RECEIVING CONTAINER FOR PACKET OR SMALL PARCEL MAILINGS

Abstract

A receiving container, and method of using the same, for packet or small parcel mailings to be received or to be sent, having a closable opening through which a packet or small parcel mailing can be inserted into the receiving container. The receiving container has a fixing element with which the receiving container can either be fixed to, or removed from, a door of a house or an apartment, in particular without structural work in each case.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2014/000786, filed on Mar. 24, 2014, and claims benefit to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2013 005 231.9, filed on Mar. 27, 2013. The International Application was published in German on Oct. 2, 2014, as WO 2014/154344 A1 under PCT Article 21(2).

FIELD

The invention relates to a receiving container for packet or small parcel mailings to be received or to be sent, having a closable opening through which a packet or small parcel mailing can be inserted into the receiving container. Furthermore, the invention also relates to a method for delivery of a packet or small parcel by a delivery service to a recipient.

BACKGROUND

Receiving containers of the type mentioned at the outset are known in principle from the prior art, for example in the manner of what are known as mailboxes. Such mailboxes are intended to be fixed immovably in the entrance area to a house by means of structural work carried out on the house, in order then to offer the possibility of mailings in letter format usually being able to be delivered effectively to a recipient in the sphere of influence thereof by a delivery service.

Packet or small parcel mailings which regularly cannot be inserted into a mailbox through the opening therein, which is often only slot-shaped, are normally delivered such that the delivery service attempts to hand over such a mailing personally, i.e. in a delivery attempt, said delivery service rings at the house door or apartment door and then hands over the packet or small parcel mailing personally, usually in return for proof of receipt.

If on the other hand a recipient is found not to be at home, a notification card is left and the recipient then has to collect the mailing intended for him at a central collection depot, or a second delivery attempt is agreed. Often a delivery service also leaves a mailing to be delivered with a neighbor, so the recipient then has to collect his mailing from this neighbor.

It is perceived as disadvantageous here that every time the recipient is found not to be at home in person, he is compelled to make new arrangements for receiving the packet or small parcel mailing intended for him, i.e. for example by collecting it in person from the delivery depot or from a neighbor, or by agreeing a second delivery.

This is particularly time-consuming and inconvenient, so recipients often also allow a delivery service, in particular in the case of a second delivery attempt, to leave the mailing to be delivered in an agreed location, for example at the house door, or at a garage. Such action, however, always involves the risk of loss of the mailing.

Alternative receiving containers, which are considerably enlarged compared with mailboxes, have also become known from the prior art: these are intended to be set into the brickwork of a house or otherwise permanently fixed in or on the house or on the associated premises and then offer the possibility of also holding packet or small parcel mailings which go beyond conventional letter format.

However, such receiving containers have the disadvantage that a relatively major structural measure has to be implemented on the house or apartment, which in particular is also not possible when the occupant of the house or apartment is not also the owner, but merely a tenant. Such a measure is also very cost-intensive.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the invention provides a receiving container for packet or small parcel mailings to be received or to be sent, the receiving container comprising: a closable opening through which a packet or small parcel mailing can be inserted into the receiving container; and a fixing element with which the receiving container can be fixed to, or removed from, a door of a house or an apartment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in even greater detail below based on the exemplary figures. The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. All features described and/or illustrated herein can be used alone or combined in different combinations in embodiments of the invention. The features and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention will become apparent by reading the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings which illustrate the following:

FIG. 1 shows an overview of portions of a door panel and a door frame;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary delivery service process;

FIG. 3 shows on the left-hand side an embodiment in which the receiving container is fixed to a door frame on the upper edge of a door panel;

FIG. 3 shows on the right-hand side that a folded-up embodiment according to the invention of the receiving container has the appearance of a doormat and only in the unfolded state assumes the form of a box or a case, and is suitable for holding a packet or a small parcel mailing in its interior;

FIG. 4 shows the dimensions of an inventive embodiment of the receiving container selected such that the internal volume thereof can accommodate packet mailings;

FIG. 5 shows a variant enabling delivery of larger packet mailings or goods securely by using the inventive receiving container; and

