Granted Patent B2

US 12,725,116 · App. 18/531,011 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventors: David Perich (Minneapolis, MN); Ali Obler (Minneapolis, MN); Patrick Brinton (Minneapolis, MN); Rushabh Sanghvi (Minneapolis, MN); Baskar Natarajan (Minneapolis, MN); Kristofer Hjelmeland (Minneapolis, MN)

Assignee: Target Brands, Inc.

G06Q10/087

Abstract

Claims (58)

1 . A computer implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a first computing system, information indicating selection of one or more items for inclusion in an online order initiated by a user at a remote computing device;

determining that one or more of the items included in the online order requires refrigeration;

receiving, by the first computing system and from one or more sensors located at a fulfillment location, sensor data indicative of usage of one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location, wherein the sensor data includes a capacity of the one or more refrigeration units, an occupancy level of the one or more refrigeration units, or both, wherein the one or more refrigeration units are located at a staging location for storing perishable items prior to pickup;

identifying, by the first computing system based on the sensor data, a usage value for the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location;

determining, by the first computing system, that the usage value satisfies a first usage parameter, wherein the first usage parameter corresponds to availability of storage space at the fulfillment location prior to a pickup time associated with the online order;

in response to determining that one or more of the items included in the online order requires refrigeration and determining that the usage value satisfies the first usage parameter, identifying, by the first computing system, one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations that satisfy a travel parameter;

receiving other sensor data indicative of usage of one or more refrigeration units located at each of the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations;

determining a set of one or more alternative fulfillment locations from the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations using the other sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at each of the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations to identify that the information indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at each of the alternative fulfillment locations in the set of alternative fulfillment locations satisfies a second usage parameter corresponding to a capacity level, an occupancy level, or both;

automatically generating, by the computing system, one or more communications that cause a graphical user interface on a remote computing device to automatically update to display one or more alternative fulfillment options, wherein at least one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an indication of at least one of the alternative fulfillment locations in the set of alternative fulfillment locations;

receiving information indicating a selection of one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options; and

processing the online order in accordance with the selected one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options.

2 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises an indication of a number of refrigerated storage units in a staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied.

3 . The computer implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the number of refrigerated storage units in the staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied is determined using a plurality of employee operated scanning devices.

4 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises an indication of a percentage of refrigerated storage units in a staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied.

5 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises a notification that the one or more refrigeration units are at or near capacity.

6 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an option to move the one or more items that require refrigeration in the online order to a saved items list.

7 . The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

using historic usage data for the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location to identify a time period in the future at which usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location is likely to be below a third usage parameter;

wherein the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an option to fulfill the online order at the fulfillment location during the identified time period in the future.

8 . A system comprising:

one or more processors;

computer memory containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a first computing system, information indicating selection of one or more items for inclusion in an online order initiated by a user at a remote computing device;

determining that one or more of the items included in the online order requires refrigeration;

receiving, by the first computing system and from one or more sensors located at a fulfillment location, sensor data indicative of usage of one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location, wherein the sensor data includes a capacity of the one or more refrigeration units, an occupancy level of the one or more refrigeration units, or both, wherein the one or more refrigeration units are located at a staging location for storing perishable items prior to pickup;

identifying, by the first computing system based on the sensor data, a usage value for the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location;

determining, by the first computing system, that the usage value satisfies a first usage parameter, wherein the first usage parameter corresponds to availability of storage space at the fulfillment location prior to a pickup time associated with the online order;

in response to determining that one or more of the items included in the online order requires refrigeration and determining that the usage value satisfies the first usage parameter, identifying, by the first computing system, one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations that satisfy a travel parameter;

receiving other sensor data indicative of usage of one or more refrigeration units located at each of the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations;

determining a set of one or more alternative fulfillment locations from the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations using the other sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at each of the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations to identify that the information indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at each of the alternative fulfillment locations in the set of alternative fulfillment locations satisfies a second usage parameter corresponding to a capacity level, an occupancy level, or both;

automatically generating, by the computing system, one or more communications that cause a graphical user interface on a remote computing device to automatically update to display one or more alternative fulfillment options, wherein at least one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an indication of at least one of the alternative fulfillment locations in the set of alternative fulfillment locations;

receiving information indicating a selection of one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options; and

processing the online order in accordance with the selected one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises an indication of a number of refrigerated storage units in a staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the number of refrigerated storage units in the staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied is determined using a plurality of employee operated scanning devices.

11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises an indication of a percentage of refrigerated storage units in a staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises a notification that the one or more refrigeration units are at or near capacity.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an option to move the one or more items that require refrigeration in the online order to a saved items list.

14 . The system of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

using historic usage data for the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location to identify a time period in the future at which usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location is likely to be below a third usage parameter;

wherein the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an option to fulfill the online order at the fulfillment location during the identified time period in the future.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the performance of operations comprising:

receiving, by a first computing system, information indicating selection of one or more items for inclusion in an online order initiated by a user at a remote computing device;

determining that one or more of the items included in the online order requires refrigeration;

receiving, by the first computing system and from one or more sensors located at a fulfillment location, sensor data indicative of usage of one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location, wherein the sensor data includes a capacity of the one or more refrigeration units, an occupancy level of the one or more refrigeration units, or both, wherein the one or more refrigeration units are located at a staging location for storing perishable items prior to pickup;

identifying, by the first computing system based on the sensor data, a usage value for the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location;

determining, by the first computing system, that the usage value satisfies a first usage parameter, wherein the first usage parameter corresponds to availability of storage space at the fulfillment location prior to a pickup time associated with the online order;

in response to determining that one or more of the items included in the online order requires refrigeration and determining that the usage value satisfies the first usage parameter, identifying, by the first computing system, one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations that satisfy a travel parameter;

receiving other sensor data indicative of usage of one or more refrigeration units located at each of the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations;

determining a set of one or more alternative fulfillment locations from the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations using the other sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at each of the one or more potential alternative fulfillment locations to identify that the information indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at each of the alternative fulfillment locations in the set of alternative fulfillment locations satisfies a second usage parameter corresponding to a capacity level, an occupancy level, or both;

automatically generating, by the computing system, one or more communications that cause a graphical user interface on a remote computing device to automatically update to display one or more alternative fulfillment options, wherein at least one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options includes an indication of at least one of the alternative fulfillment locations in the set of alternative fulfillment locations;

receiving information indicating a selection of one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options; and

processing the online order in accordance with the selected one of the one or more alternative fulfillment options.

16 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises an indication of a number of refrigerated storage units in a staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied.

17 . The computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the number of refrigerated storage units in the staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied is determined using a plurality of employee operated scanning devices.

18 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises an indication of a percentage of refrigerated storage units in a staging area of the fulfillment location that are occupied.

19 . The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the sensor data indicative of usage of the one or more refrigeration units located at the fulfillment location comprises a notification that the one or more refrigeration units are at or near capacity.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (24)