EP3804079A1 - Système et procédé de fourniture de stations de charge de dispositifs mobiles interconnectées et sécurisées - Google Patents

Système et procédé de fourniture de stations de charge de dispositifs mobiles interconnectées et sécurisées

Info

Publication number
EP3804079A1
EP3804079A1 EP19814049.3A EP19814049A EP3804079A1 EP 3804079 A1 EP3804079 A1 EP 3804079A1 EP 19814049 A EP19814049 A EP 19814049A EP 3804079 A1 EP3804079 A1 EP 3804079A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
user
mobile device
charging
random code
kiosk
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP19814049.3A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP3804079A4 (fr
Inventor
Douglas BALDASARE
Jens Horstmann
Robert Kay
Colin NOLAN
Beth PONDO
Sheri TATE
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ChargeItSpot LLC
Original Assignee
ChargeItSpot LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US15/996,956 external-priority patent/US10742046B2/en
Application filed by ChargeItSpot LLC filed Critical ChargeItSpot LLC
Publication of EP3804079A1 publication Critical patent/EP3804079A1/fr
Publication of EP3804079A4 publication Critical patent/EP3804079A4/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/00032—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by data exchange
    • H02J7/00034—Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/00032—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by data exchange
    • H02J7/00045—Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/0013—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
    • H02J7/0042—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by the mechanical construction

Definitions

  • the instant disclosure relates to mobile devices, and, in particular, to systems and methods for providing interconnected, secure public or private mobile device charging stations.
  • Mobile devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants, tablets, and the like, are now widely used and heavily depended upon for voice and data communications.
  • the battery of the mobile device needs to be recharged from time to time.
  • mobile device users may be located at public or private locations without the ability to recharge the mobile device battery.
  • public mobile device charging stations these stations are limited in number and location. Consequently, a mobile device user runs the risk of his mobile device battery being exhausted before locating an available station to recharge the mobile device.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a diagram of a system according to embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile device according to embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system according to embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 4A illustrates an example of a mobile device charging station according to embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 4B illustrates another example of a mobile device charging station according to embodiments of the present invention.
  • Figure 4C illustrates an example of an open locker of a mobile device charging station according to embodiments of the present invention
  • FIGS. 4D-4F are flow diagrams illustrating the use of an exemplary charging station
  • FIGS 4G and 4H illustrate a charging sequence and a“get phone” sequence
  • Figures 5A and 5B illustrate PhotoVerification in English and Spanish, respectively;
  • Figures 6A-6G illustrate loyalty program enrollment;
  • Figures 7A-7L illustrate survey interface embodiment
  • Figures 8A-8J illustrate an exemplary charging flow for loyalty members
  • Figures 9A-E illustrate exemplary map displays on a mobile device according to embodiments of the present invention.
  • Figure 10 is an exemplary method employed by the system according to embodiments of the present invention.
  • Figure 1 1 is an exemplary embodiment of the present invention
  • Figures 12 - 15 illustrate exemplary mobile app screens for the present invention
  • Figures 16 -20 illustrate exemplary kiosk user interface screens of the present invention
  • Figure 21 illustrates a rear electronic keypad as an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
  • the present disclosure provides systems and techniques for providing and locating public or private mobile device charging stations.
  • one or more charging stations may be configured to charge a battery of a mobile device.
  • a database may be configured to store location information of the one or more charging stations, as well as mobile device location, charge, and/or other information of the one or more respective mobile devices.
  • a server communicatively coupled with the one or more charging stations and the database may be configured to determine proximity of the one or more charging stations to a location of the mobile device. This determination may be based on the station location information and the mobile device location information. Based on the determined proximity, the server may provide the station location information of a respective one or more charging stations to the mobile device.
  • the location of a charging station may be provided to a device as a push notification, such as including an indication of battery level and the closest charging station; or the location may be provided when an on-device app is proactively opened by the user to see the closest locations, such as may be assessed based on native geo-location services, for example.
  • the battery level may not be provided, and the closest stations may be shown in any of a variety of views, such as a list view, that may be selectable by the user.
  • the server and/or mobile application may monitor, such as pinging the device periodically for, a power level of the battery of the mobile device. Based on the power level of the battery of the mobile device, the user may be alerted via any known methodology, such as via a pop-up alert from an app, and may be provided with location information of the respective one or more charging stations nearest to the mobile device using the methods above.
  • the invention may provide a system and method to alert a user of the locations of nearby public or private charging stations to charge his mobile device when the battery power level of his mobile device decreases to a low level.
  • the disclosed system and method also provide a system and method that provides: advertising opportunities for retailers; the ability for retailers to drive traffic to a store or stores; a mobile application-such a mobile application might indicate and/or suggest charging station locations, and/or monitor a user’s use and the correspondent battery charge; and the like.
  • Mobile devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants, tablets, and the like are now widely used and heavily depended upon for voice and data communications, and for information generally.
  • mobile devices In order to be operational, mobile devices typically employ the use of rechargeable batteries. These batteries need to be recharged from time to time in order to maintain proper power levels for the operation of the mobile device. For example, some estimate that the typical user runs very low on battery power in a mobile device multiple times each week.
  • a conventional charger generally utilizes alternating current, and specifically typically uses either 1 10V or 220V “household” current designed for general use, it is often difficult to recharge a mobile device battery in a public place or while traveling without access to a suitable power terminal.
  • the amount of current a phone accepts is generally“stepped down” from the 1 10V or 220V alternating current, such as typically using a“wall wart” charger that comes with the phone, as would be apparent to the skilled artisan.
  • such charging would require the user to also be traveling with a charger, which may be inconveniently bulky or easily forgotten.
  • the present invention provides for a user to have readily available, secure charging capabilities. This is contrary to presently available charging solutions, which are typically non-secure at least in that the only security generally provided is when the user stands nearby to“guard” his/her phone.
  • the inventive aspects may also provide for a user to be alerted of the locations of available public charging stations when the battery power level of his mobile device decreases to a low level.
  • the mobile device may request, from the server, information of one or more registered businesses, i.e., any place of business that includes a charging unit, that house a charging station within a specified distance from the mobile device.
  • the disclosed system and method may also provide: advertising and differentiating opportunities for retailers; the ability for retailers to drive traffic to, and maintain traffic in, a store or stores; a mobile application, such as a mobile application that would indicate and/or suggest charging station locations, and/or that would monitor a user’s use and the correspondent battery charge; and the like.
  • a mobile application such as a mobile application that would indicate and/or suggest charging station locations, and/or that would monitor a user’s use and the correspondent battery charge; and the like.
  • a user’s time in-store in a retail establishment is likely to be increased as the user shops while awaiting a recharge.
  • the user is also provided with a differentiated, enhanced customer shopping experience that increases consumer loyalty.
  • GPS satellites (or other known mobile device locating technologies, such as triangulation) 100 operate to determine a location of a mobile device 104 that contains features, some of which features may be available based upon the location data.
  • mobile device 104 may refer to cellular phones, personal digital assistants, tablets, and the like.
  • the mobile device 104 may determine its location through the use of received GPS signals, or through the use of a filter which may combine location data from the GPS signals and/or from another system, such as cell-tower-triangulation or a WLAN system in order to obtain a location or a more accurate location.
  • the mobile device 104 may be wirelessly coupled to server 106.
  • the server 106 may be communicatively coupled to a datastore 108, as well as to a plurality of charging stations 1 10.
  • the server 106 periodically receives and stores location information associated with the mobile device 104.
  • This location information may be sent from the mobile device 104; pulled from the mobile device 104; or obtained from another service that is able to determine the location of the mobile device (e.g., Location Based Services (LBS), Assisted GPS (A-GPS), eGPS, GSM Localization, Multilaterilization, Radiolocation, Trilateration, etc.).
  • LBS Location Based Services
  • A-GPS Assisted GPS
  • eGPS e.g., GSM Localization, Multilaterilization, Radiolocation, Trilateration, etc.
  • Wi-Fi access points that consumers are allowed to utilize. These access points may also be used to help ascertain the location of a user or his relation to publicly available charging stations. For example, a Skyhook Wireless system may be used. This location information may be analyzed independent of or in conjunction with other forms of information or location information. For example, Wi-Fi location information may be particularly useful in certain indoor environments where other technologies (e.g. GPS) may have more difficulty functioning, such as in a shopping mall housing a collection of retail businesses.
