Automated Bulk Laundry Systems and Methods

BACKGROUND

Public use laundry facilities, such as a laundromat, have remained relatively unchanged since their inception aside from improvements to individual washing machines or dryers or to payment methods. Individuals go into a laundromat, put their laundry articles in a washing machine, wait, then put the washed laundry articles in the dryer, wait, then remove the dried laundry articles from the dryer and leave the laundromat, possibly after folding the dried laundry articles. Or some laundromats might include a combination washer and dryer machine that does not require transferring the laundry articles from the washing machine to the dryer. In either case, some individuals may prefer to wait in the laundromat during the washing or drying cycles rather than leave their laundry articles unattended in the public space. Other individuals may leave the laundromat during the washing or drying cycles, but have to time when they need to be back at the laundromat to transfer the laundry articles to the dryer, take the laundry articles out of the dryer, or both. Doing laundry in a laundromat can therefore be burdensome and time-consuming.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides new and innovative systems and methods for automated bulk laundry services. In the context of a laundromat implementing the automated bulk laundry service, a user places their laundry articles into a receptacle, pays for the service, and the laundry articles in the receptacle are thereafter transported to an area inaccessible to the public as the laundry articles are washed, dried, and prepared for retrieval. The user can therefore leave the laundromat until they receive an indication (e.g., app notification, automated phone call or text message, etc.) that their laundry articles are ready to be retrieved from the laundromat. Once the user returns to the laundromat, the user can indicate that they are ready to retrieve their laundry articles, such as via an input device in the laundromat or an app on their mobile device (e.g., smartphone), and the laundry articles are thereafter transported from the area inaccessible to the public to an area accessible by the user. In some aspects, the laundry articles may already be folded when retrieved by the user. In this way, the technological improvements to a system for handling large amounts of laundry, portions of which may belong to different parties, enables the user to leave their laundry articles in the laundromat's care and retrieve their laundry articles at a time convenient to the user.

In an example, a system includes a receptacle configured to receive and contain laundry articles; a laundry device comprising a chamber; and at least one conveyor configured to move the receptacle from a first position to a second position that is within the chamber, and from the second position to a third position. The receptacle includes a sidewall having a plurality of openings. The laundry device is configured to perform, when laundry articles are contained in the receptacle and the receptacle is positioned in the chamber, a first operation that washes the laundry articles contained in the receptacle and a second operation that dries the laundry articles contained in the receptacle.

In an example, a method includes receiving a first signal indicative of an initiation of a laundry cycle; controlling, based on the first signal, at least one conveyor to move a receptacle containing laundry articles from a first position to a second position that is within a chamber of a laundry device; controlling the laundry device, with the receptacle in the second position, to perform a first operation that washes the laundry articles contained in the receptacle; controlling the laundry device, subsequent to completion of the first operation and with the receptacle in the second position, to perform a second operation that dries the laundry articles contained in the receptacle; and controlling, subsequent to completion of the second operation, the at least one conveyor to move the receptacle from the second position to a third position. The receptacle includes a sidewall having a plurality of openings.

In an example, a system includes a first receptacle and a second receptacle that each includes a sidewall having a plurality of openings and is configured to receive and contain laundry articles; a first laundry device comprising a first chamber; a second laundry device comprising a second chamber; at least one conveyor configured to move the first receptacle or the second receptacle; and a controller. The first laundry device is configured to perform, when laundry articles are contained in the first or second receptacle and the first or second receptacle is positioned in the first chamber, a first operation that washes the laundry articles contained in the first or second receptacle. The second laundry device is configured to perform, when laundry articles are contained in the first or second receptacle and the first or second receptacle is positioned in the second chamber, the first operation that washes the laundry articles contained in the first or second receptacle. The controller is configured to perform operations including: receiving a first signal indicative of an initiation of a first laundry cycle; controlling, based on the first indication, the at least one conveyor to move the first receptacle from a first position to a second position that is within the first chamber of the first laundry device; controlling the first laundry device, with the first receptacle in the second position, to perform the first operation, which includes controlling the first laundry device to agitate the first receptacle; receiving, subsequent to an initiation of the first operation by the first laundry device, a second indication that is indicative of an initiation of a second laundry cycle; controlling, based on the second indication, the at least one conveyor to move the second receptacle from the first position to a third position that is within the second chamber of the second laundry device; and controlling, subsequent to completion of the first operation by the first laundry device, the at least one conveyor to move the first receptacle from the second position to a fourth position.

The term “coupled” is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically; two items that are “coupled” may be unitary with each other. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.

Herein, “or” is inclusive and not exclusive, unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context. Therefore, herein, “A or B” means “A, B, or both,” unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context. Moreover, “and” is both joint and several, unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context. Therefore, herein, “A and B” means “A and B, jointly or severally,” unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.

The terms “comprise” and any form thereof such as “comprises” and “comprising,” “have” and any form thereof such as “has” and “having,” and “include” and any form thereof such as “includes” and “including” are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, an apparatus or system that “comprises,” “has,” or “includes” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements but is not limited to possessing only those elements. Likewise, a method that “comprises,” “has,” or “includes” one or more steps possesses those one or more steps but is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps.

Any embodiment of any of the apparatuses, systems, and methods can consist of or consist essentially of—rather than comprise/have/include—any of the described steps, elements, and/or features. Thus, in any of the claims, the term “consisting of” or “consisting essentially of” can be substituted for any of the open-ended linking verbs recited above in order to change the scope of a given claim from what it would otherwise be using the open-ended linking verb.

