WO2017119831A1

WO2017119831A1 - A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox

Info

Publication number: WO2017119831A1
Application number: PCT/SE2016/051210
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tore Andersson
Original assignee: Simul Design Ab
Priority date: 2016-01-07
Filing date: 2016-12-02
Publication date: 2017-07-13

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox, wherein the item of mail addressed to a physical address is sent from a sender to a digital mail center, which checks if the addressee is registered at the physical address on the item of mail and if the addressee has a registered digital mailbox. If the addressee has a registered digital mailbox, the item of mail is sent to the registered digital mailbox, and if not, the item of mail is either returned to the sender, placed on hold in a digital mailbox or is forwarded to a supplier of physical mail for delivery to a physical mailbox or a post office box. The invention further relates to a computer software executable on or from a mobile device or a computer, wherein the computer performs steps of checking and delivering the item of mail in a preferred way of the addressee.

Description

A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox

The present invention relates to a method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox. Items of mail have traditionally been sent to a physical mailbox. A problem with physical mail is that the person receiving it must be able to pick it up in physical form from the mail box. Lately it has become more usual that mail is sent electronically to a person's e-mail address. To distribute mail, and especially invoices, via e-mail has previously been described in for example EP 1067472. SE 516393 further describes a method for sending mail, wherein a computer system comprises a database with information of which recipients that want to receive their mail through e-mail and which recipients that wants to receive their mail via physical mail and sends the mail by the recipients preferred way.

A problem with both of these system is that they are based on e-mail addresses. A problem with sending mail to an e-mail address is that the sender don^'t know if the receiver has received the mail, an e-mail address can further be changed and the register at the sender must therefore be updated. It is a further problem that e-mails in databases like the ones described in SE 516393 often only contain one e-mail address for each customer. If a household consists of more than one person it could be preferred that the mail can reach another person in the household as well. The present invention solves that problem.

The present invention also solves the problem of receiving registered letter, without having to go to a post office to identify yourself.

The present invention solves these problems by using digital mailboxes, which mail boxes can also be connected to an app in a mobile phone or a software on a computer or a web page. The method according to the present invention monitors if the item of mail has reached the recipient, if the recipient has logged in to its mailbox and if the item of mail has been opened or not, and that information can be forwarded to the sender. The present invention refers to a method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox, wherein the item of mail addressed to a physical address is sent from a sender to a digital mail center. The physical address within this application is intended to be a street address or a post office box address. The digital mail center receives the item of mail and checks if the addressee is registered at the physical address on the item of mail and if the addressee has a registered digital mailbox. If the addressee has a registered digital mailbox, the item of mail is sent to the registered digital mailbox, and if not, the item of mail is either returned to the sender, placed on hold in a digital mailbox or is forwarded to a supplier of physical mail for delivery to a physical mailbox or a post office box.

The present invention further refers to a method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox, wherein the method comprises a sender, which sender sends an item of mail and data with addresses and any further information needed to a digital mail center, wherein said digital mail center will process said data and send said item of mail to the addressee, either to a registered digital mailbox or to a service provider for physical mail, which in turn will deliver said item of mail to a physical mailbox of the addressee.

The present invention also refers to a computer software executable on or from a mobile electronic device or a computer, wherein, when executed, the computer system performs the steps presented in claim 10.

The present invention further refers to a computer software, wherein the computer software performs the additional steps of claim 11.

Brief description of drawings

Fig. 1 shows a flowchart to illustrate the delivery of an item of mail

Fig. 2 shows a more detailed flowchart of a possible way of delivering an item of mail The present invention refers to a method of sending items of mail, such as invoices, letters, papers, advertisements, registered letters etc. to a digital mail box. The digital mail box is not to be mixed up with an e-mail. A digital mail box is, in this application, defined as a digital space connected to the street address of a house (or an apartment in an apartment block or the like) or a post office box. Most of mail sent today is either printed and sent by physical post to a physical mail box or sent as an e-mail to an e-mail address. In the present invention, the mail is instead sent to a street address or a post box but remoted to a digital mailbox. A digital mailbox is connected to the street address of the house/apartment or to a post office box. The method according to the present invention is a method for sending items of mail via a registered address via internet or other media instead of and/or simultaneous with the physical flow and to image the physical reality in a way that is as exact as possible.

