Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-29
2002-03-12
Trieu, Van (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S539230, C340S572100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06356196
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of system and methodology for the delivering of goods and more specifically relates to the notification, verification, tracking and safeguarding of parcels delivered by a courier.
2. The Problem to be Solved
Everyday many millions of parcels, large and small, are delivered to households and companies all around the world by delivery companies such as United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express, Airborne, DHL, etc., to name a few. More and more people today purchase goods from distant sources instead of buying them on site in local shopping malls or at local retail stores.
Typically a consumer orders goods from a source via telephone or mail (commonly referred to in the business as “MOTO” or Mail Order Telephone Order) and selects a delivery service, viz. regular ground, airmail or next-day speed delivery, etc. As proof of a successful transaction, the consumer receives a confirmation number and thereafter expects the ordered goods to be delivered to his residence.
Depending on prior arrangements, the delivery agent might have instructions to not deliver the parcel containing the ordered goods unless there is somebody present to receive it. Additionally, the delivery agent might demand someone's signature in exchange for the parcel in order to provide evidence of the delivery and receipt of the goods. Normally this is not a problem for deliveries made at a business as there is normally someone there to receive and sign for the goods.
However, deliveries to residences have always been a nagging problem to both the consumer and the delivery agent when the consumer is not at home to receive the ordered goods. This situation is a common occurrence as both members of a married couple may work during the day, and delivery agents seldom make deliveries after regular working hours. For consumers, this situation is highly inconvenient and incompatible with their lifestyle as more often than not they have to take delivery at the shipping agent's location, if they need the goods in a hurry. For delivery agents, the repeated delivery of the same ordered goods to the consumers' residences or the additional handling and storing of the undelivered goods needed in order to complete a delivery contract means extra expense without any added business advantage other than maintaining the company's good will and service reputation to the public. Mundane as it is, this problem has persisted for decades to the present time in this industry seemingly still without any physically and economically workable solution.
The advent of the Internet in recent years creates a new dimension of merchandise choice and convenience for consumers. This new mode of shopping further aggravates the decades old problem of home delivery of ordered goods. First, the goods ordered on the Internet still have to be delivered to the customers'residences. Consequently, the manner of conducting business has not changed. Second, in addition to MOTO, we now have the added volume of Internet orders to contend with, further exacerbating the frustration levels of both the consumers and delivery agents. Fortunately the potentially huge financial reward in coming up with an economically viable solution to this problem has finally caught the attention of a number of resourceful individuals. As a result, proposed solutions to remedy this problem have finally started to emerge as recently as only several years ago.
THE PRIOR ART
Prior to the recent proposed solutions to this particular package delivery problem, a number of item detection alarm methodologies aimed generally at the prevention of thefts via alarm or information transmittal for a variety of devices and objects, large and small, had been advanced.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,429 issued to Streeter on Nov. 12, 1996, a self-contained programmable alarm system securely attached to an article is described. The article is protected by activating an alarm device when the article is moved. Non-position-sensitive, vibration activated switching means are included for activating the alarm device after sensing movement of the article. Although this alarm system can protect against the theft of an article, its implementation is rather complex and expensive to use for solving the current package delivery problem where simplicity and low cost are mandatory in order that such a system can be deployed and accepted by the general public.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,456 issued to Staehle, Jr. on Aug. 26, 1997, a theft preventive purse comprising an opening with a keypad situated adjacent thereto with the keypad adapted to transmit an access signal for a predetermined amount of time upon entry of a proper code is disclosed. This invention is aimed specifically towards an improved anti-theft purse with the added feature of a panic button in addition to the conventional audible alarm when unauthorized access to the purse is encountered.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,066 issued to Murdy on Sep. 8, 1998, an instrument case and alarm is disclosed which provides a reliable alarm system that selectively uses audio, visual and radio alerts to attract attention to the case and instrument. The system advanced is meant for a very special application such as an expensive musical instrument in a carrying case and therefore not suitable, both from simplicity and cost standpoints, for the currently encountered general package delivery problem.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,286 issued to Kuma on May 25, 1999, there is described a transport container and managing system suitable for use when valuable goods are transported by a transportation service. Such a system is specifically advanced for delivery services used by banking facilities when valuable goods such as money, jewelry or security articles are transported.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,131 issued to D'Angelo et al. on Oct. 5, 1999, there is described a motion sensitive theft detector system for portable articles featuring two way communication between the theft detector unit installed in or affixed to the portable article and the control unit carried by the owner. One of the special features of this invention is the adaptive alarm sequence which allows the alarm to vary in response to frequency and duration of motion so that isolated movement triggers a warning but persistent motion triggers a full scale alarm. It is apparent that the complexity and sophistication of such a theft alarm works best for special situations but not so when a simple, low cost package delivery alarm system is called for.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,647 issued to Devine on Dec. 8, 1998, there is described an alarm for detecting the unauthorized movement of an object. The system includes a motion detector, programmable microprocessor and an audible alarm all contained within a housing. The specific objective of this disclosure is to provide a simple and effective motion detection means and to provide an alarm device that can be attached to valuable items, and that will sound an alarm if the item is moved.
Thus there is still today an urgent need, especially in view of the exponentially increasing Internet online shopping volume, for a novel solution to the home package delivery problem. Internet shopping online and the traditional MOTO shopping no doubt offer consumers with appealing conveniences, however, until such time that the home packages delivery problem is solved, the potential of these modes of shopping cannot be fully realized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a viable yet economical solution to the home package delivery problem. The present invention provides adequate protection for the delivered package, notification and verification of the delivery to both the addressee and the shipper, and permits tracking of the delivered package in the event that it is illegally removed from the delivery site.
The package delivery system of the present invention, hereafter referred to as the Delivery Alert System or DAS for simplicity, includes an A
Anderson Roy L.
Wong Jacob Y.
Cottone James F.
Jaesent Inc.
McKown Daniel C.
Trieu Van
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