JP7065456B2 - Delivery box - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a delivery box.

Conventionally, a delivery box having a receiving room for storing luggage, a door for opening and closing the receiving room, and a locking means for locking the door is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a baggage presence / absence sensor installed at the bottom of a receiving room, a door locked by a signal from the sensor, a sensor for detecting the lock of the door, and while the door is locked. A delivery box equipped with a stamping device capable of stamping is disclosed.

Jikkai Sho 63-169981

In recent years, there has been a demand for a delivery box that can easily and accurately detect the presence or absence of consignment and transmit the information to an external device such as a smartphone. The delivery box disclosed in Patent Document 1 has problems that the luggage presence / absence sensor does not respond when the weight of the luggage is light, and the luggage presence / absence sensor does not respond depending on the place where the luggage is placed. Further, there is a problem that the door cannot be locked if the baggage presence / absence sensor does not respond.

The delivery box, which is one aspect of the present disclosure, has a receiving chamber for storing luggage, a door for opening and closing the receiving chamber, and a locking means for locking the door by operating the lever. It is a delivery box provided, and on the back side of the door, there is a sensor device and a trigger member interlocking with the lock lever, and when the lever is operated, the sensor device operates and a detection signal is transmitted. It is characterized by being provided with a trigger member that moves to an output position and a communication unit that transmits predetermined information based on the detection signal to an external device.

According to the delivery box, which is one aspect of the present disclosure, the presence or absence of receipt can be easily and accurately detected from the locked state of the door, and the information can be transmitted to an external device such as a smartphone.

It is a perspective view which looked at the delivery box which is an example of an embodiment from the front (front side). It is a perspective view which looked at the door of the delivery box which is an example of an embodiment from the back side. It is a perspective view which looked at the door of the delivery box which is an example of an embodiment from the back side, and shows the state which the cover was removed. It is a figure which shows the cargo receipt detecting means which is an example of an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the cargo receipt detecting means which is an example of an embodiment.

Hereinafter, an example of the embodiment of the delivery box according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment described below, the delivery box 10 for a detached house is illustrated, but the delivery box according to the present disclosure can also be applied to an apartment house. The delivery box for an apartment house is provided with, for example, a door opening secret number input unit on the surface of the door.

In the present specification, for convenience of explanation, the side where the door operated by the courier is installed is referred to as "front" or "front", and the opposite side is referred to as "rear" or "back". Further, the direction orthogonal to the front-back direction and the up-down direction is defined as the horizontal direction.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the delivery box 10 has a receiving chamber 11 for storing the luggage 200, a door 12 for opening and closing the receiving chamber 11, and a locking lever 21, and the door 12 is operated by operating the lever. Is provided with a locking means 20 for locking. Further, the delivery box 10 has a door opening button 14 operated when the door 12 is opened, an insertion port 15 into which a slip is inserted, and a seal operated when the slip is stamped on the surface 12a of the door 12. It is provided with a button 16.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the lock lever 21 is operated and the door 12 is locked. As used herein, the locked state of the door 12 means both a state in which the door 12 is closed and locked, and a state in which the door 12 is locked when the door 12 is closed, unless otherwise specified. In the present embodiment, the door 12 is locked by closing the door 12 with the locking lever 21 pushed down.

The delivery box 10 is installed, for example, at the front door of a house. The delivery box 10 may be fixed to a support standing on the ground, or may be placed on the ground or a base installed on the ground. The parcel delivery box 10 is mainly used by the parcel delivery company in the absence of a resident who is a parcel recipient. As will be described in detail later, the courier company operates the door open button 14 to open the door 12, stores the package 200 in the receiving chamber 11, locks the door 12, and then inserts the slip into the insertion slot 15. .. A stamp such as the surname of the resident is stamped on the slip inserted in the insertion slot 15, and the delivery of the package 200 is completed.

