Environment Blended Packaging for Theft Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rise of online shopping has led to increased package theft as delivery couriers often leave packages unattended at homes, making them easily visible and vulnerable to theft, with existing solutions like requiring signatures or secure drop boxes being inconvenient or costly.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for printing environment-blended packaging, where an image of the delivery location is captured and printed on the package in the correct aspect ratio, allowing the package to blend into the surrounding environment, making it less visible to potential thieves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If packages are left unattended at delivery locations, then delivery convenience is improved, but package visibility increases leading to higher theft risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies camouflage printing that changes the visual appearance of the package to match its surrounding environment. The package surface is printed with images that blend into the background (porch, wall, ground), making it difficult for thieves to detect the package's presence while still allowing the courier to leave it unattended for customer convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the surrounding environment and applies it to the package surface. By capturing images of the delivery location and printing them on the package, the package becomes a visual replica of its surroundings, effectively hiding it in plain sight while maintaining the convenience of unattended delivery.
2Device complexity
If traditional brown cardboard boxes are used, then packaging simplicity is maintained, but package visibility increases making them easy targets for theft
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the visible appearance of standard cardboard packages by applying full-surface camouflage printing. The printing process covers the entire package surface with environment-matching images, changing its visual characteristics from a visible brown box to an invisible blend-in object, while the underlying simple cardboard structure remains unchanged.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines traditional cardboard packaging material with printed graphical layers to create a composite structure. The base cardboard provides structural simplicity while the printed surface layer provides camouflage functionality, merging the benefits of simple packaging with anti-theft visibility reduction.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If environment-blended packaging is implemented, then package theft prevention is improved, but printing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal camouflage printing system that can be applied to various package sizes, shapes, and delivery locations. The same basic printing process and camouflage technology work across different package types and environments, reducing overall system complexity despite the customized appearance of each package.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs camouflage printing on packages before delivery, allowing the packaging to be prepared in advance with theft-prevention features. This preliminary action integrates security into the packaging process itself rather than requiring additional complex security devices or post-delivery measures.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and a method for printing an environment blended package are disclosed. For example, the method is executed by a processor and includes receiving an order for a product, determining dimensions of a package to ship the product, receiving an image of a location of where the package is to be delivered, wherein the aspect ratio of the image that is captured is based on the dimensions of the package, printing a location image on a side of the package in the aspect ratio of the image to create the environment blended package such that the location image matches the location where the package is to be delivered.