SHOPPING FACILITY ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS, DEVICES AND METHODS
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of lockers;
a plurality of motorized transport units;
a central computer system having a network interface such that the central computer system wirelessly communicates with the plurality of motorized transport units, the central computer system being configured to;
determine which of the plurality of lockers has been previously associated with a particular authorized recipient;
select a particular one of the plurality of motorized transport units to thereby provide a selected motorized transport unit;
cause the selected motorized transport unit to retrieve the locker that has been previously associated with the particular authorized recipient and to make that locker available to the particular authorized recipient such that the authorized recipient can retrieve from that locker at least one item.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A plurality of lockers can each serve to contain items that have been ordered by a customer. By one approach these lockers are stored in a locker storage facility. By one approach these lockers are configured such that a motorized transport unit can physically engage the locker in order to move the locker. So configured, a central computer system can be configured to select a particular motorized transport unit to retrieve a particular locker that has been previously associated with a particular entity (such as a particular customer or their designated agent) and to make that locker available to that particular entity such that the latter can retrieve their item or items from that locker.
46 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of lockers; a plurality of motorized transport units; a central computer system having a network interface such that the central computer system wirelessly communicates with the plurality of motorized transport units, the central computer system being configured to; determine which of the plurality of lockers has been previously associated with a particular authorized recipient; select a particular one of the plurality of motorized transport units to thereby provide a selected motorized transport unit; cause the selected motorized transport unit to retrieve the locker that has been previously associated with the particular authorized recipient and to make that locker available to the particular authorized recipient such that the authorized recipient can retrieve from that locker at least one item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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providing a plurality of lockers; providing a plurality of motorized transport units; providing a central computer system having a network interface such that the central computer system wirelessly communicates with the plurality of motorized transport units; using the central computer system to determine which of the plurality of lockers has been previously associated with a particular authorized recipient; using the central computer system to select a particular one of the plurality of motorized transport units to thereby provide a selected motorized transport unit; using the central computer system to cause the selected motorized transport unit to retrieve the locker that has been previously associated with the particular authorized recipient and to make that locker available to the particular authorized recipient such that the authorized recipient can retrieve from that locker at least one item. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification