Delivery management system and method using smart communicator

• US 8,271,342 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kwak, Se Jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Pond, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US11/643,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20070174136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,098 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

Disclosed is a delivery management system and method using a smart communicator. The delivery management system includes a selling server for selling articles online; a delivery server for managing delivery of articles sold by the selling server; a mailbox which reads information from an information storage attached to an arrived article at a destination under the control of the delivery server; and a home network server which stores ordered article information, determines whether the arrived article is correctly delivered on the basis of a comparison between the ordered article information and the arrived article information read from the information storage, transmits the result of the comparison to a smart communicator, controls follow-up management of the delivery according to a remote control of the smart communicator. Accordingly, it is possible to check the arrival of an article and control follow-up management on the articles delivered correctly or incorrectly using the smart communicator.

Claims

1. A delivery management system using a smart communicator, the system comprising:

a selling server for selling articles online;

a delivery server for managing deliveries of articles sold by the selling server;

a mailbox for reading information from an arrived article under the control of the delivery server; and

a home network server for storing ordered article information, determining whether the arrived article is correctly delivered on the basis of comparison between the ordered article information and the read arrived article information, transmitting the comparison result to the smart communicator, and controlling re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of a mis-delivered article according to a remote control of the smart communicator,

wherein the smart communicator is a portable communicator used by a user of the mailbox receiving the arrived article.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the arrived article information is read from a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag attached to the delivered article.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the ordered article information includes ordered articles list and delivery schedules of one or more ordered articles.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein

the home network server transmits misdelivery information to the delivery server when the arrived article is determined to be mis-delivered;

the delivery server requests information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article to the smart communicator; and

the smart communicator transmits the information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article, which is input by the user of the smart communicator, to the home network server and the delivery server.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the mailbox includes:

an RFID reader for reading information from the RFID tag; and

a local communication module for transmitting to the home network server the information read from the RFID tag.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the home network server includes:

a local communication unit for receiving, from the mailbox through a local communication link, the information read from the RFID tag;

a remote communication unit for communicating with the smart communicator and receiving remote control commands from the smart communicator;

a storage unit for storing the ordered article information;

an article information analysis unit for determining whether the arrived article is correctly delivered by comparing the ordered article information and the information read from the RFID tag; and

a control unit for transmitting misdelivery information to the smart communicator when the arrived article is determined mis-delivered and receives the information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article from the smart communicator.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the smart communicator includes:

a local communication module for receiving the misdelivery information from the home network server and transmitting the information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article to the home network server;

a storage means for storing the ordered article information and the information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article;

a keypad for enabling input of the information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article; and

a controller for transmitting the information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article to the home network server and the delivery server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the mailbox has a mail drop reading information from the arrived article and controls the mail drop to be opened or closed according to an approval of the article;

and

wherein the home network server controls the mail drop to be opened or closed according to a remote control of the smart communicator.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the home network server includes a door phone for establishing a communication link with the smart communicator via the home network server such that a deliveryman can communicate with the smart communicator.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the arrived article information is read from a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag attached to the delivered article.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the ordered article information includes ordered articles list and delivery schedules of the ordered articles.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the home network server transmits denial information to the smart communicator when an arrived article authentication is denied;

the smart communicator selectively establishes a communication link with the door phone such that the user of the smart communicator can communicate with the deliveryman, and transmits an open/close command input by the user to the home network server; and

the home network server communicates with the mail drop of the mailbox to control the mail drop to be opened or closed according to the open/close command.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the mailbox includes:

an RFID reader for reading information from the RFID tag;

a local communication module for transmitting the information read from the RFID tag to the home network server; and

a mail drop controller for controlling the opening and closing of the mail drop according to the open/close command received from the smart communicator.

14. A delivery management method using a smart communicator, the method comprising:

ordering an article from a selling server online;

storing ordered article information received from the smart communicator;

reading an article identifier affixed to an arrived article;

transmitting the read information to the smart communicator;

determining whether the arrived article is misdelivered on the basis of comparison between the ordered article information and the read information;

transmitting the comparison result to the smart communicator; and

controlling re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article according to a remote control of the smart communicator,

wherein the smart communicator is a portable communicator used by a user of the mailbox receiving the arrived article.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of managing the re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article includes:

transmitting misdelivery information to a delivery server when the arrived article is determined to be the mis-delivered article;

receiving information for re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article in response to a request from the delivery server; and

managing the re-delivery of the ordered article and withdrawal of the mis-delivered article according to a predetermined routine.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the article identifier includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the ordered article information includes ordered articles list and delivery schedules of the ordered articles.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

controlling a mail drop to be opened or closed according to a remote control of the smart communicator.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of controlling the mail drop includes:

transmitting denial information to a delivery server when the article is denied;

performing communication between the user and a deliveryman through a door phone according to the denial information;

receiving, from the smart communicator, information on whether to open or close the mail drop; and

controlling the mail drop to be opened or closed according to a control command from the smart communicator.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the article identifier includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the ordered article information includes ordered articles list and delivery schedules of the ordered articles.