Quick stop mass retail system

• US 5,890,136 A
• Filed: 03/12/1997
• Issued: 03/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ludwig Kipp
• Inventors: Kipp, Ludwig
• Primary Examiner(s): Tkacs, Stephen R.
• Application Number:
  US08/815,692
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 235/383, 235/472.01, 235/385, 235/375, 235/381, 104/88.04, 104/88.03, 186/55, 186/56, 705/1, 705/10, 705/28, 705/16, 705/17, 705/21, 705/22, 705/29
• US Class Current: 705/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/00 Cash registers alarm indicators G07G3/00

Abstract

A quick-stop mass retail system for ordering and purchasing articles from a remote location for pickup at an article pickup area at an automated store, comprising an interactive system for communicating a customer'"'"'s purchase order for at least one article; a host computer adapted for receiving the customer'"'"'s purchase order, processing the customer'"'"'s purchase order, and storing the customer'"'"'s purchase order in a database; a system for rapidly retrieving the article ordered by the customer from a storage location for the article at the automated store in response to customer purchase order information received from the host computer; and a system for retrieving identification information from the customer and communicating the same to the host computer; whereby the host computer enables the system for retrieving the article to provide the article to the article pickup area upon obtaining the identification information and comparing the identification information with the stored information in the customer'"'"'s purchase order.

Claims

1. A quick-stop mass retail system for ordering and purchasing articles from a remote location for pickup at an article pickup area at an automated store, comprising:

interactive means for communicating a customer'"'"'s purchase order for at least one article;

a host computer including means for receiving the customer'"'"'s purchase order, means for processing the customer'"'"'s purchase order, and means for storing the customer'"'"'s purchase order in a database;

means for retrieving said article ordered by said customer from a storage location for said article at the automated store in response to customer purchase order information received from said host computer; and

means for retrieving identification information from said customer and communicating the same to said host computer;

whereby said host computer enables said means for retrieving said article to provide said article to the article pickup area upon obtaining said identification information and comparing said identification with the customer'"'"'s purchase order.

2. The quick-stop mass retail system recited in claim 1, wherein a plurality of articles are stored in a plurality of storage locations associated with the automated store and said means for retrieving said articles includes a network of dispensing stations interconnected by at least one means for transporting said articles from said storage locations to the article pickup area.

3. The quick-stop mass retail system recited in claim 2, wherein said storage locations include means for detecting when inventory is to be restocked, said means for detecting communicating with said host computer such that said host computer initiates a purchase of additional inventory in response to the low inventory detection.

4. The quick-stop mass retail system recited in claim 1, wherein said host computer tracks inventory of said articles and enables restocking of said respective storage locations when detecting inventory below a certain level.

5. The quick-stop mass retail system recited in claim 1, wherein said means for retrieving identification information reads said identification information from an identification card or a code associated with the customer.

6. A quick-stop mass retail system for ordering and purchasing articles from a remote location for pickup at an article pickup area at an automated store, comprising:

interactive means for communicating a customer'"'"'s purchase order for at least one article, said interactive means including at least one of an interactive telephone network for receiving touch-tone input signals from a telephone keypad in response to requests for purchase information communicated to the customer, and a modem connection over a data network in response to requests for purchase information communicated to the customer;

a host computer including means for receiving the customer'"'"'s purchase order;

means for processing the customer'"'"'s purchase order; and

means for storing the customer'"'"'s purchase order in a database;

means in communication with said host computer for retrieving said article ordered by said customer from a storage location for said article at the automated store, wherein a plurality of articles are stored in a plurality of storage locations associated with the automated store and said means for retrieving said articles includes a network of dispensing stations interconnected by at least one means for transporting said articles from said storage locations to the article pickup area;

means in communication with said host computer for retrieving identification information from an identification card associated with said customer;

means associated with said storage locations for detecting inventory of articles stored therein and communicating with said host computer such that said host computer initiates a purchase of additional inventory in response to the low inventory detection;

whereby said host computer enables said means for retrieving said article to provide said article to the article pickup area upon obtaining said identification information and comparing said identification with the customer'"'"'s purchase order.

7. A method for ordering and purchasing articles from a remote location for pickup at an article pickup area at an automated store, comprising:

(a) communicating a customer'"'"'s purchase order for at least one article via an interactive electronic network;

(b) receiving the customer'"'"'s purchase order at a host computer in communication with said interactive electronic network;

(c) processing the customer'"'"'s purchase order and storing the purchase order in a database;

(d) retrieving identification information from the customer with a means for retrieving information communicating with said host computer; and

(e) retrieving said article ordered by the customer from a storage location for said article at the automated store by a means for retrieving articles communicating with said host computer and delivering said article to said article pickup area.

8. The method recited in claim 7, further comprising the step of said host computer detecting an inventory level threshold below which inventory of said article is to be restocked.