Node-Enabled Generation of a Shipping Label Using Elements of a Wireless Node Network

• US 20150154531A1
• Filed: 09/22/2014
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Federal Express Corporation (FedEx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fedex Corporate Services Incorporated (FedEx Corporation)
• Inventors: Skaaksrud, Ole-Petter
• Granted Patent: US 10,748,111 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/00256 Delivery operations
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 25/02 Packaging agricultural or horticultural products
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/02 Internal fittings of containers made by folding or erecting blanks made of paper B65D5/44
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/102 Straps, bands, strings or other elongate elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/226 Communication links with the remote-control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/43 Control of position or course in two dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/81 Handing over between on-board automatic and on-board manual control
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0712 the arrangement being capable of triggering distinct operating modes or functions dependent on the strength of an energy or interrogation field in the proximity of the record carrier active means for hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07336
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• 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 10/0833 : Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0835 : Relationships between shipper or supplier and carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 : Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 : Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0838 : Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 : Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 : specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 : Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/308 : using the Internet of Things
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 : using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 : using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 : Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 : Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 : based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 : System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 : System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 : for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 : stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 : ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 : specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 : for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/71 : Wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 : using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 : characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 : characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 : Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 : Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 : Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 : Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 : managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 : TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 : locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 : with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 : Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 : Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for generating a shipping label for an item to be shipped using a wireless node network. The network includes a master node associated with a shipping facility, a node associated with a shipping customer, and a server. The master node receives shipping information from the server, where the shipping information is related to the node associated with the shipping customer and item to be shipped. The master node then detects a signal from the shipping customer'"'"'s node as it approaches the shipping facility. The master node proceeds to become associated with the shipping customer'"'"'s node. The master node then causes generation of the shipping label for the item to be shipped when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

Claims

1. A method for generating a shipping label for an item to be shipped using a wireless node network having at least a master node associated with a shipping facility, and a server, the method comprising:

receiving, by the master node, shipping information from the server, the shipping information being related to a node associated with a shipping customer that is shipping the item;

detecting, by the master node, a signal from the node associated with the shipping customer as the node associated with the shipping customer approaches the shipping facility;

associating the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer; and

causing, by the master node, generation of the shipping label for the item to be shipped when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the node associated with the shipping customer is one from a group comprising an ID node, a first master node, a node package, a first user access device operating as an ID node, a second user access device operating as a master node, and a second master node operating in a temporary ID node mode.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first master node transitions from being operative to communicate with the master node associated with the shipping facility over a longer range communication path to operate in the temporary ID node mode when the first master node can receive a signal from the master node associated with the shipping facility over a short range communication path.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of causing, by the master node, generation of one or more additional shipping labels when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the location is one from a group comprising a drop off location for the item to be shipped, a generation location for the shipping label, and a pickup location for the shipping label.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the shipping label comprises a tracking number associated with the shipping information, an address associated with the shipping information, information about a user shipping the item, and a machine readable reference to attach to the item to be shipped.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating step further comprises establishing a passive association between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer without requiring a secure connection between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating step further comprises establishing an active association between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer, the active association reflecting a secure connection between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining, by the master node, that the node associated with the shipping customer is within the predetermined range of the designated location by instructing the node associated with the shipping customer to alter an RF power characteristic as part of locating the node associated with the shipping customer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the RF power characteristic of the node associated with the shipping customer is an RF transmission power level.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the server when the master node is no longer associated with the node associated with the shipping customer.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the server with location metric information related to analytics on movement of the node associated with the shipping customer within the shipping facility.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining if the shipping customer is a priority customer based upon the shipping information; and

generating a notification for shipping facility personnel by the master node prior to generating the shipping label, the notification indicating that the shipping customer is the priority customer.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing, by the master node, a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer packaging material.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising causing, by the master node, generation of a coupon for packaging material for the item to be shipped.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a message to the node associated with the shipping customer, the message causing the node associated with the shipping customer to display a prompt related to an offer for packaging material.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the packaging material comprises one from the group comprising a package, separator material, cushioning material, and a node-enabled package.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer a specialized packaging material for the item to be shipped based upon the value of the item to be shipped identified as part of the shipping information.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer a specialized packaging material for the item to be shipped based upon an indication that the item to be shipped is fragile.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions which when executed on a processor performs a method for generating a shipping label for an item to be shipped using a wireless node network having at least a master node associated with a shipping facility, and a server, the method comprising:

receiving, by the master node, shipping information from the server, the shipping information being related to a node associated with a shipping customer that desires to ship the item;

detecting, by the master node, a signal from the node associated with the shipping customer as the node associated with the shipping customer approaches the shipping facility;

