Granted Patent B2

US 12,494,088 · App. 18/514,924 · Granted Dec 9, 2025

Inventor: Craig Mateer (Orlando, FL)

G07B11/00B42D15/0053G06Q10/08G07C9/215G07C9/22G07C9/28G09F3/207

Abstract

Claims (105)

1 . A method comprising:

performing an originating International Air Transport Association (IATA) bag tag number recycling process to recycle the originating IATA bag tag number on a printed originating IATA bag tag or a printed airline marker, by use of a departure control system (DCS) that issues the originating IATA bag tag number for a luggage item of a passenger to travel on a carrier of an airline, to a universal bag tag unique identifier for use outside of an airport infrastructure as the luggage item travels with a second mode of travel different from the airline, wherein the originating IATA bag tag or the airline marker comprises a machine-readable formatted code representative of the originating IATA bag tag number, and wherein the performing of the recycling process comprises:

receiving, by a network interface coupled to at least one of at least one processor and a communication network, a plurality of electronic baggage source messages (BSMs) from a computer system associated with the airline communicating over the communication network, wherein each electronic BSM comprises an airport code associated with a destination airport and travel data of a respective passenger;

matching, by at least one of the at least one processor, airline information and a flight number of the respective passenger in a selected electronic BSM of the plurality of BSMs with airline information and a flight number in a passenger manifest stored in a manifest data non-transitory memory device for the second mode of travel, wherein the second mode of travel is local to the destination airport and wherein the selected electronic BSM is selected from the plurality of BSMs by the airport code of the destination airport;

based on a match of the airline information and the flight number of the respective passenger in the passenger manifest, extracting, by at least one of the at least one processor, the originating IATA bag tag number from the selected electronic BSM to repurpose the originating IATA bag tag number as the universal bag tag unique identifier; and

generating, by at least one of the at least one processor, an electronic luggage item manifest record in a non-transitory storage device for the luggage item traveling with the second mode of travel, wherein the electronic luggage item manifest record comprises return flight information of the respective passenger with a designated travel carrier and is configured to be remotely accessed using the universal bag tag unique identifier as a key to obtain the return flight information needed to process the luggage item of the respective passenger for a return flight in a volume of luggage items of other passengers traveling by the second mode of travel within a time-constrained regulated check-in window; and

repeating, by at least one of the at least one processor, the performing of the recycling process for a plurality of passengers in the passenger manifest; and

during the time-constrained regulated check-in window:

scanning, by an optical scanning device, the machine readable formatted code representative of the printed IATA bag tag number on the printed originating IATA bag tag or the printed airline marker of a respective luggage item;

converting, by the optical scanning device, the machine readable formatted code to a digital universal bag tag unique identifier for the respective luggage item;

accessing, by at least one of the at least one processor, the return flight information in the luggage item manifest record of the respective luggage item, in response to receiving a transmission from the optical scanning device with the key enumerated by the digital universal bag tag unique identifier for the respective luggage item; and

performing, by at least one of the at least one processor, a process using the accessed return flight information that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight based on the processed return flight information.

2 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the electronic BSM is a terminating BSM,

wherein the travel data comprises a flight number and an airline code of the airline, and

wherein the method further comprises:

before matching, sorting, by at least one of the at least one processor, a plurality of BSMs based on a baggage source indicator that indicates the electronic BSM is a terminating BSM, and

wherein the matching further comprises matching, by at least one of the at least one processor, the flight number and the airline code in the terminating BSM with a flight number or an airline code in the passenger manifest.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second mode of travel is one of: a cruise ship, a train, a bus, a ferry, or a lodging entity.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

extracting, by at least one of the at least one processor, a passenger name record (PNR) number from the electronic BSM,

wherein the generating further comprises:

adding, by at least one of the at least one processor, the PNR number to the luggage item manifest record.

5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising, for each passenger of the plurality of passengers:

accessing, by at least one of the at least one processor, a PNR from database coupled to a computer system associated with the airline, using the PNR number of the passenger; and

autonomously updating, by at least one of the at least one processor, the luggage item manifest record with the return flight information from the database for check-in of the return flight of the passenger with the designated travel carrier.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein

the optical scanning device comprises a barcode scanner or an imaging device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the process that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight comprises:

performing, by at least one of the at least one processor, a remote check-in process for the luggage item for the return flight of the respective passenger; and

during the remote check-in process, obtaining, by at least one of the at least one processor, airline IATA bag tag information for the return flight for the checked in luggage items of the respective passenger; or

printing, by a printer, a new bag tag for the return flight in a format that is compatible with an IATA bag tag format for each checked in luggage item of the respective passenger.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the process that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight further comprises:

causing printing, by a printer, of a new bag tag for the return flight in a format that is compatible with an IATA bag tag format for each checked in luggage item of the respective passenger, wherein the new bag tag includes a new IATA bag tag number; and

the method further comprises:

replacing the originating IATA bag tag with the new bag tag for the return flight; and

updating, by at least one of the at least one processor, the luggage item manifest record with the IATA bag tag number of the new IATA bag tag for the return flight.

