SYSTEM, METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIA FOR EVALUATING SEARCH RESULTS IN A CUSTOMER QUEUEING SYSTEM

• US 20170220649A1
• Filed: 01/28/2016
• Published: 08/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal Mart Stores Inc (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Toupin, Justin
• Application Number:
  US15/009,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20170220649A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media are provided that perform a search request against a queue database of customers in a queue for access to a resource.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a database including a list of customers, the list of customer defining a queue for access to a resource;

a customer control unit associated with a customer, the customer control unit being configured to receive a request from the customer to be added to the queue and to generate a request signal;

a queue module configured to receive the request signal, to assign the customer a number in the queue, and to store the queue number assigned to the customer at the bottom of the list in the database;

a request device configured to receive input and to generate a search engine request for a first customer in the queue;

a search engine module coupled to the database and the request device and being configured to receive the search engine request, to access the database, to establish the first customer from the list of customers as a function of the search engine request, and to return the queue number associated with the next customer; and

,

a notification module coupled to the search engine module and the customer control unit and being configured to receive the queue number associated with the next customer and to send a message to the customer control unit to inform the customer of a relative position in the queue.

2. A system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the customer control unit is executed on a mobile device associated with the customer.

3. A system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the resource in located within a retail environment.

4. A system, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the customer control unit must be located within the retail environment for the customer to be added to the queue.

5. A system, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the customer control unit must be located within the retail environment for the customer control unit to receive the message.

6. A system, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a physical queue ticket system coupled to the queue module and the search engine module, the request module being configured to receive a request for a position on the list of customers from an anonymous customer.

7. A system, as set forth in claim 6, wherein the physical queue ticket system includes a ticket dispenser, the queue module being further configured to assign a next queue number to the anonymous customer and to communicate the next queue number to the ticket dispenser, the ticket dispenser configured to dispense a ticket having the next queue number.

8. A system, as set forth in claim 6, further comprising a display device coupled to the search engine module, the search engine module being configured to send the queue number associated with the first customer from the list of customers to the display device, if the first customer from the list of customers is the anonymous customer, the display device being configured to display the queue number associated with the anonymous customer.

9. A system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the database is configured to store multiple lists of customers, each list being associated with a different resource.

10. A system, as set forth in claim 9, wherein the control unit is configured to display a list of resources to the customer and to allow the customer to select one of the resources to be placed on the respective queue.

11. A system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the resource is one of a check-out line, a pharmacy line, a deli line, a line for purchase of a sale item, and a service resource.

12. A system, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the message to the customer control unit indicates an estimated time until the customer is the first customer in the queue.

13. A method, including the steps of:

maintaining a database including a list of customers, the list of customers defining a queue for access to a resource;

receiving a request, at a customer control unit associated with a customer, to add the customer to the queue, and generating a request signal;

receiving the request signal, at a queue module, assigning the customer a number in the queue, and storing the queue number assigned to the customer at the bottom of the list in the database;

receiving an input at a request device and generating a search engine request for a first customer in the queue;

receiving the search engine request, at a search engine module coupled to the database and the input device, accessing the database to establish the first customer from the list of customers as a function of the search engine request, and returning the queue number associated with the next customer; and

,

receiving the queue number at a notification module coupled to the search engine module and the customer control unit and responsively sending a message to the customer control unit to inform the customer of a relative position in the queue.

14. A method, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the customer control unit is executed on a mobile device associated with the customer.

15. A method, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the resource in located within a retail environment.

16. A method, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the customer control unit must be located within the retail environment for the customer to be added to the queue.

17. A method, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the customer control unit must be located within the retail environment for the customer control unit to receive the message.

18. A method, as set forth in claim 13, including the step of receiving a request, at a physical queue ticket system, for a position on the list of customers from an anonymous customer.

19. A method, as set forth in claim 18, including the steps of:

assigning a next queue number to the anonymous customer;

communicating the next queue number to a ticket dispenser; and

,

dispensing, by the ticket dispenser, a ticket having the next queue number.

20. A method, as set forth in claim 18, including the steps of sending the queue number associated with the first customer from the list of customers to a display device, if the first customer from the list of customers is the anonymous customer, and displaying the queue number associated with the first customer from the list of customer on the display device.

21. A method, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the database is configured to store multiple lists of customers, each list being associated with a different resource.

22. A method, as set forth in claim 21, including the steps of displaying on the customer control unit a list of resources to the customer and allowing the customer to select one of the resources to be placed on the respective queue.

23. A method, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the resource is one of a check-out line, a pharmacy line, a deli line, a line for purchase of a sale item, and a service resource.

24. A method, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the message to the customer control unit indicates an estimated time until the customer is the first customer in the queue.

25. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to:

maintain a database including a list of customers, the list of customers defining a queue for access to a resource;

receive a request, at a customer control unit associated with a customer, to add the customer to the queue, and generating a request signal;

receive the request signal, at a queue module, assign the customer a number in the queue, and store the queue number assigned to the customer at the bottom of the list in the database;

receive an input at a request device and generate a search engine request for a first customer in the queue;

receive the search engine request, at a search engine module coupled to the database and the input device, access the database to establish the first customer from the list of customers as a function of the search engine request, and return the queue number associated with the next customer; and

,

receive the queue number at a notification module coupled to the search engine module and the customer control unit and responsively send a message to the customer control unit to inform the customer of a relative position in the queue.