U.S. patent application number 13/004872 was filed with the patent office on 2011-07-14 for venue product sales and networking.
This patent application is currently assigned to VENDMORE SYSTEMS, LLC. Invention is credited to Paul T. Breitenbach, Paul D. Signorelli, Igor Zhuk.
Application Number | 20110173041 13/004872 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44257591 |
Filed Date | 2011-07-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110173041 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Breitenbach; Paul T. ; et
al. |
July 14, 2011 |
VENUE PRODUCT SALES AND NETWORKING
Abstract
Systems, apparatus, interfaces, methods, and articles of
manufacture for venue product sales and networking are
provided.
Inventors: |
Breitenbach; Paul T.;
(Wilton, CT) ; Signorelli; Paul D.; (Ridgefield,
CT) ; Zhuk; Igor; (Weston, CT) |
Assignee: |
VENDMORE SYSTEMS, LLC
Stamford
CT
|
Family ID: |
44257591 |
Appl. No.: |
13/004872 |
Filed: |
January 11, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61294101 |
Jan 11, 2010 |
|
|
|
61331208 |
May 4, 2010 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.13 ;
705/26.1; 705/26.9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0277 20130101;
G06Q 20/32 20130101; B67D 7/348 20130101; G07F 13/065 20130101;
G06Q 10/06311 20130101; G06Q 30/0639 20130101; B67D 7/145 20130101;
G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 20/20 20130101; G06Q 30/0613
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.13 ;
705/26.1; 705/26.9 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00; G06Q 10/00 20060101 G06Q010/00 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a centralized electronic
processing device, an indication of an order for a unit of a
product, the order being placed via a mobile device of a customer
located at a venue; determining, by the centralized electronic
processing device, a subset of a plurality of facilities at the
venue, wherein each facility of the subset is capable of fulfilling
the order; selecting, by the centralized electronic processing
device and based on information indicative of a predicted order
fulfillment time at each of the facilities of the subset, one of
the facilities of the subset to fulfill the order; transmitting, by
the centralized electronic processing device, an indication of the
order to the selected facility; and transmitting, by the
centralized electronic processing device and to the mobile device
of the customer, an indication of the selected facility and an
indication of an expected order fulfillment time for the order.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, after the
transmitting of the indication of the order to the selected
facility, by the centralized electronic processing device and from
the selected facility, an indication that order is ready; and
notifying the customer, via the centralized electronic processing
device and in response to receiving the indication from the
selected facility, that the order is ready.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the order is a delivery-type
order, further comprising: notifying the customer, via the
centralized electronic processing device and in response to
receiving the indication from the selected facility, an estimated
delivery time of the order.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the subset
comprises: determining that an inventory level of the product at
each facility of the subset is above a predetermined threshold.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the subset
comprises: determining that each facility of the subset is
authorized to provide the unit of the product.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the subset
comprises: determining that each facility of the subset has one or
more of (i) sales and/or (ii) profits, that meet predetermined
threshold requirements.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the
predicted order fulfillment time at each of the facilities of the
subset, comprises information descriptive of a current volume of
orders at each of the facilities of the subset.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the
predicted order fulfillment time at each of the facilities of the
subset, comprises information descriptive of a maximum volume of
orders permitted at each of the facilities of the subset.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting, comprises:
selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the
order based on the selected one of the facilities of the subset
having the quickest predicted order fulfillment time.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting is further based
on a predicted delivery time of the order at each of the facilities
of the subset.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the selecting, comprises:
selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the
order based on the selected one of the facilities of the subset
having the quickest: predicted order fulfillment time plus
predicted delivery time.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the
mobile device of the customer, and indication of a location of the
customer at the venue.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication of the location
of the customer comprises an indication of one or more of (i) a GPS
coordinate of the customer and (ii) a seat number of the
customer.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the selecting, comprises:
selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the
order based on the selected one of the facilities of the subset
being the shortest distance from the location of the customer.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the distance comprises a
rectilinear distance between the selected facility of the subset
and the location of the customer.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting, comprises:
selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the
order based on a type of the facility.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the selecting, comprises:
selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the
order based on a rule that specifies that browser-type facilities
are to be selected first, runner-type facilities are to be selected
second, and pickup-type facilities are to be selected last.
18. An apparatus, comprising: an electronic processing device; and
a memory device in communication with the electronic processing
device, the memory device storing specially-programmed instructions
that when executed by the electronic processing device result in:
receiving, by a centralized electronic processing device, an
indication of an order for a unit of a product, the order being
placed via a mobile device of a customer located at a venue;
determining, by the centralized electronic processing device, a
subset of a plurality of facilities at the venue, wherein each
facility of the subset is capable of fulfilling the order;
selecting, by the centralized electronic processing device and
based on information indicative of a predicted order fulfillment
time at each of the facilities of the subset, one of the facilities
of the subset to fulfill the order; transmitting, by the
centralized electronic processing device, an indication of the
order to the selected facility; and transmitting, by the
centralized electronic processing device and to the mobile device
of the customer, an indication of the selected facility and an
indication of an expected order fulfillment time for the order.
19. A method, comprising: determining, by an electronic controller
associated with a concession stand at a venue, information
descriptive of a plurality of pending customer orders; determining,
by the electronic controller, information descriptive of a
plurality of available delivery personnel; allocating, by the
electronic controller and based on the customer order information
and the delivery personnel information, the plurality of pending
customer orders amongst the plurality of available delivery
personnel; transmitting, by the electronic controller and to each
delivery personnel of the plurality of available delivery personnel
that is allocated one or more customer orders, an indication of the
one or more customer orders; and transmitting, by the electronic
controller and to each customer, an indication of an expected
delivery time for each customers' respective order.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the information descriptive of
the plurality of pending customer orders comprises information
identifying locations of the respective customers and wherein the
allocating is further based on rectilinear distances from the
customers to the concession stand.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims benefit and priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) to (i) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.
No. 61/294,101, filed on Jan. 11, 2010, and titled "VENDING MACHINE
SYSTEMS AND METHODS", and (ii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 61/331,208, filed on May 4, 2010, and titled "EVENT SALES
AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS". Each of the above-referenced
applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any-one of
the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The experiences of patrons of entertainment, sports, and
other venues are often heavily influenced by weather, availability
of refreshments, and interactions with other patrons or fans. The
weather, at least at outdoor venues and/or venues not fortunate
enough to be equipped with retractable roofs, is largely
uncontrollable. Refreshments and/or other product sales are
typically conducted via either or both of concession stands (e.g.,
fixed sales emplacements) and "hockers" (roaming vendors carrying a
limited selection of available products). Interactions between fans
are informal, disorganized, and limited to communications with fans
proximate to each other. Improvements in how refreshments (and/or
other products) are sold and/or improvements in fan interactions,
could lead to increased patron satisfaction and accordingly to
increased venue revenues.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] An understanding of embodiments described herein and many of
the attendant advantages thereof may be readily obtained by
reference to the following detailed description when considered
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0005] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to some
embodiments;
[0006] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method according to some
embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method according to some
embodiments;
[0008] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some
embodiments;
[0009] FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are perspective system diagrams of
processes according to some embodiments;
[0010] FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 6F, FIG.
6G, FIG. 6H, FIG. 6I, FIG. 6J, FIG. 6K, FIG. 6L, FIG. 6M, FIG. 6N,
FIG. 6O, FIG. 6 P, FIG. 6Q, FIG. 6R, FIG. 6S, FIG. 6T, FIG. 6U,
FIG. 6V, FIG. 6W, FIG. 6X, FIG. 6Y, FIG. 6Z, FIG. 6AA, FIG. 6BB,
FIG. 6CC, FIG. 6DD, FIG. 6EE, FIG. 6FF, FIG. 6GG, FIG. 6HH, FIG.
6II, and FIG. 6JJ are example interfaces according to some
embodiments;
[0011] FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 7F, FIG.
7G, FIG. 7H, FIG. 7I, and FIG. 7J are example interfaces according
to some embodiments;
[0012] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system according to some
embodiments;
[0013] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method according to some
embodiments;
[0014] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to some
embodiments; and
[0015] FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are perspective diagrams of exemplary
data storage devices according to some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
I. Introduction
[0016] Embodiments presented herein are descriptive of systems,
apparatus, interfaces, methods, and articles of manufacture for
venue product (and/or service) sales and networking. In some
embodiments, for example, customers (e.g., patrons or fans) of a
venue may be provided the capability of ordering products (such as
refreshments and/or merchandise) from their seats and/or the
ability to have ordered products delivered directly to their seats.
According to some embodiments, the customers may be provided with
the opportunity and/or capability of electronic networking with
other customers at the venue.
[0017] According to some embodiments, for example, methods may
include receiving (e.g., by a centralized electronic processing
device) an indication of an order for a unit of a product. In some
embodiments, the order may be placed via a mobile device of a
customer located at a venue. Some embodiments may include (i)
determining (e.g., by the centralized electronic processing device)
a subset of a plurality of facilities at the venue, wherein each
facility of the subset is capable of fulfilling the order, (ii)
selecting (e.g., by the centralized electronic processing device
and/or based on information indicative of a predicted order
fulfillment time at each of the facilities of the subset) one of
the facilities of the subset to fulfill the order, (iii)
transmitting (e.g., by the centralized electronic processing
device) an indication of the order to the selected facility, and/or
(iv) transmitting (e.g., by the centralized electronic processing
device and/or to the mobile device of the customer) an indication
of the selected facility and an indication of an expected order
fulfillment time for the order.
[0018] According to some embodiments, methods may include
receiving, after the transmitting of the indication of the order to
the selected facility, by the centralized electronic processing
device and from the selected facility, an indication that order is
ready, and/or notifying the customer, via the centralized
electronic processing device and in response to receiving the
indication from the selected facility, that the order is ready.
[0019] In some embodiments, such as in the case that the order is a
delivery-type order, methods may include notifying the customer,
via the centralized electronic processing device and in response to
receiving the indication from the selected facility, an estimated
delivery time of the order. In some embodiments, the determining of
the subset may comprise (i) determining that an inventory level of
the product at each facility of the subset is above a predetermined
threshold, (ii) determining that each facility of the subset is
authorized to provide the unit of the product, and/or (iii)
determining that each facility of the subset has one or more of (i)
sales and/or (ii) profits, that meet predetermined threshold
requirements.
[0020] According to some embodiments, the information indicative of
the predicted order fulfillment time at each of the facilities of
the subset may comprise (i) information descriptive of a current
volume of orders at each of the facilities of the subset and/or
(ii) information descriptive of a maximum volume of orders
permitted at each of the facilities of the subset. In some
embodiments, the selecting may comprise (i) selecting the one of
the facilities of the subset to fulfill the order based on the
selected one of the facilities of the subset having the quickest
predicted order fulfillment time and/or (ii) in the case that the
selecting is further based on a predicted delivery time of the
order at each of the facilities of the subset, the selecting may
comprise selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to
fulfill the order based on the selected one of the facilities of
the subset having the quickest predicted order fulfillment time
plus predicted delivery time.
[0021] In some embodiments, methods may include receiving, from the
mobile device of the customer, and indication of a location of the
customer at the venue. The indication o the location may comprise,
in some embodiments, an indication of one or more of (i) a GPS
coordinate of the customer and (ii) a seat number of the customer.
According to some embodiments, the selecting may comprise selecting
the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the order based
on the selected one of the facilities of the subset being the
shortest distance from the location of the customer. In some
embodiments, the distance may comprise a rectilinear distance
between the selected facility of the subset and the location of the
customer. According to some embodiments, the selecting may comprise
(i) selecting the one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill
the order based on a type of the facility and/or (ii) selecting the
one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the order based on a
rule that specifies that browser-type facilities are to be selected
first, runner-type facilities are to be selected second, and
pickup-type facilities are to be selected last.
[0022] Some embodiments may include an apparatus comprising an
electronic processor communicatively coupled to a memory device
storing specially-programmed instructions that when executed by the
electronic processor result in execution of one or more of the
methods and/or processes described herein. Some embodiments may
include a non-transitory computer-readable memory storing
specially-programmed instructions that when executed by an
electronic processing device result in execution of one or more of
the methods and/or processes described herein.
[0023] In some embodiments, a system may comprise a network,
comprising: (i) a first communication link to a mobile electronic
device operated by a customer at a venue, (ii) a second
communication link to a central electronic controller associated
with the venue, and/or (iii) a third communication link to a
fulfillment facility associated with the venue. In some
embodiments, the network: (a) receives, via the first communication
link, an indication of an order for a unit of a product, (b)
transmits, via the second communication link, the indication of the
order for the unit of the product, (c) receives, via the second
communication link, an indication of a selection of the fulfillment
facility by the central electronic controller, and/or (d)
transmits, via the third communication link, the indication of the
order for the unit of the product.
[0024] In some embodiments, method may include (i) determining
(e.g., by an electronic controller associated with a concession
stand at a venue) information descriptive of a plurality of pending
customer orders, (ii) determining (e.g., by the electronic
controller) information descriptive of a plurality of available
delivery personnel, (iii) allocating (e.g., by the electronic
controller and/or based on the customer order information and the
delivery personnel information) the plurality of pending customer
orders amongst the plurality of available delivery personnel, (iv)
transmitting (e.g., by the electronic controller and/or to each
delivery personnel of the plurality of available delivery personnel
that is allocated one or more customer orders) an indication of the
one or more customer orders, and/or (v) transmitting (e.g., by the
electronic controller and/or to each customer) an indication of an
expected delivery time for each customers' respective order.
[0025] In some embodiments, the information descriptive of the
plurality of pending customer orders may comprise information
identifying locations of the respective customers and wherein the
allocating is further based on rectilinear distances from the
customers to the concession stand. In some embodiments, the
information identifying locations of the respective customers and
wherein the information descriptive of the plurality of available
delivery personnel comprises information identifying locations of
the respective delivery personnel and wherein the allocating is
further based on rectilinear distances between the customers and
the delivery personnel. According to some embodiments, the
transmitting of the indication of the one or more customer orders
to each of the delivery personnel of the plurality of available
delivery personnel that is allocated one or more customer orders,
may comprises (i) transmitting a list of allocated customer orders,
and/or (ii) transmitting an indication of a delivery sequence for
the list of allocated customer orders. According to some
embodiments, the transmitting of the indication of the one or more
customer orders to each of the delivery personnel of the plurality
of available delivery personnel that is allocated one or more
customer orders, may comprises transmitting a suggested rectilinear
route for the delivery personnel to take when delivering the
allocated customer orders on the list of allocated customer
orders.
[0026] Some embodiments may include a method, comprising (i)
receiving, by an electronic controller and from a first mobile
device of a first attendee of an event at a venue, an indication of
a request to challenge a second attendee of the event, (ii)
transmitting, by the electronic controller, in response to the
receiving of the indication of the challenge request, and to a
second mobile device of the second attendee of the event, an
indication of the challenge request, (iii) receiving, by the
electronic controller and from the second mobile device of the
second attendee of the event, an indication of an acceptance of the
challenge request, (iv) determining, by the electronic controller,
in response to the receiving of the indication of the acceptance of
the challenge request, and based on (1) stored challenge criteria
relating to possible occurrences at the event and (2) an actual
occurrence at the event, whether either of the first or second
attendees has won the challenge, (v) selecting, by the electronic
controller, a fulfillment facility at the venue that is capable of
providing a particular prize to the winner of the challenge, and/or
(vi) causing, by the electronic controller, the particular prize to
be provided to the winner of the challenge via the selected
fulfillment facility at the venue.
[0027] In some embodiments, a method may comprise (i) receiving, by
an electronic controller and from a mobile device of an attendee of
an event at a venue, an indication of media captured at the event,
(ii) integrating, by the electronic controller and with the media
captured at the event, media obtained from a third-party, and/or
(iii) transmitting, by the electronic controller, based on saved
preferences of the attendee, and via a social network associated
with the attendee, an indication of the integrated media to a
plurality of social network friends of the attendee.
[0028] In some embodiments, a system may comprise a network,
comprising: (i) a first communication link to a central electronic
controller associated with a venue, (ii) a second communication
link to a first mobile fan device operated by a first fan of an
event at the venue, and/or (iii) a third communication link to a
second mobile fan device operated by a second fan of the event at
the venue. In some embodiments, the network: (a) receives, via the
second communication link, an indication of media captured at the
event, (b) transmits, via the first communication link, the
indication of media captured at the event, (c) receives, via the
first communication link, an indication of an integration of the
media captured at the event with third-party media, and (d)
transmits, via the third communication link, an indication of the
integration of the media captured at the event with third-party
media.
