Patent Publication Number: US-7219836-B2

Title: Visitor badge and visitor business card photo identification system and method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention generally relates to visitor management systems and, more particularly, to a visitor management system and method for printing a visitor badge with an image of the visitor thereon and business cards associated with, and useable by, a visitor to a particular location. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Many businesses or other organized meeting locales, such as conventions, trade shows, and parties, use visitor management systems to register visitors to a facility. The visitor management system that is implemented at a particular facility may vary. One particular type of visitor management system, which is sold by Avery Dennison Corporation under the trade name Photo ID System, is implemented using a personal computer and a camera. This system allows access control personnel to quickly and efficiently register visitors (or the visitors can register themselves), generate photo identification badges, and may keep a digital record of facility visitors. 
   Once a visitor to a facility is registered and admitted into the facility, the visitor may discover the he or she has either forgotten their business cards or have brought an insufficient number of business cards to the facility. This situation can present certain drawbacks. For example, this situation can lead to embarrassment, both for the visitor and for the visitor&#39;s company, and may additionally lead to frustration on the part of both the visitor and the personnel the visitor contacts. For example, without an available business card, the visitor may need to rely on their own diligence in ensuring their contact information is left with the contact personnel he or she meets, and/or on the diligence of the contact personnel in requesting and retaining the contact information in a suitably retrievable form. In either instance, the likelihood that the visitor&#39;s contact information is not obtained and/or retained is increased, which can lead to inefficiencies on either, or both, the part of the visitor or the contact personnel. Moreover, even if the visitor does have sufficient numbers of business cards to provide contact personnel, the format of many business cards may not include the type of indicia that is conducive to remembering the visitor. Such instances can tend to frustrate the purpose of future contact between the visitor and the contact personnel. 
   Hence, there is a need for a system and method of visitor management that addresses at least the above-noted drawback. Namely, a system and method that addresses the situation in which a visitor to an access controlled facility has either no business cards or an insufficient number of business cards, and/or supplies business cards with memorable indicia thereon. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY 
   The present invention provides a system and method of supplying visitor badges and business cards for visitors to a facility. In one embodiment, and by way of example, only, a system for printing visitor identification badges and associated visitor business cards includes a storage device, a user interface, and a central processing unit (CPU). The storage device is configured to store and selectively supply visitor image data representative of an image of a visitor. The user interface is configured to receive visitor personal data supplied from a user, the visitor personal data representative of personal data specific to the visitor. The CPU is coupled to receive the visitor image data and the visitor personal data and is configured to selectively supply a visitor identification badge print command and a visitor business card print command. The visitor identification badge print command will cause a printer to print a visitor identification badge image that includes the stored image and at least selected portions of the visitor data, and the visitor business card print command will cause a printer to print a visitor business card image that includes at least selected portions of the visitor data. 
   In another exemplary embodiment, a method of supplying visitor identification badges and associated visitor business cards to a visitor includes supplying visitor image data representative of an image of the visitor. Visitor personal data that are representative of personal data specific to the visitor is received, and a visitor identification badge and a visitor business card are selectively printed. The visitor identification badge includes the image of the visitor and at least selected portions of the visitor data, and the visitor business card includes at least selected portions of the visitor data. 
   The visitor business card and the visitor identification badge may be output in the same size print area to allow the same print media to be used. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  shows an exemplary visitor identification badge that may be printed using the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  shows an exemplary visitor business card that may be printed using the system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process that may be implemented by the system of  FIG. 1  to produce the exemplary visitor identification badge and exemplary visitor business card shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , respectively. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description. 
   Turning now to the description, and with reference first to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary system  100  for generating and supplying visitor badges and associated business cards is shown in functional block diagram form. The exemplary system  100  includes an image capture device  102 , a user interfaces  104 , a central processing unit (CPU)  106 , a video display device  108 , and a printer  112 . The image capture device  102  is in operable communication with the CPU  106  and is configured to selectively capture an image of a visitor  114  and supply visitor image data representative of the captured video image to the CPU  106 . The image capture device  102  may be any one of numerous types of devices now known or developed in the future that implements this function. For example, the image capture device  102  may be any one of numerous types of image scanners, any one of numerous types of digital cameras, any one of numerous types of digital video recorders, or any one of numerous types of web cameras. Preferably, the image capture device  102  is a USB (universal serial bus) compatible camera with at least 640×480 image capture resolution and that operates at 30 or more frames per second. Alternatively, the visitor image can be pre-stored in the system  100 . 
