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US 2025/0053995 A1Published application
Item collection, return, exchange without human interaction
OwnerNolan Richard WHEELER, Joshua Diego Alexander RODRIGUEZinventors
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OwnerNolan Richard WHEELER, Joshua Diego Alexander RODRIGUEZinventors
Estimating the term…
The recent pandemic has resulted in a desire to avoid human-to-human contact where possible. Purchasing items from a brick-and-mortar store traditionally involves close human interaction and touching items that have been touched by others. Now, to reduce human-to-human interaction, a bank of compartments is described into which items are placed by staff members for later collection by customers. After agreeing a purchase, a staff member places the purchased item in a compartment. The customer uses a smartphone to announce their arrival at the bank of compartments and provide authentication, at which point the compartment with the item is identified to the customer. The compartment automatically unlocks and opens allowing the customer to obtain the item without touching the compartment or its door. Deposits of purchased items are made via the bank for exchange, repair or refund. Each compartment may sanitize itself and its contents with UV-C light.
A method for facilitating a return by a customer of an item that has been purchased, comprising:
A system for facilitating a return by a customer of an item that has been purchased, comprising:
A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions, which when executed by a processer, cause a server to:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.