SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SHIPPING AND DELIVERING PARCELS TO A VIRTUAL ADDRESS

• US 20120130916A1
• Filed: 01/28/2012
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Neal, Thomas, Beretta, Filippo, Calzada, Jorge, Costa, Tito
• Granted Patent: US 9,898,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/339
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00435 Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00225 Vending machine or POS (Point Of Sale) apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00443 Verification of mailpieces, e.g. by checking databases
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0042 for hiring of objects
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/13 the containers being a postal pick-up locker

Abstract

A computer-based system and method for shipping and delivering a parcel, including reserving a terminal for a parcel; placing the parcel in the terminal, the parcel having a virtual delivery address of a recipient; picking up the parcel by a carrier; converting, through a central computer system, the virtual address into a postal address; delivering the parcel to a destination terminal drop-box corresponding to the postal address; notifying the recipient of the delivery of the parcel; and unlocking the drop-box only upon verifying the recipient'"'"'s identity.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for shipping and delivering a parcel, comprising:

reserving a terminal for a parcel;

placing the parcel in the terminal, the parcel having a virtual delivery address of a recipient;

picking up the parcel by a carrier;

converting, through a central computer system, the virtual address into a postal address;

delivering the parcel to a destination terminal drop-box corresponding to the postal address;

notifying the recipient of the delivery of the parcel; and

unlocking the drop-box only upon verifying the recipient'"'"'s identity.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising checking the virtual address using an error correction code to ensure that the virtual address is formally correct.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising attempting to correct the virtual address when finding it to be formally defective.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising checking data contained in the virtual address against data contained in a user profile and, if the data in the virtual address is not consistent with the data stored in the user profile, notifying a user with a request for corrective action.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising matching a sender identifier and user identifier derived from the virtual address against a black-list table.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising checking the virtual address against a user table using a user identifier enclosed in the virtual address and additional information included in the virtual address.

7. A method for delivering a parcel to a user, comprising:

reserving a terminal drop-box for receiving a parcel to be delivered;

identifying the carrier at the terminal;

identifying the parcel to be delivered at the terminal;

automatically opening the drop-box based on the identification of the parcel;

securing the parcel in the opened drop-box; and

automatically notifying the recipient of the receipt of the parcel at the terminal.

8. An entity-relationship database structure, comprising:

a delivery options table;

a recipients table;

a black-list table;

an address table; and

a senders table,

wherein the tables of the database structure interact to control delivery of a parcel from a sender to a recipient.