JP2023008513A - Delivery method, management server, cold storage unit, and program used by management server - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress an increase in a transportation cost due to a reduction in an operation rate of a cold storage unit.SOLUTION: A delivery method of a transported article includes a transportation step of transporting a cold storage box 1 storing transportation articles in a cold storage from a delivery center 50 to a business office 51 using a cold storage vehicle 53, an attaching step of selecting one cooling apparatus 2 from a plurality of cooling apparatuses 2 capable of cooling an inside of the cold storage box 1 and attaching the one cooling apparatus 2 to the cold storage box 1, a delivery step of transporting the cold storage box 1 storing the transportation articles and the one cooling apparatus 2 attached to the cold storage box 1 to a transportation destination 52 using a transportation vehicle 54 after the attaching step and taking out and delivering the transportation articles stored in the cold storage box 1, and a separation and storage step of separating the one cooling apparatus 2 from the cold storage box 1 after the delivery step, returning the cold storage box 1 to the delivery center 50, and stores the one cooling apparatus 2 at the business office 51.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a delivery method, a management server, a cold storage unit, and a program used in the management server.

Conventionally, when delivering low-temperature storage items such as perishables as transport items, there is a known method of transporting low-temperature transport from the delivery source to the delivery destination by placing a cooling agent in a cooling box made of heat-insulating material. (See Patent Document 1, for example).

JP 2007-331937 A

In response to such a method, the inventor of the present application uses a refrigerating unit that cools the transported object using electric power, stores the transported object in the refrigerating unit, and transports the refrigerating unit at a low temperature from the delivery source to the delivery destination. devised a delivery method.

The inventors of the present application have further studied the delivery method, and found that a refrigerated unit containing a transported item is transported from a first base such as a distribution center to a second base such as a business office, and further from the second base to a delivery destination. We considered the case of transportation to According to the studies of the inventors of the present application, after the delivery is completed, the refrigerating units that have become empty are transported from the delivery destination to the second base, and further transported from the second base to the first base. According to the inventor's study, with such a delivery method, the cooling unit cannot be reused until after it returns to the first base, so the cooling unit cannot be used for a long period of time. As a result, the operating rate of the cooling unit decreases, and the transportation cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to suppress an increase in transportation costs caused by a decrease in the operation rate of a cooling unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 uses a refrigerated truck (53) having a refrigerated box, and a refrigerated box (1) containing transported items is accommodated in the refrigerated box and placed in the first. A transportation process for transportation from the first base (50) to the second base (51);
After the transportation step, a mounting step of selecting one cooling device from among a plurality of cooling devices (2) capable of cooling the inside of the cooling box and attaching the one cooling device to the cooling box;
After the installation process, a delivery vehicle (54) is used to transport the insulated box containing the goods to be transported and the one cooling device connected to the insulated box to a delivery destination (52), a delivery process of taking out and delivering the transported items housed in the insulated box;
and a separation storage step of separating the one cooling device and the insulated box after the delivery step, returning the insulated box to the first base, and storing the one cooling device at the second base. shipping method.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, the insulated box (1) containing the transported items is transported from the first site (50) to the second site (51) while being kept cool by the insulated vehicle (53), At a second base, one cooling device out of a plurality of cooling devices (2) capable of cooling the insulated box is attached to the insulated box and connected to the insulated box accommodating the transported goods and the insulated box. The one cooling device is transported to a delivery destination (52) by a delivery vehicle (54), the transported items are taken out of the cooling box at the delivery destination, and then the one cooling device and the cooling box are separated. A management server used in a delivery method in which the insulated box is returned to the first base and the one cooling device is stored at the second base,
Acquiring and registering a set of delivery information indicating conditions to be satisfied for the delivery of the transported item and the insulated box ID of the insulated box containing the transported item in the delivery of the transported item according to the delivery information. an acquisition unit (S510);
a registration unit (S535) that identifies the cooling device ID of the one cooling device attached to the cooling box and registers the identified cooling device ID in association with the cooling box ID acquired by the acquisition unit; It is a management server with

In addition, the invention according to claim 8 provides a cold insulation box (1) for accommodating transported items,
a cooling device (2) that is connected to the insulated box and cools the transported object housed in the insulated box;
a battery (3) for supplying power to the cooling device;
The insulated box accommodates the transported item and is transported from the first base (50) to the second base (51) while being kept cool by a insulated car (53),
the cooling device is connected to the cooling box at the second base;
The cooling box, the cooling device, and the battery are transported from the second base to a delivery destination (52) by a delivery vehicle (54),
the transported item is taken out from the insulated box at the delivery destination;
The insulated box from which the transported item was taken out, the cooling device, and the battery are transported from the delivery destination to the second base by the delivery vehicle,
After the transportation item is delivered to the delivery destination, the cooling device is separated from the cooling box at the second base,
The cold storage box with the separated cooling device is transported from the second base to the first base, and the cooling device and the battery are stored at the second base.

Further, according to the sixteenth aspect of the invention, the insulated box (1) containing the transported items is transported from the first base (50) to the second base (51) while being kept cool by the insulated car (53), and the At a second base, one cooling device is selected from among a plurality of cooling devices (2) capable of cooling the insulated box and is attached to the insulated box, and is attached to the insulated box accommodating the transported goods and the insulated box. The connected one cooling device and the one cooling device are transported to a delivery destination (52) by a delivery vehicle (54), the transported object is taken out of the cold insulation box at the delivery destination, and then the one cooling device and the cold insulation device are transported. A program used in a management server used in a delivery method in which boxes are separated, the insulated box is returned to the first base, and the one cooling device is stored at the second base,
Acquiring and registering a set of delivery information indicating conditions to be satisfied for the delivery of the transported item and the insulated box ID of the insulated box containing the transported item in the delivery of the transported item according to the delivery information. an acquisition unit (S510); and registration for identifying a cooling device ID of the one cooling device attached to the insulated box and registering the identified cooling device ID in association with the insulated box ID acquired by the obtaining unit. It is a program that functions the management server as a part (S535).

In this way, the cooling device is attached after the insulated box containing the transported items is sent from the first site to the second site, and furthermore, after the transported items have been delivered, the cooling device and the insulated box are installed. Separated, the insulated box is returned to the first location and the chiller is stored at the second location. Therefore, since the cooling device does not need to be returned to the first base, the unusable period is shorter than when it is returned to the first base. Therefore, the operating rate of the cooling device is increased, and the transportation cost can be reduced.

It should be noted that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to each component etc. indicate an example of the correspondence relationship between the component etc. and specific components etc. described in the embodiments described later.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing how the insulated box, the cooling device, and the battery are moved at the time of delivery of the transported object in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing how the insulated box, the cooling device, and the battery are moved when the insulated box is returned. 1 is a block diagram of communication equipment and the like that constitute a delivery system; FIG. It is a perspective view of a cold insulation unit. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the cooling device; FIG. FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system; FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system; FIG. 11 is a timing diagram showing the operation of the delivery system in the second embodiment; FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system; FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing part of the operation of the office terminal in the third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a cold insulation unit according to a fourth embodiment; 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the cooling device; FIG. FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system; It is a flow chart of charge plan processing in a 5th embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing inputs, results, etc. in optimization processing; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a cold insulation unit according to a sixth embodiment; FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system; FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system; FIG. 14 is a timing diagram showing the operation of the delivery system in the seventh embodiment; FIG. 20 is a timing chart showing part of the operation of the office terminal in the eighth embodiment; FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a cold insulation unit according to a ninth embodiment; 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the cooling device; FIG. FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the delivery system;

(First embodiment)
The first embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the delivery system according to this embodiment includes a plurality of cold boxes 1, a plurality of cooling devices 2, a plurality of batteries 3, a management server 4, a distribution center terminal 5, and a cold storage vehicle. It has a terminal 6 and a business office terminal 7 .

Each of the plurality of insulated boxes 1 is a box that accommodates a transported item while the transported item is being transported from a distribution center 50 to a delivery destination 52 via a sales office 51 . Transported items are items such as perishables and frozen foods that need to be kept cold until they are delivered to the delivery destination 52 . The distribution center 50 corresponds to the first base, and the sales office 51 corresponds to the second base.

Each of the plurality of cooling devices 2 is a device that cools transported items accommodated inside the plurality of insulated boxes 1 by connecting to one of the plurality of insulated boxes 1 .

Each of the plurality of batteries 3 is attached to the corresponding cooling device 2 among the plurality of cooling devices 2 and supplies power for the cooling device 2 to perform its cooling function. Each battery 3 is a rechargeable secondary battery. In this embodiment, the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 have a fixed one-to-one correspondence, and corresponding pairs of the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 are always connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 1, at the time of delivery of a transported object, the insulated box 1 containing the transported object out of the plurality of insulated boxes 1 is stored in the insulated compartment of the insulated truck 53 and sent from the distribution center 50 to the business office 51. It is transported by the insulated car 53 to. During this time, the cold storage box 1 and the transported items are kept cool by the cooling function of the cold storage. This corresponds to the transport process.

Further, after the transportation process, at the business office 51, one cooling device 2 is selected from among the plurality of cooling devices 2 by an operator at the business office 51, and the one cooling device 2 and the battery 3 attached thereto are installed. It is attached to the cold box 1. This corresponds to the mounting stroke.

In addition, after the installation process, the insulated box 1 containing the transported items and the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 connected to the insulated box 1 are delivered by one of the delivery vehicles 54 having no insulated box. transported to one of destinations 52; Then, the transported items stored in the cold insulation box 1 are taken out by a delivery person and delivered to the person or the like at the delivery destination 52 . This corresponds to the delivery process. In this delivery process, the cooling device 2 receives electric power from the battery 3 and operates, so that the transported items in the cooling box 1 are kept cool by the cooling device 2 .

After the delivery process, the cooling device 2 is deactivated by the delivery person, and the cooling device 2 and the insulated box 1 are transported to the business office 51 by the delivery vehicle 54 as shown in FIG. After that, at the sales office 51 , the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 are separated from the cold insulation box 1 . The separated cooling device 2 and battery 3 are stored at the business office 51 . The separated cold insulation box 1 is also folded in a sales office 51 and temporarily stored in a smaller size. After that, the cold box 1 is transported to the distribution center 50 together with other folded cold boxes 1 on a cold car 53 or another vehicle. This is the separate storage process. After being transported to the distribution center 50, the insulated box 1 accommodates another transported item.

