Techniques for filling orders

• US 9,171,281 B1
• Filed: 05/29/2014
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thomas Francis
• Original Assignee: Thomas Francis
• Inventors: Francis, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US14/289,983
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 235/375, 235/487
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

A system includes N location indicators and a mobile scanning device. The N location indicators are configured to be arranged throughout a store that includes a plurality of stocked items for picking according to one or more electronic customer orders. Each of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a different location signal. The mobile scanning device includes a display. The mobile scanning device is configured to wirelessly receive an electronic customer order comprising a plurality of ordered items indicating which of the stocked items are to be picked, detect at least one of the N location signals, and arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display based on which of the at least one of the N location signals is detected.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

N location indicators for arrangement throughout a store that includes a plurality of stocked items for picking according to one or more electronic customer orders, wherein each of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a different location signal;

a central computing system configured to wirelessly transmit the electronic customer orders; and

a mobile scanning device comprising a display, the mobile scanning device configured to;

wirelessly receive an electronic customer order from the central computing system, the received electronic customer order comprising a plurality of ordered items indicating which of the stocked items are to be picked;

detect at least one of the N location signals;

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display based on which of the at least one of the N location signals is detected;

scan a first item identification code included with a first stocked item; and

wirelessly transmit data to the central computing system indicating that the first item identification code has been scanned.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the N location indicators includes at least one of an antenna, an acoustic device, and a light emitting device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein a first location indicator of the N location indicators includes a first antenna, wherein a second location indicator of the N location indicators includes a second antenna, wherein the first location indicator is configured to transmit a first location signal via the first antenna, wherein the second location indicator is configured to transmit a second location signal via the second antenna, and wherein the first and second location signals are different.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a first location indicator of the N location indicators includes a first acoustic device, wherein a second location indicator of the N location indicators includes a second acoustic device, wherein the first location indicator is configured to transmit a first location signal via the first acoustic device, wherein the second location indicator is configured to transmit a second location signal via the second acoustic device, and wherein the first and second location signals are different.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a first location indicator of the N location indicators includes a first light emitting device, wherein a second location indicator of the N location indicators includes a second light emitting device, wherein the first location indicator is configured to transmit a first location signal via the first light emitting device, wherein the second location indicator is configured to transmit a second location signal via the second light emitting device, and wherein the first and second location signals are different.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a location signal including different frequency content than other ones of the N location indicators.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a location signal including a different code than other ones of the N location indicators.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a first location indicator of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a first location signal, wherein a second location indicator of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a second location signal, and wherein the first and second location signals are different.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to differentiate between the first and second location signals.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to differentiate between the first and second location signals based on the frequency content of the first and second location signals.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first location signal includes a first frequency component, wherein the second location signal includes a second frequency component, and wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

detect the first and second frequency components;

identify a detected location signal as the first location signal when the mobile scanning device detects the first frequency component; and

identify the detected location signal as the second location signal when the mobile scanning device detects the second frequency component.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to differentiate between the first and second location signals based on codes included in the first and second location signals.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first location signal includes a first code, wherein the second location signal includes a second code, and wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

detect the first and second codes;

identify a detected location signal as the first location signal when the mobile scanning device detects the first code; and

identify the detected location signal as the second location signal when the mobile scanning device detects the second code.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a first arrangement in response to detection of the first location signal; and

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a second arrangement in response to detection of the second location signal.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first arrangement and the second arrangement include the same items arranged in a different order.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the first arrangement and the second arrangement include different items.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the N location indicators includes a radio-frequency identification (RFID) device.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein at least some of the RFID devices are configured to receive mains power.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein at least some of the RFID devices are configured to receive power from a battery.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to provide power to at least some of the RFID devices, and wherein the at least some of the RFID devices are configured to generate location signals in response to receiving power from the mobile scanning device.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the RFID devices is configured to transmit a different location signal.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein a first RFID device is configured to transmit a first code, wherein a second RFID device is configured to transmit a second code, and wherein the first and second codes are different.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to differentiate between the first and second codes received from the first and second RFID devices.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a first arrangement in response to detection of the first code; and

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a second arrangement in response to detection of the second code.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the N location signals covers a respective area of the store.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the mobile scanning device stores a location map that defines how the areas of the store covered by the N location signals are arranged relative to one another.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the location map defines distances between the areas of the store covered by the N location signals.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the N location indicators are arranged such that a first location signal and a second location signal of the N location signals overlap in a first area of the store, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to detect the first and second location signals when the mobile scanning device is in the first area.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the N location indicators are arranged such that a first location signal covers a first area of the store, a second location signal covers a second area of the store, and a third area of the store is located between the first and second areas, wherein the third area of the store is not covered by any of the N location signals, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

detect the first location signal when the mobile scanning device is located in the first area;

detect the second location signal when the mobile scanning device is located in the second area; and

detect the absence of a location signal in the third area of the store when the mobile scanning device is located in the third area.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the stocked items is associated with one of M different location values, and wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to determine a current location value of the M different location values based on one or more detected location signals.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein each of the M location values is associated with a plurality of stocked items.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to arrange the ordered items on the display based on the current location value.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the mobile scanning device stores a location map that defines how areas of the store covered by the N location signals are arranged, and wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to arrange the ordered items on the display based on the location map.