The shape of the delivery box 10 is not particularly limited, but generally has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing shape. The delivery box 10 has an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, a right side surface portion, a left side surface portion, and a rear surface portion, and includes a box body 13 having an open front portion. The box body 13 is generally made of a metal member. The internal space of the box body 13 becomes a receiving room 11 in which the parcel 200 delivered by the courier company is stored.

The door 12 is rotatably attached to the front of the box body 13 to open and close the opening of the box body 13. In the present embodiment, the upper and lower ends of the lateral one end of the door 12 are hinged to the box body 13. The mounting structure of the door 12 is a right-opening structure in which the door 12 rotates and opens around one end in the lateral direction of the door 12.

As described above, the surface 12a of the door 12 is provided with the door opening button 14, the insertion port 15, and the stamping button 16. The door open button 14 is a button operated when the delivery company stores the package 200 in the receiving room 11 and when the resident takes out the package 200 from the receiving room 11. When the door open button 14 is pressed, the latch 22 of the locking means 20 is disengaged from the latch receiving portion 23, and the door 12 is in a state where the door 12 can be opened. The stamp button 16 is a button operated with the slip inserted in the insertion slot 15. When the stamp button 16 is pressed, the stamping means 40 is activated and the stamp is stamped only once. Each button has, for example, a coil spring built-in.

Further, a key portion 17 having a keyhole is provided on the surface 12a of the door 12. A key for unlocking the door 12 is inserted into the keyhole of the key unit 17 when the resident takes out the luggage 200 from the receiving chamber 11. When the key is inserted into the keyhole and rotated in a predetermined direction, the locking hook 27 of the locking means 20 is disengaged from the locking pin 28 and the door 12 is unlocked. In addition, instead of the key unit 17, an input unit for a secret number for opening the door may be provided.

Further, an indicator 18 is provided on the surface 12a of the door 12. The indicator 18 may be a display unit whose display contents are mechanically switched depending on whether or not the door 12 is locked, or may be a display such as a liquid crystal display. For example, the indicator 18 displays "I can receive" when the luggage 200 is not stored in the receiving chamber 11, and displays "in use" when the luggage 200 is stored in the receiving chamber 11.

In the present embodiment, the panel portion 19 is provided at the central portion in the vertical direction on the other end side in the lateral direction of the surface 12a of the door 12. It is preferable that the panel portion 19 of the door 12 is made of a resin member and the portion other than the panel portion 19 is made of a metal member. The panel portion 19 has an insertion port 15 which is an opening elongated in the lateral direction, a circular door opening button 14 and a marking button 16 arranged above the insertion port 15, and an arrangement above each button. The indicator 18 is provided. Further, the key portion 17 is provided above the panel portion 19.

The delivery box 10 is provided with a locking means 20, a stamping means 40, and a load receiving detecting means 50 on the back side of the door 12. Each means is mainly provided on the back side 12b of the door 12 on the back side of the panel portion 19 and in the vicinity thereof. The stamping means 40 has a function of stamping a slip inserted in the insertion slot 15. The cargo receiving detection means 50 has a function of detecting that the luggage 200 is stored in the receiving chamber 11 from the locked state of the door 12. Further, the consignment detecting means 50 has a communication function of transmitting the consignment detection information to an external device 100 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B described later) such as a smartphone.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a cover 34 that covers the locking means 20, the stamping means 40, the load receiving detecting means 50, and the like is attached to the back surface 12b of the door 12. The cover 34 has an opening 35 that exposes the locking lever 21 and allows the lever to be operated. The locking lever 21 is an L-shaped lever, and portions arranged substantially parallel to each other in the front-rear direction and the lateral direction project rearward from the opening 35. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the second sensor unit 51B constituting the load receiving detecting means 50 is arranged on the outside of the cover 34.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the locking means 20 has a latch 22 provided on the back surface 12b of the door 12, a latch receiving portion 23 provided on the box body 13, and a rotating bar 24 to which the latch 22 is fixed. Have. The door 12 is maintained in a closed state by the latch 22 being caught by the latch receiving portion 23. The rotary bar 24 is rotatably supported by a support member 25 attached to the other end of the back surface 12b of the door 12 in the lateral direction, and is arranged along the vertical direction of the door 12. The latch 22 is preferably fixed to the upper and lower ends of the rotating bar 24. The latch 22 rotates between a position where it engages with the latch receiving portion 23 and a position where it does not engage due to the rotation of the rotation bar 24.

