WO2013046235A2

WO2013046235A2 - Apparatus and system for managing delivery of objects

Info

Publication number: WO2013046235A2
Application number: PCT/IN2012/000658
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gurbrinder Singh Bindra; Ajith Kumar Padmalayam Narayana Kurup; Shanmugasundaram Murugesan
Original assignee: Logica Private Limited
Priority date: 2011-09-29
Filing date: 2012-10-01
Publication date: 2013-04-04
Also published as: WO2013046235A3

Abstract

The present invention provides for an apparatus and system for managing delivery of objects. The electronic utility box is enabled to receive drop of objects in its collection unit and communicate identification information associated with the dropped of an object inside its collection unit to an external entity. The present invention further enables the monitoring of objects dropped in one or more electronic utility boxes located in a geographical area, planning a timely pick-up, tracking collection of the objects dropped and sending acknowledgment of confirm delivery of the object to sender user and recipient user. Further, the invention also provides for a time efficient navigation route connecting the electronic utility boxes having received the object(s) located in the geographical area.

Description

APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING DELIVERY OF OBJECTS

RELATED APPLICATION Benefit is claimed to India Provisional Application No. 3389/CHE/2011 , entitled "MACHINE TO MACHINE ENABLED UTILITY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF" by GBS Bindra et. At., filed on 29th September 201 1 , which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes,

FIELD OF THE INVENTIO

The present invention relates to the field of machine to machine communication, and more particularly relates to an apparatus and system for managing the delivery of objects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the existing postal system, a postman has to go physically to the post box and open the post box to check presence of any letter. In case if there is any, the postman collects and takes them to the post office for processing and routing to the appropriate post offices. From the post office, the letters are taken for delivering to the recipient(s). A letter box may be available at houses or offices for the postman to deliver corresponding letters. The person staying in the house or the office staff who works in the office checks the availability of letters in the respective letter boxes and similar to the above mentioned scenario, if there are no letters, opening the letter box may be seen as an overhead and unnecessary. Further, this is applicable not for only letters/posts and letter/post-boxes scenario. It may be extended to any utility box for receiving milk, newspaper, etc. It may be viewed in such a way that there is a need for providing a solution which enables a person concerned to visit the utility boxes only when an object or utility is received.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an apparatus and system for delivery of objects. According to one embodiment, an electronic utility box (100) including at least one sensor (104) operable for detecting an object dropped in a collection unit (102) and obtaining identification information associated with the object, and a communication module (108) coupled to the at least one sensor (104) for instantly sending a first notification to an external entity when the object is dropped in the collection unit (102) and indicating the identification information associated with the object and an identification of the electronic utility box (100) to the external entity.

In an another embodiment, a system (200) including a source electronic utility box (210), a destination electronic utility box (212), and a remote server (202) communicatively coupled to the source electronic utility box (210) and the destination electronic utility box (212), wherein the source electronic utility box (210) is operable for detecting an object dropped in a collection unit (102) of the source electronic utility box (210), and sending a first notification to the remote server (202) indicating identification information associated with the dropped object, and wherein the destination electronic utility box (212) is operable for detecting the object dropped in a collection unit (102) of the destination electronic utility box (212) and sending a second notification to the remote server (202) indicating the identification information associated with the dropped object, and wherein the remote server (202) is operable for sending a first alert message to a sending user device and a recipient user device upon receiving the first notification from the source electronic utility box (210), and wherein the remote server (202) is operable for sending a second alert message to the sending user device and the recipient user device confirming delivery of the object to the recipient user upon receiving the second notification from the destination electronic utility box (212).

In a further embodiment, a system including a plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) installed in a geographical area, and a remote server (202) communicatively coupled to the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100), wherein each of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) are configured for sensing one or more objects dropped in respective collection unit (102) of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100), and wherein one or more of the plurality of electronic boxes (100) are configured for sending a count of objects dropped in the respective collection unit (102) over a pre-defined time interval to the remote server, and wherein the remote server (202) is configured for determining a time efficient navigation route for pick-up of the objects dropped in the one or more of the plurality of the electronic boxes (100) in the geographical area, and wherein the remote server (202) is operable for displaying the time efficient navigation route on a geo-spatial map in conjunction with the information associated with the one or more electronic utility boxes (100).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 illustrating a block diagram of an electronic utility box (100), according to one embodiment.

