Patent ID: 7158941

Claim:
A method for delivering a parcel by a carrier to a secure receptacle at a location of an intended recipient, comprising the steps of: (a) dispatching the carrier with the parcel to the location of the intended recipient in accordance with delivery instructions on the parcel, the location corresponding to the address of the intended recipient on delivery instructions provided by a sender; (b) the carrier accessing the secure receptacle at the location; (c) the carrier placing the parcel within the accessed secure receptacle; (d) the carrier securing the secure receptacle after placing the parcel within the secure receptacle; (e) the carrier making further deliveries at additional locations after having placed the parcel within the secure receptacle; and (f) using a scanner positioned within the secure receptacle, automatically registering the placement of the parcel within the secure receptacle after the securing step by scanning a label on the parcel to obtain the placement data in response to the receptacle being secured and communicating the placement data comprising at least a portion of the delivery instructions from the scanned label on the parcel over a communication link.