The management server 4 is a communication device that communicates with each cooling device 2 , the distribution center terminal 5 , the refrigerator car terminal 6 , and the business office terminal 7 via the communication network 8 . The management server 4 is a computer having a communication unit (not shown), a volatile storage medium, a nonvolatile storage medium, an arithmetic unit, and the like. The communication unit is a network interface for connecting to the communication network 8 and communicating with other devices via the communication network 8 . The calculation unit executes a process, which will be described later, by executing a program stored in the nonvolatile storage medium. During execution, data is written to a volatile storage medium or non-volatile storage medium, data is read from a volatile storage medium or non-volatile storage medium, and data is communicated with another device using a communication unit. do. In the following, the processing executed by this calculation unit will be described as the processing executed by the management server 4 .

The distribution center terminal 5 is a computer used by workers at the distribution center 50 . The distribution center terminal 5 may be located at the distribution center 50 or may be carried by a worker of the distribution center 50 . The distribution center terminal 5 is a computer having a communication section, an input section, a display section, a volatile storage medium, a non-volatile storage medium, a calculation section, and the like (not shown). The communication unit is a network interface for connecting to the communication network 8 and communicating with other devices via the communication network 8 . The input unit is a device that receives a signal according to the user's operation of the delivery center terminal 5 . The display unit is a device that displays information to the user of the distribution center terminal 5 .

The calculation unit executes a process, which will be described later, by executing a program stored in the nonvolatile storage medium. During execution, the volatile storage medium is used as a work area as necessary, data is read from and written to the nonvolatile storage medium, communication is performed with other devices using the communication unit, and data is sent from the input device. A signal corresponding to the operation is acquired and the information is displayed on the display device. In the following, the processing executed by the calculation unit will be described as the processing executed by the distribution center terminal 5. FIG.

The refrigerated vehicle terminal 6 is mounted on the refrigerated vehicle 53 and is a computer having a communication section, an input section, a temperature detection section, a position detection section, a volatile storage medium, a nonvolatile storage medium, a calculation section, and the like (not shown). The communication unit is a network interface for connecting to the communication network 8 and communicating with other devices via the communication network 8 . The input unit is a device that receives a signal according to the user's operation of the delivery center terminal 5 . The temperature detection unit is a sensor that detects the temperature inside the refrigerator of the refrigerator truck 53 . The position detection unit is a sensor (for example, a satellite navigation receiver) that detects the current position of the refrigerator car 53 .

The calculation unit executes a process, which will be described later, by executing a program stored in the nonvolatile storage medium. During execution, the volatile storage medium is used as a work area as necessary, data is read from and written to the nonvolatile storage medium, and the temperature in the cold storage is obtained from the temperature detection unit. It also acquires the position of the refrigerator car 53 from the position detection unit, communicates with other devices through the communication unit, and acquires a signal corresponding to the operation from the input device. In the following description, the process executed by the calculation unit is described as the process executed by the refrigerated vehicle terminal 6 .

The business office terminal 7 is a computer used by workers at the business office 51 . The business office terminal 7 may be located at the business office 51 or may be carried by a worker at the business office 51 . The business office terminal 7 is a computer having a communication section, an input section, a display section, a volatile storage medium, a non-volatile storage medium, an arithmetic section, and the like (not shown). The communication unit is a network interface for connecting to the communication network 8 and communicating with other devices via the communication network 8 . The input unit is a device that receives a signal corresponding to the operation of the office terminal 7 by the user. The display unit is a device that displays information to the user of the business office terminal 7 .

The calculation unit executes a process, which will be described later, by executing a program stored in the nonvolatile storage medium. During execution, the volatile storage medium is used as a work area as necessary, data is read from and written to the nonvolatile storage medium, communication is performed with other devices using the communication unit, and data is sent from the input device. A signal corresponding to the operation is acquired and the information is displayed on the display device. In the following, the processing executed by the calculation unit will be described as the processing executed by the business office terminal 7 .

An arbitrary set of one of the plurality of cold insulation boxes 1, one of the plurality of cooling devices 2, and one of the plurality of batteries 3 constitutes one cold insulation unit. In this embodiment, the one-to-one correspondence between the plurality of cooling devices 2 and the plurality of batteries 3 is fixed, but the correspondence between the insulated box 1 and the cooling device 2 is fixed. It is not that we are

In each cold insulation unit, the cooling device 2 is connected to the cold insulation box 1 as shown in FIG. Cool the shipment.

Each insulated box 1 has a wall portion surrounding an accommodation space for accommodating transported items, and a lid portion for opening and closing the accommodation space. A wall portion or a lid portion of the insulated box 1 has a tag 11 showing an insulated box ID for distinguishing the insulated box 1 from other insulated boxes 1 . The insulated box ID may be represented by characters, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code. Alternatively, the tag 11 may be a wireless tag capable of transmitting the cooling box ID by wireless communication.

Each cooling device 2 has a tag 20 as shown in FIG. The tag 20 is attached to the cooling device 2 and represents a cooling device ID for distinguishing the attached cooling device 2 from other cooling devices 2 . The cooling device ID may be represented by characters, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code. Alternatively, the tag 20 may be a wireless tag capable of transmitting the cooling device ID by wireless communication.

5, each cooling device 2 includes a communication unit 21, a cooling unit 22, a volatile storage medium 23, a nonvolatile storage medium 24, a temperature detection unit 25, a position detection unit 26, and a remaining amount detection unit 27. , and a control unit 28 . The communication unit 21 is a network interface for connecting to the communication network 8 and communicating with other devices via the communication network 8 .

The cooling unit 22 is a device for cooling transported objects in the internal space of the cooling box 1 to be connected. For example, the cooling unit 22 has a well-known vapor compression refrigeration cycle equipped with a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. The temperature of the transport may be maintained. Alternatively, the cooling unit 22 may have an element (for example, a Peltier element) that absorbs heat when supplied with power, and the transported items in the internal space of the cooling box 1 may be cooled by this element. The cooling unit 22 operates by receiving power supply from the battery 3 .

The cooling unit 22 may cool the transported object in the internal space of the insulated box 1 by heat conduction through the contact portion between the cooling unit 22 and the wall of the insulated box 1 , or communicate with the internal space of the insulated box 1 . By doing so, the transported object in the internal space may be cooled by heat exchange with the air in the internal space.

The temperature detection unit 25 is a sensor that detects the temperature of the internal space of the cool box 1 . The position detection unit 26 is a device that detects the location of the cooling device 2 . For example, the position detection unit 26 may be a receiver in a satellite positioning system such as GPS, but may be other. The remaining amount detection unit 27 is a circuit that detects the remaining amount of the battery 3 (that is, state of charge).

The control unit 28 implements various processes by executing programs stored in the nonvolatile storage medium 24 . During the processing, the control unit 28 uses the volatile storage medium 23 as a work area to read and write data to and from the nonvolatile storage medium 24 . During the processing, the control unit 28 acquires detection results from the temperature detection unit 25, the position detection unit 26, and the remaining amount detection unit 27, and uses the communication unit 21 to communicate with other devices as necessary. Processing executed by the control unit 28 will be described below as processing executed by the cooling device 2 .

The operation of the delivery system configured as described above will be described below using the examples of FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. Each cooling device 2 transmits operating state information to the management server 4 in step S100 each time event T11 occurs. At this time, each cooling device 2 may record this operating state information in its own nonvolatile storage medium 24 .

The event T11 may be, for example, an event that charging of the battery 3 corresponding to the cooling device 2 ends. Alternatively, the event T11 may be an event that the cooling unit including the cooling device 2 has finished delivering the transported product, or may be a timing that a predetermined time has passed since the previous event T11. The cooling device 2 can detect that charging has ended based on the detection result of the remaining amount detection unit 27 . Also, the cooling device 2 can detect that the delivery has ended by the cooling operation in the cooling device 2 ending.

The operating state information is information including the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2, the remaining battery level, the degree of deterioration, the cooling capacity, and the like. This cooling device ID is recorded in the non-volatile storage medium 24 in advance. The battery remaining amount is created based on the latest detection result of the remaining amount detection unit 27 . The remaining battery level, the degree of deterioration, the cooling capacity, and the like are information indicating the state of the cooling device 2 .

The degree of deterioration is an amount indicating the degree of deterioration in the capacity of the battery 3 corresponding to the cooling device 2 due to aged deterioration compared to when the battery is new, and the value decreases as the deterioration in capacity progresses. For example, the capacity retention rate, which is an example of the degree of deterioration, is 100% when new, and becomes 50% when the capacity is halved compared to when new. The cooling device 2 may identify the degree of deterioration based on the usage history of the battery 3 . In order to be used for this identification, the non-volatile storage medium 24 may sequentially record information on the usage history of the battery 3 (use start date and time, usage time, etc.). Alternatively, the cooling device 2 may measure the voltage and current flowing through the battery 3 and calculate the degree of deterioration based on the measurement results.

The cooling capacity is information indicating the performance of the cooling device 2, and is information on the temperature range that can be maintained by cooling. This cooling capacity is recorded separately in the non-volatile storage medium 24 for a plurality of cooling devices 2 in advance. Alternatively, it may be specified based on the usage record of the cooling device 2 . For use in this identification, information on the actual usage of the cooling device 2 (temperature range actually maintained, usage time, etc.) is sequentially recorded in the nonvolatile storage medium 24 as cooling information, which will be described later.

Each time the management server 4 receives this operating state information from the cooling device 2, it registers it in its own non-volatile storage medium for each cooling device ID in step S500. By doing so, the latest operating state information of the plurality of cooling devices 2 stored in the business office 51 is stored in the nonvolatile storage medium of the management server 4 .

After that, it is assumed that a certain delivery need arises. Then, in the distribution center 50, one insulated box 1 is selected from among the plurality of insulated boxes 1, the object to be delivered is accommodated in the inner space of the insulated box 1, and the insulated box 1 is stored. It is carried into the cold-storage compartment of the cold-storage vehicle 53 . At this time, no cooling device 2 is connected to the cooling box 1 .