Fig. 1 shows a block scheme of a system for delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox, wherein the system comprises a sender 1, which sender 1 sends an item of mail 2 and data with addresses and any further information 3 needed to a digital mail center 4. The digital mail center 4 will process the data 3 and send the item of mail 2 to the addressee 5, either to a registered digital mailbox 6 or to a service provider for physical mail 7, which in turn will deliver the item of mail 2 to the physical mailbox 8 of the addressee 5. The registered digital mailbox 6 can also comprise one or more personal digital mailboxes 9 which will be described more in detail below.

The sender 1 delivers data 3, such as addresses and item of mail to be sent to a digital mail center 4. The digital mail center 4 will compare the addresses of the items of mail 2 to see if the addressee has a registered digital mailbox 6 or not. If there is a registered digital mailbox 6 connected to the addressee 5 of the item of mail 2, the digital mail center 4 will further check if the addressee 5 has made any settings as to which items of mail 2 that are to be sent to the registered digital mail box 6 and which items that are to be sent to a physical mailbox 8. If the item of mail is to be sent to the registered digital mailbox 6, it will be sent to the registered digital mailbox 6 and the addressee 5 will be notified. If the item of mail 2 is to be sent by physical mail, it will be forwarded to a service provider for physical mail 7. The sender 1 will, optionally, be able to decide on which day the item of mail 2 is to be visible in the registered digital mailbox 6 of the addressee 5. In this way, it will be easier for a sender 1 to know that all recipients received the item of mail 2 on a specific day. Each item of mail 2 will be allocated an ID number so that it will be possible to identify which item of mail 2 that has been seen, opened, returned to sender or thrown away.

If an addressee 5 of mail decides that he wishes to receive the item of mail 2 in a digital mail box instead of a physical mail box, he makes an agreement with the service provider for the registered digital mailboxes to open a registered digital mailbox 6. He can further choose if he wants all items of mail 2 to be sent to his registered digital mail box 6 or if he wants items of mail from certain senders or a specific type of item of mail to be sent to his registered digital mail box 6 and the rest sent to his physical mailbox 8. It is also possible to choose that all items of mail 2 are to be sent both to the registered digital mailbox 6 and to the physical mailbox 8.

It is also possible to have personal digital mailboxes 9 connected to the registered mail box 6, which in turn is connected to the address, for example one personal digital mailbox 9 for each member of a family living together on the same address. In that case it will be possible for each user to decide what type of items of mail 2 that the other persons registered on the same address can read and what items of mail 2 that can only be read by the addressee 5 of the item of mail 2. This can for example make it possible for more than one person to see that an invoice has arrived and must be paid, contrary to when an invoice is sent to a person's personal e-mail address. The method according to the present invention is adapted to imitate the course of mail for physical delivery of items of mail to a physical mailbox.

It could also be possible to have two or more registered digital mailboxes 6 connected to the same street address. For example if more than one family lives in the same house, they could have one registered digital mailbox 6 for each family, or if a company is also registered to the street address it will be possible for the company to have its own registered digital mailbox 6 parallel to the registered digital mailbox 6 connected to the persons living on that address.

The digital mail center 4 will deliver items of mail 2 to the registered digital mailbox 6 of the addressee 5. The items of mail 2 will preferably be delivered once or twice a day, like the delivery of physical mail to the physical mailbox 8 by a postman. It will however be possible to deliver items of mail 2 more than twice a day if considered useful and necessary. The person registered on the address of the registered digital mailbox 6 will optionally be notified of the delivery, preferably in a computer software executable on or from a mobile elec- tronic device or a computer or via an e-mail or a text message. It is then possible for that person to, in said computer software browse through the pile of letters, choose to open them and read the content or to throw them in a waste basket.

