# US 11,078,449 B2 · Systems and methods for spotting treatment, inspection, and tracking of articles

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- Number: US 11,078,449 B2
- Document ID: US11078449B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/683,614
- Filed: 2019-11-14
- Published: 2020-10-22
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2019-04-18
- Assignees: CaaStle, Inc.
- Applicants: CaaStle, Inc.
- Inventors: Michael Jerome Jackson; Andrew Demaray; Phillip Hoffman; Ericka Ponte
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11078449B2

## CPC

- D06F 43/002: {Spotting apparatus}
- C11D 2111/12: Soft surfaces, e.g. textile
- C11D 2111/44: Multi-step processes
- D06M 2200/01: Stain or soil resistance
- D06F: LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- C11D: DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
- D06M: TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS

## Abstract

A method of treatment of one or more articles may comprise locating a stain on an article based on a tag on the article; placing the stain on a nose of a spotting board; positioning a steam gun at least two or more inches away from the stain; simultaneously activating a steam supply and a vacuum supply of the spotting board; moving the steam gun in a defined motion relative to the stain for at least 30 seconds; simultaneously activating the vacuum supply and an air supply of the spotting board; moving the steam gun in the defined motion relative to the stain until the article is at least partially dry; and inspecting the stain.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of treatment of one or more articles, comprising:
locating a stain on an article based on a tag comprising a spotting treatment tracker for the article and a treatment name or identifier associated with treatment of the article;
placing a portion of the article comprising the stain on a spotting board having a corrosion-resistant layer;
treating the article with one or both of a wet-side pre-spotting agent and a dry-side pre-spotting agent;
treating the portion of the article comprising the stain with one or both of a steam supply and a vacuum supply of the spotting board;
treating the portion of the article comprising the stain with one or both of the vacuum supply and an air supply of the spotting board until the article is at least partially dry;
inspecting the stain on an inspection surface to determine a status of the stain;
treating the article with a spotting agent treatment based on the determined status of the stain;
re-inspecting the stain on the inspection surface with one or more of a light sensor, a chemical sensor, a humidity sensor, a camera, or an odor sensor;
updating the tag of the article and/or a data record of the article in one or more servers based on one or more results of the re-inspection;
analyzing the updated tag and/or the data record of the article with a machine learning algorithm in accordance with the one or more results of the re-inspection or an additional review; and
displaying treatment information associated with the updated tag and/or data record, according to the results of the re-inspection.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising treating the portion of the article comprising the stain with a steam supply and a vacuum supply of the spotting board by:
positioning a steam gun at least two or more inches away from the portion of the article comprising the stain; and
moving the steam gun in a defined motion relative to the portion of the article comprising the stain.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising treating the portion of the article comprising the stain with one or both of the vacuum supply and the air supply of the spotting board by moving one or more of a steam gun, the vacuum supply, and the air supply in a defined motion relative to the stain until the article is at least partially dry.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further including laying the article flat on drying racks to dry for at least 30 minutes.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment name or identifier is a name or identifier of a technician or supervisor associated with treatment of the article.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein the moving the one or more of the steam gun, the vacuum supply, and the air supply comprises moving the one or more of the steam gun, the vacuum supply, and the air supply in the defined motion relative to the stain until the article is fully dry.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further including categorizing the stain into one of one or more categories.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more categories include oil stain, dye stain, or tannin stain.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, where the tannin stain is invisible before being subjected to heat.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a robot.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the tag comprises a barcode.

### Claim 12 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein the defined motion is a circular, a rectangular, a triangular, or a linear motion.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the additional review is performed after placing the article in a designated area associated with the additional review.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed treatment information includes a prior treatment of the article associated with a spotting treatment history of the article.