34. The system of claim 1, wherein the central computing system stores a location map that defines how areas of the store covered by the N location signals are arranged, wherein the location map defines the distance between different areas of the store covered by the N location signals.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein each of the stocked items is associated with one of M different location values, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to determine a current location value of the M different location values based on one or more detected location signals, and wherein the central computing system stores the associations between the stocked items and the M location values.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein each of the M location values is associated with a plurality of stocked items.

37. The system of claim 1, wherein when the first stocked item is displayed on the display, the mobile scanning device is configured to update the arrangement of the items on the display when the first item identification code is scanned.

38. The system of claim 1, wherein when the first stocked item is displayed on the display, the mobile scanning device is configured to remove the item from the display when the first item is scanned.

39. The system of claim 1, wherein a second stocked item includes a second item identification code, and wherein the central computing system is configured to transmit data to the mobile scanning device indicating when the second item identification code has been scanned by a different mobile scanning device.

40. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to store a location map that defines how areas of the store covered by the N location signals are arranged, wherein each of the stocked items is associated with one of M different location values, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to determine a current location value of the M different location values based on one or more detected location signals, and wherein the mobile scanning device stores the associations between the stocked items and the M location values.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display based on the location map, the associations between the stocked items and the M location values, and the current location value.

42. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile scanning device is a first mobile scanning device, wherein the system further comprises a second mobile scanning device configured to wirelessly receive the electronic customer order from the central computing system, wherein the first mobile scanning device is configured to transmit first data to the central computing system indicating that the first item identification code has been scanned, and wherein the central computing system is configured to wirelessly transmit second data to the second mobile scanning device indicating that the first item identification code has been scanned.

43. A system comprising:

N location indicators for arrangement throughout a store that includes a plurality of stocked items for picking according to one or more electronic customer orders, wherein each of the N location indicators includes a different readable code, wherein a first location indicator of the N location indicators includes a first readable code, wherein a second location indicator of the N location indicators includes a second readable code, and wherein the first and second readable codes are different; and

a mobile scanning device comprising a display, the mobile scanning device configured to;

wirelessly receive an electronic customer order comprising a plurality of ordered items indicating which of the stocked items are to be picked;

scan the first readable code;

determine a first location value based on the scanned first readable code;

scan the second readable code;

determine a second location value based on the scanned second readable code; and

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display based on which of the first and second location values are determined.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein at least one of the first and second readable codes include barcodes.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein the mobile scanning device stores a location map that defines the location of each of the N location indicators relative to one another.

46. The system of claim 43, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a first arrangement in response to determining the first location value; and

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a second arrangement in response to determining the second location value, wherein the first arrangement and the second arrangement are different.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein the first arrangement and the second arrangement include the same items arranged in a different order.

48. The system of claim 46, wherein the first arrangement and the second arrangement include different items.

49. The system of claim 43, wherein the first location value is associated with a first group of stocked items, and wherein the second location value is associated with a second group of stocked items.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the first group of stocked items is located adjacent to the first location indicator, and wherein the second group of stocked items is located adjacent to the second location indicator.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the association between the first location value and the first group of stocked items is stored in the mobile scanning device, and wherein the association between the second location value and the second group of stocked items is stored in the mobile scanning device.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the mobile scanning device stores a location map that defines the location of each of the N location indicators relative to one another.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the mobile scanning device is configured to:

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a first arrangement based on the determined first location value and the location map; and

arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display in a second arrangement based on the determined second location value and the location map.

54. The system of claim 43, wherein the mobile scanning device is a first mobile scanning device, wherein the system further comprises a second mobile scanning device configured to wirelessly receive the electronic customer order from the central computing system, and wherein the first mobile scanning device is configured to:

scan a first item identification code included with a first stocked item; and

transmit first data to the central computing system indicating that the first item identification code has been scanned, wherein the central computing system is configured to wirelessly transmit second data to the second mobile scanning device indicating that the first item identification code has been scanned.