An apparatus or system that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but it can also be configured in other ways than those specifically described. Furthermore, reference in the appended claims to an apparatus or system or a component of an apparatus or system being adapted to, arranged to, capable of, configured to, or enabled to, perform a particular function encompasses that apparatus, system, component, whether or not it or that particular function is activated, turned on, or unlocked, as long as that apparatus, system, or component is so adapted, arranged, capable, configured, or enabled.

The feature or features of one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, even though not described or illustrated, unless expressly prohibited by this disclosure or the nature of the embodiments.

Some details associated with the embodiments are described above and others are described below.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosed method and apparatus are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the Figures. The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the figures and description. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1A illustrates a box diagram of an example automated laundry system, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of an example implementation of the automated laundry system of FIG. 1A, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a box diagram of an example laundry device, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an example receptacle, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A illustrates a perspective view of an example laundry device, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional side view of the receptacle of FIG. 3 positioned within the chamber of the laundry device of FIG. 4A, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example laundry method, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a computing and networking environment, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure to solely that described explicitly herein. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case and that, in some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form for clarity of presentation.

An automated bulk laundry system is provided that may be implemented with laundry facilities having multiple washing machines and dryers (or washer/dryer combination machines), such as a laundromat. While the example embodiments provided herein are described in the context of a laundromat or other public use laundry facility, the concepts of the present disclosure can be implemented for a nonpublic (e.g., private) laundry facility as well. For example, the automated bulk laundry systems and methods may be implemented in an area of a hotel (or other business that requires large amounts of laundering) that is only accessible by the hotel staff. In such examples, the entirety of the automated bulk laundry system may be accessible by the hotel staff (e.g., there is not split between what is publicly accessible and what is not).

In the context of a laundromat implementing the automated bulk laundry system, a user (e.g., a customer) places their laundry articles into a receptacle, pays for the service, and the laundry articles in the receptacle are thereafter transported to an area inaccessible to the public as the laundry articles are washed, dried, and prepared for retrieval. For example, in some aspects, a conveyor transports the receptacle containing the laundry articles into a chamber of a laundry device that is capable of both washing and drying the laundry articles while the laundry articles are contained within the receptacle. In other aspects, the conveyor may transport the receptacle containing the laundry articles into a chamber of a washing machine, and when the washing cycle is finished, into a chamber of a dryer. As used herein, the term “laundry articles” refers to any clothing and non-clothing articles suitable for laundering. For example, laundry articles may include clothing articles, towels, bedsheets, blankets, etc.

Once the laundry articles are dried, the conveyor can transport the receptacle containing the dried laundry articles to the next area (e.g., station) for retrieval preparation. In various aspects, the next station may depend on a selection made by the user when paying for the service. For example, in some aspects, the conveyor may transport the receptacle to a folding station at which either a human individual (e.g., a worker) or a robotic device folds the laundry articles. In this example, the folded laundry articles then remain at a holding area until the user indicates that they are ready to retrieve the laundry articles. In some aspects, the human individual or the robotic device folding the laundry articles may sort the laundry articles, such as by size, gender, clothing article versus non-clothing article, type of clothing article, etc. In some aspects, the human individual or the robotic device may sort the laundry articles without folding the laundry articles. In some aspects, the laundry articles that are folded, or sorted, or both are packaged, such as in plastic wrap or another suitable packaging material. In another example, the conveyor may transport the receptacle to a staging station at which the receptacle, and thereby the laundry articles, are agitated (e.g., periodically) to fluff the laundry articles and help prevent the laundry articles from wrinkling until the user indicates that they are ready to retrieve the laundry articles.

The user can therefore leave the laundromat until they receive an indication (e.g., app notification, automated phone call or text message, etc.) that their laundry articles are ready to be retrieved from the laundromat. Once the user returns to the laundromat, the user can indicate that they are ready to retrieve their laundry articles, such as via an input device in the laundromat or an app on their mobile device (e.g., smartphone), and the conveyor thereafter transports the laundry articles from an area inaccessible to the public to an area accessible by the user. In this way, the technological improvements to the laundromat enable the user to leave their unwashed laundry articles in the laundromat's care and retrieve their clean laundry articles at a time convenient to the user.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example laundry system 100 that may be used to implement various aspects of the present application. Generally, laundry system 100 includes a controller 108 controlling various components in the washing, drying, and retrieval preparation of laundry articles. Laundry system 100 includes a receptacle 102A constructed to receive and contain laundry articles. Laundry system 100 further includes a conveyor 104 constructed and arranged to transport receptacle 102A, which may contain laundry articles, from one location to another location. For example, a user may engage with an input device 110 to purchase a laundry service, and in response, controller 108 may control conveyor 104 to transport receptacle 102A containing the user's laundry articles to a laundry device 106A. Input device 110 is in communication with controller 108 and can be a physical cash machine that includes ports for insertion of bills or coins or any suitable device displaying an electronic user interface for payments by other methods.

Receptacle 102A is adapted to be used with laundry device 106A so that the laundry articles contained within receptacle 102A can be washed or dried or both within laundry device 106A. For instance, in some aspects, laundry device 106A is constructed to both wash and dry laundry articles within laundry device 106A. In other aspects, laundry device 106A is constructed to either only wash or only dry laundry articles within laundry device 106A. Example implementations of receptacle 102A and laundry device 106A are described in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4A below.

