Luggage contents recommendations and tracking

• US 9,454,728 B1
• Filed: 02/25/2016
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bender, Michael, Childress, Rhonda L., Kumhyr, David B., Spisak, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Small, Naomi
• Application Number:
  US15/053,249
• Time in Patent Office: 215 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.92
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

In an approach for suggesting an item to pack, a processor receives an indication that a user is packing a first item of luggage, wherein the indication includes information about a trip. A processor generates a packing list based on the information about the trip. A processor receives a request to link the first item of luggage and a second item of luggage for the trip. A processor links the first and second items of luggage such that contents of each item of luggage are jointly compared to the packing list. A processor receives, via a short-range point-to-point communication reader of the first item of luggage, a signal from a short-range point-to-point communication device operably affixed to a first item. A processor identifies the first item based on the signal. A processor determines that the first item is an item of the packing list.

Claims

1. A method for suggesting an item to pack in an item of luggage, the method comprising:

receiving a first indication that a user is packing a first item of luggage for a trip, wherein the indication includes information about the trip, wherein the information about the trip comprises duration of the trip, purpose of the trip, expected climate of the destination, itinerary information, and destination, and wherein the first item of luggage includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and a touch screen;

generating, by one or more processors, a packing list based on, at least;

the information about the trip; and

weather information of the destination retrieved from an external computing device;

receiving a request to link the first item of luggage and a second item of luggage for the trip, wherein the request to link the first item of luggage and the second item of luggage specifies that the second item of luggage is to remain within a predetermined threshold distance of the first item of luggage;

linking, via Bluetooth, the first item of luggage and the second item of luggage such that contents of each respective item of luggage are jointly compared to the packing list;

receiving, via a short-range point-to-point communication reader of the first item of luggage, a signal from a short-range point-to-point communication device operably affixed to a first item, wherein the short-range point-to-point communication reader is a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and the short-range point-to-point communication device is an RFID tag;

identifying, by one or more processors, the first item based on the signal;

comparing, by one or more processors, the first item to the packing list;

determining, by one or more processors, that the first item is an item listed on the packing list;

accessing, by one or more processors, an inventory of a shop, wherein the shop is located within a threshold distance from a destination included in the information about the trip;

determining, by one or more processors, that the first item is available in the inventory of the shop;

generating, by one or more processors, a recommendation to be presented to the user indicating that the first item be removed from the first item of luggage and purchased at the shop;

determining, by one or more processors, that a second item has been placed in the luggage during a preselected number of previous trips and that the second item was not removed from the luggage during the preselected number of previously trips;

causing, by one or more processors, a recommendation, to be presented to the user, that the second item be removed from the luggage;

receiving a second indication that the user is packing for return from the trip;

comparing, by one or more processors, contents of the first item of luggage and contents of the second item of luggage to the packing list;

determining, by one or more processors, that a third item listed on the packing list is located in neither the first item of luggage nor the second item of luggage;

causing, by one or more processors, a first alert, to be presented to the user, indicating that the third item has not been packed;

determining, by one or more processors, that the second item of luggage is outside of the predetermined threshold distance of the first item of luggage; and

causing, by one or more processors, a second alert, to be presented to the user, indicating that the second item of luggage is outside of the predetermined threshold distance of the first item of luggage.