Search

EP-4742202-A2 - KIOSK FOR EVALUATING AND PURCHASING USED ELECTRONIC DEVICES

EP4742202A2EP 4742202 A2EP4742202 A2EP 4742202A2EP-4742202-A2

Abstract

Consumer operated kiosks for recycling electronic devices are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the kiosk includes a rotatable inspection plate configured to receive an electronic device when the inspection plate is in a first position. The kiosk can include a camera having a field of view including at least a portion of the inspection plate. The kiosk can include a wired and/or wireless connectivity device configured to connect to the electronic device and one or more processors configured to: receive characteristic information about the electronic device via the wired and/or wireless connectivity device; cause the inspection plate to rotate to a second position; receive one or more images of the electronic device via the camera when the inspection plate is in the second position; and facilitate determination of an offer price for the electronic device based at least in part on the characteristic information and the one or more images.

Inventors

  • FORUTANPOUR, BABAK
  • PLOETNER, Jeffrey
  • O'NEIL, ROBERT
  • VESCO, NEIL

Assignees

  • ecoATM, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20200211

Claims (15)

  1. A kiosk (10) configured to evaluate an electronic device (54) received from a user, the kiosk (10) comprising: a housing (12); and a device evaluation system (34) positioned within the housing (12), the device evaluation system (34) comprising- a moveable evaluation subassembly (80) configured to rotate between a home position and an evaluation position, the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) comprising- a base plate (84), an inspection plate (100) coupled to the base plate (84) and configured to receive the electronic device (54) from the user and support the electronic device (54) for evaluation, and a first camera (122) coupled to the base plate (84) and having a first field of view that includes at least a portion of the inspection plate (100), a drive assembly (64) operably coupled to the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) and configured to rotate the moveable evaluation subassembly; and a second camera (60) having a second field of view that includes at least a portion of the inspection plate (100) when the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the evaluation position; wherein the kiosk (10) is configured to receive the electronic device (54) while the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the home position such that the electronic device (54) rotates with the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) into the evaluation position to facilitate a visual evaluation of the electronic device (54) via the first camera (122) and/or the second camera (60).
  2. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the inspection plate (100) is mounted to the base plate (84).
  3. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the inspection plate (100) and the base plate (84) are formed together as a single piece of transparent material.
  4. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) further includes a dome (120) coupled to the base plate (84), and wherein the first camera (122) is mounted to the dome (120).
  5. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the device evaluation system (34) further includes an upper housing (40) and a lower housing (42) and wherein the base plate (84) is rotatably connected to the upper housing (40) and/or to the lower housing (42).
  6. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the drive assembly (64) includes: a tilt motor (90), a first pulley (92) operably coupled to the tilt motor (90), a second pulley (96) coupled to the base plate (84), and a drive belt (94) drivably coupling the second pulley (96) to the first pulley (92) such that actuating the tilt motor (90) to rotate the first pulley (92) drives rotation of the second pulley (96) via the drive belt (94) and thereby rotates the base plate (84).
  7. The kiosk (10) of claim 1, further comprising a connector carrier (85), wherein the connector carrier (85) is rotatably mounted to the base plate (84) and includes a plurality of connectors (114), wherein at least one of the plurality of connectors (114) is configured to connect to the electronic device (54) to facilitate an electrical inspection of the electronic device (54).
  8. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the base plate (84) is positioned at an angle relative to horizontal when the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the home position and wherein the base plate (84) is positioned substantially horizontally when the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the evaluation position.
  9. The kiosk (10) of claim 1, further comprising a bin positioned within the housing (12), wherein the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is further configured to rotate into a binning position to cause the electronic device to move off the inspection plate (100) and into the bin.
  10. The kiosk (10) of claim 9 wherein the base plate (84) is angled upwardly relative to horizontal when the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the home position and wherein the base plate (84) is angled downwardly relative to horizontal when the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the binning position.
  11. The kiosk (10) of claim 1 wherein the electronic device (54) is a mobile phone.