A lever 31 interlocked with the operation of the door opening button 14 is fixed to the middle portion of the rotating bar 24. In the present embodiment, the lever 31 is arranged substantially parallel to the back surface 12b of the door 12 in a state where the door opening button 14 is not pressed. Then, when the door opening button 14 is pushed, the door opening button interlocking lever 32 installed on the back side of the door opening button 14 rotates to push the lever 31 forward. As a result, the rotary bar 24 to which the lever 31 is fixed rotates, and the latch 22 rotates and comes off from the latch receiving portion 23. A coil spring 33 is attached to the lever 31 so as to return to the original position substantially parallel to the back surface 12b after the pressing force by the door opening button interlocking lever 32 is released.

As described above, the locking means 20 has the locking lever 21 and locks the door 12 when the locking lever 21 is operated. In this embodiment, the door 12 is locked by pushing down the locking lever 21. The locking means 20 includes a base plate 26 to which the locking lever 21 is fixed, a pendulum-shaped locking hook 27 attached to the base plate 26, and a locking pin 28 on which the locking hook 27 is hooked when the locking lever 21 is pushed down. And have. When the locking hook 27 is hooked on the locking pin 28, the locked state of the door 12 with the locking lever 21 pushed down is maintained.

The base plate 26 is an elevating plate that moves in the vertical direction in conjunction with the locking lever 21. When the locking lever 21 is pushed down, the lower end portion of the base plate 26 is inserted between the door opening button interlocking lever 32 and the back surface 12b of the door 12 behind the lever 31. Therefore, for example, the door opening button interlocking lever 32 does not rotate, and even if the door opening button 14 is pressed, the lever 31 cannot be pushed in. That is, the lower end of the base plate 26 functions as a stopper. If the door 12 is closed in this state, the lever 31, the rotating bar 24, and the latch 22 do not move, so that the door 12 is locked.

The door 12 is unlocked using the key inserted into the keyhole of the key unit 17, as described above. The locking pin 28 is installed on the back side of the key portion 17 and rotates by the rotation operation of the key. Further, on the back surface 12b of the door 12, one end is fixed to the support member 25 and the other end is fixed to the base plate 26, and a spring 29 for urging the base plate 26 upward is attached. Therefore, the lock of the door 12 is released by the locking hook 27 being disengaged from the locking pin 28 by the rotation operation of the key and the base plate 26 being raised to a position where it does not interfere with the door opening button interlocking lever 32.

The stamping means 40 executes a stamp operation for stamping a slip inserted in the insertion slot 15 when the stamp button 16 is pressed with the door 12 locked, and limits the stamp operation to one time. It is equipped with a mechanism for doing so. The stamping means 40 has a stamp holder 41 for holding the stamp 44, a stamp button interlocking lever 42 installed on the back side of the stamp button 16, and an elevating plate 43 connected to the stamp holder 41 and the stamp button interlocking lever 42. .. When the elevating plate 43 is located in the stroke portion that can be moved in the vertical direction, the stamping button interlocking lever 42 rotates when the stamping button 16 is pressed to push down the stamp holder 41. As a result, the stamp 44 is pressed against the slip.

