Secure Lockers for Use as Item Exchange Points
First Claim
1. A locker bank comprising:
- a plurality of lockers, each respective locker comprising;
(A) a housing defining an interior storage portion that is dimensioned for selectively receiving and storing one or more items, and(B) at least one door for selectively preventing access to one or more items stored within the interior storage portion;
one or more computer systems, comprising a computer processor and memory, adapted for;
(A) receiving a request, from a seller, to store an item within the locker bank for later pickup by a purchaser who has purchased the item;
(B) at least partially in response to receiving the request, opening a particular door of a particular locker of the plurality of lockers to permit access to an interior storage portion of the particular locker,(C) registering the closing and locking of the particular door, after the locker bank receives one or more particular items into the particular locker'"'"'s interior storage portion;
(D) after the step of registering the closing of the particular door, receiving a request, by the purchaser of the item to retrieve the one or more particular items from the locker;
(E) at least partially in response to receiving the request to retrieve the one or more particular items from the locker, facilitating payment for the one or more particular items by the purchaser;
(F) confirming that payment has been received for the one or more particular items; and
(G) at least partially in response to confirming that payment has been received for the one or more particular items, unlocking a door of the particular locker so that the purchaser can retrieve the one or more particular items from the interior storage portion of the particular locker.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A secure, computerized locker bank that is adapted to facilitate the payment for, and physical exchange of an item between entities who have brokered the sale of the item via a marketplace, such as an on-line marketplace (e.g., an on-line auction site, an on-line classified advertisement site, or an online retail marketplace), or a traditional marketplace (e.g., traditional paper classified advertisements). In particular embodiments, each locker in the computerized locker bank comprises one or more imaging devices for allowing a potential purchaser to view an item (e.g., stored within a locker) before purchasing the item and retrieving it from the locker.
34 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A locker bank comprising:
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a plurality of lockers, each respective locker comprising; (A) a housing defining an interior storage portion that is dimensioned for selectively receiving and storing one or more items, and (B) at least one door for selectively preventing access to one or more items stored within the interior storage portion; one or more computer systems, comprising a computer processor and memory, adapted for; (A) receiving a request, from a seller, to store an item within the locker bank for later pickup by a purchaser who has purchased the item; (B) at least partially in response to receiving the request, opening a particular door of a particular locker of the plurality of lockers to permit access to an interior storage portion of the particular locker, (C) registering the closing and locking of the particular door, after the locker bank receives one or more particular items into the particular locker'"'"'s interior storage portion; (D) after the step of registering the closing of the particular door, receiving a request, by the purchaser of the item to retrieve the one or more particular items from the locker; (E) at least partially in response to receiving the request to retrieve the one or more particular items from the locker, facilitating payment for the one or more particular items by the purchaser; (F) confirming that payment has been received for the one or more particular items; and (G) at least partially in response to confirming that payment has been received for the one or more particular items, unlocking a door of the particular locker so that the purchaser can retrieve the one or more particular items from the interior storage portion of the particular locker. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A locker bank comprising:
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a plurality of lockers, each respective locker comprising; (A) a housing defining an interior storage portion that is dimensioned for selectively receiving and storing one or more items; (B) at least one door for selectively preventing access to one or more items stored within the interior storage portion; and (C) at least one camera for capturing an image of an item when the item is positioned within the interior storage portion; and one or more computer systems, comprising a computer processor and memory, adapted for using the camera to capture the image of an item that is stored within the interior storage portion of a particular locker of the plurality of lockers. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An attended delivery/pickup location comprising:
one or more computer systems, comprising at least one computer processor and memory, that are individually or collectively adapted for; (A) receiving a request, from a seller, to store an item at the attended delivery/pickup location for later pickup by a purchaser who has purchased the item via a transaction made using an on-line marketplace; (B) at least partially in response to receiving the request, receiving a confirmation of receipt of the item at the attended delivery/pickup location; (C) after the step of receiving confirmation of receipt of the item at the attended delivery/pickup location, receiving a request, by the purchaser of the item to retrieve the item from the attended delivery/pickup location; (D) at least partially in response to receiving the request to retrieve the item from the attended delivery/pickup location, facilitating payment for the item by the purchaser; (E) confirming that payment has been received for the item; and (F) at least partially in response to confirming that payment has been received for the item, facilitating transfer of the payment to the seller and facilitating transfer of the item to the purchaser. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
Specification