Patent Issued for Connecting users to entities based on recognized objects (USPTO 11740775): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2023 SEP 14 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Freeman, James M. (Normal, IL, US), Pillai, Vaidya Balasubramanian (Springfield, IL, US), filed on May 14, 2020, was published online on August 29, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11740775 is assigned to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Typical contact lists displayed on mobile devices, such as smart phones, are difficult to navigate for many elderly or handicapped individuals These contact lists can be very lengthy and include an overwhelming amount of information (names, numbers, email addresses, etc.) and navigation functionalities. For this and other reasons related to non-intuitive interfaces, technology companies struggle to market the latest mobile technology to the aging population.

“Even for younger users and technologically savvy individuals, lengthy contact lists and typical communication interfaces can be a source of frustration. For example, when scrolling through a gallery of photos, a certain photo may prompt the user to communicate with an individual pictured in the certain photo. However, instead of immediately being able to call, text, or otherwise communicate with the individual, the user is inconvenienced by having to exit the gallery of photos, scroll through a lengthy contact list, locate the contact information of the individual, and initiate the communication.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprises detecting, by one or more processors, a distinct area within an image, comparing, by the one or more processors, detected features of the distinct area within the image to reference features corresponding to a reference image, and determining, by the one or more processors, that the detected distinct area matches the reference image based on the comparison between the detected features and the reference features. The method further includes receiving, from a user of a client device, an indication that the user selects the detected distinct area within the image, retrieving, by the one or more processors, contact information corresponding to the reference image, the contact information indicating a method of contacting an entity represented by the reference image, and causing, by the one or more processors, the client device to display an interface allowing the user to contact the entity according to the method of contacting the entity.

“In another embodiment, a system for facilitating communications comprises one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more non-transitory memories include computer executable instructions specially configuring the computer device such that, when executed by the one or more processors, the computer executable instructions cause the one or more processors to: detect a distinct area within an image, compare features of the distinct area within the image to reference features corresponding to a reference image, and determine that the detected distinct area matches the reference image based on the comparison between the detected features and the reference features. The computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to receive an indication that the user selects the detected distinct area within the image, retrieve contact information corresponding to the reference image, the contact information indicating a method of contacting an entity represented by the reference image, and cause the client device to display an interface allowing the user to contact the entity according to the method of contacting the entity.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method for enabling communication between a user and a first entity, comprising: capturing, by a client device, an image including a distinct area; detecting, by one or more processors, the distinct area within the image, including one or more detected features of the distinct area that include at least a detected edge within the distinct area; receiving, via interaction with a user interface of the client device, a selection of the distinct area from a user; responsive to receiving the selection of the distinct area, comparing, by the one or more processors, the one or more detected features to one or more reference features corresponding to a reference image, the one or more reference features including a reference edge within the reference image; determining, by the one or more processors, that the reference image matches the distinct area based on the comparison of the one or more detected features to the one or more reference features; receiving, from the client device, (i) an indication of the selection, (ii) a geographic location of the client device, and (iii) a set of technical capabilities of the client device indicating one or more available communication channels from a set of communication channels; responsive to receiving the indication, retrieving, by the one or more processors, contact information indicating a plurality of contact methods for contacting a plurality of branches of the first entity represented by the reference image, wherein each branch of the plurality of branches of the first entity is located at a different geographic location; identifying, by the one or more processors, a proximate branch of the plurality of branches of the first entity that is proximate to the geographic location of the client device; determining, by the one or more processors, a first contact method for contacting the proximate branch based on the set of technical capabilities of the client device, the first contact method being one of the plurality of contact methods for contacting the plurality of branches of the first entity; and causing, by the one or more processors, the client device to display an interface allowing the user to contact the proximate branch according to the first contact method.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more features includes one or more first detected features and one or more second detected features that are different than one another, the reference image includes a plurality of stored reference images, and the method further comprises: identifying, by the one or more processors, which of the plurality of stored reference images has one or more first reference features matching the one or more first detected features to provide a narrowed subset of the plurality of stored reference images; and determining, by the one or more processors, that the reference image has one or more second reference features that match the one or more second detected features.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining whether the reference image matches the distinct area includes sequentially comparing the one or more detected features of the distinct area to the one or more reference features corresponding to each reference image from a plurality of stored reference images until it is determined that the one or more detected features of the detected distinct area match one or more reference features of the reference image.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining whether the reference image matches the distinct area includes simultaneously comparing the one or more detected features of the distinct area to the one or more reference features corresponding to each of two or more images, respectively, from a plurality of stored reference images.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining whether the reference image matches the distinct area includes comparing a detected color within the distinct area to a reference color within each reference image from a plurality of stored reference images.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining whether the reference image matches the distinct area includes comparing the detected edge within the distinct area to the reference edge within the reference image from a plurality of stored reference images.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of causing the client device to display the interface includes causing the client device to display the interface allowing the user to selectively contact the first entity according to one of the plurality of contact methods.