  • technologies e.g. GPS
  • Embodiments of the present invention allow a mobile device user
  • the mobile device may request, from the server, information of one or more registered businesses housing a charging station within a specified distance from the mobile device.
  • the location information of the mobile device may be sent to the server and compared with: the location information of one or more of the registered businesses housing a charging station; a list or a preferential list of registered businesses housing a charging station; a list of registered businesses having charging stations and making offers to consumers that those businesses wish to be known to the consumers; and the like.
  • a mobile device user may be out in public, shopping. Becoming occupied with his shopping, the user may forget or neglect to check the battery power level of his mobile device.
  • the system and method may notify the user via his mobile device that the battery power of the device is indeed low, and then may display to the user a nearby store which houses a charging station, and that has a charging unit, such as a charging“locker,” available.
  • the mobile device app may display the number of charging lockers available so a user does not waste time going to a charging station that does not have any charging lockers available.
  • the user may have enough time to locate and subsequently recharge his mobile device battery for continued use of his mobile device without having to cut short his shopping experience or risk losing operation of his mobile device.
  • the business may experience increased consumer traffic, as potential consumers enter the business to recharge their phone, and the opportunity to make targeted enticements to consumers having a known location proximate to the registered business.
  • usage of the disclosed cell phone charging kiosk resulted in an increase in dwell time of 130%, an increase in spend of 51 %, and an increase in Net Promoter Score of 26%.
  • Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a mobile device 104 according to an embodiment.
  • a receiver 202 may receive signals transmitted from GPS satellites, cell-towers, and/or access points for WLAN communication.
  • a transmitter 204 may transmit signals including location information to the remote server or other access points.
  • Power is provided to the various components of the mobile device 104 through battery 206.
  • a station location module 208 may monitor a power level of the battery 206, and, based on the power level, the station location module 208 may provide station location information to the user of the mobile device 104. It should be noted that the station location module 208 may be able to monitor other functions and features of the mobile device as well. This information may be stored in one or more of databases described in datastore 108.
  • the various modules within the mobile device 104 may operate as described hereinthroughout.
  • a controller/processor 210 may direct the operation of various modules within mobile device 104, such as by execution of software program code to perform the functions discussed hereinthroughout.
  • a memory 212 may store data and program codes for mobile device 104.
  • Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of a system 300 according to embodiments of the present invention.
  • the system 300 comprises one or more charging stations 1 10, server 106 and data store 108.
  • the server 106 performs the tasks of providing charging station information to the mobile device.
  • This charging station information may include geographical locations and/or directions to one or more respective charging stations and registered businesses in which these charging stations are housed or otherwise associated.
  • This charging station information may also include advertisements or other types of information related to the associated businesses.
  • This charging station information is stored in one of the various databases 302-310 in data store 108. It should be noted that the various databases 302-310 shown in data store
  • 108 may be organized as separate databases, portions of a single database, or by any other logical structure appropriate for storing the data.
  • information and data may also be stored locally at a locker/kiosk/station.
  • a user may be enabled to obtain her phone even if power is lost or the network connection of the locker/station goes down.
  • an alternative embodiment may include a UPS (universal power supply) that provides up to 45 minutes of battery backup as an added security measure that allows customers to interact with the kiosk when power is out for short periods of time.
  • this locally stored information may be periodically purged, such as when a phone is obtained, or daily or weekly.
  • data store 108 stores user information in user database 302. This information may include email addresses, phone numbers, user photos, survey responses, duration of charge, and the like.
  • a map database 304 may also be included. This database 304 may provide the background maps that are displayed on each user’s mobile device and that correspond to an area or region around the user at the time the application is invoked (i.e., when the user’s mobile device battery is low). For example, a map tile of the United States may provide an image of the continental U.S. that can be zoomed to display a regional street level map for any area in the U.S. The map may further be zoomed to display locations within a venue housing a collection of businesses. For example, a user may be located within a mall, and the application may be invoked due to his mobile device battery being low. The mobile device may display locations of retail stores within the mall which house available charging stations to charge the user’s mobile device, either upon zooming in on the application by the user, or by a predetermined setting for displaying a location.
  • a location database 306 may store geographic locations of charging stations and/or geographic locations of mobile devices 104 and/or clusters thereof.
  • a charging station database 308 may store the current status of available lockers within any charging stations. This status may include a number of lockers of a particular charging station not currently in use, or, available, for charging.
  • the data store 108 may also comprise a registered business database 310, which may store information related to businesses currently registered with the charging system according to embodiments of the present invention.
  • the business database 310 may include approved advertisements, or associated content describing respective registered businesses.
  • Fig. 4A illustrates a mobile device charging station 1 10 according to embodiments of the present invention.
  • This station 1 10 may be located in a retail store, mall, hospital, stadium, casino, building lobby, or any other location suitable for accessibility.
  • station 1 10 includes a housing 402 mounted on a support 404.
  • Embodiments may also include, on a face of the charging station 1 10, branding or advertising space 409 for a registered business to provide information about its business, which may include, by non-limiting example, advertisements, coupons, or any other suitable content related to its business.
  • Each housing 402 may comprise one or more lockers 407, preferably having resident therein supplied power, such as a plurality of charging cords or other wireless charging options, such as supplied power having different plugs, power mats, or like proprietary or third party charging formats for mating to different mobile devices, such as USB plugs, micro-USB, mini-USB or USB-C plugs, laptop tip plugs, and/or one or more proprietary plugs, such as plugs for an iPhone 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, and so on.
  • any other charging plugs that presently exist or are subsequently developed may be included, as well as any other current or subsequent charging methodologies, such as charging mats, wireless charging, etc.
  • housing 402, support 404, locker 407, and branding space 409 may have any desired dimension or configuration, depending, at least in part, on the particular location of the station 1 10, and that the overall design of station 1 10 shown in Fig. 4A is for exemplary purposes only.
  • charging stations may comprise eight lockers, each with multi-use charging cables, and/or multiple different charging cables, there within.
  • the lockers may reside in a structure formed of a suitably durable composition, such as metal, acrylic, plastics or other, and combinations thereof.
  • the door of a charging locker may allow for the user to see inside the locker, but may be formed of a combination or metal or other, and/or an acrylic panel that can withstand forces up to or exceeding, by way of non limiting example, 10,000 psi.
  • a durable cabinet construction may allow for usage in a variety of environments, and the durable construction may be formed accordingly, such as by metal treated with rust proofing.
  • other measures may be taken for kiosks for use in outdoor environments such as gasketing, heating and ventilation systems, etc.
  • the durable housing may house there within a variety of other features, such as antennas, PCBs, and the like, as referenced herein throughout.
  • antennas may be placed atop, behind, or alongside in physical association with a cabinet.
  • the antennas and associated or alternative hardware may be suitable to communicate and/or connect to a network, such as a local or global network, such as the Internet, using any of a variety of different communication methodologies dependent upon the context in which the cabinet is placed, such as using 4G LTE, 3G, a wide area network, a local area network, or the like.
  • a network such as a local or global network, such as the Internet
  • 4G LTE, 3G, a wide area network, a local area network, or the like such as using 4G LTE, 3G, a wide area network, a local area network, or the like.
  • multiple different antennas may provide this functionality, where a single antenna may provide multiple different functionalities for communication purposes. Accordingly, and dependent in part on location, communication speeds may be optimized by software or firmware algorithms within the cabinet, or remotely by an administrator, by way of non-limiting example.
  • each individual charging locker can be at least partially transparent to a user
  • other features may be added within each individual charging locker, such as multi-color LEDs or blinking LEDs, also as referenced herein. These additional features may be controlled locally or remotely, such as to provide optionality correspondent to time of year, i.e., Christmas lights, branding of the unit, whether or not a locker is in use (i.e., a red light may mean that locker is in use), and the like.
  • Different mechanisms may be mounted on or associated with the housing 402 to enable a user to access, lock, and subsequently unlock an individual locker 407 for charging his mobile device 104.
  • the locking mechanism associated with a charging locker such as in order to provide optimal security, may be break proof or resistant, such as withstanding up to or in excess of 1 ,000 pounds of force before yielding.
  • FIG. 4A another mechanism, such as a bar code scanner or card or key FOB reader, and/or a display 408, such as a touch screen display (which may also display ads, coupons, codes and/or other aspects referenced herein), and/or a keypad 406 mounted to the housing 402, may allow for the collection of more user information.
