Secure collection and delivery system
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for the collection and delivery of goods, particularly to and from automated delivery and collection points or lockerbanks, uses the customer'"'"'s telephone number or email address as an identifier for each delivered item. Each customer'"'"'s preferred delivery address is stored on a database and accessed by means of the identifier. When ordering goods, the customer gives his telephone number or email address to an etailer who marks this on the package as the sole means of addressing the package. The identifier may also be used by the delivery person or the customer to access the automated delivery facility. Optionally the delivery person must also enter a code identifying himself, and the customer must also enter a security PIN number when collecting his goods. Alternatively a one-time collection code is generated for each delivery and communicated to the customer, who enters it together with his identifier when collecting the delivered item. Alternatively the customer enters the recipient'"'"'s identifier into a lockerbank together with a package, and the lockerbank communicates the identifier automatically to the delivery organisation to initiate collection and delivery of the package. The system offers increased convenience for customers ordering goods or services over the telephone or internet.
96 Citations
13 Claims
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1-10. -10. Canceled.
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11. A system for the collection and/or delivery of at least one item from a collection address to a delivery address, by a delivery organization serving a plurality of customers,
the delivery organization including a database containing a plurality of said addresses; -
characterized in that the database further includes a plurality of identifiers, each identifier being a telephone number or email address associated with a customer and with at least one said collection or delivery address, and further characterized in that the item is identified by an identifier, and the collection or delivery address for that item is retrieved from the database by means of the said identifier.
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12. A system for the collection and/or delivery of at least one item from/to at least one automated delivery facility,
the system including a delivery organization serving a plurality of customers; -
the automated delivery facility including at least one secure enclosure, locking means for regulating access to the enclosure, and security code input means for controlling the locking means;
characterized in that there is provided a database containing a plurality of identifiers, each identifier being a telephone number or email address associated with a customer;
and the locking means unlocks the enclosure when at least a first said identifier is entered into the security code input means.
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13. A system for the delivery of at least one item from an automated delivery facility to a delivery address, by a delivery organization serving a plurality of customers,
the delivery organization including a database containing a plurality of delivery addresses, the automated delivery facility including at least one secure enclosure; -
characterized in that the database further includes a plurality of identifiers, each identifier being associated with a customer and with at least one delivery address, and the automated delivery facility includes identifier input means and identifier communication means;
and further characterized in that, when the item is placed in the enclosure and the said identifier is entered into the identifier input means, the communication means associates the identifier with the item placed in the enclosure, and communicates the identifier to the delivery organization so as to initiate the collection of the item from the enclosure by the delivery organization;
and the delivery address for that item is then retrieved from the database by means of the said identifier entered into the identifier input means.
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Specification