JP2020007148A - Unmanned delivery system with unmanned delivery vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a delivery system with unmanned delivery vehicles for fast and efficient delivery of ordered products to designated destinations by the unmanned delivery vehicles.SOLUTION: There is provided an unmanned delivery system 10, including: a product depot 20; a vehicle waiting area 40; a management center 50 that manages a stock status of individual products in the product depot and manages a status of unmanned delivery vehicles in the vehicle waiting area; and a network 60 interconnecting the product depot, the vehicle waiting area and the management center. The management center 50 selects the product depot and the vehicle waiting area according to a stock status of an ordered product and a position of a delivery destination based on product order information 71 of a user 70, and selects an unmanned delivery vehicle 80 waiting or running at the selected vehicle waiting area, and sends product delivery information to the unmanned delivery vehicle and the product depot. The unmanned delivery vehicle automatically drives to the selected product depot, and picks the ordered product and automatically derives to the delivery destination, and automatically moves to the vehicle waiting area after a settlement and delivery of the ordered product by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle for delivering ordered goods to a designated delivery destination by an unmanned delivery vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a freight delivery service using a home delivery service or the like, an operator manually loads a load on a delivery vehicle at a distribution center or the like where the load is accumulated. The delivery vehicle is moved by the operator to individual delivery destinations, and carries the package manually to each delivery destination for delivery. Therefore, the loading and unloading of the cargo to the delivery vehicle, and the delivery and all the operations are performed manually by the operator, and the operator also operates the delivery vehicle to the distribution center and the individual delivery destinations.

  In the freight delivery service industry, on the other hand, there is a problem of chronic labor shortage, and although a system for specifying delivery time has been set, the user is not at the designated place at the time of delivery. Receipt cannot be performed, and the rate of re-delivery of packages has increased, which has led to a shortage of workers.

  In addition, retail stores such as convenience stores have become widespread nationwide, and users can easily purchase products at nearby convenience stores, supermarkets, home delivery services such as food, and the like. However, the product to be purchased may not be in stock at the store, and in such a case, the user may go to another store or give up purchasing the product. As a result, the store loses the opportunity to sell the product.

  On the other hand, in recent years, mail-order sales via networks have become widespread. In this case, when accepting a purchase request for a product from the user, the mail-order company picks up the product in a warehouse or the like, loads the product on a delivery vehicle, moves the delivery vehicle to a delivery destination, and delivers the product to the user. It has become.

  By the way, in stores such as the above-mentioned convenience stores, the delivery service of purchased goods is becoming widespread on a store-by-store basis, and demand is increasing mainly for heavy and bulky items. In this case as well, the products are limited to those in stock at the store, which may not satisfy the user's purchase request, and when a plurality of stores exist in a certain area, each store is Delivery services are provided separately, and the delivery areas of each store may overlap, resulting in an inefficient delivery service for the entire area.

  Also, in the above-mentioned mail-order sales via the network, in some cases, a purchase application may be made to a remote store or the like, and the delivery distance of the product is increased wastefully, and free shipping is provided to the user. Even if you do, it will actually increase delivery costs.

  In addition, if the product orders from a large number of users are concentrated, the required delivery time is greatly delayed, and in some cases, the product is out of stock and the product is delivered until the product is received. You may not be able to do so. For this reason, a user may take an unexpectedly long time to obtain a desired product. Delivery time becomes even more important for home delivery services for groceries such as pizza and sushi.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle for quickly and efficiently delivering an ordered product to a designated delivery destination by an unmanned delivery vehicle.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the object is to manage at least one merchandise depot, at least one vehicle waiting station to which at least one unmanned delivery vehicle belongs, and manage the stock status of individual commodities at each merchandise depot. A management center for managing the status of each unmanned delivery vehicle belonging to each vehicle waiting station, and a network interconnecting each of the merchandise accumulation stations, each vehicle waiting station and the management center, A management center, based on product order information including a product ordered and a delivery destination from a user, corresponding to the stock status of the ordered product and the location of the delivery destination, a product accumulation place and a vehicle standby for delivering the ordered product. Select an unmanned delivery vehicle or a running unmanned delivery vehicle waiting at the selected vehicle waiting place, and then select the unmanned delivery vehicle and the merchandise depot. A merchandise delivery information including a merchandise depot where an ordered product should be picked up, an unmanned delivery vehicle, and a delivery destination is transmitted via a network, the unmanned delivery vehicle includes a traveling unit, a control unit that automatically controls the traveling unit, It has a storage unit that can store ordered items and a settlement unit that performs payment for ordered items, and the unmanned delivery vehicle automatically travels to the item collection point included in the item delivery information, and After picking up the ordered product, the unmanned delivery vehicle automatically travels to the delivery destination. The unmanned delivery vehicle informs the user of arrival or expected arrival time at or before arrival at the delivery destination, and orders the product ordered by the user. Unattended delivery by an unmanned delivery vehicle characterized by waiting for the settlement and delivery of the product and automatically moving to any vehicle waiting place after the settlement and delivery of the ordered product to the user. It is achieved by the stem.

  According to the above configuration, the management center receives the product order information from the user, selects a merchandise accumulation place and a vehicle waiting place according to the stock status of the ordered goods and the location of the delivery destination, and further delivers the product to the delivery destination as soon as possible. By selecting a possible unmanned delivery vehicle, it is possible to quickly deliver the product ordered by the user to the delivery destination. At that time, since the delivery is performed by the unmanned delivery vehicle, personnel for the delivery are not required, and the ordered product can be quickly and efficiently delivered to the delivery destination even if the number of workers is insufficient.

  The unmanned delivery system according to the present invention is preferably provided with a plurality of product depots, and a management center, when selecting a product depot, a vehicle waiting place to which an unmanned delivery vehicle responsible for delivery belongs. The merchandise depots where the ordered commodities are in stock are selected so that the distribution distance and the distribution time are shorter from the selected positions of the merchandise depot and the delivery destination. By properly selecting a merchandise accumulation site, ordered merchandise can be delivered to a delivery destination more quickly.

  In the unmanned delivery system according to the present invention, preferably, a vehicle waiting place is provided at a plurality of places, and when the management center selects the vehicle waiting place, it is selected as a vehicle waiting place to which the unmanned delivery vehicle responsible for delivery belongs. The vehicle waiting place where the unmanned delivery vehicle in the waiting state exists is selected so that the delivery distance and delivery time are shortened from the respective positions of the merchandise accumulation place and the delivery destination. By properly selecting the vehicle waiting place, the ordered product can be delivered to the delivery destination more quickly.

The unmanned delivery system according to the present invention is preferably arranged such that, when the management center selects a vehicle waiting place, if there is no unmanned delivery vehicle in a waiting state in one vehicle waiting place, it is the earliest during delivery and after delivery is completed. The waiting time and the delivery time of the unmanned delivery vehicle returning to the vehicle waiting place are compared with the delivery time of the unmanned delivery vehicle at another vehicle waiting place, and the unmanned delivery vehicle where the unmanned delivery vehicle can be quickly delivered to the delivery destination exists. Select Even if there is no unmanned delivery vehicle waiting at the selected vehicle waiting place, the ordered item can be delivered to the destination more quickly by selecting an unmanned delivery vehicle that can arrive earlier at the selected merchandise depot. be able to.
When the unmanned delivery vehicle has a plurality of divided product storage boxes and receives an instruction from the management center while the unmanned delivery vehicle having an empty storage box is running, picks up ordered products from the product accumulation center. Then, the ordered product may be stored in the empty storage box and delivered to the user.

  In the unmanned delivery system according to the present invention, preferably, the merchandise depot is a store that sells commodities. By using a store that always has a certain amount of stock, ordered goods can be delivered to a delivery destination more quickly.

  In the unmanned delivery system according to the present invention, preferably, a user places an order for a product at a store, and a terminal device of the store creates product order information in response to the user's product order, and transmits the product order information to a network. To the management center via. When the user goes to the store, the ordered product can be quickly delivered to the delivery destination by the unmanned delivery vehicle for the product in the store or the product out of stock.

  In the unmanned delivery system according to the present invention, preferably, a user creates merchandise order information using a user terminal device, and transmits the merchandise order information to a management center via a network. Thus, the user can order a product at an arbitrary place such as a home or a destination without going to a store.

  In the unmanned delivery system according to the present invention, preferably, the goods storage is a warehouse for storing goods, and the warehouse as the goods storage is available from a plurality of stores. Therefore, even when the merchandise is not in stock at the store, the ordered merchandise can be directly delivered from the warehouse as the merchandise supplier to the delivery destination, and the ordered merchandise can be delivered to the destination more quickly.

