Establishment Of A Delivery Route

Abstract

A method for establishing a delivery route for delivering mail items includes calculating the delivery time of an upcoming delivery on the basis of data regarding previous delivery attempts, in order to avoid only being able to deliver the mail items after several delivery attempts. A sorting device for mail items is also provided.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A method for establishing a delivery route for the delivery of mail items, the method comprising the following steps: storing data regarding previous delivery attempts; using the stored data to calculate a delivery time for an upcoming delivery at which a successful delivery is more probable than at other possible delivery times; and establishing the delivery route based on the calculated delivery times.

17. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises only using data from the previous delivery attempts to the same recipient for the calculation of the delivery times.

18. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing a date, a time and information regarding whether or not the delivery attempt was successful, in the data regarding the previous delivery attempts.

19. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing a number of unsuccessful delivery attempts for previous mailings, in the data regarding the previous delivery attempts.

20. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing data regarding at least one of a sender, a volume, a weight or a type of the mail item, in the data regarding the previous delivery attempts.

21. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing information regarding acceptors differing from a recipient, in the data regarding the previous delivery attempts.

22. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing data regarding weather conditions prevailing during at least one of successful or unsuccessful delivery attempts, in the data regarding the previous delivery attempts.

23. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises continuously collecting the data regarding the previous delivery attempts in a database for all delivery attempts of a delivering organization.

24. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises storing further data regarding a recipient.

25. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises calculating the delivery time before beginning the delivery.

26. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises deciding to move the delivery of the mail item by at least one day, based upon the data regarding the previous delivery attempts.

27. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises calculating the delivery time even if no mail item is to be delivered.

28. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises determining and making available delivery options together with the calculated delivery time.

29. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises carrying out the method on a data processing apparatus.

30. A sorting device for the sorted preparation of mail items based on a delivery route, the sorting device comprising an apparatus configured to: store data regarding previous delivery attempts; use the stored data to calculate a delivery time for upcoming deliveries at which a successful delivery is more probable than at other possible delivery times; and establish the delivery route based on the calculated delivery times.

Description

[0022] The above-described properties, features and advantages of this invention and the manner in which these are achieved will now be described more clearly and explicitly with the following description of the exemplary embodiments, and by reference to the drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of the storage of data regarding previous delivery attempts,

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of the calculation of a delivery time on the basis of the stored data,

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a data set of stored data, and

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of an inventive sorting device.

[0027] The invention will now be described by way of example on the basis of embodiments relating to the drawings. The different features of the embodiments can be combined independently of one another, as already shown with the individual advantageous embodiments.

[0028] FIG. 1 shows schematically an exemplary method step 1 of an exemplary embodiment of the inventive method wherein, in method step 1, data regarding the previous delivery attempts is stored.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the inventive method in which a delivery time is calculated, the method steps shown being schematically represented in a flow diagram.

[0030] In the method step 2, the data stored in method step 1 is called up. Optionally, method step 1 can be part of the method shown in FIG. 2 and can be carried out before method step 2.

[0031] In method step 3 following method step 2, the delivery time is calculated on the basis of the data called up in method step 2. Method step 3 can be carried out anew for selected, for example large or heavy, mail items or for all the deliveries to be carried out, before the method is continued with other method steps.

[0032] In the method step 4 following method step 3, the delivery route is established on the basis of the calculated delivery times for all the mail items to be delivered along the delivery route.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows, for example, a data set of data stored, for example, in method step 1 regarding previous delivery attempts. Data items D1 to D6 can herein contain address information of the recipient. D1 represents herein, for example, the surnames, D2 the first names, D3 the street name, D4 the house number, D5 the postal code and D6 the town/city in which the recipient lives.

[0034] The address data D1 to D6 can be followed by data regarding deliveries of mailings to the recipient, wherein the data items regarding the deliveries are separated from the address data and from one another by a separator represented, for example, as a hyphen.

[0035] For the first delivery following the address data, two delivery attempts were necessary in order to deliver the mail item, for example, a packet. These two delivery attempts are shown, by way of example, by the two groups of data D7 to D11 and D7a to D11a, each shown in parentheses. The data D7 and D7a represent the number of delivery attempts. Preferably, D7 represents the one for the first delivery attempt and D7a the two for the second delivery attempt. The data D8 to D10 or D8a to D10a represent a time stamp at which the delivery attempt succeeded. The time stamp can represent the time, the day, the month and optionally also the year of the delivery attempt. For example, the time can be represented in quarter-hourly increments. The data D11 and D11a represent whether the delivery attempt was successful. Since the first delivery attempt was not successful, D11 represents, for example, the number zero. On the second delivery attempt, the mail item could be delivered so that D11a represents, for example, the number one.

[0036] Data representing a second delivery of a further mailing follows, again separated by the separator, shown by way of example as a hyphen, from the first delivery. The second delivery was successful in the first attempt so that only the data D7 to D11 is represented between parentheses.

[0037] On a third delivery of another mailing, three delivery attempts were carried out. Data which represents the third delivery is separated from the data representing the second delivery, again by the separator. However, all three delivery attempts were unsuccessful, so that the data D11, D11a and D11b represent an unsuccessful delivery and, for example, the number zero. Since the delivery was unsuccessful and the mail item could not be delivered to the recipient, the mail item was delivered to an acceptor differing from the recipient, this being represented by the field D12. For example, D12 can represent data regarding the acceptor, for example, the name of the receiving neighbor or the packet box in which the mail item was left for the recipient.

[0038] FIG. 4 shows schematically an exemplary embodiment of an inventive sorting device for sorted preparation of mail items on the basis of a delivery route.

[0039] The sorting device 6 is configured to carry out the inventive method and, in particular, to store data regarding previous delivery attempts and for upcoming deliveries on the basis of the stored data to calculate a delivery time at which a successful delivery is more probable than at other possible delivery times and to establish the delivery route on the basis of the calculated delivery times. Using the delivery route established on the basis of the calculated delivery times, the sorting device 5 can order the mail items in a sorted manner. In order to calculate the delivery route, the sorting device 5 can comprise a data processing apparatus 7 which can be connected in a data or signal-transferring manner to an automated sorting mechanism 8 of the sorting device 5.