The elevating plate 43 is supported by a guide member 46 attached to the back surface 12b of the door 12, and a lock formed on the upper end of the guide member 46 before the door 12 is locked and after the stamp button 16 is pressed. It is locked to the portion 47. The box body 13 is provided with an unlocking member 48 that removes the elevating plate 43 from the lock portion 47 and moves it to the stroke portion. However, before the door 12 is locked, the function of the barrier portion 30 having a slope is provided. Maintains the locked state. The unlock member 48 is a plate-shaped member attached to the box body 13 so as to be swingable upward from the horizontal direction.

The barrier portion 30 is interposed between the elevating plate 43 and the unlocking member 48 before the door 12 is locked, and flips up the unlocking member 48 by using the slope. On the other hand, since the barrier portion 30 is fixed to the base plate 26 of the locking means 20, when the locking lever 21 is pushed down and the door 12 is locked, the barrier portion 30 descends in conjunction with the locking lever 21. Therefore, when the door 12 is closed, the unlocking member 48 comes into contact with the upper end portion of the elevating plate 43, and pushes the elevating plate 43 forward to move it to the stroke portion. By operating the stamp button 16 in this state, the stamp button interlocking lever 42 rotates, the elevating plate 43 and the stamp holder 41 are lowered, and the stamp 44 is pressed against the slip.

One end is fixed to the guide member 46 and the other end is fixed to the elevating plate 43, and the elevating plate 43 lowered by the stamp operation due to the function of the spring 45 for urging the elevating plate 43 diagonally upward releases the unlocking member 48. Push it up and return to the lock portion 47 again. Therefore, the stamp operation is limited to one time.

Hereinafter, the consignment detecting means 50 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B as appropriate. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the shielding plate 52 moves to a position where the sensor device 51 operates and a detection signal is output (operating state of the sensor device 51), and FIG. 4B shows a non-operating state of the sensor device 51.

In this embodiment, a metal shielding plate 52 is used as a trigger member for turning on / off the sensor device 51. A suitable sensor device 51 is a device including a magnetic sensor (magnetic proximity sensor), but as a sensor device, for example, a device including an inductive proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, or the like may be used. A metal plate can also be used as the trigger member when an inductive proximity sensor or a capacitive proximity sensor is used, but in this case, the trigger member is generally the detection target, and when it approaches the operating area of the sensor. A detection signal is output.

By detecting the locked state of the door 12, the consignment detecting means 50 detects that the parcel 200 is stored in the consignment chamber 11, and, as shown in FIG. 4A, transmits the consignment detection information to an external device such as a smartphone. Send to 100. After the parcel 200 is stored in the consignment chamber 11, the courier company operates the lock lever 21 to lock the door 12. Therefore, if the locked state of the door 12 is detected, the parcel 200 is stored in the consignment chamber 11. I understand. In this case, regardless of the weight of the baggage 200 and the place where the baggage is placed, it is possible to easily and accurately detect whether or not the baggage has been received.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, a sensor device 51, a shielding plate 52, and a communication unit 53 are provided as load receiving detecting means 50 on the back side of the door 12. The shielding plate 52 is interlocked with the locking lever 21, and when the locking lever 21 is operated, the sensor device 51 operates and moves to a position where a detection signal is output. Further, the communication unit 53 transmits predetermined information based on the detection signal to the external device 100. The communication unit 53 may transmit the detection signal of the sensor device 51 as it is to the external device 100 or the like as predetermined information, and may process the detection signal by the external device 100 or another device, if necessary.

Examples of the external device 100 include information devices such as resident smartphones, mobile phones, tablet terminal devices, and personal computers. Further, the external device 100 may be an information device owned by a person other than the resident, such as a courier company, a parcel delivery source, a security company, a care service company, and a relative who does not live with the resident. For example, when the resident unlocks the door 12 and takes out the luggage 200, the output of the detection signal of the sensor device 51 is stopped, but the communication unit 53 shares the output stop information with the care service company and the resident. It may be transmitted to an external device 100 such as a relative who does not. Such information can be used to confirm the safety of residents.

