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US 7,996,265 B2Granted
System and method for fulfilling a media request
AssigneeBlockbuster Inc.
InventorsShane N Evangelist, Joseph W. Craft, IV, Leslie D. Crook, John D. Taylor, John F. Butler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for fulfilling a media request includes receiving a media request associated with a subscriber account. One inventory location is selected from a plurality of inventory locations to fulfill the media request, and at least one of the inventory locations accommodates in-store media rental requests.
Claims23
A method performed on a computer for fulfilling a media request, comprising:
- allocating a first portion of inventory for on-line fulfillment to a particular inventory location;
- allocating a second portion of inventory for in-store fulfillment to the particular inventory location;
- determining in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory, wherein
- determining in-store rental activity comprises:
- determining a protected in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory based on past in-store rental activity;
- determining an actual in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory;
- and
- comparing the protected in-store rental activity and the actual in-store rental activity to determine whether to reallocate the first and second portions of inventory;
- reallocating the first and second portions of inventory in accordance with the determined in-store rental activity;
- receiving, at a computer, a media request associated with a subscriber account;
- and selecting, by the computer, one of a plurality of inventory locations to fulfill the media request, wherein at least one of the inventory locations accommodates in-store media rental requests.
8 more elements
A system for fulfilling a media request, comprising:
- a plurality of computers operable to make media requests associated with subscriber accounts;
- and
- a controller comprising hardware, the controller operable to:
- allocate a first portion of inventory for on-line fulfillment to a particular inventory location and allocate a second portion of inventory for in-store fulfillment to the particular inventory location;
- determine in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory;
- determine a protected in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory based on past in-store rental activity;
- determine an actual in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventor;
- compare the protected in-store rental activity and the actual in-store rental activity to determine whether to reallocate the first and second portions of inventory;
- reallocate the first and second portions of inventory in accordance with the determined in-store rental activity;
- and
- select a plurality of inventory locations to fulfill the media requests, wherein at least one of the inventory locations accommodates in-store media rental requests.
8 more elements
A controller, comprising:
- a memory operable to store inventory information and account information, the inventory information indicating an allocation of media at a plurality of inventory locations, wherein at least one of the locations accommodates in-store media rental requests, the account information indicating a plurality of subscriber accounts;
- a network interface operable to receive a media request;
- and
- a processor operable to:
- associate the media request with a particular subscriber account using the account information;
- allocate a first portion of inventory for on-line fulfillment to a particular inventory location;
- allocate a second portion of inventory for in-store fulfillment to the particular inventory location;
- determine in-store activity of the second portion of inventory;
- determine a projected in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory based on past in-store rental activity;
- determine an actual in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory;
- compare the projected in-store rental activity and the actual in-store rental activity to determine whether to reallocate the first and second portions of inventory;
- reallocate the first and second portions of inventory in accordance with the determined in-store rental activity;
- and
- select one of a plurality of inventory locations to fulfill the request using the inventory information.
11 more elements
A method performed on a computer for fulfilling a media request, comprising:
- allocating a first portion of inventory for on-line fulfillment to a particular inventory location;
- allocating a second portion of inventory for in-store fulfillment to the particular inventory location;
- receiving, at a computer, a media request associated with a subscriber account, the media request comprising a request to rent a movie title, wherein receiving the request comprises processing a configurable queue of requests associated with the subscriber account;
- selecting, by the computer, one of a plurality of inventory locations to fulfill the request, at least one of the inventory locations accommodating in-store media requests, wherein selecting one of a plurality of inventory locations comprises:
- determining a geographic location of a customer associated with the request;
- determining performance data associated with inventory locations that are stores;
- selecting one of a plurality of inventory locations based on classification of available inventory, wherein the available inventory comprises in-store inventory, on-line inventory, and visiting inventory;
- determining in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory, wherein determining in-store rental activity comprises:
- determining a projected in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory based on past in-store rental activity;
- determining an actual in-store rental activity of the second portion of inventory;
- and
- comparing the projected in-store rental activity and the actual in-store rental activity to determine whether to reallocate the first and second portions of inventory;
- reallocating the first and second portions of inventory in accordance with the determined in-store rental activity;
- and
- increasing the first portion of inventory in accordance with the determined in-store rental activity.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.