  In the unmanned delivery system according to the present invention, preferably, the notification to the user when the unmanned delivery vehicle arrives at the delivery destination or the estimated arrival time is notified to the user terminal device via the network. Therefore, when the unmanned delivery vehicle arrives at the delivery destination, for example, it is notified directly to the user's terminal device without sounding a warning sound, so that, for example, noise is scattered in the neighborhood, or the user is away from the delivery destination. It is possible to reliably notify the user or the like at the place of the arrival or the estimated arrival time.

  If the picking and loading of ordered goods at the merchandise depot is performed unattended by automatic picking means, not only the transfer from the vehicle waiting place to the merchandise depot and from the merchandise depot to the delivery destination, but also the goods The picking of the ordered goods and the loading on the unmanned delivery vehicle at the accumulation place are also performed unmanned, and further labor saving can be achieved.

  If an unmanned delivery vehicle belongs to a specific vehicle waiting place and is configured to return to the vehicle waiting place to which it belongs after delivery is completed, each unmanned delivery vehicle belongs to a specific vehicle waiting place, so that the vehicle The waiting station can easily and reliably manage and maintain the unmanned delivery vehicle to which it belongs.

  If the unmanned delivery vehicle does not belong to a specific vehicle waiting place, and is configured to move to the nearest vehicle waiting place or a vehicle waiting place with a small number of waiting unmanned delivery vehicles after the delivery is completed, each unmanned delivery vehicle has a plurality of unmanned delivery vehicles. If the number of unmanned delivery vehicles on standby is small and unmanned delivery vehicles are waiting, the number of unmanned delivery vehicles from other vehicle waiting places will be accommodated, and a smaller number of unmanned delivery vehicles may be allocated. It is also possible to reduce the number of delivery vehicles.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an extremely excellent unmanned delivery vehicle-based delivery system for quickly and efficiently delivering an ordered product to a designated delivery destination by an unmanned delivery vehicle.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an entire configuration of an embodiment of an unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an arrangement of stores and warehouses as merchandise accumulation centers in the unmanned delivery system of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the store in the unmanned delivery system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the warehouse in the unmanned delivery system of FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle waiting place in the unmanned delivery system in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the unmanned delivery vehicle in the unmanned delivery system of FIG. 6A and 6B show a specific configuration of the unmanned delivery vehicle in FIG. 6, wherein FIG. 7A is a perspective view seen from the front, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view seen from the rear. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the management center in the unmanned delivery system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating an operation of unattended delivery of ordered goods at a user's store in the unmanned delivery system of FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart sequentially showing a part of an unattended delivery operation in a case where a user directly orders a product from a management center using a user terminal device in the unattended delivery system of FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an embodiment of an unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, an unmanned delivery system (hereinafter, referred to as an unmanned delivery system) 10 using an unmanned delivery vehicle includes a store 20 and / or a warehouse 30 as a merchandise accumulation center, a vehicle waiting place 40, a management center 50, , Is composed of.

Here, only one store 20 and one vehicle waiting place 40 are shown in FIG. 1, but actually, for example, a plurality of stores 20 and a plurality of vehicle waiting places 40 are arranged as shown in FIG. 2. ing. At that time, the stores 20 are arranged to be separated from each other to some extent, so as to distribute customers. Although only one warehouse 30 is shown in FIG. 1, actually, the warehouse 30 is distributed and arranged at one or a plurality of locations corresponding to the plurality of stores 20.
The network 60 is a dedicated line or a general public line, and, as will be described later, stores each of the stores 20, the warehouse 30, and each of the vehicle waiting stations 40, the management center 50, and the user terminal device 72 of the user 70. By connecting with each other, various kinds of information can be transmitted and received.

  The store 20 is configured as, for example, a convenience store, and as shown in FIG. 3, includes many and many types of products 21 and includes a store terminal device 22 that performs inventory management and sales processing of the products 21. I have. The store terminal device 22 includes, for example, a so-called cash register 22a for sales processing, and is configured to perform various processes related to sales operations in the store, such as inventory management and order processing of the products 21, and the network 60 It is connected to the management center 50 via the Internet. As a result, the user 70 who has visited the store 20 can select a desired product 21 from the displayed products 21, pay at the cash register 22 a, and purchase the product 21. In addition, the store terminal device 22 transmits the stock status of the product 21 in the store 20 to the management center 50 via the network 60 as the product stock information 21a.