Then, at timing T12 at the time of carry-in (for example, immediately before or after carry-in), the worker uses the input unit of the delivery center terminal 5 to input the delivery information of the transported object, the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1, and the insulated box 1. The refrigerated vehicle ID of the vehicle 53 is input to the distribution center terminal 5. - 特許庁The refrigerated vehicle ID is an ID for distinguishing the refrigerated vehicle 53 from other refrigerated vehicles, and may be the plate number indicated on the license plate of the refrigerated vehicle 53, for example.

The delivery information is information indicating conditions to be satisfied for delivery, and includes information such as delivery slip number, type of transported item, delivery route, and sender. The delivery route is the travel route of the delivery vehicle 54 from the business office 51 to the delivery destination 52 . The delivery route may be calculated by the management server 4 based on the road map information as a route having the sales office 51 as the starting point and the delivery destination 52 as the destination. In this case, the road map information to be used is pre-recorded in the non-volatile storage medium of the management server 4 . Workers learn delivery information through paper media or other means of communication. Also, the worker reads the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 from the tag 11 .

The worker may read the cooling box ID by directly viewing the tag 11 . Alternatively, the worker uses the input device of the distribution center terminal 5 to read the bar code or two-dimensional code on the tag 11, thereby inputting the insulated box ID to the distribution center terminal 5. You may Alternatively, the worker uses an input device having a reception function of the distribution center terminal 5 to send the insulated box ID from the tag 11, which is a wireless tag, to the input device. can be entered in

In step S400, the delivery center terminal 5 transmits to the management server 4 the combination of the delivery information, the insulated box ID, and the insulated truck ID input as described above. When the management server 4 receives the set of the delivery information, the insulated box ID, and the insulated truck ID from the distribution center terminal 5, in step S510, the set is associated and registered in the non-volatile storage medium. The set information of the delivery information, the insulated box ID, and the insulated car ID may be sent from the insulated car terminal 6 to the management server 4 instead of from the distribution center terminal 5 to the management server 4 .

After that, the refrigerated truck 53 into which the transported object is loaded starts running at timing T14. Timing T14 may be 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, or several days after the delivery information is input at timing T12. When the timing T14 is significantly delayed from the timing 12, the timing at which the transported items are placed in the insulated box 1 may be after the timing T12 and immediately before the timing T14.

While the insulated vehicle 53 is running, the insulated vehicle terminal 6 repeatedly detects the temperature inside the insulated refrigerator of the insulated vehicle 53, and transmits temperature information including the detection results to the management server 4 in step S300. The in-chamber temperature information includes the current time, the position of the insulated truck 53, the in-chamber temperature, and the insulated truck ID. The insulated vehicle ID is recorded in advance in the non-volatile storage medium of the insulated vehicle terminal 6 . Note that the internal cold storage temperature information may be sequentially transmitted while the vehicle is running, or may be collectively transmitted after the vehicle is running. Every time the management server 4 receives the inside temperature information from the insulated car terminal 6, it registers the inside temperature information in the non-volatile storage medium in step S515. The insulated truck 53 may also transport other insulated boxes 1 in addition to the insulated box 1 described above.

While the insulated truck 53 is running with the insulated box 1 on it, the cooling device 2 is not connected to the insulated box 1, and the transported items in the insulated box 1 are cooled only by the cooling function of the insulated truck 53. be. After that, at timing T15, the insulated truck 53 arrives at the business office 51, and the insulated box 1 is taken out from the refrigerator of the insulated truck 53.

Then, the worker of the business office 51 uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7 to input the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 into the business office terminal 7, and the business office terminal 7, in step S200, inputs the Accept input.

At this time, the worker reads the cold insulation box ID of the cold insulation box 1 from the tag 11 and inputs it to the business office terminal 7 using the input unit of the business office terminal 7 . As for reading the insulated box ID, the worker may read the insulated box ID by directly viewing the tag 11 . Alternatively, the worker uses the input device of the business office terminal 7 to read the bar code or two-dimensional code indicated on the tag 11 by the input device, thereby inputting the cooling box ID to the business office terminal 7. You may Alternatively, the worker uses the input device of the office terminal 7 to input the insulated box ID to the office terminal 7 by transmitting the insulated box ID from the tag 11, which is a wireless tag, to the input device. good too. Alternatively, as another example, the business office terminal 7 may receive the insulated box ID from the management server 4 in step S200.

Further, the business office terminal 7 transmits to the management server 4 inquiry information for inquiring about the cooling device 2 to be used for the insulated box 1 in subsequent step S205. This inquiry information includes the cool box ID received in step S200.

Upon receiving this inquiry information, the management server 4 reads, from the non-volatile storage medium, the delivery information corresponding to the insulated box ID included in the inquiry information in step S520. In step S510, as the delivery information corresponding to the insulated box ID, the delivery information of the transported item contained in the insulated box 1 corresponding to the insulated box ID is recorded. Information.

Then, in subsequent step S525, the management server 4 selects the optimum cooling device 2 from the plurality of cooling devices 2 in the business office 51 based on the read delivery information. Specifically, based on the expected travel time required for the delivery vehicle 54 to travel the delivery route from the sales office 51 to the delivery destination 52, and the temperature range that the target transported item should be maintained during delivery. Then, the optimum cooling device 2 is selected.

The travel time is calculated based on the travel route in the delivery information as a longer time as the travel route becomes longer. The temperature range to be maintained is obtained by applying the type of transported item in the delivery information to the correspondence table between the type of transported item and the temperature range to be maintained, which is recorded in advance in the non-volatile storage medium of the management server 4. It is determined. Variations in the temperature range to be maintained may include, for example, two temperature ranges corresponding to frozen storage and a higher temperature range corresponding to refrigerated storage, or three or more variations.

First, the management server 4 extracts, from among the plurality of cooling devices 2, those whose maintainable temperature ranges include the entire temperature range that should be maintained for the transportation items. As the information on the temperature range that can be maintained by each cooling device 2, information recorded in advance in the non-volatile storage medium of the management server 4 for each cooling device ID may be used.

Alternatively, the maintainable temperature range of each cooling device 2 may be corrected based on the temperature realized in the cooling information corresponding to the cooling device 2, which will be described later. For example, in the cooling information corresponding to the cooling device 2, although the transported object is cooled within the temperature range corresponding to frozen storage, the actual temperature becomes higher than the temperature range corresponding to frozen storage. could have been In such a case, the management server 4 sets the maintainable temperature range of each cooling device 2 to a temperature range corresponding to cold storage regardless of the information on the maintainable temperature range recorded in the nonvolatile storage medium. can be corrected to

In addition, the management server 4 selects one of the plurality of cooling devices 2 satisfying the temperature range to be maintained as the optimum cooling device for which the continuous operable time of the cooling device 2 is longer than the predetermined lower limit time. Elect as device 2. The lower limit of the continuous operable time is determined to be longer than the movement time, and the lower limit of time increases as the movement time increases.

The continuous operable time of each cooling device 2 is calculated by the management server 4 based on the remaining battery charge of the battery 3 corresponding to the cooling device 2 so that the longer the remaining battery charge, the longer the continuous operable time. . At this time, the continuous operable time may be corrected such that the smaller the degree of deterioration of the battery 3 (that is, the more advanced the deterioration), the shorter the continuous operable time. Further, the continuously operable time may be corrected such that the lower the temperature range to be maintained for the transported object, the shorter the continuously operable time. Note that the values in the operating state information acquired in step S500 are used for the remaining battery capacity and the degree of deterioration.

The management server 4 then transmits the cooling device ID of the selected cooling device 2 to the business office terminal 7 in step S530. As another example, the management server 4 may transmit a pair of an insulated box ID and an optimum cooling device ID to the business office terminal 7 without receiving an inquiry from the business office terminal 7 . In this case, the processing of steps S205 and S520 becomes unnecessary.

After receiving the cooling device ID transmitted from the management server 4, the business office terminal 7 displays the cooling device ID on the display device in step S210. The worker at the business office 51 who saw this display, as shown in FIG. find out from Then, the worker connects the found cooling device 2 to the insulated box 1 having the insulated box ID included in the inquiry information sent immediately before. At this time, the corresponding battery 3 is already attached to the cooling device 2 .

A method of finding the cooling device 2 corresponding to the displayed cooling device ID is performed by reading the cooling device ID from the tag 20 of each cooling device 2 . If the tag 20 has characters indicating the cooling device ID, the reading method is visual. Further, when a barcode or two-dimensional code indicating the cooling device ID is displayed on the tag 20, it is read by using a code reader that reads the barcode or two-dimensional code and displays the cooling device ID indicated by it. is realized. Further, when the tag 20 is a wireless tag, reading is realized by using a receiver that receives and displays the cooling device ID transmitted from the tag 20 .

When connecting the cooling device 2 to the insulated box 1 , the operator performs an operation for starting the operation of the cooling device 2 . As a result, the cooling device 2 starts operating in step S110. When the cooling device 2 starts operating, the cooling function of the cooling device 2 starts working.

Next, the worker uses the input section of the business office terminal 7 to input the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the cooling box 1 into the business office terminal 7 . Then, the business office terminal 7 acquires the cooling device ID by accepting this input in step S215.

Regarding acquisition of the cooling device ID, the worker can read the cooling device ID by directly looking at the tag 20 and input the read cooling device ID to the business office terminal 7 using the input device of the business office terminal 7. good. Alternatively, the worker uses the input device of the business office terminal 7 to read the barcode or two-dimensional code displayed on the tag 20 with the input device, thereby inputting the cooling device ID to the business office terminal 7. You may Alternatively, the worker uses an input device having a reception function of the business office terminal 7 to transmit the cooling device ID from the tag 20, which is a wireless tag, to the input device, thereby transmitting the cooling device ID to the business office terminal 7. can be entered in

In this way, instead of using the cooling device ID sent from the management server 4 to the business office terminal 7 as a reply to the inquiry information, the cooling device ID is input to the business office terminal 7 again. The reason for doing so is to more accurately register the cooling device 2 that is actually connected to the insulated box 1 in the management server 4 . This is because, for example, the cooling device 2 corresponding to the cooling device ID sent as a reply to the inquiry information from the management server 4 cannot be used due to a sudden failure or the like, and the cooling device 2 actually having a different cooling device ID cannot be used. is connected to the insulated box 1 in some cases.