Conveyor 104 is a suitable machine or system capable of transporting receptacle 102A or laundry articles from one location to another location. In various aspects, conveyor 104 may a motor-driven belt conveyor, a motor-driven roller conveyor, a gravity-driven roller conveyor, or a motor-driven aerial conveyor. For exemplary purposes, in the remaining description, conveyor 104 is considered to be a motor-driven aerial conveyor that includes a hook from which receptable 102A hangs from conveyor 104. Conveyor 104 may hook or unhook from receptacle 102A, and when hooked, may transport receptacle 102A. In this way, the motor-driven aerial conveyor can transport receptacle 102A to any area of laundry system 100 that is described herein. In aspects in which the conveyor 104 is another suitable conveyor (e.g., motor-driven belt conveyor), conveyor 104 may include mechanisms for diverting receptacle 102A being transported, such as diverting receptacle 102A into laundry device 106A. In some aspects, conveyor 104 is a single, integral conveyor. In other aspects, conveyor 104 may include two or more conveyors that are arranged in a system.

Laundry system 100 may include one or more receptacles in addition to receptacle 102A, such as receptacle 102B, that are each the same as or similar to receptacle 102A. For example, laundry system 100 may include one or more laundry devices in addition to laundry device 106A, such as laundry device 106B, that are each the same as or similar to laundry device 106A so that multiple receptacles can be used with multiple laundry devices at the same time. For example, receptacle 102A may be used with laundry device 106A at the same time as receptacle 102B is used with laundry device 106B. In examples in which laundry device 106A is constructed to only wash or only dry laundry articles, another of the laundry devices is constructed to perform the other operation that laundry device 106A does not perform. For example, laundry device 106A may be constructed to only wash laundry articles whereas laundry device 106B may be constructed to only dry laundry articles.

In various aspects, laundry system 100 may include at least one robotic device 112, or another suitable machine, that is adapted to fold or sort laundry articles. Such robotic devices 112 or other machines are known in the pertinent art. The at least one robotic device 112 may be capable of operations beyond folding or sorting in some cases, which will be apparent from the following description.

Laundry system 100 may include one or more motors 114 that are controlled by controller 108. At least some of the one or more motors 114 may drive conveyor 104 in some aspects. At least some of the one or more motors 114 may drive rotation of rollers in some aspects. For example, receptacle 102A containing laundry articles may be positioned on the rollers to agitate the laundry articles contained within receptacle 102A, which fluffs the laundry articles and helps reduce wrinkling in the laundry articles before the user retrieves the laundry articles. The rollers may be included in a staging area of laundry system 100 described below.

As illustrated, a communications network 116 allows for communication between controller 108 and at least one user device 118. The at least one user device 118 may be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, smartwatch, or other suitable device that enables the user to interact with a website or an app. The communications network 116 may include one or more wireless networks such as, but not limited to one or more of a Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), Campus Area Network (CAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service (D-Amps), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, LTE networks, enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), General packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced GPRS, messaging protocols such as, TCP/IP, SMS, MMS, extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), real time messaging protocol (RTMP), instant messaging and presence protocol (IMPP), instant messaging, USSD, IRC, or any other wireless data networks or messaging protocols. The communications network 116 may also include wired networks.

Each of conveyor 104, laundry device 106A, laundry device 106B, input device 110, robotic device 112, and motor 114 are shown in FIG. 1A to be in wired communication with controller 108. In other examples, any one or more of conveyor 104, laundry device 106A, laundry device 106B, input device 110, robotic device 112, and motor 114 may be in wireless communication with controller 108 via communications network 116.

While not shown in the figures or described in detail, it will be appreciated that laundry system 100 may include various robotic components that aid in moving receptacle 102A into proper position at various stages of laundry system 100. For example, a robotic arm may remove receptacle 102A, or laundry articles, from conveyor 104 or place receptacle 102A, or laundry articles, onto conveyor 104. In another example, a robotic arm may direct receptacle 102A into, or out of, chamber 202 of laundry device 102A.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example implementation of laundry system 100 in a building 120. Building 120 may be a portion of a building, such as a single commercial space among multiple commercial spaces in a building. Building 120 includes a door 122 through which a first user enters building 120. Once inside building 120, the first user may proceed to a starting area 130 of laundry system 100. The starting area 130 includes an input device 110A that the first user may use to purchase a laundry service. A receptacle 102A may be waiting for the first user in the starting area 130 or may be transported to the starting area 130 by conveyor 104 upon the first user purchasing a laundry service. For example, receptacle 102B is shown behind a wall 124, relative to the first user in the starting area 130, past which the first user is not permitted to access. For example, the only openings through the wall 124 may be the openings for conveyor 104 to pass through. Receptacle 102B may remain behind the wall 124 until a second user purchases a laundry service. It should be appreciated that FIG. 1B depicts a schematic of a path of conveyor 104 for exemplary purposes. Stated differently, while conveyor 104 appears to be depicted as a belt conveyor in FIG. 1B, conveyor 104 can still be considered to be an aerial conveyor in this example, or another suitable conveyor in a different example. The arrows (e.g., chevron arrows and double-sided arrows) along the path of conveyor 104 indicate a direction of travel of conveyor 104 in the depicted example.

Once the first user pays for the laundry service and puts their laundry articles in receptacle 102A, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A to a washing/drying area 140 of laundry system 100. For example, the first user may indicate on input device 110A that all laundry articles are in receptacle 102A and the process may be initiated. At this point, the first user may leave building 120 as the first user's laundry articles are securely in an area of laundry system 100 without public access.

Washing/drying area 140 includes laundry devices 106A, 106B. Conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A into laundry device 106A as depicted by the double-sided arrow. With the receptacle 102A inside laundry device 106A, a washing operation of laundry device 106A is initiated to wash the laundry articles in receptacle 102A. After the washing operation has completed, a drying operation of laundry device 106A is initiated to dry the washed laundry articles in receptacle 102A. After the drying operation has completed, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A out of laundry device 106A and towards the next area of laundry system 100. In other examples, after the washing operation of laundry device 106A has completed, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A out of laundry device 106A and into laundry device 106B. Laundry device 106B performs a drying operation, and after the drying operation has completed, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A out of laundry device 106B and towards the next area of laundry system 100.

