System, apparatus, and method of handling, storing and managing garments

Abstract

According to a further exemplary embodiment, a wardrobe may be provided. The wardrobe may include a receiving element located in a housing that may be configured to receive and dispense clothing items. Each clothing item may include a unique RFID tag and a number of RFID readers may be connected to a computing means configured to obtain information held in each RFID tag. The wardrobe may further include a linear actuator proximate a top surface of the housing, the linear actuator may be controlled by the computing means. The linear actuator may be coupled to a gripper assembly on one end. Additionally, the wardrobe may include a number of hangers that may be disposed on one or more inner surfaces of the housing, each hanger may be configured to store one or more of the clothing items. A display screen may be embedded on the outer surface of the housing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A control system for an automated wardrobe, comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable memory, the memory comprising a database, the database comprising at least one of a central database, a cloud database, a mobile database maintained on the computing device of the user, and a wardrobe database maintained on the automated wardrobe, the memory further configured to store instructions that, when executed by the control system, cause the control system to perform the steps of:
 adding at least one apparel item, and details about the apparel item, into the memory;   maintaining, in the memory, an item inventory, the item inventory comprising a list of all apparel items physically stored in the automated wardrobe;   searching and selecting at least one apparel item from the item inventory, and designating the at least one apparel item as an apparel item to be dispensed by the automated wardrobe; and   dispensing, from the automated wardrobe, the selected apparel item.   
     
     
         2 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is further configured to perform the steps of:
 selecting, from the item inventory, at least one apparel item, and scheduling the at least one apparel item to be dispensed at a future date and time;   maintaining, in the memory, a dispensation schedule of the automated wardrobe, the dispensation schedule comprising a list of apparel items to be dispensed and a list of scheduled times for the apparel items to be dispensed;   dispensing, from the automated wardrobe, an apparel item scheduled to be dispensed at the scheduled time.   
     
     
         3 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is further configured to perform the step of:
 maintaining, in the memory, a history of clothing item use, the history of clothing item use comprising at least one of: a list of dispensed apparel, a list of loaded apparel, a list of new apparel items added, and a list of dates and times that apparel items were dispensed from or added to the wardrobe inventory.   
     
     
         4 . The control system of  claim 3 , wherein the control system is further configured to perform the step of:
 generating at least one report, the report comprising one or more statistics characterizing the list of apparel items stored in the automated wardrobe; and   displaying the at least one report to the user.   
     
     
         5 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to perform the step of:
 creating and storing, in the memory, a user account, and assigning the user account to the automated wardrobe.   
     
     
         6 . The control system of  claim 5 , wherein the control system is configured to perform the step of:
 sharing, with the user account, on a social media application, one or more apparel items in the item inventory.   
     
     
         7 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to perform the step of:
 collecting and storing data generated by at least one automated wardrobe, the data comprising clothing usage data.   
     
     
         8 . The control system of  claim 7 , wherein the control system is configured to perform the step of:
 analyzing the data collected from the at least one automated wardrobe; and   based on the analysis of the data collected from the at least one automated wardrobe, performing at least one of: providing a fashion recommendation; executing an e-commerce function; generating a clothing usage report; providing a forecast, advertisement, partnership recommendation, or promotional synergy recommendation; or providing an instruction to an external system to complete a fashion recommendation, e-commerce function, clothing usage report, forecast, advertisement, partnership recommendation, or promotional synergy recommendation.   
     
     
         9 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to perform the steps of:
 generating location data of the automated wardrobe, the step of generating location data of the automated wardrobe comprising performing at least one of geo-location of the automated wardrobe and geo-fencing of the automated wardrobe;   performing a location-based service based on the location data of the automated wardrobe.   
     
     
         10 . The control system of  claim 9 , wherein the control system is further configured to perform the steps of:
 geo-fencing a plurality of automated wardrobes using the location data of the automated wardrobe;   analyzing the collective data generated by the geo-fenced wardrobes;   based on the analysis of the data collected from the at least one automated wardrobe, performing at least one of: providing a fashion recommendation; executing an e-commerce function; generating a clothing usage report; providing a forecast, advertisement, partnership recommendation, or promotional synergy recommendation; or providing an instruction to an external system to complete a fashion recommendation, e-commerce function, clothing usage report, forecast, advertisement, partnership recommendation, or promotional synergy recommendation.   
     