9 . A system comprising:

at least one processor;

a network interface coupled to the at least one processor and a communication network; and

at least one non-transitory, tangible memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing at least one instruction,

wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to:

perform an originating International Air Transport Association (IATA) bag tag number recycling process to recycle the originating IATA bag tag number on a printed originating IATA bag tag or a printed airline marker, issued by a departure control system (DCS) for a luggage item of a passenger to travel on a carrier of an airline, to a universal bag tag unique identifier for use outside of an airport infrastructure as the luggage item travels with a second mode of travel different from the airline, wherein the originating IATA bag tag or the airline marker comprises a machine-readable formatted code representative of the originating IATA bag tag number, and wherein the performance of the recycling process comprises:

receive through the network interface a plurality of electronic baggage source messages (BSMs) from a computer system associated with the airline communicating over the communication network, wherein each electronic BSM comprises an airport code associated with a destination airport and travel data of a respective passenger;

matching airline information and a flight number of the respective passenger in a selected electronic BSM of the plurality of BSMs with airline information and a flight number in a passenger manifest stored in a manifest data non-transitory memory device for the second mode of travel, wherein the second mode of travel is local to the destination airport and wherein the selected electronic BSM is selected from the plurality of BSMs by the airport code of the destination airport;

based on a match of the airline information and the flight number of the respective passenger in the passenger manifest, extract the originating IATA bag tag number from the selected electronic BSM to repurpose the originating IATA bag tag number as the universal bag tag unique identifier; and

generate an electronic luggage item manifest record in a non-transitory storage device for the luggage item traveling with the second mode of travel, wherein the electronic luggage item manifest record comprises return flight information of the respective passenger with a designated travel carrier and is configured to be remotely accessed using the universal bag tag unique identifier as a key to obtain the return flight information needed to process the luggage item of the respective passenger for a return flight in a volume of luggage items of other passengers traveling by the second mode of travel within a time-constrained regulated check-in window; and

repeat the performance of the recycling process for a plurality of passenger names in the passenger manifest; and

an optical scanning device in communication with at least one of the at least one processor and configured to scan the machine readable formatted code representative of the printed IATA bag tag number on the printed originating IATA bag tag or the printed airline marker of a respective luggage item and convert the machine readable formatted code to a digital universal bag tag unique identifier;

wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to during the time-constrained regulated check-in window:

access the return flight information in the luggage item manifest record of the respective luggage item in response to receiving a transmission from the optical scanning device with the key enumerated by the digital universal bag tag unique identifier for the respective luggage item; and

perform a process using the accessed return flight information that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight based on the processed return flight information.

10 . The system of claim 9 ,

wherein the electronic BSM is a terminating BSM,

wherein the travel data comprises a flight number and an airline code of the airline, and

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to, before matching the airline information and the flight number:

sort a plurality of BSMs based on a baggage source indicator that indicates the electronic BSM is a terminating BSM, and

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to, as part of matching the airline information and the flight number:

match the flight number or the airline code in the terminating BSM with a flight number or an airline code in the passenger manifest.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the second mode of travel is one of: a cruise ship, a train, a bus, a ferry, or a lodging entity.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to:

extract a passenger name record (PNR) number from the electronic BSM; and

add the PNR number to the luggage item manifest record.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to, for each passenger of the plurality of passengers:

access a PNR from a computer system of the airline, using the PNR number of the passenger; and

autonomously update the luggage item manifest record with the return flight information from the database for check-in of the return flight of the passenger with a designated travel carrier.

14 . The system of claim 9 ,

wherein the optical scanning device comprises a barcode scanner or an imaging device.

15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to, in performance of the process that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight:

perform a remote check-in process for the luggage item for the return flight; and

during the remote check-in process, obtain airline IATA bag tag information for the return flight for checked in luggage items for the respective passenger; or

cause printing, by a printer, a new bag tag for the return flight in a format that is compatible with an IATA bag tag format for each checked in luggage item of the respective passenger.

16 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising a printer; and

wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to, in performance of the process that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight to cause printing, by the printer, of a new bag tag for the return flight in a format that is compatible with the IATA bag tag format for each checked in luggage item of the respective passenger; and

wherein the originating IATA bag tag from the airline is replaced with the new bag tag for the return flight.

