Patent Grant
12090911
This invention relates generally to receiving retail products at a customer site.
Generally, when a customer submits a retail order for a retail product, the customer indicates on the retail order where and/or to whom to deliver the retail product. Depending on instructions indicated on the retail order, a delivery agent may deliver the retail product at a customer site designated by the customer.
Disclosed herein are embodiments of systems, apparatuses and methods pertaining to receiving retail products at a customer site. This description includes drawings, wherein:
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.
Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful for receiving retail products to be delivered at a customer site. In some embodiments, a system for receiving retail products to be delivered at a customer site includes a temperature controlled storage container at the customer site. The temperature controlled storage container at the customer site may include one or more chambers having corresponding chamber temperatures that are each individually maintained and adjustable based on a particular temperature assigned by a separate electronic control device to each of the one or more chambers. By one approach, the temperature controlled storage container may include one or more temperature sensors coupled to the one or more chambers and may provide the corresponding chamber temperatures. In one example, each of the corresponding chamber temperatures may be a temperature read by at least one of the one or more temperature sensors associated with each of the one or more chambers. By another approach, the temperature controlled storage container may include one or more additional sensors that provide data corresponding to living beings approaching the temperature controlled storage container. By another approach, the temperature controlled storage container may include a locking system. In one configuration, the locking system may receive a lock signal to disable access to at least one of the one or more chambers. In another configuration, the locking system may receive an unlock signal to enable access to the at least one of the one or more chambers. By yet another approach, the temperature controlled storage container may include a storage container control circuit operatively coupled to the one or more temperature sensors and the locking system. In one example, the storage container control circuit may receive the particular temperature assigned by the separate electronic control device to each of the one or more chambers. In another example, the storage container control circuit may maintain each one of the corresponding chamber temperatures based on the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers and the temperature read by the at least one of the one or more temperature sensors. By one approach, the storage container control circuit may determine whether a first trigger signal is received from one of the one or more additional sensors. By another approach, the storage container control circuit may determine whether a second trigger signal is available from the separate electronic control device. By another approach, the storage container control circuit may provide the unlock signal to the locking system based on the determination that the first trigger signal is received and that the second trigger signal is available to enable access to the at least one of the one or more chambers.
In some embodiments, the system may include a separate electronic control device remote from and communicatively coupled to the temperature controlled storage container. By one approach, the separate electronic control device may provide the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers based on an external temperature outside of the temperature controlled storage container, one or more retail products to be delivered and stored in the one or more chambers, and an estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products. By another approach, the separate electronic control device may selectively assign each of the one or more retail products to one of the one or more chambers based on at least one of: a product temperature associated with each retail product of the one or more retail products and the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers. By another approach, the separate electronic control device may provide the second trigger signal based on at least one of: the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products, an authorization to access from a customer associated with the temperature controlled storage container, and an authentication signal received from the customer.
In some embodiments, a system for receiving retail products to be delivered at a customer site using a temperature controlled storage container includes a power over ethernet (POE) system. The POE system may provide power to the temperature controlled storage container. By one approach, the temperature controlled storage container coupled to the POE system may include one or more chambers having corresponding chamber temperatures that are each individually maintained by the temperature controlled storage container and adjustable based on instructions from a separate electronic control device. In one configuration, the temperature controlled storage container may include a cooling system operable on a first operable power based on the power provided by the POE system. In one example, the cooling system may selectively decrease one of the corresponding chamber temperatures of the one or more chambers based on a temperature assigned to corresponding one of the one or more chambers. In another configuration, the temperature controlled storage container may include a heating system operable on a second operable power based on the power provided by the POE system. In one scenario, the heating system may selectively increase the one of the corresponding chamber temperatures of the one or more chambers based on the temperature assigned to corresponding one of the one or more chambers. In another configuration, the temperature controlled storage container may include a storage container control circuit operable on a third operable power based on the power provided by the POE system and operatively coupled to the cooling system and the heating system. By one approach, the storage container control circuit may determine whether the one of the corresponding chamber temperatures is within a threshold of the temperature assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more chambers. By another approach, the storage container control circuit may initiate a first operation of the cooling system when the corresponding one of the one or more chambers is greater than the threshold. By another approach, the storage container control circuit may initiate a second operation of the heating system when the corresponding one of the one or more chambers is less than the threshold.
In some embodiments, the system may include a separate electronic control device remote from and communicatively coupled to the temperature controlled storage container. By one approach, the separate electronic control device may provide the temperature assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more chambers based on an external temperature outside of the temperature controlled storage container, one or more retail products to be delivered and stored in the one or more chambers, and an estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products. In one configuration, the separate electronic control device may adjust each of the corresponding chamber temperatures based on the temperature assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more chambers that is provided to the temperature controlled storage container.
