Systems and methods for control of electronic parcel lockers
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorsDonald Eugene Irwin, Gabriel Michael Yessin, Joram Shenhar, Joel Locknauth Dewnandan, Michael LeRoy Spears, William Albert Tartal
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Abstract
Systems, devices and methods for storage, delivery, receipt, and/or other handling of an item in an electronically controllable storage receptacle are disclosed. The disclosure provides features for keyless access to the storage receptacle by use of user access information, such as a PIN or bar code. Further, features are disclosed for receiving and/or transmitting data related to the recipient and the item to facilitate the various handling actions of the item.
Claims20
A method of delivery to a storage unit, the method comprising:
- providing, to a user on an input device of a storage unit, a selection of a delivery option for an item, the item associated with an item recipient, the storage unit including a plurality of storage receptacles, a scanner, and one or more processors;
- receiving, in the one or more processors, a scan information from the scanner;
- determining by the one or more processors if the scan information is indicative of the item including a barcode or other readable identifier;
- if no barcode or other readable identifier is found, receiving recipient information on the input device;
- if the barcode or other readable identifier is found, determining by the one or more processors whether the barcode or other readable identifier is associated with an item recipient;
- and
- if the barcode or other readable identifier is not found, providing an option to the user to enter item recipient information on the input device.
A method of delivery to a storage unit, the method comprising:
- providing, to a user on an input device of a storage unit, a selection of a delivery option for an item, the item associated with an item recipient, the storage unit including a plurality of storage receptacles, a scanner, and a processor;
- receiving, in the processor, a scan information from the scanner;
- determining by the processor whether a barcode or other readable identifier is associated with a package recipient;
- identifying an available receptacle of the plurality of storage receptacles for delivery of the item;
- and
- depositing the item in the available receptacle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.