Patent Application
20240197097
Package delivery has become extremely popular since the turn of the century coinciding with the rise in popularity of the world wide web and online commerce. Online commerce has spawned giants like Amazon and eBay; it has caused traditionally brick and mortar retailers, such as Walmart and Target to launch thriving online operations; and it has permitted the rise of specialty shops that otherwise would not be able to draw sufficient clientele to a brick and mortar storefront. As a result of the foregoing, package delivery industry has boomed to levels unimaginable only a short while in the past. It is not uncommon for many residences to receive at least one package delivery a day if not more.
The rapid growth of the package delivery industry has given rise to a largely new illicit industry: so-called porch piracy. In certain areas of the country and in certain neighborhoods, the theft of packages from the front of houses delivered while the occupants are away, as is often the case during weekday working hours, has reached pandemic levels. Thieves range anywhere from spur of the moment opportunists to members of organized criminal enterprises. The total value of stolen merchandise, because of porch piracy, exceeds $5 billion annually.
Many solutions to the problem of porch piracy have been proposed. Most simply, locking hard sided containers have been suggested wherein the delivery person is given the combination or the lock is left open for the delivery person to close once a package is placed inside the container. There are several problems with this simple solution including the amount of usable stoop or porch space that is sacrificed to the container, which is typically bolted or otherwise secured in place. Many people don't have or don't want to give up the amount of space required for a large unsightly container. Secondarily, in situations where the container is left unlocked until its use, the container can only receive the merchandise from a single delivery before being locked and inaccessible to the next delivery person. Giving a lock code delivery services to allow multiple deliveries within a day runs the very real risk that the code will fall into the wrong hands at some point. Of course, a prolific receiver of packages could have multiple containers, but this only exacerbates the porch space problem.
Another often mentioned solution is to provide the delivery companies or the company from which a product is being purchased with a lock code either to a door lock or a lock box containing a key to a residence such that the information can be relayed to the delivery person who can then enter the home and leave the package inside of the home. This solution is even more problematic than the lockable container solution. Of grave concern as also mentioned previously is that the lock code will fall into the wrong hands and facilitate theft not only of the package but an entire home. Even if a person were to agree to this (and many people would likely never agree), a delivery company would likely be hesitant to accept any liability for theft occurring after a delivery because of a failure of the delivery person to properly lock or otherwise secure the premises after placing the package inside a residence.
Embodiments of the invention comprise both reinforced bag systems and methods of using the reinforced bag systems in package delivery typically to a residence when the residence is not presently occupied. One embodiment of the reinforced bag system generally comprises (i) a reinforced substantially waterproof bag resistant to being breached either through a closed top end or by cutting the bag, (ii) a cable connected with the bag for use in securing the bag to a fixture such as a porch railing, and (iii) one or more locks for locking a top end in the closed position and locking the bag to the fixture by way of the cable. In some embodiments, the cable is further interlaced around the bag proximate the top end to allow a user to cinch the top end closed. A single cable lock may be provided that both secures the bag to the fixture and fixes the top end in the closed position.
In some embodiments, the system can include a motion activated alarm that activates when the reinforced bag is moved or jostled. The alarm can be a standalone unit that is received in the interior of the bag, or it can be integrated into the cable lock. The alarm may include a activation delay or a user selectable motion sensitivity setting to give authorized persons using the system the time and/or ability to either (a) place a delivery item in the bag or (b) remove it without activating the alarm.
In a typical method of using an embodiment of the reinforced bag system, the bag is left by an occupant of the residence usually at the front of the residence with the top end open and the cable wrapped around a fixture, such as a porch railing baluster or a tree. Alternatively, the cable can be threaded through an eyebolt that is secured to a fixture. A delivery person places a delivery item, such as a package, in the bag, closes the bag, and locks the bag. The delivery person may also arm a motion activated alarm if it was not previously armed. Next, the occupant unlocks the bag and removes the package. The occupant may also disarm the alarm before it activates (or sounds). If the bag is not needed in the near future for another delivery, the occupant may remove the bag system from the front of the residence and store it in the residence. The flexible nature of the bag permits it to be folded and compacted for efficient storage. If another delivery is expected, the delivery company can be left with the instructions including the code to reopen the bag for a 2nd delivery and then after placing the package in the bag, the delivery person can reclose the bag and relock the it. This process can be repeated for additional deliveries. As necessary, the alarm may be reset or rearmed.
