System and method of delivering groceries purchased over the internet

Abstract

Delivery items ordered over the Internet by a particular time in the early evening may be delivered by the next morning to a location within a 5-6 hour delivery radius of a warehouse, according to one specific aspect of the present invention. The order for the delivery items is filled at the warehouse, where the items are placed in a tote for delivery. The filled tote is placed on a movable rack, with shelves that are pitched such that when a tote is removed, another tote falls into the space previously occupied by the first tote. Racks holding the totes are transferred to a first vehicle, typically a large trailer, that transports the racks to a transfer point where one or more racks are transferred to a second smaller vehicle, such as a van. The van delivers the totes to customers along a pre-established route. Upon reaching a delivery destination, the driver removes the appropriate tote and secures it in a locked expandable bag, such as a mesh net or insulated bag, that may be locked in two places and that is itself secured to a delivery box, which is secured outside the delivery destination. Later, the customer can remove the tote from the bag, and removes the delivery items from the tote.

1 . A system for distributing delivery items comprising: 
 a tote in which a delivery item is placed, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination;    a movable rack for receiving the tote loaded with the delivery item, said movable rack being capable of holding a plurality of totes and of being moved about within a warehouse;    a first vehicle for receiving the movable rack, wherein the movable rack holding the tote may be secured within the first vehicle, and wherein said first vehicle is dispatched from the warehouse to a transfer point;    a second vehicle for receiving the tote from the first vehicle at the transfer point, wherein said second vehicle is dispatched from the transfer point to the delivery destination;    a box at the delivery destination; and    a secure expandable bag attached to the box for receiving the tote from the second vehicle, wherein said bag can expand to hold the tote, and wherein said bag comprises: 
 a first opening;  
 a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;  
 a second opening; and  
 a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening.  
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein, when the bag is not used to store the tote, the bag is in a collapsed state and is stored within the box.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the bag is one of a mesh net and an insulated bag.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the movable rack comprises: 
 a shelf on which the tote is placed.    
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the shelf on which the tote is placed is pitched such that when another tote is located on the rack behind the tote and the tote is removed, the other tote falls into a space previously occupied by the tote.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the warehouse is situated within an approximately six hour travel radius from a plurality of delivery destinations.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , further comprising: 
 a plurality of warehouses to stock a plurality of delivery items, including said warehouse situated within an approximately six hour travel radius from a plurality of delivery destinations.    
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tote further comprises: 
 means for maintaining the delivery item at a chilled temperature within the tote.    
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tote further comprises: 
 a portion to insert a frozen insert for maintaining the delivery item at a chilled temperature within the tote.    
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the delivery item is maintained at a chilled temperature by feeding a chilled gas into at least a portion of the tote.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the delivery item is a grocery item.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second vehicle receives the movable rack holding the tote from the first vehicle.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the storage capacities of the first and second vehicles are such that the first vehicle may hold contents equivalent to the contents of a plurality of second vehicles.  
     
     
         14 . A box for receiving a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising: 
 an interior; and    a secure expandable bag attached to the box for receiving a tote containing the delivery item, wherein said bag can expand to hold the tote, wherein said bag may be stored within said interior of the box in its collapsed state, and wherein said bag comprises: 
 a first opening;  
 a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;  
 a second opening; and  
 a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening.  
   
     
     
         15 . A bag for receiving a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising: 
 a first opening;    a first lock on said first opening, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the bag through the first opening, and wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the bag;    a second opening; and    a second lock on said second opening, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening;    wherein the bag is securely attached to a box at the delivery destination; and    wherein the bag is expandable such that it can expand to hold the tote, and it can collapse to be stored within the box.    
     
     
         16 . The bag of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 a plurality of O-rings secured to a perimeter of one of the first and second openings, such that the one of the first and second openings is closed by locking the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another.    
     
     
         17 . The bag of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 a first plurality of O-rings secured to a perimeter of the first opening, such that the first opening is closed by locking the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another with the first lock; and    a second plurality of O-rings secured to a perimeter of the second opening, such that the second opening is closed by locking the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another with the second lock.    
     
     
         18 . A bag for receiving a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising: 
 an interior for holding the tote, wherein the bag is expandable such that it can contain the tote;    an opening to said interior; and    a two-way zipper across the opening for opening and closing the opening, the zipper having first and second ends, and first and second sliding pieces that close the zipper when fully extended apart from one another;    wherein a first lock locks the first sliding piece to a first position on the bag;    wherein a second lock locks the second sliding piece independently of the first sliding piece to a second position on the bag different from the first position on the bag;    wherein the first lock is unlocked in order to place the tote through the opening into the interior of the bag and is locked in order to secure the tote within the bag; and    wherein the second lock is unlocked in order to retrieve the tote from the interior of the bag.    
     
