Google's secretive drone delivery project could include a component designed to store packages securely, Reuters reports.

A patent filed in the United States by the company, a unit of Alphabet Inc, describes a "delivery receptacle" designed to take packages from an "aerial delivery device" for deposit to a secure location.

The receptacle would use infrared beacons to connect with drones in the air and then guide them for delivery.

The delivery receptacle would then take the package to a safe location such as a garage, according to the patent. The patent did not provide any details on the nature of the delivery receptacle.

A spokesman for the company's Google X research arm declined comment.

The filing provides a glimpse into a plan Google has been exploring since 2012. The project's leader, Dave Vos, said last November it could start delivering packages by 2017.

Dubbed 'Project Wing', the initiative was announced in August 2014 with a YouTube video showing a field test conducted in Australia. In the United States, the company has conducted testing with NASA's AMES Research Center.