Delivery notification system

1. A delivery notification system for operation with a repository, comprising:

at least one node module corresponding to a compartment of the repository associated with a recipient, the node module including:

a sensor for detecting the presence of an item delivered to the compartment and generating a sensor output in accordance therewith;

an interface having a plurality of inputs each for generating an interface output and corresponding to a unique one of selectable notifications; and

a notification server for transmitting to the recipient a delivery notice pursuant to notification parameters, the delivery notice being transmitted in response to a triggering signal associated with the sensor output and the interface output.

2. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering signal is defined by the sensor output.

3. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering signal is defined by the interface output.

4. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering signal is defined by a combination of the sensor output and the interface output.

5. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a gateway aggregating the sensor outputs and interface outputs from a plurality of the node modules for transmission to the notification server, the gateway being associated with the repository.

6. The delivery notification system of claim 5 , wherein the notification server is in communication with a plurality of gateways, each gateway being associated with different repositories.

7. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a database containing a plurality of records, each record corresponding to a one of the recipients and including an identifier of the node module and the notification parameters associated therewith.

8. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the selectable notification relates to a type of the item delivered.

9. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the selectable notification relates to a status of the compartment of the repository associated with the recipient.

10. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the transmission modality is selected from the group consisting of: e-mail, short message service, instant messenger, telephone, fax, and pager.

11. The delivery notification system of claim 1 , wherein the notification server includes an administration module accessible by the recipient to modify the notification parameters.

12. A sensor module installable in a mailbox for notifying a recipient associated with the mailbox upon delivery of an item thereto, the sensor module comprising:

a plurality of input keys, each input key being mapped to a predefined key output signal and corresponding to a notification function selectable by delivery personnel; and

a processor for receiving the key output signal and for generating a corresponding notification signal for alerting the recipient, the notification signal being related to the selected notification function and translatable into a message delivered to the recipient.

13. The sensor module of claim 12 , further comprising:

a proximity sensor for detecting the item in the mailbox and generating a sensor signal in response.

14. The sensor module of claim 13 , wherein the sensor module includes:

a flat elongate board with the proximity sensor mounted thereon, the flat elongate board being engageable to an internal surface of the mailbox; and

a primary enclosure attached to an end of the flat elongate board and housing the processor and the input keys.

15. The sensor module of claim 14 , wherein the primary enclosure is engageable to a lip defining an opening of the mailbox.

16. The sensor module of claim 12 , wherein the sensor module includes:

a support board engageable to an internal surface of the mailbox; and

a primary enclosure attached to the support board;

wherein the primary enclosure houses the processor and the input keys.

17. The sensor module of claim 12 , wherein the message is delivered to the recipient over a modality selected from the group consisting of: e-mail, short message service, instant messenger, telephone, fax and pager.

18. A notification server for notifying a recipient associated with a mailbox upon delivery of an item thereto, the notification server comprising:

an input module for receiving a notification signal including a sensor output representative of a detection of the item in the mailbox, and a key output representative of a notification function selected by delivery personnel;

a database containing at least one record corresponding to the recipient and notification parameters associated therewith; and

an alert module for translating the received notification signal to a corresponding message deliverable to the recipient in accordance with the notification parameters, the alert module including an outgoing interface to a transmission modality.

19. The notification server of claim 18 , wherein the transmission modality is selected from the group consisting of: e-mail, short message service, instant messenger, telephone, fax and pager.

20. The notification server of claim 18 , further comprising:

a recipient administration module accessible by the recipient to modify the notification parameters;

a mailbox administration module accessible by a manager of the mailbox to add or remove records relating to the recipient; and

a server administration module for modifying the configuration of the notification server including the reassignment of the key output to a different notification function;

wherein the recipient administration module, the mailbox administration module, and the server administration module are accessible over a wide area network.