FIG. 6 shows a receiving container of the type according to the invention can be set up to monitor or indicate an unauthorized attempt to open it by a non-authorized person.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An aspect of the invention provides a receiving container which can be used temporarily in a simple manner for delivering mailings which go beyond letter format, in particular packet or small parcel mailings, effectively, even if the recipient or sender in question is found not to be at home. Furthermore, it is the object to provide a method for delivering packet or small parcel mailings in conjunction with such a receiving container. In this respect, it should be pointed out that “deliver” is understood to mean the activity of a delivery service and includes both the delivery service handing over a mailing at the recipient's home and also collecting a mailing from the sender's home. Preferably, therefore, a receiving container should be able to be used for a recipient to receive mailing and also for a sender to send mailings.

An aspect of the invention provides a receiving container which is improved according to the invention in that it comprises a fixing element by means of which the receiving container can, as required, in particular temporarily, be fixed to and removed from a door of either a house or an apartment, in particular can thus be used temporarily without structural work in each case.

Thus the invention provides a receiving container which is not fixed securely to a door of a house or an apartment or directly in/to the brickwork of the property and thus does not represent a permanent installation, but is merely used, i.e. is temporarily used, when for example a recipient is expecting a delivery of packet or small parcel mailings and then makes a receiving container of the type according to the invention available on the door of the house or the apartment in order to effect such a delivery in which the mailing to be delivered, such as for example a packet or a small parcel mailing, does not fit in the conventional mailbox.

Also, the possessor/owner of such a receiving container can use it in his capacity as sender, in order to insert a packet or small parcel therein for collection by a delivery service. Thus a sender can likewise effect the sending in his absence. Even when it is used to send packets/small parcels, the device according to the invention will be referred to as a “receiving container,” because it is always suitable for receiving in every case.

Therefore, provision may be made to make available receiving containers which have an internal volume which goes beyond the volume of conventional mailboxes, in particular which also have a closable opening which has a larger cross-section than the opening usually provided in mailboxes, which is normally only provided for posting letter mailings.

One configuration according to the invention may therefore provide for both the opening and the internal volume of a container according to the invention to be selected such that at least the standard packagings of a country-specific delivery service, for example packagings which conform to DIN standards, such as those of DHL or Deutsche Post, can be held in such a receiving container.

Preferably, therefore, a receiving container according to the invention may have an internal volume and a corresponding opening which are provided, in a first embodiment, to hold at least what are known as XS pack sets or packets having the dimensions 22.5×14.5×3.5 cm; in a second embodiment to hold at least pack sets of size S, or packets of at least 25×17.5×10 cm; in a third, preferred, embodiment to hold pack sets of size M, or packets having external dimensions of at least 37.5×30×13.5 cm, or, in a further, preferred fourth embodiment, to hold pack sets of size L, or packets of a size of at least 45×35×20 cm.

One such, in particular last-mentioned, embodiment ensures that the majority of usual packet or small parcel mailings can be delivered even in the absence of the recipient or can be dispatched in the absence of the sender by means of a receiving container according to the invention.

One further preferred variant of the receiving container according to the invention may provide for it to be able to be fixed to the door of a house or an apartment and be removed again completely without any structural work.

For this, this embodiment may provide for the fixing element of the receiving container to be formed as a tab which is fixed by one end to the receiving container, in particular to a rear edge, facing the door, of the receiving container, and to be insertable into a gap between the door panel and door frame, or door panel and floor, in particular such that upon closing the door this tab and hence the receiving container as a whole is fixed in position, in particular can be clamped.

Such an embodiment has the particular advantage that a recipient, when expecting to receive a packet or a small parcel mailing, or a sender fixes the receiving container according to the invention to the door without any structural measure, such as drilling, gluing, laying bricks, etc., and then, once the delivery has taken place, can also remove this receiving container again, likewise without any structural measure. Such a receiving container is therefore used only temporarily, so that a permanent visual nuisance is not produced by such a large receiving container either.