  • a display 408 and microcontroller (not shown) connected to an electronic, keyless lock (Fig. 4C 413), a user may be provided with instructions and options for charging his or her mobile device 104.
  • the locker 407 may be preprogrammed by the microcontroller (not shown) to accept a selected sequence or information entry by a new user when the electronic lock is unlatched (i.e. the locker 407 is open).
  • the microcontroller (not shown) may be configured to accept the same sequence or information first entered by the user causing the lock to unlatch, allowing the user to remove his phone from the locker after use.
  • This sequence or information may include user identifying information, such as the user’s telephone number, key code, pin numbers, security questions, email addresses, selection of security images, scanning of a bar code (such as on a ticket provided by the kiosk to a user when the user placed the phone in the locker), etc.
  • the display 408 may thus prompt the user for other identifying information for the collection and subsequent storage of user shopping information which may be valuable to retailers/registered businesses.
  • the display 408 may prompt the user to enter his name, a telephone number, an email address, a name and/or telephone number in conjunction with other information, such as a security“pin” having 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more digits or such as a security image, a loyalty program identifier, or the like.
  • the display may prompt the user to enter his telephone number. It should be noted that other and/or additional user identifying information may be gathered as a part of these instructions. This gathered information may be used to serve several purposes. One purpose may be to provide verification information that the user is, indeed, who he says he is (such as by way of comparison to registered user information for system 300, by way of verification with information stored in the mobile application having associated therewith the aforementioned map and battery charge level capabilities, and/or by comparison with personal information on or associated with the mobile device. Another purpose is to ensure that only the user (or, an individual authorized by the user) is able to access the mobile device 104 from the locker 407 after the mobile device has been locked in the given locker 407.
  • another purpose for the prompted user identifying information is to gather information about the user’s shopping habits and/or frequented registered businesses, and/or other information as described hereinthroughout, which may be subsequently stored in user database 302 (as shown in Fig. 3).
  • the embodiments may thus include one or more remote, or local, data warehouses/databases 302.
  • the data warehouse may include user information as discussed above and throughout, and/or may comprise reports, calculations, and the like, run over a predetermined time period in association with a kiosk or a group of kiosks, such as once per day.
  • the data in the data warehouse may be segregated by user, user type, brand, group, and so on. For example, phone numbers and emails may be indicative of uniquely personal identifying information, and as such may be segregated by brand or group to which the user is willing to allow that information to be provided. Needless to say, this may provide enhanced security of use to users.
  • the display 408 may display an image of which a user has previously selected upon initially accessing an available locker. For example, the user may enter a telephone number, and then either select or be shown an image, such as a black dog. Upon returning to unlock the locker, the user may be prompted to enter his phone number, and then to select the appropriate image that matches the preselected image in order to unlock the locker.
  • the multilingual nature, provided, in part, through the disclosed security images, of the disclosed kiosk allows for automated interaction from the kiosk with the user.
  • the kiosk may communicate automatically with the user, such as using preordained scripts for certain circumstances, using any language selected by the user. For example, a user may select French as their preferred language, and if, upon attempting to obtain a charging phone, the user were to get locked out, the automated call to customer service for the lockout may occur, as indicated to the user on the touch screen, in French.
  • the PhotoVerification review may be consistently textually, audibly or visually presented to the user in French, even in circumstances where the user's reply is provided in French, but customer service speaks only English.
  • the system disclosed may translate the user’s French response into English upon providing that response to customer service.
  • the call center may provide a response to the user in English, which may be automatically translated to French upon visual and/or audible presentation to the user.
  • the user interface may be a part of a display 408, such as the aforementioned touch screen liquid crystal display (LCD), and/or may include a display and a separate or discrete keypad 406.
  • a display 408 such as the aforementioned touch screen liquid crystal display (LCD)
  • LCD liquid crystal display
  • any known methodologies of data entry may be employed, alone or in combination, including but not limited to a credit card or driver’s license swipe, telephone number or other data entry to a keypad, a bar code or QR code scan, a loyalty program card or informational scan, a near field communication scan, or a biometric scan, such as a fingerprint scan, for example.
  • the touch screen referenced throughout may have a multiplicity of uses and communication linkages.
  • the embodiments may facilitate any type of sign-up for any type of offering via the kiosk touch screen discussed herein.
  • the touch screen protocols may be linked to an external webpage, wherein data is passed directly to the external webpage, or the touch screen protocols and algorithms may be actively associated with a partner system, such as by an API, wherein data may be captured by the touch screen and relayed to the partner.
  • Available sign-ups may include credit card sign ups, utility company sign ups, solar panel sign ups, loyalty program sign ups as shown in Figures 6A-6G, and so on.
  • temporary membership identifiers such as temporary membership cards, may be provided to the user signing up, such as printing a“hard” card, or providing a virtual card via SMS or through the use of the app discussed herein.
  • the user may receive a SMS or MMS message (by way of non-limiting example) containing further information, as discussed throughout.
  • the user may receive promotional information, such as may be used upon reaching a business at which resides the charging units, and such as is discussed in detail immediately above.
  • the user may also receive a call to action, such as to download a mobile app, go to a website, enter a contest, receive a coupon, or the like.
  • the present invention may employ known technologies to track responses to such calls to action.
  • An exemplary auxiliary mechanism which may be employed for accessing and using the charging station 1 10, and/or for accumulating additional user information or security, is a supplemental aspect of user interface 408, such as a card reader (not shown).
  • the card reader (shown in 406 on Figure 4A) may accept any card identifying a particular mobile device user.
  • the card reader may be configured to accept a user credit card, a driver’s license, or a consumer card issued by a particular retailer or establishment, such as a loyalty card, by way of non-limiting example.
  • users may choose to enroll in user loyalty programs using the disclosed embodiments, either of the kiosk provider or of other commercial entities, or users may already be members of loyalty programs prior to using a kiosk.
  • Users may choose to enroll via the charging kiosk utilizing a graphical user interface 408 provided at the kiosk, or may be enrolled in third party or affiliated programs that provide cards, pins, QR codes, or the like, to indicate loyalty status.
  • the loyalty program enrollment information may be stored in conjunction with the user information stored at the administration server, or the like, or may be uploaded or otherwise made available from a third party for association, such as in a database, with a charging device number at the kiosk (noting that the kiosk may include the aforementioned auxiliary reader for loyalty cards, loyalty pins or QR codes, or the like).
  • a user of the system may participate in completing surveys or polls, which may or may not relate to the loyalty program. For example, users may be polled, such as by a casino, as to, if they were to win a prize from a slot machine, what prize would they like to win.
  • the user may be asked to complete one or more surveys on the touchscreen.
  • a survey may be presented to the user on behalf of a single or multiple sponsors/clients/kiosk providers who are paying to receive customer information in exchange for value, such as in exchange for a location providing charging kiosk access to its customer base.
  • the location or venue may thereby have access to the charging station at no charge or reduced charge.
  • Surveys may be provided in a variety of formats, and may be provided as “integrated” surveys, wherein the presentation of the survey is an aspect of the artificial intelligence/adjustable logic algorithms integrated with the charging process; or“unintegrated” surveys, wherein the charging station calls out to the cloud, such as to third party domain, in order to obtain the survey or the survey logic.
  • the survey logic may include a steady state flow of a predetermined series of questions, or may vary the questions, question content, question type, or the like, based on a user's input or responses to questions. Further, the integrated nature of the survey logic may vary based on the responses, such as wherein, if a user answer is yes to a given question, the survey converts from a non-integrated remote logic to a local logic.
  • surveys may be steady state, such as a series of multiple-choice questions, or may, preferably be highly variable, such as in order to maintain user interest across multiple charging events.
  • surveys, provided through the use of the disclosed kiosk and kiosk system may likewise be multilingual.
  • surveys may be implemented by institution of an API to a platform that delivers surveys on line and or to mobile apps.
  • the API may be a dedicated, API, such as for a particular platform, or may be a multi platform API which offers alternative survey platforms.
  • the user may be presented with a screen that informs the user that she will be asked to take a survey in order to charge her phone for free, and the user may be asked to affirmatively respond in order to continue the charging process. If the user agrees, such as by pressing continue, she is then prompted to enter the mobile phone number, and/or other information, such as an email address and selection of a security image.
  • the charging kiosk may then call out to a nonintegrated survey URL and present the survey to the user prior to allowing the user to select a charging locker door to open.