17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to execute a method comprising:

performing an originating International Air Transport Association (IATA) bag tag number recycling process to recycle the originating IATA bag tag number on a printed originating IATA bag tag or a printed airline marker, issued by a departure control system (DCS) for a luggage item of a passenger to travel on a carrier of an airline, to a universal bag tag unique identifier for use outside of an airport infrastructure as the luggage item travels with a second mode of travel different from the airline, wherein the originating IATA bag tag or the airline marker comprises a machine-readable formatted code representative of the originating IATA bag tag number, and wherein the performing of the recycling process comprises:

receiving, by a network interface coupled to at least one of at least one processor and a communication network, a plurality of electronic baggage source messages (BSMs) from a computer system associated with the airline communicating over the communication network, wherein each electronic BSM comprises an airport code associated with a destination airport and travel data of a respective passenger;

matching, by at least one of the at least one processor, airline information and a flight number of the respective passenger in a selected electronic BSM of the plurality of BSMs with airline information and a flight number in a passenger manifest stored in a manifest data non-transitory memory device for the second mode of travel, wherein the second mode of travel is local to the destination airport and wherein the selected electronic BSM is selected from the plurality of BSMs by the airport code of the destination airport;

based on a match of the airline information and the flight number of the respective passenger in the passenger manifest, extracting, by at least one of the at least one processor, the originating IATA bag tag number from the selected electronic BSM to repurpose the originating IATA bag tag number as the universal bag tag unique identifier; and

generating, by at least one of the at least one processor, an electronic luggage item manifest record in a non-transitory storage device for the luggage item traveling with the second mode of travel, wherein the electronic luggage item manifest record comprises return flight information of the respective passenger with a designated travel carrier and is configured to be remotely accessed using the universal bag tag unique identifier as a key to obtain the return flight information needed to process the luggage item of the respective passenger for a return flight in a volume of luggage items of other passengers traveling by the second mode of travel within a time-constrained regulated check-in window; and

repeating, by at least one of the at least one processor, the performing of the recycling process for a plurality of passengers in the passenger manifest; and

during the time-constrained regulated check-in window:

in response to an optical scanning device scanning the machine readable formatted code representative of the printed IATA bag tag number on the printed originating IATA bag tag or the printed airline marker of a respective luggage item, receiving, by at least one of the at least one processor, a transmission from the optical scanning device of a converted machine readable formatted code representative of a digital universal bag tag unique identifier,

accessing, by at least one of the at least one processor, the return flight information in the luggage item manifest record of the respective luggage item in response to receiving a key representative of the digital universal bag tag unique identifier for the respective luggage item; and

performing, by at least one of the at least one processor, a process using the accessed return flight information that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight based on the processed return flight information.

18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the electronic BSM is a terminating BSM; wherein the travel data comprises a flight number and an airline code of the airline, and wherein the method further comprises:

before matching, by at least one of the at least one processor, a plurality of BSMs based on a baggage source indicator that indicates the electronic BSM is a terminating BSM, and

wherein the matching further comprises matching, by at least one of the at least one processor, a flight number or airline in the terminating BSM with a flight number or an airline code in the passenger manifest.

19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the second mode of travel is one of: a cruise ship, a train, a bus, a ferry, or a lodging entity.

20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises:

extracting, by at least one of the at least one processor, a passenger name record (PNR) number from the electronic BSM, and

wherein the generating further comprises:

adding, by at least one of the at least one processor, the PNR number to the luggage item manifest record.

21 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the method further comprises:

accessing, by at least one of the at least one processor, a PNR from a database coupled to a computer system associated with the airline, using the PNR number; and

autonomously updating, by at least one of the at least one processor, the luggage item manifest record with the return flight information from the database for check-in of the return flight of the passenger with the designated travel carrier.

22 . The non-transitory computer readable medium claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises:

performing, by at least one of the at least one processor, a remote check-in process for the luggage item for the return flight;

during the remote check-in process, obtaining, by at least one of the at least one processor, airline IATA bag tag information for the return flight for checked in luggage items for the respective passenger; or

printing, by a printer, a new bag tag for the return flight in a format that is compatible with an IATA bag tag format for each checked in luggage item of the respective passenger.

23 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22 , wherein the performing of the process that allows the respective luggage item to travel on the return flight further comprises:

causing printing, by a printer, of a new bag tag for the return flight in a format that is compatible with an IATA bag tag format for each checked in luggage item of the respective passenger, wherein the new bag tag includes a new IATA bag tag number; and

wherein the method further comprises:

updating, by at least one of the at least one processor, the luggage item manifest record with the IATA bag tag number of the new IATA bag tag for the return flight.

Continuity (8)

References Cited (129)