Method and apparatus for causing of unlocking and locking of at least one door of a vehicle for a delivery

• US 20160342943A1
• Filed: 05/20/2016
• Published: 11/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2015
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Deutsche Post AG
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Post AG
• Inventors: Wiechers, Ralph, Busecke, Matthias
• Application Number:
  US15/159,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20160342943A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/60 Business processes related to postal services shipping G06Q10/083; franking apparatus G07B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/0092 for cargo, freight or shipping containers and applications therefore in general
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/08 With time considerations, e.g. temporary activation, valid time window or time limitations
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses

Abstract

The disclosure relates, inter alia, to a method for causing of unlocking and locking of at least one door of a vehicle for delivery of a shipment, particularly a package and/or a letter, into the vehicle. The method includes the steps of obtaining a piece of access authorisation information at a control apparatus; causing of the unlocking of the door of the vehicle, at least in part on the basis of the obtained piece of access authorisation information, by the control apparatus; obtaining one or more pieces of delivery event information, associated with a delivery event, at the control apparatus; and causing of the locking of the door of the vehicle by the control apparatus only if the obtained pieces of delivery event information are associated with one or more predetermined delivery events.

Claims

1. A method for causing of unlocking and locking of at least one door of a vehicle for delivery of a shipment, particularly a package and/or a letter, into the vehicle, said method comprising:

obtaining a piece of access authorisation information at a control apparatus,

causing of the unlocking of the door of the vehicle, at least in part on the basis of the obtained piece of access authorisation information, by the control apparatus,

obtaining one or more pieces of delivery event information, associated with a delivery event, at the control apparatus,

causing of the locking of the door of the vehicle by the control apparatus only if the obtained pieces of delivery event information are associated with one or more predetermined delivery events.

2. The method according to claim 1, said method additionally comprising:

checking of whether the obtained pieces of delivery event information are associated with the predetermined delivery events.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined delivery events is opening and/or closing of the door, depositing of the shipment in an interior of the vehicle, exceeding of a predetermined duration of the delivery process since the causing of the unlocking of the door of the vehicle and/or since the obtaining of a piece of delivery event information, and/or a user input for completion of the delivery process by the delivery agent on a portable delivery agent apparatus.

4. The method according to claim 1, said method additionally comprising:

sensing of at least one of the predetermined delivery events.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the piece of access authorisation information and/or the pieces of delivery event information are received at the control apparatus via one or more wireless communication connections.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the wireless communication connections is a communication connection via a mobile radio network.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the wireless communication connections is a communication connection via a local radio network.

8. The method according to claim 1, said method additionally comprising:

deciding about whether access can be granted for the delivery into the vehicle, at least in part on the basis of the obtained piece of access authorisation information, and

causing of the unlocking of the door of the vehicle only if it has been decided that access can be granted.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the piece of access authorisation information authorises access for the delivery into the vehicle.

10. The method according to one of claim 1, wherein the piece of access authorisation information has a limited temporal and/or spatial validity and/or is valid for a limited number of accesses.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the door is a boot door of the vehicle, and/or wherein exclusively the boot door of the vehicle is unlocked.

12. The method according to claim 1, said method additionally comprising:

opening of the door and/or causing of the opening of the door, and/or

closing of the door and/or causing of the closing of the door.

13. The method according to claim 1, said method additionally comprising:

initiating the predetermined delivery events.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when the computer program runs on a processor, causes the processor to perform and/or to control the method of claim 1.

15. A control apparatus, comprising:

means configured to perform the method according to claim 1 or comprising respective means for performing the steps of the method according to claim 1.

16. A vehicle, comprising:

at least one door,

locking means configured to lock and unlock the door, and

the control apparatus according to claim 15.

17. A system, comprising:

the vehicle according to claim 16, and

a portable delivery agent apparatus.

18. Use of the vehicle according to claim 16 and/or of a portable delivery agent apparatus for initiating one or more delivery events in order to prompt causing of the locking of a door of the vehicle according to claim 16.