In another embodiments, a method for receiving retail products to be delivered at a customer site includes receiving, from a separate electronic control device, a particular assigned temperature of a plurality of assigned temperatures to a particular chamber of one or more chambers of a temperature controlled storage container. By one approach, each of the one or more chambers may be assigned, by the separate electronic control device, a corresponding one of the plurality of assigned temperatures. By another approach, the method may include maintaining a chamber temperature of the particular chamber based on the particular assigned temperature and a temperature read by at least one of one or more temperature sensors of the temperature controlled storage container associated with the particular chamber. In one configuration, the method may include determining whether a first trigger signal is received from one or more sensors of the temperature controlled storage container. In another configuration, the method may include determining whether a second trigger signal is available from the separate electronic control device. In another configuration, the method may include providing an unlock signal to a locking system of the temperature controlled storage container based on the determining that the first trigger signal is received and that the second trigger signal is available. In one example, the unlock signal may enable access to the particular chamber.
In yet some embodiments, the method may include providing, by a separate electronic control device, the particular assigned temperature to each of the one or more chambers based on an external temperature outside of the temperature controlled storage container, one or more retail products to be delivered and stored in the one or more chambers, and an estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products. In one configuration, the method may include selectively assigning, by the separate electronic control device, each of the one or more retail products to one of the one or more chambers based on at least one of: a product temperature associated with each retail product of the one or more retail products and the particular assigned temperature to each of the one or more chambers. In another configuration, the method may include providing, by the separate electronic control device, the second trigger signal based on at least one of: the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products, an authorization to access from a customer associated with the temperature controlled storage container, and an authentication signal received from the customer.
In yet some embodiments, a system for receiving retail products may include a temperature controlled storage container. By one approach, the temperature controlled storage container may include one or more chambers having corresponding chamber temperatures that are each individually maintained and adjustable based on a particular temperature assigned by a server to each of the one or more chambers.
In some embodiments, the temperature controlled storage container may include a vehicle. Alternatively or in addition to, the storage container control circuit may determine whether at least one of: a human and an animal is inside the one or more chambers based on the at least one of: motion data, sound data, and infrared data received by the storage container control circuit when the temperature controlled storage container is stationary over a period of time. Alternatively or in addition to, the storage container control circuit may, in response to the determination that the at least one of: the human and the animal is inside the one or more chambers, provide the unlock signal to the locking system without receiving the first trigger signal and the second trigger signal to allow the at least one of: the human and the animal to exit out of the one or more chambers. Alternatively or in addition to, the storage container control circuit may, in response to the determination that the at least one of: the human and the animal is inside the one or more chambers, provide warning signal to at least one of: a delivery agent electronic device, a customer electronic device, an electronic device associated with a user of the temperature controlled storage container, and one or more electronic devices proximate to the temperature controlled storage container.
In one configuration, the storage container may be communicatively coupled to a customer electronic device 136. In one example, the customer electronic device 136 may include a smart phone, a laptop, a cell phone, a computer, and/or any devices that may be used by a customer to connect to the storage container 104 via the cellular network 130 and/or the home-enabled internet network 128. In another configuration, the storage container 104 may temporarily communicatively couple to a delivery agent electronic device 134 via the cellular network 130 and/or other wireless communication method (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.). In one example, the delivery agent electronic device 134 may include a smart phone, a laptop, a cell phone, a computer, and/or any devices that may be used by a delivery agent to communicatively connect to the storage container 104. In another configuration, the storage container 104 may include one or more chambers 106 that are configured to store one or more retail products. By one approach, the one or more chambers 106 have corresponding chamber temperatures that are each individually maintained and adjustable based on a particular temperature assigned by the separate electronic control device 132 to each of the one or more chambers 106. In some implementations, the separate electronic control device 132 may include a distributed computing system including one or more control circuits, computers, processors, and/or microprocessors. In some implementations, the separate electronic control device 132 may include an electronic device associated with a user. For example, the electronic device may include the customer electronic device 136. In another example, the electronic device may include a smartphone, a smartwatch, a laptop, an iPad, a tablet, among other types of portable electronic devices.