  • surveys may present any number or type or format of questions. Surveys may be sponsored or unsponsored, such as wherein surveys are sponsored by third-party research companies to obtain research on topics ranging from food delivery to health concerns to movie preferences and so on.
  • the user must complete the survey before selecting a charging locker door. If the user abandons the survey, the screen may timeout and/or otherwise return to a main screen. If the same user returns in an attempt to charge a mobile device, such as may be indicated by entry of a phone number, a survey previously presented may renew at the point where the user left off. Similarly, in order to maintain user interest the same survey may not be presented to a user multiple times, such as may be tracked using a mobile phone number or other identifier, such as a loyalty card, or the like.
  • a survey may be optional or mandatory. Moreover, not only may the survey be presented in real time at the charging kiosk, but further, a survey may be presented to the user via a follow-up link, such as may be presented in an SMS, email, or the like.
  • survey logic may be local and/or integrated, and/or remote or unintegrated.
  • survey response data may be housed in an integrated system, or at a third-party system. As such, data may be delivered to a third party, a survey requester, or any other entity, and may be delivered directly, such as by an API integration, or may be housed/stored in an integrated manner and extracted by a client.
  • Surveys may be employed to obtain information of interest from third parties, such as research companies, but may also be delivered by the charging service provider in order to gain user information, such as customer demographics. Survey results may be gathered and/or housed in substantially real time, such as to allow response or follow up to occur on the site, such as manually by a clipboard operator.
  • a survey the user may be asked a series of questions (up to 20, by way of non-limiting example) in exchange for having access to a free phone charge.
  • the survey may be configurable, optional or mandatory in the system. For example, users may have the option to take the survey after they lock up their phone (and/or close the door), or users may be presented the survey when they come back to get their phone after they enter their mobile number and security credentials. Moreover, there may or may not be a limit on the number of times that the same user can take a specific survey, for example. Yet further, multiple surveys may be available on the same kiosk, and may or may not be offered to some or the same users on subsequent visits. That is, some users, or the same user on a subsequent visit, may receive different surveys or no survey at all. It will also be appreciated by the skilled artisan that the user would always have the ability to opt-out of the survey by choosing not to charge their phone.
  • the charging kiosk may be used to recruit prospective survey participants. For example, a charging user may be presented with a screen prior to beginning the charging process asking the user if she would be interested in taking a future survey, such as with or without being paid to do so. If the user agrees, the user's phone number and/or email may be passed to third party survey company such that the survey company may follow up in the future to enroll the user as a potential survey participant. Needless to say, and as is the case with the surveys discussed throughout, users may be excluded from participation based on any number of factors, such as age or demographics. Moreover, the empaneling of survey participants may be in relation to a single survey over a given time period, a single or multiple surveys over an indefinite time period, or multiple surveys over a particular time period, by way of nonlimiting example.
  • this integrated database such as the data warehouse and database(s) 302 discussed throughout, may be used to select participants pursuant to request from third party survey providers.
  • an integrated database of customer demographic information allows for prequalification of participants for a survey, prioritization of specific questions to particular groups of people (e.g., males, aged 30 to 45), the tying of device types to survey participation, such as to allow brands or marketers to target messaging that may or may not be optimized by device, type, and/or the linking of survey results to a location or location type (i.e., a mall, a specialty retailer, and so on).
  • survey data and/or additional user data such as kiosk- entered data, app-profile data, and so on, may be appended to kiosk provider databases and/or clients’/sponsors’ databases, such as to create a richer customer profile and/or to accumulate market research.
  • survey questions may include demographic information such as gender, race, income level and the like, and/or may also include lifestyle preferences such as hobbies, favorite travel destinations, shopping locations and the like.
  • This enriched profile and/or enhanced market research may enhance the adoption of kiosks by location providers. For example, a mall customer presently paying a monthly fee for 1 kiosk may expand to 4 kiosks because the additional kiosk costs are partially or fully paid for by the survey provider.
  • card reading or bar code scanning associated with the kiosk may be for identification and/or data accumulation purposes, and may or may not be for the purposes of charging the user a fee for usage of the charging station.
  • the card reader ( as referenced above) may comprise a magnetic card reader, which, upon swiping the user’s card on the reader may read the information contained on a magnetic stripe located on the user’s card, enabling the charging station to gather and process user identification information, such as for secure access by the user to his device after charging, and/or to accumulate information about the user, such as shopping habits of the user, which, as mentioned above, may be stored by user database 302.
  • data gained through the use of the method and system of the present invention may be associated with the additional or auxiliary data, such as from the aforementioned card reader.
  • the card reader may allow for a user to use a free or discounted pass, a frequent users’ card, a loyalty card associated with a kiosk sponsor, or the like.
  • auxiliary informational items such as the cell phone number of the user, etc.
  • Such data may include durations at particular locations, such as restaurants or retail, typical charging start times, typical charging end times, most frequently used kiosks, most frequently used lockers, percent capacity of usage, frequently used charging types and correspondingly phone types, or the like.
  • control board discussed herein may receive information about which charging cable is in use in each locker, and may thereby receive information about what type of phone is charging or what type of phone is associated with a particular phone number. This may allow, such as in conjunction with loyalty information of, for example, a casino loyalty program, for the inference of demographic or social information, such as in relation to a particular retail establishment, or the like.
  • Fig. 4C illustrates an example of an open locker of the charging station 1 10 of an embodiment of the present invention.
  • multiple interfaces and/or universal interfaces 410 may be located inside each locker 407 provided for recharging a given mobile device 41 1 .
  • Each interface 410 may be a unique type of charging interface, may be dedicated for a particular make or model of mobile device, or may be a universal charging interface.
  • PhotoVerification is a process whereby a customer photo or similar biometric (such as facial recognition, fingerprint, retinal scan, voice recognition, etc.) is taken at the inception of a charging session, and wherein, when a user attempts to retrieve the charged device, the photo/biometric is compared, such as automatically or manually, to the biometric at inception in order to decide whether to release the charged device.
  • biometric such as facial recognition, fingerprint, retinal scan, voice recognition, etc.
  • the kiosk may automatically or manually“escalate” the retrieval security. Needless to say, the user may be precluded from trying an indefinite number of times to enter security credentials, such as wherein, after X number of tries (such as 3 tries), the system is“locked” and each time the user enters the same mobile number (or loyalty number, etc.), the screen may automatically further escalate, such as to a PhotoVerification process.
  • the kiosk may use a series of photos and/or a cellular, landline, and/or voice over IP conversation directly with the user (such as by a customer service representative) to manually and/or via facial recognition software verify the user’s identity (“Please Wait, We Are Using Surveillance Records To Verify Your Identity”). If a match is determined to be made (“Match Verified?”), either via manual or automated check, then the user may receive a success screen and the process continues to Fig. 4F. If a match is not made, then the process may proceed to an Offline process, a more extensive customer service interaction, or locked state, until a successful verification (photo or otherwise) or a manual unlock process is performed. If the customer service representative does not respond within a specified period of time, the PhotoVerification will timeout, thereby making the kiosk available for use by another customer.
  • Fig. 4F is a flow diagram illustrating combinations of the foregoing aspects.
  • the flow diagram illustrates various methodologies whereby a charged device may be obtained by the owner of the device, including the use of a PhotoVerification in the event of a lockout from a locker.
  • the kiosk may include various other hardware and/or software and/or firmware under the control of the kiosk control board referenced herein, and which may be employed in conjunction with the PhotoVerification process.
  • the kiosk may include the user interaction screen discussed herein, such as a touch screen akin to those employed at automated teller machines, as well as a camera proximate to, such as above, the user interaction screen, under the control of a control board. Accordingly, a user’s first interaction with the kiosk may be with the screen while standing in front of the camera, thereby the camera may take a series of images, video, audio, or the like, of the user placing the phone into a locker and/or interacting with the screen.
  • Confirmation of user identity may occur via remote access to the server, such as with the kiosk initiating all requests to the server.
  • this provides a security feature in that the server cannot push information (such as new configurations, software updates, restart commands, etc.) to the kiosk, but rather the kiosk periodically“pings” the server for information.
  • the kiosk may be programmed to ONLY be able to communicate with one master, i.e., the server.
  • This security precaution prevents a hack that tunnels into the kiosk from another source, such that the kiosk may be disabled to communicate or accept any commands.
  • This is further buttressed in exemplary embodiments in which kiosks cannot“talk” to each other.