Further, the user 70 who has come to the store 20 can request delivery of the displayed product 21 or the product having no stock to a delivery destination such as a home. In this case, the user 70 transmits the user information, the ordered product, and the delivery destination to the clerk at the store. As a result, at the store 20, when the clerk operates the store terminal device 22, the store terminal device 22 receives the order code 71a, the user information 71b, the ordered product 71c, and the delivery destination 71d according to the product order of the user 70. The product order information 71 is created and transmitted to the management center 50 via the network 60, and a user authentication key 73 relating to the order is issued to the user 70.
Note that the user 70 does not go to the store 20 and operates his / her own terminal device 72 to directly place a product order to the management center 50 via the network 60 and transmit the product order information 71. You can also.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the warehouse 30 stores a large number of products 21 handled in the store 20. In response to an order from the store 20, the product 21 ordered from the warehouse 30 is stored in a corresponding store 20 by a delivery vehicle or the like. Will be delivered as appropriate. The warehouse 30 is provided with a warehouse terminal device 31 for performing inventory management of the product 21 in the warehouse 30. The warehouse terminal device 31 corrects the stock status each time the product 21 is received / shipped, and always obtains accurate information. The merchandise stock information 21a indicating the stock status is created and transmitted to the management center 50 via the network 60.

  When receiving the product delivery information 54 (described later) from the management center 50 via the network 60, the warehouse terminal device 31 converts the order product 71c based on the order code 71a and the ordered product 71c included in the product delivery information 54. The operator selects and picks from the products 21 stocked in the warehouse 30, and instructs the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 associated with the order code 71a to load. At this time, the unordered picking device may be used to automatically load the ordered product 71c on the unmanned delivery vehicle 80. At that time, the warehouse terminal device 31 corrects the stock information 32 in the warehouse 30 for the loaded product 21 and transmits the corrected product 21 to the management center 50 via the network 60.

  The vehicle waiting station 40 is provided, for example, alongside or independently of the store 20 or the warehouse 30, and as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle waiting station warehouse connected to the management center 50 via the network 60. A terminal device 41 is provided, and at least one, preferably a plurality of unmanned delivery vehicles 80 belong to the terminal device 41.

The unmanned delivery vehicle 80 has a configuration similar to that of a known unmanned automatic driving vehicle, for example, an autonomous mobile device of an unmanned delivery system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-058656 by the present applicant. A storage unit 83 that includes a traveling unit 81, a control unit 82 that controls the traveling unit 81 automatically, and further stores an ordered product 71c to be delivered, and a settlement unit that performs payment for the ordered product 71c. 84, and vehicle identification information 85 for specifying the unmanned delivery vehicle 80.
Here, the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 receives the product delivery information 54 sent from the management center 50 via the network 60, records it in the storage unit 86, and based on the product delivery information 54 , The delivery start notification 82 a and the vehicle identification information 85 are sent to the management center 50 via the network 60, and the traveling unit 81 is controlled so that the merchandise depot selected by the merchandise distribution information 54, ie, the store 20 or the warehouse 30. After picking the ordered product 71c, the traveling unit 81 is again controlled to autonomously move to the delivery destination 71d.

Then, the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 transmits the arrival notification 82b and the vehicle identification information 85 to the terminal device 72 of the user 70 via the network 60 when the vehicle arrives at the delivery destination 71d or about the estimated arrival time.
When the user 70 inputs the user authentication key 73 received at the time of ordering to the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 arriving at the delivery destination 71d, the control unit 82 transmits the user information included in the product delivery information 54 The user authentication key 73b is collated with the user authentication key 73, and when the collation is successful, the settlement unit 84 setstles the price of the delivery commodity 71c and opens the storage unit 83.
Thereafter, the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 detects that the storage unit 83 is open and empty, closes the storage unit 83 assuming that the delivery of the ordered product 71c is completed, and notifies the delivery completion notification 82c and the vehicle identification. The information 85 is transmitted to the assigned vehicle waiting station 40 and the management center 50 via the network 60, and the traveling unit 81 is controlled to return to the assigned vehicle waiting station 40.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 has two pairs of wheels 87a at the front and rear lower parts of a vehicle body 87, a headlight 87b and a direction indicator 87c required for traveling on a road. And a rear combination lamp 87d, and a front monitoring stereo camera 87e, a side monitoring camera 87f, and the like necessary for automatic driving. Further, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 is provided with a housing portion 83 at the rear of the vehicle body, and the housing portion 83 can load and unload luggage and the like inside by opening and closing a door 83a. The storage unit 83 can be divided into small rooms to form a plurality of storage boxes. In this case, when each storage box is individually locked or unlocked, the package can be delivered to each of the plurality of users.
In the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 having such a configuration, the control unit 82 can autonomously travel on a road based on detection signals from the front monitoring stereo camera 87e, the side monitoring camera 87f, and the like, and map data created in advance. I can do it.