The sensor device 51 has a first sensor unit 51A and a second sensor unit 51B arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined gap S interposed therebetween. When the locking lever 21 is operated, the shielding plate 52 moves to a position where the sensor device 51 operates in the gap S and a detection signal is output. The gap S is formed along the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 53, the control unit 54, the battery 55, and the sensor element 56A are built in the first sensor unit 51A. Further, the sensor element 56B is built in the second sensor unit 51B.

The communication unit, the control unit, and the battery do not have to be built in the sensor device. Further, the sensor device or the like may be connected to the power supply system by wire, and in this case, the delivery box may not have a battery.

The control unit 54 has a function of processing a detection signal acquired from, for example, the sensor device 51 and converting it into predetermined information (hereinafter referred to as “detection information”) based on the detection signal. The control unit 54 compares the detection signal with a predetermined threshold value, and outputs the detection information to the communication unit 53 when a detection signal exceeding the threshold value is acquired. The control unit 54 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer and has a CPU which is an arithmetic processing unit and a storage unit such as RAM and ROM. The CPU has a function of reading and executing a program or the like stored in advance in the storage unit. The storage unit has a function of temporarily storing the read program, processing data, and the like, and a function of storing the control program, the threshold value, and the like.

The communication unit 53 is a communication module including, for example, an antenna and a communication circuit. An example of the communication unit 53 is a communication module corresponding to a communication standard such as a specified low power radio, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the communication unit 53 transmits the detection information acquired from the control unit 54 to the home router 101. The detection information sent to the home router 101 is transmitted to a predetermined management server 103 via the wide area communication network 102, and is transmitted to the external device 100 via the management server 103. That is, the communication unit 53 transmits the detection information to the external device 100 via the home router 101, the wide area communication network 102, the management server 103, and the like. A home server may be used instead of the management server 103. Further, the communication unit 53 may directly transmit the detection information to the external device 100.

When the detection information is transmitted to the external device 100 via the management server 103, it is preferable that the e-mail regarding the detection information is transmitted to the external device 100 by the mail transmission function of the management server 103. In the storage unit of the management server 103, for example, information such as the address of the external device 100 to which the detection information is transmitted, the format of the e-mail corresponding to the detection information, and the like are registered. The e-mail may be transmitted using the application software of LINE (registered trademark) which is a kind of SNS (Social Networking Service).

In the present embodiment, the portion of the door 12 facing the communication unit 53 is made of a resin member. Specifically, the first sensor unit 51A containing the communication unit 53 is attached to the back surface of the panel unit 19 made of a resin member. In this case, the electromagnetic wave (detection information) output from the communication unit 53 passes through the panel unit 19 and is transmitted to the home router 101 or the like. Good communication performance is ensured by attaching the communication unit 53 to the back surface of the panel unit 19.

The sensor device 51 preferably includes a magnetic sensor (magnetic proximity sensor) that does not require an operating power supply. As a specific example, a reed switch is used for the sensor element 56A, and a permanent magnet is used for the sensor element 56B. The reed switch has a pair of reed pieces arranged so as to face each other, and is turned on when the reed pieces come into contact with each other by the magnetic attraction force of a permanent magnet. On the other hand, when the magnetic force of the permanent magnet acting on the lead pieces is reduced by the shielding plate 52, the lead pieces are separated from each other and the reed switch is turned off. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the sensor elements 56A and 56B are built in the upper part of each unit, respectively, and are arranged in the horizontal direction with a gap S interposed therebetween.

The shielding plate 52 is provided on the surface 12a of the door 12 so as to move in the vertical direction along the gap S. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the locking lever 21 is not operated, the shielding plate 52 is located above the gap S and is interposed between the sensor elements 56A and 56B. In this case, since the magnetic force of the permanent magnet acting on the lead piece is blocked by the shielding plate 52, the sensor device 51 does not operate in the off state of the reed switch.