     
         19 . The bag of  claim 18 , wherein the bag is securely attached to a box at the delivery destination, and it can collapse to be stored within the box  
     
     
         20 . A system for distributing delivery items comprising: 
 a tote in which a delivery item is placed, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination;    a movable rack for receiving the tote loaded with the delivery item, said movable rack being capable of holding a plurality of totes;    a vehicle for receiving the movable rack, wherein the movable rack holding the tote may be secured within the vehicle, and wherein said vehicle delivers said tote at least partway to the delivery destination; and    a receptacle secured at the delivery destination for receiving and containing the tote, said receptacle comprising: 
 a first lock which is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the receptacle, wherein said first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the receptacle; and  
 a second lock which is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote in the receptacle.  
   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the receptacle further comprises: 
 an opening to the interior of the receptacle; and    a two-way zipper across the opening for opening and closing the opening, the zipper having first and second ends, and first and second sliding pieces that close the zipper when fully extended apart from one another;    wherein the first lock locks the first sliding piece to a first position on the receptacle; and    wherein second lock locks the second sliding piece independently of the first sliding piece to a second position on the receptacle different from the first position on the receptacle.    
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the receptacle further comprises: 
 a first opening associated with the first lock, wherein said first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the receptacle through the first opening;    a second opening associated with the second lock, wherein said second lock is unlocked by the customer to gain access to the tote through the second opening.    
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the receptacle further comprises: 
 a plurality of O-rings secured to a perimeter of one of the first and second openings, such that the one of the first and second openings is closed by locking the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another.    
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the receptacle further comprises: 
 a first plurality of O-rings secured to a perimeter of the first opening, such that the first opening is closed by locking the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another with the first lock; and    a second plurality of  0 -rings secured to a perimeter of the second opening, such that the second opening is closed by locking the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another with the second lock.    
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 20 , further comprising: 
 a box secured at the delivery destination for containing the receptacle, wherein the receptacle is attached to said box.    
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the receptacle is a box.  
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the receptacle is a bag.  
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the bag comprises one of a mesh net or an insulated bag.  
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the receptacle is expandable in order to hold the tote.  
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein at least one of the first and second locks comprises a padlock.  
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the movable rack comprises: 
 a shelf on which the tote is placed.    
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the shelf on which the tote is placed is pitched such that when another tote is located on the rack behind the tote and the tote is removed, the other tote falls into a space previously occupied by the tote.  
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein said vehicle comprises: 
 a first vehicle which is dispatched to a transfer point from a warehouse from which the movable rack holding the tote came.    
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , further comprising: 
 a second vehicle for receiving the tote from the first vehicle at the transfer point, wherein said second vehicle is dispatched from the transfer point to the delivery destination.    
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 34 , wherein the second vehicle receives the movable rack holding the tote.  
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 34 , wherein the storage capacities of the first and second vehicles are such that the first vehicle may hold contents equivalent to the contents of a plurality of second vehicles.  
     
     
         37 . A receptacle for receiving and containing a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising: 
 an interior for holding the tote; and    at least one sealable opening to said interior;    wherein a first lock can be used to seal the at least one opening;    wherein the first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening upon delivery, and the first lock is locked in order to secure the tote in the receptacle;    wherein a second lock can be used to seal the at least one opening; and    wherein the second lock is unlocked in order that the tote be retrieved from the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening.    
     
     
         38 . The receptacle of  claim 37 , wherein the at least one sealable opening comprises one of (i) a single opening sealable with a two-way zipper, and (ii) two openings, each being sealable by one of the first and second locks.  
     
     
         39 . The receptacle of  claim 37 , wherein the receptacle is expandable so that it may contain the tote.  
     
     
         40 . The receptacle of  claim 37 , wherein the receptacle is collapsible so that it may be contained in a box secured at the delivery destination.  
     
     
         41 . The receptacle of  claim 40 , wherein the receptacle is securely attached to the box.  
     
     
         42 . The receptacle of  claim 40 , wherein the receptacle is only collapsed when storing the receptacle in the box while the receptacle does not hold a tote.  
     
     
         43 . A box for receiving a tote containing a delivery item at a delivery destination, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer, comprising: 
 an interior; and    a receptacle securely attached to the box for receiving and containing the tote containing the delivery item, wherein said receptacle comprises: 
 at least one sealable opening to an inside of the receptacle;  
 wherein a first lock can be used to seal the at least one opening;  
 wherein the first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening upon delivery, and the first lock is locked in order to secure the tote inside the receptacle;  
 wherein a second lock can be used to seal the at least one opening; and  
 wherein the second lock is unlocked in order that the tote be retrieved from the inside of the receptacle through the at least one opening;  
   wherein said receptacle may be stored within said interior of the box.    
     