Here, upon receiving the product delivery information 54 (described later) from the management center 50, the control unit 41 of the vehicle waiting place 40 sends the specified unmanned delivery vehicle 80 of the belonging unmanned delivery vehicle 80 via the network 60. The product delivery information 54 is sent out. Thereby, as described above, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 autonomously moves toward the store 20 or the warehouse 30 specified based on the product delivery information 54, and the ordered product 71c specified in the store 20 or the warehouse 30. After picking, the user can autonomously move to the designated delivery destination 71d, and deliver the ordered product 71c to the user 70 at the delivery destination 71d.
Here, based on the delivery start notification 82a and the delivery completion notification 82c transmitted together with the vehicle identification information 85 from each unmanned delivery vehicle 80, the warehouse terminal device 41 of the vehicle waiting place 40 operates the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 That is, the respective states of “waiting”, “delivery (running)”, and “returning” are detected, and vehicle state information 42 is created and transmitted to the management center 50 via the network 60.

  The management center 50 is composed of information processing devices such as servers, workstations, and cloud servers provided at appropriate locations. As shown in FIG. 8, a transmission / reception unit 51, a storage unit 52, a control unit 53 And The processing in the management center 50 is executed by a computer such as a server, a workstation, a cloud server, or the like controlled by a program. As a recording medium, for example, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or any other computer-readable medium can be used. used. In addition, the program recorded on the recording medium may be loaded into the computer by directly attaching the recording medium to the computer, or may be loaded into the computer via various networks. The storage unit 52 and the control unit 53 may be configured as separate servers, respectively, and may be connected to each other by a LAN such as a private network.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 of the management center 50 controls the store terminal equipment 22 of the store 20, the warehouse terminal equipment 31 of the warehouse 30, the warehouse terminal equipment 41 of the vehicle waiting place 40, and the unmanned delivery vehicles 80 via the network 60. The unit 82 and the user terminal device 72 of the user 70 are communicably connected to each other.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 of the management center 50 receives the product inventory information 21a from each store 20 and each warehouse 30 via the network 60, registers the product inventory information 21a as a database in the storage unit 52, and transmits the product inventory information 21a to the control unit 53. Send out. Thereby, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 can always grasp the product stock information 21a regarding the product 21 in all the stores 20 and the warehouses 30 to be managed, and perform the centralized management.

  Further, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management center 50 transmits the status of each unmanned delivery vehicle 80 from each vehicle standby place 40, that is, the vehicle status information 42 indicating “waiting”, “delivery” or “returning” to the network. The vehicle status information 42 is transmitted to the control unit 53 while being received through the storage unit 60 and registered in the storage unit 52 as a database. Thus, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 can always grasp the states of the individual unmanned delivery vehicles 80 in all the vehicle waiting stations 40 to be managed, and perform the unified management.

  Upon receiving the product order information 71 of the user 70 from the store terminal device 22 of the store 20 via the network 60, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the management center 50 registers the product order information 71 in the storage unit 52 and stores the product order information 71 is output to the control unit 53. As a result, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 obtains the order item 71c from the order code 71a, the user information 71b, the ordered item 71c, and the delivery destination 71d included in the item order information 71 based on the item inventory information 21a. In addition, a merchandise collection point, that is, a store 20 or a warehouse 30 close to the delivery destination 71d is selected, and a vehicle waiting station 40 closest to the selected store 20 or the warehouse 30 is selected based on the vehicle state information 42.

  Here, when there is no stock of the ordered product 71c in the merchandise accumulation place including the store 20 or the warehouse 30 closest to the delivery destination 71d, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 includes the next closest store 20 or the warehouse 30. Select a product depot. The control unit 53 of the management center 50 belongs to the vehicle waiting place 40 when there is no unmanned delivery vehicle 80 waiting in the vehicle waiting place 40 closest to the selected merchandise store including the store 20 or the warehouse 30. An unmanned delivery that can arrive at the selected merchandise store or warehouse 30 such as an unmanned delivery vehicle returning home or an unmanned delivery vehicle waiting at another vehicle waiting area 40 so that the delivery time can be shortened or arrived first. The vehicle waiting place 40 to which the vehicle 80 belongs is selected. The control unit 53 may execute a process of optimizing the delivery time so that the delivery time is the shortest. This makes it possible to deliver the ordered product 71c to the delivery destination 71d as quickly as possible.