Subsequently, the business office terminal 7 transmits the acquired cooling device ID and the insulated box ID read in the previous step S200 to the management server 4 in step S220. In step S535, the management server 4 receives the insulated box ID and cooling device ID, associates the received insulated box ID and cooling device ID with each other, and registers them in the non-volatile storage medium.

After that, at timing T17, the worker at the business office 51 carries the cold insulation unit composed of the cold insulation box 1, the cooling device 2, and the battery 3 onto the carrier of the delivery vehicle 54, and sets the delivery vehicle 54 to the delivery destination. Start running towards 52. At this time, the cooling device 2 is already powered by the battery 3 to cool the transported items in the cooling box 1 . It should be noted that the delivery vehicle 54 itself does not have a function of cooling the carried items.

While the delivery vehicle 54 is running, the cooling device 2 repeatedly (for example, periodically) transmits the cooling information to the management server 4 using the communication unit 21 in step S115. The transmitted cooling information includes information such as the cooling device ID of the device itself, the temperature of the transported object, the remaining battery capacity of the battery 3, the position of the device itself, and the like. As the cooling device ID, one recorded in advance in the nonvolatile storage medium 24 is used. A detection result of the temperature detection unit 25 is used as the temperature of the transported object. The detection result of the remaining amount detection unit 27 is used as the remaining battery amount. The detection result of the position detection unit 26 is used for the position of the own machine. At this time, in step S115, the cooling device 2 may transmit the cooling information and record it in its own non-volatile storage medium 24, or may simply record it in the non-volatile storage medium 24 without transmitting the cooling information. It's okay. Even in that case, this cooling information is later transferred to the management server 4 by a portable storage medium such as a USB storage medium, and registered in the management server 4 from the portable storage medium.

Upon receiving the cooling information, the management server 4 registers the cooling information in its own non-volatile storage medium in step S540. By doing so, the cooling information of the insulated box 1 cooled by the cooling device 2 and transported to the delivery vehicle 54 is sequentially accumulated in the management server 4 .

When the delivery vehicle 54 arrives at the delivery destination 52 at timing T18, the worker takes out the transportation item from the insulated box 1 and delivers it to the recipient at the delivery destination 52. - 特許庁Then, the operator stops the operation of the cooling device 2 . This completes the delivery of the transported item.

After that, at timing T19, the worker drives the delivery vehicle 54 with the empty cold box 1, the cooling device 2, and the battery 3 on the delivery vehicle 54 and returns to the business office 51.例文帳に追加Then, the worker removes the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 from the insulated box 1 and folds up the insulated box 1 to make it smaller. It should be noted that the timing of removing the cooling device 2 from the insulated box 1 may be after the delivery vehicle 54 arrives at the delivery destination 52 . For example, the cooling device 2 may be removed from the cooling box 1 before the delivery vehicle 54 returns to the sales office 51 . The removed cooling device 2 and battery 3 are stored in the sales office 51 as they are together with the other cooling device 2 and battery 3 . Then, the battery 3 is charged at the sales office 51 as required.

After that, at timing T20, the cold insulation box 1 is conveyed to a cold insulation vehicle 53 or another vehicle in a folded state together with a plurality of other folded cold insulation boxes 1, and returned to the distribution center 50.例文帳に追加At this time, the insulated box 1 and the other insulated boxes 1 are folded, so that the space occupied by the insulated car 53 is reduced.

After that, when it becomes necessary to inquire about the delivery history of the transported item, the inquirer (for example, the person who ordered the transported item, the company who received the order, or the company who carried out the transportation) operates a predetermined inquiry terminal. , to transmit the inquiry information from the inquiry terminal to the management server 4 .

Here, the inquiry terminal may be a mobile communication terminal carried by the inquirer, the office terminal 7 , or a terminal capable of communicating with another management server 4 . In the example of FIG. 7, the office terminal 7 is the inquiry terminal.

The inquirer inputs the slip number of the delivery of the transported item into the input section of the inquiry terminal. As a result, the inquiry information sent from the inquiry terminal to the management server 4 includes the slip number.

When the management server 4 receives this inquiry information in step S545, the process proceeds to step S550. In step S550, the management server 4 reads the history information registered corresponding to the inquiry information from the non-volatile storage medium.

Specifically, the management server 4 reads the delivery information having the slip number included in the inquiry information, and the insulated box ID and the insulated vehicle ID registered in the past step S510 in combination with the delivery information. Further, the management server 4 reads out the inside temperature information including the insulated vehicle ID from among the inside temperature information registered in the past step S515. Further, the management server 4 reads out the cooling device ID registered in association with the cooling box ID in the past step S535. Further, the management server 4 reads the cooling information registered in the past step S540 or the like including the cooling device ID.

Furthermore, in step S550, the management server 4 sends the history information including the delivery information, the insulated box ID, the insulated truck ID, the cooling device ID, the internal temperature information, and the cooling information thus read out to the sender of the inquiry information. to the inquiry terminal.

The inquiry terminal that has received this history information causes the display unit to display part or all of the inquiry information in step S230. As a result, the inquirer who operates the inquiry terminal can confirm the information regarding the delivery status of the transported item corresponding to the input slip number. For example, it is possible to confirm which insulated box 1 and which cooling device 2 were used to transport the transported item.

As described above, in the delivery method according to the present embodiment, the insulated truck 53 having the insulated box is used to store the insulated box 1 containing the transported items in the insulated box and transport it from the distribution center 50 to the business office 51. have a transport route that Furthermore, in the delivery method, after the transportation process, the management server 4 selects one cooling device 2 from among a plurality of cooling devices 2 capable of cooling the inside of the insulated box 1, and the operator selects the one cooling device 2. It has an attachment process for attachment to the insulated box 1 . Furthermore, after the installation process, the delivery vehicle 54 is used to transport the insulated box 1 containing the transported items and one cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 to the delivery destination 52, and the insulated box 1 has a delivery process for picking up and delivering the transported items. In addition, the delivery method has a separate storage process of separating the one cooling device 2 and the insulated box 1 after the delivery process, returning the insulated box 1 to the delivery center 50, and storing the cooling device 2 in the business office 51. .

In this way, the cooling device 2 is attached after the insulated box 1 containing the goods to be transported is sent from the distribution center 50 to the business office 51 . Furthermore, after the transportation item arrives at the delivery destination, the cooling device 2 and the insulated box 1 are separated, the insulated box 1 is returned to the distribution center 50, and the cooling device 2 is stored at the sales office 51.例文帳に追加Therefore, since the cooling device 2 does not need to be returned to the distribution center 50, the unusable period is shorter than when it is returned to the distribution center 50. - 特許庁Therefore, the operating rate of the cooling device 2 is increased, and the transportation cost can be reduced.

(1) Also, the management server 4 acquires and registers a set of the delivery information of the transported item and the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 containing the transported item (step S510). The management server 4 identifies the cooling device ID of one cooling device 2 attached to the cooling box 1, and registers the identified cooling device ID in association with the cooling box ID (step S535). By doing so, the management server 4 can record the combination of the cold insulation box 1 and the cooling device 2 that constitute the cold insulation unit selected for delivering the transported item.

(2) In addition, the management server 4 stores the temperature information of the transported object when the insulated box 1 is cooled by the cooling device 2 and the remaining battery capacity of the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2. receive. Then, the received temperature information of the transported article and the remaining battery capacity are registered in association with the cooling device ID (step S540). By doing so, it is possible to record the temperature information and the remaining battery capacity of the transported object realized by the cooling device 2 in relation to the cooling device 2 used for delivery of the transported object.

(3) The management server 4 also records information indicating the cooling device ID and the state of the cooling device for each of the plurality of cooling devices 2 (step S500). Furthermore, based on the states of the plurality of cooling devices 2, the management server 4 determines the cooling device ID of one of the plurality of cooling devices 2 to be connected to the insulated box 1 used for delivering the transported goods. to elect. Then, the office terminal 7 is notified of the selected cooling device ID (steps S525 and S530). In this manner, the management server 4, not a person, selects the cooling device 2 to be connected to the insulated box 1, which saves human effort.

(4) More specifically, based on the delivery information, the management server 4 identifies the travel time required to deliver the transported item from the sales office 51 to the delivery destination 52, and determines the status of the plurality of cooling devices 2. Based on this, the continuous operable time of a plurality of cooling devices is calculated. Then, the management server 4 selects one cooling device ID from the plurality of cooling devices 2 based on the travel time and the continuous operable time of the plurality of cooling devices 2 . By doing so, it is possible to select the cooling device 2 having a continuous operable time corresponding to the travel time.

(5) In addition, the management server 4 receives information on the temperature inside the cold storage of the cold storage vehicle 53 when the cold storage vehicle 53 carried the cold storage box 1, and registers the received temperature information on the inside of the cold storage. By doing so, it is possible to record the temperature inside the cold storage when the transported items are in the cold storage.

The cold insulation unit includes a cold box 1 for storing transported items, a cooling device 2 connected to the cold insulating box 1 for cooling the transported items stored in the cold insulating box 1, and a battery 3 for supplying electric power to the cooling device 2. And prepare.

The insulated box 1 is transported from a distribution center 50 to a sales office 51 while containing a transported item and being kept cool by a insulated vehicle 53. - 特許庁A cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1 at a sales office 51 . Insulated box 1 , cooling device 2 , and battery 3 are transported from sales office 51 to delivery destination 52 by delivery vehicle 54 . Then, at the delivery destination 52, the transportation item is taken out from the cooling box.

Then, the insulated box 1, the cooling device 2, and the battery 3 from which the transported items have been taken out are transported from the delivery destination to the business office by a delivery vehicle. At the business office, the cooling device 2 is separated from the cooling box 1. - 特許庁The cooling box 1 with the cooling device 2 separated is transported from the business office to the distribution center 50, and the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 are stored at the business office.

(6) Each insulated box 1 has a tag 11 showing an insulated box ID for distinguishing itself from other insulated boxes. Also, each cooling device 2 has a tag 20 indicating a cooling device ID for distinguishing itself from other cooling devices. In this way, by providing the tag on the cold insulation unit side instead of the transported item, it is not necessary to remove the transported item from the insulated box 1 in order to identify the transported item.

