JP3203963U - Automated terminal for goods - Google Patents

Abstract

An automated terminal for an article that enables control of the contents of a plurality of boxes. A module 2 having a box 3 having an independent compartment for storing articles; a door associated with each of the boxes 3; an electronic for opening and closing the door A closing means; a detector for detecting the presence or absence of an article in the compartment; and for the closing means, the detector and a general controller, information from the general controller and the terminal 1 A control unit 6 connected to generate instructions for controlling A match is confirmed between the requested “reserved” or “empty” status recorded in the control unit 6 and information on whether the box 3 is used or empty. When not, it acts on the closing means to keep the box 3 open. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The field of application of the present invention is within the technical domain of logistics, and more particularly the field of article storage and distribution.

  More specifically, the object of the present invention is centered on an industrial terminal having a box for storing articles using automatic control and remote management over the Internet. In particular, but not exclusively, the terminal is designed to store items purchased via e-commerce, avoiding the occupancy of terminal boxes by previously unmanaged items Enable.

  The purchaser visits a commercial facility, purchases goods at the facility, and the goods can be taken home by him or her or delivered to him or her residence or other authorized location within a certain period of time As an alternative to traditional commerce, whether the purchaser does not move to a commercial facility, browses the catalog (printed or via the Internet), and is via telephone (such as telephone or fax) or telematic communication Regardless, a business model has been developed that issues purchase orders from a distance (eg, via the Internet). The business model includes the use of a storage terminal (also called an industrial terminal) where the company sends their products for storage until the buyer retrieves them. The storage terminal comprises a plurality of boxes that can be resized. In the box, for example, as described above, a package containing the purchased product is stored in a form known as electronic trading (also called “E-commerse”) via the Internet. . The storage terminal further comprises automated and mechanized management means for managing the storage of the package in the box. The management means may be arranged at a position away from the box.

  The present invention is a remote management means characterized in that it allows control of the contents of a plurality of boxes to avoid occupying one of the plurality of boxes with unrecorded packages. To provide an automated terminal for goods.

  For this purpose, the terminal is composed of one or more modules each having a plurality of boxes that define independent compartments for storing packages or articles. The box has a closing means, preferably an electronic lock, which is controlled remotely by a common controller, preferably a control system based on the Internet, and which is commanded by a controlled control unit.

  The unit is configured to send and receive information related to orders from the general controller via the Internet and to generate terminal management instructions based on the information.

  The terminal assumes at least one detector for detecting the presence / absence of an article in the plurality of boxes inside the box. Each detector or detectors of the box are connected to the control unit of the terminal. If the detector detects the presence of an article in the box when the box is not scheduled to store the article, the control unit activates the closing means to release the associated box. And preferably send a warning message to the general controller. In addition, the terminal may incorporate warning means connected to the terminal in the same manner as the control unit, and the warning means may be lighting means and / or acoustic means that can be operated by the control unit.

  The above is intended to ensure the safety of the article, since the package has not been previously inspected and therefore should not be stored in any of the plurality of boxes.

  The main advantage of the present invention is the additional safety that the system can clearly detect the presence or absence of the package in each box at a given time. This is about the requested "reserved" or "empty" status recorded in the control unit and whether the box supplied to the control unit by the detector is occupied or empty It is possible to ensure that the correlation between each piece of information in each of the boxes is such that the reserved box must be occupied and the empty box must be empty. If the reverse situation occurs, there is a package in the box that should be empty and the box to be occupied is empty, causing the corresponding action by the control unit. The action is to move the closing means to keep the corresponding box open.

In particular, the above-described action is as follows:
The person who is responsible for bringing the package of goods is actually doing it (otherwise, if the box door is closed, the detector will record the item in the box that is recorded as occupied) To notify the control unit of non-existence)
Controlled by whether the consumer has actually removed the item (otherwise the detector detects the presence of the item in a box that is recorded as empty);
Allows management through managing that no one accidentally brings a package into a box that is not set to be occupied at that moment.

  It is noted that the technology used by the article detectors located in each of the boxes of the terminal (which may be infrared sensors, laser beams, volumetric sensors, etc.) may vary.

  Similarly, the number of article detectors can also vary according to specific criteria according to the need to depend on the size of the box, materials, etc.

  Similarly, the position of the article detector within the box can vary. Due to the weight of the package, the package tends to be located and detected at the base of the box, so the article detector is preferably placed at the base of the box. But other options (e.g. placing a detector on the wall of the box to detect a package that is pushed between the walls of the box and therefore not placed at the base of the box) Is also considered.

  For the purpose of supplementing and assisting in understanding the specification, which has been prepared for a better understanding of the features of the present invention, the specification is presented below as an integrated part thereof. It is accompanied by a set of drawings in an exemplary and non-limiting manner.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of an example of an automated terminal for an article that is the subject of the present invention, and the general external configuration and main components that the terminal comprises can be appreciated. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of one example of a plurality of boxes of a terminal according to the present invention, showing the components incorporated therein and with the door open.

