US-12619942-B2 - Systems and methods for delivering items having encoded delivery points

US12619942B2US 12619942 B2US12619942 B2US 12619942B2US-12619942-B2

Abstract

Systems and methods for delivering items are disclosed. The systems and methods comprise assigning a unique internal control value to each profile having an identified physical address delivery point. They also receive a request for delivery point information for each of a plurality of items to be distributed and providing a response comprising a list of internal control values thereto. They further receive a plurality of items, each item having printed thereon one of the internal control values on the list. For each of the plurality of items, they scan, by item processing equipment, the item to read the internal control value printed thereon, identifying, in the profile database, the physical address delivery point corresponding to the assigned internal control value, routing, by the item processing equipment, the item according to the identified physical address delivery point, and delivering the item to the identified physical address delivery point.

Inventors

Robert E. Dixon, JR.
Gary C. Reblin
Naomi Miller

Assignees

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20241108

Claims (20)

1 . A method of dynamic item delivery comprising: receiving a plurality of items by a distribution network, each of the plurality of items having thereon a unique computer readable code that encodes a unique identifier associated with one of a plurality of general geographic areas, wherein the unique identifier is not associated with a specific delivery point when the plurality of items are received by the distribution network; transporting each of the plurality of items toward the one of the plurality of general geographic areas associated with the unique identifier on each item; receiving a delivery request specifying an item type corresponding to the plurality of items, the delivery request identifying a specific delivery point within the one of the plurality of general geographic areas, wherein the delivery request does not specify an individual one of the plurality of items; selecting one of the plurality of items and the associated unique identifier to fulfill the delivery request; storing, in a memory, an association between one of the plurality of items and the associated unique identifier and the specific delivery point; scanning the unique computer readable codes of the plurality of items on item processing equipment in the one of the plurality of general geographic areas; and in response to scanning the unique computer readable code that encodes the one of the unique identifiers: identifying the specific delivery point from the scan on the item processing equipment based on the stored association; and delivering the item corresponding to the one of the unique identifiers to the specific delivery point.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, in response to receiving the delivery request: determining that the specific delivery point is located within the one of the plurality of general geographic areas; and selecting the one of the unique identifiers based at least in part on the one of the unique identifiers not yet being associated with a specific delivery point.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising estimating how many items will be requested to be delivered to specific delivery points in each of the plurality of general geographic areas.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein transporting each of the plurality of items comprises transporting a quantity of items corresponding to the estimated number of items for each of the plurality of general geographic areas.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the delivery request comprises information regarding a purchaser of the item.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of items are deliverable to the purchaser only on or after a specified date.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein transporting each of the plurality of items begins at a time before the specified date.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the unique computer readable identifier further encodes information identifying a sender or shipper of the item.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, from a provider of the plurality of items, a request for a plurality of computer readable codes; generating the plurality of unique computer readable codes, the unique computer readable codes encoding information identifying the provider of the item and information indicating that the unique computer readable code is intended for use with a dynamic warehousing service.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying the plurality of unique computer readable codes to the plurality of items.
11 . A system for dynamic item delivery comprising: a plurality of items, each of the items having thereon a unique computer readable code that encodes a unique identifier associated with one of a plurality of general geographic areas; one or more vehicles for transporting the plurality of items toward the one of the plurality of general geographic areas; item processing equipment located within the one of the plurality of general geographic areas, the item processing equipment comprising a scanner configured to read the unique computer readable codes; a memory storing the unique identifier for each of the plurality of items and an association between each unique identifier and one of the plurality of general geographic areas; and one or more processors in communication with the memory, the one or more processors configured to: receive, after the one or more vehicles have begun transporting the plurality of items toward the one of the plurality of general geographic areas, a delivery request specifying an item type corresponding to the plurality of items, the delivery request identifying a specific delivery point within the one of the plurality of general geographic areas, wherein the delivery request does not specify an individual one of the plurality of items; select one of the plurality of items and the associated unique identifier to fulfill the delivery request; store, in a memory, an association between the selected one of the plurality of items and the associated unique identifier and the specific delivery point; receive scan information from the item processing equipment including the one of the unique identifiers; identify the specific delivery point corresponding to the one of the unique identifiers from the received scan information; and cause the item corresponding to the one of the unique identifiers to be delivered to the specific delivery point.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine that the specific delivery point is located within the one of the plurality of general geographic areas; and select the one of the unique identifiers based at least in part on the one of the unique identifiers not yet being associated with a specific delivery point.
13 . The system of claim 11 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to estimate a quantity of items that are to be requested to be delivered to specific delivery points in each of the plurality of general geographic areas.
