Dynamic product presentation system and commerce platform

• US 9,378,607 B1
• Filed: 05/12/2014
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IVP Holdings III LLC
• Original Assignee: IVP Holdings III LLC
• Inventors: Wine, David, Holt, James A., Jung, Edward K.Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shapiro, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US14/275,791
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 705 261- 29, 705/16, 705/22, 705/28, 700/213, 700/214, 700/216, 700/228, 700/231, 700/234, 700/236, 700241-244, 186/36, 186/52
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 10/02 for self-service type systems, e.g. supermarkets A47F10/06 takes precedence; hand-carts B62B; baskets B65D
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/137 with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1373 for fulfilling orders in warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 3/04 Restaurants or shops having arrangements for self-service
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 9/06 Structures arranged in or forming part of buildings
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10

Abstract

Methods, techniques, and systems for the live presentation of products and services to potential consumers in a manner that levels the playing field for suppliers/providers of different sizes, capabilities and with differing resources are provided. Examples provide a Dynamic Product Presentation System (“DPPS”), which enables suppliers and/or vendors to advertise and place new or replacement products before consumers according in a new commerce stream and enables potential consumers to interact on a personalized level with products including goods and/or services that may interest them before they buy them, to engage specialized services, return or exchange goods or other things, be presented with products and/or services that are automatically targeted to their buying habits and predicted needs, etc., all in the comfort of their own residence or location without the inconveniences of traditional shopping models or online environments.

Claims

1. A personalized commerce system for providing automated product placement in a residential building structure having a plurality of residential locations, each residential location configured to be populated by at least one human, comprising:

a plurality of commerce cabinets, each cabinet built into a residential location of the plurality of residential locations within the residential building structure, each residential location associated with a potential human consumer residing in or occupying the residential location, each cabinet having a modular rack system that is configured to receive and store one or more physical modules of standardized sizes, the physical modules mountable within the modular rack system by a non-human service device, each physical module configured to contain a plurality of products or representations of products, each cabinet comprising a reporting component that receives and tracks feedback from a potential human consumer of a commerce cabinet regarding one or more products or representations of products stored in or retrieved from the one or more physical modules stored within the commerce cabinet; and

a backend infrastructure built into the residential building structure comprising;

a service channel configured to provide access to the plurality of commerce cabinets by non-human service devices; and

one or more non-human service devices, each non-human service device configured to travel within the service channel built into the residential building structure to access the plurality of commerce cabinets to transport physical modules to and from the plurality of commerce cabinets to transport products or representations of products within the physical modules, wherein the products or representations of products are provided to the associated potential human customer without the associated potential human customer traveling to a location remote from the residential location of the associated potential human customer to obtain the products or representations of products placed in the physical modules;

a feedback component that receives feedback from the reporting component of one or more of the plurality of commerce cabinets and adjusts the products or representations of products based upon the received feedback; and

wherein the one or more non-human service devices automatically arranges the products or representations of products that have been adjusted and wherein the backend infrastructure sends a signal to one or more of the plurality of commerce cabinets alerting a potential human consumer that an item or a module has changed.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the backend infrastructure further comprises:

a local warehouse connected to the service channel of the backend infrastructure configured to store a plurality of physical modules that each contain one or more products or representations of products, each physical module provided by a supplier or vendor, wherein the one or more non-human service devices transport physical modules between the one or more of the plurality of commerce cabinets and the local warehouse.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the plurality of physical modules that are stored in the local warehouse are packed by the supplier or vendor before storage in the local warehouse.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein plurality of physical modules that are stored in the local warehouse are delivered on behalf of the supplier before storage in the local warehouse.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein a modular rack system in each commerce cabinet is configured to receive and store one or more physical modules of different sizes that are mountable within the modular rack system in a tessellated fashion.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein each commerce cabinet is configured with at least a portion of one side accessible to the associated potential human consumer and a second side, in opposition to the one side, accessible to one of the one or more non-human service devices traveling on the service channel.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein at least some of the one or more physical modules provide environmental control to the contained one or more products.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the modular rack system in each cabinet provides power to physical modules that require power to drive environmental control of the physical module.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the commerce cabinets is configured to store both a physical module that contains a product requiring hot temperatures at the same time as a physical module that contains a product requiring cold temperatures.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein a physical module is configured to contain a representation of a product when the product does not fit or is otherwise unsuitable to be contained in a physical module that is storable in a commerce cabinet.

11. The system of claim 1 the backend infrastructure further comprising:

a purchasing component that permits the potential human consumer of a commerce cabinet to purchase one or more products from one or more physical modules stored within the commerce cabinet.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the purchasing backend allows the potential human consumer to remove the one or more products for trial before purchase.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the feedback component further comprises:

a tracking and analysis component that tracks behavior of a potential human consumer of a commerce cabinet before actual trial or buying, tracks actual consumption or usage of a product, or tracks consumer preference and selection data tied to product presentation.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the physical modules are used to deliver a test product.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more non-human service devices comprise one or more automated robots.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein a non-human service device that accesses a commerce cabinet is configured to automatically arrange the one or more physical modules stored within the commerce cabinet.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the non-human service device that accesses a commerce cabinet is configured to automatically arrange the one or more physical modules stored within the commerce cabinet to place a physical module in a location not accessible to a particular person, class of person, or age of person.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein each commerce cabinet has a user interface to permit the associated potential human consumer to engage in a commercial transaction.

19. A method in a computing system configured to control the one or more non-human service devices to transport physical modules to and from the one or more of the plurality of commerce cabinets according to claim 1.

20. A computer readable medium containing instructions to control a computer processor to control the one or more non-human service devices to transport physical modules to and from the one or more of the plurality of commerce cabinets according to claim 1.