Package Management System with Accelerated Delivery

• US 20190114859A1
• Filed: 10/16/2018
• Published: 04/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Florence Corp. (Gibraltar Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Florence Corp. (Gibraltar Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Fee, Kevin A., Williams, Zachary A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,643,415 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00912 for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/13 the containers being a postal pick-up locker

Abstract

The disclosure provides a system for delivering packages by a delivery person in a location with multiple recipients comprising a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space, a door, a locker identifier, and a locking portion associated with each door. A central control unit comprises a first input device configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened, a second input device adapted to read the package identifier and a locker identifier, and a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers. Upon delivery, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and at a location remote from the central control unit, the second input device reads a package and a locker identifier for a designated locker and transmits the package and locker information to the central control unit.

Claims

1. A system for delivering packages in a location with multiple recipients by a delivery person, with each package having a package identifier that includes recipient information, comprising,

a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space and a door that when opened allows access to the interior space and a locker identifier,

a locking portion associated with each door for allowing the door to open when in the unlocked state and remain closed when in the locked state,

a central control unit comprising an authentication portion adapted to verify the status of the delivery person, a first input device configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened, a second input device adapted to read the package identifier and a locker identifier, a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers,

wherein upon authentication of the delivery person and identification of the number of designated lockers by the delivery person, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and

wherein, at a location remote from the central control unit, the second input device reads the package identifier of a package and a locker identifier for a designated locker and transmits the package and locker information to the central control unit, and the delivery person places the read package in the interior space of the read locker and closes the associated.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of lockers comprises lockers of at least two different sizes and wherein the first input device allows the delivery person to also designate the size of lockers to open.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the second input device is a portable hand held bar code or RFID scanner.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the second input device is the delivery person'"'"'s portable hand held bar code or RFID scanner.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the central control unit also comprises an output device adapted to provide notification to a recipient of the delivery of a package.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the central control unit notifies the resident of the number of packages received for that resident and provides an authentication to the resident to subsequently communicate to the controller to deactivate the correct number of locking portions in order to retrieve the packages.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein two or more read packages are placed in one read locker.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the controller also comprises a recipient identification device that allows the recipient to retrieve the package when activated.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the first input device and the second input device comprise the same input device.

10. A system for delivering packages in a location with multiple recipients by a delivery person, with each package having a package identifier that includes recipient information, comprising,

a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space and a door that when opened allows access to the interior space,

a locking portion associated with each door for allowing the door to open when in the unlocked state and remain closed when in the locked state and adapted to receive instruction from the central control unit to change from the locked state to the unlocked state and send information to the central control unit when the door is manually closed and the lock is changed to the locked state,

a central control unit comprising an authentication portion adapted to verify the status of the delivery person, a first input device configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened, a second input device adapted to read the package identifier, a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers, and an output device to provide notification to a recipient,

wherein upon authentication of the delivery person and identification of the number of designated lockers by the delivery person, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and

wherein, the delivery person reads the package and places the read package in the interior space of one designated locker and closes the associated door, and

wherein the central control unit associates the package, locker and recipient and the output device notifies the recipient of the delivery of a package.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the second input device is a portable hand held bar code or RFID scanner.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the second input device is the delivery person'"'"'s portable hand held bar code scanner.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the plurality of lockers comprises lockers of at least two different sizes and wherein the first input device allows the delivery person to also designate the size of lockers to open.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein two or more read packages are placed in one designated locker and the central control unit associates the two or more read packages placed in one locker with the locker and the recipient.

15. A system for delivering packages in a location with multiple recipients by a delivery person, with each package having a package identifier that includes recipient information, comprising,

a plurality of lockers, each locker having an interior space and a door that when opened allows access to the interior space,

a locking portion associated with each door for allowing the door to open when deactivated and remain locked when the lock is activated by the door being manually closed,

a central control unit comprising a data base of recipients, an authentication portion adapted to verify the status of the delivery person, a first input device configured to allow the delivery person to designate the number of lockers to be opened, a second input device adapted to read the package identifier, a controller configured to deactivate the locking portions on the designated lockers and store information of when a locker door is closed and the lock is activated, and an output device to provide notification to a recipient,

wherein upon authentication of the delivery person and identification of the number of designated lockers by the delivery person, the controller deactivates the number of locking portions equal to the number of designated lockers, and

wherein, the second input device reads the package identifier of a package, and the delivery person places the read package in the interior space of the locker and closes the associated door thus activating the lock, and

wherein the controller advises the central control unit that the door is closed, and the central control unit associates the package for the recipient and the designated locker, and

wherein the output device notifies the recipient of the delivery of a package.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the delivery person has two or more packages addressed to the same recipient, and while the door is open to the designated locker, the delivery person also scans and places the second or more packages in the locker before shutting the door, and the central control unit associates the second or more packages to the same recipient with the locker.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the output device notifies the recipient that multiple packages have been delivered.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the first and second input devices are the same device.