Locker management techniques

• US 10,068,403 B1
• Filed: 09/21/2017
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: McGehee, William V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Yong Hang
• Application Number:
  US15/711,614
• Time in Patent Office: 348 Days
• Field of Search: 340 573
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00912 for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/12 comprising lockable containers, e.g. for accepting clothes to be cleaned
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A locker system includes a locker area, a plurality of lockers positioned in the locker area, and a plurality of augmented reality headsets. Individual augmented headsets of the plurality of augmented reality headsets including a display and being configured to be worn by respective individual users. The locker system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of lockers and the plurality of augmented reality headsets, wherein the controller comprises a memory and a processor configured to execute instructions stored on the memory. The instructions include generating locker assignments to assign individual lockers of the plurality of lockers to the respective individual users, communicating the locker assignments of the assigned individual lockers to the respective individual users using the plurality of augmented reality headsets, and controlling operation of the assigned individual lockers of the plurality of lockers based on signals received from the plurality of augmented reality headsets.

Claims

1. A locker system, comprising:

a locker area;

a plurality of lockers positioned in the locker area;

a plurality of augmented reality headsets, individual augmented headsets of the plurality of augmented reality headsets including a display and being configured to be worn by respective individual users; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of lockers and the plurality of augmented reality headsets, wherein the controller comprises a memory and a processor configured to execute instructions stored on the memory comprising instructions for;

generating locker assignments to assign individual lockers of the plurality of lockers to the respective individual users;

communicating the locker assignments of the assigned individual lockers to the respective individual users using the plurality of augmented reality headsets; and

controlling operation of the assigned individual lockers of the plurality of lockers based on signals received from the plurality of augmented reality headsets of the respective individual users, wherein the signals are indicative of commands provided by the respective individual users and wherein the commands are sensed using the plurality of augmented reality headsets.

2. The locker system of claim 1, comprising one or more cameras configured to surveil the locker area, wherein generating the locker assignments is based on information received via the plurality of augmented reality headsets, the one or more cameras, or a combination thereof.

3. The locker system of claim 1, wherein generating the locker assignments is based on locker availability, user location, user profile, user preferences, user identification, membership status, admission status, or a combination thereof.

4. The locker system of claim 1, wherein a particular assigned individual locker is indicated on the display of an individual augmented reality headset with an indicator positioned to correspond to an actual view of the particular assigned individual locker.

5. The locker system of claim 1, wherein controlling the operation of the assigned individual lockers comprises locking and unlocking the assigned individual lockers.

6. The locker system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise displaying navigation to the assigned individual lockers on the displays of the respective augmented reality headsets.

7. The locker system of claim 1, comprising generating the signals with the plurality of augmented reality headsets based on information from gesture recognition systems of the augmented reality headsets.

8. The locker system of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise updating availabilities of the plurality of lockers based on the locker assignments.

9. A system comprising:

a locker area;

a plurality of lockers positioned in the locker area;

a plurality of augmented reality headsets; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of lockers and the plurality of augmented reality headsets, wherein the controller is configured to determine assignments of the plurality of lockers based on one or more criteria and communicate the assignments to the respective plurality of augmented reality headsets, wherein the assigned lockers of the plurality of lockers are configured to be locked and unlocked in response to instructions provided via the respective plurality of augmented reality headsets.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more criteria comprise information collected using the plurality of augmented reality headsets.

11. The system of claim 9, comprising one or more camera disposed in the locker area, wherein the one or more criteria comprise information collected using the one or more camera.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more criteria comprise distances between the plurality of lockers and the plurality of augmented reality headsets.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the respective plurality of augmented reality headsets includes a display and the assigned lockers are indicated on the displays.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions are provided using gesture recognition systems of the respective plurality of augmented reality headsets.

15. A method of using a locker system, comprising:

receiving, via a controller, information from an augmented reality headset, wherein the information is about a user of the augmented reality headset in a locker area comprising a plurality of lockers;

accessing information from sensors, via the controller, the information being indicative of locker availability of the plurality of lockers;

communicating potential available locker assignments from the controller to the augmented reality headset worn by the user based on the information about the user and the information about the locker availability and by graphically indicating the potential available locker assignments in augmented reality;

receiving a signal, via the controller, that the user has selected one locker of the potential available locker assignments; and

associating, via the controller, the one locker with the user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the information about the user comprises user location in the locker area and a direction of gaze of the user.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising displaying highlights or overlays of the potential available locker assignments on a display of the augmented reality headset.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the signal that the user has selected the one locker comprises one or more signals provided by a gesture recognition system of the augmented reality headset.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising collecting the information about the user from one or more cameras disposed in the one or more locker areas.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the information about the user comprises user profile information, user preference information, user identification, membership status, admission status, or a combination thereof from a data server.