Patent ID: 7883013

Claim:
A mobile image capture and processing system comprising: a digital image capture and processing instrument for (i) capturing one or more digital images of a shipping document associated with a shipment to be delivered to an intended destination over a Web-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network, (ii) generating a digital image file with a header and a name or title, for each said digital image, and (iii) automatically processing said one or more digital images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar-coded shipment tracking number graphically represented in said one or more digital images, and automatically encode a 1D or 2D bar-coded shipment tracking number within the header of said digital image file and the name or title of said digital image file; and a Web-based portable data transaction terminal (PDT) or a Web-based portable digital assistant (PDA) for receiving digital image files from said digital image capture and processing instrument via a first wireless data communication link, and transmitting said digital image files to (i) an application server supported on said Web-based shipping, tracking and delivery network, and (ii) from said application server to a human-operated data-keying station supported on said Web-based shipping, tracking, and delivery network, so that shipping information graphical represented in said one or more digital image files can be read by human operators, and manually entered into a database (RDBMS) operably connected to said Web-based shipping, tracking and delivery network.