If a thief, or so-called porch pirate, approaches the residence after a delivery in hopes of easily pilfering a package, he/she will see that package is secured in the reinforced bag, and in most instances will proceed onto a more inviting target rather than spend a potentially substantial amount of time attempting to gain access to the bag. If the thief does try to open the bag by trying to slice it open, by picking the lock, and/or by cutting the cable, the amount of motion is typically sufficient to sound the motion activated alarm likely causing the thief to flee.
The terms and phrases as indicated in quotes (“ ”) in this section are intended to have the meaning ascribed to them in this Terminology section applied to them throughout this document including the claims unless clearly indicated otherwise in context. Further, as applicable, the stated definitions are to apply, regardless of the word or phrase's case, to the singular and plural variations of the defined word or phrase.
The term “or” as used in this specification and the appended claims is not meant to be exclusive, rather the term is inclusive meaning “either or both”.
References in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “a preferred embodiment”, “an alternative embodiment” and similar phrases mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all meant to refer to the same embodiment.
The term “couple” or “coupled” as used in this specification and the appended claims refers to either an indirect or direct connection between the identified elements, components or objects. Often the manner of the coupling will be related specifically to the manner in which the two coupled elements interact.
Directional and/or relationary terms such as, but not limited to, left, right, nadir, apex, top, bottom, upper, lower, vertical, horizontal, back, front and lateral are relative to each other and are dependent on the specific orientation of an applicable element or article, and are used accordingly to aid in the description of the various embodiments and are not necessarily intended to be construed as limiting.
The term “approximately,” as used in this specification and appended claims, refers to plus or minus 10% of the value given.
The term “about,” as used in this specification and appended claims, refers to plus or minus 20% of the value given.
The terms “generally” and “substantially,” as used in this specification and appended claims, mean mostly, or for the most part.
The phrase “reinforced bag” refers to a bag that includes a material in the construction of it sides that is generally resistant to being cut a sufficient amount to gain operative access to the interior volume using knives, utility knives, scissors, bolt cutters, and typical small hand held battery-powered power tools. A reinforced bag need not be impervious to penetration but be sufficient to slow down the ability to access the interior volume to the point where a would be thief is encouraged to give up on stealing a delivery item contained therein.
The phrase “reinforcing layer” refers to a flexible or semi-flexible layer in the sides of the reinforced bag that imparts the resistance to cutting as described above. A layer comprising a metal mesh is specifically described herein; however, other reinforcing layers can be specified, such as an aramid fiber fabric of mat.
The terms “delivery item” and “package” are used interchangeable herein.
The reinforced bag 102 can be provided in any desirable size although in one variation the bag is about 120 cm tall by 80 cm wide and capable of holding several packages and/or relatively large packages. In contrast, a small bag can also be provided that is about 80 cm tall and 70 cm wide. The bags are typically relatively light at about 4 pounds for the larger bag and 2.5 pounds for the smaller bag, and each bag can be folded to a relatively small footprint for storage, such as about 30 cm×25 cm×15 cm for the large bag.
The reinforced bag 102 includes front and back sides wherein each side comprises a fabric laminate. As shown in
As shown in
With reference to
Many variations of the alarm 120 are contemplated. For instance, the alarm may include WIFI or Bluetooth wireless connectivity permitting a user running an app or accessing the alarm over the internet to arm and disarm the alarm from a computer, tablet or smartphone. The alarm can further be configured to permit the user to configure the operational parameters of the alarm such as motion sensitivity, alarm volume, and any notification protocols. For instance, in addition to sounding an alarm, the user may be able to configure the alarm to send a text or email message to a specified phone number. In another advanced version of the alarm, it can be configured to activate a porch or front door camera, such as a Ring™ camera to record an image or video of the person attempting to access the reinforced bag.
Referring back to
The cable 108 as mentioned is typically comprised of twisted and/or braided strands of stainless steel wire to provide superior strength, cutting and corrosion resistance. The wire is often further covered in a polymeric sheath. A first end 130 of the cable comprises a ball fitting that can be received into a slot 136 on the cable lock 110 and lockably secured therein as is evident from
Two embodiments of cable locks are shown: a mechanical lock 110 in
The mechanical lock 110 of
To lock the cable lock in place, a user slides the ball fitting of the cable first end into the slot 136 and after removing any slack in the cable presses down on the cable slide button 140 to secure the second latch against the cable within the tunnel 142 and prevent the cable from sliding therein. If not already done, the numbered wheels are randomly turned so that the combination is no longer displayed.