  • confirmation may be available at a later point, such as via the camera, that the same user is attempting to retrieve the phone as had initially placed the phone into the locker.
  • a user who has been locked out from retrieving his or her phone may be able to readily confirm with customer service that he or she should be able to retrieve the phone.
  • a remote customer service representative may, for example, open a locker, ask security questions, or the like.
  • security may be enhanced by allowing a user to pick, such as on the aforementioned screen, a secondary security image that the user may have to reselect as a security measure, or security measures may include PIN codes or the like in association with the user having entered his or her phone number in order to access the kiosk in the first instance.
  • security images may additionally provide a branding or advertising opportunity, such as wherein various security images are provided to a user to select from that are representative of endorsers of the brand with which the kiosk is branded.
  • a charging locker Once the user has entered the phone number and any required additional information, such as an email address, the user selects a charging locker and it is then opened, the screen may prompt the user to connect his or her phone for charging.
  • An exemplary flow of the inception of device charging is illustrated in Fig, 4G, and may include ADA compliance, such as in the form of making available lower level lockers for persons in need of such service.
  • an optimal charging profile may be sought, and such an optimal charging profile may include charging rates, such as whether high level charging should be an initial occurrence, or should be ramped to slowly, and additionally the proper rate of ramp down of charging for optimal charging of a particular device as discussed herein.
  • This provision of the charging profile may occur by the offering, by the kiosk, of various charging profiles until a profile is accepted by the device. Accordingly, although there is no synchronization with the phone, the optimal charging profile may nevertheless be obtained.
  • the lack of synchronization in the disclosed embodiments is yet an additional security feature, in part because it protects: a) the data on each individual phone (as there is no means to pull data from the phone); b) servers from being subject to viruses carried by users’ phones; and c) other users’ phones from being infected by a virus-infected phone that might transmit a virus to the servers.
  • customer service may preferably be available by the touch screen, microphone and/or speakers as shown in Fig. 4A 412, associated with the kiosk.
  • This customer service may allow for a user to indicate a problem with the kiosk, such as the user being locked out of retrieving his or her phone.
  • customer service may have a variety of methods through which to confirm the propriety of the user’s attempt to access the phone, such as via the customer service representative looking at pictures taken by the camera when the phone was placed in a locker, an assessment of the phone number entered or any security images or PIN numbers selected or provided by the users, charging tip type, or a series of questions asked of the user for security purposes.
  • Such questions/actions may include, for example, the approximate time the phone was placed in a locker, the phone number of the phone associated with the particular locker for which access is requested, and the ability to contact local security personnel if a user fails to properly address security when trying to retrieve a phone.
  • customer service may have a variety of abilities, such as may be provided by the network infrastructure and the kiosk control board, to remotely access features of the kiosk. For example, a customer service representative may be able to open locks and/or otherwise open lockers, change lights, force onto the user screen certain information, or the like. Moreover, customer service representatives may have particular controls available to them in relation to the aforementioned PhotoVerification period.
  • a customer service representative may be able to take a photo on demand of a user for comparison to earlier photos. He or she may be able to indicate to the user to please take off a hat, for example, to improve the ability to compare photos, may position a user in relation to the camera to provide for a best comparison of photos, or the like.
  • Customer service representatives may additionally have access to a variety of information in relation to the kiosk, such as usage, lockers then in use, phone numbers associated with locker, pictures taken by a camera associated with the kiosk going back in time, or the like.
  • Much of this same information, and additional information may preferably be available to kiosk administrators, who may oversee operation of one, multiple, or many kiosks, such as associated with a given geographic location, a given brand’s campaign, a particular data type, or the like.
  • Such administrators may be provided with a dashboard that yields real time access across a network of kiosks, which may include all kiosks or particular portions of kiosks. Using this dashboard, an administrator may be able to investigate all actions over configurable time periods, may be able to schedule maintenance, may be able to oversee customer service or the like, and needn’t be at a centralized location,
  • photo or video records of users may be stored remotely, such as on an administration server which may be accessed by the customer service or administrator during the PhotoVerification process set forth herein.
  • an administration server which may be accessed by the customer service or administrator during the PhotoVerification process set forth herein.
  • the system may store records of end-users or customers, but it also may log all actions taken by administrative users, including login/logout time, configuration changes, tasks that are sent from server to kiosk, and the like, and may additionally log all actions taken within the system.
  • the administration server securely stores the user records and makes the user records available on an as-needed basis utilizing secure communication lines.
  • the processing power of a centrally located admin server is considered far greater than the processing power of the charging station, or kiosk, therefore the verification process time is much quicker and results in improved overall user satisfaction.
  • security is enhanced by the PhotoVerification process, such as because the subject data remains firewalled.
  • a charging negotiation process may be undertaken, such as at the direction of control board associated with the charging station.
  • the one or more printed circuit boards may provide local hardware interaction and control for various features of the cabinet.
  • two locker control boards may be provided - one for the upper four lockers control, the other for the lower four lockers control.
  • This provision of multiple locker control boards may allow for a failsafe in the event one locker fails, i.e., the cabinet can continue to operate with the remaining lockers, or may correspond to different uses administratively prescribed to various parts of the cabinet, such as in embodiments where only the lower four cabinets are available for charging if the user requests accessibility mode for use of the cabinet.
  • devices using the offered connectors may be sensed when connected, and may be offered a sequence of charging profiles to identify the most efficient charging standard for the device. In no circumstance is data synchronized between the kiosk and the device in this negotiation.
  • devices being charged may vary the amount of current drawn depending on their battery level. That is, nearly empty devices may draw more current than partially charged devices.
  • a kiosk may ultimately supply 3.0A or more to one or all lockers simultaneously.
  • Disabilities Act may necessitate that only those lockers that can be readily physically accessed by a user may be selected and opened by that user, selection of an ADA accessibility mode on the user screen may indicate to the control board that only the lower lockers, such as lockers five through eight in an eight-locker example, may be opened for a particular user.
  • all buttons on the touch screen interface are ADA compliant.
  • the control board may also provide various other functionality, such as charging control, kiosk remote interaction, control of the LEDs or added features, control of the user interaction screen and cameras, and so on.
  • the board may additionally have software or firmware resident thereon that provides optimization functionality, such as by interaction through the aforementioned charging cables.
  • the board may be comprised of firmware that controls the offered charging profile to the connected phone, and the phone accepts its optimal profile.
  • the charging board may be pre programmed with information pertinent to various charging profiles, or may retrieve the information from an external server. Based on this information, the charging process can provide the optimal amount of current to best charge the phone.
  • the optimized charging process may be provided by the board, as discussed throughout.
  • the disclosed exemplary embodiments provide that a phone may accept only the highest amperage for charging that the phone can handle without degradation.
  • the kiosk charging cables in the exemplary embodiments may offer various power profiles to the phone and allow the phone to draw optimally at a particular power profile, thereby indicating that power profile to be the proper one for optimal charging of the phone.
  • available optimal charging profiles provided by the kiosk control board may include a default profile, such as the lowest charging profile acceptable to all phones, i.e., a laptop phone charging profile of 500 mA. Thereby, the phone may be charged using a default profile, which is typically the lowest profile available, if none of the other profiles are accepted by the phone.
  • a real estate-style hardware key-based model is employed, wherein a lockbox having a code associated therewith includes there within a key to unlock some aspect of the kiosk.
  • a lock code is given out, such as to a technician or employee, that person forever has access to the key resident within the lockbox.
  • the key is removed from the lockbox, it can be duplicated or stolen.
  • a hardware lockbox may be“hacked”, such as wherein a lockbox code is changed by a skilled artisan, such as a locksmith.
  • Fig. 21 may eliminate keyed locks and single perpetual key codes to enter a kiosk, in part by providing a system comprised of a keypad, control board, electronic lock, and power supply and/or a battery backup, which may communicate over 4G LTE (by way of example), such as to the servers, and which may communicate to a master board locally.
  • an electronic keypad lock 3102 may have a dedicated controller board 3104 to interact with the“master” kiosk board discussed above, or may be provide as part of a kiosk's on-board computer.
  • the keypad lock may be remotely programmable, and codes may be issued remotely (or locally), such as from an administrative randomized database 3106.
  • an electronic code suitable to operate the electronic lock may be issued from a remote administrator, and may be used only for a single use, a particular number of multi-uses, or over a predetermined timeframe, or for a specific kiosk or group of kiosks, by way of nonlimiting example.
