Systems and methods for vending and/or purchasing mobile phones and other electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12597004-B2
Application number	US-202418639420-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2024
Priority date	Dec 19, 2018
Publication date	Apr 7, 2026
Grant date	Apr 7, 2026

Abstract

Kiosk systems and methods for vending mobile phones and other electronic devices to, and/or for purchasing mobile phones and other electronic devices from, consumers are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, such systems can include subsystems for transferring data from, e.g., a purchased phone to a vended phone.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A method comprising:
providing a kiosk, wherein the kiosk includes
a user interface;
an inspection area configured to receive a first electronic device from a user;
at least one vending unit containing one or more second electronic devices;
an outlet portion configured to receive the one or more second electronic devices from the vending unit; and
a data transfer compartment separate from the inspection area and the outlet portion;
receiving a selection of one of the one or more second electronic devices from the user via the user interface; at least partially in response to receiving the selection, dispensing the selected second electronic device from the vending unit and to the user via the outlet portion; receiving at least the selected second electronic device in the data transfer compartment; transferring data from the first electronic device to the selected second electronic device while the selected second electronic device is positioned in the data transfer compartment; receiving the first electronic device in the inspection area; inspecting the first electronic device while the first electronic device is positioned in the inspection area; and facilitating a purchase of the first electronic device from the user based at least in part on the inspection.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein inspecting the first electronic device while the first electronic device is positioned in the inspection area occurs before transferring data from the first electronic device to the selected second electronic device.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the kiosk further includes a wired and/or wireless connectivity device operably associated with the inspection area and configured to connect to the first electronic device, and wherein inspecting the first electronic device while the first electronic device is positioned in the inspection area includes receiving characteristic information about the first electronic device via the wired and/or wireless connectivity device.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein receiving characteristic information about the first electronic device includes receiving at least one of an identifier, a make, or a model of the first electronic device.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the kiosk further includes a wired and/or wireless connectivity device operably associated with the inspection area and configured to connect to the first electronic device, and wherein the method further comprises transferring data from the first electronic device to a remote database via the wired and/or wireless connectivity device while the first electronic device is positioned in the inspection area.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the vending unit includes a wired connector operably connected to the selected second electronic device while the selected second electronic device is contained in the vending unit, and wherein the method further comprises providing power to the selected second electronic device via the wired connector prior to dispensing the selected second electronic device to the user.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the vending unit includes a wired connector operably connected to the selected second electronic device while the selected second electronic device is contained in the vending unit, and wherein the method further comprises transferring data to the selected second electronic device via the wired connector prior to dispensing the selected second electronic device to the user.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the vending unit includes a wired connector operably connected to the selected second electronic device while the selected second electronic device is contained in the vending unit, and wherein the method further comprises transferring an application program to the selected second electronic device via the wired connector prior to dispensing the selected second electronic device to the user.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the vending unit includes a wired connector operably connected to the selected second electronic device while the selected second electronic device is contained in the vending unit, and wherein the method further comprises automatically disconnecting the wired connector from the selected electronic device before dispensing the selected second electronic device to the user via the outlet portion.

10 . The method of claim 1 wherein facilitating a purchase of the first electronic device includes:
determining a price for the first electronic device based at least in part on the inspection of the first electronic device;
presenting, to the user, an offer to purchase the first electronic device for the price;
receiving an acceptance of the offer from the user;
retaining the first electronic device in response to receiving the acceptance; and
providing payment of the price to the user in exchange for the first electronic device.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
presenting, to the user, a price to purchase the selected second electronic device from the kiosk; and confirming receipt of payment of the price from the user to purchase the selected second electronic device, wherein dispensing the selected second electronic device to the user includes dispensing the selected second electronic device at least partially in response to confirming receipt of the payment.

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the data transfer compartment includes a wired connector configured to connect to the selected second electronic device, and wherein transferring data from the first electronic device to the selected second electronic device includes transferring at least a portion of the data via the wired connector.

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein the data transfer compartment includes a first wired connector configured to connect to the first electronic device and a second wired connector configured to connect to the selected second electronic device, wherein receiving at least the selected second electronic device in the data transfer compartment includes receiving the selected second electronic device and the first electronic device in the data transfer compartment, and wherein transferring data from the first electronic device to the selected second electronic device includes transferring at least a portion of the data via the first and second wired connectors.

14 . The method of claim 1 wherein transferring data from the first electronic device to the selected second electronic device includes wirelessly transferring at least a portion of the data.

15 . The method of claim 1 wherein the kiosk further includes a data transfer apparatus, and wherein the data transfer apparatus includes a first wireless connection configured to connect to the first electronic device and a second wireless connection configured to connect to the selected second electronic device, and wherein transferring data from the first electronic device to the selected second electronic device includes transferring at least a portion of the data via the first and second wireless connections.

16 . The method of claim 1 wherein the kiosk further includes one or more cameras operably associated with the inspection area, wherein inspecting the first electronic device while the first electronic device is positioned in the inspection area includes visually inspecting the first electronic device via the one or more cameras, and wherein the method further comprises determining a price for the first electronic device based at least in part on the visual inspection.

17 . The method of claim 16 wherein v

Assignees

• Ecoatm Llc

Inventors

• Forutanpour Babak
• Enriquez Joemari
• Ploetner Jeffrey
• Mersten David

Classifications

• H04M15/715

  Activating new subscriber or card · CPC title

• G07F17/0042

  for hiring of objects · CPC title

• G06Q20/322

  Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices] · CPC title

• G06Q20/18 Primary

  involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals · CPC title

• G07F7/06 Primary

  by returnable containers {, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value}, e.g. bottles · CPC title