By one approach, the storage container 104 may include a storage container control circuit 102. In one configuration, the storage container 104 may include one or more temperature sensors 110 coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. In another configuration, the storage container 104 may include one or more additional sensors 108 coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. In one example, the one or more additional sensors 108 may include accelerometer sensor, sound sensor, environmental sensor, weather sensor, moisture sensor, humidity sensor, acceleration sensor, distance sensor, navigation and/or location sensor, optical sensor, light sensor, imaging sensor, proximity sensor, motion sensor, and/or radio frequency sensor, and/or other types of sensors configured to use in operation of the storage container 104 as described herein. In yet another configuration, the storage container 104 may include a locking system(s) 116 coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. In one example, the locking system(s) 116 may include a latching locking system, a magnetic lock system, a solenoid lock system, and/or a motor lock system, among other type locking mechanism used to secure the storage container 104. In another configuration, the storage container 104 includes one or more communication interfaces 118 that enable the storage container to communicatively couple to the cellular network 130 and/or the home-enabled internet network 128. In one example, the communication interface 118 may include a wired and/or wireless receiver, a wired and/or wireless transmitter, an ethernet port, wired and/or wireless transceiver, other such communication interfaces, or combination of two or more of such interfaces. By one approach, the storage container 104 may include a heating system 124 and/or a cooling system 126 coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. In one example, the heating system 124 and/or a cooling system 126 may include one or more fans, heating elements, and/or chillers configured to increase and/or decrease a temperature of a chamber of the one or more chambers 106. By one approach, chamber temperatures of the storage container 104 may be each individually and separately maintainable and/or adjustable by initiating and controlling operations of the heating system 124 and/or a cooling system 126. In another configuration, one or more of the one or more chambers 106 may be coupled to one or more inside sensors 122. In one example, the one or more sensors 122 may include motion sensor, humidity sensor, audio sensors, infrared sensor, and/or a sensor configured to detect that a human, an animal, or a live being is inside the one or more of the one or more chambers 106. In such an example, the inside sensors 122 are distinct from the temperature sensors 110 and/or the additional sensors 108. In another example, the additional sensors 108 may include the inside sensors 122.
In another example, the storage container 104 received electrical power from one or more external power sources (e.g., electrical outlet of a delivery location, a street light, etc.) and/or internal power sources. In some implementations, for example, the storage container may include and/or couple with one or more batteries 112. By one approach, the battery 112 may be coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. By another approach, the battery 112 may be coupled to a power over ethernet (POE) system 114. In yet another configuration, the storage container 104 may include the POE system 114. In one scenario, the POE system 114 may be coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. By one approach, the POE system 114 may include a network switch, a POE power injector, and/or a power source (e.g., Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC) power sources). In another configuration, the POE system 114 may be coupled to the storage container control circuit 102, the battery 112, the one or more additional sensors 108, the one or more temperature sensors 110, the locking system 116, the communication interface 118, the one or more inside sensors 122, the heating system 124, the cooling system 126, and/or other components and/or devices associated with and/or part of the storage container 104.
In yet another configuration, the storage container 104 may include one or more channel systems 120 on one or more portions of one or more perimeter surfaces and/or exterior of the storage container 104. By one approach, the one or more channel systems 120 may receive one or more interchangeable skin panels secured by grooves of the channel system 120 to add a customizable surface on the one or more portions of the perimeter surface of the storage container 104. For example, a customer may order a particular interchangeable skin panels based on his/her preferences or desires and slide the particular interchangeable skin panels through the one or more channel systems 120. By one approach, the particular interchangeable skin panels are slid through from a top opening of the one or more channel systems 120.
In yet another configuration, the storage container 104 may only be communicatively coupled to a user, a delivery agent and/or a customer associated with the storage container 104 via one or more remote connections to the storage container control circuit 102. For example, to communicate with the storage container 104, the customer may log into a retail store application operable on the customer electronic device 136 using one or more authentication data through the internet network 138. In another example, when the home-enabled internet network 128 is not operable, the storage container 104 may communicate to the separate electronic control device 132 through the cellular network 130. By one approach, a switch from the home-enabled internet network 128 to the cellular network 130 may be automatic when the storage container 104 determines a loss of connection to the home-enabled internet network 128. In one scenario, the loss of connection may be determined by the storage container control circuit 102 based on a lack of communication data received from the separate electronic control device 132 via the communication interface 118, a detected threshold reduction in received and/or transmitted data rates, and/or other such conditions. By another approach, the storage network 104 may communicate to the separate electronic control device 132 through the customer electronic device 136.
In some embodiments, the storage container 104 may be associated with a customer site. By one approach, the chamber temperatures of the one or more chambers 106 may be each individually maintained and adjustable based on a particular temperature assigned by the separate electronic control device 132 to each of the one or more chambers. In one configuration, the particular temperature may be determined by the separate electronic control device 132 based on an external temperature outside of the storage container 104, the one or more retail products to be delivered and stored in the one or more chambers 106, and an estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products. By one approach, the particular temperature may be provided by the separate electronic control device 132 to the storage container 104. In such an approach, each of the one or more chambers 106 may be assigned a particular temperature. In one scenario, the external temperature outside of the storage container 104 may be provided by one or more of the additional sensors 108. In another scenario, the external temperature may be provided by a weather forecast provided to the separate electronic control device 132. By one approach, the weather forecast may be based on a location coordinate associated with the storage container 104. In one example, the location coordinate may be provided to the separate electronic control device 132 by one of the additional sensors 108 and/or the storage container control circuit 102. By another approach, the one or more retail products to be delivered and stored in the one or more chambers 106 may be associated with one or more customer orders associated with a customer associated with the storage container 104 and/or the customer site. By another approach, the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products may be based on a projected delivery time based on the one or more customer orders, transit time from a distribution center to the storage container 104, delivery of other customers' retail products, and/or other factors that may affect the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products.