     
         11 . The control system of  claim 9 , wherein the control system is further configured to perform the steps of:
 mining the location data of the automated wardrobe, and further mining historical dispensation and inventory data of the automated wardrobe;   generating, based on the location data and the historical data, at least one of a fashion recommendation, a fact-based forecast, a clothing usage report, a targeted advertisement, a partnership, a promotional synergy, a profile of a user, or an apparel e-commerce site.   
     
     
         12 . A method of operating a control system of an automated wardrobe, the control system including a processor and a memory, the memory comprising a database, the database comprising at least one of a central database, a cloud database, a mobile database, and a wardrobe database, the method comprising:
 accessing, with a graphical user interface, the memory of the control system, and creating at least one user account stored in the memory;   assigning, with the graphical user interface, the at least one user account to the automated wardrobe;   modifying, with the graphical user interface, a list of apparel items in the memory, the modification to the list of apparel items comprising at least one of adding an apparel item or adding a detail of an apparel item;   modifying, with the graphical user interface, a dispensation of an apparel item from the automated wardrobe, the modification to the dispensation schedule comprising an addition, edit, or deletion of an apparel item to be dispensed; and   dispensing, from the automated wardrobe, the apparel item.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of modifying the dispensation of the apparel item from the automated wardrobe comprises modifying a dispensation schedule of the automated wardrobe, the modification to the dispensation schedule comprising an addition, edit, or deletion of an apparel item to be dispensed and an addition, edit, or deletion of a scheduled time for the apparel item to be dispensed; and
 dispensing, from the automated wardrobe, the apparel item to be dispensed, at the scheduled time.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the memory comprises a database, and wherein the database is at least one of a central database, a cloud database, and a mobile database; and wherein the automated wardrobe further comprises a wardrobe database and is configured to maintain a current apparel inventory and history of clothing item use on the wardrobe database, and maintain the database of the memory based on the wardrobe database, the step of maintaining the database of the memory comprising uploading data stored by the wardrobe database to the database of the memory. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the memory further comprises a history of clothing item use comprising at least one of: a list of dispensed apparel items, a list of loaded apparel items, a list of new apparel items, and a list of dates and times that apparel items were dispensed from or added to the memory; and
 wherein the control system is configured to update the history of clothing item use when an apparel item is dispensed from the automated wardrobe.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 generating at least one report, for a user to view statistics related to the clothing items, the report comprising one or more statistics characterizing the list of apparel items stored in the automated wardrobe; and   displaying the at least one report to the user.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 generating location data of the automated wardrobe, the step of generating location data of the automated wardrobe comprising performing at least one of geo-location of the automated wardrobe and geo-fencing of the automated wardrobe;   performing a location-based service based on the location data of the automated wardrobe.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the step of performing the location-based service comprises generating, and displaying on the automated wardrobe, at least one of: a fashion recommendation, a fact-based recommendation, a community recommendation, a recommendation from a brand owner, a recommendation from a retailer, a targeted advertisement, or an apparel e-commerce site. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 mining the location data of the automated wardrobe, and further mining historical dispensation data of the automated wardrobe;   generating, based on the location data and the historical dispensation data, at least one of a fashion recommendation, a fact-based forecast, a clothing usage report, a targeted advertisement, a partnership recommendation, a promotional synergy recommendation, a profile of a user, or an apparel e-commerce site.   
     
     
         20 . An automated wardrobe, the automated wardrobe comprising a control system, the control system comprising a processor and configured to store and retrieve data from a non-transitory computer-readable memory, the memory comprising a database, the database comprising at least one of a central database, a cloud database, a mobile database maintained on the computing device of the user, and a wardrobe database maintained on the automated wardrobe, the memory further configured to store instructions that, when executed by the control system, cause the automated wardrobe to perform the steps of:
 receiving at least one apparel item into the automated wardrobe, and adding the at least one apparel item, and details about the at least one apparel item, into the memory;   maintaining, in the memory, an item inventory, the item inventory comprising a list of all apparel items physically stored in the automated wardrobe;   searching and selecting at least one apparel item from the item inventory, and designating the at least one apparel item as an apparel item to be dispensed by the automated wardrobe; and   dispensing, from the automated wardrobe, the selected apparel item.