Article Utilization System for Product Identification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulties in identifying the appropriate products for operating and maintaining household items and personal care due to cumbersome online searches, often leading to unresolved issues.

Innovation Solution

A system comprising a mobile computing device with an image capture device that captures real-time video images of articles, identifies them, and provides usage and treatment information, along with product recommendations, displayed as altered video images.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If users perform online searches to find products for operating and maintaining articles, then they can locate product information, but the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct information accessibilityVSAvoidsearch time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-loads and stores product information, compatibility data, and maintenance guidelines in a database before users need them. When an article is scanned, the system can immediately retrieve and display relevant product recommendations without requiring users to perform time-consuming online searches at the moment of need.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a handheld device as an intermediary between the user and product information. This device captures images of articles, processes them through image recognition, and presents filtered, relevant product information directly to the user, eliminating the need for users to manually search through overwhelming online resources.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If users manually search for products to address article issues, then they may find solutions, but the complexity of the search process increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveissue resolutionVSAvoidsearch process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables the article itself to 'identify' needed products through image recognition technology. The handheld device automatically captures the article's visual characteristics, compares them against a database, and presents compatible products without requiring users to manually input symptoms or search through categories, thereby simplifying the process while maintaining reliable issue resolution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of searching, reading, and analyzing product information with an automated optical and computational system. The image capture device and image recognition algorithm automatically perform what would otherwise require complex manual searching and analysis, reducing process complexity while maintaining solution reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Loss of information

If comprehensive product information is provided to users, then users can make informed decisions, but the information overload makes it difficult to locate appropriate products

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct information completenessVSAvoidinformation retrieval ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides comprehensive product information in the database but displays only locally relevant information based on the specific article scanned. The image recognition technology identifies the exact article type and condition, then filters and presents only the product information that is directly applicable to that specific case, preventing information overload while maintaining completeness of the underlying database.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the comprehensive product information database into article-specific categories and subcategories. Instead of presenting all available product information at once, the system divides and organizes information based on the scanned article's characteristics, allowing users to access complete relevant information in a structured, manageable format rather than as an overwhelming undifferentiated mass.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2735142B1Article utilization
Publication Date: 2018.09.05 PROCTER & GAMBLE CO
  • EP2735142B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2735142B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2735142B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

Included are embodiments for article utilization. One embodiment of a system includes a first image capture device that captures a first real-time video image of an article and a memory component that stores a computer application. The computer application may be configured to cause the system to identify the article from the first real-time video image, identify an action to be performed on the article, and provide data for performing the action via an altered version of the first real-time video image. The system may also include a display device for displaying the altered version of the first real-time video image.