II. Terms and Definitions
[0029] Some embodiments described herein are associated with a
"venue". As utilized herein, the term "venue" may be utilized to
describe any type of location or area where an event occurs. Venues
may generally comprise, for example, buildings, structures, parks,
and/or other areas associated with one or more particular events or
other happenings. Venues may be of one or more types, typically
based on a type of event occurring at the venue. "Entertainment
venues", for example, may comprise theatres, stages, amphitheatres,
parks, music halls, and/or other sites or areas where performances
are held. "Sports venues" may comprise a type of entertainment
venue which may be held or conducted at any location appropriate
for an entertainment venue and/or that may be held, for example, in
colosseums, stadiums, arenas, race tracks, sports fields, ice
rinks, gymnasiums, field houses, and/or other sporting areas.
Venues may change type based on different types of events hosted at
the venues (e.g., a "sales venue" on a day when a flea market is
held, but a sports venue on a day when a football game is held).
Venues may typically be attended by one or more customers, patrons,
or fans.
[0030] As used herein, the terms "customer", "patron", and "fan"
may be utilized interchangeably and may generally be descriptive of
any individual or other entity that attends an event at a venue.
Customers that purchase tickets to (and/or attend) a play in a
theatre may, for example, be referred to as patrons, or even
"theatre-goers". Customers of sporting venues such as races are
typically referred to as fans (e.g., "race fans"). Venue customers
may typically attend and/or watch an event from a specific area
(e.g. section) or location (e.g., a seat).
[0031] As used herein, the term "section" may generally refer to a
specific area within or at a venue where a customer is located.
Sections, such as in stadiums or theatres, for example, may
comprise one or more identifiable segmentations of bleachers,
boxes, tiers, terraces, stalls, balconies, galleries, and/or other
areas therein. Field, club, and upper boxes and standing-room areas
at a baseball stadium as well as orchestra, mezzanine, and balcony
seats at a theatre are examples of various sections of a venue.
Typically, access to different sections is provided to customers at
different prices (e.g., court-side seats at a basketball game are
much more expensive than seats in an upper deck, balcony, or
back-row). Some sections may have seats or other designated and/or
specific areas for a customer to occupy, while others may not.
[0032] As used herein, the term "seat" may generally refer to any
specific location at a venue (and/or in a specific section of a
venue) for which occupancy by a customer may be provided (e.g., by
payment of a fee). Seats may comprise actual devices or furniture
for sitting, for example, and/or may comprise other designated
areas for standing or for otherwise occupying a location at the
venue. Seats may be assigned or first-come-first-served. Some
embodiments describe how customers may utilize mobile devices
(e.g., customer devices) from their seats to realize benefits as
described herein.
[0033] Some embodiments described herein are associated with a
"customer device" or a "network device". As used herein, a
"customer device" is a subset of a "network device". The "network
device", for example, may generally refer to any device that can
communicate via a network, while the "customer device" may comprise
a network device that is owned or operated by or otherwise
associated with a customer. Examples of customer and/or network
devices may include, but are not limited to: a Personal Computer
(PC), a computer workstation, a computer server, a printer, a
scanner, a facsimile machine, a copier, a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), a storage device (e.g., a disk drive), a hub, a
router, a switch, and a modem, a video game console, or a wireless
or cellular telephone. Customer and/or network devices may comprise
one or more network components.
[0034] As used herein, the term "network component" may refer to a
customer and/or network device, or a component, piece, portion, or
combination of customer and/or network devices. Examples of network
components may include, but are not limited to: a Static Random
Access Memory (SRAM) device or module, a network processor, and a
network communication path, connection, port, or cable.
[0035] In addition, some embodiments are associated with a
"network" or a "communication network". As used herein, the terms
"network" and "communication network" may be used interchangeably
and may refer to any object, entity, component, device, and/or any
combination thereof that permits, facilitates, and/or otherwise
contributes to or is associated with the transmission of messages,
packets, signals, and/or other forms of information between and/or
within one or more network devices. Networks may be or include a
plurality of interconnected network devices. In some embodiments,
networks may be hard-wired, wireless, virtual, neural, and/or any
other configuration of type that is or becomes known. Communication
networks may include, for example, one or more networks configured
to operate in accordance with the Fast Ethernet LAN transmission
standard 802.3-2002.RTM. published by the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In some embodiments, a network
may include one or more wired and/or wireless networks operated in
accordance with any communication standard or protocol that is or
becomes known or practicable.
[0036] As used herein, the terms "information" and "data" may be
used interchangeably and may refer to any data, text, voice, video,
image, message, bit, packet, pulse, tone, waveform, and/or other
type or configuration of signal and/or information. Information may
comprise information packets transmitted, for example, in
accordance with the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) standard as
defined by "Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification" RFC
1883, published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF),
Network Working Group, S. Deering et al. (December 1995).
Information may, according to some embodiments, be compressed,
encoded, encrypted, and/or otherwise packaged or manipulated in
accordance with any method that is or becomes known or
practicable.
[0037] In addition, some embodiments described herein are
associated with an "indication". As used herein, the term
"indication" may be used to refer to any indicia and/or other
information indicative of or associated with a subject, item,
entity, and/or other object and/or idea. As used herein, the
phrases "information indicative of" and "indicia" may be used to
refer to any information that represents, describes, and/or is
otherwise associated with a related entity, subject, or object.
Indicia of information may include, for example, a code, a
reference, a link, a signal, an identifier, and/or any combination
thereof and/or any other informative representation associated with
the information. In some embodiments, indicia of information (or
indicative of the information) may be or include the information
itself and/or any portion or component of the information. In some
embodiments, an indication may include a request, a solicitation, a
broadcast, and/or any other form of information gathering and/or
dissemination.
III. Venue Product Sales
[0038] A. Overview
[0039] Referring first to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a system 100
according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the
system 100 may comprise a controller 110 in communication with a
mobile customer device 130 (e.g., via a network 150). According to
some embodiments, the system 100 may comprise a payment device 160
and/or one or more fulfillment devices 170a-n (e.g., also in
communication with the network 150). In some embodiments, any or
all of the components 110, 130, 160, 170a-n of the system 100 may
be located (entirely or partially) at a venue 180 (e.g., as
depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments, the
controller 110, mobile customer device 130, and fulfillment devices
170a-n are located within the venue 180).
[0040] In some embodiments, the controller 110 may, for example,
comprise an electronic and/or computerized controller device such
as a computer server communicatively coupled to interface with the
mobile customer device 130 (directly and/or indirectly). The
controller 110 may, for example, comprise a PowerEdge.TM. M910
blade server manufactured by Dell.RTM., Inc. of Round Rock, TX
which may include one or more Eight-Core Intel.RTM. Xeon.RTM. 7500
Series electronic processing devices. According to some embodiments
(such as depicted in FIG. 1), the controller 110 may be located in
(or at) the venue 180. In some embodiments, the controller 110 may
be located remote from the venue 180, such as at one or more
centralized locations. The controller 110 may also or alternatively
comprise a plurality of electronic processing devices located at
one or more various sites such as at the venue 180 and/or at one or
more other locations remote from the venue 180.
[0041] According to some embodiments, the controller 110 may store
and/or execute specially programmed instructions to operate in
accordance with embodiments described herein. The controller 110
may, for example, execute one or more programs that permit a
customer (not explicitly shown in FIG. 1) of the venue 180 (e.g.,
operating the mobile customer device 130) to place purchase orders
for products (and/or services) available at or via the venue
180.
[0042] The mobile customer device 130, in some embodiments, may
comprise any type or configuration of mobile electronic network
and/or communication device that is or becomes known or
practicable. The mobile customer device 130 may, for example,
comprise a cellular and/or wireless telephone such as an
iPhone.RTM. manufactured by Apple.RTM., Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.
or an Optimus.TM. S smartphone manufactured by LG.RTM. Electronics,
Inc. of San Diego, Calif., and running an Androird.RTM. operating
system from Google.RTM., Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. In some
embodiments, such as depicted in FIG. 1, the mobile customer device
130 may be utilized by the customer while the customer (and thus
the mobile customer device 130 as well) are located at the venue
180. The customer may utilize and/or operate the mobile customer
device 130 from a section and/or seat of the venue 180, for
example, to purchase products and/or services available for sale at
(or via) the venue 180.
[0043] The mobile customer device 130 may, for example, communicate
with the controller 110 via the network 150 to effectuate an order
and/or sale of one or more products and/or services. In some
embodiments, the mobile customer device 130 may interface with the
controller 110 to effectuate communications (direct or indirect)
with one or more other mobile customer devices 130 (not explicitly
shown in FIG. 1), such as may be operated by other customers of the
venue 180. The network 150 may, according to some embodiments,
comprise a LAN (wireless and/or wired), cellular telephone,
Bluetooth.RTM., and/or RF network with communication links between
the controller 110 and the mobile customer device 130. In some
embodiments, the network 150 may comprise direct communications
links between any or all of the components 110, 130, 160, 170a-n of
the system 100. The mobile customer device 130 may, for example, be
directly interfaced or connected to one or more of the fulfillment
devices 170a-n via one or more wires, cables, wireless links,
and/or other network components within and/or associated with the
venue 180, such network components (e.g., communication links)
comprising portions of the network 150. In some embodiments, the
network 150 may comprise one or many other links or network
components other than those depicted in FIG. 1. The mobile customer
device 130 may, for example, be connected to the controller 110 via
various cell towers, routers, repeaters, ports, switches, and/or
other network components that comprise the Internet and/or a
cellular telephone (and/or Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN)) network, and which comprise portions of the network
150.
[0044] While the network 150 is depicted in FIG. 1 as a single
object, the network 150 may comprise any number, type, and/or
configuration of networks that is or becomes known or practicable.
According to some embodiments, the network 150 may comprise a
conglomeration of different sub-networks and/or network components
interconnected, directly or indirectly, by the components 110, 130,
160, 170a-n of the system 100. The network 150 may comprise one or
more cellular telephone networks with communication links between
the mobile customer device 130 and the controller 110, for example,
and/or may comprise the Internet, with communication links between
the controller 110 and the payment device 160, for example.
[0045] In some embodiments, the payment device 160 may comprise one
or more devices including an electronic and/or computerized
processing device, such as one or more web and/or computer servers
(physical and/or virtual) owned, operated by, and/or otherwise
associated with a financial entity such as a bank, credit card
entity, and/or escrow-type agent. In some embodiments, the payment
device 160 may be in communication any or all of the controller
110, the mobile customer device 130, and/or one or more of the
fulfillment devices 170a-n. The payment device 160 may, for
example, communicate and/or provide payment information (e.g.,
account numbers, account debit authorizations, credit locks, and/or
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) data) to facilitate the ordering of
products and/or services from one or more of the fulfillment
devices 170a-n of the venue 180, by the customer (e.g., via the
mobile customer device 130).
[0046] According to some embodiments, the fulfillment devices
170a-n may comprise any type or configuration of devices,
equipment, areas, and/or other objects or entities via which units
of product and/or services may be purchased at (or via) the venue
180. The fulfillment devices 170a-n may comprise, for example,
concession stands at the venue 180 (and/or equipment and/or
personnel thereof), vending machines, "smart" visi-coolers (e.g.,
as described in Applicants' co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.
No. ______ filed on Jan. 7, 2011 in the name of Breitenbach et al.
and titled "SMART VISI-COOLERS", the smart visi-cooler descriptions
and concepts of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein),
"hockers", "runners", and/or any devices and/or equipment utilized
and/or associated therewith.
[0047] As utilized herein, the term "hocker" may generally refer to
any personnel or other entities that offer products and/or services
for sale from non-fixed emplacements at the venue 180. Hockers may
comprise, for example, vendors carrying units of product (e.g.,
refreshments and/or souvenirs) throughout various sections of the
venue 180. As utilized herein, the term "runner" may generally
refer to personnel or other entities that deliver units of product
from concession stands and/or other fulfillment devices 170a-n to a
section and/or seat of a customer of the venue 180. In some
embodiments, the terms "hockers" and/or "runners" may comprise any
devices (such as hardware and/or electronics) that such personnel
may utilize to facilitate their wandering/mobile product sales
and/or product delivery roles. In some embodiments, a hocker may
act as and/or be a runner.
[0048] In some embodiments, a customer operating the mobile
customer device 130 may transmit signals to the controller 110
(and/or one or more of the fulfillment devices 170a-n), the signals
being descriptive of an order that the customer desires to place
for a product. According to some embodiments, the controller 110
may communicate with the payment device 160 to acquire and/or
verify payment for the order. The controller 110 may, in some
embodiments, determine whether to transmit signals indicative of
the order to the fulfillment devices 170a-n. According to some
embodiments, the controller 110 may select the first fulfillment
device 170a (e.g., based on inventory available at the fulfillment
devices 170a-n, based on order volume and/or capacity at the
fulfillment devices 170a-n, and/or based on distances between the
customer and the various fulfillment devices 170a-n) for
fulfillment of the order and may accordingly transmit signals
indicative of the order to the first fulfillment device 170a. In
some embodiments, the first fulfillment device 170a may process the
order and provide the desired product(s) and/or service(s) to the
customer (e.g., the customer may pickup the product in the case
that the first fulfillment device 170a comprises a concession
stand, vending machine, and/or smart visi-cooler, or the product
may be delivered to the customer in the case that the first
fulfillment device 170a comprises a hocker and/or runner).
[0049] B. Methods
[0050] Turning to FIG. 2, a flow diagram of a method 200 according
to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the method 200
may be performed and/or implemented by and/or otherwise associated
with one or more specialized computerized processing devices (e.g.,
the controller 110 and/or the mobile customer device 130 of FIG.
1), specialized computers, computer terminals, computer servers,
computer systems and/or networks (e.g., the network 150 of FIG. 1),
and/or any combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the method
200 may be embodied in, facilitated by, and/or otherwise associated
with various input mechanisms and/or interfaces such as the
interfaces 600, 700 described with respect to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B,
FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 6F, FIG. 6G, FIG. 6H, FIG. 6I, FIG.
6J, FIG. 6K, FIG. 6L, FIG. 6M, FIG. 6N, FIG. 6O, FIG. 6P, FIG. 6Q,
FIG. 6R, FIG. 6S, FIG. 6T, FIG. 6U, FIG. 6V, FIG. 6W, FIG. 6X, FIG.
6Y, FIG. 6Z, FIG. 6AA, FIG. 6BB, FIG. 6CC, FIG. 6DD, FIG. 6EE, FIG.
6FF, FIG. 6GG, FIG. 6HH, FIG. 6II, FIG. 6JJ, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG.
7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 7F, FIG. 7G, FIG. 7H, FIG. 7I, and/or
FIG. 7J herein.
[0051] The functional diagrams and flow diagrams described herein
do not necessarily imply a fixed order to any depicted actions,
steps, and/or procedures, and embodiments may generally be
performed in any order that is practicable unless otherwise and
specifically noted. Any of the processes and methods described
herein may be performed and/or facilitated by hardware, software
(including microcode), firmware, or any combination thereof. For
example, a storage medium (e.g., a hard disk, Universal Serial Bus
(USB) mass storage device, and/or Digital Video Disk (DVD)) may
store thereon instructions that when executed by a machine (such as
a computerized processing device) result in performance according
to any one or more of the embodiments described herein.
[0052] In some embodiments, the method 200 may comprise receiving
an indication of an order for a unit of a product, at 202. The
order, for example, may be placed via (e.g., transmitted from or
through) a mobile device of a customer (e.g., the mobile customer
device 130 of FIG. 1) located at a venue (e.g., the venue 180 of
FIG. 1) and/or may be received by an electronic processing device
such as a centralized electronic processor (e.g., the controller
110 of FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the order may comprise an
indication of payment for any desired products and/or services. The
order (or indication thereof) may, for example, comprise an
identifier of a product desired for purchase as well as an
identifier of a financial account to be charge for an amount equal
to the purchase price of the product. In some embodiments, the
order (or indication thereof) may comprise an indication of a
location of the customer (e.g., a seat, section, and/or other
location).
[0053] According to some embodiments, the method 200 may comprise
determining (e.g., by the centralized electronic processing device)
a subset of a plurality of facilities (e.g., the fulfillment
devices 170a-n of FIG. 1) at the venue, wherein each facility of
the subset is capable of fulfilling the order, at 204. Software
executed by a specially-programmed electronic processing (e.g., a
customer device and/or a controller device) may, for example,
process information indicative of the order to determine which
facilities stock the desired product(s), which facilities currently
have stock available, which facilities are currently available
(e.g., open for business and/or not otherwise committed--such as in
the case of a hocker or runner that is busy), and/or which
facilities could benefit from more (or less) order volume (e.g.,
which facilities are over capacity and should not be selected to
fulfill the order or facilities that are under capacity and could
benefit from being selected to fulfill the order).
[0054] In some embodiments, the method 200 may comprise selecting
one of the facilities of the subset to fulfill the order, at 206.