associating the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer; and

causing, by the master node, generation of the shipping label for the item to be shipped when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the node associated with the shipping customer is one from a group comprising an ID node, a first master node, a node package, a first user access device operating as an ID node, a second user access device operating as a master node, and a second master node operating in a temporary ID node mode.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the second master node transitions from being operative to communicate with the master node associated with the shipping facility over a longer range communication path to operate in the temporary ID node mode when the second master node can receive a signal from the master node associated with the shipping facility over a short range communication path.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises the step of causing, by the master node, generation of one or more additional shipping labels when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the location is one from a group comprising a drop off location for the item to be shipped, a generation location for the shipping label, and a pickup location for the shipping label.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the shipping label comprises a tracking number associated with the shipping information, an address associated with the shipping information, information about a user shipping the item, and a machine readable reference to attach to the item to be shipped.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the associating step further comprises establishing a passive association between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer without requiring a secure connection between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the associating step further comprises establishing an active association between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer, the active association reflecting a secure connection between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises determining, by the master node, that the node associated with the shipping customer is within the predetermined range of the designated location by instructing the node associated with the shipping customer to alter an RF power characteristic as part of locating the node associated with the shipping customer.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the RF power characteristic of the node associated with the shipping customer is an RF transmission power level.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises updating the server when the master node is no longer associated with the node associated with the shipping customer.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises updating the server with location metric information related to analytics on movement of the node associated with the shipping customer within the shipping facility.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining if the shipping customer is a priority customer based upon the shipping information; and

generating a notification for shipping facility personnel by the master node prior to generating the shipping label, the notification indicating that the shipping customer is the priority customer.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises providing, by the master node, a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer packaging material.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises causing, by the master node, generation of a coupon for packaging material for the item to be shipped.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises providing a message to the node associated with the shipping customer, the message causing the node associated with the shipping customer to display a prompt related to an offer for packaging material.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the packaging material comprises one from the group comprising a package, separator material, cushioning material, and a node-enabled package.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises providing a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer a specialized packaging material for the item to be shipped based upon the value of the item to be shipped identified as part of the shipping information.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises providing a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer a specialized packaging material for the item to be shipped based upon an indication that the item to be shipped is fragile.

39. A system for generating a shipping label for an item to be shipped using a wireless node network, comprising:

a server;

a master node associated with a shipping facility, the master node being operative to communicate with the server;

a printer in operative communication with at least the master node, the printer being responsive to instructions from the master node; and

wherein the master node is programmatically operative to

receive shipping information from the server, the shipping information being related to a node associated with a shipping customer that desires to ship the item,

detect a signal from a node associated with a shipping customer desiring to ship the item as the node associated with the shipping customer approaches the shipping facility,

associate the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer, and

instruct the printer to generate of the shipping label for the item to be shipped when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the node associated with the shipping customer is one from a group comprising an ID node, a first master node, a node package, a first user access device operating as an ID node, a second user access device operating as a master node, and a second master node operating in a temporary ID node mode.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the second master node transitions from being operative to communicate with the master node associated with the shipping facility over a longer range communication path to operate in the temporary ID node mode when the second master node can receive a signal from the master node associated with the shipping facility over a short range communication path.

42. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative instruct the printer to generate one or more additional shipping labels when the master node determines the node associated with the shipping customer is within a predetermined range of a location within the shipping facility.

43. The system of claim 39, wherein the location is one from a group comprising a drop off location for the item to be shipped, a generation location for the shipping label, and a pickup location for the shipping label.

44. The system of claim 39, wherein the shipping label comprises a tracking number associated with the shipping information, an address associated with the shipping information, information about a user shipping the item, and a machine readable reference to attach to the item to be shipped.

45. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to associate by being operative to establish a passive association between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer without requiring a secure connection between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer.

46. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to associate by being operative to establish an active association between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer, the active association reflecting a secure connection between the master node and the node associated with the shipping customer.

47. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to determine that the node associated with the shipping customer is within the predetermined range of the designated location by instructing the node associated with the shipping customer to alter an RF power characteristic as part of locating the node associated with the shipping customer.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the RF power characteristic of the node associated with the shipping customer is an RF transmission power level.

49. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to update the server when the master node is no longer associated with the node associated with the shipping customer.

50. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to update the server with location metric information related to analytics on movement of the node associated with the shipping customer within the shipping facility.

51. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to:

determine if the shipping customer is a priority customer based upon the shipping information; and

generate a notification for shipping facility personnel by the master node prior to generating the shipping label, the notification indicating that the shipping customer is the priority customer.

52. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to provide a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer packaging material.

53. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to cause the printer to generate a coupon for packaging material for the item to be shipped.

54. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to provide a message to the node associated with the shipping customer, the message causing the node associated with the shipping customer to display a prompt related to an offer for packaging material.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the packaging material comprises one from the group comprising a package, separator material, cushioning material, and a node-enabled package.

56. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to provide a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer a specialized packaging material for the item to be shipped based upon the value of the item to be shipped identified as part of the shipping information.

57. The system of claim 39, wherein the master node is further operative to provide a message to a user access device operated by shipping facility personnel, the message causing the user access device to display a prompt related to offering the shipping customer a specialized packaging material for the item to be shipped based upon an indication that the item to be shipped is fragile.