One embodiment can make provision here for the tab, which can be inserted for example into a gap between the door panel and door frame, or door panel and floor, to be a rigid tab, for example of such a type that the form of this tab is adapted to the gap form for example in the floor region or to the rebate form of the door panel in the upper region or a lateral region. Here, due to its shape and its rigidity, the tab cannot be pulled out through the gap once the door has been closed.

On the other hand, one embodiment which is furthermore preferred may provide for the tab, which is fixed to the receiving container by its one end, to be formed from a flexible two-dimensional element, for example a textile two-dimensional element, so that this two-dimensional element adapts automatically to the respective gap form, for example at ground level or alternatively at the upper rebate region of the door.

In order to prevent such a tab which is clamped between the door panel and floor, or the door panel and door frame, from being able to be removed by simply pulling it out of the gap region, one development which is preferred according to the invention may provide for this tab to have a thickened section at its other, loose, end, in particular to have such a thickened section which is thicker in cross-section than the conventional gap dimension between the door panel and floor, or the door panel and door frame.

For example, in this case, in the case of a textile tab the end of the tab can be turned up and stitched at least once, preferably several times, or the end of the tab may form a receiving pocket, into which a for example rod-shaped item is inserted, in particular the rod cross-section being greater than the gap dimension.

A receiving container of the aforementioned type therefore has the particular advantage of being fixed to a door in each case as required and in so doing either being arranged hanging from the upper region of a door panel, if the tab arranged on the receiving container is clamped between the upper edge of the door panel and the door frame. For this, the tab can preferably be arranged on the upper rearward region of the receiving container. Likewise, a receiving container can be temporarily provided lying on the floor for receiving or sending packet or small parcel mailings, if the tab is passed through the slit between the lower door edge and the floor. Then the tab can be arranged on the lower rearward region of the receiving container.

The same receiving container can be used for both types of arrangement if it has a wall, in particular a rear wall, starting from which the tab continues or extends. Then the container can be positioned hanging with the rear wall to the door, but may alternatively be arranged with the rear wall oriented to the ground.

Another embodiment may provide that, although a receiving container of the type according to the invention does not succeed entirely without structural work, it at least does not require any structural work if, after initial one-off structural work, the receiving container is then later temporarily fixed on or removed again from the door of a house.

In this case, provision may be made for the fixing element to be positioned on the receiving container to cooperate with a counter-element, the counter-element being able to be fixed in a one-off operation by structural work on a door or other part of the property and the fixing element and the counter-element then being able to be detachably interconnected without any structural work, such as for example by coupling engagement of the elements with each other.

Therefore structural work is required only as a one-off in order to fix the counter-element to the door or alternatively to a different element of the property, such as a wall region in the entrance area.

Then the owner/possessor of a receiving container according to the invention can temporarily fix it, i.e. optionally using the fixing element located thereon, to the counter-element, or remove it from this counter-element. During the times in which the receiving container is not being used, therefore merely the counter-element is fixed to the door, or generally to the property, for example alternatively a wall.

If desired and implemented by the owner, permanent fixing of this receiving container is also in accordance with the invention.

One embodiment which can be combined with both of the aforementioned fixing variants can provide for the receiving container to be formed at least predominantly, preferably entirely, from a textile.

For example, the receiving container may thus be configured as a bag, a net or as a textile folding box. This has the advantage that the receiving container in the unfilled state can be made to be less conspicuous, in particular when the receiving container is arranged on the ground and for example is fixed between the lower edge of the door panel and the floor using a tab.

Even in the case of hanging fixing on the upper edge of the door, such a textile receiving container will lie flat against the door and only project a little, but because of its flexibility will provide an in principle large volume in order to be able to hold packet or small parcel mailings in its interior.

For this, provision may for example be made, in the case of a receiving container lying on the ground, for a base wall and an upper wall to be movable towards each other by means of folding, for example foldable/collapsible, side walls arranged therebetween. In the case of a door-hanging receiving container, provision may be made for the rear wall and front wall to be movable towards each other by means of flexible, in particular foldable/collapsible, side walls.

Particularly in the case of a receiving container lying on the ground of the type according to the invention, in the case of a foldable or collapsible design a receiving container according to the invention may give the impression of a doormat and thus be less visually conspicuous, and optionally may actually also be used as a doormat.