In another configuration, the separate electronic control device 132 may selectively assign each of the one or more retail products to one of the one or more chambers 106 based on a product temperature associated with each retail product of the one or more retail products and/or the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers 106. In one example, a determination of a particular product temperature associated with each of the retail products is described in the U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/434,293, filed May 1, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In such an example, the determination of the particular product temperature may correspond to a determination of the particular temperature range described in the U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/434,293. In another example, the determination of the particular product temperature may be based on a temperature and/or a temperature range that may keep a corresponding one of the retail products fresh, in substantially good quality, and/or within a proper storage temperature range particular to each one of the one or more retail products. By one approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may periodically request one or more updates of the assigned temperature of each of the one or more chambers. In such an approach, the separate electronic control device 132 may provide an updated assigned temperature to each of the one or more chambers 106 based on an updated external temperature reading outside of the storage container 104, the one or more retail products to be delivered, an updated estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products, and/or operational power requirement of the storage container 104 relative to availability of POE power provided by the POE system 114.
In one configuration, one or more of the one or more temperature sensors 110 coupled to corresponding one of the one or more chambers 106 may provide corresponding one of the corresponding chamber temperatures. By one approach, each of the corresponding chamber temperatures may be a temperature read by at least one of the one or more temperature sensors 110 associated with each of the one or more chambers 106. In one example, the temperature read for each of the chambers 106 may be provided to the storage container control circuit 102. In another example, the temperature of each chamber may be read and/or provided to the storage container control circuit 102 periodically and/or based on a trigger provided by the separate electronic control device 132. In another example, the trigger provided by the separate electronic control device 132 may be based on the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products.
In another configuration, the one or more additional sensors 108 may provide data corresponding to living beings approaching the storage container 104 to the storage container control circuit 102. In one example, the provided data may initiate a first trigger signal to the storage container control circuit 102. By one approach, the first trigger signal may include motion data provided by a motion sensor, radio frequency signal emitted by a user device, infrared data provided by infrared sensor, radio frequency identifier (RFID) signal, imaging data provided by an imaging sensor, other such data or combination of two or more of such data. In one example, the storage container 104 may include the imaging sensor. In another example, the imaging sensor may be remote from and communicatively coupled to the storage container control circuit 102.
In another configuration, the locking system 116 may receive a lock signal to disable access to one or more of the one or more chambers 106. Alternatively or in addition to, the locking system 116 may receive an unlock signal to enable access to the one or more of the one or more chambers 106. In one example, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide the unlock signal to the locking system 116. By one approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may be operatively coupled to the one or more temperature sensors 110 and/or the locking system 116. By another approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may receive the particular temperature assigned by the separate electronic control device 132 to each of the one or more chambers 106. Alternatively or in addition, the storage container control circuit 102 may associate each particular temperature to a corresponding one of the one or more chambers 106. By one approach, the association may be stored in a database associated with the storage container 104. By another approach, the storage container 104 may include the database.
By another approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may maintain each one of the corresponding chamber temperatures based on the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers 106 and the temperature read by one or more of the one or more temperature sensors 110. In one configuration, the storage container control circuit 102 may determine whether a first trigger signal may be received from one of the one or more additional sensors 108. In one example, the storage container control circuit 102 may determine whether a second trigger signal is available from the separate electronic control device 132. By one approach, the second trigger may be based on proximity in time of the first trigger signal to the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products, authorization to access received from a customer associated with the storage container 104, and/or an authentication signal received from the customer and/or a delivery agent. In one example, the authentication signal may be based on RFID on the one or more retail products to be delivered, proximity sensor on front of the storage container 104, near-field communication (NFC) handshake with the delivery agent electronic device 134 and/or the customer electronic device 136 (e.g., a mobile device), one or more PIN numbers entered on touch pad of the delivery agent electronic device 134 and/or the customer electronic device 136, and/or a mobile application handshake. In an illustrative non-limiting example, a delivery agent may approach the storage container 104. By one approach, the one or more additional sensors 108 may initiate providing data corresponding the delivery agent when the delivery agent is within a sensing distance of the one or more additional sensors 108. In such an approach, the data provided by the one or more additional sensors 108 may be the first trigger signal to the storage container 104 to determine whether the second trigger signal is available. In one configuration, the second trigger signal may be initiated when the one or more retail products is within a threshold distance from the storage container 104. In another configuration, the delivery agent electronic device(s) 134 associated with the delivery agent(s) responsible for delivering the one or more retail products may provide a location data corresponding to the current location of the delivery agent electronic device(s) 134 and/or the one or more retail products. In such a configuration, the current location may be provided to the separate electronic control device 132. For example, the separate electronic control device 132 may receive the current location periodically. In one configuration, the separate electronic control device 132 may determine whether the one or more retail products is proximate the storage container 104 based on the received current location and a location coordinate associated with the storage container 104. By one approach, when the received current location is within a threshold distance from the storage container 104, the separate electronic control device 132 may provide and/or make available the second trigger signal. By another approach, the customer associated with the storage container 104 and/or the one or more retail products may provide the authorization to access one or more of the chambers 106 to the separate electronic control device 132. In such an approach, the authorization to access may correspond to the second trigger signal provided to the storage container 104. By another approach, the authentication signal may be provided by the customer and/or the delivery agent. In one example, the authentication signal may be one or more authentication factor authentication (e.g., two-factor authentication). For example, the authentication signal may be initiated from a passcode entry, a biometric authentication, among other types of authentications.
