Patent Application
20230385753
The invention disclosed herein relates generally to the management of parcel delivery, and more particularly to parcel lockers that provide real-time notification of additional parcels pending retrieval by a recipient.
Parcel locker systems have a plurality of lockable compartments adapted to securely store parcels. They are used as a pickup and/or drop off location to temporarily store parcels (sometimes also referred to as packages) until retrieved by an authorized party, e.g. the parcel recipient, a carrier, or the like. Such parcel lockers systems can be used by an organization to manage the delivery of a parcel to an individual recipient where the package is delivered to a central mail room of the organization for delivery to the specified individual recipient. Such organizations can include, for example a business, corporation, college campus and the like. When a parcel is delivered to the organization's mail room, a mail room staff member places the parcel into the locker system. A notification is sent to the intended recipient, such as, for example, an email or text message, indicating that the parcel is available in the locker system for retrieval. The notification will typically include a barcode or identification number for the recipient to use to retrieve the package. The recipient can then go the locker system at their convenience to retrieve the parcel. At the locker system, the recipient scans the access barcode or inputs the identification number received in the notification, and verifies their identity. The appropriate locker door then opens, allowing the recipient to retrieve the parcel and go on their way. Such locker systems offer 24/7 convenient, contactless package pickup, keeping both mail room staff and recipients safe.
Currently, if a recipient receives multiple parcels over a period of time, the recipient will get multiple notifications about the availability of the parcels for retrieval. If the recipient has received several packages before going to the locker to retrieve them, there is the possibility that the recipient may not recall all of the parcels that are available in the locker system for retrieval, as they may not remember each of the received notifications. This can result in the recipient retrieving only some of the parcels that are currently awaiting retrieval in the locker system, while forgetting that there are others in the locker system that are still awaiting retrieval. Hence, a recipient may open some of the lockers that contain parcels for their retrieval, but fail to open other lockers which also have parcels for their retrieval. This will require the recipient to return to the locker system once again, upon realizing there are still parcels pending pickup, to open the remaining lockers and retrieve the parcels.
Thus, there exists a need for a parcel locker systems that can provide real-time notification of additional parcels pending retrieval by a recipient.
The present invention alleviates the above problems by providing a parcel locker system that provides real-time notification of additional parcels pending retrieval by a recipient. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, when a recipient opens a locker having a parcel therein for retrieval, the locker system checks to determine if there are any other lockers in the locker system that contain a parcel awaiting retrieval by that recipient. If it is determined that there are additional lockers that contain a parcel awaiting retrieval by that recipient, a notification is triggered to alert the recipient of these additional lockers. Such notification can be provided in a humanly perceptible form, such as by the illumination of an indicator light on the front of the specific lockers that contain a parcel for the recipient. Notification can also be provided by the sending of a text message or email, that the recipient will receive while at the locker system. This will allow the recipient to retrieve the parcels delivered to multiple lockers, as the recipient will now be prompted to open the other non-opened lockers to collect all of their parcels in a single trip.
Therefore, it should now be apparent that the invention substantially achieves all the above aspects and advantages. Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Moreover, the aspects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, by way of example serve to explain the invention in more detail. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.
In describing the present invention, reference is made to the drawings, wherein there is seen in
Control unit 12 is coupled to a communication link 20. The communication link 20 is a hardware component that allows the locker system 10 to transmit information via an appropriate wireless communication, such as Bluetooth. The communication link further allows the locker system to connect to and transmit messages across current telecommunications/network protocols to remote devices (not shown) that can be used to remotely monitor and operate the locker system 10. The operation of the communication link 20 is controlled by the processing device 14. The communication link is adapted, in use, to provide an electronic message to an identified recipient when a parcel is placed in a locker for retrieval by the recipient. For example, the communication link 20 can provide a text message or an email to a recipient informing the recipient that a package for retrieval has been placed in the locker system. Such placement of the parcel could be, for example, by a carrier service or by mail room staff.
Locker system 10 further includes a user interface 24. User interface 24 preferably comprises one or more of a display unit 30, an input device 32 and a speaker 34. The user interface 24 allows communication between the locker system 10 and a user. The display unit 30 is a screen such as an LED screen or an OLED screen, and is preferably a touch screen. The input device 32 can be a keyboard or a series of buttons. The speaker 34 allows for voice communication between the locker system 10 and a user. The user interface 24 may further include a scanner 36, that can be used by a user to scan a barcode that may be provided to the user via email.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In step 62, it is determined if additional parcels have been received for the student. If so, the process described with respect to step 60 is repeated, and the newly received parcels are placed into different lockers and new notifications are sent to the intended recipient of the availability of the parcels for pick up at the locker system 40. For example, over the course of a week, a student may receive four deliveries of parcels and has not retrieved any of them. In such an example, the student may have parcels available for pick up in the locker system 40 in locker L3 (from above) and also in lockers L12, L19 and L24. The student would have received separate notifications for each of these parcels being available for pick up over the course of the week.
At some point in time, in step 64 the intended recipient of the parcels (e.g., the student) will visit the locker system 40 to retrieve at least one of the parcels that are currently being held therein. The student user engages with the locker system 40 by providing the information contained in the notification email or text regarding at one of the stored parcels. For example, the student could input a pin number included in the notification message, or scan a barcode provided in the notification message. For example, suppose the student receives the notification message for the most recent parcel delivery that is stored in locker L24, and decides to visit the locker system 40 to retrieve that parcel. Upon input of the information provided in the notification message for the parcel stored in locker L24, in step 66 the control unit 12 will confirm the input information matches the information stored in the memory 16 (or remotely) and upon such confirmation cause the lock of locker L24 to unlock, thereby allowing the student to retrieve the parcel that is stored in locker L24.
Once the student has retrieved the parcel stored in locker L24, the student may leave the area of the locker system 40. Recall, however, that the student received four deliveries of parcels over the past week, and thus there are four parcels awaiting retrieval by the student. Although the student received multiple notifications (one for each parcel placed in the locker system 40), there is the possibility that the student may not recall all of the parcels that are available in the locker system for retrieval, e.g., in the current example, those stored in lockers L3, L12 and L19, as the student may not recall each of the received notifications. This can result in the student retrieving only some of the parcels that are currently awaiting retrieval in the locker system, while forgetting that there are others in the locker system that are still awaiting retrieval. In accordance with the present invention, in step 68 the processing device 14 of the control unit 12 performs a search of the currently stored records, either in the memory 16 or a remote location, to determine if there are additional lockers that currently have a parcel stored for that student. In step 70 it is determined if any additional lockers containing a parcel for the student are present. If not, then the processing can end in step 74, as the student has retrieved the only parcel awaiting pick up, i.e., the parcel from locker L24. However, if in step 70 it is determined that there are additional lockers containing parcels for the student, then in step 72 the control unit 12 will cause a real-time notification to be provided to alert the student to the presence of the additional locker(s) containing a parcel awaiting retrieval by the student. Such notification could be, for example, the activating of the indicator light 42 for those lockers containing a parcel for the student. Thus, as illustrated in
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it should be understood that they are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions, deletions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