   The user interface  104  is in operable communication with the CPU  106  and is configured to receive input from a user, which may either be the visitor  114  or another non-illustrated person, and, in response to the user input, to supply data or command signals to the CPU  106 . For example, the user interface  104 , as will be described in more detail further below, is configured to receive visitor personal data that is representative of personal data specific to the visitor  114 , and to supply these data to the CPU  106 . The user interface  104  may be any one, or combination, of various known user interface devices including, but not limited to, a cursor control device (CCD), such as a mouse, a trackball, or joystick, and/or a keyboard, and/or one or more buttons, switches, or knobs. In the depicted embodiment, the user interface  104  includes a CCD  116  and a keyboard  118 . The user uses the CCD  116  to, among other things, move a cursor symbol displayed on the video display device  108  and to select various items graphically displayed on video display device  108 . The user uses the keyboard  118  to, among other things, input various data. 
   The CPU  106  is in operable communication with the image capture device  102 , the user interface  104 , the display device  108 , and the printer  112  via, for example, a plurality of input/output (I/O) interfaces (not shown) and a communication bus  122 . It will be appreciated that the CPU  106  and one or more of the image capture device  102 , the user interface  104 , the display device  108 , and the printer  112  could be in operable communication via a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), either of which may be implemented using hardwired communication or wireless communication. The CPU  106  is coupled to receive the visitor image data from the image capture device  102  and the visitor personal data from the user interface  104 , and is operable to selectively supply appropriate display commands to the video display device  108  and appropriate image print commands to the printer  112 . The display commands cause the display device  108  to render various images, and the print commands, as will be discussed in more detail further below, cause the printer  112  to print various images, which may include both text and graphics. 
   The CPU  106  may include one or more microprocessors, each of which may be any one of numerous known general-purpose microprocessors or application specific processors that operate in response to program instructions. In the depicted embodiment, the CPU  106  includes a single PC-compatible microprocessor  124 , RAM (random access memory)  126 , and ROM (read only memory)  128 . The program instructions that control the microprocessor  124  may be stored in either or both the RAM  126  and the ROM  128 . For example, the operating system software may be stored in the ROM  128 , whereas various software routines and various data, such as the aforementioned visitor image data and visitor personal data, may be stored in the RAM  126 . It will be appreciated that this is merely exemplary of one scheme for storing operating system software, software routines, and data, and that various other storage schemes may be implemented. 
   The video display device  108  is used to display various images and data, in both a graphical and a textual format, and to supply visual feedback to a user in response to display commands supplied from the CPU  106 . It will be appreciated that the video display device  108  may be any one of numerous known displays suitable for rendering textual and/or graphical images in a viewable format. Non-limiting examples of such displays include various cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, and various flat panel displays such as, for example, various types of LCD (liquid crystal display) and TFT (thin film transistor) displays. 
   The printer  112  is used to print various graphical and textual images on print media in response to image print commands supplied from the CPU  106 . The printer  112  may be implemented as a single printer or as a plurality of printers, and the single or plural printers may be any one, or combination, of numerous types of printers now known or developed in the future. For example, the printer  112  may be one or more inkjet printers, one or more laser or other thermal printers, or a combination of printer types. The printer  112  may additionally be configured as a sheet-fed printer or a roll-fed printer, depending on the configuration of the print media being used. Moreover, the printer  112 , if implemented as a single printer, may include either a single print media feeder, or two or more print media feeders. The images that the printer  112  is configured to print include, but are not limited to, a visitor identification badge image and a visitor business card image. The visitor identification badge image is printed on printable media that will implement a visitor identification badge  132 , and the visitor business card image is printed on printable media that will implement a visitor business card  134 . Alternatively, the same media could be used for printing both the visitor business card  134  and the visitor identification badge  132 . If the visitor identification badge  132  and the visitor business card  134  are printed on different print media, the different print media may be loaded in separate printers  112 . For example, the print media used to implement the visitor identification badge  132  could be loaded into one printer  112 , and the print media used to implement the visitor business card  134  could be loaded into another printer. 