In some embodiments, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide the unlock signal to the locking system 116 based on the determination that the first trigger signal is received and that the second trigger signal is available from the separate electronic control device 132 to enable access to the one or more of the one or more chambers 106. By one approach, the separate electronic control device 132 may be remote from and communicatively coupled to the storage container 104. In one configuration, the separate electronic control device 132 may provide the second trigger signal based on the estimated delivery time of the one or more retail products, the authorization to access from a customer associated with the storage container 104, and/or the authentication signal received from the customer.
In one configuration, the cooling system 126 may be cooperatively coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. By one approach, the cooling system 126 may selectively decrease one or more of the corresponding chamber temperatures based on a corresponding one of the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers 106. By another approach, the heating system 124 may be cooperatively coupled with the cooling system 126 and the storage container control circuit 102. By another approach, the heating system 124 may selectively increase the one or more of the corresponding chamber temperatures based on a corresponding one of the particular temperature assigned to each of the one or more chambers 106. In one example, the storage container control circuit 102 may maintain each one of the corresponding chamber temperatures by cooperatively initiating operations of the cooling system 126 and the heating system 124. For example, in determining that the temperature read in one chamber of the chambers 106 by one or more of the temperature sensors 110 is less than the particular temperature, the storage container control circuit 102 may increase the chamber temperature by initiating operation of the heating system 124. In another example, when the temperature read in one chamber of the chambers 106 by one or more of the temperature sensors 110 is greater than the particular temperature, the storage container control circuit 102 may decrease the chamber temperature by initiating the cooling system 126. By one approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may automatically adjust the chamber temperature by periodically increasing and/or decreasing the chamber temperature.
By one approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may be communicatively coupled to a cellular network when the storage container 104 determines a loss of connection to the home-enabled internet network 128. In one example, the loss of connection may be triggered by an absence of communication data through the communication interface 118 over a period of time. By another approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide a message indicating status of the one or more retail products, the one or more additional sensors 108, the one or more temperature sensors 110, location data of the storage container 104 when the storage container control circuit 102 detects unauthorized relocation of the storage container 104, and/or failure of components affecting quality and/or freshness of the one or more retail products to a customer associated with the storage container 104 via the cellular network 130 instead of the home-enabled internet network 128. In one example, the message may be provided to the separate electronic control device 132, the delivery agent electronic device 134, and/or the customer electronic device 136.
By another approach, the one or more inside sensors 122 may be coupled to the storage container control circuit 102. In one configuration, one or more of the inside sensors 122 may provide motion data, sound data, and/or infrared data inside the one or more chambers 106. For example, a child may have hidden inside one of the chambers 106 and accidentally gotten locked in. Consequently, the child may move and/or scream. In one configuration, the movement of the child may correspond to the motion data provided by a motion sensor to the storage container control circuit 102. In another configuration, the scream of the child may correspond to the sound data provided by a sound sensor to the storage container control circuit 102. In yet another configuration, heat coming out the child may correspond to the infrared data provided by an infrared sensor to the storage container control circuit 102. By one approach, in response to receiving data from the one or more of the inside sensors 122, the storage container control circuit 102 may determine whether the human and/or the animal is inside the one or more chambers 106 based on the motion data, the sound data, and/or the infrared data received by the storage container control circuit 102 over a period of time. For example, the period of time may correspond to a time that enables the storage container control circuit 102 to substantially differentiate between a momentary drop and/or movement of a retail products inside one of the chambers 106 from a movement of a human and/or an animal. In another example, the period of time may correspond to greater than 3 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, and/or a particular time that allows determination that a movement corresponds to a human and/or an animal and not of a retail products inside the chamber. In such an approach, in response to the determination, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide an unlock signal to the locking system 116 without having to receive the first trigger signal and the second trigger signal to allow the human (e.g., the child) and/or the animal to exit out of the one or more chambers 106. As such, the storage container 104 may be child-proof and/or animal-proof, thus, preventing a live being from being accidentally locked inside the chambers 106. In some configuration, in response to the determination, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide warning signal to the delivery agent electronic device 134, the customer electronic device 136, an electronic device associated with a user of the temperature controlled storage container 104, and/or one or more electronic devices proximate to the temperature controlled storage container 104. In some embodiments, the temperature controlled storage container 104 may include a vehicle, a stationary and/or portable temperature controlled holder, repository, vessel, canister, can, box, and/or receptacle. In some implementations, the storage container control circuit 102 and the separate electronic control device 132 or an electronic device configured to perform functions corresponding to the separate electronic control device 132 as described herein may be integrated with an on-board vehicle control circuit associated with the vehicle. In some implementations where the storage container control circuit 102 may include the vehicle, one or more areas/space inside the vehicle may correspond to the one or more chambers. For example, the entire space/area inside the vehicle may correspond to a chamber. In another example, the front driver and passenger sides may correspond to a first chamber while the rear driver and passenger sides may correspond to a second chamber. In yet another example, each of the front and rear passenger and driver sides may correspond to a particular chamber.