  Then, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 creates the selected merchandise accumulation station 54a and the vehicle waiting area 54b including the store 20 or the warehouse 30, and the merchandise delivery information 54 including the user information 71b, the ordered merchandise 71c, and the delivery destination 71d. Then, the merchandise delivery information 54 is transmitted to the selected store 20 or the warehouse 30 and the vehicle standby station 40 via the network 60.

The unmanned delivery system 10 according to the present invention is configured as described above, and operates as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. First, a case where the user 70 places an order for a product at the store 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the flowchart of FIG. 9, when the user 70 orders a product at the store of the store 20 in step A1, the store terminal device 22 of the store 20 creates the product order information 71 in step A2, and in step A3. Issue a user authentication key 73 to the user 70, and transmit the product order information 71 to the management center 50 via the network 60 in step A4.

  In response to this, in step A5, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 refers to the product stock information 21a and stores the ordered product 71c included in the product order information 71 near the delivery destination 71d. In the case shown in the drawing, the warehouse 30 is selected, and subsequently, in step A6, the vehicle waiting point 40 closest to the selected warehouse 30 is selected with reference to the vehicle state information 42.

Next, in step A7, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 selects one unmanned delivery vehicle 80 waiting at the selected vehicle waiting place 40 by using the vehicle identification information 85, and selects it in step A8. The product delivery information 54 including the store 54a, the vehicle waiting place 54b, the user information 71b, the ordered product 71c, and the delivery destination 71d is created.
Then, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 transmits the product delivery information 54 to the selected unmanned delivery vehicle 80 of the selected vehicle waiting place 40 in step A9, and also transmits the product delivery information 54 in step A10. The data is transmitted to the warehouse 30 which is the selected merchandise accumulation center.

Here, when the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 receives the product delivery information 54 in step A11, the control unit 82 transmits the delivery start notification 82a and the vehicle identification information 85 to the management center 50 via the network 60, and At A12, the traveling unit 81 is controlled based on the commodity delivery information 54, and moves to the selected warehouse 30 by automatic traveling. On the other hand, when the warehouse terminal device 31 of the warehouse 30 receives the product delivery information 54 in step A13, the warehouse terminal device 31 picks the ordered product 71c based on the product delivery information 54, and performs unattended handling of delivery of the ordered product 71c. Wait for the delivery vehicle 80 to arrive.
When the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 arrives, the warehouse terminal device 31 of the warehouse 30 loads the ordered product 71c into the storage section 83 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 in step A14.

At step A15, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 loaded with the ordered product 71c automatically moves toward the delivery destination 71d. When the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 arrives at the delivery destination 71d in step A16, the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 notifies the arrival notification 82b to the user terminal device 72 of the user 70 via the network 60 in step A17. I do.
When the user 70 receiving the arrival notification 82b inputs the user authentication key 73 to the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 at the delivery destination 71d in step A18, the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 proceeds to step A19. In step A20, when the user information 71b included in the product delivery information 54 and the user authentication key 73 can be compared and verified, in step A20, the payment unit 84 performs payment for the ordered product 71c, and proceeds to step A21. Then, the container 83 is opened and the delivery of the ordered product 71c to the user 70 is waited.

In step A22, when the user 70 takes out the ordered product 71c from the opened storage unit 83, the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 detects the opening of the storage unit 83 and empty cargo in step A23, and The storage unit 83 is closed assuming that the delivery of the product 71c has been completed, and the delivery completion notification 82c and the vehicle identification information 85 are transmitted to the vehicle waiting station 40 and the management center 50 via the network 60 in step A24. In step A25, the traveling unit 81 is controlled to automatically travel toward the vehicle waiting place 40 to which the vehicle belongs, and in step A26, the vehicle returns to the vehicle waiting place 40 to which the vehicle belongs.
Thus, the delivery and return of the ordered product 71c of the user 70 to the delivery destination 71d are completed.

Next, a case in which the user 70 places an order for a product directly to the management center 50 using his / her user terminal device 72 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the flowchart of FIG. 10, in step B1, the user 70 creates the product order information 71 using his / her own user terminal 72, and in step B2, the product order information 71 is stored in the management center via the network 60. Send to 50.

  In response to this, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 issues a user authentication key 73 for the commodity order information 71 in step B3, and transmits the user authentication key 73 via the network 60 in step B4. It is transmitted to the user terminal device 72 of the user 70. At this time, the user 70 can confirm the user authentication key 73 by visually recognizing the user authentication key 73 displayed on the screen of the user terminal device 72 in step B5. At this time, the information displayed on the user's terminal device 72 from the control unit 53 of the management center 50 via the network 70 may include the estimated arrival time.