From the washing/drying area 140, the next area of laundry system 100 to which conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A depends on the laundry service selected by the first user when the first user purchased the laundry service. If the selected laundry service includes sorting or folding, then conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A to a folding/sorting area 150 of laundry system 100. Otherwise, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102A to a staging area 160 of laundry system 100. Conveyor 104 may include a branch portion 126 that leads into and out of folding/sorting area 150. In this example, the first user selected a laundry service that includes sorting and folding and therefore conveyor 104 diverts receptacle 102A to branch portion 126 when transporting receptacle 102A to folding/sorting area 150. In some aspects, folding/sorting area 150 may be split into a separate folding area of laundry system 100 and a separate sorting area of laundry system 100.

Folding/sorting area 150 includes folding stations 152A, 152B, respective robotics devices 112A, 112B, and respective sorting stations 154A, 154B. Each folding station 152A, 152B may include a suitable conveyor, such as a motor-driven belt conveyor. In this example, the washed and dried laundry articles are emptied from receptacle 102A onto the belt conveyor of folding station 152A. For example, conveyor 104, a human individual, or a robotic device 112A may empty the laundry articles from receptacle 102A. Robotic device 112A folds each of the laundry articles on the belt conveyor. The belt conveyor then transports the folded laundry articles to sorting station 154A. Each of sorting stations 154A, 154B may include an elevated surface (e.g., surface of a table) on which the folded laundry articles may be sorted. At least one human individual may sort the folded laundry articles at sorting station 154A. For example, the laundry articles may be sorted by size, gender, clothing article versus non-clothing article, type of clothing article, etc.

In some aspects, folding stations 152A, 152B may be swapped with sorting stations 154A, 154B. Stated differently, station 152 may instead be a sorting station at which robotic device 112A sorts the laundry articles on the belt conveyor, and station 154A may be a folding station at which the at least one human individual folds the sorted laundry articles. In some aspects, robotic device 112A may both fold and sort the laundry articles. In some aspects, robotic device 112A either folds or sorts the laundry articles and a separate robotic device performs the other of folding or sorting that robotic device 112A does not perform. In other aspects, the at least one human individual both folds and sorts the laundry articles (i.e. robotic devices 112A, 112B may be omitted). For example, a first human individual may fold the laundry articles and a second human individual may sort the laundry articles. In some aspects, folding/sorting area 150 might not include folding station 152B, sorting station 154B, and robotic device 112B such that folding/sorting area 150 includes a single folding/sorting station. In other aspects, folding/sorting area 150 may include more than two folding/sorting stations. In such aspects in which folding/sorting area 150 includes two or more folding/sorting stations, laundry articles from more than one receptacle (e.g., receptacle 102A and receptacle 102B) may be folded or sorted simultaneously.

Folding/sorting area 150 may include a holding area (not illustrated) for the folded or sorted laundry articles. The laundry articles may remain in the holding area until the first user indicates that the first user is ready to retrieve the laundry articles. For example, the holding area may include racks or shelves on which the folded or sorted laundry articles may be placed by either a robotic device (e.g., robotic device 112A) or a human individual. In some aspects, the laundry articles that are folded or sorted are packaged, such as in plastic wrap or another suitable packaging material. The laundry articles may be packaged prior to being placed in the holding area. At this point, controller 108 may transmit a signal to first user device 118A that is indicative of the laundry articles being ready for retrieval. The first user may thereafter receive a notification (e.g., app notification, text message, email, etc.) on the first user device 118A that the laundry articles are ready for retrieval.

Meanwhile, a second user may enter building 120 and proceed to starting area 130 with the second user's laundry articles. The second user may select a laundry service that does not include sorting and does not include folding. Once the second user puts their laundry articles in receptacle 102B and pays for the laundry service, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102B to washing/drying area 140 where the laundry articles are washed and dried in a similar manner as described for receptacle 102A. In some aspects, conveyor 104 may transport receptacle 102B into laundry device 106B while receptacle 102A is being washed or dried within laundry device 106A. conveyor 104 then transports the washed and dried laundry articles in receptacle 102B past branch portion 126 and to staging area 160. Staging area 160 includes sets of rollers 162A, 162B, 162C. The sets of rollers 162A, 162B, 162C are driven by one or more motors 114 to spin the rollers. In this example, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102B onto the set of rollers 162B as indicated by the double-sided arrow. As the one or more motors 114 drive the set of rollers 162B, the laundry articles contained within receptacle 102A are agitated so as to fluff the laundry articles and reduce wrinkling of the laundry articles before the second user retrieves the laundry articles. While the staging area 160 is shown to include three sets of rollers 162A, 162B, 162C, in other examples, the staging area 160 may include one, two, or four or more sets of rollers. At this point, controller 108 may transmit a signal to second user device 118B that is indicative of the laundry articles being ready for retrieval. The second user may thereafter receive a notification (e.g., app notification, text message, email, etc.) on the second user device 118B that the laundry articles are ready for retrieval.

When the first user is ready to pick up their laundry articles, the first user can reenter building 120 and proceed to a pickup area 170. At the pickup area 170, the first user can indicate that the first user is ready to retrieve their laundry articles using an input device 110B. alternatively, the first user can make such indication using the first user device 118A. In response, the laundry articles associated with the first user are retrieved from the holding area of folding/sorting area 150, placed in receptacle 102A (which may be a different receptacle than the receptacle in which the laundry articles were washed and dried), and receptacle 102A is engaged with conveyor 104 (e.g., conveyor 104 is hooked onto receptacle 102A. For example, a notification may be generated in the folding/sorting area 150 that alerts a human individual in the folding/sorting area 150 to retrieve the laundry articles associated with the first user, place the laundry articles in receptacle 102A, and engage receptacle 102A with conveyor 104. In another example, a robotic device (e.g., robotic device 112A) or other automated machinery known in the art may automatically retrieve the laundry articles associated with the first user, place the laundry articles in receptacle 102A, and engage receptacle 102A with conveyor 104. In some aspects, the laundry articles may already be stored within receptacle 102A in the holding area.

