Shared Rental Account Profile Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inventory rental models require customers to decide on items and rental periods simultaneously, lack flexibility, and are inconvenient, especially for multi-person households where parental controls and personalized recommendations are limited, and individual accounts lead to barriers in service provider loyalty.
Innovation Solution
A system allowing customers to separate the decision of what items to rent from when to rent them, using 'Max Out' and 'Max Turns' approaches for continuous rental with flexible delivery criteria, and enabling shared rental accounts with personalized controls and recommendations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional rental models require customers to decide on items and rental periods simultaneously, then the rental process is simple to operate, but the flexibility and convenience for customers are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the rental process into two independent decisions: (1) selecting items to rent, and (2) determining rental timing and duration. This allows customers to choose items first and then decide on rental periods separately, enhancing flexibility without significantly complicating the operational process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic rental periods that can be adjusted based on customer needs and item availability. Rental durations are not fixed in advance but can be modified, allowing the system to adapt to changing customer requirements while maintaining operational efficiency through automated management.
2Adaptability or versatility
If individual accounts are required for each person in a multi-person household, then each person can have personalized control, but barriers to service provider loyalty increase and parental controls are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual profiles into a single shared household account. This allows different family members to maintain personalized preferences and rental histories while benefiting from collective account management, reducing barriers to loyalty by keeping the household together as a unified customer entity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local quality by allowing different levels of access and control within the shared account. Parental controls can be applied specifically to certain profiles or item categories, enabling personalized restrictions for children while maintaining full access for adults, thus providing targeted parental control within the unified account structure.
3Productivity
If fixed due dates are used in conventional rental models, then inventory management is simplified, but customer convenience is reduced especially for new release movies
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces fixed due dates with dynamic rental periods that adapt to customer needs and item characteristics. For new release movies, longer rental periods can be automatically granted, while for other items, standard periods apply. This dynamic approach maintains inventory management efficiency through automated tracking while significantly improving customer convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of rental duration from a fixed value to a variable that can be adjusted based on item type, customer history, and current availability. This allows the system to optimize rental periods for different scenarios (e.g., longer periods for new releases, shorter for popular items) while maintaining efficient inventory turnover through automated parameter adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
An account in an item rental service is shared with others using computer-implemented profiles, subject to computer-enforced constraints. In one embodiment, a method provides for establishing a user account, wherein the user account is associated with an account owner, wherein the user account comprises a first ordered queue indicating two or more items that the account owner desires to rent; receiving a request to add a second ordered queue to the user account, profile member identifying information, and a constraint value; creating and storing a profile record based on the profile member identifying information and the constraint value, wherein the profile record is further associated with a second queue; receiving a request to add a specified rental item to the second queue, wherein the specified rental item does not conform to the constraint value; and adding the specified rental item to the second queue only in response to receiving confirmation by the account owner.