Drive-thru system implementing location tracking

• US 9,904,903 B1
• Filed: 10/31/2014
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Inventors: Weiss, Benjamin, Eby, Nicholas L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Kevin H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kirk, Bryan J
• Application Number:
  US14/530,179
• Time in Patent Office: 1,215 Days
• Field of Search: 705339
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 Recipient pick-ups

Abstract

Embodiments are disclosed to determine customer'"'"'s prescription information and their position while waiting in a drive-thru lane. The drive-thru lane may have one or more transmitters installed at predetermined locations. By utilizing an application installed on each customer'"'"'s mobile computing device, each mobile computing device may transmit customer information and ranging data when within range of one or more of the transmitters. The ranging data may include an indication of a range between each of the customer'"'"'s mobile computing device and one or more proximate transmitters. By correlating the customer information to prescription information from recently filled and/or called in prescriptions, each customer'"'"'s prescription order may be retrieved. Furthermore, by analyzing the ranging data, the position of each customer in the drive-thru lane may be determined. A drive-thru computing device is disclosed that may display each customer'"'"'s position in the drive-thru lane along with their prescription order information.

Claims

1. A method of determining a position of a plurality of customers within a drive-thru lane of a brick-and-mortar store, the method executed by one or more computer processors programmed to perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors via a communication network, customer information identifying the plurality of customers waiting in vehicles within the drive-thru lane, the customer information being sent from each respective one of a plurality of mobile computing devices, with each mobile computing device from among the plurality of mobile computing devices being associated with a respective one of the plurality of customers;

determining, by the one or more processors, pickup order information associated with each of the plurality of customers based upon the customer information;

receiving, by the one or more processors via the communication network, ranging data that is transmitted from each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices,

wherein each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices generates the ranging data in response to receiving a signal transmitted by a transmitter that is positioned at a predetermined location within the drive-thru lane,

wherein the signal includes a calibrated received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value that indicates an RSSI value at a predetermined distance from the transmitter, the calibrated RSSI value being utilized by each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices to generate the ranging data in conjunction with a respective received signal strength of the received signal at each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices;

in response to receiving the ranging data via the communication network, comparing, by the one or more processors, the ranging data associated with each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices;

determining, by the one or more processors, the position of each of the plurality of customers with respect to a drive-thru window located within the drive-thru lane based upon the comparison of the ranging data associated with each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices; and

displaying, on a display within the brick-and-mortar store, the position of each of the plurality of customers with respect to the drive-thru window and their respective pickup order information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer information includes a patient identification for each of the plurality of customers, and

wherein the act of determining the pickup order information comprises:

correlating, by the one or more processors, the patient identification with prescription information associated with each of the plurality of customers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the prescription information corresponds to unfilled prescriptions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal is transmitted by the transmitter in accordance with a personal area networking (PAN) communications protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of receiving the ranging data further comprises:

receiving, by the one or more processors, the ranging data over a plurality of time intervals, and

wherein the act of determining the position of each of the plurality of customers comprises;

repeating the determination of the position of each of the plurality of customers as additional ranging data is subsequently received to update the position of each of the plurality of customers over the plurality of time intervals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is from among a plurality of transmitters positioned at each respective one of a plurality of predetermined locations within the drive-thru lane,

wherein the ranging data is indicative of a plurality of received signal strengths corresponding to a plurality of signals that are received by each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices from each of the plurality of transmitters, and

wherein the act of determining the position of each of the plurality of customers comprises:

determining the position of each of the plurality of customers within the drive-thru lane based upon the comparison of the ranging data and the predetermined location of each of the plurality of transmitters.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the pickup order information comprises one or more of:

a prescription order;

a type of prescription drug associated with the prescription order;

or

a prescription drug dosage.

8. A non-transitory computer readable media having instructions stored thereon in a retail computing device within a brick-and-mortar store, that when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

receive customer information identifying a plurality of customers waiting in vehicles within a drive-thru lane, the customer information being sent from each respective one of a plurality of mobile computing devices, with each mobile computing device from among the plurality of mobile computing devices being associated with a respective one of the plurality of customers;

determine pickup order information associated with each of the plurality of customers based upon the customer information;

receive ranging data that is transmitted from each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices,

wherein each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices generates the ranging data in response to receiving a signal transmitted by a transmitter that is positioned at a predetermined location within the drive-thru lane,

wherein the signal includes a calibrated received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value that indicates an RSSI value at a predetermined distance from the transmitter, the calibrated RSSI value being utilized by each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices to generate the ranging data in conjunction with a respective received signal strength of the received signal at each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices;

in response to receiving the ranging data via the communication network, compare the ranging data associated with each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices;

determine a position of each of the plurality of customers with respect to a drive-thru window located within the drive-thru lane based upon the comparison of the ranging data associated with each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices; and

display the position of each of the plurality of customers with respect to the drive-thru window and their respective pickup order information on a display within the brick-and-mortar store.

9. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8, wherein the instructions to determine the pickup order information comprise:

correlating the customer information to prescription information associated with the plurality of customers.

10. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 9, wherein the prescription information corresponds to unfilled prescriptions.

12. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8, wherein the instructions to receive the ranging data further cause the processor to:

receive the ranging data over a plurality of time intervals, and

wherein the instructions to determine the position of each of the plurality of customers further cause the processor to;

repeat the determination of the position of each of the plurality of customers as additional ranging data is subsequently received to update the position of each of the plurality of customers over the plurality of time intervals.

13. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8, wherein the transmitter is from among a plurality of transmitters positioned at a plurality of respective predetermined locations within the drive-thru lane,

wherein the ranging data is indicative of a plurality of received signal strengths corresponding to a plurality of signals that are received by each respective one of the plurality of respective mobile computing devices from each of the plurality of transmitters, and

wherein the instructions to determine the position of each of the plurality of customers further cause the processor to:

determine the position of each of the plurality of customers within the drive-thru lane based upon the comparison of the ranging data and the predetermined location of each of the plurality of transmitters.

14. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8, wherein pickup order information comprises one or more of:

a prescription order;

a type of prescription drug associated with the prescription order;

or

a prescription drug dosage.

11. The non-transitory computer readable media of 8, wherein the signal is transmitted by the transmitter in accordance with a personal area networking (PAN) communications protocol.

15. A system for determining a position of a plurality of customers within a drive-thru lane of a brick-and-mortar store, comprising:

a plurality of mobile computing devices, each respective one of the mobile computing devices from among the plurality of mobile computing devices being associated with a respective one of the plurality of customers, and being configured to execute an application to;

(i) detect a signal transmitted by a transmitter positioned at a predetermined location within the drive-thru lane, and, upon detecting the transmitted signal,

(ii) generate ranging data, wherein the signal includes a calibrated received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value that indicates an RSSI value at a predetermined distance from the transmitter, the calibrated RSSI value being utilized to generate the ranging data in conjunction with a received signal strength of the received signal,

(iii) communicate with one or more back-end components to retrieve customer pickup order information, and

(iv) transmit the customer pickup order information and the ranging data; and

a drive-thru computing device configured to;

(i) receive the customer pickup order information and the ranging data via each of the respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices,

(ii) identify each respective one of the plurality of customers and their respective orders based upon the customer pickup order information,

(iii) in response to receiving the ranging data, compare the ranging data associated with each of the plurality of respective mobile computing devices, and

(iv) determine the position of each of the plurality of customers with respect to a drive-thru window located within the drive-thru lane based upon the comparison of the ranging data associated with each respective one of the plurality of mobile computing devices; and

(V) display, within the brick-and-mortar store, the position of each of the plurality of customers with respect to the drive-thru window and their respective customer pickup order information.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the customer pickup order information includes prescription information,

each respective one of the mobile computing devices from among the plurality of mobile computing devices is configured to retrieve the prescription information by sending customer information to a back-end component, and

wherein the back-end component is configured to correlate the customer information with stored customer prescription information and to send the prescription information to the mobile computing device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the prescription information corresponds to unfilled prescriptions.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the signal is transmitted by the transmitter in accordance with a personal area networking (PAN) communications protocol.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the drive-thru computing device is further configured to (i) receive, via each respective one of the mobile computing devices from among the plurality of mobile computing devices, the ranging data over a plurality of time intervals, and (ii) repeat the determination of the position of each of the plurality of customers as additional ranging data is subsequently received to update the position of each of the plurality of customers over the plurality of time intervals.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the transmitter is from among a plurality of transmitters positioned at a plurality of respective predetermined locations within the drive-thru lane,

the ranging data is indicative of a plurality of received signal strengths corresponding to a plurality of signals that are received by each respective one the plurality of respective mobile computing devices from each of the plurality of transmitters, and

the drive-thru computing device is further configured to determine the position of each of the plurality of customers within the drive-thru lane based upon the comparison of the ranging data and the predetermined location of each of the plurality of transmitters.