Item-based monitoring systems and methods

• US 20060145837A1
• Filed: 12/17/2004
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel of America Incorporated
• Inventors: Olsen, John, Horton, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,385,499 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.130
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

The present invention is generally directed to systems and methods for monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point. According to one aspect of the invention, location data and timestamp data is generated in association with the transport and delivery of an item to a delivery point. The location and timestamp data can be compared, respectively, to at least one predetermined geographic boundary that defines a geographic area encompassing the designated delivery point, and to a scheduled time window within which delivery of the item is to occur. This information can be used to determine if a problem has arisen with regard to the transport and delivery of the item to the delivery point. The system is generally configured to generate one or more alerts if it is determined that a particular item has been transported or delivered in an unauthorized manner.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) storing data relating to a geographic boundary in a storage device, said geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(2) performing a destination scan of said item at an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported, said destination scan used, at least in part, for indicating that said item has reached said actual delivery point;

(3) awaiting notification from a computing device configured to receive and process geographic location data during the transporting and delivery of said item to said actual delivery point, said notification including sufficient information to facilitate a determination of whether said actual delivery point is located within said geographic boundary; and

(4) generating an alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said geographic boundary.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said geographic boundary forms a shape centered about a point proximate said designated delivery point.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the shape of said geographic boundary is substantially circular.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said alert is transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said geographic location data is GPS data received via wireless means.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of performing said destination scan includes using an RFID reader to capture a tracking number from an RFID tag associated with said item.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of performing said destination scan includes using a barcode scanner to capture a tracking number from a barcode associated with said item.

8. A system for monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point, said system comprising:

(1) a memory module for storing data relating to a geographic boundary, said geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(2) a data capture device for capturing a tracking number associated with said item proximate an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported;

(3) a location module for associating a geographic location with said actual delivery point; and

(4) a processing module operable to communicate with said memory module, said data capture device and said location module, said processing module configured for generating an alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said geographic boundary.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said geographic boundary forms a shape centered about a point proximate said designated delivery point.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the shape of said geographic boundary is substantially circular.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein said alert is transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein said geographic location data is GPS data received via wireless means.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the data capture device comprises an RFID reader.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the data capture device comprises a barcode scanner.

15. A method of monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) storing data relating to a geographic boundary in a storage device, said geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(2) storing a commit time in said storage device by which said item is expected to be delivered to said designated delivery point;

(3) performing a destination scan of said item at an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported, said destination scan used, at least in part, for indicating that said item has reached said actual delivery point;

(4) awaiting notification from a computing device configured to receive and process geographic location data and time data during the transporting and delivery of said item to said actual delivery point, said notification including sufficient information to facilitate a determination of whether said actual delivery point is located within said geographic boundary and whether said destination scan occurred by said commit time; and

(5) generating an alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said geographic boundary, or if it is determined that said destination scan of said item has not occurred by said commit time.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said geographic boundary forms a shape centered about a point proximate said designated delivery point.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said alert is transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein said geographic location data is GPS data received via wireless means.

19. A system for monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point, said system comprising:

(1) a memory module for storing data relating to a geographic boundary, said geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(2) a data capture device for capturing a tracking number associated with said item proximate an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported;

(3) a location module for associating a geographic location with said actual delivery point;

(4) a timestamp module for associating a time and date with the capturing of said tracking number at said actual delivery point; and

(5) a processing module operable to communicate with said memory module, said data capture device, said location module and said timestamp module, said processing module configured for generating an alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said geographic boundary, or if it is determined that said destination scan of said item has not occurred by said commit time.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said geographic boundary forms a shape centered about a point proximate said designated delivery point.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein said alert is transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein said geographic location data is GPS data received via wireless means.

23. A method of monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point via a delivery vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) storing first data relating to a first geographic boundary in a storage device, said first geographic boundary defining an area within which said delivery vehicle is to remain during the transporting of said item to said designated delivery point;

(2) storing second data in said storage device relating to a second geographic boundary, said second geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(3) performing a destination scan of said item at an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported, said destination scan used, at least in part, for indicating that said item has reached said actual delivery point;

(4) awaiting one or more notifications from a computing device configured to receive and process geographic location data during the transporting and delivery of said item to said actual delivery point, said one or more notifications including sufficient information to facilitate a determination of whether said delivery vehicle has traveled outside of said area defined by said first geographic boundary, and whether said actual delivery point is located within said area defined by said second geographic boundary;

(5) generating a first alert in association with said item if it is determined that said delivery vehicle has traveled outside of said area defined by said first geographic boundary; and

(6) generating a second alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said second geographic boundary.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said first and second alerts are transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein at least one of said first and second alerts is presented to a driver of the delivery vehicle being used to transport said item to said actual delivery point.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein said geographic location data is GPS data received via wireless means.