The mechanical lock is configured to permit the combination to be easily changed by the user when open and unlatched. Accordingly, the occupant can if he/she desires, change the combination as much as is he/she wants including between each delivery. Accordingly, even if the combination code is given to a delivery person for one delivery is obtained by a would be thief, the code would be of no value to the thief if the lock was set to a new code by the occupant. In use, the occupant can provide, a unique combination code to a delivery person each time a package is to be delivered. To change the code and set a new one, the lock is first unlocked and released by entering the current combination code, unlatching the first end of the cable by pressing the release button 138, and then pressing and holding down a code setting button 141 as shown in
The operation of the electronic lock 144 is conceptually similar to that of the mechanical lock except the locking, unlocking and release of the first and second locking mechanism and the associated latches are electronically controlled. With reference to
The keypad 146 and display screen 148, such as an LCD screen, are coupled to the controller to respectively input information to be acted on by the controller, and display information concerning the operation of the controller as it pertains to the electronic lock and alarm. Additionally, some embodiments of the electronic lock may also include a wireless interface, typically WIFI or Bluetooth, that permits the controller to receive and transmit information to a remote device, such as a smartphone or computer.
Through the wireless interface 163 the controller 160 can receive instructions from a user running an app on their suitable device. For instance, through a smartphone app a user may be able to remotely lock and unlock the electronic lock 144, he/she may be able to set and change the lock's combination, he/she may be able to set the alarm as well as change the alarms operational parameters including its motion sensitivity and the time delay from the start and continuation of movement of the reinforced bag system to activate the alarm.
Further, through the wireless interface 163, the controller 160 can transmit instructions to the user or potentially any electronic address, such as a phone number or an email address, that has been specified. For instance, the controller may notify the user whenever the electronic lock is locked, such as by a delivery person indicating the delivery of a delivery item, and that there has been motion of the reinforced bag system possibly even if the amount of motion is not sufficient to activate the alarm. Expectedly, the controller can notify the user, and any other persons it is configured to notify, that the alarm has been activated typically indicating an attempt to steal the reinforced bag and/or its contents has occurred.
As can be appreciated, a system similar to the reinforced bag system can be specified using a rigid box instead of the described reinforced bag 102. A suitable large box or rigid container could be made of materials that would make it exceedingly difficult to breach. Unfortunately, a container large enough to work with a variety of package sizes could be very large and could take up a significant portion of a residence's front patio or porch. In contrast, the reinforced bag system can be folded into a compact shape for storage when not in use.
In addition to be easily compactable for storage, it can also be compacted for easy shipment as is illustrated in
As can be appreciated, there are numerous possible variations to the reinforced bag system and its various components. For instance the reinforcing layer of the bag can comprise a woven or non-woven aramid fabric, such as one made from Kevlar™, that significantly hinders the ability of a thief to quickly gain access to the contents of the bag. In yet other variations, the bag sides may comprise a single fabric layer of aramid fabric. The means of opening and closing the bag may also vary, such as including a lockable flap instead of a drawstring type opening. It is of note, that the purpose of the bags reinforcement isn't to make it impenetrable by would be thieves, but rather substantially and significantly increase the time required to breach the bag, such that these thieves are encouraged to pass up the bag and its contents and instead search out easier marks.
The locking system comprising the cable 108 and the cable lock 110, 144 in the illustrated embodiment can vary significantly as well. For instance, in some variations multiple locks may be specified, such as one to lock the reinforced bag closed and another lock to secure the bag to a residential fixture. Both locks may be cable locks and the system may include two cables: one for affixing the bag to a fixture with a first cable lock and the other to hold the bag closed using a second cable lock. Other variations may use locks other than cable locks of the type described herein. For instance, the variation of the bag including a flap closure may use a padlock to close the flap and it may also use a padlock to secure a cable having looped ends to the fixture. There are numerous variations.