  • codes may be cached locally in the memory of the computing system on board the kiosk, and such codes may also be single or multiuse.
  • the codes may be stored on the memory in association with the board attached to the keypad, such that the door may be opened even if the kiosk is off-line or operating only on onboard battery power. That is, a battery backup may be included in the kiosk such that the door may be opened using a locally cached code if the power goes out.
  • codes may be assigned via the remote servers discussed throughout, and may be monitored remotely or downloaded locally for operations, as discussed above. Thus, codes may be changed, revoked, issued, or reissued at any time, either automatically or manually, and locally or remotely. Codes may be assigned by a random generator, by way of nonlimiting example.
  • Codes may be assigned manually or automatically, as referenced above, and may be downloaded from a manual or automated administrator to a code-user either by push, such as wherein the codes are automatically sent to, for example, a secure app associated with a mobile device 3108 of an authorized user, or by pull, such as wherein an authorized unit or user may request a code in order to open a kiosk. Accordingly, the issuer of the code, the date and time stamp of issuance, and the recipient or recipients of a code may be tracked using the embodiments.
  • the remote manual or automated pushing of codes may require network conductivity, such as to a remote administrative server, although, as referenced above, codes may be batch-replenished so that sufficient numbers of codes are always available, such as in the event of a loss of power.
  • codes may be batch-replenished so that sufficient numbers of codes are always available, such as in the event of a loss of power.
  • employees, technicians, company administrators, representatives, kiosk sponsors, or the like may be issued single use or multiuse codes.
  • Such codes may be revoked or new codes issued in the event the authorization status of one or more recipients of a code changes, by way of nonlimiting example.
  • codes may be region, kiosk, or user specific, such as to enhance security.
  • Codes may also be reusable or non-reusable, such as based on the user, code issuer, use of the code for an entire brand, set of sponsors, region, or kiosk, or status of a code. Use may be for an indefinite time period or may be time-limited. Moreover, codes sent remotely to a kiosk may be sent at regular intervals, by a specific automated or manual push, or the like.
  • the invention may provide a notification process.
  • the notification process may be initiated at discreet events such as upon start charge, upon the completion of a device being charged fully, etc.
  • Users may be notified in a myriad of different ways, including, but not limited to, SMS text message, an email, or the like. Further, once placed in a locker, the phone may remain in a locker for an unlimited period of time or for a pre-determined allowable period of time. Moreover, charging in association with particular phone numbers may allow for tracking not only of time of use and location of use for an individual user, but additionally if no use occurs over a period of time. For example, if a user has not charged in 30 days, a text may be sent to the user’s phone advertising a particular business previously frequented by the user at which the user charged at a kiosk, from a brand, from a kiosk sponsor, from a particular kiosk location, or the like. The user may be additionally provided with an advertisement, a coupon, a suggested app download, or the like, if the user fits certain use criteria, time of use criteria, or time without use criteria.
  • FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate examples of a map displayed on a mobile device, such as by a mobile application associated with the disclosed systems and methods.
  • the mobile device has a display screen 502.
  • the server may access the mobile application on the device, such as upon sensing by the mobile application on-board that battery power has fallen below the predetermined threshold, and may cause the display of a map 504, a notification (such as to allow for subsequent display of a map), or a like-alert on the display screen 502, such as to indicate the need for charging, and/or to recommend prospective charging kiosks.
  • the map may populate with certain icons 506 superimposed thereon, such as for denoting the location of certain available charging stations and/or registered businesses having charging stations to the user, and/or how many charging units are available (if any) at a given location, such as responsive to a push notification to a low-battery device, or such as responsive to a user search (such as by proximity, venue, city, state, zip code, etc.).
  • a large upside-down“teardrop” icon may denote the location of a charging station 1 10 with at least one locker currently available for charging.
  • Also displayed on the display screen 502 may be a notification area 508 as shown in Fig. 9B.
  • the mobile application may notify the user that his battery power level has decreased to a predetermined level, and that the battery may need to be recharged soon to maintain operation of the mobile device.
  • the notification area 508 may be located above the map, by way of nonlimiting example.
  • embodiments of the present invention are not so limited, as the notification area 508 and/or map may be of any known type, may be tiled or“windowed” in any manner, and/or may be located anywhere on the display screen 502.
  • the user may toggle between the map view discussed herein and/or a list view of location which may more clearly identify the most convenient location for the user.
  • a list view may, for example, note the distance between the user and the provided locations and may be sorted, for example, from closest to furthest from the user geographically.
  • the sorting may also account for travel time due to road conditions and may sort accordingly.
  • the configurability of the user presentation in the instant embodiments may include that the user can configure the battery percentage level that triggers a low battery notification, and/or the distance to the closest charging station in order for an alert to be delivered, by way of non-limiting example.
  • 510 ads may be served within aspects of the GUI and may, for example, be served along with the list of possible charging locations.
  • the served ad may be in the form of a banner ad.
  • the served ad may be used to self-promote features and services provided by the present invention and/or may be sold to third parties.
  • Third party ads may be associated with one or more identified locations and may pertain to that location’s particular goods/services offered for sale.
  • a location having a charging station 1 10 may be predominately in the business of selling shoes, and, more particularly, athletic shoes, and may pay for the delivery of an ad promoting its business and/or offering a coupon for the purchase of shoes. Such a promotion may, for example, offer an additional discount/incentive based on use of the charging station 1 10.
  • an app associated with the instant invention the screen of the charging kiosk, or simple text message may request information from one or more users, wherein that information is desired or needed by locations, sponsors, or the like.
  • email addresses may be requested, such as an association with a retail embodiment and in order to correspond to a particular phone number.
  • that retail establishment may develop data regarding phone numbers and matched email addresses of frequent shoppers at that establishment, whereby coupons, advertisements, or the like may be provided to that frequent shopper.
  • ads may also be delivered based on location and may be dynamically delivered based on user attributes. For example, an ad may be served according to the proximate of a user to a location where the ad may be relevant, whether or not the relevant location and/or ad is related to a charging station 1 10 location. Similarly, an ad may be served based on the type of phone used by the user and/or the apps loaded thereon or browsing history. For example, the app of the present invention may query the bookmarks or other internet browsing activity logged on the user device and may use that information when serving an ad.
  • ads may be scheduled with a start and end date over a specific time period.
  • the use of revolving and/or multiple ads may be presented to a user and may, for example, create a user specific“playlist”.
  • Such ads may be configured as an attribute in any of various available programs known to the skilled artisan.
  • Any selection of a location may include a detailed map representation and/or the option to obtain directions to the selected location, as illustrated in Fig. 9D.
  • Information provided may also include location details, including contact information, and may allow for the sharing of the location information with other contacts through conventional communication means, such as email and texting, for example, and through social networks, such as Facebook, for example.
  • obtaining directions to the selected location may include launching a GPS aided mapping app which may be resident on the user device, such as, for example, MapQuest or Google Maps, which may give“turn-by-turn” directions to the user.
  • advertising content 510 may also be provided to the user on the display screen 502, such as via the mobile application.
  • the advertising content 510 may include instructions on how to take advantage of special offers or deals mentioned in the advertising content 510.
  • the user may, either prior to recharging or upon at least partially recharging his device at the participating location, show or play (e.g., in the case of audio-based advertising content) the advertising content on the mobile device to the cashier or other staff at the advertised location, such as to obtain any advertised prices, offers or deals, and/or to be given a coupon or the like.
  • the advertising content 510 may also be provided to the user on the display screen 502, such as via the mobile application.
  • the advertising content 510 may include instructions on how to take advantage of special offers or deals mentioned in the advertising content 510.
  • the user may, either prior to recharging or upon at least partially recharging his device at the participating location, show or play (e.g., in the case of audio-based advertising content) the advertising content on the mobile device
  • the mobile device user may only have to mention that they received advertising content 510 to receive any relevant special offers.
  • the user may be given a code, such as a numeric code, a keyword or password, or other like indicator that, once passed to a cashier or store personnel, indicates to the store personnel that the user has indeed received a special offer on his device to use a charging station at that store.
  • a credit upon accessing the advertisement and/or upon reaching the charging location, may be added to a shopper’s card, store card, credit card, user account, or the like of that user.
  • Embodiments may allow for ordering and/or purchasing and/or searching via the disclosed kiosk, such as in relation to provided advertisements.
  • the kiosk may be communicatively integrated with a kiosk venue’s database, and/or with the remote database 302 discussed throughout.