   The visitor identification badge  132  and the visitor business card  134 , when implemented, are preferably configured so that a visitor business card  134  will not be used or mistaken for a visitor identification badge  132 . In one exemplary embodiment this is accomplished by implementing the visitor identification badge  132  and the visitor business card  134  using different types of printable media. For example, the visitor identification badge  132  may be implemented via an adhesively-backed label that is removable from a sheet or roll of print stock having a plurality of labels disposed thereon, or any other suitable print media. The visitor business card  134  may be implemented via a sheet or roll of print stock having one or more readily detachable business cards, or via off-the-shelf Avery Dennison Clean Edge™ business card media or any other print media. Alternatively, or additionally, the visitor identification badge  132  and the visitor business card  134  may be shaped and/or colored differently. In yet another alternative embodiment, the visitor identification badge  132  and visitor business card  134  include some type of differentiating indicia that prevents the visitor  114  from using a visitor business card  134  as a visitor identification badge  134 . It will be appreciated that printable media that is used to implement the visitor identification badge  132  and the visitor business card  134  may be formed on separate print stock or on the same print stock. 
   The visitor identification badge  132 , an exemplary embodiment of which is shown in  FIG. 2 , includes the visitor identification badge image  202  printed on a suitable print media  204 . The visitor identification badge image  202  preferably includes both graphical and textual images, and may be printed on the print media  204  in either the portrait or the landscape format. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the visitor identification badge image  202  is printed in the portrait format on the print media  204 , and includes the captured video image of the visitor  206  and at least selected portions of the visitor personal data  208 . The visitor business card  134 , an exemplary embodiment of which is shown in  FIG. 3 , includes the visitor business card image  302  printed on a suitable print media  304 . Similar to the visitor identification badge image  202 , the visitor business card image  302  also preferably includes both graphical and textual images, and may additionally be printed on the print media  304  in either the portrait or the landscape format. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the visitor business card image  302  is printed in the landscape format on the print media  304 , and includes the captured video image of the visitor  206  and at least selected portions of the visitor personal data  208 . 
   It will be appreciated that the specific type and amount of visitor personal data  208  that is included in both the visitor identification badge image  202  and the visitor business card image  302  may vary, and is preferably selectable via the user interface  104  and the CPU  106 . It will additionally be appreciated that the visitor business card image  302  could be printed, if so desired, without the captured video image of the visitor  206  and with different visitor personal data  208  than that which is included in the visitor identification badge image  202 . A pre-stored visitor image may also be used. Moreover, as was mentioned above, the visitor identification badge image  202  or the visitor business card image  302  could additionally include some type of indicia  212  that clearly differentiates the visitor identification badge  132  from the visitor business card  134 . For both images  202 ,  302 , the captured video image of the visitor  206 , if included, is preferably printed in color, if the printer  112  is configured to do so, and the visitor personal data  204  may be printed out in any one of numerous user-selectable fonts and user-selectable colors. 
   The printable media  204  on which visitor identification badge image  202  is printed is preferably configured to function as the identification badge  132 . Thus, the visitor identification badge image  202  is preferably dimensioned to fit in a print region that is about the size of a standard identification badge. For example, many standard identification badges are approximately 3⅜ inches by 2⅛ inches. It will be appreciated, however, that the specific size and configuration of the visitor identification badge print media  204  may vary. Indeed, suitable print media of numerous sizes, shapes, types, and configurations that are now known, or become available in the future, and that are usable as the identification badge  132  may be used. It will additionally be appreciated that the specific size and format (e.g., portrait or landscape) in which the visitor identification badge image  200  is printed may vary. The size and format are preferably user-selectable, and may vary with the particular visitor identification badge print media  204  that is used. It will additionally be appreciated that the size and format may be automatically adjusted based on the particular print media  204  that is loaded in the printer  112 . 
   The print media  304  on which the visitor business card image  302  is printed is configured to function as the visitor business card  134 . Thus, the visitor business card image  302  is preferably dimensioned to fit in a print region that is about the size of a standard business card. For example, many standard cards are approximately 3½ inches by 2 inches. It will be appreciated, however, that the specific size and configuration of the business card image print media  304  may vary. Indeed, suitable print media of numerous sizes, shapes, types, and configurations that are now known, or become available in the future, and that are usable as a visitor business card  134  may be used. As with the visitor identification badge image  200 , the size and format of the visitor business card image  300  are preferably user-selectable, and may vary with the particular visitor business card print media  304  that is used. It will additionally be appreciated that the size and format may be automatically adjusted based on the particular print media  304  that is loaded in the printer  112 . 
