Automotive picture and data acquisition center and method

Abstract

An apparatus and method for the automatic or semi-automatic acquisition of multiple photographs and VIN-coded information about an automobile. In one embodiment, four height-adjustable, digital cameras are positioned on four corner posts defining a work center. A vehicle is pulled into the center until a stop indicator light is triggered, at which time an attendant scans the bar coded VIN number and reviews the proposed photographs of the vehicle at a work center computer. Once the photographs and data are acceptable, the attendant triggers a download of the information to local and industry databases. Alternate embodiments include Alternate embodiments include work centers with different post configurations, manual entry systems, and completely automated centers.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is related to the following application of which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, and which is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part hereof as if fully set forth herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 693,733, Automotive Picture And Data Acquisition Center And Method, with a filing date Oct. 21, 2000.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to a processing station and method for the semi-automatic acquisition of photographs and descriptive data for automobiles and other vehicles. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Currently, vehicle databases typically incorporate information from a variety of sources including one or more photograph and specific information such as price, year, make, model, sub-model or ‘series’ (like 2001 Ford F-150 XL Lariat), engine, transmission, color, number of doors, features, equipmen...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017] An apparatus and method are presented to facilitate the semi-automatic acquisition of multiple vehicle photographs and VIN-coded information about an automobile and to automatically pass this data to multiple onsite and offsite databases. In one embodiment, four height-adjustable digital cameras are positioned on the four corner posts defining a work center. A vehicle is pulled into the center until a stop indicat

Problems solved by technology

The current data acquisition cycle usually takes several days, often 7-14 days, to complete, so the dealer may have incomplete information for that period of time, or the dealer may be limited in its ability to sell the vehicle online while the information is being processed.

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