Conveyor 104 then transports receptacle 102A to the pickup area 170. The first user retrieves the laundry articles from receptacle 102A and exits the building 120. Conveyor 104 can then transport receptacle 102A back behind wall 124, such as to the illustrated starting position of receptacle 102B.

When the second user is ready to pick up their laundry articles, the second user can reenter building 120 and proceed to a pickup area 170. The second user can indicate the second user is ready to retrieve their laundry articles in a similar manner as the first user. In response, conveyor 104 transports receptacle 102B from the set of rollers 162B to the pickup area 170. The second user retrieves the laundry articles from receptacle 102B and exits the building 120. Conveyor 104 can then transport receptacle 102B back behind wall 124, such as to the illustrated starting position of receptacle 102B.

FIG. 2 is a box diagram of an example laundry device 106A. Laundry device 106A includes a housing 200. The housing 200 defines a chamber 202 within housing 200. Chamber 202 is structured such that receptacle 102A can be positioned within chamber 202. In various aspects, laundry device 106A includes a motor 204. Motor 204 may drive motion of a component of laundry device 106A or of a component used with laundry device 106A. For example, in some aspects, laundry device 106A is constructed such that motor 204, or a peripheral component coupled to motor 204, can engage with receptacle 102A so as to drive motion (e.g., spin, agitate, etc.) of receptacle 102A when receptacle 102A is positioned within chamber 202. Driving motion of receptacle 102A in effect agitates laundry articles within receptacle 102A to aid in the washing or drying cycle. In some aspects, laundry device 106A may include an agitator 206 coupled to motor 204. In such aspects, agitator 206 may be positioned through an opening of receptacle 102A when receptacle 102A is positioned within chamber 202 such that, as motor 204 drives agitator 206, agitator 206 agitates laundry articles within receptacle 102A.

In aspects in which laundry device 106A has washing capabilities, laundry device 106A includes a water valve 208, a chemical valve 210, a drain 212. Water valve 208 enables water supplied from a water source (e.g., water tank) to be supplied to chamber 202. Chemical valve 210 enables detergent (or other suitable washing medium) supplied from a detergent source to be supplied to chamber 202. In some aspects, water valve 208 and chemical valve 210 may be the same valve such that water and detergent are supplied to chamber 200 via the same valve. Drain 212 enables water, detergent, and other liquids in chamber 202 to exit chamber 202.

In aspects in which laundry device 106A has drying capabilities, laundry device 106A includes an air valve 214 and an exhaust vent 216. Air valve 214 enables a source of hot air to be supplied to chamber 202. Exhaust vent 216 enables air and evaporated water to exit chamber 202.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation of receptacle 102A that includes a body 300 perforated with holes 302 so that water and detergent used in laundry device 106A during a washing cycle can be drained from receptacle 102A and out drain 212. In some aspects, receptacle 102A may include a lid 304 that is pivotable with respect to body 300. In some aspects, receptacle 102A may include an opening structured such that agitator 206 of laundry device 106A can be inserted through the opening. In other aspects, receptacle 102A includes an agitator, such as agitator 206, that can engage with motor 204 of laundry device 106A. In various aspects, receptacle 102A may include at least one fin extending from body 300 towards an interior of receptacle 102A. The at least one fin in such aspects and aids in breaking up clumped laundry articles as receptacle 102A is spun.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show receptacle 102A positioned within chamber 202 of an example housing 200 of laundry device 106A. Housing 200 includes a gate portion 400 and a remaining portion 402 that together form chamber 202. Gate portion 400 is movable (e.g., pivotable) relative to a floor 406 of remaining portion 402 of housing 200. Remaining portion 402 may remain stationary. For example, gate portion 400 is pivotable about an axis 401 towards and away from floor 406 in the direction of the double-sided arrow 408. In such an example, housing 200 includes a mechanism as is known in the art to bias the gate portion 400 towards the initial position (depicted in FIG. 4B) of gate portion 400, similar to a swinging door. The pivotability of gate portion 400 enables an aerial conveyor to transport receptacle 102A into and past gate portion 400 into chamber 202. Stated differently, an aerial conveyor can force receptacle 102A into gate portion 400, to cause gate portion 400 to pivot towards floor 406, and once receptacle 102A is past gate portion 400 and in chamber 202, the biasing mechanism forces gate portion 400 back to the initial position. It will be appreciated that FIGS. 4A and 4B are not drawn to scale. Additionally, remaining portion 402 of housing 200 includes a top 402. Top 402 includes a slot 404 that serves to allow a portion of the aerial conveyor to travel within slot 404 as the aerial conveyor transports receptacle 102A into laundry device 106A.

In aspects other than that illustrated, housing 200 may be implemented in other suitable manners that can open to allow receptacle 102A to enter or exit chamber 202 or close to prevent access to chamber 202. For example, gate 400 may be a door that is controlled by controller 108 to open and close rather than by force exerted from the aerial conveyor. In another example, housing 200 may include a first portion that is lifted relative to a second, stationary portion.

