Methods and apparatus for image capturing inventory system

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and methods for making and using an image capturing apparatus for a user to rapidly take and catalogue inventory and equipment. The system is useful for tracking the shelf-life and value of the inventory and equipment. The system allows for the proper setup and function of certain types of the inventory and equipment, and for the recordation and storage of the inventory/equipment information in a computer database.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for rapidly capturing and categorizing data from the surface of electronic equipment stored within cabinets comprising:
 a camera stored within a housing;   a camera mount holding the camera to guide the camera along a path, the camera mount comprising a gear;   teeth of the gear meshed within teeth of a track inside the housing; and   the camera capturing an image of the contents of the cabinet when the camera mount translates along the track inside the housing.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein upon activation the camera rotates +/−21.5° relative to a horizontal axis parallel to the floor. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the camera has a 20-24 mm lens. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a positioning laser to assist a user with properly positioning the camera relative to a cabinet. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the positioning laser projects a vertical line and a horizontal line. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an array of LED lights to project bright light onto the contents of the cabinet. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the camera is a 28 megapixel camera. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the captured image contains the entire contents of the cabinet. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a software system on computer readable media which flattens the captured image. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the software system extracts data and processes data from the image. 
     
     
         12 . A process for rapidly capturing and categorizing data from the surface of electronic equipment stored within cabinets comprising the steps of:
 providing a camera stored within a housing;   providing a camera mount holding the camera to guide the camera along path, the camera mount comprising a gear;   providing a track inside the housing, the track having teeth meshed with the teeth of the gear;   activating the camera to translate the camera along an arced path as the gear translates along the track to capture an image of the entire contents of a cabinet.   
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein upon activation the camera rotates +/−21.5° along the arced path relative to a horizontal axis parallel to the floor. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the camera has a 20-24 mm lens. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 12 , further comprising the step of positioning a laser on the housing to assist a user with properly positioning the camera relative to a cabinet. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15 , further comprising the step of projecting a vertical line and a horizontal line from the laser to assist with properly positioning the camera relative to a cabinet. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 12 , further comprising the step of affixing an array of LED lights to the surface of the housing and illuminating the LED lights to project bright light onto the contents of the cabinet. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the camera is a 28 megapixel camera. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the captured image contains the entire contents of the cabinet. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 12 , further comprising the step of using a software system on computer readable media to activate the camera and flatten the captured image. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 20 , further comprising the step of using the software system to extract and process data from the image.