The electronic lock 144 with or without an integrated motion activated alarm is described herein with reference to numerous possible features and functionality, but only scratches the surface of the possibilities especially when the lock includes a wireless transceiver 163 that can communicate with remote devices. For instance, another possible function of an electronic lock is the ability to interface with a remote camera trigger in the camera to take photos and/or video when the motion sensor in the lock senses motion. In yet other variations, the lock may include a marking feature, similar to a glitter bomb, wherein a difficult to remove substance is projected from the lock when it is tampered with in a predetermined manner.
As can be appreciated, the functionality associated with the motion sensor and associated alarm in the electronic lock 144 as described herein can also be incorporated into a separate motion activated alarm such as the one generally described with reference to
With general reference to the block diagram 300 of
Initially, when the occupant of a residence is expecting the delivery of a package, he/she removes the reinforced bag system 100 from its storage location, such as a closet or cardboard, unfolds the bag 102, and as indicated in block 302, places the bag on a porch 200 or other are at a residence where packages and other delivery items are received. The system is prepared to receive a package: the cable 108 is wrapped around a residential fixture, such as the baluster 204 of a porch railing 202 and as necessary threaded through the grommets proximate the bag's top end 103; the top end is opened; the lock is prepared to permit a delivery person to easily secure it; and the motion activated alarm 120, as applicable, is armed. Preparing the mechanical lock 110 can comprise latching the ball fitting first end 130 in the cable lock's slot 136 and turning the numbered wheels 134 so they are not set to the combination thereby locking the first end in place, but the cable is left loose with the top end 103 open.
Next as indicated in block 304 of
In embodiments with the electronic cable lock 144, the integrated alarm is typically automatically armed when the lock is locked. In embodiments using the separate alarm, such as shown in
Variations in the methods of using the system are contemplated wherein the delivery person has access to the combination for the bag, such as may be provided online by the occupant in the form of specialized delivery instructions. Accordingly, if the delivery person notices the bag is locked because of a previous delivery he or she can open the locked bag to add an additional package thereto. As can be appreciated, if the occupant is concerned that the combination code might fall into the wrong hands in subsequent days after the delivery, he or she can change the code as regularly as desired. In some circumstances, the occupant may choose to change the code in advance of each new delivery or set of deliveries providing a new code in delivery instructions when a new delivery is scheduled.
As indicated in block 306, after delivery the occupant or intended recipient, unlocks cable lock, opens the bag, as necessary disarms the alarm, and removes the package or packages from the bag. As indicated in blocks 308 & 310, the occupant can reset the system to receive another package such as when one is expected the next day, which may include changing the combination code, or the occupant can remove the system from the delivery location and store it until required again.
It is to be appreciated that given the reinforced nature of the bag and the difficulty posed in cutting a twisted stainless steel wire cable, the time and commotion required to gain access to the internal volume will be longer than any half way intelligent thief would be willing to risk, and as such, the typical thief will most likely see the reinforced bag system when approaching the residence and opt to continue on to an easier opportunity. Despite this, should a would be thief unwisely attempt to take the package from the bag 102, such as trying to slice the bag open, cut the cable or otherwise gain access to the interior volume, the alarm will activate and sound typically startling the thief and causing him or her to flee as indicated by blocks 312 and 314.
The various embodiments and variations thereof, illustrated in the accompanying Figures and/or described above, are merely exemplary and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention. It is to be appreciated that numerous other variations of the invention have been contemplated, as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, given the benefit of this disclosure. All variations of the invention that read upon appended claims are intended and contemplated to be within the scope of the invention.
Versions of a reinforced bag system are contemplated for uses other than package delivery. Some versions may also include straps and/or handles to facilitate carrying the bags longer distances. For instance a version may be provided for camping and/or hunting wherein the users can place their food within the bag, lock the bag and hoist the bag in the air, such as to move a bag out of the reach of a bear. If the bear or other wildlife is able to get to the bag and shake it, the motion activated alarm, if the system is so equipped, will sound to scare the animal off. In a sports version sports equipment taken to a venue can be stored in a bag that is secured to a fence or post at the venue to prevent theft of the contents. Another variation comprising a small bag could be used to lock the valuables therein to a motorcycle. Similarly, a larger bag can be used to carry valuables on top of a of a car wherein the cable is utilized to secure and lock the bag to a roof rack. The foregoing are only examples of how the system may be used and many other uses are contemplated and envisioned.
