Pickup location monitoring

{
  "publication_number": "US9230230B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Pickup location monitoring",
  "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 pickup location, comprising: a plurality of storage compartments, each of the plurality of storage compartments configured to receive and store an object ordered from an electronic-commerce website and make the object available to a user for pickup, each of the plurality of storage compartments including: a plurality of surfaces configured to define a cavity into which an object ordered from the electronic-commerce website is placed for storage; a door pivotally coupled to at least one of the plurality of surfaces and positioned to prevent access to the cavity when the door is in a closed position to enable storage of the object ordered from the electronic-commerce website; a camera disposed inside the cavity, the camera configured to capture an image of the object placed inside the cavity of the storage compartment; and a presence detection sensor disposed inside the cavity, the presence detection sensor configured to detect a presence of the object placed inside the cavity of the storage compartment; a particulate sensor configured to collect particulates for use in testing for hazardous or banned substances; and a user interface configured to identify a first order for a first object stored in a first storage compartment of the plurality of storage compartments of the pickup location.",
    "2. The pickup location as recited in claim 1, further comprising: a storage compartment management component configured to cause unlocking of the first storage compartment of the plurality of storage compartments of the pickup location in response to the user interface receiving from the user an access code corresponding to the first order.",
    "3. The pickup location as recited in claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of storage compartments further include: a locking mechanism for locking and unlocking the door of the storage compartment in response to instructions received from the storage compartment management component.",
    "4. The pickup location of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of storage compartments of the pickup location further include: a spring mechanism configured to propel the door outward when the locking mechanism is unlocked to identify to the user that the door is unlocked and the storage compartment is accessible.",
    "5. The pickup location as recited in claim 1, wherein the first storage compartment further includes: a mirror disposed on an inside of at least one of the plurality of surfaces of the first storage compartment to visually reflect a representation of the first object stored in the first storage compartment.",
    "6. The pickup location as recited in claim 5, wherein the mirror is disposed on at least one of an upper inside or a lower inside of the cavity of the first storage compartment.",
    "7. The pickup location as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of storage compartments further include: a light disposed inside the cavity of the storage compartment.",
    "8. The pickup location as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the pickup location includes a plurality of casters disposed on a bottom surface of the pickup location to enable a movement of the pickup location.",
    "9. The pickup location of claim 1, wherein the first object is placed into the first storage compartment for storage at a time after the first order for the first object is received by the electronic-commerce website.",
    "10. The pickup location of claim 1, further comprising: a drop-box configured to store objects returned to the pickup location, the drop-box including a pivoting door configured to allow objects to be placed in the drop-box but not retrieved without having additional access to the drop-box."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "Many companies package items and/or groups of items together for a variety of purposes, such as e-commerce and mail-order companies that package items (e.g., books, CDs, apparel, food, etc.) to be shipped to fulfill orders from users. Retailers, wholesalers, and other product distributors (which may collectively be referred to as distributors) typically maintain an inventory of various items that may be ordered by clients or users. This inventory may be maintained and processed at a materials handling facility which may include, but is not limited to, one or more of: warehouses, distribution centers, cross-docking facilities, order fulfillment facilities, packaging facilities, shipping facilities, or other facilities or combinations of facilities for performing one or more functions of material (inventory) handling.\n\nCurrently, items must be placed in shipping packages (e.g., corrugated boxes) and shipped to the user. Shipping packages are typically necessary to protect the items from damage during shipping. As part of the operation of packing items in a shipping package, an agent may select from a limited number of available shipping packages based on a visual assessment of the item or items once they are picked from inventory and/or grouped. This visual method of selecting shipping packages may be prone to human error, as an agent may select a shipping package that is too small, larger than needed to handle the item or items, or that does not adequately protect the contents of the shipping package.",
  "cpc": [
    "B65G 1/1378",
    "G05B 15/02",
    "G06Q 10/08",
    "G06Q 10/0836",
    "G06Q 30/06",
    "G07F 17/13",
    "Y02P 80/30"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G06F 17/00",
    "G06Q 10/08",
    "G06Q 30/06"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Amazon Technologies Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Piyush Gupta",
    "Girish Lakshman",
    "Lin Wan",
    "Michael Mahesh Bhaskaran"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2012-03-29",
  "publication_date": "2016-01-05",
  "grant_date": "2016-01-05",
  "priority_date": "2012-03-29",
  "application_number": "US-201213434844-A",
  "family_id": "49236050",
  "cited_by_count": 29,
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}