(7) The cooling device 2 also includes a non-volatile storage medium 24 for recording the operating state of the device itself. With this configuration, the operation status of the cooling device 2 can be confirmed later by checking the contents of the nonvolatile storage medium 24 of the cooling device 2 .

(8) The cooling device 2 also includes a communication unit 21 that transmits the operating state information of the device itself to the outside such as the management server 4 . By doing so, it is possible to transmit the operating state of the device itself to a device other than the device itself.

In addition, in this embodiment and other embodiments, the number of refrigerating trucks 53 and refrigerating truck terminals 6 corresponding to the refrigerating trucks 53 may be one or more. Also, the number of the business office 51 and the business office terminal 7 corresponding to the business office 51 may be one or more.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the procedure for determining the cooling device 2 to be connected to the insulated box 1 containing transported items. Specifically, a worker at the office terminal 7 rather than the management server 4 selects the cooling device 2 to be connected to the cold box 1 . The hardware configuration of the delivery system of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The operation of the delivery system according to this embodiment will be described below. Suppose a need arises to accommodate a certain delivery. Then, at timing T12 shown in FIG. Furthermore, the insulated box 1 is carried into the insulated compartment of the insulated vehicle 53 . The operation from this timing T12 to timing T15 when the insulated truck 53 carrying the insulated box 1 arrives at the business office 51 and the insulated box 1 is taken out from the insulated compartment of the insulated truck 53, and the subsequent step S200 are the first steps. Same as the embodiment.

After step S200, the worker at the business office 51, as shown in FIG. The cooling device 2 is selected appropriately. At this time, the sales office terminal 7 does not inquire of the management server 4 about the cooling device 2 . Then, the worker connects the selected cooling device 2 to the cooling box 1 . At this time, the corresponding battery 3 is already attached to the cooling device 2 .

When connecting the cooling device 2 to the insulated box 1 , the operator performs an operation for starting the operation of the cooling device 2 . As a result, the cooling device 2 starts operating in step S110. When the cooling device 2 starts operating, the cooling function of the cooling device 2 starts working.

Next, the worker uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7 to input the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the cooling box 1 to the business office terminal 7 . Then, the business office terminal 7 acquires the cooling device ID by accepting this input in step S215. The method of inputting and acquiring the cooling device ID is the same as in the first embodiment.

The operation of the delivery system after step S215 and up to timing T20 is the same as in the first embodiment. Further, the details of the operations of steps S225, S230, S545, and S550 when it becomes necessary to inquire about the delivery history of the transported item after the delivery to the delivery destination 52 of the transported item is completed are the same as in the first embodiment. is. In addition, in this embodiment, the same effect can be obtained from the same configuration and operation as in the first embodiment.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10 . This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the method of acquiring the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 that accommodates the goods to be transported and the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 that is actually connected thereto is different from that of the first and second embodiments. Different from the form.

The hardware configuration of the delivery system of this embodiment is the same as those of the first and second embodiments. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, in a state in which the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1, the surface of the outer shell of the insulated box 1 to which the tag 11 is attached and the tag 11 on the outer shell of the cooling device 2 are attached. The faces to which 20 is attached face the same side.

In the operation of this embodiment, the contents of steps S215 and S220 in FIGS. 7 and 9 are different. Other operations are the same as in the first and second embodiments.

Specifically, after timing T16 in FIG. 7 or after timing T25 in FIG. 9, the sales office terminal 7, as shown in FIG. get. That is, the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 containing the goods to be transported and the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 are acquired. Then, in step S220, the cooling device ID obtained in step S215 and the insulated box ID obtained in step S215 instead of step S200 are transmitted to the management server 4. FIG.

Here, a method for acquiring the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID in step S215 will be described. The worker uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7 to input both the cooling box ID indicated on the tag 11 and the cooling device ID indicated on the tag 20 at once.

For example, if the tags 11 and 20 are characters, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code, the tags 11 and 20 are photographed simultaneously by a camera provided in the input unit. Then, the business office terminal 7 acquires the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID from the captured image by predetermined image recognition processing.

As described above, in a state in which the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1, the surface to which the tag 11 is attached and the surface to which the tag 20 is attached face the same side, which facilitates such photographing. is.

Further, for example, if the tags 11 and 20 are wireless tags, by bringing the input unit having a wireless reception function close to both the tags 11 and 20, the cooling box ID and cooling device ID transmitted from both the tags 11 and 20 can be detected. to receive. As a result, the business office terminal 7 receives the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID via the input unit.

As described above, in a state in which the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1, the surface to which the tag 11 is attached and the surface to which the tag 20 is attached face the same side. It is easy to approach both 20 at the same time.

In this way, the business office terminal 7 simultaneously acquires the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 and the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 while the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1 , and transmits them to the management server 4 . do. This makes it possible to more reliably reflect the pair of the insulated box 1 and the cooling device 2 currently connected thereto, and transmit the combination of the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID. In this embodiment, the same effects as in the first and second embodiments can be obtained from the same configuration.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13. FIG. This embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in the method of acquiring the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 that accommodates the goods to be transported and the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 that is actually connected thereto.

The hardware configuration of the delivery system of this embodiment is partially different from those of the first and second embodiments. Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 11, the tag 11 of the cooling box 1 is attached to the surface facing the cooling device 2 when the cooling device 2 is connected. The cooling device 2 has a tag reader 29 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 . Other hardware configurations are the same as in the first and second embodiments.

The tag reading unit 29 is a device that reads the insulated box ID indicated by the tag 11 of the insulated box 1 . For example, if the tag 11 represents the cooler box ID with characters, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code, the tag reader 29 is a camera that captures the tag 11 . Further, for example, if the tag 11 is a wireless tag that wirelessly transmits the insulated box ID, the tag reading unit 29 is a receiver that receives the insulated box ID transmitted from the tag 11 .

The tag reading unit 29 is arranged on the outer shell of the cooling device 2 at a position facing the tag 11 when the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1 . Other hardware configurations of the delivery system are the same as those of the first and second embodiments.

In the operation of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the operations of steps S215 and S220 of the office terminal 7 in FIGS. 7 and 9 are eliminated. Further, the operations of steps S112 and S114 of the cooling device 2 are provided after step S110 and before timing T17. Other operations are the same as in the first and second embodiments.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, after being activated in step S110, the cooling device 2 acquires both the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID in step S112. That is, it acquires the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 containing the transportation item and the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 (that is, its own device).

Then, in step S114, the cooling device 2 transmits the cooling device ID and the insulated box ID acquired in step S112 to the management server 4. FIG. The data transmitted from the cooling device 2 to the management server 4 in this manner may be relayed by the business office terminal 7 . The operation of the management server 4 that receives the cooling device ID and the insulated box ID is the same as in the first and second embodiments.

Here, a method for acquiring the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID in step S112 will be described. The cooling device 2 uses the tag reading unit 29 to acquire the insulated box ID indicated on the tag 11, and reads and acquires its own cooling device ID recorded in advance in the nonvolatile storage medium 24. .

A method of obtaining the insulated box ID using the tag reading unit 29 is as follows. For example, if the tags 11 are characters, barcodes, or two-dimensional codes, the tags 11 are photographed by the camera provided in the tag reading section 29 . Then, the cooling device 2 acquires the insulated box ID from the captured image by a predetermined image recognition process. As described above, since the tag 11 faces the tag reader 29 in a state in which the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1, such photographing is facilitated.

Further, for example, when the tag 11 is a wireless tag, the tag reading unit 29 having a wireless reception function receives the cold insulation box ID transmitted from the tag 11 . As a result, the cooling device 2 receives the insulated box ID via the tag reader 29 .

As described above, since the tag 11 and the tag reading unit 29 are arranged facing each other with the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1, the reading of the tag 11 by the tag reading unit 29 is easy.

(1) As described above, the cooling device 2 includes the tag reader 29 that reads the insulated box ID from the insulated box 1 . As a result, the cooling device 2 acquires the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 and the cooling device ID of the own device while being connected to the insulated box 1 , and transmits them to the management server 4 . This makes it possible to more reliably reflect the pair of the insulated box 1 and the cooling device 2 currently connected thereto, and transmit the combination of the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID.

In addition, since the insulated box ID is automatically read when the insulated box 1 and the cooling device 2 are connected and the cooling device 2 is activated, labor of the operator can be saved. Also, in this embodiment, the cooling device 2 may or may not have the same tag 20 as in the first and second embodiments. In this embodiment, the same effects as in the first and second embodiments can be obtained from the same configuration.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. This embodiment adds an operation for planning charging of a plurality of batteries 3 to the first embodiment. Specifically, the management server 4 executes the charging plan process at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be timing at fixed time intervals (for example, 1 hour, 6 hours, 1 day) or any other timing.

In the charging plan process shown in FIG. 14, the management server 4 first reads a plurality of pieces of delivery information recorded in the nonvolatile storage medium in step S610. The delivery information to be read may be the delivery information transmitted in step S400 of the first and second embodiments, or by another method (for example, a method in which a worker inputs using the input device of the management server 4). Delivery information recorded in a non-volatile storage medium of the management server 4 may be used.

Also, the delivery information to be read is all delivery information relating to packages that have not yet been shipped from the delivery center 50 . Whether or not the product has been shipped from the distribution center 50 may be determined, for example, based on whether or not the internal temperature information has been sent from the refrigerator truck ID associated with each piece of delivery information.

Alternatively, the worker of the distribution center 50 may use the distribution center terminal 5 after the timing T14 to transmit to the management server 4 a notification of the completion of shipment including the information of the shipped cold box ID. In this case, the management server 4 switches the shipped flag of the delivery information associated with the cool box ID included in the shipped notification from off to on. Subsequently, the management server 4 reads the battery states of all the batteries 3 in step S620. Specifically, the operating state information of all the cooling devices 2 is read from the nonvolatile storage medium.

Subsequently, in step S630, the management server 4 calculates a combination of a plurality of insulated boxes 1 to be used for delivery and cooling devices 2 to be connected thereto, based on the read delivery information and operating status information. Specifically, for each insulated box 1, the optimum cooling device 2 is calculated in the same manner as in step S525.