Thereafter, the control unit 53 of the management center 50 picks up and loads the ordered product 71c of the user 70 in the warehouse 30 by performing the work after step A5 shown in the flowchart of FIG. Deliver to 71d. When the user 70 inputs the user authentication key 73 to the control unit 82 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 arriving at the delivery destination 71d, payment for the ordered product 71c and delivery of the ordered product 71c from the storage unit 83 are delivered. After performing at the preceding step 71d, the vehicle returns to the vehicle waiting station 40 to which the user belongs by automatic traveling.
In this way, even if the user 70 does not go to the store 20, the user 70 places an order for the product 21 with the management center 50 directly via the network 60 at an arbitrary place, and places the ordered product 71c at the delivery destination 71d. You can receive.

The present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit thereof.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the unmanned delivery vehicles 80 belong to the vehicle waiting places 40, respectively, and after returning the ordered goods 71c to the delivery destination 71d, return to the vehicle waiting places 40 to which they belong. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The unmanned delivery vehicle 80 does not belong to the specific vehicle waiting place 40, and after the delivery is completed, the nearest vehicle waiting place 40 or the vehicle waiting place where the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 waiting is small. Clearly, it may move to 40.

  In the above-described embodiment, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 includes only one storage unit 83, and delivers the ordered product 71c to one delivery destination 71d for each order. Not limited to this, the accommodation unit 83 of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 is divided into a plurality of sections, or the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 includes a plurality of accommodation units 83, so that a single delivery operation circulates a plurality of delivery destinations 71d. As a result, it is possible to process a plurality of sets of product orders, and the delivery efficiency is further improved.

Specifically, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 has a plurality of storage boxes, and when some of the storage boxes have already been delivered and an empty storage box is generated, the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 is operated as follows. A new product 21 may be loaded in the empty storage box.
When an empty storage box is generated in the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 at the management center 50, the information is notified to the management center 50. The management center 50 searches the undelivered merchandise order information 71 and finds that the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 in which the empty accommodation section 83 has been produced has the inventory of the goods 21 to be loaded, and that the route of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 is A search is made for the nearest merchandise accumulation center 30 located on the way. Even if the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 is in the middle of delivery to the next delivery destination 71d, the management center 50 stops at the product collection and delivery station 30 if the nearest merchandise accumulation station 30 is present in the middle of the next delivery destination 71d. , A new product 21 may be packed and reflected in a subsequent delivery plan. At this time, the management center 50 can select the unmanned delivery vehicle 80 closest to the merchandise depot 30 so that the efficiency of the delivery plan can be improved when empty storage boxes are generated in the plurality of unmanned delivery vehicles 80. The optimization may be performed by the 50 management units 30.

  According to this configuration, when an empty storage box is generated in the unmanned delivery vehicle 80, the goods 21 to be newly delivered are appropriately selected at the nearest merchandise accumulation station 30 in the middle of the route of the unmanned delivery vehicle 80. As a result, the ordered product 21 can be more quickly delivered to another delivery destination 71d. In this case, the delivery time to the next delivery destination 71d is slightly extended since the user stops at the merchandise collection point 30, but the delivery time can be adjusted by providing a delivery time range of, for example, about one hour.

10 Unmanned delivery system using unmanned delivery vehicles (unattended delivery system)
20 stores (product depot)
21 merchandise 21a merchandise inventory information 22 store terminal equipment 22a cash register 30 warehouse (merchandise depot)
31 warehouse terminal equipment 40 vehicle waiting station 41 vehicle waiting station warehouse terminal equipment 42 vehicle status information 50 management center 51 transmission / reception unit 52 storage unit 53 control unit 54 commodity delivery information 54a selected commodity accumulation station (selected store)
54b Selected vehicle waiting area 60 Network 70 User 71 Commodity order information 71a Order code 71b User information 71c Ordered product 71d Delivery destination 72 User terminal device 73 User authentication key 80 Unmanned delivery vehicle 81 Running unit 82 Control unit 82a Delivery start notification 82b Arrival Notification 82c Delivery completion notification 83 Housing section 83a Door 84 Payment section 85 Vehicle identification information 86 Storage section 87 Body 87a Wheel 87b Headlight 87c Direction indicator 87d Rear combination lamp 87e Front monitoring stereo camera 87f Side monitoring camera

Claims (14)

