IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,547,972
Granted Patent B2
US 12,547,972 · App. 18/903,723 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Methods and apparatus to facilitate pick-up of packages

Inventors: Patrick A. Justis (Longmont, CO); Paul Pao-Yen Lin (Boulder, CO)
Assignee: Returned.com, Inc.
G06Q10/0836G06T7/001G06V20/80
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,547,972
App. No.
18/903,723
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods to facilitate pick-up of packages are disclosed. Example machine-readable instructions cause at least one processor circuit to at least access a list of markings associated with an intended package to be collected for delivery to a destination location, access an image that includes at least a portion of a potential package, the image including a first marking of the potential package, the first marking not used for transportation of the potential package to the destination location, compare the first marking to a second marking in the list of markings, and when the first marking matches the second marking, identify the potential package as the intended package.

Claims (36)

1 . At least one non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising machine-readable instructions to cause at least one processor circuit to at least:

access a list of markings associated with an intended package to be collected from a pickup location for delivery to a destination location;

determine that a courier device is located near the pickup location, the pickup location identified based on metadata extracted from a first image collected in connection with creation of the list of markings associated with the intended package;

after the determination that the courier device is near the pickup location, cause presentation of an instruction to instruct a courier to capture a second image of at least a portion of a potential package placed at the pickup location;

access the second image, the second image including at least the portion of the potential package, the second image captured by an image capture device of the courier device;

analyze the second image to extract a first marking of the potential package, the first marking not used for transportation of the potential package to the destination location;

compare the first marking to a second marking in the list of markings; and

after a determination that the first marking matches the second marking, cause presentation of a visual confirmation at the courier device, the visual confirmation to identify the potential package as the intended package.

2 . The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the potential package is a first potential package and the instruction is a first instruction, in response to the first marking not matching any of the markings in the list of markings, the machine-readable instructions are to cause one or more of the at least one processor circuit to cause display of a second instruction to prompt the courier device to capture a second image of a second potential package.

3 . The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the list of markings includes a third marking indicating the destination location.

4 . The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the first marking is a barcode that was previously used within a warehouse setting.

5 . The at least one non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the destination location is a current destination location, wherein the first marking is associated with transportation of the potential package to a prior destination location to which the potential package was delivered.

6 . An apparatus comprising:

an image capture device;

interface circuitry;

machine-readable instructions; and

at least one processor circuit to be programmed by the machine-readable instructions to:

access a list of markings associated with an intended package to be collected from a pickup location for delivery to a destination location;

determine that the apparatus is located at the pickup location, the pickup location identified based on metadata extracted from a first image collected in connection with creation of the list of markings associated with the intended package;

after the determination that the apparatus is located at the pickup location, cause presentation of an instruction to instruct a courier to capture a second image of at least a portion of a potential package placed at the pickup location;

access, from the image capture device, the second image that includes at least the portion of a potential package;

analyze the second image to extract a first marking of the potential package, the first marking not used for transportation of the potential package to the destination location;

compare the first marking to a second marking in the list of markings; and

after a determination that the first marking matches the second marking, cause presentation of a visual confirmation at the apparatus, the visual confirmation to identify the potential package as the intended package.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the potential package is a first potential package, the instruction is a first instruction, and in response to the first marking not matching any of the markings in the list of markings, the one or more of the at least one processor circuit is to cause display of a second instruction to prompt the courier device to capture a second image of a second potential package.

8 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the list of markings includes a third marking indicating the destination location.

9 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first marking is a barcode that was previously used within a warehouse setting.

10 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the destination location is a current destination location, wherein the first marking is associated with transportation of the potential package to a prior destination location top which the potential package was delivered.

11 . A method comprising:

accessing, by at least one processor circuit programmed by at least one instruction, a list of markings associated with an intended package to be collected from a pickup location for delivery to a destination location;

determining that a courier device is within a threshold distance of the pickup location, the pickup location identified based on metadata extracted from a first image used in connection with creation of the list of markings associated with the intended package;

instructing, after the determination that the courier device is within the threshold distance of the pickup location, a courier to capture a second image of at least a portion of the potential package placed at the pickup location;

accessing, by one or more of the at least one processor circuit, the second image that includes at least the portion of the potential package, the image captured by an image capture device of the courier device;

analyzing the second image to extract a first marking of the potential package, the first marking not used for transportation of the potential package to the destination location;

comparing, by one or more of the at least one processor circuit, the first marking to a second marking in the list of markings; and

after a determination that the first marking matches the second marking, by one or more of the at least one processor circuit, presenting a visual confirmation at the courier device, the visual confirmation to identify the potential package as the intended package.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 2, 2024
From: JUSTIS, PATRICK A.; LIN, PAUL PAO-YEN
To: RETURNED.COM, INC.
Reel/Frame 068770/0428 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63652498 · May 28, 2024
Related Publication 20250371488A1 · Dec 4, 2025
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