To illustrate,
In some embodiments, the system 100 may include a power over ethernet (POE) system 114 that provides power to the storage container 104. In one example, the separate electronic control device 132 may provide instructions to the storage container 104 to maintain and adjust chamber temperatures of each of the chambers 106 using the heating system 124 and the cooling system 126. For example, the instructions may include a particular temperature assignment to each one of the chambers 106. In one configuration, the cooling system 126 and/or the heating system 124 may be operable on a first operable power and a second operable power, respectively. The first operable power and/or the second operable power may be based on the power provided by the POE system 114. For example, the POE power from the POE system 114 may be down converted to one or more operational powers prior to coupling to the storage container control circuit 102, the cooling system 126, and/or the heating system 124. Alternatively or in addition to, in providing the unlock signal to the locking system 116, the storage container control circuit 102 may stop providing the one or more operational powers to the cooling system 126 and/or the heating system 124. Alternatively or in addition to, the storage container control circuit 102 may allow a particular operational power that is based on the POE power to couple with the locking system 116 in response to the storage container control circuit 102 stopping the providing of the one or more operational powers to the cooling system 126 and/or the heating system 124. By one approach, the locking system 116 may enable access to the one or more chambers 106 in response to the coupling with the particular operational power. Alternatively or in addition to, the battery 112 may initiate coupling of backup power to the storage container 104 when the POE power is not provided to the storage container 104. By one approach, the battery 112 may stop coupling of the backup power to the storage container 104 when the POE system 114 starts providing the POE power to the storage container 104. Alternatively or in addition to, in response, the battery 112 may start recharging in preparation of another POE power loss to the storage container 104.
In another configuration, the storage container control circuit 102 may be operable on a third operable power based on the power provided by the POE system 114. In another configuration, the storage container control circuit 102 may be operatively coupled to the cooling system 126 and/or the heating system 124. By one approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may determine whether one of the corresponding chamber temperatures is within a threshold of the temperature assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more chambers 106. By another approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may initiate a first operation of the cooling system 126 when the corresponding one of the one or more chambers is greater than the threshold. Alternatively or in addition to, the storage temperature control circuit 102 may initiate a second operation of the heating system 124 when the corresponding one of the one or more chambers is less than the threshold. For example, the storage container control circuit 102 may periodically receive and/or query for the temperature of one or more of the chambers 106. When the storage container control circuit 102 determines that a temperature on a first chamber of the chambers 106 is below a first threshold of a first assigned temperature while a second chamber of the chambers 106 is above a second threshold of a second assigned temperature, the storage container control circuit 102 may initiate operation of the heating system 124 to bring the chamber temperature of the first chamber within the first threshold of the first assigned temperature. Alternatively and/or in addition to, the storage container control circuit 102 may initiate operation of the cooling system 126 to bring the chamber temperature of the second chamber within the second threshold of the second assigned temperature. By another approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may periodically determine the chamber temperatures of one or more of the chambers 106 and/or a sensor of the additional sensors 108 may trigger the storage container control circuit 102 when the one or more of the chambers 106 is outside a corresponding threshold and/or threshold range of corresponding assigned temperature. By another approach, the separate electronic control device 132 may adjust each of the corresponding chamber temperatures based on the temperature assigned to the corresponding one of the one or more chambers that is provided to the storage container 104. In such an approach, the separate electronic control device 132 may affect the operation of the chamber temperatures by assigning particular temperatures to each chambers while the storage container 104 may affect the operation of the chamber temperatures by maintaining and adjusting the chamber temperatures in accordance with the assigned chamber temperatures of the separate electronic control device 132.
