Vehicle Key Image Database for Fleet Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle fleet operators face challenges in managing and tracking keys for multiple vehicles, particularly in storing and retrieving spare keys efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that involves providing a template and guide to clients to capture images of vehicle identifiers and keys, which are then transmitted to a service provider for storage and retrieval, allowing for efficient tracking and replacement of lost keys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If spare keys are stored in a storage facility, then key availability for vehicle fleet operators is improved, but key retrieval efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses photographic copies of keys stored in a database instead of storing only physical keys. When a key is needed, the system retrieves the photograph and uses it to create a new physical key, eliminating the need to physically locate and retrieve the original spare key from storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of physically retrieving keys from storage with an automated information system. The system stores key information digitally, retrieves it electronically, and uses automated key duplication equipment to create replacement keys, substituting manual retrieval operations with automated information processing.
2Reliability
If multiple keys are stored for each vehicle, then key redundancy is improved, but storage management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal key management system that handles multiple vehicles and multiple keys through a single centralized database. The system stores photographs and information for all keys across the entire vehicle fleet in one location, allowing the same storage facility to serve multiple vehicles without requiring separate physical storage for each key.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing multiple physical copies of keys, the system stores a single photograph of each key in the database. This digital copy serves as the master record from which any number of physical key copies can be generated, reducing physical storage requirements while maintaining key redundancy capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for providing key storage and retrieval services to be performed by a service provider. The service provider provides a template to a client and instructs the client to use the template to capture, for each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles, both a vehicle identifier and a key of the vehicle in an image. The service provider stores the image in a computing system, extracts the vehicle identifier from the stored image, and associates the vehicle identifier with a location identifier corresponding to a location where the key is stored. When the service provider receives from the client a request for retrieving a key for a specific vehicle, the service provider searches a vehicle identifier of the specific vehicle in the computing system, retrieves the requested key from the location associated with the vehicle identifier, and sends the requested key to the client.