Title of Invention

METHOD FOR SENDING POSTAL PACKETS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for dispatching postal parcels comprising the steps of recording a delivery address for the delivery of the postal parcels from the postal parcels; changing the delivery address of the postal parcel; and delivering the postal parcels to the said changed delivery address wherein the delivery address of the postal parcel is changed according to a routine predefined by the recipient, whereby the routine is stored in a table and this table contains the allocation of several delivery times and delivery addresses, whereby the delivery addresses in the table comprise at least one electronic parcel compartment system or a compartment of an electronic parcel compartment system; and the delivery address is changed as a function of free compartments of at least one parcel compartment system for the eventuality that,according to the routine predefined by the recipient, an electronic parcel compartment system is allocated to a delivery address for a delivery time period.

Full Text

FIELD OF THE INVENTION: The disclosure generally relates to a method and device for dispatching postal parcels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART: European Patent Application EP 1 053 798 A2 discloses a virtual post office box. The physically non-existent post office box can be rented by persons and is linked to the address of these persons. Postal parcels that are addressed to the virtual post office box are segregated from the sorting process and forwarded to the address of the renter. The renter can indicate the period of time during which the postal parcels are to be forwarded to a given address. By the same token, he can change this address by sending a notification to this effect to the postal service company. U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,369 Bl describes a network-based contact manager with which selected address information of a first user can be made accessible to a second user. Changes in the address data of the first user are sent to the second user, and the address data are then updated in the address book of the second user. With the known dispatching methods, the problem exists that the recipient of the shipment often cannot be reached at the time of the delivery. This is especially a drawback in delivering postal parcels that cannot be placed into conventional mailboxes. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION: The invention is based on the objective of improving a method of the generic type in that the delivery of the postal parcels is fast, reliable and involves as little dispatching effort as possible. STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION: According to the invention, this objective is achieved in that the method is carried out in such a way that it comprises the following steps: • recording a delivery address for the delivery of the postal parcels from the postal parcels; • changing the delivery address of the postal parcel; and w • delivering the postal parcels to the said changed delivery address; characterized by: • the delivery address of the postal parcel is changed according to a routine predefined by the recipient, whereby the routine is stored in a table and this table contains the allocation of several delivery times and delivery addresses, whereby the delivery addresses in the table comprise at least one electronic parcel compartment system or a compartment of an electronic parcel compartment system; and • the delivery address is changed as a function of free compartments of at.least one parcel compartment system for the eventuality that, according to the routine predefined by the recipient, an electronic parcel compartment system is allocated to a delivery address for a delivery time period. The invention allows a flexible delivery of postal parcels. The invention especially provides a flexible control of the dispatching process. Preferably, the desired delivery address here is treated like a virtual cell to be delivered to his home or workplace at the anticipated delivery time or else if he does not want such a delivery modality as a general rule. For example, all postal parcels or all postal parcels with a definable and changeable delivery interval can be delivered to the electronic parcel compartment system. For the postal service company, this eliminates the effort involved in a failed delivery attempt to an unwanted delivery address, including the logistic effort associated with this for storing or holding the postal parcel or else for attempting delivery again. The use of the method entailing delivery to an electronic parcel compartment system is likewise advantageous for the customer of the postal service company since this saves him unnecessary trip to pick up postal parcels and he receives the postal parcel at the earliest point in time. In the case of delivery to an electronic parcel compartment system, the flexibility of selecting the delivery location is especially advantageous. In this manner, especially a * flexible allocation of individual electronic parcel compartment systems, or individual postal boxes is possible. In particular, the invention can be used to flexibly deploy the electronic parcel compartment systems, or the parcel compartment contained therein. This makes h possible to provide especially recipient-friendly pick-up periods that optionally cover a longer period of time and, if a postal parcel is picked up from the parcel compartment assigned to it, then - immediately after this postal parcel has been picked up - another postal parcel can be placed into the parcel compartment that has just become free. The flexible selection of several potentially deployable electronic parcel compartment systems is another advantage for the customer. Thanks to the flexibility of the method used, this advantage for the customer can be utilized with relatively little effort by a logistic company executing the method. Additional advantages, special features and practical refinements of the invention ensue from the subclaims and from the following presentation of preferred embodiments. The invention allows the use of various modalities of delivery and forwarding. For example, when the customer of a merchant places an order, he indicates his postal number (customer number for his service) as well as a delivery location (parcel compartment system) for the delivery of the ordered products. The post number contains a check digit so that the correctness can be checked. The recipient identification code can be issued individually for each order and it can also be used for multiple orders. In the first step, the system tracks the issuing of a post number for each customer. However, it is also conceivable that for each transaction, a number is issued that provides authorization to use the system. ^ It is especially advantageous for the postal service company to assign a fixed recipient identification code to a customer of the postal service company. The delivery address can refer to the entire parcel compartment system (as well as to the individual parcel compartment). Both definitions of the delivery address are included. The invention can be adapted to the delivery address that is used in each case. ADDRESSING When the recipient places his order with the merchant, he provides his billing address as well as an alternative delivery address. The address of the desired PACKSTATION (PACKSTATION address) is indicated in the delivery address. For purposes of unambiguously identifying the shipment as a PACKSTATION delivery and for identifying the customer, the post number has to be indicated, also in the delivery address. The PACKSTATION address is a customer-individual automat address or branch office address to which deliveries can be made. Preferably, the address consists of the following: post number, PACKSTATION and number, actual postal code and city. The addressing of the alternative delivery possibility is shown below by way of an example: First name. Last name: John Doe or Doe 123456789 Second name field: 123456789 Street, house number: PACKSTATION 102 