Digital locker delivery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9453758-B2
Application number	US-201414339386-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 23, 2014
Priority date	Jul 23, 2014
Publication date	Sep 27, 2016
Grant date	Sep 27, 2016

Abstract

Techniques are provided for determining, by a sensor, a weight of an item placed in a locker compartment; transmitting, to a locker controller, data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment; receiving, from the sensor, the data indicating the weight; transmitting the data from the locker controller to a locker manager; receiving, from the locker controller, the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment; receiving at the locker manager a reference weight for the item; verifying the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment based at least in part upon the received data and the reference weight for the item placed in the locker compartment; and generating and transmitting a report message indicating whether the item has been delivered to the locker compartment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a plurality of locker managers;
a plurality of locker controllers;
a plurality of sensors;
a plurality of locker compartments;
an intermediary device that stores a plurality of associations between a plurality of locker identifiers and a plurality of reference weights of items;
wherein a sensor, of the plurality of sensors, is configured to:
determine a weight of an item placed in a locker compartment, of the plurality of locker compartments; and
transmit, to a locker controller, of the plurality of locker controllers, data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment;

wherein the locker controller, of the plurality of locker controllers, is configured to:
receive, from the sensor, the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment; and
in response to receiving, from the sensor, the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment, transmit the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment to a locker manager of the plurality of locker managers; and

wherein the locker manager, of the plurality of locker managers, is configured to:
receive, from the locker controller, the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment;
determine a locker identifier of the locker compartment in which the item is placed;
generate a request for providing a reference weight of the item;
wherein the request includes the locker identifier;
send the request, including the locker identifier, to the intermediary device;
in response to receiving, from the intermediary device, a response to the request, retrieve, from the response, the reference weight of the item;

verify the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment based, at least in part, upon the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment and the reference weight of the item; and
generate and transmit a report message indicating whether the item has been delivered to the locker compartment.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the locker manager is further configured to:
extract a weight value from the data indicating the weight of the item;
determine an identification of the item placed in the locker compartment;
request the reference weight of the item identified by the identification;
in response to receiving the reference weight of the item, compare the weight value with the reference weight;
in response to determining that the weight value matches the reference weight within an error margin, determine that the item was delivered to the locker compartment; and
in response to determining that the weight value does not match the reference weight within the error margin, determine that the item deposited in the locker compartment is incorrect.

3. The system of claim 1 ,
wherein the sensor is further configured to:
detect whether a door of the locker compartment has been closed;
in response to detecting that the door of the locker compartment has been closed, transmit, to the locker controller, a notification indicating that the door of the locker compartment has been closed;

wherein the locker controller is further configured to:
in response to receiving the notification indicating that the door of the locker compartment has been closed, transmit a package delivery report to the locker manager;

wherein the locker manager is further configured to:
in response to receiving the package delivery report and determining that the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment matches the reference weight, report that the item has been delivered to the locker compartment; and
in response to determining that the weight of the item does not match the reference weight, report that the item has not been delivered to the locker compartment.

4. The system of claim 1 ,
wherein the locker manager is further configured to:
receive sensor information from the sensor and, based on the sensor information, determine whether the item has been removed from the locker compartment;
in response to determining that the item has been removed from the locker compartment, determine a time period during which the item remained in the locker compartment;
generate a notification indicating the time period during which the item remained in the locker compartment; and
transmit the notification to an intermediary;
wherein the intermediary, upon receiving the notification, determines whether the time period exceeds a reference time period.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the locker manager is further configured to:
receive, from the sensor, a weight reading for the locker compartment;
compare the weight reading of the item placed in the locker compartment with the reference weight for the item;
determine whether the reference weight exceeds the weight reading by a first value; and
in response to determining that the reference weight exceeds the weight reading by the first value, determine that that item has been removed from the locker compartment.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the locker manager is further configured to:
in response to determining that the reference weight exceeds the weight reading by the first value, determine a time period during which the item remained in the locker compartment;
generate a notification indicating the time period during which the item remained in the locker compartment; and
transmit the notification to an intermediary;
wherein the intermediary, upon receiving the notification, determines whether the time period exceeds a reference time period, and if so, sends a reminder to a buyer to indicate that the item is ready in the locker compartment for a pickup.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the intermediary is further configured to:
determine an incentive if the item is retrieved from the locker compartment within a certain time period; and
determine an disincentive if the item is not retrieved from the locker compartment after the certain time period.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:
at a locker manager of a plurality of locker managers managing a plurality of locker compartments:
receiving, from a locker controller, data indicating a weight of an item placed in a locker compartment;
wherein the weight of the item is determined using a sensor installed in the locker compartment;
wherein the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment is transmitted from the sensor to the locker controller and then from the locker controller to the locker manager;
determining a locker identifier of the locker compartment in which the item is placed;
generating a request for providing a reference weight of the item;
wherein the request includes the locker identifier;
sending the request, including the locker identifier, to an intermediary device that stores a plurality of associations between a plurality of locker identifiers and a plurality of reference weights of items;
in response to receiving, from the intermediary device, a response to the request, retrieving, from the response, the reference weight of the item;
verifying the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment based, at least in part, upon the data indicating the weight of the item placed in the locker compartment and the reference weight of the item; and
generating and transmitting a report message indicating whether the item has been delivered to the locker compartment.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , comprising additional instructions w

Assignees

• Motoyama Tetsuro
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Motoyama Tetsuro

Classifications

• G01G19/414 Primary

  using electronic computing means only · CPC title

• G01G19/52

  Weighing apparatus combined with other objects, e.g. furniture (with walking sticks A45B3/08) · CPC title

• G07F17/13

  the containers being a postal pick-up locker · CPC title

• G06Q20/208

  Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing · CPC title