The controller (or other specialized computer), for example, may
utilize one or more rules and/or criteria to determine which of the
available subset of facilities should be selected to fulfill the
order. The selection may, in some embodiments, be based on
information indicative of a predicted order fulfillment time at
each of the facilities of the subset. The controller may, for
example, select the facility that can (or is likely to be able to)
fulfill the order the quickest. According to some embodiments, such
as in the case that the facility comprises a concession stand,
order fulfillment time may be determined based on how long it will
(or is likely to) take to prepare the order and/or how long it will
(or is likely to) take for the customer to arrive at the concession
stand to acquire the order. In some embodiments, the expected time
to delivery of the order by a hocker and/or runner may also or
alternatively be utilized in selecting a fulfillment facility. In
some embodiments, the proximity of various facilities to the
customer may be utilized to select a facility to fulfill the order
(e.g., the closest facility to the customer's seat and/or current
location).
[0055] According to some embodiments, the method 200 may comprise
transmitting (e.g., by the centralized and/or other electronic
processing device) an indication of the order to the selected
facility (or facilities, e.g., in the case the order is split), at
208. The controller may, for example, transmit order details,
instructions, and/or prioritization information to the selected
facility. In such a manner, the order may be entered into an order
queue of the facility. In some embodiments, the selected facility
may transmit a confirmation that is received by the controller,
verifying that the fulfillment of the order is initiated. According
to some embodiments, the facility may transmit and/or the
controller may receive an indication of an expected order
fulfillment time for the order. As described herein, in some
embodiments the order fulfillment time may comprise an amount of
time that it takes (or is expected to take) to prepare the order.
According to some embodiments, the order fulfillment time may also
or alternatively comprise an amount of time that it takes (or is
expected to take) to get the completed order to the customer (e.g.,
customer walking time for "pickup" orders (to the facility or
roundtrip from the customer's section/seat), and/or hocker and/or
runner delivery time for "delivery" orders).
[0056] In some embodiments, the method 200 may comprise
transmitting (e.g., by the centralized and/or other electronic
processing device and to the mobile device of the customer) an
indication of the selected facility and an indication of an
expected order fulfillment time for the order, at 210. Based on
information descriptive of the customer's location and the location
and/or capabilities of the selected facility, for example, the
controller may determine an estimate of how long the customer may
likely have to wait for the order to be fulfilled. According to
some embodiments, such as in the case that the selected facility
transmits information to the controller (and/or to the customer's
device), information from the facility may be provided to indicate
to the customer an expected wait time. In some embodiments, order
status updates may be provided to the customer. The customer may be
notified via text-message, e-mail, voice call, and/or otherwise,
for example, when the order is complete and ready to be picked up
(for "pickup" orders"), when the order is complete and delivery via
a hocker and/or runner is being initiated (e.g., for "delivery"
orders), and/or when delivery personnel (e.g., a hocker and/or
runner) are entering the customer's section and/or seat area (or
other location at the venue). Status updates and/or communications
with the customer may, in some embodiments, be utilized to assist
delivery personnel in finding the customer such as by allowing the
customer to speak directly with the delivery personnel or be
allowing the customer and/or delivery personnel to enter input
directed toward meeting.
[0057] Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram of a method 300
according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the
method 300 may be performed and/or implemented by and/or otherwise
associated with one or more specialized computerized processing
devices (e.g., the controller 110 and/or the mobile customer device
130 of FIG. 1), specialized computers, computer terminals, computer
servers, computer systems and/or networks (e.g., the network 150 of
FIG. 1), and/or any combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the
method 200 may be embodied in, facilitated by, and/or otherwise
associated with various input mechanisms and/or interfaces such as
the interfaces 600, 700 described with respect to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B,
FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 6F, FIG. 6G, FIG. 6H, FIG. 6I, FIG.
6J, FIG. 6K, FIG. 6L, FIG. 6M, FIG. 6N, FIG. 6O, FIG. 6 P, FIG. 6Q,
FIG. 6R, FIG. 6S, FIG. 6T, FIG. 6U, FIG. 6V, FIG. 6W, FIG. 6X, FIG.
6Y, FIG. 6Z, FIG. 6AA, FIG. 6BB, FIG. 6CC, FIG. 6DD, FIG. 6EE, FIG.
6FF, FIG. 6GG, FIG. 6HH, FIG. 6II, FIG. 6JJ, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG.
7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG. 7F, FIG. 7G, FIG. 7H, FIG. 7I, and/or
FIG. 7J herein.
[0058] In some embodiments, the method 300 may comprise determining
information descriptive of a plurality of pending customer orders,
at 302. An electronic controller associated with a concession stand
at a venue and/or a central controller may, for example, receive
indications of the plurality of pending customer orders from one or
more customers or customer devices. In some embodiments, such as in
the case that a central controller receives, aggregates, and/or
processes customer orders, a device of a fulfillment facility
(e.g., a fulfillment device 170a-n of FIG. 1) may receive such
indications from the central controller. According to some
embodiments, the device and/or facility that receives the
information and/or indications may comprise a device and/or
facility selected by the central controller (e.g., at 206 in the
method 200 of FIG. 2). In some embodiments, the information
descriptive of each order of the plurality of pending customer
orders may comprise information descriptive of a customer, one or
more desired products, payment information, customer location
information, order type information, order priority and/or weighing
information, delivery and/or pickup parameter information,
suggested routing information, and/or special instructions.
[0059] According to some embodiments, the method 300 may comprise
determining (e.g., by the electronic controller) information
descriptive of a plurality of available delivery personnel, at 304.
Information regarding available hockers, inventory carried by
available hockers, hocker locations, available runners, runner
locations, delivery personnel routes, venue congestion (e.g., in
various sections and/or areas), and/or delivery personnel
characteristics may be looked up, queried, received, and/or
otherwise acquired. Such information may be stored by and/or
acquired from a central controller and/or a fulfillment facility
device. Each fulfillment facility at the venue may store
information descriptive of associated hockers and/or runners, for
example. In some embodiments, one or more central controllers may
store such information. In either case (or in a hybrid storage
arrangement) any or all fulfillment facilities of the venue may
have access to the information.
[0060] In some embodiments, the method 300 may comprise allocating
the plurality of pending customer orders amongst the plurality of
available delivery personnel, at 306. The electronic controller,
for example, may conduct the allocating based on the customer order
information and the delivery personnel information. According to
some embodiments, stored instructions may be executed that cause
the allocating to be performed in a manner that minimizes and/or
reduces expected fulfillment and/or delivery or pickup times for
customer orders (or for higher-prioritized customer orders). In
some embodiments, combinatorial optimization techniques know to
those skilled in the art may be utilized (e.g., "Dynamic
Programming" and/or "Scheduling Production Processes") to develop a
resource-constrained (e.g., limited number of delivery personnel)
scheduling program. Such a program may take various factors into
account in developing an allocation of customer orders amongst
delivery personnel. Such factors may include, but are not limited
to, temporal constraints (e.g., allowed time window in which
delivery must be completed--e.g., based on customer satisfaction
and/or product characteristics such as spoilage parameters),
procedural constraints (e.g., specific order fulfillment hierarchy,
special instructions for temperature-sensitive items, and/or other
special instructions based on product characteristics or customer
(or venue) requests), and/or resource constraints (based on the
information descriptive of a plurality of available delivery
personnel--such as whether a delivery personnel is or is scheduled
to be available, on break, have time-off, etc.).
[0061] In some embodiments, scheduling and/or allocation
performance may be monitored and/or evaluated. Various parameters
such as number of orders fulfilled in a given time period, sales
(and/or profit) per unit time, experienced customer wait times,
inventory spoilage and/or damage, delivery distances traveled,
and/or other order fulfillment metrics may, for example, be
recorded, stored, and/or processed to evaluate allocation program
efficiency and/or performance. In some embodiments, allocation
scheme performance metrics may be utilized to enhance the
allocation program. Empirical data regarding order delivery
distances may be fed back into the allocation program, for example,
to initiate changes in the routing methods. The changes can then be
evaluated to determine of delivery distances were reduced (or not),
and further changes may be made on an iterative basis in an attempt
to bring delivery parameters into conformance with desired ranges
and/or goals.
[0062] According to some embodiments, the method 300 may comprise
transmitting an indication of the one or more customer orders, at
308. The electronic controller may, for example, transmit an
appropriate indication to each delivery personnel of the plurality
of available delivery personnel that is allocated one or more
customer orders. In the case that such delivery personnel utilize
handheld electronic devices, the indications may be received
thereat. In such a manner, for example, the delivery personnel may
be presented with an interface via which they may obtain
information defining customer orders that the delivery personnel is
required to fulfill (i.e., deliver), and order in which the orders
should be fulfilled, and/or a route that the delivery personnel
should take to minimize delivery distances and/or times. According
to some embodiments, such as in the case that a customer is a
registered customer, the indication of the customer's order may
include an image and/or other likeness of the customer (e.g., to
aid the delivery personnel in locating the customer). This may be
particularly advantageous in the case that the customer is in a
non-assigned seat section of the venue such as in a lounge,
hallway, parking lot, standing-room-only section, and/or other
venue area. In some embodiments, the indication of the customer's
order may also or alternatively comprise coordinates, directions,
and/or other location information of the customer to aid the
delivery personnel in locating the customer.
[0063] In some embodiments, the method 300 may comprise
transmitting an indication of an expected delivery time for each
customers' respective order, at 310. The electronic controller may,
for example, transmit an order status to each customer (e.g., via
each customer's portable electronic device--cell phone, tablet
computer, PDA, etc.) at various points in time. According to some
embodiments, order status information may be transmitted by a
delivery personnel device. Once the assigned delivery personnel
picks up the prepared and/or packaged order, for example, the
delivery personnel may push a button on their mobile device
interface which triggers an "order picked up for delivery" message
transmittal to the customer. The message may, in some embodiments,
include an indication of the expected delivery time. The expected
delivery time may be calculated and/or otherwise determined based
on various applicable factors such as the delivery personnel's
location, distance (direct and/or rectilinear) to the customer, the
delivery personnel's route, and/or the order's priority. In some
embodiments, other status updates and/or order information may be
provided to the customer (either automatically or upon customer
inquiry). Once the order is delivered to the customer, for example,
an "order delivered: enjoy!" message may be transmitted to (and
thus received by) the customer's mobile device. According to some
embodiments, such as in the case that delivery personnel movements
and/or locations are tracked or monitored, the controller may
update expected delivery times based on updated delivery route data
(and either send automatic updates to the customer or refresh the
expected time upon customer inquiry--e.g., the customer pushing a
button labeled "refresh" on an interface of the customer's mobile
device).
[0064] C. Apparatus
[0065] Turning to FIG. 4, a block diagram of an apparatus 410
according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the
apparatus 410 may be similar in configuration and/or functionality
to the controller 110 (and/or the mobile customer device 130 and/or
the fulfillment devices 170a-n) as described in reference to FIG. 1
herein. The apparatus 410 may, for example, execute, process,
facilitate, and/or otherwise be associated with the methods 200,
300 of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3 herein. In some embodiments, the
apparatus 410 may comprise a processor 412, an input device 414, an
output device 416, a communication device 418, and/or a memory
device 420. Fewer or more components and/or various configurations
of the components 412, 414, 416, 418, 420 may be included in the
apparatus 410 without deviating from the scope of embodiments
described herein.
[0066] According to some embodiments, the processor 412 may be or
include any type, quantity, and/or configuration of electronic
and/or computerized processor that is or becomes known. The
processor 412 may comprise, for example, an Intel.RTM. IXP 2800
network processor or an Intel.RTM. XEON.TM. Processor coupled with
an Intel.RTM. E7501 chipset, available from Intel.RTM. Corporation
of Santa Clara, Calif. In some embodiments, the processor 412 may
comprise an electronic processor such as an Intel.RTM. Core.TM. 2
Duo P8600 Central Processing Unit (CPU) also available from
Intel.RTM. Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. In some embodiments,
the processor 412 may execute instructions, such as instructions
specially programmed into and/or for the processor 412. The
execution of the specially-programmed instructions may, for
example, enable and/or facilitate the apparatus 410 to operate in
accordance with embodiments as described herein.
[0067] In some embodiments, the processor 412 may comprise multiple
inter-connected processors, microprocessors, and/or micro-engines.
According to some embodiments, the processor 412 (and/or the
apparatus 410 and/or other components thereof) may be supplied
power via a power supply (not shown) such as a battery, an
Alternating Current (AC) source, a Direct Current (DC) source, an
AC/DC adapter, solar cells, and/or an inertial generator. In the
case that the apparatus 410 comprises a server such as a blade
server, necessary power may be supplied via a standard AC outlet,
power strip, surge protector, and/or Uninterruptible Power Supply
(UPS) device.
[0068] In some embodiments, the input device 414 and/or the output
device 416 are communicatively coupled to the processor 412 (e.g.,
via wired and/or wireless connections, traces, and/or pathways) and
they may generally comprise any types or configurations of input
and output components and/or devices that are or become known,
respectively. The input device 414 may comprise, for example, a
keyboard that allows an operator of the apparatus 410 to interface
with the apparatus 410 (e.g., by an operator of a central
controller and/or by an employee of a fulfillment facility, such as
to implement and/or interact with embodiments herein to sell
products at venues). The output device 416 may, according to some
embodiments, comprise a display screen and/or other practicable
output component and/or device. The output device 416 may, for
example, provide information, data, and/or images that permit a a
delivery personnel and/or fulfillment station agent to view
assigned customer orders, view order statuses, view order
priorities and/or hierarchies, view suggested delivery routes,
customer identifying and/or location information, and/or product
information (e.g., required temperature, current temperature,
maximum delivery times, and/or handling instructions). According to
some embodiments, the input device 414 and/or the output device 416
may comprise and/or be embodied in a single device such as a
touch-screen monitor.
[0069] In some embodiments, the communication device 418 may
comprise any type or configuration of communication device that is
or becomes known or practicable. The communication device 418 may,
for example, comprise a NIC, a telephonic device, a cellular
network device, a router, a hub, a modem, and/or a communications
port or cable. In some embodiments, the communication device 418
may be coupled to provide data to a customer device, such as in the
case that the apparatus 410 is utilized to facilitate venue product
sales via a customer's wireless and/or mobile device. According to
some embodiments, the communication device 418 may also or
alternatively be coupled to the processor 412. In some embodiments,
the communication device 418 may comprise an IR, RF, Bluetooth.TM.,
and/or Wi-Fi.RTM. network device coupled to facilitate
communications between the processor 412 (and/or the apparatus 410)
and another device (such as the mobile customer device 130 and/or
the fulfillment devices 170a-n, both of FIG. 1).
[0070] The memory device 420 may comprise any appropriate
information storage device that is or becomes known or available,
including, but not limited to, units and/or combinations of
magnetic storage devices (e.g., a hard disk drive), optical storage
devices, and/or semiconductor memory devices such as Random Access
Memory (RAM) devices, Read Only Memory (ROM) devices, Single Data
Rate Random Access Memory (SDR-RAM), Double Data Rate Random Access
Memory (DDR-RAM), and/or Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM). The
memory device 420 may, according to some embodiments, store one or
more of stadium ordering instructions 422-1 and/or order allocation
instructions 422-2. In some embodiments, the stadium ordering
instructions 422-1 and/or order allocation instructions 422-2 may
be utilized by the processor 412 to provide output information via
the output device 916 and/or the communication device 918 (e.g.,
the transmitting of the indications at 208, 210 of the method 200
of FIG. 2 and/or the transmitting of the indications at 308, 310 of
the method 300 of FIG. 3).
[0071] According to some embodiments, the stadium ordering
instructions 422-1 may be operable to cause the processor 412 to
access and/or process one or more of customer data 424-1,
fulfillment data 424-2, and/or order data 424-3, as described
herein (e.g., in accordance with the method 200 of FIG. 2 herein).
Customer data 424-1, fulfillment data 424-2, and/or order data
424-3 received via the input device 414 and/or the communication
device 418 may, for example, be analyzed, sorted, filtered,
decoded, decompressed, ranked, scored, plotted, and/or otherwise
processed by the processor 412 in accordance with the stadium
ordering instructions 422-1. In some embodiments, customer data
424-1, fulfillment data 424-2, and/or order data 424-3 may be
utilized by the processor 412 to facilitate and/or conduct
processes and/or methods in accordance with the stadium ordering
instructions 422-1 to allow a customer to purchase products and/or
services from (or via) a venue as described herein. The stadium
ordering instructions 422-1 may, in some embodiments, interface
with an application stored on and/or executed by a customer's
mobile phone, for example, to facilitate the purchase and/or
delivery of venue merchandise and/or refreshments from a customer's
seat (or other location).
[0072] According to some embodiments, the order allocation
instructions 422-2 may be operable to cause the processor 412 to
access and/or process one or more of customer data 424-1,
fulfillment data 424-2, and/or order data 424-3, as described
herein (e.g., in accordance with the method 300 of FIG. 3 herein).