27. A system for monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point via a delivery vehicle, said system comprising:

(1) a memory module for;

(a) storing first data relating to a first geographic boundary, said first geographic boundary defining an area within which said delivery vehicle is to remain during the transporting of said item to said designated delivery point; and

(b) storing second data relating to a second geographic boundary, said second geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(2) a data capture device for capturing a tracking number associated with said item proximate an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported;

(3) a location module for monitoring the geographic location of said delivery vehicle and said item during the transport and delivery of said item to said actual delivery point; and

(4) a processing module operable to communicate with said memory module, said data capture device and said location module, said processing module configured for;

(a) generating a first alert in association with said item if it is determined that said delivery vehicle has traveled outside of said area defined by said first geographic boundary; and

(b) generating a second alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said second geographic boundary.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said first and second alerts are transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of said first and second alerts is presented to a driver of the delivery vehicle being used to transport said item to said actual delivery point.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein said geographic location data is GPS data received via wireless means.

31. A method of monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point via a delivery vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) storing first data relating to a first geographic boundary in a storage device, said first geographic boundary defining an area within which said delivery vehicle is to remain during the transporting of said item to said designated delivery point;

(2) storing second data in said storage device relating to a second geographic boundary, said second geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(3) storing a commit time in said storage device by which said item is expected to be delivered to said designated delivery point;

(4) performing a destination scan of said item at an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported, said destination scan used, at least in part, for indicating that said item has reached said actual delivery point;

(5) awaiting one or more notifications from a computing device configured to receive and process geographic location data and time data during the transporting and delivery of said item to said actual delivery point, said one or more notifications including sufficient information to facilitate a determination of;

(a) whether said delivery vehicle has traveled outside of said area defined by said first geographic boundary;

(b) whether said actual delivery point is located within said area defined by said second geographic boundary;

or

(c) whether said destination scan of said item has occurred by said commit time;

(6) generating a first alert in association with said item if it is determined that said delivery vehicle has traveled outside of said area defined by said first geographic boundary; and

(7) generating a second alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said second geographic boundary, or if it is determined that said destination scan of said item has not occurred by said commit time.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said first and second alerts are transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein at least one of said first and second alerts is presented to a driver of the delivery vehicle being used to transport said item to said actual delivery point.

34. A system for monitoring whether an item is properly delivered to a designated delivery point via a delivery vehicle, said system comprising:

(1) a memory module for;

(a) storing first data relating to a first geographic boundary, said first geographic boundary defining an area within which said delivery vehicle is to remain during the transporting of said item to said designated delivery point; and

(b) storing second data relating to a second geographic boundary, said second geographic boundary defining an area around said designated delivery point within which physical delivery of said item is to occur;

(2) a data capture device for capturing a tracking number associated with said item proximate an actual delivery point to which said item has been transported;

(3) a location module for monitoring the geographic location of said delivery vehicle and said item during the transport and delivery of said item to said actual delivery point;

(4) a timestamp module for associating a time and date with the capturing of said tracking number at said actual delivery point; and

(5) a processing module operable to communicate with said memory module, said data capture device, said location module and said timestamp module, said processing module configured for;

(a) generating a first alert in association with said item if it is determined that said delivery vehicle has traveled outside of said area defined by said first geographic boundary; and

(b) generating a second alert in association with said item if it is determined that said actual delivery point is not located within said area defined by said second geographic boundary, or if it is determined that said destination scan of said item has not occurred by said commit time.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said first and second alerts are transmitted from said computing device to a central monitoring system via a wireless transmission.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein at least one of said first and second alerts is presented to a driver of the delivery vehicle being used to transport said item to said actual delivery point.

37. A method of monitoring the transport of an item through a transportation network, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) storing data relating to a geographic boundary in a storage device, said geographic boundary defining an area within which said item is to remain during transport through said transportation network;

(2) scanning said item with a first portable scanning device at a first location;

(3) scanning said item with a stationary scanning device at a second location;

(4) scanning said item with a second portable scanning device at a third location; and

(5) generating an alert in association with said item if it is determined that said first, second or third locations do not fall within said area defined by said geographic boundary.

38. A method of monitoring the transport of items through a transportation network, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) storing first data relating to a first geographic boundary in a storage device, said first geographic boundary defining an area within which a first item is to remain during transport through said transportation network;

(2) storing second data relating to a second geographic boundary in a storage device, said second geographic boundary defining an area within which a second item is to remain during transport through said transportation network;

(3) scanning said first item with a first portable scanning device at a first location;

(4) scanning said first item with a stationary scanning device at a second location;

(5) scanning said first item with a second portable scanning device at a third location, said second portable scanning device being different from said first portable scanning device;

(6) generating a first alert in association with said first item if it is determined that any one of said first, second or third locations falls outside said area defined by said first geographic boundary;

(7) scanning said second item with a third portable scanning device at a fourth location;

(8) scanning said second item with a stationary scanning device at said second location;

(9) scanning said second item with a fourth portable scanning device at a fifth location, said fourth portable scanning device being different from said third portable scanning device; and

(10) generating an alert in association with said second item if it is determined that any one of said fourth, second or fifth locations falls outside said area defined by said second geographic boundary.