Systems and methods for creating replacement vehicle keys and for automated delivery of key products
The present invention generally relates to the field of replicating or copying keys. More specifically, the present invention relates to creating a copy of a master key based on a captured image of the master key. The present invention identifies a set of target key information based on the image of the master key to provide for the cutting of a duplicate key blade copy to be shipped to a user. Additional key information may also be captured along with the image of the master key.
1. A system for creating a key blade copy of a master key based on a captured image of the master key, the system comprising:
a central server having a processor, a memory, and a set of instructions stored on the memory and executed by the processor, the central server connected to a communication network and adapted to receive a set of information from a handheld computing device over the communication network, the set of information comprising:
a set of user information:
a set of information associated with the master key;
and a set of one or more images of the master key captured by a camera that is integral with the handheld computing device;
a database accessible by the central server and configured to store records related to keys;
the processor configured to execute the stored instructions and access key related information stored in the database to cause the central server to:
designate an image from a set of images as a target image;
retrieve a set of key rules from the database;
determine a set of key features of the master key from the target image;
identify a first set of faults in the set of key features by comparing the set of key features to the set of key rules;
determine a set of key bitting information from the set of key features;
store the set of key bitting information and the set of key features in the database; and
create the key blade copy of the master key based on the set of stored key bitting information and the set of key features.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to:
identify a second set of faults in the set of key bitting information by comparing the set of key bitting information to the set of key rules, wherein the set of key rules includes one or more of maximum bit value, minimum bit value, number of bits, and a maximum adjacent cut specification; and
mark the first set of faults and the second set of faults in the target image of the master key.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to correct the first set of faults and the second set of faults to generate a best possible geometric outline.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to update the set of key features and the set of key bitting information based on the best possible geometric outline.
5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to correct the first set of faults and the second set of faults and adjust cut height and bitting to compensate for worn contours on the master key.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to capture a set of transponder information related to the master key.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to:
receive an order from a user for the key blade copy;
create the key blade copy for the user based on the received order; and
ship the key blade copy to the user.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to apply an image processing technique to the captured image, the image processing technique selected from the group consisting of: compensating for image parallax, applying digital filters to the captured image, applying color or greyscale modes for higher quality images, applying edge detection and contrast enhancement filters or algorithms, and applying sequential imaging and filtering algorithms.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to prompt a user to capture an additional set of images of the master key.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to process executable instructions to cause the server to identify a faulty image from the set of images based on information associated with an image capture device used to capture the set of images.
11. The system of claim 1 further comprising a drone service adapted to deliver a key product directly to a customer location or to an affiliated retail location based on user input, GPS data or stored location data.