Customer data 424-1, fulfillment data 424-2, and/or order data
424-3 received via the input device 414 and/or the communication
device 418 may, for example, be analyzed, sorted, filtered,
decoded, decompressed, ranked, scored, plotted, and/or otherwise
processed by the processor 412 in accordance with the order
allocation instructions 422-2. In some embodiments, customer data
424-1, fulfillment data 424-2, and/or order data 424-3 may be
utilized by the processor 412 to facilitate and/or conduct
processes and/or methods in accordance with the order allocation
instructions 422-2 to allocate customer orders to fulfillment
stations and/or delivery personnel as described herein. The order
allocation instructions 422-2 may, in some embodiments, interface
with an application stored on and/or executed by a mobile device of
delivery personnel, for example, to facilitate the load-balancing
of orders within a venue and/or to facilitate the delivery of venue
merchandise and/or refreshments to a customer's seat (or other
location).
[0073] In some embodiments, the customer data 424-1 may comprise
any data descriptive of an attribute or characteristic of a
customer. Customer data 424-1 may be acquired during a registration
processes (e.g., from the customer), for example, and may comprise
identifying information such as address, name, e-mail address,
preferences, payment accounts and/or information, passwords, etc.
In some embodiments, the customer data 424-1 may comprise data
decretive of the customer that is acquired via transactions
conducted with the customer. Customer data 424-1 may comprise, for
example, customer preferences (empirical), sales history, customer
"worth" (e.g., expected value), frequency of purchases, and/or
previous or typical ordering locations (e.g., season ticket
reserved box seats).
[0074] According to some embodiments, the fulfillment data 424-2
may comprise data descriptive of one or more fulfillment
facilities, stations, and/or personnel at (or associated with) the
venue. The fulfillment data 424-2 may comprise, for example, data
descriptive of fulfillment facility inventory, order preparation
and/or packaging statistics (e.g., average order preparation time),
sales metrics (e.g., total sales volume, profits, sales and/or
profit goals), fulfillment location information (e.g., coordinates,
best/quickest routes to and/or from the location, nearby and/or
typically served sections and/or seats), fulfillment station
capacity information (e.g., maximum customer and/or order queue
length, order volume capacity, current capacity and/or queue
length, and/or staffing levels), and/or hocker and/or runner
metrics (e.g., inventory carried, average delivery times to
different sections/seats, history of proper handling of certain
types of goods, and/or availability).
[0075] In some embodiments, the order data 424-3 may comprise
information descriptive of one or more customer orders. The order
data 424-3 may, for example, comprise an identification of desired
products and/or services, payment information (e.g., an indication
that the order has been paid for and/or an indication of how the
order is to be paid for), delivery instructions, customer location
information, special handling, preparation, and/or packaging
instructions, and/or order priority and/or hierarchy information
(e.g., based on First-In-First-Out (FIFO) order fulfillment and/or
queuing and/or based on customer ranking or rating--e.g., customers
with higher expected values (such as based on expected sales to the
customer) may have higher prioritized orders).
[0076] While the apparatus 410 is described with reference to
specific quantities and types of components 412, 414, 416, 418,
420, variations in the quantities, types, and/or configurations of
the components 412, 414, 416, 418, 420 of the apparatus 410 may be
implemented without deviating from the scope of the embodiments
described herein.
[0077] D. Processes
[0078] Referring now to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, functional perspective
diagrams of processes 500, 502 according to some embodiments are
shown. In some embodiments, the processes 500, 502 may be performed
and/or implemented by and/or otherwise associated with one or more
specialized computerized processing devices (e.g., the controller
110, mobile customer device 130, and/or fulfillment devices 170a-n
of FIG. 1 and/or the apparatus 410 and/or processor 412 of FIG. 4
herein), specialized computers, computer terminals, computer
servers, computer systems and/or networks, and/or any combinations
thereof (e.g., by one or more venue sales computers, networks,
controllers, and/or processing devices). In some embodiments, the
processes 500, 502 may be related to and/or comprise methods for
sales at venues such as described in accordance with the methods
200, 300 of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3 herein. In some embodiments, the
processes 500, 502 may be embodied in, facilitated by, and/or
otherwise associated with various input mechanisms and/or
interfaces as described herein.
[0079] According to some embodiments, the processes 500, 502 may
comprise various procedures performed in association with a
controller 510 (comprising a communication device 518, a first
database 520-1, a second database 520-2, and/or a third database
520-3), a mobile customer device 530, a plurality of customers
532-1, 532-2, 532-3, 532-4, 532-5, and/or a plurality of
fulfillment facilities 570-1, 570-2, 570-3, 570-4, 570-5. In some
embodiments, the controller 510, mobile customer device 530,
plurality of customers 532-1, 532-2, 532-3, 532-4, 532-5, and/or
the plurality of fulfillment facilities 570-1, 570-2, 570-3, 570-4,
570-5 may be physically located within or at a venue 580 (such as a
sports stadium or arena as depicted in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B).
According to some embodiments, fewer or more components 510, 520,
530, 532, 570, 580 and/or various configurations of the depicted
components 510, 520, 530, 532, 570, 580 may be included in
execution of the processes 500, 502 without deviating from the
scope of embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, the
components 510, 520, 530, 532, 570, 580 may be similar in
configuration and/or functionality to similarly named and/or
numbered components as described with reference to system 100 of
FIG. 1, the methods 200, 300 of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3, and/or the
apparatus 410 of FIG. 4 herein.
[0080] In some embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG. 5A may
comprise a transmission sent from the first customer 532-1 (and/or
a device operated by the first customer 532-1; not explicitly
shown) and received by the controller 510, at 590-1. The
transmission may comprise, for example, a request to purchase a
unit of a product, payment authorization, location information,
and/or account or other information descriptive of the first
customer 532-1 and/or a first order placed by the first customer
532-1. The transmission may comprise an indication of a product
identified by the customer. The customer may utilize a mobile
device, for example, to select and/or enter a Stock-Keeping Unit
(SKU), picture, and/or barcode such as a Universal Product Code
(UPC) descriptive of the desired product (or service), such as by
browsing through an interface menu of available products and/or
services and associated identifiers.
[0081] According to some embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG.
5A may comprise a transmission sent from the second customer 532-2
(and/or the mobile customer device 530 depicted as being associated
therewith) and received by the controller 510, at 590-2. In some
embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG. 5A may comprise a
transmission sent from the third customer 532-3 (and/or a device
operated by the first customer 532-3; not explicitly shown) and
received by the controller 510, at 590-3. In some embodiments, the
first process 500 of FIG. 5A may comprise a transmission sent from
the fourth customer 532-4 (and/or a device operated by the first
customer 532-4; not explicitly shown) and received by the
controller 510, at 590-4.
[0082] As depicted in FIG. 5A, any or all of the transmissions from
the customers 532 and/or information associated therewith may be
stored in the first database 520-1, which may, for example, be
referred to as an "order" database (or a "customer" database). In
some embodiments, the information received from the customers 532
may comprise information similar to the customer data 424-1 and/or
the order data 424-3 described in reference to FIG. 4 herein and/or
may be similar to the information described in reference to the
procedures at 202, 302 of the methods 200, 300 of FIG. 2 and/or
FIG. 3 herein. In some embodiments, fewer or more data elements
and/or data fields than are shown and/or described may be
associated with the databases described herein. Only a portion of
one or more databases and/or other data stores is necessarily shown
and/or described herein, for example, and other database fields,
columns, structures, orientations, quantities, and/or
configurations may be utilized without deviating from the scope of
some embodiments. Similarly, the data shown and/or described in the
various data elements, types, and/or fields is provided solely for
exemplary and illustrative purposes and does not limit the scope of
embodiments described herein.
[0083] According to some embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG.
5A may comprise a transmission sent from the first fulfillment
facility 570-1 and received by the controller 510, at 592-1. In
some embodiments, the information may not be transmitted, but
instead may be provided, looked-up, and/or otherwise acquired by
the controller 510. As depicted in FIG. 5A for purposes of example
only, the first fulfillment facility 570-1 comprises a concession
stand at the venue 580. In some embodiments, the information
received (and/or otherwise determined) by the controller 510 at
592-1 may comprise information descriptive of the concession stand
570-1. The information may comprise, for example, information
descriptive of a current state of pending orders, order fulfillment
data, staffing information, inventory information, and/or sales
information (e.g., how close the concession stand 570-1 is to sales
and/or profit goals and/or how much change the concession stand
570-1 has on hand).
[0084] In some embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG. 5A may
comprise a transmission sent from the second fulfillment facility
570-2 and received by the controller 510, at 592-2. As depicted in
FIG. 5A for purposes of example only, the second fulfillment
facility 570-2 comprises a hocker at the venue 580. In some
embodiments, the information received (and/or otherwise determined)
by the controller 510 at 592-2 may comprise information descriptive
of the hocker 570-2. The information may comprise, for example,
information descriptive of the availability of the hocker 570-2
(e.g., is the hocker 570-2 busy or not), information descriptive of
any inventory carried by the hocker 570-2, an indication of the
location of the hocker 570-2 (e.g., coordinates, section number,
seat number, and/or distance from one or more waypoints or
destinations), and/or an indication of a status of the hocker 570-2
(e.g., does the hocker 570-2 need a break or rest, how long has the
hocker 570-2 been deployed, and/or biometric information
descriptive of the hocker 570-2--e.g., heart rate, etc.).
[0085] According to some embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG.
5A may comprise a transmission sent from the third fulfillment
facility 570-3 and received by the controller 510, at 592-3. As
depicted in FIG. 5A for purposes of example only, the third
fulfillment facility 570-3 comprises a smart visi-cooler at the
venue 580. In some embodiments, the information received (and/or
otherwise determined) by the controller 510 at 592-3 may comprise
information descriptive of the smart visi-cooler 570-3. The
information may comprise, for example, information descriptive of
inventory levels in the smart visi-cooler 570-3, an operational
status of the smart visi-cooler 570-3 (e.g., any errors,
temperature settings, and/or whether the door is opened or closed),
and/or an indication of how many customers are waiting in line at
the smart visi-cooler 570-3 (e.g., a length of a sales queue at the
smart visi-cooler 570-3).
[0086] In some embodiments, the first process 500 of FIG. 5A may
comprise a transmission sent from the fourth fulfillment facility
570-4 and received by the controller 510, at 592-4. As depicted in
FIG. 5A for purposes of example only, the fourth fulfillment
facility 570-4 comprises a runner at the venue 580. In some
embodiments, the information received (and/or otherwise determined)
by the controller 510 at 592-4 may comprise information descriptive
of the runner 570-4. The information may comprise, for example,
information descriptive of the availability of the runner 570-4
(e.g., is the runner 570-4 busy or not), information descriptive of
any inventory carried by the runner 570-4, an indication of the
location of the runner 570-4 (e.g., coordinates, section number,
seat number, and/or distance from one or more waypoints or
destinations), and/or an indication of a status of the runner 570-4
(e.g., does the runner 570-4 need a break or rest, how long has the
runner 570-4 been deployed, and/or biometric information
descriptive of the runner 570-4--e.g., heart rate, etc.).
[0087] As depicted in FIG. 5A, any or all of the transmissions from
the fulfillment facilities 570 and/or information associated
therewith may be stored in the second database 520-2, which may,
for example, be referred to as a "fulfillment facility" database.
In some embodiments, the information received from the fulfillment
facilities 570 may comprise information similar to the fulfillment
data 424-2 described in reference to FIG. 4 herein and/or may be
similar to the information described in reference to the procedures
at 204, 304 of the methods 200, 300 of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3 herein.
The information may be relatively static, such as information
descriptive of a location of a fixed-placement concession stand or
smart visi-cooler, or information regarding what types of products
the concession stand usually stocks, or the information may be
dynamic, such as the current location of a runner or hocker,
current inventory levels (e.g., of a concession stand, smart
visi-cooler, and/or hocker), current status, etc.
[0088] In some embodiments, the second process 502 of FIG. 5B may
comprise a transmission sent from the controller 510 and received
by the hocker 570-2, at 594-1. The controller 510 may, for example,
allocate the various orders from the customers 532 amongst the
various fulfillment facilities 570. As depicted in FIG. 5B, for
example, the controller 510 may store order allocation information
in the third database 520-3. As an example, the first order of the
first customer 532-1 may comprise a "delivery" type order and may
be assigned to the hocker 570-2. In some embodiments, the first
order may be assigned to the hocker 570-2 because it is determined
that the hocker 570-2 has appropriate inventory to fulfill the
order and/or because the hocker 570-2 is currently located in the
same section as the first customer 532-1. In some embodiments, the
hocker 570-2 may be selected as being the fastest possibly
fulfillment facility 570 for fulfilling the first order (e.g.,
because the hocker 570-2 is the closest fulfillment facility 570 to
the first customer 532-1 and/or the closest fulfillment facility
570 that is capable of fulfilling the first order). In some
embodiments, the transmission at 594-1 may include providing data
descriptive of the first order and/or the first customer 532-1. The
information may comprise, for example, information informing the
hocker 570-2 that the first order has been assigned to the hocker
570-2, information indicating quantities and/or types of products
purchased, information indicating where the first customer 532-1 is
located (and/or identifying another location where the order should
be delivered), what the first customer 532-1 looks like and/or is
wearing, and/or priority or routing information associated with the
first order.
[0089] According to some embodiments, the second process 502 of
FIG. 5B may comprise a transmission sent from the controller 510
and received by the runner 570-4, at 594-2. The controller 510 may
allocate the second order from the second customer 532-2 to the
runner 570-4, for example, and store information descriptive of the
allocation in the third database 520-3 (as shown).
[0090] In some embodiments, the second process 502 of FIG. 5B may
comprise a transmission sent from the controller 510 and received
by the smart visi-cooler 570-3, at 594-3. As depicted, for example,
the controller 510 may allocate the third order from the third
customer 532-3 to the smart visi-cooler 570-3. In some embodiments,
the transmission at 594-3 may include information informing the
smart visi-cooler 570-3 of the assigned third order such as
information identifying the third customer 532-3 that will be
picking up the desired product(s) at the smart visi-cooler 570-3.
In some embodiments, the information may comprise a code, password,
account number, picture of the third customer 532-3, and/or other
information that permits the smart visi-cooler 570-3 to verify (i)
that an accessing of the smart visi-cooler 570-3 is conducted by
the third customer 532-3 (e.g., as opposed to another customer 532)
and/or (ii) that the third customer 532-3, upon accessing the smart
visi-cooler 570-3, removes the correct type and/or quantity of
product from the smart visi-cooler 570-3.
[0091] According to some embodiments, the second process 502 of
FIG. 5B may comprise a transmission sent from the controller 510
and received by the concession stand 570-1, at 594-4. The
controller 510 may allocate the fourth order from the fourth
customer 532-4 to the concession stand 570-1, for example, and
store information descriptive of the allocation in the third
database 520-3 (as shown). In some embodiments, the concession
stand 570-1 may be selected to fulfill the fourth order, despite
being near the opposite side of the venue 580. Other closer
fulfillment facilities 570 may not, for example, have the correct
inventory to fill the order, may be understaffed and/or too busy,
may have already achieved sales and/or profit goals, and/or may
actually be more difficult to access by the fourth customer 532-4
(e.g., the fourth customer 532-4 may be handicapped and the
concession stand 570-1 may be the closest (or only)
handicapped-accessible fulfillment facility 570 and/or a route to
the concession stand 570-1 may be easier and/or quicker to travel
(e.g., less congestion, fewer turns, and/or may have elevators
and/or handicapped-access ramps) than routes to nearer fulfillment
facilities 570 (not explicitly shown).
[0092] In some embodiments, information transmitted (and/or
otherwise provided) to the fulfillment facilities 570 (e.g., at
594-1, 594-2, 594-3, and/or 594-4) may include information
descriptive of one or more suggested routes 596 via which orders
may be fulfilled (e.g., routes 596 that customers 532 may take to
pick-up ordered products and/or routes 596 that delivery personnel
570-2, 570-4 may take to deliver products to customers 532). The
first transmission at 594-1, for example, may comprise information
descriptive of a first route 596-1 that the hocker 570-2 may take
to locate and/or deliver products and/or services to the first
customer 532-1. According to some embodiments, the first route
596-1 may be determined (e.g., by the controller 510) to have the
shortest distance and/or shortest travel time amongst available
routing options. In some embodiments, the first route 596-1 may
comprise one or more best available (e.g., shortest distance and/or
shortest time) rectilinear (e.g., "Manhattan" or "taxi-cab") routes
(e.g., taking into account available aisles, section layouts,
seating configurations, etc.).
[0093] According to some embodiments, the information made
available to the hocker 570-2 may also or alternatively comprise
information descriptive of a second route 596-2. The second route
596-2 may, for example, comprise a longer path but may, for
example, pass by a fifth customer 532-5 that needs assistance, has
also ordered a product stocked by the hocker 570-2 (e.g., an
additional sales and/or fulfillment opportunity), and/or that is
known (e.g., by the controller 510) to have a history of ordering
from hockers.
[0094] In some embodiments, the second transmission 594-2 to the
runner 570-4 may include an indication of a third route 596-3. The
third route 596-3 may, for example, comprise a path that takes the
runner 570-4 near a fifth fulfillment facility 570-5 which may
comprise a product pickup location and/or repository (e.g., a
location where hockers and/or runners may re-stock and/or pickup
units of product for distribution--e.g., to fulfill allocated
customer orders).