14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to track the locations and unique computer readable codes of the plurality of items on vehicles en route to each of the plurality of general geographic areas.
15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the received delivery request further comprises a request to deliver the item to an address of a purchaser of the item.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of items are deliverable to the purchaser only on or after a specified date.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein requests from the purchaser are received at a time after the items are being transported to the general geographic area.
18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the transportation of the item began before the specified date.
19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the unique computer readable code further encodes information identifying a sender or shipper of the item.
20 . A method of dynamic item delivery comprising: receiving, from a provider of a plurality of items, a request for a plurality of computer readable codes; generating, in response to the request, a plurality of unique computer readable codes, the plurality of unique computer readable codes encoding information identifying the provider of the item, an identifier associated with one of a plurality of general geographic areas, and an identifier that the unique computer readable code is intended for use with a dynamic warehousing service; receiving the plurality of items by a distribution network, each of the plurality of items having thereon one of the generated plurality of unique computer readable codes, wherein each of the plurality of unique computer readable codes is not associated with a specific delivery point when the plurality of items are received by the distribution network; transporting each of the plurality of items toward the one of the plurality of general geographic areas associated with the unique identifier on each item; receiving a delivery request for an item of a type corresponding to the plurality of items, the delivery request identifying a specific delivery point within the one of the plurality of general geographic areas; storing, in a memory, an association between one of the unique identifiers and the specific delivery point; scanning the unique computer readable codes of the plurality of items on item processing equipment in the one of the plurality of general geographic areas; and in response to scanning the unique computer readable code that encodes the one of the unique identifiers: identifying the specific delivery point from the scan on the item processing equipment based on the stored association; and delivering the item corresponding to the one of the unique identifiers to the specific delivery point.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/343,328, filed Jun. 28, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/010,671, filed Sep. 2, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,694,148, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/895,433 filed Sep. 3, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by referenced herein for all purposes. This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 16/373,465, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional application No. 62/652,728 filed Apr. 4, 2018 and 62/732,894, filed Sep. 18, 2018, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57. BACKGROUND This disclosure relates to a system and method for coordinating delivery of an item or a plurality of items using delivery point information which had been anonymized, and/or encrypted. The delivery of items by a distribution system or network involves processing and handling each of the items being delivered. Generally, a sender sends and item to a delivery point using an address or identifier related to the physical address. Without this information being indicated on the item, the distribution system will be unable to deliver the item to a recipient. However, the sender may not have access to, or the recipient may desire that the sender not have access to the recipient's physical address or delivery point information, and thus, may be unable to send an item to the recipient through the distribution system. Thus, systems and methods configured to generate and process the anonymous and/or encrypted delivery point information are desired. SUMMARY Various implementations of methods and devices within the scope of the appended claims each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes described herein. Without limiting the scope of the appended claims, some prominent features are described herein. Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale. One aspect of the invention described herein includes a method of delivering items to a delivery point. The method comprises assigning, in a profile database, a unique internal control value to each profile having an identified physical address delivery point, wherein each unique internal control value has a character length equal to a character length of delivery point information printed on a physical distribution item, wherein each unique internal control value comprises a prefix code shared by multiple internal control values and a unique portion unique to the unique internal control value. The method further comprises receiving, via a sender interface, a request for delivery point information for each of a plurality of items to be distributed, the request including recipient criteria and identifying, in the profile database, profiles having an assigned unique internal control value. The method additionally comprises identifying, in the profile database, profiles meeting the received recipient criteria, generating a list of the assigned internal control values based on those profiles identified as meeting the received recipient criteria and having an assigned internal control value, and providing via the sender interface, wherein the assigned internal control values included in the list are anonymized. The method also comprises receiving the plurality of items, each item having printed thereon one of the assigned internal control values on the list, wherein the assigned internal control value is printed on the item in place of the physical address delivery point for the item. For each of the plurality of items, the method also comprises scanning, by item processing equipment, the item to read the internal control value printed thereon, identifying, in the profile database, the physical address delivery point corresponding to the assigned internal control value, routing, by the item processing equipment, the item according to the identified physical address delivery point, and delivering the item to the identified physical address delivery point. In some embodiments, the method further comprises identifying a constraint associated with the received request, wherein the constraint limits the assigned internal control values that can be included in the list. In some embodiments, the method further comprises filtering the generated list based on the constraint and wherein t