Figure 2 illustrating a block diagram of a system for tracking the object dropped is the collection unit (102) of electronic utility drop boxes (100) according to one embodiment.. Figure 3 illustrating a screenshot of time efficient navigation route for pick-up of objects dropped inside the electronic utility boxes in a geographical area, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic utility box (100), according to one, embodiment. In Figure 1 , the electronic utility box (100) includes one or more sensors (104), a counting module (106), a communication module (108) and a collection unit (102). As illustrated, the electronic utility box (100) is provided with a collection unit (102) for receiving the objects dropped by a sender user. The sensors (104) are configured to detect the drop of the object in the collection unit. For example, including, but not limited to a tilt sensor, light sensor, a bar code scanner, QR code scanner, a RFID tag reader, a NFC unit and a camera is further configured to obtain information associated with the object dropped inside the collection unit (102), wherein the identification information includes a unique identification number associated with the object. A communication module (108) communicatively coupled to a remote server (202), wherein the communication module (108) is configured to instantly send a notification the remote server (202) when the object is dropped inside the collection unit (102) by a user. Based on the information associated with the objects dropped inside the collection unit (102), the electronic utility box (100) is capable of segregating the objects as per its type or recipient of the object. For example, the electronic utility box (100) installed in the premises of an office or house senses the drop of an object inside its collection unit (102) and sends notification to the remote server (202). Subsequently, the remote server 202 sends alert specifically to recipient of the object and not to all other people residing in the house based on the information associated with the object. This helps the recipient to collect the object in a timely manner while avoiding the unnecessary visits to the electronic utility box (100).

In another embodiment, the electronic utility box (100) is further provided with the counting module (106) coupled to the at least one sensor (104) and the communication module (108). The counting module (106) is configured for maintaining count of the objects by incrementing count by one when the object is dropped in the collection unit (102). The electronic utility box (100) is further provided with a memory for storing identification information associated with the object dropped inside the collection unit (102) and total count of the objects dropped inside the collection unit (102). Further the communication module (108) is configured for sending a second notification including total count of objects collected in the collection unit (102) at a preset time interval. For example, the electronic utility box (100) installed in a premise and the count of objects in the memory is reset to zero. Further with each drop of the object inside the collection unit (102) the sensor (104) sends a signal to the counting module (106) which further increments the count of objects by one and hence maintains the total count of objects dropped inside the collection unit (102). The communication module (108) sends a notification message at preset time interval(s) to the remote server (202). The remote server (202) then alerts the recipient or person responsible for pick-up of object from the electronic utility box (100) and hence enabling the recipient user or pick-up person to schedule a visit to the electronic utility box ( 00) to collect objects dropped inside the collection unit (102) while avoiding the unnecessary visit to empty electronic utility box (100). Once the pick-up person collects all the objects from the electronic utility box (100), the sensor(s) (104) again sense the absence of object inside the electronic utility box (100) and communicates the absence of any object inside the collection unit with the counting module (106) which resets the count of objects in the electronic utility box (100) to zero.

For another example, the electronic utility box (100) is configured to be used as cheque drop boxes. The electronic utility box (100) can be installed in a plurality of cheque drop boxes present in a geographical area, wherein the electronic utility box (100) is configured to detect the drop of one or more cheques in the cheque drop box and notifying the number of cheques received in any particular cheque box to the back end server of the bank and the bank can arrange a timely collection of cheques dropped in the cheque drop boxes.

For yet another example, the electronic utility box (100) can be used in scenarios where utility providers deliver objects such as milk, newspaper, house hold items, foods and beverages, bills/receipts etc. targeted for a specific address. The electronic utility box (100) can be further configured to prepare a count and types of object(s) received in the collection unit (102) and notify the recipient user.

Figure 2 is a block level diagram illustrating a system for tracking the object dropped in a collection unit of electronic utility drop boxes and sending acknowledgement of final delivery of object to the recipient, according to one embodiment. In Figure 2, the system includes a source electronic utility box (210), a destination electronic utility box (212), and a remote server (202). As illustrated, the remoter serve (202) is communicatively coupled to the source electronic utility box (210) and the destination electronic utility box (212) via a communication network (214) (e.g., a wireless network, GPRS, SMS, MMS, personal area network and so on).