PACKSTATION 102 Postal code, city: 53113 Bonn 53113 Bonn • If possible, the house number is selected in such a way that no same house numbers/automat numbers are issued to adjacent postal code regions. • The house numbers are three-digit numbers. • The house numbers are divided into two fields, so that an unambiguous allocation of the automat and the branch office is ensured. • The house number range is defined as 001-499 for automats and as 500-999 for branch offices. An automat in a branch office is designated and addressed as an automat. The numbering of the automats/branch offices is not done separately for each postal code, but rather according to defined postal code regions, for example, 53 or the city area of Bonn, that is to say, in a postal code district, here in the 53 district, the house numbers are issued consecutively on an overarching basis. Adjacent postal codes start with a different numbering. The numbering is done according to PACKSTATIONS, as shown below, for example. These are especially parcel compartment systems or branch offices that are integrated into the logistic system and that serve for picking up the parcels. Example: 53113 53152 53114 53110 PACKSTATIONl PACKSTATI0N2 PACKSTATI0N3 PACKSTATI0N4 54025 54320 PACKSTATIONl 01 PACKSTATIONl 02 Advantages of this form of addressing include, but are not limited to, expressive street names, better marketing possibilities, higher customer acceptance, the customer does not have to register separately for each automat, the geographic "postal code system" is retained, and no problems due to distortion of competition. Furthermore, the customer preferably has only one post number for all alternative delivery options. The post number is preferably, for instance, a 10 digit number that is assigned to a customer and that identifies him. Preferably, it is part of the delivery address as a suffix to the name. Disadvantages of this form of addressing include, more manual work for the in-house personnel, senders have to be thoroughly informed, and the transmission of the post number is secured. Sequence Prerequisites The sender has the possibility to accept and to activate an alternative delivery address and optimally an additional address line in his systems on the order form. An automatic check of the delivery address, for example, in the on-line shop, in the goods management system or in the shipping logistic system, would have to be switched off, or would have to accept PACKSTATION addresses. The recipient has to know the PACKSTATION address and enter it himself The post number should be indicated in the delivery address (= addressing of the parcel). The prerequisites for the integration of an especially preferred embodiment are: Defining the street designation Updating the LOS file • Informing the central group BDV/LOS about the locations of the alternative deliv¬ ery options Transmitting the post number fi-om the ordering party via the sender to the Deutsche Post AG In order to be able to realize a correct addressing of a print order (fax, letter) at post points, it is often necessary to implement a field for an alternative delivery address. Data to be acquired / transferred The most important information is the correct delivery address with: • The post number Last name, optionally first name (if sufficient space available) Street and number of the desired PACKSTATION Postal code and city of the desired PACKSTATION The post number entered into the delivery basis by the in-house personnel The examples presented show preferred embodiments of the method for sending postal parcels. Thanks to the transition from the first-selected provisional delivery address to the final delivery address, a flexible sending of the postal parcels to the recipient in question can be realized. This also makes it possible for the recipient to designate other persons as the recipient. For example, a customer who is unable to receive a parcel or to pick it up from an elec¬tronic parcel compartment system can inform a server that is centrally integrated into the process - preferably a web server - about anothor person as the recipient by entering identifying information about said person, if possible, in encrypted form. In this maimer, another person rather than the originally designated recipient can retrieve a parcel from an electronic parcel compartment system during a prescribed time period without there being a need for the other recipient to know the customer identification information of the first recipient, which is supposed to be kept secret. We Claim: 1. A method for dispatching postal parcels comprising the following steps: • Recording a delivery address for the delivery of the postal parcels from the postal parcels; • changing the delivery address of the postal parcel; and • delivering the postal parcels to the said changed delivery address; characterized by: • the delivery address of the postal parcel is changed according to a routine predefined by the recipient, whereby the routine is stored in a table and this table contains the allocation of several delivery times and delivery addresses, whereby the delivery addresses in the table comprise at least one electronic parcel compartment system or a compartment of an electronic parcel compartment system; and • the delivery address is changed as a function of free compartments of at least one parcel compartment system for the eventuality that, according to the routine predefined by the recipient, an electronic parcel compartment system is allocated to a delivery address for a delivery time period. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a recipient identification code is assigned to the recipient, whereby the recipient identification code and the desired address can be linked to each other. 3. A device for dispatching postal parcels in accordance with the method claimed in claim 1, said device comprising: • a recording means for recording a delivery address from the postal parcel; • an address changing means operatively coupled to the recording means for changing the delivery address of the postal parcel; and • a delivering means operatively coupled to the address changing means for receiving the changed address and delivering the postal parcels to the said changed delivery address; characterized by: • a storing means for storing a routine predefined by the recipient; the said address changing means changes the delivery address of the postal parcel according to a routine predefined by the recipient, whereby the routine is stored in a table and this table contains the allocation of several delivery times and delivery addresses, whereby the delivery addresses in the table comprise at least one electronic parcel compartment system or a compartment of an electronic parcel compartment system; and the said address changing means changes the delivery address as a function of free compartments of at least one parcel compartment system for the eventuality that, according to the routine predefined by the recipient, an electronic parcel compartment system is allocated to a delivery address for a delivery time period. Dated this f" day of May, 2004.

Documents:

1031-chenp-2004 abstract-duplicate.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 abstract.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 claims-duplicate.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 claims.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 correspondence-others.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 correspondence-po.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 description (complete).pdf

1031-chenp-2004 form-1.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 form-13.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 form-19.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 form-26.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 form-3.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 form-5.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 others.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 pct search report.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 pct.pdf

1031-chenp-2004 petition.pdf