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Real-time internet capable device information interchange for coordinated queuing at locations

  • US 10,181,142 B2
  • Filed: 10/23/2017
  • Issued: 01/15/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2016
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A central server system to interact with two or more point-of-sale systems in two or more respective different physical retail stores and with two or more mobile devices of respective different customers and staff of the respective different physical retail stores, to coordinate the operations of and to enable a server of the central server system, a database of the central server system, the point-of-sale systems, and the mobile devices together to(a) present, in real-time and electronically through the mobile devices, steps of a shopping experience for customers for physical products in inventory at the respective different physical retail stores, the steps of the shopping experience including (i) the customers searching, comparing, and reserving physical products in inventories of the respective different physical retail stores, and (ii) the staff handling reservations of the customers for physical products in inventories of the respective different physical retail stores, and(b) to coordinate opportunities for immediate electronic communication between customers and staff physically present in the respective different physical retail stores in real time as the customers search, compare, and reserve physical products in inventories at the respective different physical retail stores, or as the staff handles reservations of the customers for physical products in inventories at the respective different physical retail stores,the central server system comprising:

  • the server includinga processor,a communication device coupled to a communication network,a database to be accessed by the processor and configured to receive from the point-of-sale systems, to store, and to update data about changing available inventories of the physical products at the respective different physical retail stores, the data being updated as the customers reserve physical products from inventories at the respective different physical retail stores, andstorage containing instructions executable by the processor to coordinate the operations of the server, the database, the point-of-sale systems, and the mobile devices to present in real-time the steps of the shopping experience for the customers, the executable instructions implementing;

    an application programming interface through which the data about changing available inventories of the physical products at the respective different physical retail stores passes between the point-of-sale systems and the database and between the mobile devices of the customers and staff and the database,a page server to serve pages to the mobile devices of customers to present the shopping experience for customers of the physical retail stores and to serve pages to the mobile devices of staff to enable the staff to participate in the presentation of the shopping experience in real time while the customers are searching, comparing, and reserving physical products in inventory, the serving of pages enabling(a) the customers to view information about physical products subject to reservations and to invoke immediate communication with the physical retail store handling the physical products subject to the reservations of the customers, and(b) the staff physically present in the physical retail stores and responsible for handling the physical products subject to the reservations of the customers to view reservations of physical products subject to the reservations and invoke immediate communication with the customers,an inventory manager to maintain the data in the database about the changing available inventories of the physical products at the respective different physical retail stores, anda reservation platform to manage reservations for physical products received from customers and to be fulfilled at the different physical retail stores.

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