  • an order may be sent, such as by SMS, to a user's phone, whereafter the user brings the electronic "receipt" or Q.R. code from the SMS to obtain the ordered product.
  • coupons or similar discounts may be provided to the user through the use of the kiosk in the manner discussed above.
  • advertising content 510 may include an indication that the mobile device user is already heading toward, or is likely to pass, an advertised location. In other embodiments, advertising content 510 may include directions to the advertised location, and/or may link to a website of the location upon accessing by the user, for example.
  • the server may employ a prioritization algorithm to determine which participating business or businesses gets to provide an advertisement (and/or location recognition by icon 506) at any given time and location of the user’s mobile device, and/or in what order advertisements are listed, displayed, or preferentially listed or displayed.
  • This prioritization algorithm may be based on any number of factors, which may include, for example, user shopping characteristics and a known relation (such as a known preference) to the items of a participating business or business type, the relative location of the user and participating business, the level of participation of the participating business in the disclosed systems and methods (e.g., the fee amounts paid to house a charging station, paid for user access via the mobile application, paid for user data access and/or accumulation, or the like), and the like. It should be noted, however, that these factors should not be so limited, as the prioritization algorithm may apply other information related to consumers or businesses to determine the advertising content (and/or location recognition by icon 506) to be displayed on the display screen 502 at any given time.
  • factors may include, for example, user shopping characteristics and a known relation (such as a known preference) to the items of a participating business or business type, the relative location of the user and participating business, the level of participation of the participating business in the disclosed systems and methods (e.g., the fee amounts paid to house a charging
  • Fig. 22 illustrates the provision of a software developer’s kit (“SDK”) to allow for any of the variety of aforementioned notifications to be made to a mobile user in possession of a device suffering from a low battery.
  • SDK software developer’s kit
  • a brand or charging provider 4100 may embed the ChargeltSpot SDK into their mobile “app” 4101 that a user downloads to a device.
  • the app may communicate, such as via the cloud 4102, with ChargeltSpot’s Location Database 4104, by running code provided by the SDK in order to provide aspects of the functionality discussed throughout.
  • the app 4101 may recognize that the battery level of the phone on which the app resides is low, such as that the battery level has fallen below a predetermined threshold, such as 20%. This may trigger a notification 41 10, such as per the SDK, to the user, such as from the brand or charging provider 4100 that the users battery is low and a charging station exists at a location within a preconfigured proximity of the user’s device. Similarly, the app could simply provide a notification of the existence of a charging station based on an algorithm employed by the SDK within a nearby location user’s device, based on proximity alone. This notification may be delivered in a manner predetermined from the SDK, such as via in-app notification, a banner notification, a push notification, one or more of the above, or via any other known notification means.
  • predetermined triggers may be employed besides current battery level, such as an assessment of low battery without indication to the user that the battery level is known; low battery once a battery threshold is reached, regardless of current battery percentage; loss of an additional threshold of battery level, i.e., the loss of an additional 5% or 10% since the last notification; a periodic recommendation to charge; periodic in-app ads as discussed above; and so on. This is further made evident by the illustration of Fig. 23.
  • the notification that is thus delivered may be of any suitable type provided to and by the SDK.
  • a low battery notification may stimulate a notification, such as in-app, of geographically proximate (such as within a predetermined geographic radius based on interaction with the SDK) locations of the brand or charging provider at which the device’s battery may be charged, and/or at which charging lockers are available, and so on.
  • certain types of notifications may require certain permissions from the device OS, such as the use of location services by the app, the use of local notifications in-app or via push notification, and/or other necessary background processing functionality, in the foregoing example.
  • thresholds may be set according to the SDK, and in relation to the notifications discussed throughout. For example, if a user agrees or otherwise acts to seek out the location of the nearest brand-owned charging location, the user may receive no additional notifications. However, if the user closes the notification, the notification may be provided anew, such as with increasing frequency after each time the user closes the notification.
  • the mobile device suffering from low battery needn’t be the same mobile device that receives the notification.
  • the SDK may provide for an app on a second mobile device to receive a notification based on the battery threshold on a first mobile device, wherein the first mobile device may or may not include the same app, or a second, communicative app, as the second device’s app.
  • the SDK technology to provide notifications of nearby charging stations within partner apps that may not have any of their own charging stations.
  • an app that drives a customer into a store to redeem a coupon could also provide their users notice that a charging station is located within.
  • an app that provides low battery notifications could provide users with information on where the nearest charging stations are located. And so on.
  • FIG. 10 there is shown a methodology 600 operable by a system according to embodiments of the present invention. It is noted that numbers associated with the blocks of Fig. 10 do not imply a particular order in which the corresponding steps are to be performed according to the method 600.
  • step 601 includes having location information of one or more respective mobile devices, and charging station information.
  • Step 603 may include having the location information of one or more respective mobile devices, and charging station information. Based on the station location information and the mobile device location information determining at step 605, a proximity of one or more charging stations to one or more respective mobile devices.
  • Step 607 may include monitoring a power level of the battery of the mobile device.
  • Step 609 may include alerting a mobile device user and providing the location information of the respective one or more charging stations to the mobile device.
  • the location information may be provided to the mobile device based on a power level of the battery of the mobile device decreasing to a certain power level and/or based on a determined proximity of one or more charging stations to the one or more mobile devices.
  • the mobile app may provide, such as on the map, or in a list or secondary window in conjunction with the map, an indication of one of the registered businesses with local charging stations available and which are making special offers, such as sales, coupons, targeted offers based on the user’s history (in the mobile app and/or on the device more generally), and/or unique deals for users of the present invention.
  • the aforementioned mobile app may serve to monitor a mobile device charge, and alert a user to a need for recharge, i.e., the disclosed mobile app may be a stand-alone mobile app for alerting a user to a low device battery.
  • the charge threshold for an alert may be predetermined, such as by being preset in the phone or app, or entered by the user, as discussed herein.
  • the user may seek out and/or be directed to the selected business.
  • the user may or may not be provided with advertising at the charging station, such as by a display associated with the station. Further, the user may be asked, such as via the same display or via a second display, to enter user information which provides security for the user’s device once placed into a charging unit. Additionally or alternatively, the charging unit may secure the device by a physical key.
  • a user profile may be created. For example, redeemed deals and special offers made in the mobile app may be tracked by the disclosed system as an indication of user product and service preferences.
  • the profile may be maintained by the system discussed above, and may allow for targeted marketing, both of the charging services discussed herein, and of third-party goods and services, such as those provided by the registered business and/or by other businesses. For example, geo-targeted ads may be offered via the mobile app.
  • the accumulation of user data from the mobile app and phone battery, in conjunction with charging behavior at locations creates an opportunity to develop user profiles.
  • These profiles may include recency and frequency of visits to locations, charge duration, charging tip type, battery life by device type, by usage type, or the like.
  • the data may thus serve as a research tool for device manufacturers, researchers or marketers, or as a purchase tool (i.e., which device has the best battery life, to the extent the data is made publicly available) for a user and/or for a non-user.
  • the disclosed embodiments may provide a network, such as may be formed by the disclosed charging stations 1 10, businesses (which, although shown in the figure as a“shop,” may be any type of public or private business), and mobile devices 104, and, more particularly, as between communicative interconnectivity, advertisers, and user mobile apps.
  • a user may download a mobile app to his device, and may set a 20% level for battery recharging— meaning the user will receive an alert from the mobile app once his phone has less than a 20% battery charge.
  • the user may be prompted via SMS or other method to download the mobile app.
  • the mobile app, and/or participation in the disclosed systems and methods may be free for consumers, and available for a monthly fee to the registered businesses.
  • a fee may be charged to consumers, or a charge to consumers may vary based on consumer actions.
  • a user’s willingness to accept/view/watch one or more advertisements or promotions may cause a modification, such as a decrease or elimination of, any fee due from consumers for the mobile app, the mobile app services, or the charging services.
  • the present invention may be free to some businesses, such as those willing to sponsor or host charging units, but may be available at a fee to other businesses.
  • the charging units/kiosks/lockers discussed throughout may be placed in a registered business subject to, for example, payment of rent.
  • This and other costs to the charging unit provider may be recouped by charging consumers for the services discussed, by accepting sponsorships, by accepting advertisements or promotions to be provided to consumers (which may be from the registered business ultimately used by the user and/or from other registered businesses and/or sponsors) for a fee, and the like.