The item of mail 2 comprises at least two parts - an outer part which looks like the outer part (for example a closed envelope) of a physical letter and can be seen by everyone that is connected to the registered digital mailbox 6, and an inner part, which inner part is encrypted and can only be shown by the person that have access to that item of mail 2. Since more than one person can be registered to a registered digital mailbox 6 it is possible to adjust settings for which person(s) that can show the inner part of the item of mail 2. If the item of mail 2 has a high security level (such as for example a registered letter) an electronic identification of that person would be necessary to see the inner part of the item of mail 2. If the item of mail 2 has a low security level it can be possible for everyone that has access to the registered digital mailbox 6 to see the inner part of the item of mail 2. When the inner part has been shown to a user, the outer part will be shown as an opened envelope instead of a closed envelope.

When a registered user has logged in to its registered digital mailbox 6, a signal will be sent to the digital post center 4 that the user of the registered digital mailbox 6 (and the regis- tered digital mailboxes connected to it) is an active user. When an item of mail 2 has been opened by a user another signal can be sent to the digital post center 4 and it is possible to let the sender 1 know that the item of mail 2 has been opened by the addressee 5.

If an item of mail 2 is sent by a sender 1 to an addressee 5 that has a registered digital mailbox 6, but is not registered as an active user, it will be possible for the sender 1 to choose that a notification is to be sent by for example physical mail, text message to a mobile device or by e-mail to the addressee 5 to notify that an item of mail 2 has been delivered to the registered digital mailbox 6, or to send a copy of the item of mail 2 to the physical mailbox 8.

Figure 2 shows a flowchart of one embodiment of the invention. In fig. 2 the sender 1 has sent an item of mail 2 together with data containing addresses and any other information needed 3 to a digital mail center4. The digital mail center 4 will receive the item of mail 2 and perform the following steps:

A. Check if the addressee 5 on the item of mail 2 is registered on the physical address stated on the item of mail 2. If the addressee 5 on the item of mail 2 is registered on the physical address, continue with step B, otherwise, return to sender 1.

B. Check if the addressee 5 has a registered digital mailbox 6. If the addressee 5 has a registered digital mailbox 6, continue to step D, and if not continue to step C.

C. Check if the sender has made any settings on how the item of mail 2 is to be handled if there is no registered digital mailbox 6. The item of mail 2 can either be returned to the sender 1, put on hold to wait for the addressee to open a registered digital mailbox 6 and/or be forwarded to a service provider 7 to be sent to a physical mailbox 8.

D. Check the settings of the addressee 5 to know if the addressee 5 prefers to have the item of mail 2 delivered to the registered digital mailbox 6 and/or to a physical mailbox 8 and continue to step E. If the item of mail 2 is to be delivered to a physical mailbox 8 it will be forwarded to a service provider for physical mail 7.

E. Check if the registered digital mailbox 6 contains any personal digital mailbox 9 and if so also check if the addressee 5 on the item of mail 2 is registered to a personal digital mailbox 9. If the addressee 5 has a personal digital mailbox 9, continue to step G if not continue to step F. F. Deliver the item of mail 2 to the registered digital mailbox 6 and, optionally, notify the addressee 5 and/or the sender 1 of the delivery.

G. Check if there are any settings in the personal digital mailbox 9 how the item is to be delivered. It could either be delivered to the personal digital mailbox 9 or to the registered digital mailbox 6 and then continue to step H.

H. Deliver the item of mail 2 either to the personal digital mailbox 9 or to the registered digital mailbox 6 and, optionally, notify the addressee 5 and/or the sender 1 of the delivery.

The method could comprise a further step I of checking if the addressee 5 has seen the item of mail 2, opened said item of mail 2 or thrown it in the trash and a further step J of notifying the sender 1 if the item of mail 2 has been opened or not.

The present invention comprises three cooperating parts, namely a service for sending mail, a service for receiving the item of mail 2 on server and a computer software executable on or from a mobile electronic device or a computer. The service for sending items of mail 2 can utilize already existing addresses registered to send items of mail 2. This can be implemented in already existing production systems and send items of mail 2 simultaneously both as physical mail to a physical mailbox 8 and virtual (or digital) mail to a registered digital mailbox 6. The inner part of the item of mail 2 is encrypted to ensure that it cannot be read by the wrong person. The letter is received by a server, preferably a cloud based server, and forwarded to the addressee 5 according to what has been described above. The computer software executable on or from a mobile electronic device or a computer will communicate with the server and show the user the content in the registered digital mailbox 6 that the addressee 5 is allowed access to.