[0095] According to some embodiments, while not explicitly depicted
in FIG. 5A or FIG. 5B, other transmissions and/or provisions of
information may be included in the processes 500, 502. Once an
order is allocated to a fulfillment facility 570 and/or a
fulfillment facility 570 acknowledges assignment of the order, the
associated customer 532 may be notified that order fulfillment has
been initiated, delivery has been initiated, order preparation is
complete and the order is ready for pick-up.
[0096] The transmissions and/or flow of data between the controller
510, the customers 532 (and/or mobile customer devices 530), and/or
fulfillment facilities 570 may be accomplished via one or more
network connections and/or communication links between such
components 510, 530, 532, 570. While a network (such as the network
150 of FIG. 1) is not explicitly shown in FIG. 5A or FIG. 5B, for
example, it should be understood that the described communications
may occur over, through, and/or via such a network and/or may be
facilitated by one or more network components thereof.
[0097] E. Interfaces
[0098] Turning now to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E,
FIG. 6F, FIG. 6G, FIG. 6H, FIG. 6I, FIG. 6J, FIG. 6K, FIG. 6L, FIG.
6M, FIG. 6N, FIG. 6O, FIG. 6 P, FIG. 6Q, FIG. 6R, FIG. 6S, FIG. 6T,
FIG. 6U, FIG. 6V, FIG. 6W, FIG. 6X, FIG. 6Y, FIG. 6Z, FIG. 6AA,
FIG. 6BB, FIG. 6CC, FIG. 6DD, FIG. 6EE, FIG. 6FF, FIG. 6GG, FIG.
6HH, FIG. 6II, and FIG. 6JJ, example interfaces 600 according to
some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the interfaces 600
may comprise a web page, web form, database entry form, Application
Program Interface (API), spreadsheet, table, and/or application or
other Graphical User Interface (GUI), such as a smart phone
application. The interfaces 600 may, for example, be utilized by a
customer and may facilitate the customer's purchase of products
and/or services at a venue as described herein. The interfaces 600
may, for example, comprise portions of a venue product sales
application and/or platform programmed and/or otherwise configured
to execute, conduct, and/or facilitate any of the various methods
200, 300 of FIG. 2, and/or FIG. 3 and/or the process 500, 502 of
FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B, and/or portions or combinations thereof. In
some embodiments, the interfaces 600 may be output via one or more
computerized device such as the mobile customer device 130, 530 of
FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B herein.
[0099] According to some embodiments, the interface 600 shown in
FIG. 6A, may comprise an interface screen that allows a customer to
register for venue product and/or service sales. As depicted, for
example, the interface 600 may provide functionality to allow the
customer to enter e-mail, password, and/or other login information
and/or may permit the customer to create a new account with an
entity that manages and/or facilitates venue product sales (e.g.,
with the controller 110, 510 of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 5A and/or FIG.
5B herein). As depicted in FIG. 6B, the customer may enter
registration information into the interface 600. In some
embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 6C, the customer may also or
alternatively be prompted to enter a mobile telephone number and/or
other mobile device identification information (e.g., information
associated with the mobile customer device 130, 530 of FIG. 1
and/or FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B herein).
[0100] According to some embodiments (as depicted in FIG. 6D), the
interface 600 may prompt the customer to enter a name, nickname,
account name, and/or "handle". Such information may be utilized,
for example, to facilitate communications with the customer (e.g.,
the hocker 570-2 of FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B may utilize the
customer's name or handle to locate the customer (e.g., in a
crowd), such as by calling the customer's name in a specific
section of a venue, and/or to properly address the customer once
located. In some embodiments (as depicted in FIG. 6E), the
interface 600 may comprise a form via which the customer may enter
credit card and/or other payment information to be associated with
the customer's venue product sales account. As shown in FIG. 6F, in
some embodiments the customer may enter credit card information
such as by selecting the appropriate credit card type from a
drop-down list and/or by entering the appropriate credit card
account identifier(s). In some embodiments, such as depicted in
FIG. 6G, the interface 600 may provide a registration confirmation
screen that may, for example, give the customer an opportunity to
read any applicable terms and conditions, privacy policies, etc. In
the case that the customer indicates an acceptance of any
applicable terms and conditions, the interface 600 may provide an
indication that the registration is being processed, such as shown
in FIG. 6H.
[0101] According to some embodiments, such as in the case that the
customer is already registered and/or has just finished the
registration process, the customer may utilize the interface 600 to
initiate a product (and/or service) purchase at (and/or via) the
venue (depicted in FIG. 6I). The interface 600 may, in some
embodiments, provide the customer with options to select a nearby
venue (e.g., based on location information associated with the
customer) and/or to browse available venues by the state and or
region within which the customer is attending an event at a venue
such as a sports stadium. As depicted in FIG. 6I, for example, the
interface 600 may prompt the customer to select the nearby "Stadium
VIP" or browse available venues via one of "California",
"Connecticut", and "D.C." (e.g., the District of Columbia).
[0102] In some embodiments, such as in the case that the customer
selects the nearby "Stadium VIP", a confirmation screen may be
provided (as depicted in FIG. 6J) that affords the customer the
opportunity to confirm the selection or go back to the venue
selection screen. According to some embodiments (as depicted in
FIG. 6K), once the venue (e.g., stadium) is selected, the customer
may select, enter, and/or otherwise indicate where in the venue the
customer is located. As shown in FIG. 6K, the customer may enter a
section, row, and/or seat number (e.g., for assigned-seating venues
and/or venues having identifiable seats and/or locations) into
and/or via the interface 600. In some embodiments, the customer's
location may automatically be determined and/or entered by the
customer (e.g., in the case that the customer is not in an assigned
and/or identifiable seat). According to some embodiments, the
customer may utilize a mobile device to take a picture and/or video
of the customer's surroundings so that the customer's location can
be determined (e.g., by a controller and/or delivery personnel). In
some embodiments, such as in the case that the customer selects
"Section 12, Row A, Seat 1", a confirmation screen may be provided
(as depicted in FIG. 6L) that affords the customer the opportunity
to confirm the customer' location or go back to the location
selection screen.
[0103] In some embodiments (as depicted in FIG. 6M), the interface
600 may indicate to the customer that the customer's "session" is
being activated. The customer's registration information, account
information, location information, and/or venue specific menus
and/or interface screens or options may, for example, be processed
and/or loaded onto the customer's mobile device. As an example, the
menu options depicted in FIG. 6N may be presented to the customer
via the interface 600 and may, for example, be tailored,
customized, and/or otherwise based on the specific venue (e.g.,
"Stadium VIP") and/or the customer. As shown in FIG. 6N, the
customer may select a "Merchandise" menu, a "Food & Drinks"
menu, a "help" menu, a "settings" menu, and/or select to "exit" the
stadium (e.g., an option to deselect the selected venue within the
application that generates and/or presents the interface 600).
[0104] In some embodiments (such as depicted in FIG. 6O), such as
in the case that the customer selects the "Merchandise" menu, the
interface 600 may comprise a display via which the customer may
browse through and/or select various merchandise for sale at (or
via) the venue. As depicted in FIG. 6O, for example, the customer
may select a "Home/Off" (e.g., home and office) menu category and
browse through products categorized there under--such as the
Oakland Athletics.TM. recliner as shown. According to some
embodiments (as depicted in FIG. 6P), the customer may choose the
"Jerseys" category to view available sports jerseys. The customer
may also or alternatively narrow the category selection be
selecting one of "Male", "Female", or "Kids" (e.g., the men's
"authentic" jersey is shown in FIG. 6P).
[0105] According to some embodiments, the customer may select a
"Caps/Hats" category (as depicted in FIG. 6Q) and the "Female"
subcategory to browse to and/or identify the "siren women's cap" as
shown. In some embodiments, as instructed by the interface 600, the
customer may tap (e.g., select) the image of the cap to add a unit
of the selected product to the customer's virtual shopping cart. As
shown in FIG. 6Q, for example, the numeral one (1) may appear in
the product picture display area to indicate that the customer has
added one (1) unit of the selected cap to the customer's shopping
cart.
[0106] In some embodiments, such as when an error occurs (as
depicted in FIG. 6R), an error screen may be displayed via the
interface 600. As shown in FIG. 6R, for example, the cap selected
for purchase by the customer is not available and the customer is
prompted to remove the item from the virtual shopping cart and to
select a different product for purchase. As an example, the
customer may then select a "women's replica jersey" as depicted in
FIG. 6S. In some embodiments, such as in the case that an item
requiring order details is selected for purchase (e.g., such as the
women's replica jersey), an order details section screen, such as
the size selection screen depicted in FIG. 6T, may be presented to
the customer. In some embodiments, once any order details are
selected and/or otherwise defined, the desired item(s) may be added
to the customer's virtual shopping cart, as shown in FIG. 6U.
According to some embodiments, the customer may enter payment
information and/or payment confirmation information, such as the
customer's billing zip code, as depicted in FIG. 6V. In some
embodiments, such as in the case that the customer indicates a
desire to consummate the order (e.g., by pressing a "submit"
button--not explicitly shown), the interface 600 may indicate
(e.g., via a processing status screen such as shown in FIG. 6W) a
status of the processing and/or consummation of the order.
[0107] In some embodiments, the interface 600 may provide the
customer with a list of pending orders (e.g., orders submitted
and/or paid for) via a pending order screen such as is depicted in
FIG. 6X. The pending order screen may, for example, show (i) a
line-item (or other object) representing the order for the women's
jersey, (ii) an indication of the fulfillment facility at (or
associated with) the venue that has been assigned the order (e.g.,
the "concession #100"), and/or (iii) an estimate of the time to
packaging, preparation, fulfillment, and/or delivery of the order.
In some embodiments, the order may be assigned a color, code,
picture, image, and/or other identifier, such as the initials "AJZ"
as shown in FIG. 6X.
[0108] According to some embodiments, the interface 600 may
comprise a full-screen view of an order and/or order details, such
as depicted in FIG. 6Y. The full-screen view of the order may be
presented to the customer, for example, in the case the customer
selects (e.g., touches the line-item representing) the order from
the list of pending orders presented in FIG. 6X. As depicted in
FIG. 6Y, the order detail screen may, in some embodiments, present
the order identifier (e.g., "AJZ"), an indication of the customer's
seat number and/or location, an indication of whether the order is
a "pickup" or "delivery" type order, and/or an indication of when
the order will be ready/delivered (e.g., expected fulfillment
time).
[0109] As another example of how the interface 600 may be utilized
in accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 6Z depicts a customer
viewing a product screen for a hot dog (e.g., from the "food"
category). In some embodiments, the customer may select the hot dog
for purchase (e.g., add a hot dog to the customer's virtual
shopping cart) by tapping the picture/image of the hot dog. As
shown in FIG. 6AA, for example, the customer may have tapped the
image of the hot dog twice (and/or otherwise indicated a desire to
purchase two hot dogs), such as is indicated by the number two (2)
shown next to and/or on the image of the hot dog.
[0110] In a continuance of the example, the customer may then
navigate to the product screen for a twenty-ounce (20 oz.)
Coca-Cola.RTM. (e.g., from the "Soda" category), as depicted by
FIG. 6BB, and also add two units of the desired product to the
customer's virtual shopping cart. According to some embodiments,
such as in the case the customer selects the "Go to Cart" button, a
virtual shopping cart screen (as depicted in FIG. 6CC) may be
displayed. The virtual shopping cart screen may list items added to
the cart by the customer, for example, as well as prices. As shown
in FIG. 6CC, the virtual shopping cart screen may include a
"Checkout" button which may, in some embodiments and upon selection
by the customer, cause the interface 600 to display a processing
status screen as depicted in FIG. 6DD.
[0111] In some embodiments, such as in the case that the order from
FIG. 6CC and/or FIG. 6DD is consummated (e.g., processed, verified,
submitted, and/or paid for), the interface 600 may present an order
list screen, such as is depicted in FIG. 6EE. The order list screen
may include a listing of any outstanding (e.g., pending) orders,
for example, such as the order for the Coca-Cola.RTM. sodas and the
hot dogs, an identifier of an assigned fulfillment
location/facility (e.g., "Concession #112"), and/or an estimated
order fulfillment time. According to some embodiments, such as
depicted in FIG. 6FF, an e-mail (and/or other communication) may be
sent to the customer (and/or the customer's mobile device) alerting
the customer of the placement of the order and/or summarizing order
details such as cost, ordered items, transaction and/or receipt
identifiers, and/or instructions regarding order fulfillment.
[0112] In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 6GG, the
interface 600 may provide a screen identifying the placed order
and/or details thereof. Information identifying the order (e.g.,
"AKJ"), the customer's location (e.g., seat, section, and/or
coordinates), information identifying the fulfillment method (e.g.,
pickup or delivery), and/or information indicating the estimated
time to fulfillment may, for example, be included. In some
embodiments, such as in the case that the status of the order
changes, an order status change screen (as depicted in FIG. 6HH)
may be presented via the interface 600. As shown in FIG. 6HH, for
example, the order status change screen may indicate that the order
has been prepared and/or packaged and has been picked up by a
runner and/or hocker for delivery to the customer's location. While
the message of the status change depicted in FIG. 6HH may, in some
embodiments, be illustrative of a message from an application
running on the customer's mobile device, other notification methods
are also or alternatively contemplated. As shown in FIG. 6II, for
example, the status change notification may be sent via text
message (e.g., via Short Message Service (SMS)) to the customer's
device. In some embodiments, such as in the case that the order is
picked up by the customer, delivered to the customer, and/or
otherwise fulfilled or closed, the interface 600 may display a
status update screen informing the customer that the order is
complete (as shown in FIG. 6JJ).
[0113] Turning now to FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E,
FIG. 7F, FIG. 7G, FIG. 7H, FIG. 7I, and FIG. 7J, example interfaces
700 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments,
the interfaces 700 may comprise a web page, web form, database
entry form, API, spreadsheet, table, and/or application or other
GUI, such as a POS application. The interfaces 700 may, for
example, be utilized by an employee of a product and/or service
fulfillment station to facilitate a customer's purchase of products
and/or services at a venue as described herein, and/or to
facilitate distribution and/or delivery of such purchases to the
customer as described herein. The interfaces 700 may, for example,
comprise portions of a venue product sales application and/or
platform programmed and/or otherwise configured to execute,
conduct, and/or facilitate any of the various methods 200, 300 of
FIG. 2, and/or FIG. 3 and/or the process 500, 502 of FIG. 5A and/or
FIG. 5B, and/or portions or combinations thereof. In some
embodiments, the interfaces 700 may be output via one or more
computerized device such as the controller 110, 510 of FIG. 1
and/or FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B, the apparatus 410 of FIG. 4, and/or
any or all of the fulfillment devices 170a-n, 570 of FIG. 1 and/or
FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B, herein.
[0114] According to some embodiments, the interface 700 shown in
FIG. 7A, may comprise a screen of a POS system and/or software
program or application (and/or of a controller application). The
interface 700 may, for example, be powered and/or generated by a
specially-programmed application that allows POS devices,
components, and/or personnel (e.g., of a fulfillment facility
170a-n, 570 of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 5 herein) to accept orders from
customers (e.g., routed through and/or processed by a controller)
for products and/or service at (and/or via) a venue (e.g., a venue
where the POS is located). As shown in FIG. 7A, for example, the
"User Administration" screen may allow POS personnel to create,
edit, and/or manage preferences and/or settings descriptive of
accounts for personnel that will or may interact with and/or
utilize the interface 700 to accept, process, and/or fulfill
customer orders. In some embodiments, such as in the case that
personnel already have an account created (and/or create an account
via the interface 700 of FIG. 7A), the personnel may login to the
software and/or interface 700, such as by utilizing the login
screen depicted in FIG. 7B.
[0115] In some embodiments, personnel may manage settings of the
software and/or interface 700 with respect to a particular venue
(e.g., a stadium) such as by utilizing the "Stadium Management"
screen shown in FIG. 7C. According to some embodiments, such as by
utilizing a "Concession Management" screen depicted in FIG. 7D,
settings regarding a particular fulfillment station/facility (e.g.,
the "Concession #112") may be entered, viewed, and/or modified. In
some embodiments, such as in the case that the interface 700 is
utilized to facilitate and/or manage customer orders, a "Concession
Fulfillment" screen such as shown in FIG. 7E may be displayed via
the interface 700. The screen may include, for example, a listing
of any orders assigned to the particular fulfillment facility
(e.g., the Coca-Cola.RTM. order from the example of FIG. 6EE)
and/or a "Start Order" button that may be utilized to begin the
processing of the order at the fulfillment facility.
