# US 2022/0284389 A1 · Method and Apparatus for Providing Secure Delivery

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 2022/0284389 A1
- Document ID: US20220284389A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/664,416
- Filed: 2022-05-22
- Published: 2022-09-08
- Earliest claimed: 2014-12-12
- Assignees: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
- Applicants: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
- Inventors: Donald Newton; Michael Zadig
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20220284389A1

## CPC

- G06Q 10/0833: Tracking
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A method, computer-readable medium and apparatus for receiving a package are disclosed. For example, the method via a processor receives an indication that the package is to be placed into a delivery box, captures an image of the delivery of the package, and sends a confirmation that the package has been placed into the delivery box.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for receiving a package, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processor of a delivery box having an enclosure accessible via an access door, a notification of a pending delivery of the package, wherein the delivery box is deployed on a property of a customer for exclusive use for the delivery of packages to the customer and is accessible to delivery services personnel;
receiving, by the processor, an indication that the package is to be placed into the delivery box, wherein the indication comprises information received by a scanner of the delivery box, wherein the notification of the pending delivery of the package is received prior to the receiving of the indication;
determining, by the processor, whether the information received by the scanner matches information provided in the notification of the pending delivery of the package;
providing, by the processor, access to the enclosure of the delivery box via the access door when the information received by the scanner matches the information provided in the notification of the pending delivery of the package;
capturing, by the processor, in response to the access door of the delivery box being closed and locked, an image of delivery of the package, wherein the image comprises an image of the package residing within the delivery box;
sending, by the processor, a confirmation that the package has been placed into the delivery box, wherein the confirmation comprises the image of delivery of the package;
obtaining, by the processor from a retailer that sent the package, a customer access code to be used to access the delivery box;
receiving, by the processor, an input of the customer access code to access the delivery box;
capturing, by the processor in response to the input of the customer access code, an image of an act of removing the package from the delivery box; and
sending, by the processor, to the retailer that sent the package, a notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box, wherein the notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box comprises the image of the act of removing the package from the delivery box.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the confirmation is sent to an endpoint device of the customer.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the confirmation is sent to the retailer that sent the package.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the confirmation is sent to an application server that provides a delivery notification service.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the confirmation further comprises a date and a time in which the package was placed inside the delivery box.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box further comprises a date and a time in which the package was removed from the delivery box.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to deny the access to the enclosure of the delivery box via the access door when the information received by the scanner does not match the information provided in the notification of the pending delivery of the package.

### Claim 8

A delivery box comprising:
an enclosure with an access door;
a processor; and
a computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving a notification of a pending delivery of a package, when the delivery box is deployed on a property of a customer for exclusive use in the delivery of packages to the customer and is accessible to delivery services personnel;
receiving an indication that a package is to be placed into the delivery box, wherein the indication comprises information received by a scanner of the delivery box, wherein the notification of the pending delivery of the package is received prior to the receiving of the indication;
determining whether the information received by the scanner matches information provided in the notification of the pending delivery of the package;
providing access to the enclosure of the delivery box via the access door when the information received by the scanner matches the information provided in the notification of the pending delivery of the package;
capturing, in response to the access door of the delivery box being closed and locked, an image of delivery of the package, wherein the image comprises an image of the package residing within the delivery box;
sending a confirmation that the package has been placed into the delivery box, wherein the confirmation comprises the image of delivery of the package;
obtaining, from a retailer that sent the package, a customer access code to be used to access the delivery box;
receiving an input of the customer access code to access the delivery box;
capturing, in response to the input of the customer access code, an image of an act of removing the package from the delivery box; and
sending, to a retailer that sent the package, a notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box, wherein the notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box comprises the image of the act of removing the package from the delivery box.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The delivery box of claim 8, wherein the confirmation is sent to the retailer that sent the package.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The delivery box of claim 8, wherein the plurality of instructions are further to cause the processor to deny the access to the enclosure of the delivery box via the access door when the information received by the scanner does not match the information provided in the notification of the pending delivery of the package.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The delivery box of claim 8, wherein the confirmation is sent to an application server that provides a delivery notification service.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The delivery box of claim 8, wherein the confirmation further comprises a date and a time in which the package was placed inside the delivery box.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The delivery box of claim 8, wherein the notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box comprises a date and a time in which the package was removed from the delivery box.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The delivery box of claim 8, wherein the confirmation is sent to an endpoint device of the customer.

### Claim 15

A method for monitoring a delivery of a package, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processor of an application server of a communication network service provider, a first notification of the delivery of the package associated with a customer from a retailer to a delivery service;
receiving, by the processor of the application server of the service provider, a second notification from the delivery service of a delivery schedule of the package;
sending, by the processor of the application server of the communication network service provider, in response to the receiving the second notification, a third notification comprising the delivery schedule to a delivery box associated with the customer, wherein the delivery box is deployed on a property of the customer for exclusive use in the delivery of packages to the customer and is accessible to delivery services personnel;
receiving, by the processor of the application server of the communication network service provider, in response to the package being placed into the delivery box and an access door of the delivery box being closed and locked, a confirmation from the delivery box, wherein the confirmation comprises an image of the package residing within the delivery box;
receiving, by the processor of the application server of the communication network service provider, a fourth notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box using a customer access code provided by the retailer to the customer to be used to access the delivery box, wherein the fourth notification comprises an image of an act of removing the package from the delivery box; and
sending, by the processor of the application server of the communication network service provider to the retailer that sent the package, in response to the receiving the fourth notification, the fourth notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the first notification comprises a date and a time in which the package was delivered from the retailer to the delivery service.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the confirmation comprises a date in which the package was placed inside the delivery box.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the confirmation further comprises a time in which the package was placed inside the delivery box.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the fourth notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box further comprises a date in which the package was removed from the delivery box.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein the fourth notification that the package has been removed from the delivery box further comprises a time in which the package was removed from the delivery box.