Systems and methods for mail piece interception, rescue tracking, and confiscation alerts and related services

• US 10,181,110 B1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Auctane LLC (Stamps.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Stamps.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Atkinson, Charles John, Biswas, Michael John, Clem, John Roland
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Kevin H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zeroual, Omar
• Application Number:
  US13/828,800
• Time in Patent Office: 2,133 Days
• Field of Search: 705330
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention would project a route and a delivery schedule for relevant mail pieces and would monitor carrier-recorded tracking events for those mail pieces to determine whether or not actual tracking events are following the projected route and the projected schedule, and/or whether or not issues that might impact their delivery and/or their delivery schedule, may have arisen along their projected route; such exemplary embodiments would provide an alert to the relevant user(s) and/or other authorized parties and/or relevant carrier(s) and would facilitate user interaction by the relevant user(s) and/or parties to provide intercept and/or rescue and/or confiscation instructions; exemplary embodiments would facilitate automatic interfaces with the relevant carriers and delivery services for the subject mail piece to resolve rescue, item loss, insurance coverage, postage refund, intervention and/or confiscation instructions and issues.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing mail piece interception/rescue services for multiple carriers, the method being implemented by a vendor computer system associated with a vendor, the vendor computer system being external to a carrier computer system associated with a carrier and comprising one or more processors executing computer program instructions that, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

determining, by the vendor computer system, a projected route or delivery schedule for a mail piece, the mail piece to be sent using the carrier and a delivery service from an origin to a destination;

monitoring, by the vendor computer system, the carrier'"'"'s tracking events for the mail piece;

determining, by the vendor computer system, based on the monitoring, one or more variances of the carrier'"'"'s tracking events for the mail piece from the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece;

generating, by the vendor computer system, based on the one or more variances and the projected route or delivery schedule, a variance report message and provide the variance report message to a user, the variance report message comprising (i) indications of variances from the projected route or delivery schedule, (ii) identifying information for the mail piece and (iii) a hyperlink associated with the mail piece and with an interception/rescue service;

responsive to a user-activation of the variance report message'"'"'s hyperlink via a user device of the user, causing, by the vendor computer system, user interface input fields in the user device'"'"'s browser to become automatically pre-populated with the identifying information from the variance report message, the user interface input fields in the user device'"'"'s browser being automatically pre-populated for an interception/rescue request to be submitted from the user device'"'"'s browser; and

responsive to a submission of the interception/rescue request from the user device'"'"'s browser, using, by the vendor computer system, an application program interface of the carrier to file the interception/rescue request with the carrier computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a user-activation of a hyperlink associated with another mail piece via an other user device, causing, by the vendor computer system, user interface input fields in the other user device'"'"'s browser to become automatically pre-populated with identifying information for the other mail piece, the user interface input fields in the other user device'"'"'s browser being automatically pre-populated for another interception/rescue request to be submitted from the other user device'"'"'s browser; and

responsive to a submission of the other interception/rescue request from the other user device'"'"'s browser, using, by the vendor computer system, another carrier'"'"'s application program interface to file the other interception/rescue request with another carrier computer system associated with the other carrier.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the vendor computer system, a second projected route or delivery schedule for a second mail piece;

monitoring, by the vendor computer system, a second carrier'"'"'s tracking events for the second mail piece;

determining, by the vendor computer system, a predetermined time period for the second mail piece; and

initiating, by the vendor computer system, based on a lack of a tracking event occurring by an expiration of the predetermined time period, a second interception/rescue request for the second mail piece, the second interception/rescue request being filed with a second carrier computer system associated with the second carrier.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the predetermined time period comprises determining the predetermined time period for the second mail piece based on a delivery service of the second carrier used to send the second mail piece.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the projected route or delivery schedule comprises determining the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece based on the delivery service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the projected route or delivery schedule comprises determining the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece based on hubs and processing facilities of the carrier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the projected route or delivery schedule comprises determining the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece based on (i) rules of the carrier, (ii) weight or size of the mail piece, (iii) origin from which the mail piece is shipped, and (iv) shipping date of the mail piece.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the vendor is a postage indicia provider.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more variances comprise a lack of a tracking event occurring by an expiration of a predetermined time period for the mail piece.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more variances comprise a tracking event indicating the mail piece being located at a location not specified in the projected route or delivery schedule.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more variances comprise an indication of a delay in shipping or delivering the mail piece not specified in the projected route or delivery schedule.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more variances comprise an indication of weather conditions predicted to affect an actual route or delivery schedule for the mail piece.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more variances comprise an indication of transport conditions predicted to affect an actual route or delivery schedule for the mail piece.

14. A system for providing mail piece interception/rescue services for multiple carriers, the system comprising:

a vendor computer system associated with a vendor, the vendor computer system being external to a carrier computer system associated with a carrier and comprising one or more processors programmed with computer program instructions that, when executed, cause the vendor computer system to;

determine a projected route or delivery schedule for a mail piece, the mail piece to be sent using the carrier and a delivery service from an origin to a destination;

monitor tracking events for the mail piece, the tracking events being recorded by the carrier for the mail piece;

determine, based on the monitoring, one or more variances of the tracking events for the mail piece from the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece;

generate, based on the one or more variances and the projected route or delivery schedule, a variance report message and provide the variance report message to a user, the variance report message comprising (i) indications of variances from the projected route or delivery schedule, (ii) identifying information for the mail piece and (iii) a hyperlink associated with the mail piece and with an interception/rescue service;

responsive to a user-activation of the hyperlink in the variance report message via a user device of the user, cause user interface input fields of a browser of the user device to become automatically pre-populated with the identifying information from the variance report message, the user interface input fields in the browser of the user device being automatically pre-populated for a first request to be submitted from the browser of the user device, the first request being a request related to intercepting or rescuing the mail piece; and

responsive to a submission of the first request from the user device'"'"'s browser, use an application program interface of the carrier to file the first request with the carrier computer system.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the vendor computer system is caused to:

responsive to a user-activation of a hyperlink associated with another mail piece via an other user device, cause user interface input fields in a browser of the other user device to become automatically pre-populated with identifying information for the other mail piece, the user interface input fields in the browser of the other user device being automatically pre-populated for another request to be submitted from the browser of the other user device; and

responsive to a submission of the other interception/rescue request from the browser of the other user device, use an application program interface of another carrier to file the other request with another carrier computer system associated with the other carrier.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the vendor computer system is caused to:

determine a second projected route or delivery schedule for a second mail piece;

monitor second tracking events for the second mail piece, the second tracking events being recorded by a second carrier for the second mail piece;

determine a predetermined time period for the second mail piece; and

initiate, based on a lack of a tracking event occurring by an expiration of the predetermined time period, a second request for the second mail piece, the second request being a request related to intercepting or rescuing the second mail piece, the second request being filed with a second carrier computer system associated with the second carrier.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein determining the predetermined time period comprises determining the predetermined time period for the second mail piece based on a delivery service of the second carrier used to send the second mail piece.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein determining the projected route or delivery schedule comprises determining the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece based on the delivery service.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein determining the projected route or delivery schedule comprises determining the projected route or delivery schedule for the mail piece based on (i) rules of the carrier, (ii) hubs and processing facilities of the carrier, (iii) weight or size of the mail piece, (iv) origin from which the mail piece is shipped, and (v) shipping date of the mail piece.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the vendor is a postage indicia provider.