“8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the one or more processors, the first contact method for contacting the proximate branch based on the retrieved contact information and the property of the client device, wherein the property includes the geographic location of the client device.

“9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the one or more processors executing a supervised learning algorithm trained to detect and compare distinct areas and features within images, the distinct area within the image, including the one or more detected features of the distinct area, wherein the one or more detected features include one or more of: colors; shapes; a number of edges; texture; and image entropy.

“10. A system for enabling communication between a user and a first entity, the system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory memories coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more non-transitory memories include computer executable instructions configuring a client device such that, when executed by the one or more processors, the computer executable instructions cause the one or more processors to: receive, from the client device, an image including a distinct area captured by the client device, detect one or more features of the distinct area that include at least a detected edge within the distinct area, receive an indication that a user has selected, via interaction with a user interface of the client device, the distinct area within the image, responsive to receiving the indication, compare the one or more detected features to one or more reference features corresponding to a reference image, the one or more reference features including a reference edge within the reference image, determine that the reference image matches the distinct area based on the comparison of the one or more detected features to the one or more reference features, receive (i) a geographic location of the client device and (ii) a set of technical capabilities of the client device indicating one or more available communication channels from a set of communication channels, responsive to receiving the indication, retrieve contact information indicating a plurality of contact methods for contacting a plurality of branches of the first entity represented by the reference image, wherein each branch of the plurality of branches of the first entity is located at a different geographic location, identify a proximate branch of the plurality of branches of the first entity that is proximate to the geographic location of the client device, determine a first contact method for contacting the proximate branch based on the set of technical capabilities of the client device, the first contact method being one of the plurality of contact methods for contacting the plurality of branches of the first entity, and display an interface allowing the user to contact the proximate branch according to the first contact method.

“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more features includes one or more first detected features and one or more second detected features that are different than one another, the reference image includes a plurality of stored reference images, and the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to cause the client device to: identify which of the plurality of stored reference images has one or more first reference features matching the one or more first detected features to provide a narrowed subset of the plurality of stored reference images; and determine that the reference image has one or more second reference features that match the one or more second detected features.

“12. The system of claim 11, wherein the reference image depicts a logo of the business.

“13. The system of claim 11, wherein the contact information indicates a phone number of the proximate branch of the business, and wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to cause the client device to display the interface allowing the user to contact the proximate branch by displaying the interface allowing the user to call the phone number of the proximate branch.

“14. The system of claim 11, wherein the contact information indicates the website of the business, and wherein the computer executable instructions further the one or more processors to cause the client device to display the interface allowing the user to contact the proximate branch by displaying the interface allowing the user to visit the website of the business via a web browser application.

“15. The system of claim 11, wherein the contact information indicates an email address of the proximate branch of the business, and wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to cause the client device to display the interface allowing the user to contact the proximate branch by displaying the interface allowing the user to email the email address of the proximate branch.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent, see: Freeman, James M. Connecting users to entities based on recognized objects. U.S. Patent Number 11740775, filed May 14, 2020, and published online on August 29, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11740775)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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