  • payment may be received for other occurrences, such as revenue sharing.
  • a credit card company such as VISA
  • VISA may sponsor a kiosk, and thereby the kiosk may be free to use for consumers who swipe a VISA card.
  • VISA may pay a fee to the kiosk provider.
  • Kiosks/charging stations may be provided by any number of charging models.
  • the kiosk may be leased, such as monthly.
  • maintenance may be provided as part of the lease, and other features, such as providing brand wrapping, may be provided for fees.
  • a kiosk may be sold to a client. In such an instance, a charge may occur for any maintenance of the kiosk, as well as providing of other aspects, such as providing a brand wrap for the kiosk.
  • the kiosk may be provided based on a branding or sponsorship model.
  • a particular brand may pay to have a kiosk placed at a particular location, such as a retailer, or the brand may pay for data collected from kiosk usage.
  • a particular location such as a retailer
  • such payment may be in the form of a monthly fixed fee, or based on data gathered through kiosk usage, or based on the number of users per month.
  • the retailer may allow placement for free, or may request a revenue share with the provider of the kiosk.
  • maintenance may or may not be an additional charge to the paying brand, and wrapping of a kiosk for advertising purposes, such as on the outer portions of the kiosk, a header panel, such as a backlit header panel, of the kiosk, a kick plate or ad plate at the bottom of the kiosk, or the like, may again constitute an additional charge to the brand payer for the kiosk.
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • a general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.
  • a processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
  • a software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.
  • An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.
  • the storage medium may be integral to the processor.
  • the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.
  • the ASIC may reside in a user terminal.
  • the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.
  • the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium, and preferably on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
  • Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.
  • a storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.
  • such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer- readable medium.
  • Disk and disc includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer- readable media.
  • GUI graphical user interface
  • the app may prompt the user to allow for location based services to provide the most useful user experience in relation to the features described more fully herein.
  • the GUI may provide an indication of the charge capacity, as shown in Figure 12, and the charge remaining in at least one battery and/or battery cell, associated with mobile device 104.
  • the GUI may also include indicators as to page and/or content amount and the location of the user among such options. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 13, pagination of the GUI may be exemplified by the use of small circles which may allow the user to more easily navigate between screens of the GUI. Although many forms of navigation may be used, in a preferred embodiment, the user may toggle between GUI pages by swiping to the left and/or to the right.
  • search functionality may be presented through the GUI and used to identify the closest charging location to the user. If, for example, there are not locations within a defined range of the searcher, which range may be predefined or set by the user, the app may collect that information and allow such information to be collected by a third-party administrator to inform the administrator of user desired locations. Similarly, such information may allow for the delivery of ads based on the user’s location and may allow for the delivery of ads outside the network of ads related to charging locations. Furthermore, a user may select a proximity distance which may be selected from a list having 1 ⁇ 4 mile, 1 ⁇ 2 mile, 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, and/or 10 miles as choices, by way of non limiting example.
  • the battery level of the phone may be brought to the attention of the user and, as illustrated in Fig. 15, such alerts may be customized by the user.
  • the user may activate and deactivate any alerts and may, for example, select a desired level of battery charge for which an alert may be triggered. For example, a user may choose that an alert as to battery life be presented when the phone has only about a 30% charge remaining. Although any level of charge may be used to activate an alert, a user may select between 10% and 80% such as in increments of 10%. As would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a battery may fluctuate over time and the percentage charge may be considered an approximation rather than an absolute direct measurement of remaining charge.
  • Administrative and operational alerts and notifications may be sent to and from each kiosk or subsets of kiosks, and to or from devices of authorized users, such as technicians, from one or more administrative servers using known communication methodologies, such as SMS, email, group email, mesh network communications, and the like.
  • alerts or notifications may also be provided locally, via local communications, such as bluetooth or NFC, from an individual kiosk, such as in the event of a power outage. Accordingly, alerts may occur“online”, and“off-line”.
  • Alerts may include, by way of nonlimiting example, alerts and notifications related to the customer or Photo Verification as discussed throughout.
  • customer service alerts may include, by way of example, management alerts regarding the start and end of employee shifts to provide customer service, notifications related to PhotoVerification (such as non-resolution of a PhotoVerification using automated systems within a given time frame), and the like.
  • Automated alerts may streamline the process of remotely managing a fleet of hundreds or thousands of kiosks by immediately notifying the operations and management team of issues that either require attention, or by confirming successful ongoing operation of the fleet.
  • alerts may include management alerts regarding the start and end of customer service employee shifts; customer service alerts related to PhotoVerification and/or non-resolution of a PhotoVerification in an accepatable amount of time; operational alerts when a kiosk is offline or a certain hardware component is failing; or the like.
  • Alerts may also include, by way of example, exception alerts, such as may be unique to a store, kiosk, or the like.
  • Other reports and alerts may include, by way of nonlimiting example, a daily charge report indicating a number of charges by kiosk, by day; an extended charge report, such as may include a number of lockers by kiosk that are not cleared within a day; environmental reports, such as high or low temperatures; movement reports, such as, due to movement or tilting of a kiosk; hardware or power malfunctions; all lockers full; firmware update needed; data usage or storage availability alert; and general data logs, such as may include security opening of a kiosk using, for example, a rear keypad, locker doors open over time limit, and the like.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Telephone Function (AREA)
  • Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne des systèmes et des procédés de localisation et de fourniture de stations de charge de dispositifs mobiles publiques. Une ou plusieurs stations de charge peuvent être conçues pour charger une batterie d'un dispositif mobile. Une base de données peut être conçue pour mémoriser des informations de localisation de la ou des stations de charge ainsi que des informations de localisation de dispositif mobile et de justificatif d'identité de sécurité du ou des dispositifs mobiles respectifs. Un serveur couplé en communication à la ou aux stations de charge et à la base de données peut être configuré pour déterminer une proximité de la ou des stations de charge par rapport à une position du dispositif mobile. Cette détermination peut être basée sur les informations de localisation de station et les informations de localisation de dispositif mobile. Sur la base de la proximité déterminée, des informations de localisation de station de la ou des stations de charge respectives sont fournies au dispositif mobile. La station de charge fournit en outre une sécurité de surveillance photo et/ou vidéo pour vérifier un utilisateur.
EP19814049.3A 2018-06-04 2019-05-22 Système et procédé de fourniture de stations de charge de dispositifs mobiles interconnectées et sécurisées Pending EP3804079A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US15/996,956 US10742046B2 (en) 2012-12-03 2018-06-04 System and method for providing interconnected and secure mobile device charging stations
PCT/US2019/033500 WO2019236293A1 (fr) 2018-06-04 2019-05-22 Système et procédé de fourniture de stations de charge de dispositifs mobiles interconnectées et sécurisées

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EP3804079A1 true EP3804079A1 (fr) 2021-04-14
EP3804079A4 EP3804079A4 (fr) 2022-02-23

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EP (1) EP3804079A4 (fr)
AU (1) AU2019281775A1 (fr)
CA (1) CA3100025A1 (fr)
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CN111682622B (zh) * 2020-06-29 2021-09-21 安徽众成合金科技有限公司 一种基于大数据的锂电池充电管理系统
CN112560588A (zh) * 2020-11-27 2021-03-26 国网浙江省电力有限公司营销服务中心 一种基于图像识别的电动汽车充电站人车管控方法及系统

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JP3965058B2 (ja) 2002-01-30 2007-08-22 株式会社カプコン 携帯機器用の充電装置
WO2009064799A1 (fr) * 2007-11-12 2009-05-22 James Mullin Attribution d'un accès contrôlé à des dispositifs sécurisables
US20130132307A1 (en) 2011-11-17 2013-05-23 Rwdg Enterprises, Inc. Managing the use of secure compartments in charging stations for portable electronic devices
ZA201205645B (en) 2012-03-23 2013-04-24 Econet Wireless Ip Holdings Ltd A charging station for mobile electronic device and an associated system and method
US9565565B2 (en) 2012-12-03 2017-02-07 Douglas Baldasare System and method for providing photoverification to mobile device charging stations
US20160099590A1 (en) 2014-10-06 2016-04-07 Black & Decker Inc. System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs

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WO2019236293A1 (fr) 2019-12-12
CA3100025A1 (fr) 2019-12-12
MX2024007496A (es) 2024-07-09
EP3804079A4 (fr) 2022-02-23
AU2019281775A1 (en) 2021-01-07

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