The source electronic utility box (210) and the destination electronic utility box (212) both comprise the collection unit (102), the sensor(s) (104), the counting module (106) and the communication module (108) as are described herein above under Figure 1. The source electronic utility box (210) is configured to detect the drop of an object in a collection unit of the source electronic utility box (2 0) using sensor (104) such as, but not limited to tilt sensor, light sensor, bar code scanner, QR scanner, IR sensor, NFC sensor, and RIFD sensor. The communication module (108) of the source electronic utility box (210) is configured to send a first notification to the remote server (202) communicating identification information associated with the dropped object.

As illustrated the remote server (202) is provided with a notification module (204), a retrieval module (206) and a communication module (208). The communication module 208 is configured to receive the first notification from source electronic utility box (210) and the retrieval module (206) is configured to retrieve information about sender and receiver of the object dropped inside the collection unit (102). Further, the notification module (204) is configured to send a first alert message to the sending user device and a recipient user device based on the information retrieved by the retrieval module (206) on the basis of first notification received from the source electronic utility box (210). The object dropped inside the collection unit (102) of the source electronic utility box (210) is collected and delivered at the destination electronic utility box (212).

The destination electronic utility box (212) is configured to detect the drop of an object in a collection unit of the destination electronic utility box (212) using sensor (104) such as, but not limited to tilt sensor, light sensor, bar code scanner, QR scanner, IR sensor, NFC sensor, and RIFD sensor. The communication module (108) of the destination electronic utility box (212) is also configured to send a second notification to the remote server (202) indicating the identification information associated with the object dropped, wherein the communication module (208) of the remote server (202) is configured to receive the second notification from destination electronic utility box (212).

The remote server (202) is enabled to confirm delivery of the object in the destination electronic utility box (212) and send acknowledgement to the sender user device and recipient user device. The remote server (202) is enabled to compare the identification information in the first notification message received from the source electronic utility box (210) with the identification information in the second notification message received from the destination electronic utility box (212) and determine whether the object dropped in the source electronic utility box (210) and the object dropped in the destination utility box is the same based on the outcome of comparison. The remote server (202) is also configured to send acknowledgement of delivery to the sender user device and recipient user device, thus confirming the delivery of the object dropped inside the collection unit (102) of the source electronic utility box (210) at the destination electronic utility box (212). In another embodiment, the source electronic utility box (210) is configured to send a first alert message to the sending user device and the recipient user device upon detecting the drop of the object at the source utility box. Similarly, the destination electronic utility box (212) is configured to send a second alert message to the sending user device and the recipient user device confirming the delivery of the object to the recipient user upon detecting the drop of the object at the destination utility box.

In a yet another embodiment, a system for providing a time efficient navigation route for pick-up of objects dropped inside a plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) located in a geographical area. The system includes a plurality of electronic boxes (100) located in a geographical area and a remote server (202), wherein the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) are communicatively coupled to the remote server (202) via a communication network (214).

Each of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) are configured for sensing one or more objects dropped in respective collection unit (102) of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) and sending count of objects dropped in the respective collection unit (102) over a pre-defined time interval to the remote server(202).

The remote server (202) receiving count of the objects dropped in the respective collection unit (102) of the plurality of electronic utility boxes ( 00) is enabled to gather information associated with various routes connecting the locations of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) having received one or more drop and instant traffic conditions on the said routes. On the basis of the gathered information the remote server (202) determines a shortest route with least traffic condition connecting the geographical location associated with the one or more electronic utility boxes (100) for pick-up of the objects. The remote server (202) is also enabled to display the time efficient navigation route on a geo-spatial map in conjunction with the information associated with the one or more electronic utility boxes (100). Figure 3 illustrating a screenshot of time efficient navigation route (308) for pick-up of objects dropped inside the electronic utility boxes in a geographical area (302), according to one embodiment. The map is showing all possible routes connecting the locations of electronic utility boxes (100) having received drop. The time efficient navigation route (308) is shown with arrow marks and other routes connecting the electronic utility boxes (100) with dotted lines (304 and 306) and post office (310) responsible for pickup in the geographical area (302). The electronic utility boxes (100) numbered as location 2 on the map has not received any drop hence not covered in the time efficient navigation route (308) and thus avoiding the unnecessary visit to it.

Further, the remote server (202) is configured for periodically updating the information associated with the time efficient navigation route based on the count of the one or more objects received in the respective collection unit (202) of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100).