     
         44 . The box of  claim 43 , wherein the receptacle may be stored in the box when the receptacle contains the tote.  
     
     
         45 . The box of  claim 43 , wherein the at least one sealable opening comprises one of (i) a single opening sealable with a two-way zipper, and (ii) two openings, each being sealable by one of the first and second locks.  
     
     
         46 . The box of  claim 43 , wherein the receptacle is expandable so that it may contain the tote.  
     
     
         47 . The box of  claim 43 , wherein the receptacle is collapsible so that it may be contained in a box secured at the delivery destination.  
     
     
         48 . The box of  claim 47 , wherein the receptacle is only collapsed when storing the receptacle in the box while the receptacle does not hold a tote.  
     
     
         49 . A tote for containing a delivery item, said delivery item having been ordered by a customer for delivery to a delivery destination, comprising: 
 an interior into which a delivery item is placed;    wherein the tote may be placed in a receptacle at the delivery destination in order to be securely contained from the time the tote is delivered and placed in the receptacle until the customer can retrieve the tote from the receptacle;    wherein said receptacle comprises: 
 at least one sealable opening to an inside of the receptacle where the tote is to be placed;  
 wherein a first lock can be used to seal the at least one opening;  
 wherein the first lock is unlocked in order that the tote be placed in the interior of the receptacle through the at least one opening upon delivery, and the first lock is locked in order to secure the tote inside the receptacle;  
 wherein a second lock can be used to seal the at least one opening; and  
 wherein the second lock is unlocked in order that the tote be retrieved by the customer from the inside of the receptacle through the at least one opening.  
   
     
     
         50 . The tote of  claim 49 , wherein the at least one sealable opening comprises one of (i) a single opening sealable with a two-way zipper, and (ii) two openings, each being sealable by one of the first and second locks.  
     
     
         51 . A system for securing a tote for holding delivery items outside a delivery destination, comprising: 
 a box secured outside a delivery destination, the box having a cavity;    an expandable bag secured to the box and storable in a collapsed state within the cavity, the bag being expandable to an expanded state into which a tote may be placed, and    a lock for securing the tote within the bag.    
     
     
         52 . A box for securing a tote for delivery items, the box comprising: 
 a cavity into which the tote may be placed, and    means for securing the tote that is placed within the cavity.    
     
     
         53 . The box of  claim 52 , wherein the means for securing the tote comprises: 
 an expandable bag placed around the tote.    
     
     
         54 . The box of  claim 53 , wherein the means for securing the tote further comprises: 
 a lock for securing the tote within the bag.    
     
     
         55 . A rack for holding a first tote for delivering delivery items, the rack comprising: 
 a shelf on which the tote is placed; and    means for mounting the shelf on a surface such that the shelf is pitched downward when it is mounted and, when the first tote is removed, the second tote falls into a space previously occupied by the first tote.    
     
     
         56 . The rack of  claim 55 , further comprising: 
 means for removably mounting the rack on a rack holder for removal with the tote on the rack.    
     
     
         57 . The rack of  claim 55 , wherein the mounting means comprises a bracket for mounting the rack with the shelf pitched.  
     
     
         58 . A bag for securing an item therein, the bag comprising: 
 an interior;    a sealable opening to the interior of the bag,    a two-way zipper across the opening to open and close the opening, the zipper having first and second ends, and first and second sliding pieces that close the zipper when fully extended apart from one another,    first means for locking the first end of the zipper to the bag by locking the first sliding piece to a first position on the bag, and    second means for locking the second sliding piece independently of the first sliding piece to a second position on the bag different from the first position on the bag.    
     
     
         59 . The bag of  claim 58 , wherein the first and second locking means each comprise a padlock.  
     
     
         60 . The bag of  claim 58 , wherein the bag comprises one of a mesh net or an insulated bag.  
     
     
         61 . A bag for securing an item therein, the bag comprising: 
 a first opening having a perimeter;    a plurality of O-rings secured to the perimeter of the opening, such that the opening is closed by securing the plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another.    
     
     
         62 . The bag of  claim 61 , further comprising a second opening having a second perimeter, and a second plurality of O-rings secured to the second perimeter of the second opening, such that the second opening is closed by securing the second plurality of O-rings in proximity to one another.  
     
     
         63 . The bag of  claim 61 , wherein the bag comprises one of a mesh net or an insulated bag.  
     
     
         64 . The bag of  claim 61 , wherein the item secured in the bag is a tote.  
     
     
         65 . A method of distributing delivery items using a hierarchy of containment structures, comprising the steps of: 
 placing a delivery item ordered by a customer in a tote;    placing the tote onto a removable rack in a warehouse;    transferring the rack with the tote thereon into a first vehicle; and    dispatching the first vehicle to deliver the delivery item.