For example, there are four insulated boxes A, B, C, and D as the insulated boxes 1 associated with the delivery information read in step S610, and eight cooling devices 2 read out in step S620. Suppose there are cooling devices 201-208. Assume that the remaining amounts of the batteries 3 attached to the eight cooling devices 201 to 208 are 5Ah, 4Ah, 4Ah, 4Ah, 5Ah, 3Ah, 3Ah, and 3Ah. Assume that according to the delivery information, the amounts of electric power required for delivery from the business office 51 to the delivery destination 52 using the insulated boxes A to D are 5 Ah, 3 Ah, 1 Ah, and 3 Ah. In this case, for example, the combination of the insulated box A and the cooling device 205, the combination of the insulated box B and the cooling device 208, the combination of the insulated box C and the cooling device 206, and the combination of the insulated box D and the cooling device 202 are calculated.

Next, in step S640, the management server 4 calculates a charging plan through optimization processing based on the combination of the cooling box 1 and the cooling device 2 to be connected thereto. As shown in FIG. 15, in the optimization process 700, an input variable 705 is the charging time period (that is, the charging plan) for each combination of cooling device and cool box determined in step S630. Then, a result 730 including a charging plan is calculated such that the objective function 720 is maximized under a predetermined constraint condition 710 for these input variables 705 .

For example, the battery 3 of the cooling device 201 is normally charged from 0:00 to 1:30, the battery 3 of the cooling device 202 is normally charged from 1:00 to 3:30, and the battery 3 of the cooling device 203 is charged normally from 1:00 to 3:30. is determined as fast charging from 3:00 to 4:30. That is, the charging plan is information that defines the battery charging time period and charging type (rapid or normal) for each cooling device.

Constraints 710 include, for example, the condition that ``the total power used in charging is always equal to or less than the maximum system power that can be supplied at the business office 51'' and the condition that ``total charging time (for example, the total number of chargers x charging permission length of the time period) does not exceed a predetermined upper limit." The predetermined upper limit is appropriately set in advance and recorded in the nonvolatile storage medium of the management server 4 . The maximum system power that can be supplied is recorded in the non-volatile storage medium of the management server 4 in advance.

Also, the objective function 720 is set so that it becomes higher as the charge depth in each charge becomes smaller, and becomes higher as the number of quick charges decreases. Here, the depth of charge of the battery 3 is an amount that increases as the amount of increase in the remaining battery capacity at the end of charging relative to the remaining battery capacity at the start of charging increases.

The higher the objective function, the more the deterioration of the plurality of batteries 3 can be suppressed as a whole, and the life of the plurality of batteries 3 as a whole can be extended. Since the objective function 720 uses the depth of charge, the maximum capacity of each battery 3 is recorded in advance in the nonvolatile storage medium of the management server 4 and used. Any specific algorithm for the optimization process 700 may be used.

Next, the management server 4 transmits the charging plan calculated as described above to the business office terminal 7 in step S650. The business office terminal 7 that has received this charging plan displays the charging plan on the display unit. A worker who sees the display of this charging plan charges each battery 3 according to the charging plan.

As described above, the management server 4 creates a charging plan for the plurality of batteries 3 that supply power to the plurality of cooling devices 2 . This eliminates the need for the worker at the business office 51 to create a charging plan, thereby saving time and effort.

In addition, in this embodiment, the management server 4 functions as a charging planning unit by executing steps S630 and S640. Further, the modifications of the third and fourth embodiments are also applicable to this embodiment.

Further, in this embodiment, the method of calculating the combination of the insulated box 1 and the cooling device 2 in step S630 and the method of optimization in step S640 are not limited to those described above.

For example, in step S<b>630 , the calculation may be performed based on information on the temperature range that should be maintained and the temperature range that can be maintained by the cooling device 2 , regardless of the battery level of the battery 3 . In that case, a combination of the cooling box 1 and the cooling device 2 may be calculated such that the remaining battery level is so low that the cooling device 2 cannot operate continuously during the travel time. Then, in step S640, instead of performing the optimization process as described above, the battery 3 associated with the combination whose remaining battery level has decreased to such an extent that the cooling device 2 cannot operate continuously during the travel time is charged with the highest priority. A charging plan may be created at the same time.

Further, in this embodiment, the combination of the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 is determined in step S630, and the charging plan for the battery 3 is calculated by the optimization process 700 in step S640. However, as another example, step S630 may be bypassed and both the combination of cooling device 2 and battery 3 and the charging plan for battery 3 may be calculated by optimization processing in step S640. In that case, not only the charging plan but also the combination of the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 are input variables.

In this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained from the same configuration. Moreover, the modification of this embodiment can also be applied to the second, third, and fourth embodiments.

(Sixth embodiment)
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 16, 17 and 18. FIG. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the correspondence between the plurality of cooling devices 2 and the plurality of batteries 3 is not fixed. That is, in the present embodiment, which battery 3 is connected to which cooling device 2 varies depending on the situation.

Each battery 3 has a tag 30, as shown in FIG. Other hardware configurations of the delivery system of this embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment. The tag 30 is attached to the outer shell of the battery 3 and has a battery ID for distinguishing the attached battery 3 from other cooling devices 2 . The battery ID may be represented by characters, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code. Alternatively, the tag 30 may be a wireless tag capable of transmitting the battery ID by wireless communication.

The configuration of the delivery system of this embodiment will be described below using the examples of FIGS. 17 and 18. FIG. As in the first embodiment, each cooling device 2 transmits operating state information to the management server 4 in step S100 each time event T11 occurs. In FIG. 17, the operation from event T11 to timing T15 is the same as in the first embodiment.

At timing T15, when the insulated box 1 is taken out from the cold storage of the insulated truck 53 at the business office 51, the worker at the business office 51 uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7, as in the first embodiment. , the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 is input to the business office terminal 7 . Then, the business office terminal 7 accepts the input at step S200, as in the first embodiment. At this time, the worker reads the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 from the tag 11 .

Further, the business office terminal 7 transmits to the management server 4 inquiry information for inquiring about the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 to be used for the insulated box 1 in the following step S205. This inquiry information includes the cool box ID received in step S200. Upon receiving this inquiry information, the management server 4 reads, in step S520, delivery information corresponding to the insulated box ID included in the inquiry information, as in the first embodiment.

Then, in subsequent step S525, the management server 4 selects the optimum cooling device 2 and battery 3 from the plurality of cooling devices 2 in the sales office 51 based on the read delivery information. Specifically, based on the expected travel time required for the delivery vehicle 54 to travel the delivery route from the sales office 51 to the delivery destination 52, and the temperature range that the target transported item should be maintained during delivery. Then, the optimum cooling device 2 and battery 3 are selected. The movement time and the temperature range to be maintained are specified in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Specifically, first, the management server 4 extracts cooling devices 2 whose maintainable temperature range satisfies the temperature range to be maintained, as in the first embodiment.

In addition, the management server 4 determines that, among all combinations of the plurality of batteries 3 and the plurality of cooling devices 2 satisfying the temperature range to be maintained, the continuous operable time of the cooling device 2 is longer than the predetermined lower limit time. Determine one of the longer combinations. Then, the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 in the determined combination are selected as the optimum cooling device 2 and battery 3 . The lower limit of this continuous operable time is determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

The continuous operable time for each combination is calculated by the management server 4 based on the power consumption of the cooling device 2 and the remaining battery capacity of the battery 3 in the combination. At this time, the greater the remaining battery charge, the longer the continuous operable time. In addition, as the electricity consumption increases, the continuous operation possible time increases.

The power consumption of the cooling device 2 is the continuous operating time of the cooling device 2 per unit power consumption of the cooling device 2 . As the electric power consumption, the one recorded separately in advance in the non-volatile storage medium of the management server 4 for the plurality of cooling devices 2 is used. Alternatively, this electricity consumption may be specified or corrected based on the actual usage of the cooling device 2 . For use in this identification or correction, the management server 4 uses the change in the battery 3 and the change in the temperature of the transported object in the insulated box 1 in the cooling information transmitted from the cooling device 2 in step S115.

In addition, the electricity consumption of each cooling device 2 recorded in the nonvolatile storage medium is set for each temperature range realized by the cooling device 2 (for example, a temperature range corresponding to frozen storage, a temperature range corresponding to refrigerated storage). may have been In that case, the management server 4 adopts the electricity consumption that includes the temperature range to be maintained from among the plurality of electricity consumptions.

At this time, the continuous operable time may be corrected such that the smaller the degree of deterioration of the battery 3 (that is, the more advanced the deterioration), the shorter the continuous operable time. Further, the continuously operable time may be corrected such that the lower the temperature range to be maintained for the transported object, the shorter the continuously operable time. Note that the battery remaining amount, the degree of deterioration, and the electricity consumption are based on the remaining battery amount in the operating state information acquired in step S500.

The management server 4 then transmits the selected cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 and battery ID of the battery 3 to the business office terminal 7 in step S530.

After receiving the cooling device ID and the battery ID transmitted from the management server 4, the business office terminal 7 displays the cooling device ID and the battery ID on the display device in step S210. The worker at the sales office 51 who sees this display finds the cooling device 2 corresponding to the displayed cooling device ID from among the plurality of stored cooling devices 2 at timing T16. Also, the battery 3 corresponding to the displayed battery ID is found out of the plurality of stored batteries 3 and connected to the cooling device 2 . Then, the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1 having the insulated box ID included in the inquiry information sent immediately before.

When connecting the cooling device 2 to the insulated box 1 , the operator performs an operation for starting the operation of the cooling device 2 . As a result, in step S110, the cooling device 2 is supplied with power from the battery 3 and starts operating. When the cooling device 2 starts operating, the cooling function of the cooling device 2 starts working.

When connecting the cooling device 2 to the insulated box 1 , the operator performs an operation for starting the operation of the cooling device 2 . As a result, the cooling device 2 starts operating in step S110. When the cooling device 2 starts operating, the cooling function of the cooling device 2 starts working.

Next, the worker uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7 to input the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the cooling box 1 and the battery ID of the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2 to the business office terminal 7. to enter. Then, the business office terminal 7 acquires the cooling device ID by accepting this input in step S215.

