors in handling film rolls during processing.
In fact, one of the most frustrating times for customers to try to obtain film processing for their exposed film rolls is when they are itinerant such as when they are on vacation or otherwise away from home. Turnaround time for film development may prevent a customer from depositing film with a vendor for processing because the customer may leave the locale by the time the film rolls are returned. Even if the turnaround time for processing appears to be within the customer's time of visitation, the customer may not entrust the film to a vendor because the customer fears the reliability of the appointed time for developed roll return. Additionally, some customers who stay in hotels, motels, or other places of lodging may be concerned about leaving information about the location of their accommodations in a legible form with vendor personnel who may unscrupulously use the information. Also, some customers do not deposit film rolls for development with vendors because they do not want to bother with scheduling retrieval of the developed film during the daily events of a pleasure trip.
Theme parks and other point-of-interest sites have an incentive to encourage visitors to take photographs because they frequently sell disposable cameras, camera accessories, or film supplies at kiosks in the park. If visitors were able to see developed photographs during their visit, they may seek more opportunities to take photographs and otherwise increase their use of photography equipment and supplies. Some theme parks are able to accept film rolls for development but visitors, for reasons already noted, are leery about leaving film rolls for development at locations remote from their homes.
Another customer problem may occur when a customer deposits more than one film container. Each film container requires a separate envelope. Handling of the envelope, either during shipment or processing, by various personnel may cause envelopes containing film containers deposited at the same time to be separated. Consequently, the film may be processed at different times and returned to the location where they were deposited at different times. Again, the customer must check with the deposit location until all of the envelopes are returned. If the customer wants to view some of the photographs before all of them are returned, multiple trips must be made to the deposit location. Frustration with multiple trips or telephone calls to determine when a customer may retrieve developed photos may cause a customer to shop and have film developed at a business other than the deposit location.
One way of addressing these problems would be to notify customers directly when envelopes containing their developed film have been received at the location where the film was deposited. Such service would require someone to inventory the received envelopes each day. Then the person would need to call each person identified on the envelope to inform them of the arrival of the envelope. If the customer's phone was busy or the customer did not have an answering machine, the person at the deposit location may expend a significant amount of time on the notification tasks rather than tasks that might contribute more directly to the profitability of the business. Consequently, the overhead costs associated with such service are usually deemed too cost prohibitive for implementation of such service. Even if such service were not cost prohibitive, it would not address the problems perceived by visitors regarding the development of film rolls exposed during their pleasure trips.
What is needed is a way of making customers away from their homes feel secure about leaving film rolls with vendors for development.
What is needed is a way of facilitating return of developed film rolls to customers away from their homes so it does not inconvenience them or disrupt their pleasure trips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above-noted limitations of previously known methods for receiving and returning developed film to customers away from their homes have been overcome by a system and method that operate in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The method of the present invention includes reading customer identification data from an electronic room key, storing the customer identification data in a data repository that accompanies a film roll container, reading customer identification data from the data repository after development of the film roll in the film container, and generating a notification message for delivery to an itinerant corresponding to the customer identification data. In this manner, the itinerant is informed that a developed film roll is available for retrieval at a hotel site. The customer identification data is preferably encoded before being stored in the data repository so the customer data is not legible to humans viewing the repository. Entry of the data for storage in the data repository may be performed by a customer or hotel site employee through a keypad or through a scanning device that reads a customer's electronic room key.
The method may be implemented with a system made in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The system includes a data capture device for reading customer identification from an electronic room key, a data server for storing the data in a data repository, and a notification message generator for generating after development of the film roll, a notification message to the customer corresponding to the customer identification data. The data capture device may be a keypad or barcode reader at the film container deposit site. Data identifying the customer may be entered manually through the keypad by employees of the site or by a customer responding to questions displayed on a screen located near the keypad. Preferably, the data capture device is a barcode reader so the customer's electronic key may be read to obtai
Maginot Addison & Moore
NCR Corporation
Rutledge D.
LandOfFree
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