Laundry device 106A includes motor 204 that drives motion of receptacle 102A. In various aspects, laundry device 106A may include any suitable combination of ports for introducing or extracting washing or drying elements into or from chamber 202 within housing 200. For example, laundry device 106A may include one or more of water valve 208, chemical valve 210, drain 212, air valve 214, and exhaust vent 216, as described above. Laundry device 106A may include the overflow receptacle 316 that collects liquid that escapes housing 200. The overflow receptacle 316 may include a drain 412 for emptying the collected liquid from the overflow receptacle 316. The overflow receptacle 410 may be considered a component separate from laundry device 106A in some aspects.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an example method for automated laundry services At block 502, method 500 includes receiving a first indication of an initiation of a laundry cycle. For example, controller 108 may receive the first indication. In some aspects, the first indication may be a signal, such as a signal received from input device 110 or user device 118. In other aspects, the first indication may include that an electrical switch is closed.

At block 504, based on the first indication, at least one conveyor (e.g., conveyor 104) is controlled (e.g., via controller 108) to move a receptacle (e.g., receptacle 102A) containing laundry articles from a first position to a second position that is within a chamber (e.g., chamber 202) of a laundry device (e.g., laundry device 106A). For example, the first position may be a portion of conveyor 104 that is near where a user pays for a laundry service in a laundromat including conveyor 104 (e.g., starting area 130). In various aspects, moving receptacle 102A from the first position to the second position may involve receptacle 102A hanging from conveyor 104 via a hook and conveyor 104 moving receptacle 102A from the first position directly into the second position, and conveyor 104 unhooking from receptacle 102A.

At block 506, laundry device 102A is controlled (e.g., via controller 108), with receptacle 102A in the second position, to perform a first operation that washes the laundry articles contained in receptacle 102A. For example, controller 108 may control the opening and closing of water valve 208 and chemical valve 210 so that a metered amount of water and detergent is introduced into chamber 202 for washing and thereafter a metered amount of water is introduced for rinsing. In another example, controller 108 may control motor 204 so that receptacle 102A is agitated (e.g., spun) during the first operation, which aids in agitating the laundry articles. Additionally or alternatively, controller 108 controls motor 204 to drive agitator 206 so that the laundry articles are agitated. In another example, controller 108 may control the opening and closing of drain 212 so that liquid may be drained from chamber 202.

At block 508, controller 108 controls laundry device 102A, subsequent to completion of the first operation and with receptacle 102A in the second position, to perform a second operation that dries the laundry articles contained in receptacle 102A. For example, controller 108 may control air valve 214 such that heated air is introduced into chamber 202. In another example, controller 108 may control motor 204 so that receptacle 102A is agitated (e.g., spun) during the second operation, which aids in agitating the laundry articles. In another example, controller 108 may control the opening and closing of exhaust vent 216 so that gases can escape chamber 202.

At block 510, subsequent to completion of the second operation, controller 108 controls conveyor 104 to move receptacle 102A from the second position to a third position. In various aspects, moving receptacle 102A from the second position to the third position may involve conveyor 104 hooking onto receptacle 102A while receptacle 102A is in the second position and moving the hanging receptacle 102A from the second position directly into the third position. In some aspects, conveyor 104 may unhook from receptacle 102A when receptacle 102A is in the third position. In some aspects, the third position may be any position within a sorting area, a folding area, or a folding/sorting area (e.g., folding/sorting area 150) of laundry system 100. In one example of such aspects, one or more human individuals (e.g. laundromat workers) may sort or fold the laundry articles when the receptacle 102A is at the third position. In another example of such aspects, controller 108 may control a robotic device (e.g., a robotic device 112) to sort or fold the laundry articles contained in receptacle 102A at the third position. In another example, a human individual may sort the laundry articles and controller 108 may control robotic device 112 to fold the laundry articles. Whether a human individual or a robotic device sorts or folds the laundry articles, in some aspects, the sorted or folded laundry articles may be packaged. In some aspects, controller 108 may control conveyor 104 to transport the sorted or folded laundry articles to a position within folding/sorting area 150 (e.g., the holding area) to await retrieval.

In other aspects, the third position may be any position within a staging area (e.g., staging area 160) of laundry system 100. The staging area 160 is constructed so as to agitate (e.g., periodically) the laundry articles in receptacle 102A to reduce wrinkling of the laundry articles prior to retrieval. For example, the staging area 160 may include at least one agitator (e.g., at least one roller) driven by a motor 114, and controller 108 may control motor 114 such that when receptacle 102A is at the third position the at least one agitator agitates receptacle 102A and thereby the laundry articles.

In some implementations, laundry system 100 may include both folding/sorting area 150 and staging area 160. In such implementations, controller 108 may control conveyor 104 to transport receptacle 102A either to the folding/sorting area 150 or to the staging area 160. In some aspects, the area to which controller 108 controls conveyor 104 to transport receptacle 102A may be based on the first indication. For example, the first indication may be a signal that includes information indicative of a user's selection of whether or not to include folding or sorting when initiating a laundry cycle (e.g., a user purchasing a service).

In various aspects, method 500 may include transmitting, subsequent to receptacle being moved to the third position, an indication (e.g., second indication) that is indicative of a completion of the laundry cycle. For example, controller 108 may transmit the second indication after the laundry articles are sorted, after the laundry articles are folded, or after the laundry articles are transported to staging area 160. In some aspects, the second indication is transmitted in response to controller 108 receiving an indication (e.g., third indication) that is indicative of the laundry cycle been completed. For example, the human individual folding the laundry articles may select/press a button on a user input device once the laundry articles are placed in the holding area to indicate that the laundry cycle is completed. Controller 108 may transmit the indication to user device 118.

