Garment tags for intelligent laundering alerts

• US 9,594,996 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2014
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Glasgow, Dane, Ramadge, David, Selhorst, Bria, Sherman, Corinne Elizabeth, MacLaurin, Matthew Bret, Carlson, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TOAN NGOC
• Application Number:
  US14/578,365
• Publication Number:
  US 20160180685A1
• Time in Patent Office: 815 Days
• Field of Search: 340/540, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.8, 340/571, 340/5.1, 235/375
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 93/00 Counting, sorting, or marking arrangements specially adapted for laundry purposes
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 93/005 Marking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/027 the material being suitable for use as a textile, e.g. woven-based RFID-like labels designed for attachment to laundry items markings attached to laundry items in general D06F93/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure involve an apparatus, systems, and methods for providing intelligent laundering alerts. Example embodiments involve an intelligent garment tag that may be affixed to garments, and may store and provide information about the garment to which it is affixed. The information stored thereon describes various aspects of the garment including color, fabric, and laundering information. The intelligent garment tags further include an alert component for providing laundering alerts (e.g., a flashing or colored light, a warning noise, or a vibration) based on, for example, garment color compatibility or laundering device (e.g., washing machine or clothes dryer) compatibility.

Claims

1. A garment tag comprising:

a machine-readable memory storing garment attribute data of a first garment;

a receiver configured to obtain garment attribute data of a second garment; and

an alert component configured to compare the garment attribute data of the first and second garments to detect an alert condition, the alert component further configured to provide a human-detectable sensory alert in response to detecting the alert condition.

2. The garment tag of claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to obtain the garment attribute data of the second garment by performing operations comprising:

detecting a proximal garment tag, the proximal garment tag being affixed to the second garment;

transmitting a request to the proximal garment tag for the garment attribute data of the second garment; and

receiving a data from the proximal garment tag, the data comprising the garment attribute data of the second garment.

3. The garment tag of claim 1, wherein the alert condition relates to a color compatibility of the first and second garments.

4. The garment tag of claim 1, wherein the alert component compares the garment attribute data of the first and second garments to detect an alert condition by determining that the first and second garments are color incompatible.

5. The garment tag of claim 1, wherein the alert component comprises a light emitting component, and wherein the human-detectable sensory alert is a luminescent alert.

6. The garment tag of claim 1, wherein the alert component comprises a speaker, and wherein the human-detectable sensory alert is an auditory alert.

7. The garment tag of claim 1, wherein the garment attribute data includes at least one of fabric type, a color, a washing machine attribute, a bleaching attribute, a clothes dryer attribute, an ironing attribute, or a dry-cleaning attribute.

8. A system comprising:

a controller comprising;

a reader configured to obtain garment attribute data for two or more garments, the reader to obtain the garment attribute data from a respective garment tag associated with each of the two or more garments;

a detector module configured to detect an alert condition involving at least one of the two or more garments; and

a transmitter configured to transmit control data to the garment tag associated with the at least one of the two or more garments, the control data causing the garment tag to provide a human-detectable sensory alert in response to the detecting of the alert condition.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising at least one intelligent garment tag, the intelligent garment tag comprising:

a machine-readable memory storing the garment attribute data of one of the two or more garments;

a receiver configured to receive the control data from the transmitter; and

an alert component configured to provide the human-detectable sensory alert upon receiving the control data.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the reader is configured to be a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, and wherein the intelligent garment tag is configured to be an RFID device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the detector module is configured to detect the alert condition by performing operations comprising:

determining that the two or more garments are proximate;

comparing the garment attribute data of the two or more garments; and

determining that the two or more garments are color compatible based on the comparing of the garment attribute data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the control data to respective garment tags corresponding to each of the two or more garments, the control data causing the respective garment tags to provide an identical human-detectable sensory alert.

13. A method comprising:

accessing first garment attribute data of a first garment, the first garment attribute data being accessed from a first machine-readable memory embedded in a first garment tag attached to the first garment;

accessing second garment attribute data of a second garment, the second garment attribute data being accessed from a second machine-readable memory embedded in a second garment tag attached to the second garment;

detecting an alert condition based on a comparison of the first garment attribute data and the second garment attribute data; and

causing an alert component to provide a human-detectable sensory alert in response to detecting the alert condition, the alert component being embedded in the garment tag.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting the alert condition comprises:

determining the first garment is proximate to the second garment;

and

determining that the first garment and the second garment are color incompatible based on the garment attribute data of the first garment and the second garment.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting the alert condition comprises:

determining the first garment is proximate to the second garment;

and

determining that the first garment and the second garment are color compatible based on the garment attribute data of the garment and the second garment.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising causing the second garment tag to provide a second alert.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting the alert condition comprises:

determining the first garment is proximate to a laundering device; and

determining the first garment is incompatible with the laundering device based on the first garment attribute data of the first garment.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining the first garment is proximate to the laundering device is based on signal strength of the garment tag.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the laundering device is selected from at least one of a washing machine, a clothes dryer, an iron, or a steamer.