Mobile Deposit Kit Stabilization Tray and Stencil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals, particularly the elderly and those with conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, face difficulties in capturing clear images of checks using mobile devices due to steadiness issues, making remote depositing challenging.
Innovation Solution
A mobile deposit kit with a container and tray system that includes stencils of varying sizes to stabilize checks, allowing for easy image capture using a smartphone, with markings for optimal placement and interconnection for ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a mobile device is used to capture check images, then remote depositing becomes convenient and accessible, but image clarity deteriorates due to user steadiness issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a physical intermediary device (the deposit kit with tray and stencil) that mediates between the user's hand and the mobile device. This intermediary provides structural support and stabilization, allowing the mobile device to capture clear images even when the user has steadiness issues. The tray holds the check stable while the stencil provides a reference frame, effectively decoupling the imaging stability from human motor control.
Solution Approach 2:
The deposit kit segments the image capture process into distinct functional components: the tray for check placement, the stencil for positioning reference, and the mobile device for imaging. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function, with the tray and stencil providing stability while the mobile device provides accessibility and ease of operation.
2Measurement precision
If users hold the mobile device steady to capture clear images, then image quality improves, but ease of operation deteriorates for individuals with steadiness conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The deposit kit acts as a mechanical intermediary that assumes the stabilization function normally requiring human effort. By providing a physical structure (tray and stencil) that inherently maintains stability, the system removes the burden of steady-holding from users with steadiness conditions while preserving image quality requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray and stencil structure is designed to be self-stabilizing, requiring no active user intervention to maintain positioning. Once the check is placed in the tray and the stencil is positioned, the system automatically maintains stability without requiring the user to continuously adjust or hold anything steady.
3Device complexity
If a simple mobile device approach is used, then device complexity is low, but reliability of image capture deteriorates due to steadiness issues
Solution Approach 1:
The deposit kit introduces a simple physical intermediary (tray and stencil) that significantly improves the reliability of image capture without adding electronic or software complexity. This mechanical intermediary provides consistent geometric reference and physical stabilization, making the simple mobile device approach reliable for repeated use.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile deposit kit for use with a mobile deposit application of a mobile device provides a container having (1) a top, a bottom, and a back, and further includes two sides each adjoining to the top, the bottom, and the back, (2) at least one series of fasteners along back and the two sides at a specified distance from the bottom, (3) a tray supported by the fasteners, and including (a) a base, (b) a stencil, and (c) an opening within the stencil corresponding to specified check measurements, (4) an opening in the top sufficiently sized to correspond to a camera lens of a mobile device, and wherein the top includes outline markings for placement of the mobile device, whereby the mobile device is utilized for securing at least one check image for use in a mobile deposit application.