  12. A method for evaluating the electronic device (54) via the kiosk (10) of any of claims 1-11, the method comprising: receiving the electronic device (54) on the inspection plate (100) while the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the home position; rotating the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) from the home position into the evaluation position; and while the moveable evaluation subassembly (80) is in the evaluation position, visually evaluating the electronic device (54) via the first camera (122) and/or the second camera (60).
  13. The method of claim 12, further comprising offering to purchase the electronic device (54) for a price based at least partially on the visual evaluation.
  14. The method of claim 12, further comprising obtaining, via the first camera (122), an image of the user through the inspection plate (100).
  15. The method of claim 12 wherein the kiosk (10) includes the connector carrier (85) and wherein the method further comprises electrically evaluating the electronic device (54) via the at least one of the plurality of connectors (114).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/807,153, titled KIOSK FOR EVALUATING AND PURCHASING USED ELECTRONIC DEVICES, which was filed on February 18, 2019, and to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/804,714, titled CONNECTOR CARRIER FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICE KIOSK, which was filed on February 12, 2019, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present disclosure. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is generally related to consumer operated kiosks for buying mobile phones and other electronic devices from users. BACKGROUND There are more mobile phones in use now than there are people on the planet. The rapid growth of mobile phones is due in part on the rapid pace at which these devices evolve. Because of the rapid pace of development, a relatively high percentage of mobile phones are replaced every year as consumers continually upgrade to obtain the latest features or a better operating plan. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. alone disposes of over 370 million mobile phones, PDAs, tablets, and other electronic devices every year. Millions of other outdated or broken mobile phones are simply tossed into junk drawers or otherwise kept until a suitable disposal solution arises. Although many mobile phone retailers and cell carrier stores now offer mobile phone trade-in or buyback programs, many old phones still end up in landfills or are improperly disassembled and disposed of in developing countries. Unfortunately, however, mobile phones and similar devices typically contain substances that can be harmful to the environment, such as arsenic, lithium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury and zinc. If not properly disposed of, these toxic substances can seep into groundwater from decomposing landfills and contaminate the soil with potentiality harmful consequences for humans and the environment. As an alternative to retailer trade-in or buyback programs, consumers can recycle and/or sell their used mobile phones using self-service kiosks located in malls, retail stores, or other publicly accessible areas. Such kiosks are operated by ecoATM, LLC, the assignee of the present application, and aspects of these kiosks are described in, for example: U.S. Patent Nos. U.S. Patent Nos. 7,881,965, 8,195,511, 8,200,533, 8,239,262, 8,423,404 and 8,463,646; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 62/169,072, 62/202,330, 62/332,736 62/782,302 and 62/782,947; and U.S. Patent Application Nos. 14/498,763, 14/500,739, 14/506,449, 14/568,051, 14/598,469, 14/660,768, 14/663,331, 14/873,145, 14/873,158, 14/925,357, 14/925,375, 14/934,134, 14/964,963, 14/967,183, 14/966,346, 15/057,707, 15/130,851, 15/176,975 and 16/719,699, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is front, top, right isometric view of an electronic device recycling kiosk configured in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.Figure 2 is a front, top, left isometric view of the kiosk of Figure 1.Figure 3 is a back, top, left isometric view of the kiosk of Figure 1.Figure 4 is a bottom, front, right isometric view of the kiosk of Figure 1.Figure 5 is a front, top, right isometric view of the kiosk of Figure 1 with a front door and associated hardware omitted for purposes of better illustrating internal components and systems of the kiosk.Figure 6 is a front schematic view of an electronic device recycling kiosk configured in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.Figure 7A is a front, top, right isometric view of an electronic device evaluation system (DES) of the electronic device recycling kiosk of Figures 1-5 configured in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.Figure 7B is a front view of the DES of Figure 7A.Figure 7C is a right side view of the DES of Figure 7A.Figure 7D is a back view of the DES of Figure 7A.Figure 7E is a left side view of the DES of Figure 7A.Figure 7F is a top plan view of the DES of Figure 7A.Figure 7G is a bottom plan view of the DES of Figure 7A.Figure 8 is a back, top, right isometric view of the DES of Figure 7A with portions of the lower housing removed for purposes of illustration.Figure 9 is a front, top, right isometric view of the DES of Figure 7A with the upper and lower housings removed for purposes of illustration.Figure 10A is a cross-sectional side view of the DES of Figure 7A taken along cut-plane A-A of Figure 7B, in which a tilting assembly is in a home position and an access door is opened.Figure 10B is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of the tilting assembly of Figure 7A taken along cut-plane A-A of Figure 7B, in which the tilting assembly is in the home position and the access door is opened.Figure 11A is a cross-sectional side view of the DES of Figure 7A taken along cut-plane A-A of Figure 7B, in which the tilting assembly is in the home p