System and method of delivering groceries purchased over the internet
First Claim
1. A system for distributing delivery items comprising:
- a tote in which a delivery item is placed, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination;
a movable rack for receiving the tote loaded with the delivery item, said movable rack being capable of holding a plurality of totes and of being moved about within a warehouse;
a first vehicle for receiving the movable rack, wherein the movable rack holding the tote may be secured within the first vehicle, and wherein said first vehicle is dispatched from the warehouse to a transfer point;
a second vehicle for receiving the tote from the first vehicle at the transfer point, wherein said second vehicle is dispatched from the transfer point to the delivery destination;
a box at the delivery destination; and
a secure expandable bag attached to the box for receiving the tote from the second vehicle, wherein said bag can expand to hold the tote, and wherein said bag comprises;
a first opening;
a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;
a second opening; and
a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Delivery items ordered over the Internet by a particular time in the early evening may be delivered by the next morning to a location within a 5-6 hour delivery radius of a warehouse, according to one specific aspect of the present invention. The order for the delivery items is filled at the warehouse, where the items are placed in a tote for delivery. The filled tote is placed on a movable rack, with shelves that are pitched such that when a tote is removed, another tote falls into the space previously occupied by the first tote. Racks holding the totes are transferred to a first vehicle, typically a large trailer, that transports the racks to a transfer point where one or more racks are transferred to a second smaller vehicle, such as a van. The van delivers the totes to customers along a pre-established route. Upon reaching a delivery destination, the driver removes the appropriate tote and secures it in a locked expandable bag, such as a mesh net or insulated bag, that may be locked in two places and that is itself secured to a delivery box, which is secured outside the delivery destination. Later, the customer can remove the tote from the bag, and removes the delivery items from the tote.
39 Citations
65 Claims
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1. A system for distributing delivery items comprising:
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a tote in which a delivery item is placed, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination;
a movable rack for receiving the tote loaded with the delivery item, said movable rack being capable of holding a plurality of totes and of being moved about within a warehouse;
a first vehicle for receiving the movable rack, wherein the movable rack holding the tote may be secured within the first vehicle, and wherein said first vehicle is dispatched from the warehouse to a transfer point;
a second vehicle for receiving the tote from the first vehicle at the transfer point, wherein said second vehicle is dispatched from the transfer point to the delivery destination;
a box at the delivery destination; and
a secure expandable bag attached to the box for receiving the tote from the second vehicle, wherein said bag can expand to hold the tote, and wherein said bag comprises;
a first opening;
a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;
a second opening; and
a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A box for receiving a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising:
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an interior; and
a secure expandable bag attached to the box for receiving a tote containing the delivery item, wherein said bag can expand to hold the tote, wherein said bag may be stored within said interior of the box in its collapsed state, and wherein said bag comprises;
a first opening;
a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;
a second opening; and
a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening.
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15. A bag for receiving a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising:
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a first opening;
a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;
a second opening; and
a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening;
wherein the bag is securely attached to a box at the delivery destination; and
wherein the bag is expandable such that it can expand to hold the tote, and it can collapse to be stored within the box. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A bag for receiving a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising:
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an interior for holding the tote, wherein the bag is expandable such that it can contain the tote;
an opening to said interior; and
a two-way zipper across the opening for opening and closing the opening, the zipper having first and second ends, and first and second sliding pieces that close the zipper when fully extended apart from one another;
wherein a first lock locks the first sliding piece to a first position on the bag;
wherein a second lock locks the second sliding piece independently of the first sliding piece to a second position on the bag different from the first position on the bag;
wherein the first lock is unlocked in order to place the tote through the opening into the interior of the bag and is locked in order to secure the tote within the bag; and
wherein the second lock is unlocked in order to retrieve the tote from the interior of the bag. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A system for distributing delivery items comprising:
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a tote in which a delivery item is placed, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination;
a movable rack for receiving the tote loaded with the delivery item, said movable rack being capable of holding a plurality of totes;
a vehicle for receiving the movable rack, wherein the movable rack holding the tote may be secured within the vehicle, and wherein said vehicle delivers said tote at least partway to the delivery destination; and
a receptacle secured at the delivery destination for receiving and containing the tote, said receptacle comprising;
a first lock which is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the receptacle, wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the receptacle; and
a second lock which is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote in the receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A receptacle for receiving and containing a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising:
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an interior for holding the tote; and
at least one sealable opening to said interior;
wherein a first lock can be used to seal the at least one opening;
wherein the first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening upon delivery, and the first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the receptacle;
wherein a second lock can be used to seal the at least one opening; and
wherein the second lock is unlocked in order that the tote be retrieved from the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A box for receiving a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising:
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an interior; and
a receptacle securely attached to the box for receiving and containing the tote containing the delivery item, wherein said receptacle comprises;
at least one sealable opening to an inside of the receptacle;
wherein a first lock can be used to seal the at least one opening;
wherein the first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening upon delivery, and the first lock is locked in order to secure the tote inside the receptacle;
wherein a second lock can be used to seal the at least one opening; and
wherein the second lock is unlocked in order that the tote be retrieved from the inside of the receptacle through the at least one opening;
wherein said receptacle may be stored within said interior of the box. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A tote for containing a delivery item, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination, comprising:
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an interior into which a delivery item is placed;
wherein the tote may be placed in a receptacle at the delivery destination in order to be securely contained from the time the tote is delivered and placed in the receptacle until the customer can retrieve the tote from the receptacle;
wherein said receptacle comprises;
at least one sealable opening to an inside of the receptacle where the tote is to be placed;
wherein a first lock can be used to seal the at least one opening;
wherein the first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening upon delivery, and the first lock is locked in order to secure the tote inside the receptacle;
wherein a second lock can be used to seal the at least one opening; and
wherein the second lock is unlocked in order that the tote be retrieved by the customer from the inside of the receptacle through the at least one opening. - View Dependent Claims (50)
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51. A system for securing a tote for holding delivery items outside a delivery destination, comprising:
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a box secured outside a delivery destination, the box having a cavity;
an expandable bag secured to the box and storable in a collapsed state within the cavity, the bag being expandable to an expanded state into which a tote may be placed, and a lock for securing the tote within the bag.
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52. A box for securing a tote for delivery items, the box comprising:
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a cavity into which the tote may be placed, and means for securing the tote that is placed within the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54)
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55. A rack for holding a first tote for delivering delivery items, the rack comprising:
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a shelf on which the tote is placed; and
means for mounting the shelf on a surface such that the shelf is pitched downward when it is mounted and, when the first tote is removed, the second tote falls into a space previously occupied by the first tote. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57)
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58. A bag for securing an item therein, the bag comprising:
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an interior;
a sealable opening to the interior of the bag, a two-way zipper across the opening to open and close the opening, the zipper having first and second ends, and first and second sliding pieces that close the zipper when fully extended apart from one another, first means for locking the first end of the zipper to the bag by locking the first sliding piece to a first position on the bag, and second means for locking the second sliding piece independently of the first sliding piece to a second position on the bag different from the first position on the bag. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60)
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61. A bag for securing an item therein, the bag comprising:
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a first opening having a perimeter;
a plurality of O-rings secured to the perimeter of the opening, such that the opening is closed by securing the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64)
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65. A method of distributing delivery items using a hierarchy of containment structures, comprising the steps of:
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placing a delivery item ordered by a customer in a tote;
placing the tote onto a removable rack in a warehouse;
transferring the rack with the tote thereon into a first vehicle; and
dispatching the first vehicle to deliver the delivery item.
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Specification