In yet another configuration, a temperature controlled medicine container may be delivered and/or coupled to the storage container 104. By one approach, when the temperature controlled medicine container is placed in one of the chambers 106, an inside locking mechanism of the storage container 104 may automatically couple the temperature controlled medicine container with the storage container 104 to secure the temperature controlled medicine container to the storage container 104. In one configuration, the temperature controlled medicine container may remain secured to the storage container 104 until the locking system 116 receives an unlock signal from the storage container control circuit 102. For example, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide the unlock signal to the locking system 116 and/or the inside locking mechanism. In another example, the temperature controlled medicine container may automatically detach from the inside locking mechanism in response to the unlock signal being received by the locking system 116. In yet another example, when one or more of the additional sensor(s) 108 provide sensor data to the storage container control circuit 102 indicating that the temperature controlled medicine container is empty, the storage container control circuit 102 may provide an unsecure signal to the inside locking mechanism to release the temperature controlled medicine container in preparation of a retrieval by a delivery agent. In some embodiments, the inside locking mechanism may provide power to the temperature controlled medicine container to keep an inside temperature of the temperature controlled medicine container within a threshold of a predefined temperature associated with the temperature controlled medicine container. Alternatively or in addition to, one or more operational powers based on the POE power provided by the POE system 114 may be wirelessly provided to the temperature controlled medicine container to keep the inside temperature within the threshold of the predefined temperature. By one approach, the temperature controlled medicine container may communicate the inside temperature to the separate electronic control device 132 over a time period while stored in one of the chamber 106 via the communication interface 118.
By one approach, a 5 VDC out DC/DC converter 206 is coupled to the 12 VDC power bus 224. In one configuration, the 5 VDC out DC/DC converter 206 provides a 5 VDC power to the storage container control circuit 102. By one approach, the storage container control circuit 102 may be coupled to the temperature sensor(s) 204, the lid switch 208, and/or a motion sensor(s) 210. In one example, the temperature sensor(s) 204 may correspond to the temperature sensor(s) 110. In another example, the motion sensor(s) 210 may correspond to the additional sensor(s) 108 or the inside sensor(s) 122. In yet another example, the locking system 116 may include the lid switch 208.
By another approach, the POE power injector 216 may be coupled to a 3.3 VDC out DC/DC converter 220. In one configuration, the 3.3 VDC out DC/DC converter 220 may be coupled to a 3.3 VDC power bus 222. In another configuration, a 3.3 VDC is coupled to and/or provided to the temperature sensor(s) 204 and/or the storage container control circuit 102 via the 3.3 VDC power bus 222. In yet another configuration, the storage container control circuit 102 may be coupled to an internet connection through the network switch 212. In one example, the communication interface 118 may correspond to the network switch 212.
By another approach, the method 900 may include, at step 910, providing a two-factor authentication by a delivery agent and/or a delivery service agent to the separate electronic control device. In one example, the two-factor authentications may include passcode, biometric authentication, and/or other type of authentications to verify whether a user is authorized to access the storage container. In one configuration, the method 900 may include, upon verification of the two-factor authentication provided to the separate electronic control device and/or the receipt of the first trigger by the storage container, opening the storage container, placing one or more of the retail products according to determined placement assignments of the retail products in the chambers, and/or closing and/or locking the storage container, at step 912. In another configuration, the method 900 may include, at step 914, opening the storage container by the customer and retrieving of the retail products placed in the chambers. In yet another configuration, the method may include returning the status of the storage container to standby mode upon closing and/or locking of the storage container, at step 916. In some embodiments, in managing the temperatures of storage container in step 906, the method 900 may include initiating operation of chiller and/or heater based on the assigned temperature associated with chamber 1, at step 918. By one approach, the method 900, at step 920, adjusting temperature of chamber 2 by forcing air out from chamber 1 to chamber 2. By another approach, the method 900, at step 922, adjusting temperature of adjacent chambers by forcing air out from a previous chamber to an adjacent chamber.
On a second day 1204, at 15:57 hr, the fan was turned off. The chamber 1 temperature started increasing passed the freezing temperature as shown in the fifth column for the chamber 1 temperature while the chiller temperature started decreasing to a negative temperature. The compressor temperature kept an average temperature of 117° F. over the first day 1202 and the second day 1204. On a third day 1206, at 8:41 hr, the fan remained off while at a simulated hot outside environment. The chamber 1 temperature remained above the freezing temperature while the chiller kept cold. On fourth day 1208, at 8:06 hr, the fan was turned on. The chamber 1 temperature started decreasing towards the freezing temperature and reached the freezing temperature in less than two hours. The storage container control circuit 102 kept the chiller temperature and the chamber 1 temperature within the average of 3° F. difference as shown in the seventh column for delta. Thus, the test data 1200 illustrates that the storage container control circuit 102 maintained the chamber 1 temperature at below freezing using the fan to move the cold air from the chiller to the chamber 1. As such,
Further, the circuits, circuitry, systems, devices, processes, methods, techniques, functionality, services, servers, electronic control devices, sources and the like described herein may be utilized, implemented and/or run on many different types of devices and/or systems.
