摘要 |
<p>An automated, flexible and programmable system to update delivery and inventory status for an aggregate of remote mailboxes (27), bins, shelves, sorter bins, and/or a plurality of bins to distant customers and vendors through email, pager, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phone mail, voice mail at call centers and/or web site mailboxes. It can function as a delivery notice to mailbox recipients or as inventory stock management to store owners and vendors at remote locations. Various sensors (23, 24) mounted on flexible circuit boards (22) located on the mailboxes (27), bins, or shelves together with distributed microcontrollers report status through a common bus to a master controller and then to a computer system. The computer in turn dispatches reports and information to various owners and vendors via a remote network operation center accessed through a dedicated line, a wireless service or an Internet Service Provider. The frequency of report update, changing of locations of update, and the relational database can also be reprogrammed at any time from a remote central service location.</p> |