Systems and methods for confirming an identity of an individual, for example, at a locker bank

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10210474-B2
Application number	US-201414514276-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2014
Priority date	Oct 14, 2013
Publication date	Feb 19, 2019
Grant date	Feb 19, 2019

Abstract

Systems, according to various embodiments, are adapted to use any of a variety of different techniques to identify an individual. In particular embodiments, the system is adapted to, at least partially in response to confirming the identity of a consignee of a parcel, provide the consignee with access to a parcel stored within a secured locker. In particular embodiments, the system may use the current or past location of the consignee, or information from one or more objects physically associated with the consignee (e.g., a portable computing device or an electronic or paper info notice) to verify the consignee's identity.

First claim

We claim:

1. A computer-implemented method for directing one or more parcels having a consignee to a suitable locker bank location and facilitating a release of the one or more parcels from the suitable locker bank location, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processor, a first indication that delivery of one or more parcels is not possible to the consignee at a primary delivery location;
determining, by a processor, a suitable locker bank location based at least in part on the primary delivery location;
facilitating delivery of the parcel to the suitable locker bank location;
receiving, by a processor, from a computing device associated with the suitable locker bank location, a first request to deliver the one or more parcels to the suitable locker bank location;
at least partially in response to receiving the first request, providing access, by a processor, to one or more lockers at the suitable locker bank location, each of the one or more lockers having an interior storage volume;
receiving, by a processor, a second indication that the one or more parcels have been placed in a particular one of the one or more lockers;
at least partially in response to receiving the second indication, associating, by a processor, the one or more parcels with the particular one of the one or more lockers;
receiving, by a processor, from an individual at the computing device associated with the suitable locker bank, a second request to retrieve the one or more parcels from the particular one of the one or more lockers;
at least partially in response to receiving the second request, confirming an identity, by a processor, of the individual as an individual authorized to retrieve the one or more parcels from the particular of the one or more lockers, wherein confirming the identity comprises:
receiving, by a processor, identifying information comprising a current physical location of a portable computing device associated with the individual and using the current physical location of the portable computing device associated with the individual to confirm the individual is at the locker bank location; and
at least partially in response to confirming the identity of the individual, associating, by a processor, the one or more parcels with the identity of the individual; and
at least partially in response to confirming the identity of the individual, facilitating, by a processor, the release of the one or more parcels from the interior storage volume of the particular one of the one or more lockers, wherein facilitating the release of the one or more parcels from the particular one of the one or more lockers to the individual comprises substantially automatically unlocking a secure door of the particular one of the one or more lockers containing the one or more parcels to provide the individual with access to an interior of the particular one of the one or more parcels.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving from the consignee, by a processor, a third request to view tracking information associated with the one or more parcels; and
at least partially in response to receiving the third request, displaying, by a processor, the tracking information and a location of the suitable locker bank to the consignee.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:
the consignee is associated with a consignee account associated with a carrier responsible for handling the one or more parcels; and
the method further comprises notifying the consignee via the consignee account, by a processor, at least partially in response to receiving the second indication, of the delivery of the one or more parcels to the suitable locker bank location.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein:
the notification to the consignee comprises a machine-readable indicia, the machine-readable indicia being associated with the one or more parcels; and
receiving the second request comprises receiving, by a processor, information derived from a reading, by a machine-readable indicia reading device, of the machine-readable indicia at the suitable locker bank location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein:
the machine-readable indicia is further associated with the consignee account; and
confirming the identity of the individual further comprises substantially automatically confirming the identity of the individual based at least in part on receiving the information.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the individual is selected from a group consisting of:
i. the consignee; and
ii. an individual on behalf of the consignee.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:
confirming the identity of the individual comprises:
receiving, by a processor, one or more pieces of package level detail information associated with the one or more parcels;
reading, via a card reader associated with the computing device associated with the suitable locker bank location, an identification card associated with the individual;
at least partially in response to reading the identification card:
verifying, by a processer, an authenticity of the identification card;
determining, by a processor, one or more pieces of identifying information associated with the individual; and
at least partially in response to verifying the authenticity of the identification card and determining the one or more pieces of identifying information, comparing, by a processor, the one or more pieces of package level detail information with the one or more pieces of identifying information.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein:
the one or more pieces of package level detail information comprise a first name of the consignee, a last name of the consignee, and an address of the consignee;
the one or more pieces of identifying information comprise a first name of the individual, a last name of the individual, and an address of the consignee; and
the threshold number is two pieces of the one or more pieces of package level detail information and the one or more pieces of identifying information.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein:
the one or more pieces of package level detail information comprise two or more pieces of information selected from the group consisting of:
i. a first name of the consignee;
ii. a last name of the consignee;
iii. a house number of the consignee;
iv. a street of residence of the consignee;
v. a zip code of residence of the consignee;
vi. a city of residence of the consignee;
vii. a state of residence of the consignee; and
viii. an unit number of the consignee; and
the one or more pieces of identifying information comprise two or more pieces of information selected from the group consisting of:
i. a first name of the individual;
ii. a last name of the individual;
iii. a house number of the individual;
iv. a street of residence of the individual;
v. a zip code of residence of the individual;
vi. a city of residence of the individual;
vii. a state of residence of the individual;
viii. a unit number of the consignee; and
ix. a location of the individual.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:
confirming the identity of the individual comprises:
receiving, by a processor, from the individual, a telephone number associated with the individual;
determining, based at least in part on the telephone number, one or more pieces of identifying information associated with the individual;
receiving, by a processor, one or more pieces of package level detail information associated with the one or more parcels;
comparing, by a processor, the one or more pieces o

Assignees

• United parcel service america inc

Inventors

• Robinson Kalin
• Carder David
• Gillen Robert J

Classifications

• G06Q10/0838

  Historical data · CPC title

• G06Q10/0836 Primary

  Recipient pick-ups · CPC title

• G06F2221/2141

  Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices · CPC title

• G06F21/62

  Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules · CPC title