Patent ID: 9633389
Date: 2017-04-25
CPC Classifications: G06Q

Claim:
1. A system, comprising: a database storing a list of stores available for customer pickup of orders, the list of stores including a first subset of stores that include an optical sensor for capturing images of license plates of motor vehicles and a second subset of stores that do not include an optical sensor for capturing images of license plates of motor vehicles; a first server coupled to the database and being associated with the list of stores, the first server being configured to: present the list of stores to a customer for selection of a store for pickup of an order; receive a selection by the customer of a store from the list of stores; determine whether the store selected by the customer is one of the first subset of stores; display a dialogue box to the customer upon a determination that the store selected by the customer is one of the first subset of stores, wherein the dialogue box enables the customer to select a license plate number from a list of at least one previously stored license plate number or to enter a new license plate number; receive a customer order associated with the customer, the customer order including at least one good and having an associated customer motor vehicle license plate number selected from the dialogue box, the associated customer motor vehicle license plate number being associated with a motor vehicle associated with the customer, the first server being further configured to store the customer order in the database; a second server coupled to the first server and to the database and being located at the store, the second server being configured to receive the customer order placed by the customer and to assist in assembling the customer order for the customer; an optical sensor located in a predetermined location within an order pick-up area associated with the store, the predetermined location being established to allow the optical sensor to capture images of license plates of motor vehicles as the motor vehicles enter the order pick-up area; an optical character recognition unit coupled between the second server and the optical sensor, the optical character recognition unit being configured to receive the captured images from the optical sensor, to establish an associated motor vehicle license plate number for each captured image, and to send the associated motor vehicle license plate numbers to the second server; and, a visual indicator coupled to the optical character recognition unit and being positioned relative to the optical sensor to provide an indication to the customer that a suitable image has been captured by the optical sensor, the second server further being configured to receive the motor vehicle license plate numbers from the optical character recognition unit, to compare the motor vehicle license plate numbers from the optical character recognition unit with the associated customer motor vehicle license plate number, and, if the associated customer motor vehicle license plate number matches one of the received motor vehicle license plate numbers from the optical character recognition unit, to arrange the customer order to be delivered to the motor vehicle associated with the customer.