One development which is preferred according to the invention, which can be combined with all the embodiments previously mentioned, may provide for the receiving container to comprise a communication unit, in particular one for communication over a mobile phone network or over a wireless network (WLAN), so that a communication message can be sent and/or received by means of such a communication unit.

In particular when the owner of a receiving container of the type according to the invention provides a wireless network in the house, it may be advantageous to design the communication unit for communication via such a WLAN.

If such a wireless network is not provided, it may be advantageous to equip the communication unit with a SIM card for sending messages over a mobile phone network, for example one complying with the GSM or GPRS standard.

In one development, provision may be made here for example for the communication unit to be set up to send a message to a registered communication address, for example to a communication device of the owner of the receiving container, for example when closing the receiving container once a packet or small parcel mailing has been inserted.

Thus the recipient is automatically informed that his mailing has been received, and can optionally decide how to proceed further, for example whether to go directly home in order to take the mailing out of the receiving container, or whether to take other measures, or have them taken, such as secure closing of the receiving container or collection of the mailing by an appointed third party.

For example, provision may be made here for a message to be sent to the aforementioned registered communication address once a triggering element has been actuated: this may be carried out for example by the delivery service once the packet or the small parcel mailing has been inserted into the interior of the receiving container. Such a triggering element may be arranged for example on an actuating unit and/or a display of the receiving container.

Likewise, the message can also be sent once a message has been received previously by the same communication unit.

For example, provision may be made here for the delivery service to send a message to the communication unit of the receiving container, as a result of which the forwarding thereof or the generation of another message to the recipient by means of the registered communication address is triggered.

Alternatively or in combination, provision may be made for a message to be received by the communication unit, for example from a delivery service or from an owner, by sending this message to the communication address of the communication unit of the receiving container which is used here, which is for example known to the recipient, or for example may also be given for the delivery service on the outside of the receiving container, in order to trigger an action dependent on the message received, for example to actuate a closing mechanism, in particular by means of which the opening of the receiving container can be closed or alternatively uncovered. Thus for example closing of the receiving container may take place by means of a received message which is triggered by the delivery service or by the recipient.

Likewise, the closing may optionally not take place until the recipient, once he has been informed by a message that the message has been inserted, effects closing by means of his own returned message.

The recipient, or optionally also an authorized third party, for example also a delivery agent, can also bring about the opening or re-opening of the receiving container by sending a message which is received by the communication unit of the receiving container, for example also when geographically absent, so that the recipient or the authorized third party can allow himself or a third party access to the receiving container so that he can take out the packet or small parcel mailing from the receiving container.

This function thus also makes possible, in addition to the receiving option, the use of the sending option, in which the possessor of the receiving container uses it to mail his own packets/small parcels conveniently from home, it then being possible for the packets/small parcels to be collected and sent by the delivery service in this manner.

For example, once the packet/small parcel which is to be sent has been inserted, a message can be sent by the communication unit to the delivery service, which is thereby informed that a mailing is awaiting collection.

One further embodiment which can also be combined with the aforementioned embodiments may provide for the communication unit to be set up to indicate imminent receiving of a packet or a small parcel, for example depending on information which is generated from the data of a shipment tracking.

For example, it is conventionally known that the sending of packets or small parcels can be tracked on the internet using a shipment tracking number, so that both the delivery service and the recipient of a mailing can be informed at any time of the whereabouts of the packet or small parcel addressed to them by querying this information.

Because of the presence of this information/data about the whereabouts of a packet or a small parcel on its dispatch route, provision may be made, by sending a message to the communication unit, e.g. triggered by the delivery service, or by querying a message on the part of the communication unit of the receiving container, for the time of delivery, in particular an intended/expected time of delivery, to be communicated to the communication unit and for said communication unit then to indicate such a delivery which is to be expected to the recipient, who is usually the owner of the receiving container, for example visually or acoustically or by a message to a mobile-telephony-enabled data terminal, so that the owner of a receiving container then fixes it to the door in order to have the delivery effected even in his absence.