   Having described the configuration and general functionality of the system  100  and the configuration of exemplary visitor identification badges  132  and visitor business cards  134  that the system  100  may print, a more detailed description of an exemplary process  400  that the system  100  implements to print visitor identification badges  132  and visitor business cards  134  will now be described. In doing so, reference should be made to  FIG. 4 , which depicts the exemplary process  400  in flowchart form. It is noted that the parenthetical references in the following paragraphs refer to like steps in the depicted flowchart. 
   When a visitor  114  approaches a visitor check-in/log-in station at the facility where the system  100  is located, a system user, which may be the visitor  114  or another person, may initiate the process  400  via, for example, the user interface  104 . Upon initiation, a determination is first made as to whether the user  114  has already been entered into the system ( 402 ). This determination may be done in any one of numerous ways. For example, the CPU  106  may display an appropriate query on the video display device  108  that asks the user whether or not the visitor  114  is already entered in the system  100 . The user, using the user interface  104 , may then appropriately respond to the query. Alternatively, the system  100  may automatically make this determination upon entry, via the user interface  104 , of various visitor personal data such as, for example, the visitor&#39;s name or email address. 
   No matter the specific manner-in which this determination is made, if the visitor  114  has not been entered into the system  100 , then the user is prompted to enter visitor personal data ( 404 ). The visitor personal data is preferably entered, via the user interface  104 , into various fillable fields that the CPU  106  causes to be displayed on the video display device  108 . The visitor personal data that the user enters may vary, and may include, for example, the name, company, business address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the visitor. Before proceeding further, it is seen that if the visitor  114  has already been entered into the system  100 , then one or more different steps ( 416 ,  418 ) are implemented. These other steps are described in more detail further below. 
   Once the visitor personal data has been entered, the user is then prompted, preferably via the video display device  108 , to photograph the visitor  114  ( 406 ) if a pre-stored image is not available and/or is not to be used. To do so, the visitor  114  stands at an appropriate distance from the image capture device  102 . In response to an input from the user interface  104 , the CPU  106  supplies a command to the image capture device  102  that causes the image capture device  102  to capture a video image of the visitor  114  and supply visitor image data representative of the captured image to the CPU  106 . 
   Thereafter, the printer  112  prints a visitor identification badge  132  ( 408 ). To do so, the CPU  106 , either automatically or in response to an input from the user interface  104 , supplies a visitor identification badge print command to the printer  112 . The printer  112 , in response to the visitor identification badge print command, prints the visitor identification badge image  202  on the identification badge print media  204 . The system  100  then determines via, for example, a query displayed on the video display device  108 , whether the visitor  114  would like to have one or more visitor business cards  134  printed out ( 410 ). If so, the user enters the desired number of visitor business cards  134  to be printed ( 412 ), and the printer  112  then prints the visitor business cards  134  ( 414 ). To do so, the CPU  106 , either automatically or in response to an input from the user interface  104 , supplies a visitor business card print command to the printer  112 . The printer  112 , in response to the visitor business card print command, prints the visitor business card image  302  on the business card printable media  304 . Alternatively, the system  100  can be pre-set to automatically print out a certain number of visitor business cards  134  after each visitor identification badge  132  is printed. This would automate or preset steps  410 ,  412  and  414 . 
   As was previously noted, if the visitor  114  has already been entered into the system  100 , then one or more different steps ( 416 ,  418 ) are implemented. In particular, a determination is made as to whether a new image of the visitor is to be captured ( 416 ). If a new image is to be used, then the process  400  proceeds to step  406  and the subsequent steps. If a new image is not to be used, then a determination is made as to whether an identification badge  132  is to be printed using the stored image ( 418 ). If so, then the process  400  proceeds to step  408  and the subsequent steps, if not, then the process  400  proceeds to step  410  and subsequent steps. 
   Once the visitor  114  has been entered into the system  100 , the visitor  114  may return to the originating station or to another station if the system  100  is networked with other like systems  100  at the facility, and have visitor business cards  134  printed. It was also previously noted that in some embodiments the printer  112  may be implemented as a single printer with only a single media feeder. For such embodiments, and as shown in phantom in  FIG. 4 , the system  100  first prompts the user to load the business card printable media  304  into the print feeder ( 411 ), before printing out the desired quantity of visitor business cards  134 . 
   While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.