Handling household tasks

• US 8,401,932 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2010
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sud Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Laundry Locker, Inc. (Mulberrys LLC)
• Inventors: Levy, Arik Seth
• Primary Examiner(s): Ade, Garcia
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARIKH, HARSHAD R
• Application Number:
  US12/925,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 883 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28, 705/15
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

In an embodiment, articles are left in storage areas, such as lockers or other receptacles, which may be associated with a household services company. In an embodiment, after depositing the articles in the storage area the articles are associated with the user by the household services company based on a claim by a user of using the storage area and/or tags associated with the articles.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving articles in a storage area associated with a laundry service, the storage area being associated with an identifier that was assigned to the storage area prior to a customer visiting the storage area, the storage area having a purely mechanical lock and a purely mechanical key, the key mechanically locking and mechanically unlocking the lock, the laundry service having one or more laundry machines and one or more machines for communicating with customers, the one or more machines for communicating with the customer having a processor system including one or more processors and a memory system;

allowing the customer to take the key with the customer, without being required to be at a location associated with the laundry service;

receiving, at the one or more machines for communication with customers, a notification that the articles are associated with the storage area, the notification including

the identifier associated with the storage area and

an identifier associated with the customer at the one or more machines for communicating with customers prior to receiving the notification;

the notification being generated by the customer, and the notification being received via Internet;

associating the customer with the articles based on

the identifier associated with the storage area, and

the identifier that is associated with the customer at the one or more machines for communicating with customers prior to receiving the notification;

removing the articles from the storage area at any time after receiving the articles in the storage area or any time after receiving the notification;

servicing, by the one or more laundry machines, the articles; and

returning the articles to the storage area.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing the key in the lock, while the storage area is not in use by a customer, the lock being configured such that removing the key locks the lock and such that in order for the lock to be unlocked the key must be in the lock.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the storage area is a locker, the articles including at least clothing, and the method further comprises:

inventorying the clothing after receiving the notification, and

cleaning the clothing.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein

the storage area is a locker, the articles including at least clothing, and

after receiving the articles removing the articles from the storage area, inventorying the clothing prior to receiving the notification.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allowing a customer to hold onto the key until a batch of articles associated with the customer is returned to the storage area associated with the key.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

providing, via a computer system having a processor system including one or more processors, a pictorial representation of the article; and

the processor system providing a status of the article via one or more web pages.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising photographing at least one of the articles received.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

uploading a photograph resulting from the photographing to a webpage that is viewable by a customer.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a set of a plurality of storage areas, a set of the plurality of locks, and a set of a plurality of keys, when one of the plurality of storage areas is not in use, a corresponding one of the plurality of keys is stored inside a corresponding one of the plurality of locks, which corresponds to the one of the plurality of storage areas that is not being used.

10. A system comprising:

a storage area to receive articles, the storage area being associated with a laundry service, the storage area having a purely mechanical lock and a purely mechanical key for locking the storage area, the storage area being stationary, the storage area being associated with an identifier that was assigned to the storage area prior to a customer visiting the storage area;

the mechanical lock being configured such that removing the key locks the mechanical lock and such that in order for the lock to be in an unlocked state the key must be in the lock, therein encouraging the customer to leave the key the in the lock when finished using the storage area;

one or more laundry machines and one or more machines for communication with customers, the one or more machines for communication with customers that store customer data having a processor system including one or more processors, and a memory system where the customer data is stored; and

one or more computer readable storage media storing thereon one or more computer readable machine instructions, which when implemented, cause one or more processors to execute operations comprising;

receiving a notification that the articles are associated with the storage area, the notification including at least

the identifier that was assigned with to the storage area prior to the customer visiting the storage area and

an identifier associated with the customer at the one or more computing machines of the laundry service for communication with customers prior to receiving the notification.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the computer readable machine instructions, which when implemented, cause one or more processors to execute operations comprising:

establishing an account for the customer based on the request.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising:

a set of one or more storage areas, which include the storage area, each storage area having a lock and being associated with a key for locking the lock.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the computer readable machine instructions, when implemented, cause one or more processors to execute operations comprising:

receiving customer service instructions from the customer.

14. A method comprising:

receiving articles in a storage area associated with a laundry service, the storage area being associated with an identifier that was assigned to the storage area prior to a customer visiting the storage area, the laundry service having one or more machines including at least one or more laundry machines and one or more computing machines, the one or more computing machines having a processor system including one or more processors;

receiving, at the one or more computing machines of the laundry service, information about a notification from a customer that the articles have been dropped off and are associated with the storage area, the information about the notification including the identifier associated with the storage area and an identifier associated with the customer at the one or more machines of the laundry service prior to receiving the notification and the notification being generated by customer;

associating, by the one or more computing machines, the customer with the articles based on the identifier associated with the storage area, and

the identifier that is associated with the customer at the one or more computing machines of the laundry service prior to receiving the notification;

removing the articles from the storage area at any time after receiving the articles in the storage area or any time after receiving the notification;

servicing, by the one or more laundry machine, the articles;

returning all of the articles to the storage area; and

sending, by the one or more computing machines of the laundry service, a message to the customer about the articles being ready for pick up.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

photographing at least one of the articles received; and

uploading a photograph resulting from the photographing to a webpage that is viewable by a customer.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

establishing an account for the customer based on the request.

17. A system comprising:

one or more laundry machines and one or more computing machines, which store customer information, the one or more computing machines of the laundry service having the at least one processor system having the at least one processor and a memory system where the customer data is stored;

one or more computer readable storage media storing thereon one or more machine instructions, which when implemented, causes at least receiving information, about a notification to service articles, at a computing machine of a laundry service, the information about the request including at least

an identification of a location associated with a laundry service where the articles were placed by a customer, and

an identifier associated with the customer at the one or more computing machines of the laundry service prior to receiving the notification.

18. A method comprising:

receiving articles in a storage area associated with a laundry service, associated with an identifier that was assigned to the storage area prior to a customer visiting the storage area, having one or more laundry machines and one or more computing machines, the one or more computing machines having a processor system including one or more processors and a memory system that stores the customer data;

allowing a customer to take the key, the customer being one from which the articles were received in the storage area; and

receiving, at the laundry service, a notification from the customer that the articles are associated with the storage area, the notification including an identifier of the storage area,

wherein the storage area is associated with a purely mechanical lock and a purely mechanical key;

establishing, by the computing machine, an account for the customer who sent the notification;

associating the customer with the articles after

establishing the account for the customer associated with the articles and receiving the notification;

removing the articles from the storage area at any time after receiving the articles in the storage area or any time after receiving the notification;

cleaning the articles, via the one or more laundry machines and

returning the articles to the storage area.