  With reference to the above-mentioned drawings and according to the numbering employed, the non-automated terminal for an article according to the invention comprising the parts shown and described in detail below. A limited example may be noted.

  As can be seen in the above-mentioned drawings, the subject terminal (1) is one or more modules comprising one or more boxes (3) defining independent compartments for storing packages or articles. It is configured based on (2). Here, the door (4) is recognized as having a closing means (5) which is preferably an electronic lock commanded by a control unit (6) for controlling the opening and closing of the box.

  The control unit (6) includes one PC that may be equipped with a touch screen for interacting with the user. The PC transmits / receives information related to orders via the Internet; an internal network (for example, Ethernet (registered trademark)); a storage device (for example, a USB memory); or other connection system, and a terminal ( It is connected to a general controller (not shown) for generating the management command 1) at a distance.

  The control unit (6) is connected to the electronic device of the terminal (1) for opening and closing the closing means (5) of each door (4) of the box (3).

  Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the box (3) of the terminal (1) is inside the box where the incorporation of one or more article detectors (7) is recognized. The article detector (7) is composed of, for example, an infrared sensor, a laser beam, a volume sensor, etc., and is connected to the control unit (6) of the terminal in order to obtain information on the presence of articles in the box (3), for example. Has been.

  The article detector (7) is preferably arranged at the base of the box (3). However, the article detector (7) can also be arranged on the wall of the box (3) at different heights, or on the ceiling of the box (3) or integrated into the wall of the box, Detect the package being pushed in between. Similarly, to minimize blind spots, an arrangement of one or more detectors (7) of different types is also envisaged, if necessary.

  Furthermore, the terminal (1) incorporates a warning means which is also connected to the control unit (6), which is activated when the article detector (7) detects an unmanaged package. Said warning means may comprise lighting means (8) and / or acoustic means (9) according to the preferred example shown in the drawing. When an unmanaged package is detected, in the manner described above, the control unit (6) has the door (4) of the associated box (3) because the box contains unmanaged items. ) To close the closing means (5), avoid closing the door (4), and send a warning message to a general controller.

  The following is an example of the operation of the terminal (1) of the present invention for a preferred application as a package delivery terminal (1) for an E-commerce service.

  The purchaser orders goods via the Internet via E-commerce. A typical controller receives order data and sends the information necessary for their storage in any of the boxes (3) over the Internet. The control unit (6) (i) assigns the item to the box (3), (ii) activates the closing means of the door (4), and (iii) provides “reserved” information about the box (3). Send instructions necessary to record. When the article is received at the terminal, the control unit (6) records its arrival and the detector (7) confirms the storage in the corresponding box (3), closes the closing means and closes the associated box. Avoid unauthorized release of the door (4). When the purchaser visits to retrieve his or her item and presents his or her inquiry to the terminal (1), the control unit (6) will open the door (4) of the box (3). Once the release of the closure means (5) has been processed and the package has been removed, the monitoring system causes the box (3) to be empty by the detector (7) not detecting the presence of items in the box (3). Record that. In this way, the associated box (3) is ready to be assigned a new article package when the general controller directs the assignment. If another package is brought into the box (3) before this occurs, the detector (7) will detect it and the control unit (6) will consider the other package as an unmanaged package, The control unit (6) (i) disables the closing means of the door (4) of the box (3), (ii) activates the warning means (eg) and (iii) Generate a warning message to be sent.

Claims (9)

An automated terminal for goods,
At least one module (2) comprising at least one box (3) defining an independent compartment for storing packages or articles;
A door (4) attached to each of the boxes (3), the door (4) having an electronic closing means for allowing the door (4) to be opened and closed;
At least one detector (7) disposed in each of said boxes (3) to detect the presence or absence of an article in said box (3); and (i) said each of said boxes (3) Closed means (5), connected to one or more of said detectors (7) and a general controller, and (ii) receiving information from said general controller and based on said information said terminal A control unit (6) configured to generate an instruction to control (1),
The control unit (6) is in the requested “reserved” or “empty” state recorded in the control unit (6) and whether the box is used or empty. Automation for an article characterized by acting on the closing means (5) to maintain the opening of the box (3) when no match between the information is confirmed for the box (3) Terminal.   The automated terminal for an article according to claim 1, further comprising warning means connected to the control unit (6) and activated when a match is not confirmed.   3. An automated terminal for articles according to claim 2, wherein the warning means is a lighting means.   4. An automated terminal for an article according to any one of claims 2 and 3, wherein the warning means is an acoustic means.   5. An automated terminal for articles according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the article detector (7) comprises an infrared sensor.   6. An automated terminal for articles according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the article detector (7) comprises a laser beam.   7. An automated terminal for articles according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the article detector (7) includes a volumetric sensor.   8. An automated terminal for articles according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the article detector (7) is attached to the base of the box.   Automation for an article according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the article detector (7) is arranged on any wall other than the base of the box (3). Terminal.

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