The system also provides for tracking the status of pick-up of the objects from each of the one or more electronic utility boxes (100). For example, once all the objects present inside collection unit (202) of the electronic utility box (100) are removed, the count of objects is reset to zero. This updated status of the count in the respective electronic utility boxes (100) is communicated to the remote server (202) which signifies the timely pick-up of the objects. Hence, ensuring effective tracking of the status of pick-up of the objects from each of the one or more electronic utility boxes (100).

Moreover, the remote server (202) is also configured to track one or more vehicles deployed for the pick-up of the objects from each of the one or more electronic utility boxes (100) travelling via the time efficient navigation route on the geo-spatial map. For example, each pick-up truck provided with a communication device coupled with the remote server (202), wherein the communication device constantly sending the location of the pick-up truck on the time efficient navigation route to the remote server (202).

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. An electronic utility box (100) comprising: at least one sensor (104) operable for detecting an object dropped in a collection unit (102) and obtaining identification information associated with the object; and a communication module (108) coupled to the at least one sensor (104) for instantly sending a first notification to an external entity when the object is dropped in the collection unit (102), and indicating the identification information associated with the object and an identification of the electronic utility box (100) to the external entity.

2. The electronic utility box (100) of claim 1 , further comprising: a counting module (106) coupled to the at least one sensor (104) for incrementing a count by one when the object is dropped in the collection unit (102).

3. The electronic utility box (100) of claim 2, further comprising a memory for storing the identification information associated with the object.

4. The electronic utility box (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the communication module (108) is configured for sending a second notification including total count of objects collected in the collection unit (102) at a preset time interval.

5. The electronic utility box (100) of claim 1 , wherein the identification information comprises unique identification number associated with the object.

6. A system comprising: a source electronic utility box (210); a destination electronic utility box (212); and a remote server (202) communicatively coupled to the source electronic utility box (210) and the destination electronic utility box (212), wherein the source electronic utility box (210) is operable for detecting an object dropped in a collection unit (102) of the source electronic utility box (210), and sending a first notification to the remote server (202) indicating identification information associated with the dropped object, and wherein the destination electronic utility box (212) is operable for detecting the object dropped in a collection unit (102) of the destination electronic utility box (212) and sending a second notification to the remote server (202) indicating the identification information associated with the dropped object, and wherein the remote server (202) is operable for sending a first alert message to a sending user device and a recipient user device upon receiving the first notification from the source electronic utility box (210), and wherein the remote server (202) is operable for sending a second alert message to the sending user device and the recipient user device confirming delivery of the object to a recipient user upon receiving the second notification from the destination electronic utility box (212).

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the source electronic utility box (210) is operable for sending a first alert message to the sending user device and the recipient user device upon detecting the drop of the object at the source electronic utility box (210).

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the destination electronic utility box (212) is operable for sending a second alert message to the sending user device and the recipient user device confirming the delivery of the object to the recipient user upon detecting the drop of the object at the destination electronic utility box (212).

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the remote server (202) is operable for comparing the identification information in the first notification message with the identification information in the second notification message and determining whether the object dropped in the source electronic utility box (210) and the object dropped in the destination electronic utility box (212) is the same based on the outcome of comparison.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the remote server (202) is operable for retrieving information associated with the sending user and recipient user based on the identification information received in the first notification and the second notification. -

11. A system comprising: a plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) installed in a geographical area; and a remote server (202) communicatively coupled to the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100), wherein each of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100) are configured for sensing one or more objects dropped in respective collection unit (102) of the plurality of electronic utility boxes (100), and wherein one or more of the plurality of electronic boxes (100) are configured for sending a count of objects dropped in the respective collection unit (102) over a pre-defined time interval to the remote server (202), and wherein the remote server (202) is configured for determining a time efficient navigation route for pickup of the objects dropped in the one or more of the plurality of the electronic boxes ( 00) in the geographical area, and wherein the remote server (202) is operable for displaying the time efficient navigation route on a geo-spatial map in conjunction with information associated with the one or more electronic utility boxes ( 00).

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the remote server (202) is configured for periodically updating the information associated with the time efficient navigation route.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the time efficient navigation route for pickup of the objects dropped in the one or more of the plurality of the electronic boxes (100) in the geographical area comprises: determining a shortest route with least traffic conditions connecting the geographical location associated with the one or more electronic utility boxes (100).

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the remote server (202) is configured for tracking status of pickup of the objects from each of the one or more electronic utility boxes (100).

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the remote server (202) is configured for tracking a vehicle for pickup of objects traveling via the time efficient navigation route on the geo-spatial map.