By way of example, the system 1300 may comprise a processor module (or a control circuit) 1312, memory 1314, and one or more communication links, paths, buses or the like 1318. Some embodiments may include one or more user interfaces 1316, and/or one or more internal and/or external power sources or supplies 1340. The control circuit 1312 can be implemented through one or more processors, microprocessors, central processing unit, logic, local digital storage, firmware, software, and/or other control hardware and/or software, and may be used to execute or assist in executing the steps of the processes, methods, functionality and techniques described herein, and control various communications, decisions, programs, content, listings, services, interfaces, logging, reporting, etc. Further, in some embodiments, the control circuit 1312 can be part of control circuitry and/or a control system 1310, which may be implemented through one or more processors with access to one or more memory 1314 that can store instructions, code and the like that is implemented by the control circuit and/or processors to implement intended functionality. In some applications, the control circuit and/or memory may be distributed over a communications network (e.g., LAN, WAN, Internet) providing distributed and/or redundant processing and functionality. Again, the system 1300 may be used to implement one or more of the above or below, or parts of, components, circuits, systems, processes and the like. For example, the system 1300 may implement the system for receiving retail products at the system 100 of
The user interface 1316 can allow a user to interact with the system 1300 and receive information through the system. In some instances, the user interface 1316 includes a display 1322 and/or one or more user inputs 1324, such as buttons, touch screen, track ball, keyboard, mouse, etc., which can be part of or wired or wirelessly coupled with the system 1300. Typically, the system 1300 further includes one or more communication interfaces, ports, transceivers 1320 and the like allowing the system 1300 to communicate over a communication bus, a distributed computer and/or communication network (e.g., a local area network (LAN), the Internet, wide area network (WAN), etc.), communication link 1318, other networks or communication channels with other devices and/or other such communications or combination of two or more of such communication methods. Further the transceiver 1320 can be configured for wired, wireless, optical, fiber optical cable, satellite, or other such communication configurations or combinations of two or more of such communications. Some embodiments include one or more input/output (I/O) interface 1334 that allow one or more devices to couple with the system 1300. The I/O interface can be substantially any relevant port or combinations of ports, such as but not limited to USB, Ethernet, or other such ports. The I/O interface 1334 can be configured to allow wired and/or wireless communication coupling to external components. For example, the I/O interface can provide wired communication and/or wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, RF, and/or other such wireless communication), and in some instances may include any known wired and/or wireless interfacing device, circuit and/or connecting device, such as but not limited to one or more transmitters, receivers, transceivers, or combination of two or more of such devices.
In some embodiments, the system may include one or more sensors 1326 to provide information to the system and/or sensor information that is communicated to another component, such as a storage container control circuit, a temperature controlled storage container, a separate electronic control device, a heating and cooling systems, a control circuit, an order management system, etc. The sensors can include substantially any relevant sensor, such as temperature sensors, distance measurement sensors (e.g., optical units, sound/ultrasound units, etc.), optical based scanning sensors to sense and read optical patterns (e.g., bar codes), radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader sensors capable of reading RFID tags in proximity to the sensor, and other such sensors. The foregoing examples are intended to be illustrative and are not intended to convey an exhaustive listing of all possible sensors. Instead, it will be understood that these teachings will accommodate sensing any of a wide variety of circumstances in a given application setting.
The system 1300 comprises an example of a control and/or processor-based system with the control circuit 1312. Again, the control circuit 1312 can be implemented through one or more processors, controllers, central processing units, logic, software and the like. Further, in some implementations the control circuit 1312 may provide multiprocessor functionality.
The memory 1314, which can be accessed by the control circuit 1312, typically includes one or more processor readable and/or computer readable media accessed by at least the control circuit 1312, and can include volatile and/or nonvolatile media, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory and/or other memory technology. Further, the memory 1314 is shown as internal to the control system 1310; however, the memory 1314 can be internal, external or a combination of internal and external memory. Similarly, some or all of the memory 1314 can be internal, external or a combination of internal and external memory of the control circuit 1312. The external memory can be substantially any relevant memory such as, but not limited to, solid-state storage devices or drives, hard drive, one or more of universal serial bus (USB) stick or drive, flash memory secure digital (SD) card, other memory cards, and other such memory or combinations of two or more of such memory, and some or all of the memory may be distributed at multiple locations over the computer network. The memory 1314 can store code, software, executables, scripts, data, content, lists, programming, programs, log or history data, user information, customer information, product information, and the like. While
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of other modifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/573,019 filed Sep. 17, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/192,655 filed Nov. 15, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,449,889, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/593,046 filed Nov. 30, 2017, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 16573019 | Sep 2019 | US |
| Child | 17590729 | US | |
| Parent | 16192655 | Nov 2018 | US |
| Child | 16573019 | US |