[0116] According to some embodiments, such as in the case that the
"Start Order" button is selected and/or activated and/or the order
"AKJ" is selected, the interface 700 may display a screen with
order details (e.g., to facilitate initiation of order
preparation/fulfillment) and the status of the order may be changed
to indicate that the order is being prepared (e.g., "Progress"; as
shown in FIG. 7F). In some embodiments, such as in the case that
the order is ready, the status of the order may be updated as shown
in FIG. 7G to indicate that the order is ready. According to some
embodiments, such as in the case that the "Checkout" button is
selected, a pop-up screen such as shown in FIG. 7H may be provided
to prompt the personnel to verify the desire to close-out the
order--e.g., upon order fulfillment such as order pickup or
delivery.
[0117] In some embodiments, the interface 700 may be utilized to
manage inventory data for refreshment products (e.g., sodas and
chips) offered for sale via the particular fulfillment facility, as
depicted in FIG. 7I. Such information may be updated by POS
personnel, for example, and stored in one or more databases (e.g.,
that may be accessible to a controller that allocates orders to
fulfillment stations based at least in part on inventory of
products). According to some embodiments, the interface 700 may
also or alternatively be utilized to manage information indicative
of inventory of merchandise, as shown in FIG. 7J.
[0118] While various components of the interfaces 600, 700 have
been described with respect to certain labels, layouts, headings,
titles, and/or configurations, these features have been presented
for reference and example only. Other labels, layouts, headings,
titles, and/or configurations may be implemented without deviating
from the scope of embodiments herein. Similarly, while a certain
number of tabs, information screens, form fields, and/or data entry
options have been presented, variations thereof may be practiced in
accordance with some embodiments.
[0119] F. Additional Embodiments
[0120] 1. Promotions and Pricing
[0121] In some embodiments, promotions may be "pushed" or served to
customer at a venue based on real-time events occurring at the
venue. Promotions for special items and/or certain products may,
for example, be output to customers based on game events, scores,
and/or other dynamic events at the venue. In some embodiments,
dynamic promotion(s) may be sent to consumers based on actual sales
results during an event/game and/or based on current, real-time
inventory and/or predicted nature of demand. In some embodiments,
products may be promoted to customers dynamically based on
expiration dates and/or times to reducing spoilage by promoting
products approaching expiration. In some embodiments, available
historic venue merchandise and/or food sales data (by product
category and seat/section number) may be utilized to forecast
and/or set ticket prices (e.g., ticket and/or season ticket prices
may be based at least in part on product and/or service sales data
for certain seats, sections, or even customers or types of
customers--e.g., higher merchandise sales sections may warrant
decreased ticket prices since the venue is making good money on the
seats already). In some embodiments, different customers within a
common event, stadium, and/or other venue may be offered different
pricing for the same (or similar products) based on profile
information (e.g. students vs. alumni; east section vs. west
section; home team vs. visiting team, season ticket holder vs. cash
ticket). In some embodiments, pricing may be dynamically rendered
based on time of game, outcome of game or event or funded and/or
subsidized by a third-party. In some embodiments, available
historic venue sales data (e.g., by product category and
seat/section number) may be utilized to influence seat upgrade
offers to season ticket holders.
[0122] According to some embodiments, a robust, dynamic mechanism
for a real-time application of various promotions within a remote
electronic ordering system is provided. Such a mechanism may allow,
for example, a real-time control for application of various
promotions available in the system, such as, but not limited to:
(i) an ability to apply different types of promotions such as
percent variable, percent variable with cap, percent variable with
floor, fixed price amount, and/or certain product premium items
available in the service provider's menu, and premium product items
supplied by the third party; (ii) an ability to apply promotional
discounts to different basis, such as per order, per specific SKU
item, per specific spending limit, etc.; (iii) an ability to
differentiate and validate various promotions by events, portions
of events (e.g., post-half-game), dates, times, promo codes, etc.;
(iv) an ability to process conditional promotions such as next
order, first order, orders over a certain price threshold amount,
etc.; (v) an ability to either redeem promo codes generated via
various mediums (e.g., e-mail, text message, newspaper, web, TV,
radio, etc) or auto redeem when certain conditions are met; and/or
(vi) an ability to vary application of promotions by location
information such as region/states, stadium, venue type, event,
event type, concession stand, customer, stadium seat section and
row, service provider, product category and product itself,
etc.
[0123] In some embodiments the "moment of the game" (e.g., impulse)
may be leveraged to sell memorable event merchandise. For example:
Jeter hits 3,000th hit--limited edition shirt--can only get by
being at game, limited number. Merchandise could be specific price
point or could be auctioned. In some embodiments, the system tracks
event(s) (or plays) at game, stores event(s) and/or allows
individual or friends of individuals to purchase merchandise or
memorabilia based on that event. Item(s) could be limited in number
or could be open number. Purchases could be limited to certain
window of time from when event occurs or could also be open. For
example, items could be purchased only within the 7.sup.th inning
(right before Yankees win World Series) or could be open.
[0124] In some embodiments, events can use stats from sport or
event to create specific new "events"; e.g., rookie of year stats,
pitched a no-hitter (examples of when records are broken or
achieved). Yankees are about to win World Series--be the first 200
people to buy limited edition World Series hat. Could be signed by
players, special medallion or limited edition. Could apply to
college/football/professional
[0125] 2. Purchasing
[0126] In some embodiments, subscription pricing of food and/or
beverage may be offered. Customers may be offered, for example, the
ability to purchase a subscription (for fixed or variable pricing)
that gives consumers access to special pricing for food and
beverage items within stadium/arena or event for one or multiple
events. In some embodiments, some products ordered and sold via a
mobile app can have different service requirements such as alcohol
policy or product must be heated or chilled to certain temperature.
In some embodiments, these service requirements must be adhered by
the system accepting and fulfilling orders. Such enforcement can be
built as a subsystem that monitors product service requirements
during either check-out or order submission process or both and do
one of the following three things (based on the Alcohol policy
enforcement type): (a) `Inform`: this is a less intrusive
enforcement that includes a few purchase in-path messages that
inform consumers about the alcohol policy in effect at a particular
venue/event; (b) `Warn`: this is a more intrusive enforcement that
includes a pop-up message or notification message sent to consumers
that inform them about the alcohol policy in effect at a particular
venue/event and requires an active awareness confirmation of the
stated policy; (c) `Restrict`: this is the most restrictive
enforcement that includes both hard validation and prevention of
orders from submission that exceed allowable alcohol item
limit.
[0127] In some embodiments, one of the alcohol policy requirements
is a moment of time after which a food service provider should stop
selling the alcohol containing beverage during an event. In order
to enforce such a requirement, the system can provide a master
switch capability as part of the concession/event management
portal. It can be achieved as follows (for example): (i) place a
dedicated action-button on the management portal where an access to
it is granted only to the event manager, (ii) by clicking this
button system will create a new record (either stop or resume
selling alcohol--the text on the button should alternate between
Stop and Resume) in the new database; (iii) the latest (by time
stamp) record from this data table should be passed to the App so
that when consumer view an alcohol containing item on the menu
selection screen we can either remove the <select>button (or
its equivalent) from the screen or provide a note that this item is
no longer available for selection due to alcohol policy in effect,
or both; in any event, the system should not allow an order to be
placed with any alcohol item in it post stop event timestamp;
and/or (iv) use shopping cart validation mechanism on the shopping
cart screen as follows: assess shopping cart on items containing
alcohol and if contains them, then verify the latest timestamp
record for subject event, and if it is to be stopped (vs. resumed)
then notify consumer via message on the same screen and allow him
to remove selected alcohol items but leave non-alcohol items in the
cart. In any event, system would not allow an order to be placed
with any alcohol item in it post-stop event timestamp.
[0128] In some embodiments, a robust, real-time, dynamic mechanism
for fee calculation and/or splitting within a remote electronic
ordering system is provided. Such a mechanism may allow, for
example, real-time control of how to calculate various fees, such
as, but not limited to: (i) an ability to calculate fee as a
straight variable percent of the item price; (ii) an ability to
calculate fee as a variable percent of the item price subject to
either a flat cap or floor amount; (iii) an ability to calculate
fee as a flat add-on amount; (iv) an ability to levy more than one
fee (delivery add-on fee, for instance); (v) an ability to have
different basis for calculating variable fee (item or order, for
example); and/or (vi) an ability to vary fee by stadium, venue
type, event, event type, concession stand, stadium seat section and
row, service provider, product category and product itself.
[0129] In some embodiments, to enable a flexibility of the fee
calculation control, the system would utilize a database where all
dial settings are stored. These settings may include the following:
(i) fee_calculation_id (bgint); (ii) fee_name (varchar); (iii)
fee_description (varchar); (iv) fee_type_id (1--straight variable;
2--variable with cap; 3--variable with floor; 4--flat amount--can
be stored in to new fee_type_lookup table); (v) fee_basis_id
(1--for item-based calc; 2--order-based calc--can be stored in to
new fee_basis_lookup table); (vi) fee_value (decimal.2)--decimal is
helpful for using P-type value; but for F-type value we would use
lowest currency denomination--cents in US; (vii) fee_value_type
(char)--P--for percent; F--for flat or fixed); (viii)
fee_cap_value_amt (int--can be NULL); and/or (ix)
fee_floor_value_amt (int--can be NULL).
[0130] Other fields in such a table may, for example, define the
dimensions by which differentiation and control of the fee
calculation parameters defined in the above fields is accomplished:
(i) store_regexp_id (for REGEXP use); (ii) venue_type_regexp_id
(for REGEXP use); (iii) event_regexp_id (for REGEXP use); (iv)
event_type_regexp_id (for REGEXP use); (v)
concession_stand_regexp_id (for REGEXP use); (vi)
stadium_section_regexp_num (for REGEXP use); (vii)
stadium_row_regexp_num (for REGEXP use); (viii)
service_provider_regexp_id (for REGEXP use); (ix)
product_category_regexp_id (for REGEXP use); (x) product_reg_exp_id
(for REGEXP use); (xi) active_Flag (var--Y or N); (xii)
effective_time (bigint); and/or (xiii) discontinue_time
(bigint).
[0131] In some embodiments, a fee calculation process may have two
main steps (example is based on StadiumVIP mobile app system): (1)
upon customer entering the stadium or event (submitting his seat
information), currently among other things, system validates his
seat location and assign the concession stands available to a
customer at the event. Once this is complete and prior to allowing
customer's entrance, we have to add one more data retrieval request
(via query from database table described above) and send all
retrieved fee records (normally one or two records) to consumer's
device along with entrance permission data (or if the fee calc
resides only on the server side this query can be done during fee
calc itself); The query should contain the following field filters
(all this data elements related to a particular customer's stadium
entrance are readily available to the system at this point):
Store_regexp_id; Venue_type_regexp_id; Event_regexp_id;
Event_type_regexp_id; Concession_stand_regexp_id;
Stadium_section_regexp_n um; Stadium_row_regexp_num;
Service_provider_regexp_id; Active_Flag; Effective_time;
Discontinue_time; (2) when customer selects items from the menu
screen and click <Go To Cart> button, system would have to
initiate a calculation of appropriate fee(s) for the shopping cart
at hand.
[0132] In some embodiments, if more than one applicable fee record
returned from the fee calculation control table, then system would
evaluate and calculate each fee record separately by utilizing one
of the method described above. At the end, system would just sum
all resulted fees as they are additive for the shopping cart at
hand. However, system may keep each fee total separately in order
to state them separately on all communications with both customers
and providers (check-out screen, emails, printed receipt, and the
concession stand management portal).
[0133] In some embodiments, customers may split and/or share
orders. Multiple orders may be grouped together to be paid by a
single customer, for example, and/or a single order may be paid
utilizing multiple payment methods (e.g., split 50/50 between two
credit cards of two friends). In some embodiments, orders may be
scheduled for specific times, dates, and/or events (e.g., every
time a home-run is hit). In some embodiments, scheduled orders
and/or other orders may comprise "re-orders" similar to
prescription refills or the re-dialing of a telephone in the sense
that order data and details are saved and accessed for the new
order without requiring re-entry of data. This may be advantageous,
for example, by allowing a customer at a venue to press a button
(e.g., "re-order") to simply submit a new order similar and/or
identical to a previous order.
[0134] 3. Network Usage
[0135] A lot of today's real-time transactional systems rely on a
dedicated channel or network bandwidth to process the orders. Most
of these systems are usually processing orders from a few
aggregators that are connected to a service provider or supplier's
inventory via dedicated network lines/channels. Travel industry
reservation systems being one example whereby a few on-line travel
agencies connected to the airline/hotel inventory supply by the
dedicated network lines. However, in truly mass market
transactional systems achieving the real-time ordering and
fulfillment capability especially during the peak demand time
period is almost impossible to do due to limited, though dedicated
in some cases, network bandwidth. Examples of this deficiency are
plenty, including a well publicized order systems failure at both
AT&T and Apple during the launch of i-Phone 4 product in early
2010.
[0136] In some embodiments, transactional data transmissions (from
an order initiation points to order processing and fulfillment
points and back) utilizing various communication vehicles available
today in modern communication network infrastructure may be
dynamically managed. As an example, a mobile phone application is
the software residing on the mobile phone/device that allows
consumers attending various games/events to place real-time orders
for products (such as food, drinks, and merchandise) via wireless
carriers' network to service provider's order-processing and
fulfillment systems (all together the systems back-end). By placing
an order, a consumer generates transactional data transmission that
includes, among other things, menu item identification such as
product id and description, menu item price, ordered quantity of
each item, total order amount to be charged to his/her credit card,
etc. In return, the back-end system generates transactional data
transmission that includes order receipt confirmation, order status
change (ready, on-hold, delayed, etc), and order fulfillment
confirmation.
[0137] These data transmissions are sent to/from consumers via
their devices' wireless carrier network. It's known that wireless
carrier network capacity (bandwidth) among other things depends on
the wireless communication cell towers (a.k.a. base station)
capacity placed in the vicinity of mobile phone holders. As
stadiums/arenas usually located on the outskirts of most
cities/towns, the wireless tower coverage in these areas is usually
sparse. This situation is aggravated even further when 40,000 to
100,000 event attendees want to use their mobile phone during a
half break of the football game, for example. During such congested
network times, the tower's capacity is so limited that making a
phone call or regular data transmission is almost definitely not
possible.
[0138] While these networks are engineered to handle increased
volume of traffic, the sheer number of calls or/and
picture/video/email data transmission would be far greater than
bandwidth capacity for voice/data communications in the affected
areas. Thus, enabling consumers to submit their real-time orders
via a mobile device, even under such circumstances, may be of great
importance and can be achieved by utilizing the embodiments
described herein.
[0139] Although with voice-based phone services or data services
being almost entirely unavailable due to TCH (Traffic Channels)
saturation during spiked bandwidth demand, the SMS (short message
service) messages would be still successfully received in even the
most congested regions/areas because the control channels (CCH)
responsible for their delivery would remain available. Accordingly,
SMS messaging is now viewed by many as a reliable (almost
guaranteed) method of communication (or communication vehicle) when
all other means appear unavailable.
[0140] Some embodiments utilize this architectural benefit of SMS
network at many carriers by dynamically selecting a specific
communication vehicle (from among data transmission vehicle, email
transmission vehicle, and SMS transmission vehicle) to be engaged
in sending real-time transactional data from customer's mobile
device to the back-end system and back to consumers in automated
fashion based on one or many input variables such as expected cost
of data transmission, data expiration or age time, signal strength,
packet or signal drop-off rate, etc.
IV. Networking
[0141] A. System Overview
[0142] Turning to FIG. 8, a block diagram of a system 800 according
to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the system 800
may comprise a controller 810 (such as the controller 110, 510 of
FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 5 herein), a scoreboard 816 (such as the output
device 418 of the apparatus 410 of FIG. 4 herein), a plurality of
mobile customer devices 830a-d (such as the mobile customer devices
130, 530 of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 5 herein), a network 850 (such as
the network 150 of FIG. 1 herein), and/or a venue 880. According to
some embodiments, the network 850 may comprise communication links
to the controller 810, the scoreboard 816, and/or any or each of
the plurality of mobile customer devices 830a-e, any or all of
which may be communicatively connected to and/or via the
communication links of the network 850. According to some
embodiments, fewer or more components and/or various configurations
of the depicted components may be included in the system 800
without deviating from the scope of embodiments described herein.
In some embodiments, the components 810, 816, 830, 850, 880 may be
similar in configuration and/or functionality to similarly named
and/or numbered components as described with reference to the
system 100 of FIG. 1, the methods 200, 300 of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3,
and/or the processes 500, 502 of FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B,
herein.
[0143] According to some embodiments, the system 800 may be
configured to manage and/or facilitate communications between the
various components 810, 816, 830, 850 to effectuate networking
between fans/customers/attendees (not explicitly shown, but
associated with the mobile customer devices 830a-e, for example) of
the venue 880 (and/or of events held therein). The first mobile
customer device 830a may, for example, communicate with the second
mobile customer device 830b via the network 850. In some
embodiments, the communication may involve issuing a friendly
"challenge" to another fan of the venue, sharing media captured
from a location of the first mobile customer device 830a,
transmitting an indication of a gift (e.g., a gifted item from a
venue fulfillment facility), communications that facilitate and/or
comprise an interactive gaming session between fans, and/or other
inter-fan communications.
