Drive through monitoring using wireless beacons

• US 9,875,472 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2014
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Granbery, John Hastings, Chandra, Prakash
• Primary Examiner(s): Misiaszek, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Todd, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US14/334,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20160019526A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

There are provided systems and methods for drive through monitoring using wireless beacons. A merchant may set up a wireless beacon at a drive through location for the merchant. The beacons may provide check-in services to a user when the user arrives at the drive through in a vehicle. The user may be checked-in through a device for the user, such as a mobile phone or a vehicles dashboard console that has communication capabilities with the beacon. Once the device establishes a communication channel with the beacon, check-in information or an identifier is received and associated with an order. The order may previously have been provided to the merchant. The user can complete payment for the order through the device and when the user arrives at a pick-up window, the merchant may utilize another beacon to connect to the device and retrieve the correct order for the user.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing check-in information for a user; and

one or more hardware processors configured to execute instructions to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

receiving the check-in information for the user when a device of the user connects to a first wireless beacon at a first merchant station in a merchant location for a merchant, wherein the merchant location is accessible by a vehicle for the user;

assigning, using the check-in information, an identifier to the device of the user based on a purchase order submitted at the first merchant station;

associating the purchase order with the identifier;

directing, using a display device at the first merchant station, the user to a lane for the vehicle at the merchant location based on the purchase order;

in response to determining that the vehicle is located at a second merchant station along the lane when the device connects to a second wireless beacon at the second merchant station through short range wireless communications, communicating, using the second wireless beacon at the second merchant station, data for the purchase order to the device of the user, wherein the data comprises information for processing the purchase order with a service provider; and

displaying the purchase order on a merchant device using the identifier.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the device and the first wireless beacon connect using one of near field communication, radio communication, infrared communication, Bluetooth communication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, or LTE Direct communication.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a dashboard console device in the vehicle.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first wireless beacon is range limited to connect to the device within an area associated with first merchant station.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first wireless beacon comprises a directional antenna or physical construction configured to define the area to connect to the device.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first merchant station comprises one of an ordering window or an ordering intercom, and wherein the area comprises a length of an average vehicle utilizing the merchant location.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

communicating a transaction history to the merchant, wherein the transaction history comprises information for a payment to the merchant, and wherein the merchant provides at least one item to the user based on the purchase order.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving an image of the vehicle when the device connects to the first wireless beacon; and

presenting the image to the merchant with the purchase order.

9. A method comprising:

accessing check-in information for a user based on a connection between a device for the user and a first wireless beacon at a first drive through station at a merchant location for a merchant, wherein the user is located in a first vehicle at the first drive through station;

assigning, using the check-in information, an identifier to the device of the user based on a purchase order submitted at the first drive through station;

associating, using one or more hardware processors, the purchase order with the identifier;

directing, using a display device at the first drive through station, the user to a lane for the first vehicle at the merchant location based on the purchase order;

in response to determining that the first vehicle is located at a second drive through station along the lane when the device connects to a second wireless beacon at the second drive through station through short range wireless communications, communicating, using the second wireless beacon at the second drive through station, data for the purchase order to the device of the user, wherein the data comprises information for electronic transaction processing of the purchase order with a service provider using a transaction processing application of the device at the second drive through station; and

displaying the purchase order on a merchant device using the identifier.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving an electronic payment token to the merchant for the purchase order.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the merchant provides one or more items in the purchase order to the user after the electronic payment token is processed.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic payment token is associated with a payment instrument of the user.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic payment token is processed associated with a payment account with a payment provider for the user.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the purchase order is submitted prior to the user arriving at the merchant location.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the electronic payment token is processed by the device using the data.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the purchase order is displayed to the user at the first drive through station, and wherein user updates or confirms the purchase order at the first drive through station.

17. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

determining a second vehicle has arrived at the merchant location; and

tracking a location of the first vehicle at the merchant location, wherein the purchase order is further associated with the location of the first vehicle.

18. A non-transitory machine readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

accessing check-in information for a user when a device of the user connects to a first wireless beacon at a first merchant station for a merchant, wherein the first merchant station is accessible by a vehicle for the user;

assigning, using the check-in information, an identifier to the device of the user based on a purchase order submitted by the user at the first merchant station;

associating the purchase order submitted by the user with the identifier;

directing, using a display device at the first merchant station, the user to a lane for the vehicle based on the purchase order;

in response to determining that the vehicle is located at a second merchant station along the lane when the device connects to a second wireless beacon at the second merchant station through short range wireless communications, communicating, to the device using the second wireless beacon at the second merchant station, transaction processing data associated with a mobile application of the device for electronic transaction processing of the purchase order at the second merchant station; and

displaying the purchase order on a merchant device using the identifier.

19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 18, wherein purchase order is automatically processed using an account identifier associated with the check-in information.