In some aspects, method 500 may include receiving an indication (e.g., second indication) that is indicative of a user being ready to retrieve the laundry articles. For example, controller 108 may receive the indication from user device 118. Alternatively, controller 108 may receiving the indication from input device 110B. Based on receiving the indication, controller 108 may control conveyor 104 to move the laundry articles from the third position to a fourth position that is within a publicly-accessible area (e.g., pickup area 170). In some aspects, the laundry articles are contained within receptacle 102A when moved from the third position to the fourth position.

In implementations in which laundry system 100 includes two or more laundry devices (e.g., laundry device 106A and laundry device 106B) and two or more receptacles (e.g., receptacle 102A and receptacle 102B), method 500 may include receiving an indication (e.g., second indication) that is indicative of an initiation of a second laundry cycle. Based on the second indication and while laundry device 106A is performing the first operation or the second operation, controller 108 may control conveyor 104 to move receptacle 102B, containing laundry articles, from the first position to a fourth position that is within a chamber 202 of laundry device 106B. method 500 may then include performing blocks 506-510 with respect to receptacle 102B. It should be appreciated that, in an example, if a laundromat implementing laundry system 100 includes twenty laundry devices, then controller 108 may control conveyor 104 to move a receptacle to a chamber 202 of any one of the twenty laundry devices.

Although the example method 500 is described with reference to the flow chart illustrated in FIG. 5, it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with the method 500 may be used. For example, the order of some of the blocks may be changed, certain blocks may be combined with other blocks, additional blocks may be added, and some of the blocks described may be omitted. The method 500 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software, or a combination of both.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example computer system 600 that may be utilized to implement one or more of the devices and/or components of the disclosed system, such as controller 108 or input device 114. In particular embodiments, one or more computer systems 600 perform one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein. In particular embodiments, one or more computer systems 600 provide the functionalities described or illustrated herein. In particular embodiments, software running on one or more computer systems 600 performs one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein or provides the functionalities described or illustrated herein. Particular embodiments include one or more portions of one or more computer systems 600. Herein, a reference to a computer system may encompass a computing device, and vice versa, where appropriate. Moreover, a reference to a computer system may encompass one or more computer systems, where appropriate.

This disclosure contemplates any suitable number of computer systems 600. This disclosure contemplates the computer system 600 taking any suitable physical form. As example and not by way of limitation, the computer system 600 may be an embedded computer system, a system-on-chip (SOC), a single-board computer system (SBC) (such as, for example, a computer-on-module (COM) or system-on-module (SOM)), a desktop computer system, a laptop or notebook computer system, an interactive kiosk, a mainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a server, a tablet computer system, an augmented/virtual reality device, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, the computer system 600 may include one or more computer systems 600; be unitary or distributed; span multiple locations; span multiple machines; span multiple data centers; or reside in a cloud, which may include one or more cloud components in one or more networks. Where appropriate, one or more computer systems 600 may perform without substantial spatial or temporal limitation one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein. As an example and not by way of limitation, one or more computer systems 600 may perform in real time or in batch mode one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein. One or more computer systems 600 may perform at different times or at different locations one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein, where appropriate.

In particular embodiments, computer system 600 includes a processor 604, memory 602, storage 606, an input/output (I/O) interface 608, and a communication interface 610. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates a particular computer system having a particular number of particular components in a particular arrangement, this disclosure contemplates any suitable computer system having any suitable number of any suitable components in any suitable arrangement.

In particular embodiments, the processor 604 includes hardware for executing instructions, such as those making up a computer program. As an example and not by way of limitation, to execute instructions, the processor 604 may retrieve (or fetch) the instructions from an internal register, an internal cache, memory 602, or storage 606; decode and execute the instructions; and then write one or more results to an internal register, internal cache, memory 602, or storage 606. In particular embodiments, the processor 604 may include one or more internal caches for data, instructions, or addresses. This disclosure contemplates the processor 604 including any suitable number of any suitable internal caches, where appropriate. As an example and not by way of limitation, the processor 604 may include one or more instruction caches, one or more data caches, and one or more translation lookaside buffers (TLBs). Instructions in the instruction caches may be copies of instructions in memory 602 or storage 606, and the instruction caches may speed up retrieval of those instructions by the processor 604. Data in the data caches may be copies of data in memory 602 or storage 606 that are to be operated on by computer instructions; the results of previous instructions executed by the processor 604 that are accessible to subsequent instructions or for writing to memory 602 or storage 606; or any other suitable data. The data caches may speed up read or write operations by the processor 604. The TLBs may speed up virtual-address translation for the processor 604. In particular embodiments, processor 604 may include one or more internal registers for data, instructions, or addresses. This disclosure contemplates the processor 604 including any suitable number of any suitable internal registers, where appropriate. Where appropriate, the processor 604 may include one or more arithmetic logic units (ALUs), be a multi-core processor, or include one or more processors 604. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates a particular processor, this disclosure contemplates any suitable processor.

In particular embodiments, the memory 602 includes main memory for storing instructions for the processor 604 to execute or data for processor 604 to operate on. As an example, and not by way of limitation, computer system 600 may load instructions from storage 606 or another source (such as another computer system 600) to the memory 602. The processor 604 may then load the instructions from the memory 602 to an internal register or internal cache. To execute the instructions, the processor 604 may retrieve the instructions from the internal register or internal cache and decode them. During or after execution of the instructions, the processor 604 may write one or more results (which may be intermediate or final results) to the internal register or internal cache. The processor 604 may then write one or more of those results to the memory 602. In particular embodiments, the processor 604 executes only instructions in one or more internal registers or internal caches or in memory 602 (as opposed to storage 606 or elsewhere) and operates only on data in one or more internal registers or internal caches or in memory 602 (as opposed to storage 606 or elsewhere). One or more memory buses (which may each include an address bus and a data bus) may couple the processor 604 to the memory 602. The bus may include one or more memory buses, as described in further detail below. In particular embodiments, one or more memory management units (MMUs) reside between the processor 604 and memory 602 and facilitate accesses to the memory 602 requested by the processor 604. In particular embodiments, the memory 602 includes random access memory (RAM). This RAM may be volatile memory, where appropriate. Where appropriate, this RAM may be dynamic RAM (DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM). Moreover, where appropriate, this RAM may be single-ported or multi-ported RAM. This disclosure contemplates any suitable RAM. The memory 602 may include one or more memories 602, where appropriate. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates particular memory implementations, this disclosure contemplates any suitable memory implementation.

