Reusable Container Use Incentivizing

US 11,615,436 and US 12,045,849, assigned to Hal P, relate to consumer – other technology, and are available for sale through IPApproach.

US Patents

2 granted

Assignee

Hal P

Availability

For Sale

Patents Included

• US 11,615,436↗
• US 12,045,849↗

Technology Highlights

• The invention maintains time saving and efficiency benefits that accrue when remotely placed orders are fulfilled prior to a customer arriving at a merchant location, when those orders involve reusable containers.
• The invention displays fulfillment options for specific items offered by a merchant to a customer placing a remote order, when those options are available.
• The invention verifies the number of reusable containers a customer has in their possession during the remote ordering process and indicates that number to the merchant.
• The invention provides a software application that runs on the customer's computing device (e.g., smartphone) and allows the customer to scan or read identifying information on reusable containers.
• The invention provides verification that reusable containers in the customer's possession at the time of order placement are acceptable to the merchant.
• The invention attributes benefits to a loyalty program that are associated with use of reusable containers in transactions.
• The invention enables efficient use of reusable containers when remote orders are fulfilled by a merchant and delivered to customer locations by a delivery provider.
• The invention enables the merchant or delivery provider to receive the verified number of reusable containers back from the customer, when the customer receives their fulfilled order.
• The invention manages the process of swapping of reusable containers as part of a remote transaction.
• The invention provides reusable containers and tracking systems that monitor container usage to align with merchant operations.
• The invention enables assigning a unique identity code associated with a specific reusable container to a customer.
• The invention enables the reprocessing of reusable containers so they can be reused to fulfill new customer orders.

Overview

IP Approach is pleased to exclusively present the patent family for license or sale: "Reusable Container Use Incentivizing", which includes U.S. Granted Patents US 11,615,436 B2 and US 12,045,849 B2 assigned to Hal P. Greenberger. This intellectual property covers innovative methods designed to address obstacles and facilitate the broader adoption of reusable containers in remote purchase transactions.

Although the environmental advantages of reusable packaging are well-established, widespread implementation remains limited, particularly for food and beverage orders placed remotely that are intended for off-premises consumption. At present, merchants must wait for customers to arrive with their own "clean" reusable containers before fulfilling an order, and/or merchants must also clean the customer's container prior to fulfilling their order, which introduces additional delays. Consequently, remote transactions using reusable containers do not allow customers to simply collect their orders and depart, limiting the practicality of reusables in such scenarios.

The invention effectively addresses these obstacles by streamlining and controlling the exchange of reusable containers, and by offering incentives to encourage their use. The invention ensures that users achieve similar time efficiencies when reusable containers are utilized in remote purchase transactions as they obtain when their remote orders are fulfilled using conventional single-use packaging. In particular, the patented invention maintains time savings, controls cost and provides incentives for use of reusable containers – such as beverage cups, bottles, bags, boxes, and similar items – ­­ in remote transactions.

The technology disclosed provides the following advantages:

Listing updated August 21, 2026

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