At least one merchandise depot, at least one vehicle waiting station to which at least one unmanned delivery vehicle belongs, and managing the stock status of individual products at each merchandise depot, and each individual belonging to each vehicle waiting station A management center that manages the status of the unmanned delivery vehicle, and a network that interconnects each of the merchandise depots, each vehicle waiting station, and the management center,
A merchandise repository for delivering the ordered product in accordance with the stock status of the ordered product and the location of the delivery destination based on the product order information including the ordered product and the delivery destination from the user; And selecting a vehicle waiting place, further selecting one unmanned delivery vehicle or unmanned delivery vehicle running at the selected vehicle waiting place, and ordering the ordered goods to the unmanned delivery vehicle and the merchandise depot. Transmitting, via a network, product delivery information including a product depot to be picked up, an unmanned delivery vehicle, and a delivery destination;
The unmanned delivery vehicle includes a traveling unit, a control unit that controls automatic operation of the traveling unit, a storage unit that can accommodate the ordered product, and a settlement unit that performs payment for the ordered product.
The unmanned delivery vehicle automatically travels to a product depot included in the product delivery information, picks the ordered product at the product depot, and then automatically travels to the destination.
Upon or before arrival at the destination, the unmanned delivery vehicle notifies the user of the arrival or the estimated time of arrival, waits for settlement and delivery of the ordered product by the user, and informs the user. An unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle, wherein the unmanned delivery vehicle automatically moves to any one of the vehicle waiting stations after the settlement and delivery of the ordered product. The product accumulation place is provided at a plurality of places,
When the management center selects a merchandise depot, it is selected as a vehicle waiting station to which the unmanned delivery vehicle responsible for delivery belongs, and the delivery distance and the delivery time are shortened from the respective positions of the merchandise depot and the delivery destination. 2. The unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising selecting a merchandise depot where the ordered goods are in stock. The vehicle waiting place is provided at a plurality of places,
When the management center selects the vehicle waiting place, the vehicle waiting place to which the unmanned delivery vehicle responsible for delivery belongs is selected, and the delivery distance and the delivery time are shortened from the respective positions of the merchandise accumulation place and the delivery destination. 3. An unmanned delivery system using unmanned delivery vehicles according to claim 1, wherein a vehicle waiting place where an unmanned delivery vehicle in a waiting state exists is selected.   When the management center selects a vehicle waiting place, if there is no unmanned delivery vehicle in a waiting state in one vehicle waiting place, the unmanned delivery vehicle returning to the vehicle waiting place in the middle of delivery and after delivery is the earliest. Comparing the waiting time and the delivery time with the delivery time of the unmanned delivery vehicle at another vehicle waiting place, and selecting a vehicle waiting place where there is an unmanned delivery vehicle that can be delivered to the delivery destination quickly. Item 4. An unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to item 3.   The storage section of the unmanned delivery vehicle is constituted by a plurality of divided storage boxes, and when the unmanned delivery vehicle having an empty storage box is instructed by the management center while traveling, an order is placed from the merchandise collection point. The unmanned delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the unmanned delivery vehicle picks up the product, stores the ordered product in an empty storage box, and delivers the product to a user.   The unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the merchandise depot is a store that sells commodities. A user places an order for a product at the store,
7. The terminal device of the store, in response to a user's product order, creates the product order information and transmits the product order information to the management center via a network. 8. An unmanned delivery system using the unmanned delivery vehicle described.   The unmanned delivery according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a user creates product order information using a user terminal device and transmits the product order information to the management center via a network. Unmanned delivery system by vehicle.   9. The unmanned delivery system by an unmanned delivery vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the merchandise depot is a warehouse for storing commodities.   The unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the warehouse serving as the merchandise accumulation center is available from a plurality of stores.   The notification to a user when the unmanned delivery vehicle arrives at a delivery destination or an estimated arrival time is notified to a user terminal device via a network, according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein An unmanned delivery system using the unmanned delivery vehicle described.   The unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the picking and loading of the ordered goods in the merchandise collection point is performed unattended by automatic picking means.   The unmanned delivery vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the unmanned delivery vehicle belongs to a specific vehicle waiting place, and returns to the vehicle waiting place to which the delivery belongs after delivery is completed. Delivery system.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the unmanned delivery vehicle does not belong to a specific vehicle waiting place, and moves to a nearest vehicle waiting place or a vehicle waiting place where few unmanned delivery vehicles are waiting after delivery is completed. An unmanned delivery system using an unmanned delivery vehicle according to any one of claims 12 to 12.

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