The method of inputting the cooling device ID is the same as in the first embodiment. Also, the method of inputting the battery ID is the same as that of the cooling device ID. For example, a worker may read the battery ID by directly viewing the tag 30 .

The cooling device ID and battery ID sent from the management server 4 as a reply to the inquiry information are not used as they are, but the cooling device ID and battery ID are input to the sales office terminal 7 again for the same reasons as in the first embodiment. is.

Subsequently, the business office terminal 7 transmits the acquired cooling device ID, the insulated box ID and the battery ID read in the previous step S200 to the management server 4 in step S220. In step S535, the management server 4 receives the insulated box ID, cooling device ID, and battery ID, associates the received insulated box ID, cooling device ID, and battery ID with each other and registers them in the nonvolatile storage medium. After that, timing T17, step S115, and operation contents of step S540 are the same as in the first embodiment.

After that, when it becomes necessary to inquire about the delivery history of the transported item, the inquirer operates the inquiry terminal (for example, the business office terminal 7) and inquires the management server 4 from the inquiry terminal, as in the first embodiment. send information.

When the management server 4 receives this inquiry information in step S545, it reads the history information registered corresponding to the inquiry information from the non-volatile storage medium in step S550.

Specifically, the management server 4 reads the delivery information having the slip number included in the inquiry information, and the insulated box ID and the insulated vehicle ID registered in the past step S510 in combination with the delivery information. Furthermore, the management server 4 reads out the inside temperature information including the insulated vehicle ID from among the inside temperature information registered in the past step S515. Further, the management server 4 reads out the cooling device ID and battery ID registered in association with the cooling box ID in the past step S535. Further, the management server 4 reads the cooling information registered in the past step S540 or the like including the cooling device ID.

Furthermore, in step S550, the management server 4 sends the history information including the delivery information, the insulated box ID, the insulated truck ID, the cooling device ID, the battery ID, the internal temperature information, and the cooling information read in this way to the inquiry information. to the inquiry terminal from which the

The inquiry terminal that has received this history information causes the display unit to display part or all of the inquiry information in step S230. As a result, the inquirer who operates the inquiry terminal can confirm the information regarding the delivery status of the transported item corresponding to the entered slip number. For example, it is possible to confirm which insulated box 1 and which cooling device 2 were used to transport the transported item.

In addition, in this embodiment, a similar effect can be obtained from a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment. Also, the charging plan process of the fifth embodiment can be applied to this embodiment.

(Seventh embodiment)
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 19. FIG. This embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the correspondence between the plurality of cooling devices 2 and the plurality of batteries 3 is not fixed. That is, in the present embodiment, which battery 3 is connected to which cooling device 2 depends on the situation.

The hardware configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the sixth embodiment. The operation of the delivery system of this embodiment will be described below. Also in this embodiment, the same operation as the operation in FIG. 8 described in the second embodiment is performed.

After the process of step S200 in FIG. 8, the worker at the business office 51, as shown in FIG. A suitable cooling device 2 is selected for connection to the . Furthermore, the operator appropriately selects the battery 3 suitable for connecting to the cooling device 2 .

At this time, the sales office terminal 7 does not inquire of the management server 4 about the cooling device 2 and the battery 3 . Then, the worker connects the selected cooling device 2 to the cooling box 1 and connects the selected battery 3 to the cooling device 2 .

When the battery 3 is connected to the cooling device 2 and the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1 , the operator performs an operation for starting the operation of the cooling device 2 . As a result, the cooling device 2 starts operating in step S110. When the cooling device 2 starts operating, the cooling function of the cooling device 2 starts working.

Next, the worker uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7 to input the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the cooling box 1 and the battery ID of the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2 to the business office terminal 7. input. Then, the business office terminal 7 acquires the cooling device ID and the battery ID by accepting this input in step S215. The method of inputting and acquiring the cooling device ID and battery ID is the same as in the sixth embodiment.

The operation of the delivery system after step S215 and up to timing T20 is the same as in the sixth embodiment. In addition, the details of the operations of steps S225, S230, S545, and S550 when it becomes necessary to inquire about the delivery history of the transported item after the delivery to the delivery destination 52 of the transported item is completed are the same as in the sixth embodiment. is. In addition, in this embodiment, a similar effect can be obtained from a configuration similar to that of the second embodiment.

(Eighth embodiment)
Next, an eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 20. FIG. In this embodiment, in the sixth and seventh embodiments, the method of acquiring the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 that stores the transported items, the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 that is actually connected thereto, and the battery ID of the battery 3 is It differs from the sixth and seventh embodiments.

The hardware configuration of the delivery system of this embodiment is the same as that of the sixth and seventh embodiments. In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, in a state in which the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1, the surface of the outer shell of the insulated box 1 to which the tag 11 is attached and the tag 11 on the outer shell of the cooling device 2 are attached. The faces to which 20 is attached face the same side. At the same time, with the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2, the surface to which the tag 20 is attached and the surface to which the tag 30 is attached face the same side.

In the operation of this embodiment, the contents of steps S215 and S220 in FIGS. 18 and 19 are different. Other operations are the same as in the sixth and seventh embodiments.

Specifically, after timing T16 in FIG. 18 or after timing T25 in FIG. 19, the sales office terminal 7, as shown in FIG. at once. That is, the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 containing the goods to be transported, the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1, and the battery ID of the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2 , to get Then, in step S220, the cooling device ID acquired in step S215 and the insulated box ID and battery ID acquired in step S215 instead of step S200 are transmitted to the management server 4. FIG.

Here, a method for acquiring the insulated box ID, the cooling device ID, and the battery ID in step S215 will be described. The worker uses the input unit of the business office terminal 7 to input both the cooling box ID indicated on the tag 11, the cooling device ID indicated on the tag 20, and the battery ID indicated on the tag 30 once. to enter.

For example, if the tags 11, 20, and 30 are characters, bar codes, and two-dimensional codes, the cameras provided in the input section are allowed to photograph the tags 11, 20, and 30. FIG. Then, the business office terminal 7 acquires the insulated box ID, the cooling device ID, and the battery ID from the captured image by a predetermined image recognition process.

As described above, with the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 and the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2, the surfaces to which the tags 11, 20, and 30 are attached face the same side. It is easy to shoot like this.

Further, for example, when the tags 11, 20, and 30 are wireless tags, by bringing the input unit having a wireless reception function closer to the tags 11, 20, and 30, the cooling box ID and the cooling box ID transmitted from the tags 11, 20, and 30 A device ID and a battery ID are received. As a result, the business office terminal 7 receives the insulated box ID, the cooling device ID, and the battery ID via the input unit.

As described above, with the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 and the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2, the surfaces to which the tags 11, 20, and 30 are attached face the same side. It is easy to have the device close to both tags 11, 20, 30 at the same time.

In this way, the business office terminal 7 simultaneously acquires the insulated box ID, the cooling device ID, and the battery ID in a state in which the insulated box 1, the cooling device 2, and the battery 3 are assembled, and transmits them to the management server 4. As a result, the combination of the insulated box 1, the cooling device 2 currently connected thereto, and the battery 3 currently connected to the cooling device 2 are more reliably reflected, and the insulated box ID, cooling device ID, A combination of battery IDs can be sent. In addition, in this embodiment, the same effect can be obtained from the same configuration as the sixth and seventh embodiments.

(Ninth embodiment)
Next, a ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21, 22 and 23. FIG. In contrast to the sixth and seventh embodiments, this embodiment has the cooling box ID of the cooling box 1 that accommodates the transported items, the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 that is actually connected to it, and the battery 3 that is actually connected to it. The method of obtaining the battery ID is different.

The hardware configuration of the delivery system of this embodiment is partially different from those of the sixth and seventh embodiments. Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 21, the tag 11 of the cooling box 1 is attached to the surface facing the cooling device 2 when the cooling device 2 is connected. The tag 30 of the battery 3 is attached to the surface facing the cooling device 2 when connected to the cooling device 2 . The cooling device 2 has a tag reader 29 as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 .

The tag reading unit 29 is a device that reads the insulated box ID indicated by the tag 11 of the insulated box 1 and the battery ID indicated by the tag 30 of the battery 3 . For example, if the tags 11 and 30 represent the cooler box ID and battery ID with characters, bar codes, or two-dimensional codes, the tag reading unit 29 is a camera that captures the tags 11 and 30 . Further, for example, if the tags 11 and 30 are wireless tags that wirelessly transmit the insulated box ID and battery ID, respectively, the tag reading unit 29 is a receiver that receives the insulated box ID and battery ID transmitted from the tags 11 and 30. is.

The tag reading unit 29 is arranged on the outer shell of the cooling device 2 at a position facing the tag 11 when the cooling device 2 is connected to the insulated box 1 . The tag reader 29 is arranged on the outer shell of the cooling device 2 at a position facing the tag 30 when the battery 3 is connected to the cooling device 2 . Other hardware configurations of the delivery system are the same as those of the sixth and seventh embodiments.

In the operation of this embodiment, the operations of steps S215 and S220 of the business office terminal 7 in FIGS. 18 and 19 are eliminated. Further, the operations of steps S112 and S114 of the cooling device 2 are provided after step S110 and before timing T17. Other operations are the same as in the sixth and seventh embodiments.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, after being activated in step S110, the cooling device 2 acquires the insulated box ID, the cooling device ID, and the battery ID in step S112. That is, the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1 containing the goods to be transported, the cooling device ID of the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 (that is, the own machine), and the battery 3 connected to the own machine obtains the battery ID of the

Then, in step S114, the cooling device 2 transmits the cooling device ID, the insulated box ID, and the battery ID acquired in step S112 to the management server 4. FIG. The data transmitted from the cooling device 2 to the management server 4 in this manner may be relayed by the business office terminal 7 . The operation of the management server 4 that has received the cooling device ID, insulated box ID, and battery ID is the same as in the first and second embodiments.

Here, a method for acquiring the insulated box ID, the cooling device ID, and the battery ID in step S112 will be described. The cooling device 2 uses the tag reading unit 29 to acquire the insulated box ID and the battery ID shown in the tags 11 and 30, and reads the own cooling device ID recorded in the nonvolatile storage medium 24 in advance. read and get.