One development of the receiving container according to the invention or of the method steps to be carried out therewith may make provision for the communication unit of the receiving container, in particular also the devices which communicate with this communication unit, such as those of a delivery service or those of the owner of the receiving container and in particular such a device which belongs to the aforementioned registered communication address, to be set up in each case to conduct the communication in accordance with the requirements of the DE-Mail Act of the Federal Republic of Germany or equivalent legal implementation of EU Directive 2006/123/EG.

In this manner, there is the possibility of also achieving legally valid deliveries by means of a receiving container of the type according to the invention or a method carried out therewith.

One embodiment of the receiving container according to the invention may furthermore provide for it to comprise a closing mechanism, in particular a closing mechanism in the form of an electronically actuatable lock, in particular which is actuatable, preferably closable, by actuating a triggering element or receiving a communication message by means of a communication unit which is in operative connection with the closing mechanism.

In this case, this may be in particular the communication unit which has already been previously described for receiving or sending communication messages.

Thus the receiving container can be closed, for example directly by the delivery service or by the owner of the receiving container, by receiving a communication message or by the aforementioned actuation of a triggering element.

Here, one development may also provide for closing only to be able to take place when a packet mailing or small parcel mailing is also actually inserted into the interior of the receiving container.

In order to check this, provision may be made for such a receiving container to have an interior monitoring means in order to establish whether an item has actually been inserted into the interior of the receiving container.

Likewise, provision may be made, in the case of a door-hanging receiving container, for a weighing device to be arranged in the tab or in a transition region between the tab and the receiving container, which device records the weight of an inserted mailing. In this case, recording of the weight does not necessarily mean that the weight is recorded to the exact gram, but rather, in the present case, that it is sufficient for a weight load, as a result of an inserted packet or small parcel mailing, to be established at all.

Provision may therefore be made for a closing mechanism to be able to be actuated, in particular for a closing mechanism to close a receiving container of the type according to the invention, only when this actuation is enabled by the aforementioned monitoring device, in particular the interior monitoring means or the weighing device.

Since it may also furthermore occur that the internal volume of a receiving container according to the invention is not formed so as to be large enough for delivery of a packet or small parcel, one development according to the invention may also provide for a further securing element to be arranged on the receiving container, in particular to be arranged therein to be taken out, in order to fix mailings which do not fit into the internal volume of the receiving container to the receiving container.

For example, in a simple configuration, this may be a steel cable, the end of which can be pulled out of the interior of the receiving container, in order to be passed around or through goods which are to be delivered and in turn to be fixed to the cable or to the receiving container. Since the goods which are to be delivered are thus fixed securely to the receiving container via this securing element and the receiving container is fixed securely to a door, overall it is not possible to steal anything, at least without use of force. Instead of a steel cable, a net, for example a wire net, may also be provided.

Furthermore, one development according to the invention which can be combined with all the aforementioned embodiments may also provide for an alarm device to be arranged in or on the receiving container, which device is configured to check for unauthorized opening of the receiving container and, if unauthorized access is detected, to trigger an alarm, for example visually, acoustically or by sending a communication message to the owner, for example by sending the message to the registered communication address, for example by SMS or MMS or e-mail.

The alarm device may also comprise a camera for capturing images of the unauthorized access and optionally to store them or send them attached to a message.

Embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following figures.

FIG. 1 shows an overview of portions of a door panel 1 and a door frame 2, in this embodiment of the receiving container 3 according to the invention the rear wall 3a of the receiving container 3 merging in its upper region into a tab 3b, shown here in broken lines, or this tab 3b being arranged on an upper rearward edge of the receiving container 3, the end 3c, which is remote from the receiving container 3, of the tab 3b being formed thickened, so that, although the flat thin region of the tab 3b can be passed through a gap between the door panel 1 at the upper edge of the door panel and the door frame 2, this tab cannot be pulled out through the gap once the door has been closed.

Once the door has been closed, the receiving container 3 is therefore secure and cannot be removed without being destroyed. Here, the tab may be formed by a textile region.

The receiving container 3 here has on the front side a flap 4 which is to be opened, and also a control region or control element 5, optionally having a display unit which is connected at least electronically to a communication unit, not shown here.