Claims

1. A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox, characterised in that the item of mail addressed to a physical address is sent from a sender to a digital mail center, wherein the item of mail is;

the digital mail center receives the item of mail and checks if the addressee of the item of mail received from the sender is registered at the physical address on the item of mail and if the addressee has a registered digital mailbox and

if the addressee has a registered digital mailbox, the item of mail is sent to the registered digital mailbox,

and if not, the item of mail is either returned to the sender, placed on hold in a digital mailbox or is forwarded to a supplier of physical mail for delivery to a physical mailbox.

2. A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox according to claim 1, characterized in that the digital mail center further checks if the addressee has made any settings if he wishes to receive the item of mail in the registered digital mailbox or in a physical mailbox, and then the digital mail center forwards the item of mail either to the registered digital mailbox or to a physical mailbox.

3. A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the registered digital mailbox comprises at least two personal mailboxes registered to different addressees.

4. A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox according to claim 3, characterized in that the digital mail center further checks which personal mailbox the item of mail is to be delivered to and delivers the item of mail to the personal mailbox of said addressee.

5. A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the digital mail center further checks if the addressee is an active user of the registered digital mailbox.

6. A method of delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the digital mailbox communicates with the digital mail center and notifies the digital mail center if the item of mail has been shown to the addressee, it the item of mail has been opened or not or if the item of mail was thrown in the trash.

7. A method of delivering an item of mail to a registered digital mailbox according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a notifying message is sent to the addressee that an item of mail has arrived.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the notifying message is sent to a computer software executable on or from a mobile electronic device or a computer.

9. A method for delivering an item of mail to a digital mailbox, wherein the method com- prises a sender (1), which sender sends an item of mail (2) and data with addresses and any further information (3) needed to a digital mail center (4), wherein said digital mail center (4) will process said data (3) and send said item of mail (2) to the addressee (5), either to a registered digital mailbox (6) or to a service provider for physical mail (7), which in turn will deliver said item of mail (2) to a physical mailbox (8) of the addressee (5).

10. Computer software executable on or from a mobile electronic device or a computer, characterized in that, when executed, the computer software performs the steps:

A. Check if the addressee 5 on the item of mail 2 is registered on the physical address stated on the item of mail. If the addressee 5 on the item of mail 2 is registered on the physical address, continue with step B, otherwise, return to sender 1.

B. Check if the addressee has a registered digital mailbox 6. If the addressee 5 has a registered digital mailbox 6, continue to step D, and if not continue to step C.

C. Check if the sender has made any settings on how the item of mail is to be handled if there is no registered digital mailbox 6. The item of mail 2 can either be returned to the sender 1, put on hold to wait for the addressee to open a registered digital mailbox and/or be forwarded to a service provider 7 to be sent to a physical mailbox 8. D. Check the settings of the addressee 5 to know if the addressee 5 prefers to have the item of mail 2 delivered to the registered digital mailbox 6 and/or to a physical mailbox 8 and continue to step E. If the item of mail 2 is to be delivered to a physical mailbox 8 continue will be forwarded to a service provider for physical mail 7.

E. Check if the registered digital mailbox contains any personal mailbox 9 and if so also check if the addressee 5 on the item of mail 2 is registered to a personal mailbox 9. If the addressee has a personal digital mailbox, continue to step G if not continue to step F.

F. Deliver the item of mail 2 to the registered digital mailbox 6 and, optionally, notify the addressee 5 and/or the sender 1 of the delivery.

G. Check if there are any settings in the personal digital mailbox 9 how the item is to be delivered. It could either be delivered to the personal digital mailbox or to the registered digital mailbox and then continue to step H.

H. Deliver the item of mail 2 to either the personal digital mailbox or to the registered digital mailbox and, optionally, notify the addressee 5 and/or the sender 1 of the delivery.

11. Computer software according to claim 10, wherein the computer software performs the additional step:

I. Checking if the addressee 5 has seen the item of mail 2, opened said item of mail 2 or thrown it in the trash; and optionally

J. Notifying the sender 1 if the item of mail 2 has been opened or not.