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US 10,650,479 B2Granted
Beacon enabled distribution items
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorsRyan M. Luckay, Robert E. Dixon, Jr., Jim E. Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods of tracking distribution items using hardware components on or in the distribution items. Shippers and recipients of distribution items can track or locate a distribution item, especially a high value item, if the distribution item is lost, misrouted, or delayed.
Claims15
A distribution item comprising:
- an outer package;
- a power supply attached to the outer package;
- and
- a beacon attached to the outer package and in electrical communication with the power supply, wherein the beacon is configured to emit a unique signal recognizable by an interrogation device, and wherein the beacon is configured to stop emitting the unique signal in response to a deactivate signal transmitted wirelessly, by the interrogation device or by another remote computing device, in response to a delivery event associated with the distribution item.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.