[0144] In some embodiments, any or all of the mobile customer
devices 830a-e may also or alternatively communicate outside of the
network 850. The first mobile customer device 830a may communicate
directly with the fourth mobile customer device 830d, for example,
such as via Bluetooth.RTM., IR, RF, and/or other short-range and/or
direct communications means (e.g., a cable). According to
embodiments, the third mobile customer device 830c may communicate
with the fifth mobile customer device 830e which may, for example,
be located outside of the venue 880. In some embodiments, any or
all communications amongst the mobile customer devices 830a-e may
be routed through and/or processed by the controller 810. According
to some embodiments, the controller 810 may select certain
communications and/or communication content for display o the
scoreboard 816. In such a manner, for example, fan-generated and/or
selected content may be displayed via the scoreboard 816 at the
venue 880.
[0145] While the network 850 is depicted in FIG. 8 as a single
object, the network 850 may comprise any number, type, and/or
configuration of networks that is or becomes known or practicable.
According to some embodiments, the network 850 may comprise a
conglomeration of different sub-networks and/or network components
interconnected, directly or indirectly, by the components 810, 816,
830, 850 of the system 800. The network 850 may comprise one or
more cellular telephone networks with communication links between
the first mobile customer device 830a and the second mobile
customer device 830b, for example, and/or may comprise the
Internet, with communication links between the controller 810 and
the third mobile customer device 830c, for example.
[0146] In some embodiments, the network 850 may comprise a LAN
(wireless and/or wired) with communication links between the
controller 810 and any or all of the mobile customer devices 830a-e
(such as in the case that any such devices 810, 830a-e are located
within close proximity--e.g., the same building, structure, and/or
area, such as the venue 880). In some embodiments, the network 850
may comprise direct communications links between components 810,
816, 830 of the system 800. In some embodiments, the network 850
may comprise one or many other links or network components other
than those depicted in FIG. 8. Any or all of the mobile customer
devices 830a-d may be connected to the controller 810 via various
cell towers, routers, repeaters, ports, switches, and/or other
network components that comprise the Internet and/or a cellular
telephone (and/or Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN))
network, and which comprise portions of the network 850.
[0147] B. Methods
[0148] Turning to FIG. 9, a flow diagram of a method 900 according
to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the method 900
may be performed and/or implemented by and/or otherwise associated
with one or more specialized computerized processing devices (e.g.,
the controller 110, 510, 810 and/or the mobile customer devices
130, 530, 830 of FIG. 1, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, and/or FIG. 8 herein),
specialized computers, computer terminals, computer servers,
computer systems and/or networks (e.g., the network 150, 850 of
FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 8 herein), and/or any combinations thereof. In
some embodiments, the method 900 may be embodied in, facilitated
by, and/or otherwise associated with various input mechanisms
and/or interfaces such as the interfaces 600, 700 described with
respect to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D, FIG. 6E, FIG. 6F,
FIG. 6G, FIG. 6H, FIG. 6I, FIG. 6J, FIG. 6K, FIG. 6L, FIG. 6M, FIG.
6N, FIG. 6O, FIG. 6 P, FIG. 6Q, FIG. 6R, FIG. 6S, FIG. 6T, FIG. 6U,
FIG. 6V, FIG. 6W, FIG. 6X, FIG. 6Y, FIG. 6Z, FIG. 6AA, FIG. 6BB,
FIG. 6CC, FIG. 6DD, FIG. 6EE, FIG. 6FF, FIG. 6GG, FIG. 6HH, FIG.
6II, FIG. 6JJ, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, FIG. 7D, FIG. 7E, FIG.
7F, FIG. 7G, FIG. 7H, FIG. 7I, and/or FIG. 7J herein.
[0149] In some embodiments, the method 900 may comprise receiving,
(e.g., by an electronic controller) from a first mobile device of a
first attendee of an event at a venue, an indication of a request
to challenge a second attendee of the event, at 902. A "challenge",
as the term is utilized herein, may generally refer to any type of
competition between fans/customers/attendees. Examples of
challenges include but are not limited to, for example, a "bet"
that certain events at the event/venue will or will not occur
and/or a trivia question and/or other gaming competitions. In some
embodiments, for example, a fan may challenge a friend at the
venue, a random fan, and/or a computer (e.g., Artificial
Intelligence (AI)). To identify the recipient of the challenge, the
first attendee may enter a seat and/or section number, handle or
nickname, friend and/or fan identifier, and/or select and/or take
an image of the desired challenge recipient. In some embodiments, a
system associated with the venue may suggest and/or select
challenge recipients on behalf of the fan. Fans with similar
interests (e.g., rooting for the same team), similar skill levels
(e.g., for skill-based game challenges), and/or fans proximate to
the challenging fan (e.g., fans in the same section and/or nearby
or adjacent seats) may, for example, be selected and/or suggested
by the system. In some embodiments, the challenge request may
include an identification and/or selection or suggestion of a
particular prize (or a menu of prize options) which the winner of
the competition may earn.
[0150] According to some embodiments, the method 900 may comprise
transmitting, (e.g., by the electronic controller and/or in
response to the receiving of the indication of the challenge
request) to a second mobile device of the second attendee of the
event, an indication of the challenge request, at 904. In some
embodiments, such as in the case that the two attendees are
proximate to each other and/or in the case that the first attendee
selects the second attendee as a recipient of the challenge, the
transmitting may be accomplished directly from the first mobile
device to the second mobile device (e.g., via Bluetooth.RTM., IR,
RF, and/or other short-range and/or line-of-sight communication
methods). According to some embodiments, such as in the case that
the system selects the second attendee and/or in the case that the
second attendee is remote from the first attendee, the transmitting
may be conducted through and/or via a controller and/or
network.
[0151] In some embodiments, the method 900 may comprise receiving,
(e.g., by the electronic controller) from the second mobile device
of the second attendee of the event, an indication of an acceptance
of the challenge request, at 906. In some embodiments, the
acceptance may include an acceptance of the particular prize for
which the competition is conducted and/or may include a
counter-offer or even an "upping" of the ante.
[0152] According to some embodiments, the method 900 may comprise
determining, (e.g., by the electronic controller and/or in response
to the receiving of the indication of the acceptance of the
challenge request) based on (i) stored challenge criteria relating
to possible occurrences at the event and (ii) an actual occurrence
at the event, whether either of the first or second attendees has
won the challenge, at 908. In the case that the challenge is
similar to a "bet", for example, the controller (and/or other
device) may store an indication of a rule defining the "bet". The
first attendee may "wager" (e.g., offer to buy) a Pepsi.RTM. for
the second attendee if a first team wins a game conducted at the
venue, for example, in exchange for the second attendee agreeing to
purchase a Pepsi.RTM. (or other product) for the first attendee if
a second team wins the game at the venue. An application running on
one or more of the mobile devices and/or the controller may store a
trigger based upon which team wins the game at the venue and may
determine based on such information (e.g., when it becomes
available), which attendee (if either) has won the challenge. In
some embodiments, the loser is automatically debited for the price
of the particular prize and the winner is automatically credited
for an amount equal to the particular prize and/or is otherwise
provided the particular prize (e.g., given a redemption code and/or
having the prize delivered to the winner).
[0153] In some embodiments, the method 900 may comprise selecting
(e.g., by the electronic controller) a fulfillment facility at the
venue that is capable of providing a particular prize to the winner
of the challenge, at 910. As described in reference to the
procedure at 206 of the method 200 from FIG. 2, for example, the
controller may utilize specially-programmed logic and/or rules to
select one of a plurality of available fulfillment stations via
which the "order" for the prize should be fulfilled.
[0154] According to some embodiments, the method 900 may comprise
causing (e.g., by the electronic controller) the particular prize
to be provided to the winner of the challenge via the selected
fulfillment facility at the venue, at 912. As described herein with
reference to product ordering and/or sales at venues, for example,
the winning attendee may pick up the prize at the selected
fulfillment station or may have the prize delivered to the attendee
(e.g., by a hocker or runner).
[0155] In some embodiments, challenges may include more than two
attendees, customers, and/or fans (whether at the venue or not).
Multi-party games may be conducted and/or facilitated by the
controller, for example. According to some embodiments, multiple
attendees may organize (or be organized) into one or more teams.
Fans may organize or be categorized into (e.g., by the controller
and based on fan data), for example, teams mimicking the
professional teams that may be playing a game at the venue (e.g.,
the Orioles.RTM. v. the Yankees.RTM.). In some embodiments,
third-party sponsors may subsidize and/or provide the challenge
prize. The challenge itself may be sponsored by Pepsi.RTM., for
example, and/or may include challenge results being displayed via a
scoreboard at the venue and/or distributed via a social networking
site such as Facebook.RTM..
[0156] According to some embodiments, fans may define "virtual"
geo-cache prizes utilizing the systems described herein and/or as
part of a challenge. A fan utilizing a mobile device at a venue,
for example, may tag one or more locations at the venue to define
them as virtual geo-caches of various objects and/or prizes. In
such an embodiment, other fans, as part of the challenge, may be
required to find the "hidden" objects and/or virtual products. In
some embodiments, such as in the case that a challenge participant
locates a hidden virtual product and/or prize, the system may award
the "hidden" virtual prize to the participant by crediting the
participant an amount equal to a price of the corresponding actual
product and/or may otherwise provide a unit of the corresponding
actual product to the participant. In some embodiments, location
information descriptive of a location of the participant may be
compared to stored virtual geo-cache information to verify that the
hidden item has been "found". In some embodiments, virtual items
may be placed and/or gifted without the need for the placing
party/gifting party to travel to the actual location where the
virtual item is placed. In some embodiments, the geo-cached
locations can be anywhere--e.g., not limited to within a venue. One
or more fans and/or other people may place virtual products at
remote locations such as on top a mountain, for example, without
ever having visited the location. In such a manner, virtual gifts
(e.g., that are redeemable for actual corresponding products) may
be placed for a mountain climber such that the climber earns great
rewards (e.g., many gifts from many supporters of the climb) upon
location verification and matching to the virtually-placed
items.
V. Apparatus
[0157] Turning to FIG. 10, a block diagram of an apparatus 1030
according to some embodiments is shown. In some embodiments, the
apparatus 1030 may be similar in configuration and/or functionality
to the controllers 110, 510, 810, the fulfillment
devices/facilities 170, 570, and/or the mobile customer devices
130, 530, 830 of FIG. 1, FIG. 5, and/or FIG. 8 herein. The
apparatus 1030 may, for example, execute, process, facilitate,
and/or otherwise be associated with the methods 200, 300, 900 of
FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and/or FIG. 9 and/or with the process 500, 502 of
FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus
1030 may comprise a processor 1032, an input device 1034, an output
device 103, a communication device 1038, and/or a memory device
1040. Fewer or more components and/or various configurations of the
components 1032, 1034, 1036, 1038, 1040 may be included in the
apparatus 1030 without deviating from the scope of embodiments
described herein.
[0158] According to some embodiments, the processor 1032 may be or
include any type, quantity, and/or configuration of electronic
and/or computerized processor that is or becomes known. The
processor 412 may comprise, for example, an Intel.RTM. IXP 2800
network processor or an Intel.RTM. XEON.TM. Processor coupled with
an Intel.RTM. E7501 chipset, available from Intel.RTM. Corporation
of Santa Clara, Calif. In some embodiments, the processor 1032 may
comprise an electronic processor such as an Intel.RTM. Core.TM. 2
Duo P8600 CPU also available from Intel.RTM. Corporation of Santa
Clara, Calif. In some embodiments, the processor 1032 may execute
instructions, such as instructions specially programmed into and/or
for the processor 1032. The execution of the specially-programmed
instructions may, for example, enable and/or facilitate the
apparatus 1030 to operate in accordance with embodiments as
described herein.
[0159] In some embodiments, the processor 1032 may comprise
multiple inter-connected processors, microprocessors, and/or
micro-engines. According to some embodiments, the processor 1032
(and/or the apparatus 1030 and/or other components thereof) may be
supplied power via a power supply (not shown) such as a battery, an
AC source, a DC source, an AC/DC adapter, solar cells, and/or an
inertial generator. In the case that the apparatus 1030 comprises a
server such as a blade server, necessary power may be supplied via
a standard AC outlet, power strip, surge protector, and/or UPS
device.
[0160] In some embodiments, the input device 1034 and/or the output
device 1036 are communicatively coupled to the processor 1032
(e.g., via wired and/or wireless connections, traces, and/or
pathways) and they may generally comprise any types or
configurations of input and output components and/or devices that
are or become known, respectively. The input device 1034 may
comprise, for example, a keyboard that allows an operator of the
apparatus 1030 to interface with the apparatus 1030 (e.g., by an
operator of a mobile computing device, such as to implement and/or
interact with embodiments herein to purchase products at venues
and/or conduct networking between fans). The output device 1036
may, according to some embodiments, comprise a display screen
and/or other practicable output component and/or device. The output
device 1036 may, for example, provide information, data, and/or
images that permit a customer (e.g., a fan and/or event attendee)
to purchase products at a venue and/or network (e.g., produce a
customized event blog) with other customers. According to some
embodiments, the input device 1034 and/or the output device 1036
may comprise and/or be embodied in a single device such as a
touch-screen monitor.
[0161] In some embodiments, the communication device 1038 may
comprise any type or configuration of communication device that is
or becomes known or practicable. The communication device 1038 may,
for example, comprise a NIC, a telephonic device, a cellular
network device, a router, a hub, a modem, and/or a communications
port or cable. In some embodiments, the communication device 1038
may be coupled to provide data to a central controller and/or to
mobile customer devices, such as in the case that the apparatus
1030 is utilized by a customer of a venue to purchase products from
and/or at the venue and/or conduct venue-related social networking
via a customer's wireless and/or mobile device. According to some
embodiments, the communication device 1038 may also or
alternatively be coupled to the processor 1032. In some
embodiments, the communication device 1038 may comprise an IR, RF,
Bluetooth.TM., and/or Wi-Fi.RTM. network device coupled to
facilitate communications between the processor 1032 (and/or the
apparatus 1030) and another device (such as the controller 110,
510, 810 and/or the fulfillment devices 170a-n, 570 of FIG. 1, FIG.
5A, FIG. 5B, and/or FIG. 8 herein).
[0162] The memory device 1040 may comprise any appropriate
information storage device that is or becomes known or available,
including, but not limited to, units and/or combinations of
magnetic storage devices (e.g., a hard disk drive), optical storage
devices, and/or semiconductor memory devices such as RAM devices,
ROM devices, SDR-RAM, Double DDR-RAM, and/or PROM. The memory
device 1040 may, according to some embodiments, store one or more
of stadium purchase instructions 1042-1 and/or stadium networking
instructions 1042-2. In some embodiments, the stadium purchase
instructions 1042-1 and/or stadium networking instructions 1042-2
may be utilized by the processor 1032 to provide output information
via the output device 1036 and/or the communication device 1038
(e.g., transmitting of the challenge indication received at 902
and/or transmitting of the challenge acceptance received at 906 of
the method 900 of FIG. 9).
[0163] According to some embodiments, the stadium purchase
instructions 1042-1 may be operable to cause the processor 1032 to
access and/or process personal data 1044-1. Personal data 1044-1
received via the input device 1034 and/or the communication device
1038 may, for example, be analyzed, sorted, filtered, decoded,
decompressed, ranked, scored, plotted, and/or otherwise processed
by the processor 1032 in accordance with the stadium purchase
instructions 1042-1. In some embodiments, personal data 1044-1 may
be utilized by the processor 1032 to facilitate and/or conduct
processes and/or methods in accordance with the stadium purchase
instructions 1042-1 to facilitate and/or effectuate a customer's
purchase of products and/or services from (or via) a venue as
described herein. The stadium purchase instructions 1042-1 may, in
some embodiments, interface with an application stored on and/or
executed by a customer's mobile phone, for example, to facilitate
the purchase and/or delivery of venue merchandise and/or
refreshments from a customer's seat (or other location).
[0164] According to some embodiments, the stadium networking
instructions 1042-2 may be operable to cause the processor 1032 to
access and/or process one or more of the personal data 1044-1,
friend data 1044-2, and/or media data 1044-3. Personal data 1044-1,
friend data 1044-2, and/or media data 1044-3 received via the input
device 1034 and/or the communication device 1038 may, for example,
be analyzed, sorted, filtered, decoded, decompressed, ranked,
scored, plotted, and/or otherwise processed by the processor 1032
in accordance with the stadium networking instructions 1042-2. In
some embodiments, personal data 1044-1, friend data 1044-2, and/or
media data 1044-3 may be utilized by the processor 1032 to
facilitate and/or conduct processes and/or methods in accordance
with the stadium networking instructions 1042-2 to facilitate,
manage, and/or route or otherwise process communications between
and/or amongst customers as described herein. The stadium
networking instructions 1042-2 may, in some embodiments, interface
with an application stored on and/or executed by a customer's
mobile phone, for example, to facilitate networking between the
customer and other customers at (e.g., other customers of the
venue), associated with (e.g., third-party sponsors and/or sports
organizations or news organizations), and/or remote from the venue
(e.g., friends and/or family not attending the venue).
