Patents by Inventor STEPHEN COUSINS

STEPHEN COUSINS has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11681977
    Abstract: An approach is provided for retrieving physical mail items using Augmented Reality (A/R) technology. According to the approach, mail items are stored in a designated area of a mail item facility and users are notified that the mail items are available for pickup. The users are guided to the locations of their respective mail items in the mail item facility via A/R technology. This includes superimposing visual cues on a live image displayed on a mobile computing device to direct the users to locations of their mail items. Embodiments include dynamically updating the visual cues based upon the location and orientation of the mobile computing device, providing “out of view” assistance, and displaying information about mail items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Nicole Blohm, Stephen Cousins
  • Patent number: 11669925
    Abstract: Improved high-density mail services evaluate historical mail fulfillment data for a plurality of recipients and dynamically assigning mail bins for each recipient based on the historical mail fulfillment data. Subsequently, the dynamically assigned mail is automatically distributed to the plurality of recipients using a distribution mechanism, such as a robotic arm. The high-density mail services may also include determining an estimated next pick-up time period for each recipient based on the historical mail fulfillment data and dynamically assigning mail bins based, at least in part, on the estimated next pick-up time period. The high-density mail services may also include determining a bin size based, at least in part, on an estimated next pick-up time period, or an estimated next delivery time period, and dynamically assigning mail bins based, at least in part, on the bin size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nicole Blohm, Stephen Cousins
  • Publication number: 20210334749
    Abstract: An approach is provided for retrieving physical mail items using Augmented Reality (A/R) technology. According to the approach, mail items are stored in a designated area of a mail item facility and users are notified that the mail items are available for pickup. The users are guided to the locations of their respective mail items in the mail item facility via A/R technology. This includes superimposing visual cues on a live image displayed on a mobile computing device to direct the users to locations of their mail items. Embodiments include dynamically updating the visual cues based upon the location and orientation of the mobile computing device, providing “out of view” assistance, and displaying information about mail items.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Publication date: October 28, 2021
    Inventors: Nicole Blohm, Stephen Cousins
  • Patent number: 10510131
    Abstract: In an embodiment, an apparatus comprises one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions which, when processed by the one or more processors, cause: receiving a digital image of undeliverable mail and storing the digital image in a first database; causing data to be extracted from the digital image using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or by processing encoded data; in response to causing data to be extracted from the digital image, identifying a sender of the undeliverable mail and a recipient of the undeliverable mail based on the data; causing additional data to be requested from two or more second databases based on the data extracted from the digital image; in response to delivery of the undeliverable mail and using the additional data requested from the two or more second databases, determining delivery hit rates for each of the two or more second databases; assigning, based on a highest hit rate of the delivery hit rates
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Nicole Blohm, Stephen Cousins
  • Publication number: 20190279325
    Abstract: In an embodiment, an apparatus comprises one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions which, when processed by the one or more processors, cause: receiving a digital image of undeliverable mail and storing the digital image in a first database; causing data to be extracted from the digital image using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or by processing encoded data; in response to causing data to be extracted from the digital image, identifying a sender of the undeliverable mail and a recipient of the undeliverable mail based on the data; causing additional data to be requested from two or more second databases based on the data extracted from the digital image; in response to delivery of the undeliverable mail and using the additional data requested from the two or more second databases, determining delivery hit rates for each of the two or more second databases; assigning, based on a highest hit rate of the delivery hit rates
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2018
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: NICOLE BLOHM, STEPHEN COUSINS