Package management system with accelerated delivery

• US 10,643,415 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2018
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Florence Corp. (Gibraltar Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Florence Corp. (Gibraltar Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Fee, Kevin A., Williams, Zachary A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, K.
• Application Number:
  US16/161,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20190114859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00912 for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/13 the containers being a postal pick-up locker

Abstract

The disclosure provides a system for delivering packages by a delivery person in a location with multiple recipients comprising a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space, a door, a locker identifier, and a locking portion associated with each door. A central control unit comprises a first input device configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened, a second input device adapted to read the package identifier and a locker identifier, and a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers. Upon delivery, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and at a location remote from the central control unit, the second input device reads a package and a locker identifier for a designated locker and transmits the package and locker information to the central control unit.

Claims

1. A system for delivering two or more packages during a single delivery event in a location with multiple recipients by a delivery person, with each package having a package identifier that includes recipient information, comprising,

a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space and a door that when opened allows access to the interior space and a locker identifier,

a locking portion associated with each door for allowing the door to open when in the unlocked state and remain closed when in the locked state,

a central control unit comprising a first input device adapted to verify the status of the delivery person and configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened during the delivery event, a second movable input device adapted to read the package identifiers and locker identifiers, and a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions of the designated lockers,

wherein upon authentication of the delivery person and identification of the number of designated lockers by the delivery person at the first input device, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and

wherein, at a location remote from the first input device, the delivery person uses the second input device to read the package identifier of a first package and a locker identifier for a designated locker and transmits the package and locker information to the central control unit,

and wherein, at a location remote from the first input device, the delivery person uses the second input device to read the package identifier of a second package and a locker identifier for the designated locker and transmits the package and locker information to the central control unit, and

the delivery person places the first and second packages in the interior space of the designated locker and closes the associated door.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of lockers comprises lockers of at least two different sizes and wherein the first input device allows the delivery person to also designate the size of lockers to open during the delivery event.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the second input device is a portable hand held bar code or RFID scanner.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the second input device is the delivery person'"'"'s portable hand held bar code or RFID scanner.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the central control unit also comprises an output device adapted to provide notification to a recipient of the delivery of the first and second packages.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the central control unit notifies the recipient of the number of packages received for that recipient during the delivery event and provides an authentication to the recipient to subsequently communicate to the controller to deactivate the locking portion of the designated locker in order to retrieve the packages.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the controller also comprises a recipient identification device that allows the recipient to retrieve the package when activated.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the first input device and the second input device comprise the same input device.

9. A system for delivering two or more packages during a single delivery event in a location with multiple recipients by a delivery person, with each package having a package identifier that includes recipient information, comprising,

a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space and a door that when opened allows access to the interior space,

a locking portion associated with each door for allowing the door to open when in the unlocked state and remain closed when in the locked state and adapted to receive instruction from a central control unit to change from the locked state to the unlocked state and send information to the central control unit when the door is manually closed and the lock is changed to the locked state,

a central control unit comprising a first input device adapted to verify the status of the delivery person and configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened during the delivery event, a second movable input device adapted to read the package identifiers, a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers, and an output device to provide notification to a recipient,

wherein upon authentication of the delivery person and identification of the number of designated lockers by the delivery person, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and

wherein, the delivery person uses the second input device at a location remote from the first input device to read a first package and places the first package addressed to a first recipient in the interior space of one opened locker and closes the associated door, and

wherein the delivery person uses the second input device at a location remote from the first input device to read a second package addressed to a second recipient and places the second package in the interior space of a second opened locker and closes the associated door, and

wherein the central control unit associates the first package, first locker and first recipient and the output device notifies the first recipient of the delivery of a package, and the central control unit associates the second package, second locker and second recipient and the output device notifies the second recipient of the delivery of a package.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the second input device is a portable hand held bar code or RFID scanner.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the second input device is the delivery person'"'"'s portable hand held bar code scanner.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the plurality of lockers comprises lockers of at least two different sizes and wherein the first input device allows the delivery person to also designate the size of lockers to open.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein two or more read packages are placed in one designated locker and the central control unit associates the two or more read packages placed in one locker with the locker and the recipient.

14. A system for delivering two or more packages to a single recipient in a location with multiple recipients by a delivery person during a multi-package delivery event, with each package having a package identifier that includes recipient information, comprising,

a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space and a door that when opened allows access to the interior space,

a locking portion associated with each door for allowing the door to open when deactivated and remain locked when the lock is activated by the door being manually closed,

a central control unit comprising a data base of recipients, a first input device adapted to verify the status of the delivery person and configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened during the delivery event, a second input device adapted to read the package identifier with recipient information for a first recipient, a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers and store information of when a locker door is closed and the lock is activated, and an output device to provide notification to the recipient,

wherein upon authentication of the delivery person and identification of the number of designated lockers by the delivery person, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and

wherein, the second input device reads the package identifier of a first package with recipient information for the first recipient, and the delivery person places the first read package in the interior space of a first locker, and

wherein, the second input device reads the package identifier of a second package with recipient information for the first recipient, and the delivery person places the second read package in the interior space of the first locker and closes the associated door thus activating the lock, and

wherein the controller advises the central control unit that the door is closed, and the central control unit associates the packages for the first recipient and the first locker, and

wherein the output device notifies the first recipient of the delivery of the correct number of packages in the first locker.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the first and second input devices are the same device.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the delivery person identifies a second recipient, and

wherein, the second input device reads the package identifier of a third package with recipient information for the second recipient, and the delivery person places the third read package in the interior space of a second locker, and

wherein, the second input device reads the package identifier of a fourth package with recipient information for the second recipient, and the delivery person places the fourth read package in the interior space of the second locker, and

wherein the controller advises the central control unit that the door is closed, and the central control unit associates the packages for the second recipient and the second locker, and

wherein the output device notifies the second recipient of the delivery of the correct number of packages in the locker.