Pre-order delivery of items to a pickup location

• US 10,235,650 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wan, Lin, Lakshman, Girish, Ferguson, Eric T., Bhaskaran, Michael Mahesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Misiaszek, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/826,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20130262336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,196 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/13 the containers being a postal pick-up locker

Abstract

A pickup location that includes a control station and one or more storage compartment modules provides the ability for items to be ordered and delivered for pickup by a user without having to pack those items in a shipping package prior to shipping from a materials handling facility. Delivering items for pickup by a user without having to package the items prior to shipping, may provide a better experience for the customer, reduce waste in packaging material and a lower cost of delivering the ordered items to the customer.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

under control of one or more computing devices configured with executable instructions, receiving, from an electronic device of a customer, an order for an item, wherein;

a first instance of the item is contained in an interior space of a compartment of a plurality of compartments of a pickup location prior to the order being received; and

a second instance of the item is available to be transported to a delivery destination;

messaging to the electronic device a first option for the item to be transported to a delivery destination;

determining a location associated with the customer;

in response to determining that the location associated with the customer and the pickup location are within a geographic range of one another, messaging to the electronic device of the customer a second option for the item to be available for pickup at the pickup location;

determining that the second option has been selected by the customer;

restricting access to the interior space of the compartment containing the first instance of the item by the customer until a release day for the item; and

selectively disengaging, at least in part by a control station of the pickup location, a locking mechanism of the compartment containing the first instance of the item to provide the customer with access to the interior space of the compartment containing the first instance of the item on or after the release day for the item.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining the location associated with the customer includes at least one of:

receiving information from the electronic device of the customer that is indicative of the location;

determining the location based at least in part on a delivery destination of at least one prior order placed by the customer;

or

identifying an IP address of the electronic device and the location is determined based at least in part on the IP address.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

associating the order for the item with the compartment containing the first instance of the item.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein a plurality of instances of the item are stored at the pickup location prior to the order being received.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein a plurality of instances of the item are stored at each of a plurality of pickup locations.

9. A method of claim 1, wherein the order is received by an electronic commerce website and is to purchase the item.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining the location of the customer is based at least in part on global positioning system coordinates received from the electronic device of the customer.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location associated with the customer is determined prior to messaging to the electronic device the second option for the item.

6. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving an order for an item from an electronic device of a customer, wherein;

a first instance of the item is at a pickup location prior to the order being received;

a second instance of the item is available to be transported to a delivery destination; and

the pickup location has a plurality of storage compartments;

messaging to the electronic device a first option for the item to be transported to the delivery destination;

determining a location associated with the customer;

in response to determining that the location associated with the customer and a location of the pickup location are within a geographic range of one another, messaging the electronic device a second option for the item to be available for pickup at the pickup location;

determining that the item is to be retrieved from the pickup location based at least in part on a selection of the second option;

causing access to an interior space of a storage compartment containing the first instance of the item to be restricted until a release day for the item;

causing a locking mechanism of the storage compartment containing the first instance of the item to be selectively disengaged, at least in part by a control station of the pickup location, to provide access to the interior space of the storage compartment containing the first instance of the item on or after the release day for the item.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein the item is a release day item.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein a plurality of instances of the item are stored at the pickup location prior to the order being received.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of instances of the item is stored in a different storage compartment of the pickup location.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein associating the first instance of the item with the order includes making the first instance of the item no longer available for a second order.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein messaging the electronic device the second option includes causing at least one of:

an email message;

a telephone call;

or a text message to be transmitted to the electronic device.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein messaging the electronic device the second option includes causing at least one of:

a unique identifier;

a location or address of the pickup location;

directions to the pickup location;

or a summary of items available for pickup at the pickup location to be transmitted to the electronic device.

8. A computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to at least;

receive, prior to a release day, an order for a release day item from an electronic device of a customer, wherein;

a first instance of the release day item is contained in an interior space of a storage compartment of a plurality of storage compartments of a pickup location prior to the release day for the release day item;

a second instance of the release day item is available to be transported to a delivery destination; and

the release day is a date when the release day item is available to customers;

message the electronic device a first option for the release day item to be transported to the delivery destination;

determine a location associated with the customer;

determine that the location associated with the customer and a location of the pickup location are within a geographic range of one another;

message the electronic device of the customer a second option for the release day item to be available for pickup at the pickup location on or after the release day;

determine that the first instance of the release day item is to be retrieved from the pickup location based at least in part on a selection of the second option;

cause access to the interior space of the storage compartment containing the first instance of the release day item to be restricted until the release day;

associate the order with the storage compartment containing the first instance of the release day item; and

cause a locking mechanism of the storage compartment containing the first instance of the release day item to be selectively disengaged, at least in part by a control station of the pickup location, to provide access to the interior space of the storage compartment containing the first instance of the release day item on or after the release day for the release day item.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:

on or after the release day, further message the electronic device that the item is currently available for pickup at the pickup location.

18. The system of claim 8, wherein the release day item is a high-volume item.

19. The system of claim 8, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:

cause a plurality of other instances of the release day item to be stored at a plurality of other pickup locations prior to the release day.

20. The system of claim 8, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to at least:

subsequent to associating the order with the storage compartment containing the first instance of the release day item, cause a summary of other items available for pickup at the pickup location to be sent to the electronic device.