Method and System for Providing Laundry Services

• US 20120143708A1
• Filed: 12/01/2010
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Laundry Station Services LLC
• Original Assignee: Laundry Station Services LLC
• Inventors: VIVIANO, Michael J., Viviano, C. Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,009,068 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/20 for washing or drying articles, e.g. clothes, motor cars
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices

Abstract

A method and system for providing laundry services makes use of a laundry station having an interactive point-of-sale device operably connected to one or more laundry unit containers for housing items to be laundered. The laundry station is used: to receive and accept orders for laundry services from a customer, including the collection of payment from the customer; to provide information directing the customer to place their laundry in a designated laundry unit container in response to the order received from the customer; to generate and communicate an electronic message to instruct a laundry station operator or laundry services provider to fulfill the order.

Claims

1. A method for providing laundry services, comprising the steps of:

providing a laundry station having an interactive point-of-sale device operably connected to one or more laundry unit containers for housing items to be laundered, such that a customer can place an order for laundry services;

receiving and accepting the order for laundry services from a customer at the laundry station, including collecting payment information from the customer at the laundry station;

providing information directing the customer to place their laundry in a designated laundry unit container in response to the order received from the customer;

generating an electronic message to instruct a laundry station operator or a laundry services provider to fulfill the order; and

communicating the electronic message and the order to the laundry station operator or the laundry services provider, whereby the laundry station operator or the laundry services provider can obtain the items to be laundered from the laundry unit container to fulfill the order and return the laundered items to the laundry unit container.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer inputs information relating to the desired size of the laundry unit container when placing the order, and wherein the customer is directed to place their laundry in a laundry unit container having the desired size.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the size of the laundry unit container is about 2.5 cubic feet to about 3.5 cubic feet.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the size of the laundry unit container corresponds to an 18-pound wash load or a 25-pound wash load.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving and accepting the order for laundry services from the customer comprises:

retrieving a selection of laundry services from a database; and

presenting the selection of laundry services to the customer such that the order includes selected laundry services.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the selection of laundry services comprises a selection of cleaning agents and a selection of finishing services.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, upon collection of payment information from the customer, processing the payment information by using a payment processing software application.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of collecting customer identifying information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the customer identifying information includes input from the customer as to whether the customer wishes to be notified upon fulfillment of the order for laundry services.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of establishing a personalized access mechanism prior to providing information directing the customer to place the laundry in the laundry unit container, the personalized access mechanism for allowing access to the laundry unit container.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of establishing a personalized access mechanism includes requesting a personalized pass code from the customer.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the personalized access mechanism is selected from the group consisting of a biometric identifier and a bar code.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, upon placement of the laundry in the laundry unit container, receiving a signal that the laundry unit container is occupied.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, upon fulfillment of the order for laundry services by the laundry station operator or the laundry services provider, transmitting an electronic message to the customer to notify the customer of the completion of the order.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, upon fulfillment of the order for laundry services by the laundry station operator or the laundry services provider, placing a telephone call to the customer to notify the customer of the completion of the order.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of, upon removal of the laundry by the customer after the fulfillment of the order, generating a second electronic message to notify the laundry station operator that the laundry has been retrieved by the customer.

17. A system for providing laundry services, comprising:

one or more laundry unit containers for receiving laundry from a customer; and

an interactive point-of-sale device operably connected to the one or more laundry unit containers and including a micro-computer for receiving and accepting an order for laundry services from the customer, the micro-computer further for generating an electronic message to a laundry station operator or laundry services provider after placement of the order by the customer and receipt of payment information from the customer, and after receiving a signal from the one or more laundry unit containers that laundry has been placed in the one or more laundry unit containers.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive point-of-sale device is a kiosk having a touch screen display.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the micro-computer executes a software application for operating the interactive point-of-sale device.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the interactive point-of-sale device includes a payment card reader operably connected to the micro-computer.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the micro-computer executes a software application for processing a payment by the customer.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the interactive point-of-sale device further includes a printer operably connected to the micro-computer, the printer for providing a receipt to the customer.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more laundry unit containers comprises about 12 to about 48 laundry unit containers.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein a size of each of the one or more laundry unit container containers corresponds to a volume of a commercial washing machine used for retail wash, dry and fold orders

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the size of each laundry unit container is in the range of about 2.5 cubic feet to about 3.5 cubic feet.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein at least one laundry unit container is about 2.5 cubic feet and wherein at least one laundry unit container is about 3.5 cubic feet.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein each laundry unit container includes a means for securing the laundry unit container.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for securing the laundry unit container comprises a personalized access mechanism.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the personalized access mechanism is selected from the group consisting of a keypad for entering a pass code, a biometrics scanning device and a bar code scanning device.

30. The system of claim 17, wherein the micro-computer is further for generating an electronic message to the customer after fulfillment of the order for laundry services.

31. The system of claim 17, wherein the micro-computer is further for placing a telephone call to the customer after fulfillment of the order for laundry services.

32. The system of claim 17, wherein the micro-computer is further for generating a second electronic message to the laundry station operator upon removal of the laundry by the customer after fulfillment of the order.

33. A method for providing laundry services, comprising the steps of:

receiving and accepting an order for laundry services from a customer, including collecting payment information from the customer;

receiving input from the customer relating to the desired size of one or more laundry unit container containers used to receive laundry;

directing the customer to place their laundry in the laundry unit container in response to the input received from the customer;

generating an electronic message to instruct a laundry service provider to fulfill the order; and

communicating the electronic message and the order to the laundry services provider, whereby the laundry services provider can obtain the laundry from the laundry unit container to fulfill the order.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the size of the laundry unit container is about 2.5 cubic feet to about 3.5 cubic feet.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the size of at least one laundry unit container is about 2.5 cubic feet and wherein the size of at least one other laundry unit container is about 3.5 cubic feet.