Systems and associated methods for wireless services for package tracking during delivery

• US 7,243,080 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2001
• Issued: 07/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• 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: Bhadra, Sourav
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender; F. Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAAWAT, MUSSA A
• Application Number:
  US09/962,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20020052794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,115 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28, 705/22, 705/16, 705/18, 705/23
• US Class Current: 705/28
• 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 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods that allow a user to track packages throughout the course of delivery without requiring the user to completely reenter tracking information such as an 18 character tracking number and also allow the user to use a wide variety of communication devices to track and retrack a package without requiring the user to reenter the entire tracking number.

Claims

1. A method of providing package tracking information from a package tracking system to a user, comprising:

accessing a tracking history file associated with the user in a computer readable memory, said tracking history file comprising a listing of one or more tracking numbers previously tracked by said user, said tracking history file not containing any tracking number that has not been previously tracked in association with said user;

storing a tracking number in the tracking history file;

verifying the user'"'"'s identity upon the user accessing the tracking system by matching a communication device used by the user to access the tracking system with a list of communication devices associated with the user;

reading the tracking history file associated with the user to obtain the tracking number;

retrieving tracking information from the tracking system based on the tracking number; and

providing the tracking information to the user based on the tracking number.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of storing a tracking number in a tracking history file comprises:

accepting a tracking number at the tracking system, the tracking number being sent to the tracking system from a user accessing the tracking system via a communication device; and

storing the tracking number in the tracking history file.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of providing the package tracking information to the user comprises providing package tracking information to the user via the communication device used to transmit the tracking number.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of providing the package tracking information to the user comprises providing package tracking information to the user via a second communication device.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of verifying the user'"'"'s identity further comprises requiring the user to provide a user identifier and a password.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the tracking information to the user based on the tracking number comprises providing the tracking information to the user based on the tracking number without requiring the user to provide additional package specific information.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the communication device has limited input functionality.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein the communication device lacks a standard full size keyboard.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein the first communication device has a standard full size keyboard and the second communication device lacks a standard full size keyboard.

11. The method of claim 3 wherein the communication device displays a selectable list of previously tracked packages retrieved from the tracking history file.

12. The method of claim 4 wherein the second communication device displays a selectable list of previously tracked packages retrieved from the tracking history file.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the second communication device is a wireless communication device.

14. The method of claim 3 wherein the package tracking information is provided to the user upon the user entering part of, but not all of, a package tracking number into the communication device, where the complete package tracking number has previously been stored in the tracking history file.

15. The method of claim 4 wherein the package tracking information is provided to the user upon the user entering part of, but not all of, a package tracking number into the second communication device, wherein the complete package tracking number has previously been stored in the tracking history file.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating a tracking history file associated with the user, wherein the step of creating said tracking history file occurs prior to the step of accessing said tracking history file.

7. A method of providing package tracking information from a package tracking system to a user, comprising:

accessing a tracking history file associated with the user in a computer readable memory, said tracking history file comprising a listing of one or more tracking numbers previously tracked by said user, said tracking history file not containing any tracking number that has not been previously tracked in association with said user;

storing a tracking number in the tracking history file;

verifying the identity of the user or the identity of a communication device associated with the user;

providing a list of packages based on the verifying of the identity of the user or the communication device without requiring input from the user, each package in the list corresponding to a tracking number stored in the tracking history file;

accepting a user selection of a package from the list;

retrieving tracking information from the tracking system based on the tracking number corresponding to the package selected; and

providing the tracking information to the user for the package selected based on the tracking number.