In particular embodiments, the storage 606 includes mass storage for data or instructions. As an example and not by way of limitation, the storage 606 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, flash memory, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, magnetic tape, or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive or a combination of two or more of these. The storage 606 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media, where appropriate. The storage 606 may be internal or external to computer system 600, where appropriate. In particular embodiments, the storage 606 is non-volatile, solid-state memory. In particular embodiments, the storage 606 includes read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, this ROM may be mask-programmed ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory or a combination of two or more of these. This disclosure contemplates mass storage 606 taking any suitable physical form. The storage 606 may include one or more storage control units facilitating communication between processor 604 and storage 606, where appropriate. Where appropriate, the storage 606 may include one or more storages 606. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates particular storage, this disclosure contemplates any suitable storage.

In particular embodiments, the I/O Interface 608 includes hardware, software, or both, providing one or more interfaces for communication between computer system 600 and one or more I/O devices. The computer system 600 may include one or more of these I/O devices, where appropriate. One or more of these I/O devices may enable communication between a person and computer system 600. As an example and not by way of limitation, an I/O device may include a keyboard, keypad, microphone, monitor, screen, display panel, mouse, printer, scanner, speaker, still camera, stylus, tablet, touch screen, trackball, video camera, another suitable I/O device or a combination of two or more of these. An I/O device may include one or more sensors. Where appropriate, the I/O Interface 608 may include one or more device or software drivers enabling processor 604 to drive one or more of these I/O devices. The I/O interface 608 may include one or more I/O interfaces 608, where appropriate. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates a particular I/O interface, this disclosure contemplates any suitable I/O interface or combination of I/O interfaces.

In particular embodiments, communication interface 610 includes hardware, software, or both providing one or more interfaces for communication (such as, for example, packet-based communication) between computer system 600 and one or more other computer systems 600 or one or more networks 612. As an example and not by way of limitation, communication interface 610 may include a network interface controller (NIC) or network adapter for communicating with an Ethernet or any other wire-based network or a wireless NIC (WNIC) or wireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi network. This disclosure contemplates any suitable network 612 and any suitable communication interface 610 for it. As an example and not by way of limitation, the network 612 may include one or more of an ad hoc network, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), or one or more portions of the Internet or a combination of two or more of these. One or more portions of one or more of these networks may be wired or wireless. As an example, computer system 600 may communicate with a wireless PAN (WPAN) (such as, for example, a Bluetooth® WPAN), a WI-FI network, a WI-MAX network, a cellular telephone network (such as, for example, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network), or any other suitable wireless network or a combination of two or more of these. Computer system 600 may include any suitable communication interface 610 for any of these networks, where appropriate. Communication interface 610 may include one or more communication interfaces 610, where appropriate. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates a particular communication interface implementations, this disclosure contemplates any suitable communication interface implementation.

The computer system 600 may also include a bus. The bus may include hardware, software, or both and may communicatively couple the components of the computer system 600 to each other. As an example and not by way of limitation, the bus may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or any other graphics bus, an Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, a front-side bus (FSB), a HYPERTRANSPORT (HT) interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an INFINIBAND interconnect, a low-pin-count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCIe) bus, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association local (VLB) bus, or another suitable bus or a combination of two or more of these. The bus may include one or more buses, where appropriate. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates a particular bus, this disclosure contemplates any suitable bus or interconnect.

Herein, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium or media may include one or more semiconductor-based or other types of integrated circuits (ICs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical discs, optical disc drives (ODDs), magneto-optical discs, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM-drives, SECURE DIGITAL cards or drives, any other suitable computer-readable non-transitory storage media, or any suitable combination of two or more of these, where appropriate. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, where appropriate.

The scope of this disclosure encompasses all changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications to the example embodiments described or illustrated herein that a person having ordinary skill in the art would comprehend. The scope of this disclosure is not limited to the example embodiments described or illustrated herein. Moreover, although this disclosure describes and illustrates respective embodiments herein as including particular components, elements, feature, functions, operations, or steps, any of these embodiments may include any combination or permutation of any of the components, elements, features, functions, operations, or steps described or illustrated anywhere herein that a person having ordinary skill in the art would comprehend. Furthermore, reference in the appended claims to an apparatus or system or a component of an apparatus or system being adapted to, arranged to, capable of, configured to, enabled to, operable to, or operative to perform a particular function encompasses that apparatus, system, component, whether or not it or that particular function is activated, turned on, or unlocked, as long as that apparatus, system, or component is so adapted, arranged, capable, configured, enabled, operable, or operative. Additionally, although this disclosure describes or illustrates particular embodiments as providing particular advantages, particular embodiments may provide none, some, or all of these advantages.

The above specification provide a complete description of the structure and use of illustrative embodiments of this invention. Although certain embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of this invention. As such, the various illustrative embodiments of the present apparatuses and methods are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, they include all modifications and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims, and embodiments other than those shown may include some or all of the features of the depicted embodiment. Further, where appropriate, aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples having comparable or different properties and/or functions, and addressing the same or different problems. Similarly, it will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments.

Automated Bulk Laundry Systems and Methods

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