A method of acquiring the insulated box ID and the battery ID using the tag reading unit 29 is as follows. For example, if the tags 11 and 30 are characters, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code, the tags 11 and 30 are photographed by the camera provided in the tag reading section 29 . Then, the cooling device 2 acquires the insulated box ID and the battery ID from the captured image by a predetermined image recognition process. As described above, with the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1, the tag 11 faces the tag reader 29, and the tag 30 faces the tag reader 29, which facilitates such photographing. be.

Further, for example, when the tags 11 and 30 are wireless tags, the tag reading unit 29 having a wireless reception function receives the insulated box ID and battery ID transmitted from the tags 11 and 30 . Thereby, the cooling device 2 receives the insulated box ID and the battery ID via the tag reader 29 .

As described above, with the cooling device 2 connected to the insulated box 1 and the battery 3 connected to the cooling device 2, the tags 11 and 30 and the tag reader 29 are arranged to face each other. The reading of the tags 11, 30 by 29 is easy.

(1) As described above, the cooling device 2 includes the tag reader 29 that reads the insulated box ID from the insulated box 1 . As a result, the cooling device 2 acquires the insulated box ID of the insulated box 1, the cooling device ID of the own device, and the battery ID of the battery 3 while being connected to the insulated box 1, and sends them to the management server 4. Send. As a result, the combination of the insulated box 1, the cooling device 2 currently connected thereto, and the battery 3 currently connected to the cooling device 2 can be more reliably reflected, and the insulated box ID and the cooling device ID , a combination of battery IDs.

In addition, since the insulated box ID and the battery ID are automatically read when the insulated box 1 and the cooling device 2 are connected and the cooling device 2 is activated, labor of the operator can be saved.

(2) Further, the tag reading section 29 reads the battery ID from the tag 30 of the battery 3 . Therefore, it is possible to automatically acquire information as to which battery 3 is currently connected to the cooling device 2 .

The cooling device 2 may or may not have the same tag 20 as in the sixth and seventh embodiments. Also, in this embodiment, the same effects as those of the sixth and seventh embodiments can be obtained.

In the above-described first to ninth embodiments, the management server 4 functions as an operating state recording unit by executing step S500, functions as an acquisition unit by executing step S510, and executes step S535. function as a registration unit. The management server 4 functions as an in-fridge temperature registration unit by executing step S515, functions as a selection notification unit by executing steps S525 and S530, and functions as a cooling information registration unit by executing step S540. Function.

(Other embodiments)
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate. Moreover, the above-described embodiments are not unrelated to each other, and can be appropriately combined unless the combination is clearly impossible. In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the elements constituting the embodiment are not necessarily essential unless explicitly stated as essential or clearly considered essential in principle. In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, when numerical values such as the number, numerical value, amount, range, etc. of the constituent elements of the embodiment are mentioned, when it is explicitly stated that they are particularly essential, and when they are clearly limited to a specific number in principle It is not limited to that specific number, except when Further, in the above embodiment, if it is described that the external environment information of the vehicle (for example, the humidity outside the vehicle) is obtained from a sensor, the sensor is discarded and the external environment information is received from a server or cloud outside the vehicle. It is also possible to Alternatively, it is also possible to eliminate the sensor, acquire related information related to the external environment information from a server or cloud outside the vehicle, and estimate the external environment information from the acquired related information. In particular, where more than one value is exemplified for a quantity, it is also possible to adopt a value between these values unless otherwise stated or clearly impossible in principle. . In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc. of the constituent elements, the shape, It is not limited to the positional relationship or the like. In addition, the present invention allows the following modifications and modifications within the equivalent range of each of the above-described embodiments. It should be noted that the following modifications can be independently selected to be applied or not applied to the above embodiment.

1 Insulated Box 2 Cooling Device 3 Battery 4 Management Server 5 Distribution Center Terminal 6 Insulated Car Terminal 7 Business Office Terminal

Claims (16)

A transport in which a cold storage box (1) containing a transport item is stored in the cold storage and transported from a first base (50) to a second base (51) using a cold storage vehicle (53) having a cold storage. itinerary and
After the transportation step, a mounting step of selecting one cooling device from among a plurality of cooling devices (2) capable of cooling the inside of the cooling box and attaching the one cooling device to the cooling box;
After the installation process, a delivery vehicle (54) is used to transport the insulated box containing the goods to be transported and the one cooling device connected to the insulated box to a delivery destination (52), a delivery process of taking out and delivering the transported items housed in the insulated box;
and a separation storage step of separating the one cooling device and the insulated box after the delivery step, returning the insulated box to the first base, and storing the one cooling device at the second base. shipping method. An insulated box (1) containing transported items is transported from a first base (50) to a second base (51) while being kept cool by a insulated vehicle (53), and the insulated box can be cooled at the second base. One cooling device out of a plurality of cooling devices (2) is attached to the insulated box, and the insulated box containing the transported goods and the one cooling device connected to the insulated box are connected to a delivery vehicle (54). ) to a delivery destination (52), the transported object is taken out of the insulated box at the delivery destination, the one cooling device and the insulated box are separated, and the insulated box is transported to the first base A management server used in a delivery method in which the one cooling device is returned and stored at the second base,
Acquiring and registering a set of delivery information indicating conditions to be satisfied for the delivery of the transported item and the insulated box ID of the insulated box containing the transported item in the delivery of the transported item according to the delivery information. an acquisition unit (S510);
a registration unit (S535) that identifies the cooling device ID of the one cooling device attached to the cooling box and registers the identified cooling device ID in association with the cooling box ID acquired by the acquisition unit; management server. receiving temperature information of the transported object and remaining battery capacity of the battery (3) connected to the one cooling device when the insulated box is cooled by the one cooling device; 3. The management server according to claim 2, further comprising a cooling information registration unit (S540) for registering the temperature information of the transportation object and the remaining battery capacity in association with the cooling device ID. an operating state recording unit (S500) for recording, for each of the plurality of cooling devices, a cooling device ID and operating state information indicating the state of the cooling device;
Based on the states of the plurality of cooling devices, a cooling device ID of the one cooling device to be connected to the cooling box is selected from among the plurality of cooling devices, and the selected cooling device ID is transferred to the second site. 4. The management server according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a selection notification unit (S525, S530) that notifies to. Based on the delivery information acquired by the acquisition unit, the selection notification unit specifies the travel time required to deliver the transportation item from the second base to the delivery destination, and the operation state recording unit records the travel time. calculating the continuous operable time of the plurality of cooling devices based on the states of the plurality of cooling devices, and calculating the continuous operable time of the plurality of cooling devices based on the movement time and the continuous operable time of the plurality of cooling devices; 5. The management server according to claim 4, wherein the cooling device ID of the one cooling device is selected from cooling device IDs. An internal temperature registration unit (S515) that receives information on the temperature inside the cold storage of the cold storage vehicle when the cold storage vehicle (53) transports the cold storage box, and registers the received temperature information on the inside of the cold storage. 6. A management server according to any one of claims 2 to 5, comprising: 7. The management server according to any one of claims 2 to 6, comprising a charging planning unit (S630, S640) for creating a charging plan for a plurality of batteries (3) supplying power to said plurality of cooling devices. a cooling box (1) for accommodating transported goods;
a cooling device (2) that is connected to the insulated box and cools the transported object housed in the insulated box;
a battery (3) for supplying power to the cooling device;
The insulated box accommodates the transported item and is transported from the first base (50) to the second base (51) while being kept cool by a insulated car (53),
the cooling device is connected to the cooling box at the second base;
The cooling box, the cooling device, and the battery are transported from the second base to a delivery destination (52) by a delivery vehicle (54),
the transported item is taken out from the insulated box at the delivery destination;
The insulated box from which the transported item was taken out, the cooling device, and the battery are transported from the delivery destination to the second base by the delivery vehicle,
After the transported item arrives at the delivery destination, the cooling device is separated from the cooling box,
A cold storage unit, wherein the cold box with the separated cooling device is transported from the second base to the first base, and the cooling device and the battery are stored at the second base. the battery is connected to the cooling device at the second base;
After the transported item is delivered to the delivery destination, the battery is separated from the cooling device at the second base,
The cooling unit according to claim 8, wherein the battery separated from the cooling device is stored at the second location. The insulated box has a tag (11) showing an insulated box ID for distinguishing itself from other insulated boxes,
10. The cooling unit according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said cooling device has a tag (20) indicating a cooling device ID for distinguishing itself from other cooling devices. 11. The cooling unit according to claim 10, wherein said battery has a tag (30) showing a battery ID for distinguishing itself from other cooling devices. 12. The cooling unit according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein said cooling device comprises a storage medium (24) for recording operating state information indicating its own state. 13. The cooling unit according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein said cooling device comprises a communication section (21) for transmitting to the outside operating state information indicating the state of said cooling device. 9. The cooling device according to claim 8, wherein the cooling device comprises a reading unit (29) for reading a cold box ID for distinguishing the cold box from other cold boxes from a tag (11) provided on the cold box. cooling unit. 15. The cooling unit according to claim 14, wherein the reader reads a battery ID for distinguishing the battery from other batteries from a tag (30) provided on the battery. An insulated box (1) containing transported items is transported from a first base (50) to a second base (51) while being kept cool by a insulated vehicle (53), and the insulated box can be cooled at the second base. One cooling device is selected from among a plurality of cooling devices (2) and attached to the insulated box, and the insulated box containing the goods to be transported and the one cooling device connected to the insulated box are delivered. It is transported by a vehicle (54) to a delivery destination (52), where the transported item is removed from the insulated box at the delivery destination, after which the one cooling device and the insulated box are separated, and the insulated box is separated from the second A program used in a management server used in a delivery method in which the one cooling device is returned to one base and stored at the second base,
Acquiring and registering a set of delivery information indicating conditions to be satisfied for the delivery of the transported item and the insulated box ID of the insulated box containing the transported item in the delivery of the transported item according to the delivery information. an acquisition unit (S510); and registration for identifying a cooling device ID of the one cooling device attached to the insulated box and registering the identified cooling device ID in association with the insulated box ID acquired by the obtaining unit. A program that causes the management server to function as a unit (S535).

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