Patent ID: 8922163

Claim:
An automated battery exchange system for exchanging a discharged battery coupled to a battery operated device with a charged battery, comprising: a battery operated device positioned within an operating environment characterized by areas accessible to retail customers, the battery operated device comprising a display for presenting data to one or more retail customers in the operating environment and a rechargeable battery for powering the battery operated device; a base station remotely located from the battery operated device, the base station electrically coupled to a power source and configured to charge a discharged rechargeable battery to provide a charged rechargeable battery; and an autonomous mobile robotic device comprising: a transportation system for moving the autonomous mobile robotic device between the battery operated device and the base station, a storage platform for supporting a set of rechargeable batteries that includes at least one charged battery, and a battery exchange system configured to: autonomously decouple from the battery operated device the discharged rechargeable battery and include it as a discharged member of the set of rechargeable batteries supported on the storage platform, autonomously couple to the battery operated device the at least one charged battery from the set of rechargeable batteries supported on the storage platform, autonomously decouple from the base station the charged rechargeable battery, and autonomously couple to the base station the discharged member of the set of rechargeable batteries supported on the storage platform, wherein the autonomous mobile robotic device is configured to travel between the battery operated device and the base station so that the battery exchange system can autonomously exchange the discharged rechargeable battery from the battery operated device with the at least one charged battery from the set of rechargeable batteries supported on the storage platform after the autonomous mobile robotic device travels to the battery operated device and autonomously exchange the charged rechargeable battery from the base station with the discharged member of the set of rechargeable batteries supported on the storage platform after the autonomous mobile robotic device travels to the base station.