Line management based on user tolerance

• US 10,332,140 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2014
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: He, Robert, Luk, Bryant Genepang, Dides, Emil, Khalil, Syed Muasir
• Primary Examiner(s): Summers, Kiersten V
• Application Number:
  US14/554,650
• Publication Number:
  US 20160148238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 705 141, 705 1411, 705 1419, 705 1425, 705 1438, 705 1418, 705 142
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0208 Trade or exchange of goods or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/04 related to queuing systems

Abstract

A system or method is provided to detect the positions of various users in line and determine the users'"'"' tolerance for waiting in line. Based on the tolerance of the users for waiting in line, the system may rearrange the line positions of the users accordingly. The user'"'"'s tolerance may be detected by their current position, their current movements and activities, the user'"'"'s purchase or transaction history, interests and hobbies, past line waiting experience, and the like. In an embodiment, the system may determine incentives or rewards and may offer them to the users who are waiting in line to incentivize them to stay in line.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing a plurality of line location layouts, and account information corresponding to a user account of a user; and

one or more hardware processors in communication with the non-transitory memory, the one or more hardware processors configured to execute computer-executable instructions to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

determining that a user device is located in a first location, wherein the first location includes a beacon array comprising a plurality of wireless beacons;

providing, to the user device, a first line location layout associated with the first location, wherein the plurality of line location layouts comprises the first line location layout;

receiving a line position of a user in a line from the user device of the user, wherein the line position is determined by receiving a beacon layout of the beacon array, determining a location of a first line based on the beacon layout and the first line location layout, triangulating a location of the user device based on unique wireless beacon signals containing wireless beacon location data received from a first plurality of the wireless beacons and a strength of each of the unique wireless beacon signals to determine a distance of the user device relative to locations of the first plurality of wireless beacons;

determining, from the location of the user device and the location of the first line, that the user is in the first line, and determining, from the location of the user device and the location of the first line, the line position of the user;

subsequent to the receiving the line position, automatically calculating a tolerance of the user for waiting in the line by analyzing the account information and user activity information of the user collected by the user device, the user activity information not including an affirmative indication by the user of the tolerance of the user for waiting in the line;

generating an incentive to offer the user based on the tolerance; and

communicating the incentive electronically to the user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of wireless beacons comprises at least three wireless beacons.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

adjusting the line position of the user in the line based on the tolerance.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the calculating the tolerance of the user comprises generating a tolerance score for the user and comparing the tolerance score with a threshold.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user activity information is selected from a group consisting of user movement information, user location information, user biometric information detected by the user device, and user device operation information.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the tolerance is further based on the line position of the user and an estimated wait time of the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the incentive is determined based on information selected from a group consisting of an interest level of the user for a product or a service offered at a physical location corresponding to the line, transaction history information of the user, purchase history information of the user, line waiting history information of the user, and merchant preference information for the user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the account information is selected from a group consisting of calendar information, to-do list information, schedule information, waiting history information, purchase history information, transaction history information, and social networking account information of the user, and wherein incentive is selected from a group consisting of a coupon corresponding to the user activity information of the user, reward points for a reward program, and a voucher to skip a future line.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining the user activity information of the user based on a current location of the user device, and wherein the generating the incentive is based on the user activity information of the user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the user device, device data associated with movement of the user device, wherein the user activity information comprises the device data and the calculating the tolerance of the user for waiting in the line comprises determining, from the device data, that the user is standing or pacing, and wherein the incentive is further based on determining that the user is standing or pacing.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the generating the incentive comprises determining the tolerance of the user is less than a predetermined tolerance threshold, and the incentive is offered in exchange for the user remaining in the line.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the incentive is further based on the tolerance of the user being greater than a predetermined tolerance threshold, and the incentive is offered in exchange for adjusting the line position of the user further back in the line.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise in response to the adjusting the line position of the user further back in the line, communicating, to one or more other user devices corresponding to one or more other users in the line, that the respective wait times of the one or more other users have been reduced.

14. A method comprising:

determining that a user device associated with a user is at a first location, wherein the first location includes a beacon array comprising a plurality of wireless beacons;

accessing a first line location layout associated with the first location;

receiving a beacon layout of the beacon array, wherein each wireless beacon of the beacon array broadcasts a unique wireless beacon signal containing wireless beacon location data;

determining a location of a first line based on the beacon layout and the first line location layout;

determining a location of the user device relative to the beacon array, the location of the user device determined by calculating a distance of the user device relative to locations of a first plurality of wireless beacons, the distance determined by triangulation based on unique wireless beacon signals from the first plurality of wireless beacons and signal strengths of each of the unique wireless beacon signals;

determining a line position of the user based on the location of the user device and the location of the first line;

subsequent to the determining the line position of the user, automatically determining a user tolerance for waiting in the line by analyzing account information and user activity information collected by the user device, the user activity information not including an affirmative indication by the user of the tolerance for waiting in the line;

generating an incentive to offer the user based on the user tolerance; and

electronically communicating the incentive to the user.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising rearranging the line position of the user based on the user tolerance.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein user tolerances for waiting in line are determined for a plurality of users, and wherein the rearranging comprises:

moving users with higher user tolerances backward in the line; and

moving users with lower user tolerances forward in the line.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising presenting the user with status information of the line, the status information selected from a group consisting of a number of people in the line, a number of tickets sold for a public venue, and a capacity of the public venue.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising presenting the user with status information of the line, the status information selected from a group consisting of a number of people in the line, an inventory of products desired by the user, and a probability that the products are available for the user.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the user activity information is selected from a group consisting of user movement information, user location information, user biometric information detected by the user device, and user device operation information.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the first plurality of wireless beacons comprises at least three wireless beacons.