A delivery service can therefore open the flap 4, insert a packet mailing or a small parcel mailing into the receiving container 3, close the flap 4 at least mechanically and then confirm that the packet or the small parcel has been inserted by sending a message to the communication unit or at the control element 5, whereupon the openable flap 4 is locked by means of an electric closing mechanism and in accordance with the configuration according to the invention a message is sent to a registered communication address to inform the owner and the intended recipient of the mailing that the mailing has been inserted.

This procedure is illustrated substantially in FIG. 2, which on the left-hand side represents the opening of the flap 4, so that a delivery agent 6 can insert a packet 7 into the internal volume, which is released, of the receiving container 3.

Here, the further configuration may also provide for the delivery agent 6, by actuating a triggering element 8 on the control panel 5, to trigger a message conforming to the DE-Mail Act both to the logistics centre of the delivery service 9 and to a registered communication address of a communication device 10 of the recipient 11. These messages are generated by the communication unit in the receiving container. Instead of actuating the triggering element, the delivery agent can also send to the communication unit a message which triggers the same procedure, i.e. the sending of the aforementioned messages.

Thus legally sound delivery of the packet can also be affected by the messages which conform to the DE-Mail Act.

Independently of the specific configuration when sending a DE-Mail, sending of messages can also be carried out without the certification process which underlies the DE-Mail Act, or optionally the sending of messages can be dispensed with completely; a delivery agent 6, after inserting a packet 7, therefore merely closes the flap 4 and brings about the locking of the opening, in particular electronically, by actuating a triggering element 8 on the control panel 5.

FIG. 3 illustrates on the left-hand side the embodiment already described of a variant according to which the receiving container 3 according to the invention is fixed to a door frame 2 on the upper edge of a door panel 1.

The right-hand view makes it clear that a receiving container 3 of the type according to the invention can also be fixed so as to lie on the ground, for which purpose a tab 3b of the type already mentioned at the outset is arranged on the rear edge of the receiving container 3, the tab in this case, however, then being passed through a gap between the door panel 1 and floor 11.

This variant furthermore makes it clear that the receiving container 3 can be configured to be foldable, by means of an upper wall 3d which can be raised relative to a base wall and has for example flexible or collapsible/foldable side walls 3e.

For example, FIG. 3 shows on the right-hand side that a folded-up embodiment according to the invention of the receiving container 3 has the appearance of a doormat and only in the unfolded state assumes the form of a box or a case, and is suitable for holding a packet or a small parcel mailing in its interior.

The other embodiments are as described in relation to the figures already described above, i.e. in particular the communications-related configuration and sending of messages or the actuation of the locking means or closing mechanisms.

FIG. 4 illustrates that the dimensions of an embodiment according to the invention of the receiving container are selected such that the internal volume thereof can accommodate preferably at least 80% of all packet mailings which usually occur.

In order to realize this, provision may preferably be made for at least packets having external dimensions of 45×35×20 cm and hence the conventional packet set L of the DHL shipping company or the postal service in Germany to be able to be held.

One further embodiment may provide for holding at least packets of size 52×35×21 cm, so that the conventional packet size of mail-order companies can normally be inserted into the interior of the receiving container.

FIG. 5 shows a variant which makes it possible also to deliver larger packet mailings or goods securely by using the receiving container according to the invention, although the goods are not placed directly in the interior thereof.

For example, one embodiment may make provision here for a securing element 12, here for example a steel cable, to be able to be fixed non-detachably 12 in or on the receiving container 3, which element may be provided in order to fix the goods to be delivered, here, as a non-limiting example, a pair of skis, with this steel cable.

One alternative configuration may also provide for a net 14 of in principle larger volume to be removed from the interior of the receiving container 3, in order then to place the goods to be delivered therein; this net, however, remaining inseparably connected to the receiving container 3, at least unless it is destroyed.

FIG. 6 furthermore illustrates that a receiving container 3 of the type according to the invention can be set up to monitor or indicate an unauthorized attempt to open it by a non-authorized person 15.

If the opening of the receiving container is not brought about by the measures provided, for example the sending of a message to the communication unit of the receiving container or for example by entering a code at the control panel 5, an alarm of optical or acoustic type or in the form of a sent message, for example as an SMS or e-mail, can be triggered.