[0165] In some embodiments, the personal data 1044-1 may comprise
any data descriptive of an attribute or characteristic of a
customer. Personal data 1044-1 may be acquired during a
registration processes (e.g., from the customer), for example, and
may comprise identifying information such as address, name, e-mail
address, preferences, payment accounts and/or information,
passwords, etc. In some embodiments, the personal data 1044-1 may
comprise data decretive of the customer that is acquired via
transactions conducted with the customer. Personal data 1044-1 may
comprise, for example, customer preferences (empirical), sales
history, customer "worth" (e.g., expected value), frequency of
purchases, and/or previous or typical ordering locations (e.g.,
season ticket reserved box seats). In some embodiments, personal
data 1044-1 may comprise information descriptive of social
networking sites, accounts, profiles, activity, and/or preferences
associated with the customer.
[0166] According to some embodiments, the friend data 1044-2 may
comprise data descriptive of social networking "friends" of the
customer. Such "friends" may, for example, comprise people (and/or
customers) with profiles and/or accounts that are related to the
customer's profile and/or account at a social networking website.
The friend data 1044-2 may, in some embodiments, comprise data
descriptive of an attribute or characteristic of a friend of the
customer. According to some embodiments, the friend data 1044-2 may
be similar in compilation to the personal data 1044-1, except that
it is descriptive of a characteristic associated with friends of
the customer instead of the customer themselves. In some
embodiments, friend data 1044-2 may be pulled (e.g., harvested)
and/or acquired from one or more social networking sites and/or
databases associated with the customer.
[0167] In some embodiments, the media data 1044-3 may comprise
information descriptive of media captured and/or recorder by and/or
selected by the customer. The media data 1044-3 may, for example,
comprise information descriptive of and/or defining one or more
pictures, sounds, video segments, graphics, logos, and/or other
media that the customer provides via the apparatus 1030. According
to some embodiments, the media data 1044-3 may be input and/or
recorded by the input device 1034 (e.g., a still and/or video
camera). In some embodiments, as described herein, the media data
1044-3 may be utilized to create and/or edit a customized blog
and/or social media page or profile associated with the customer's
trip(s) to the venue.
[0168] While the apparatus 1030 is described with reference to
specific quantities and types of components 1032, 1034, 1036, 1038,
1040, variations in the quantities, types, and/or configurations of
the components 1032, 1034, 1036, 1038, 1040 of the apparatus 1030
may be implemented without deviating from the scope of the
embodiments described herein.
[0169] Any or all of the exemplary instructions and data types
described herein and other practicable types of data may be stored
in any number, type, and/or configuration of memory device 944 that
is or becomes known. The memory device 1040 may, for example,
comprise one or more data tables or files, databases, table spaces,
registers, and/or other storage structures. In some embodiments,
multiple databases and/or storage structures (and/or multiple
memory devices 1040) may be utilized to store information
associated with the apparatus 1030. According to some embodiments,
the memory device 1040 may be incorporated into and/or otherwise
coupled to the apparatus 1030 (e.g., as shown) or may simply be
accessible to the apparatus 1030 (e.g., externally located and/or
situated).
VI. Articles of Manufacture
[0170] Referring to FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, perspective diagrams of
exemplary data storage devices 1140a-b according to some
embodiments are shown. The data storage devices 1140a-b may, for
example, be utilized to store instructions and/or data such as the
stadium ordering instructions 422-1, the order allocation
instructions 422-2, the customer data 424-1, the fulfillment data
424-2, and/or the order data 424-3 as described in reference to
FIG. 4 herein and/or the stadium purchase instructions 1042-1, the
stadium networking instructions 1042-2, the personal data 1044-1,
the friend data 1044-2, and/or the media data 1044-3 as described
in reference to FIG. 10 herein. In some embodiments, instructions
stored on the data storage devices 1040a-b may, when executed by a
processor (such as the electronic processor 412, 1032 of FIG. 4
and/or FIG. 10), cause the implementation of and/or facilitate any
of the various methods 200, 300, 800 of FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and/or FIG.
8 and/or the processes 500, 502 of FIG. 5A and/or FIG. 5B,
described herein.
[0171] According to some embodiments, the first data storage device
1040a may comprise a CD, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray.TM. Disc, and/or
other type of optically-encoded disk and/or other computer-readable
storage medium that is or becomes know or practicable. In some
embodiments, the second data storage device 1040b may comprise a
USB keyfob, dongle, and/or other type of flash memory data storage
device that is or becomes know or practicable. The data storage
devices 1040a-b may generally store program instructions, code,
and/or modules that, when executed by an electronic and/or
computerized processing device cause a particular machine to
function in accordance with embodiments described herein. In some
embodiments, the data storage devices 1040a-b depicted in FIG. 11A
and FIG. 11B are representative of a class and/or subset of
computer-readable media that are defined herein as
"computer-readable memory" (e.g., memory devices as opposed to
transmission devices). While computer-readable media may include
transitory media types, as utilized herein, the term
computer-readable memory is limited to non-transitory
computer-readable media. In some embodiments, the data storage
devices 1040a-b depicted in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are
representative of programs, instructions and/or data stored on one
or more other types of computer-readable memory devices such as
internal or external hard drives and/or flash memory.
VII. Rules of Interpretation
[0172] Numerous embodiments are described in this patent
application, and are presented for illustrative purposes only. The
described embodiments are not, and are not intended to be, limiting
in any sense. The presently disclosed invention(s) are widely
applicable to numerous embodiments, as is readily apparent from the
disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that
the disclosed invention(s) may be practiced with various
modifications and alterations, such as structural, logical,
software, and electrical modifications. Although particular
features of the disclosed invention(s) may be described with
reference to one or more particular embodiments and/or drawings, it
should be understood that such features are not limited to usage in
the one or more particular embodiments or drawings with reference
to which they are described, unless expressly specified
otherwise.
[0173] The present disclosure is neither a literal description of
all embodiments of the invention nor a listing of features of the
invention that must be present in all embodiments.
[0174] Neither the Title (set forth at the beginning of the first
page of this patent application) nor the Abstract (set forth at the
end of this patent application) is to be taken as limiting in any
way the scope of the disclosed invention(s).
[0175] The term "product" means any machine, manufacture and/or
composition of matter as contemplated by 35 U.S.C. .sctn.101,
unless expressly specified otherwise.
[0176] The terms "an embodiment", "embodiment", "embodiments", "the
embodiment", "the embodiments", "one or more embodiments", "some
embodiments", "one embodiment" and the like mean "one or more (but
not all) disclosed embodiments", unless expressly specified
otherwise.
[0177] A reference to "another embodiment" in describing an
embodiment does not imply that the referenced embodiment is
mutually exclusive with another embodiment (e.g., an embodiment
described before the referenced embodiment), unless expressly
specified otherwise.
[0178] The terms "including", "comprising" and variations thereof
mean "including but not limited to", unless expressly specified
otherwise.
[0179] The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless
expressly specified otherwise.
[0180] The term "plurality" means "two or more", unless expressly
specified otherwise.
[0181] The term "herein" means "in the present application,
including the specification, its claims and figures, and anything
which may be incorporated by reference", unless expressly specified
otherwise.
[0182] The phrase "at least one of", when such phrase modifies a
plurality of things (such as an enumerated list of things) means
any combination of one or more of those things, unless expressly
specified otherwise. For example, the phrase at least one of a
widget, a car and a wheel means (i) a widget, (ii) a car, (iii) a
wheel, (iv) a widget and a car, (v) a widget and a wheel, (vi) a
car and a wheel, or (vii) a widget, a car and a wheel.
[0183] The phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on", unless
expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based
on" describes both "based only on" and "based at least on".
[0184] The term "whereby" is used herein only to precede a clause
or other set of words that express only the intended result,
objective or consequence of something that is previously and
explicitly recited. Thus, when the term "whereby" is used in a
claim, the clause or other words that the term "whereby" modifies
do not establish specific further limitations of the claim or
otherwise restricts the meaning or scope of the claim.
[0185] Where a limitation of a first claim would cover one of a
feature as well as more than one of a feature (e.g., a limitation
such as "at least one widget" covers one widget as well as more
than one widget), and where in a second claim that depends on the
first claim, the second claim uses a definite article "the" to
refer to the limitation (e.g., "the widget"), this does not imply
that the first claim covers only one of the feature, and this does
not imply that the second claim covers only one of the feature
(e.g., "the widget" can cover both one widget and more than one
widget).
[0186] When an ordinal number (such as "first", "second", "third"
and so on) is used as an adjective before a term, that ordinal
number is used (unless expressly specified otherwise) merely to
indicate a particular feature, such as to allow for distinguishing
that particular referenced feature from another feature that is
described by the same term or by a similar term. For example, a
"first widget" may be so named merely to allow for distinguishing
it in one or more claims from a "second widget", so as to encompass
embodiments in which (1) the "first widget" is or is the same as
the "second widget" and (2) the "first widget" is different than or
is not identical to the "second widget". Thus, the mere usage of
the ordinal numbers "first" and "second" before the term "widget"
does not indicate any other relationship between the two widgets,
and likewise does not indicate any other characteristics of either
or both widgets. For example, the mere usage of the ordinal numbers
"first" and "second" before the term "widget" (1) does not indicate
that either widget comes before or after any other in order or
location; (2) does not indicate that either widget occurs or acts
before or after any other in time; (3) does not indicate that
either widget ranks above or below any other, as in importance or
quality; and (4) does not indicate that the two referenced widgets
are not identical or the same widget. In addition, the mere usage
of ordinal numbers does not define a numerical limit to the
features identified with the ordinal numbers. For example, the mere
usage of the ordinal numbers "first" and "second" before the term
"widget" does not indicate that there must be no more than two
widgets.
[0187] When a single device or article is described herein, more
than one device or article (whether or not they cooperate) may
alternatively be used in place of the single device or article that
is described. Accordingly, the functionality that is described as
being possessed by a device may alternatively be possessed by more
than one device or article (whether or not they cooperate).
[0188] Similarly, where more than one device or article is
described herein (whether or not they cooperate), a single device
or article may alternatively be used in place of the more than one
device or article that is described. For example, a plurality of
computer-based devices may be substituted with a single
computer-based device. Accordingly, the various functionality that
is described as being possessed by more than one device or article
may alternatively be possessed by a single device or article.
[0189] The functionality and/or the features of a single device
that is described may be alternatively embodied by one or more
other devices which are described but are not explicitly described
as having such functionality and/or features. Thus, other
embodiments need not include the described device itself, but
rather can include the one or more other devices which would, in
those other embodiments, have such functionality/features.
[0190] Devices that are in communication with each other need not
be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly
specified otherwise. On the contrary, such devices need only
transmit to each other as necessary or desirable, and may actually
refrain from exchanging data most of the time. For example, a
machine in communication with another machine via the Internet may
not transmit data to the other machine for weeks at a time. In
addition, devices that are in communication with each other may
communicate directly or indirectly through one or more
intermediaries.
[0191] A description of an embodiment with several components or
features does not imply that all or even any of such components
and/or features are required. On the contrary, a variety of
optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of
possible embodiments of the present invention(s). Unless otherwise
specified explicitly, no component and/or feature is essential or
required.
[0192] Further, although process steps, algorithms or the like may
be described in a sequential order, such processes may be
configured to work in different orders. In other words, any
sequence or order of steps that may be explicitly described does
not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed
in that order. The steps of processes described herein may be
performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be
performed simultaneously despite being described or implied as
occurring non-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is described
after the other step). Moreover, the illustration of a process by
its depiction in a drawing does not imply that the illustrated
process is exclusive of other variations and modifications thereto,
does not imply that the illustrated process or any of its steps are
necessary to the invention, and does not imply that the illustrated
process is preferred.
[0193] Although a process may be described as including a plurality
of steps, that does not indicate that all or even any of the steps
are essential or required. Various other embodiments within the
scope of the described invention(s) include other processes that
omit some or all of the described steps. Unless otherwise specified
explicitly, no step is essential or required.
[0194] Although a product may be described as including a plurality
of components, aspects, qualities, characteristics and/or features,
that does not indicate that all of the plurality are essential or
required. Various other embodiments within the scope of the
described invention(s) include other products that omit some or all
of the described plurality.
[0195] An enumerated list of items (which may or may not be
numbered) does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually
exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. Likewise, an
enumerated list of items (which may or may not be numbered) does
not imply that any or all of the items are comprehensive of any
category, unless expressly specified otherwise. For example, the
enumerated list "a computer, a laptop, a PDA" does not imply that
any or all of the three items of that list are mutually exclusive
and does not imply that any or all of the three items of that list
are comprehensive of any category.
[0196] Headings of sections provided in this patent application and
the title of this patent application are for convenience only, and
are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way.
[0197] "Determining" something can be performed in a variety of
manners and therefore the term "determining" (and like terms)
includes calculating, computing, deriving, looking up (e.g., in a
table, database or data structure), ascertaining and the like.
[0198] It will be readily apparent that the various methods and
algorithms described herein may be implemented by, e.g.,
appropriately and/or specially-programmed general purpose computers
and/or computing devices. Typically a processor (e.g., one or more
microprocessors) will receive instructions from a memory or like
device, and execute those instructions, thereby performing one or
more processes defined by those instructions. Further, programs
that implement such methods and algorithms may be stored and
transmitted using a variety of media (e.g., computer readable
media) in a number of manners. In some embodiments, hard-wired
circuitry or custom hardware may be used in place of, or in
combination with, software instructions for implementation of the
processes of various embodiments. Thus, embodiments are not limited
to any specific combination of hardware and software
[0199] A "processor" generally means any one or more
microprocessors, CPU devices, computing devices, microcontrollers,
digital signal processors, or like devices, as further described
herein.
[0200] The term "computer-readable medium" refers to any medium
that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions or other
information) that may be read by a computer, a processor or a like
device. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not
limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission
media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic
disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media include DRAM,
which typically constitutes the main memory. Transmission media
include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the
wires that comprise a system bus coupled to the processor.
Transmission media may include or convey acoustic waves, light
waves and electromagnetic emissions, such as those generated during
RF and IR data communications. Common forms of computer-readable
media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard
disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any
other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical
medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a
FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave,
or any other medium from which a computer can read.
[0201] The term "computer-readable memory" may generally refer to a
subset and/or class of computer-readable medium that does not
include transmission media such as waveforms, carrier waves,
electromagnetic emissions, etc. Computer-readable memory may
typically include physical media upon which data (e.g.,
instructions or other information) are stored, such as optical or
magnetic disks and other persistent memory, DRAM, a floppy disk, a
flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium,
a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape,
any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an
EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, computer
hard drives, backup tapes, Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory
devices, and the like.
[0202] Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in
carrying data, including sequences of instructions, to a processor.
For example, sequences of instruction (i) may be delivered from RAM
to a processor, (ii) may be carried over a wireless transmission
medium, and/or (iii) may be formatted according to numerous
formats, standards or protocols, such as Bluetooth.TM., TDMA, CDMA,
3G.
[0203] Where databases are described, it will be understood by one
of ordinary skill in the art that (i) alternative database
structures to those described may be readily employed, and (ii)
other memory structures besides databases may be readily employed.
Any illustrations or descriptions of any sample databases presented
herein are illustrative arrangements for stored representations of
information. Any number of other arrangements may be employed
besides those suggested by, e.g., tables illustrated in drawings or
elsewhere. Similarly, any illustrated entries of the databases
represent exemplary information only; one of ordinary skill in the
art will understand that the number and content of the entries can
be different from those described herein. Further, despite any
depiction of the databases as tables, other formats (including
relational databases, object-based models and/or distributed
databases) could be used to store and manipulate the data types
described herein. Likewise, object methods or behaviors of a
database can be used to implement various processes, such as the
described herein. In addition, the databases may, in a known
manner, be stored locally or remotely from a device that accesses
data in such a database.
[0204] The present invention can be configured to work in a network
environment including a computer that is in communication, via a
communications network, with one or more devices. The computer may
communicate with the devices directly or indirectly, via a wired or
wireless medium such as the Internet, LAN, WAN or Ethernet, Token
Ring, or via any appropriate communications means or combination of
communications means. Each of the devices may comprise computers,
such as those based on the Intel.RTM. Pentium.RTM. or Centrino.TM.
processor, that are adapted to communicate with the computer. Any
number and type of machines may be in communication with the
computer.
[0205] The present disclosure provides, to one of ordinary skill in
the art, an enabling description of several embodiments and/or
inventions. Some of these embodiments and/or inventions may not be
claimed in the present application, but may nevertheless be claimed
in one or more continuing applications that claim the benefit of
priority of the present application. Applicants intend to file
additional applications to pursue patents for subject matter that
has been disclosed and enabled but not claimed in the present
application.
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