Provision may also be made, for this purpose, to configure the flap 4 of the receiving container according to the invention with sensors which monitor the opening of the flap 4 and cause an alarm to be triggered if the opening does not take place in the intended manner, for example via the control panel or by receiving a message with the communication unit.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill within the scope of the following claims. In particular, the present invention covers further embodiments with any combination of features from different embodiments described above and below. Additionally, statements made herein characterizing the invention refer to an embodiment of the invention and not necessarily all embodiments.

The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. For example, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an element should not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements. Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as being inclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “A and B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing description that only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “at least one of A, B, and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a group of elements consisting of A, B, and C, and should not be interpreted as requiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B, and C, regardless of whether A, B, and C are related as categories or otherwise. Moreover, the recitation of “A, B, and/or C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from the listed elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., A and B, or the entire list of elements A, B, and C.

Claims

1. A receiving container for packet or small parcel mailings to be received or to be sent, the receiving container comprising:

a closable opening through which a packet or small parcel mailing can be inserted into the receiving container; and

a fixing element with which the receiving container can be fixed to, or removed, from, a door of a house or an apartment.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the fixing element is formed as a tab which is fixed by one end to the receiving container, and

wherein the tab is insertable into a gap between the door panel and door frame, or door panel and floor.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the tab of the receiving container is formed from a flexible two-dimensional element.

4. The container of claim 2, wherein the tab includes a thickened section at its other end.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein the fixing element is configured to cooperate with a counter-element,

wherein the counter-element is able to be fixed in a one-off operation by structural work on a door, and

wherein the fixing element and the counter-element are able to be detachably interconnected without structural work.

6. The container of claim 1, formed at least predominantly from at least one textile.

7. The container of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit, with which a communication message can be sent or received.

8. The container of claim 7, wherein the communication unit is configured

(a) to send a message to a registered communication address upon closing of the receiving container after insertion of a packet or small parcel mailing, and/or

(b) to receive a message, and is configured, dependent on the message received, to actuate a closing mechanism.

9. The container of claim 7, wherein the communication unit is configured to indicate an imminent receipt of a packet or a small parcel.

10. The container of claim 7, wherein the communication unit is set up to conduct communication satisfying requirements of the DE-Mail Act of the Federal Republic of Germany or equivalent legal implementation of EU Directive 2006/123/EG.

11. The container of claim 1, further comprising:

a closing mechanism.

12. The container of claim 1, further comprising:

a securing element, arranged on the receiving container, in order to fix mailings which do not fit into an internal volume of the receiving container to the receiving container.

13. A method of delivering a packet or a small parcel by a delivery service to a recipient, the method comprising:

inserting, via the delivery service, a packet or small parcel which is to be delivered in the receiving container of claim 1, temporarily fixed to a door; and

closing the receiving container, as a result of which the packet/small parcel lies ready in the receiving container to be taken out by the recipient, or

wherein the method comprises:

inserting, via a senders, a packet or small parcel which is to be delivered into the receiving container of claim 1, temporarily fixed to a door;

closing, via the sender, the receiving container; and, thereafter, opening, via the delivery service, the receiving container; taking out, via the delivery service, the packet or small parcel; and transporting, via the delivery service, the packet or small parcel.

14. The container of claim 1, wherein the fixing element can be fixed to, or removed from, a door of either a house or an apartment, without structural work.

15. The container of claim 2, wherein the tab is fixed by one end to a rear edge, facing the door, of the receiving container.

16. The container of claim 2, wherein the tab is able to be fixed in position, by the closing of the door.

17. The container of claim 2, wherein the tab is able to be clamped, by the closing of the door.

18. The container of claim 2, wherein the receiving tab of the receiving container is formed from a textile element.

19. The container of claim 5, wherein the fixing element and the counter-element are able to be detachably interconnected without structural work, by coupling engagement of the fixing element and the counter-element with each other.

20. The container of claim 11, wherein the closing mechanism includes an electronically actuatable lock, the lock being actuable by a communication unit which is in operative connection with the closing mechanism.