When the locking lever 21 is pushed down, the shielding plate 52 descends together with the locking lever 21 and moves to a position where the sensor device 51 operates and a detection signal is output. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the locking lever 21 is pushed down, the shielding plate 52 is located at the lower part of the gap S. In this case, since the magnetic force of the permanent magnet is not blocked by the shielding plate 52, the magnetic force acts on the lead piece, the reed switch is turned on, and the sensor device 51 operates. Then, the detection signal of the sensor device 51 is output to the control unit 54.

Instead of the magnetic sensor, it is also possible to use an optical sensor composed of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. Even when an optical sensor is used, the sensor device can be turned on / off by using the shielding plate as a trigger member. For example, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit may be arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined gap between them, and a shielding plate may be provided so as to move in the gap in conjunction with the locking lever.

As the shielding plate 52, a metal plate that shields the magnetic force of the permanent magnet is used. The shielding plate 52 is arranged with a gap between them so as not to come into contact with the first sensor unit 51A, the second sensor unit 51B, the back surface 12b of the door 12, and the like. The shielding plate 52 is formed in an L shape, and has a shielding portion 52a arranged substantially perpendicular to the back surface 12b of the door 12 in the gap S and a fixing portion 52b formed substantially perpendicular to the shielding portion 52a. Has.

The shielding plate 52 may be directly fixed to the locking lever 21, but in order to prevent interference between the component of the stamping means 40 such as the locking lever 21, the base plate 26, or the elevating plate 43, and the sensor device 51. It is connected to the locking lever 21 via the connecting plate 57. The connecting plate 57 is arranged substantially parallel to the back surface 12b of the door 12. The locking lever 21 is fixed to the lateral end of the connecting plate 57, and the shielding plate 52 is fixed to the lateral end of the connecting plate 57. In the shielding plate 52, the fixing portion 52b is screwed to one end in the lateral direction of the connecting plate 57 so that the shielding portion 52a is substantially perpendicular to the back surface 12b of the door 12.

The upper end of the connecting plate 57 is inclined so that the length in the vertical direction becomes longer as the locking lever 21 approaches the other end in the lateral direction to which the locking lever 21 is screwed. The locking lever 21 is fixed above the connecting plate 57 with respect to the shielding plate 52. Further, the locking lever 21 is screwed to the base plate 26 with the other end in the lateral direction of the connecting plate 57 sandwiched between the locking lever 21 and the base plate 26. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in order to improve the stability of the connecting plate 57, the lower portion of the lateral end of the connecting plate 57 may be screwed to the base plate 26. Further, the connecting plate 57 may have a through hole in order to reduce the weight and the material cost.

According to the delivery box 10 having the above configuration, the presence or absence of receipt can be easily and accurately detected from the locked state of the door 12 regardless of the weight and storage location of the luggage 200, and the information can be transmitted to the external device 100 such as a smartphone. Can be sent. The locked state of the door 12 can be easily set by using the sensor device 51 having the first sensor element 56A and the second sensor element 56B arranged to face each other with the gap S separated from each other, and the shielding plate 52 interlocked with the locking lever 21. It can be detected accurately. Further, by applying the magnetic sensor to the sensor device 51, the operation power supply becomes unnecessary and the power consumption can be suppressed.

10 Delivery box, 11 Pick-up room, 12 doors, 12a front side, 12b back side, 13 box body, 14 open door button, 15 outlet, 16 stamp button, 17 key part, 18 indicator, 19 panel part, 20 locking means, 21 Locking lever, 22 Latch, 23 Latch receiving part, 24 Rotating bar, 25 Support member, 26 Base plate, 27 Locking hook, 28 Locking pin, 29, 45 Spring, 30 Barrier part, 31 Lever, 32 Door opening button interlocking Lever, 33 coil spring, 34 cover, 35 opening, 40 stamping means, 41 stamp holder, 42 stamping button interlocking lever, 43 elevating plate, 44 stamp, 46 guide member, 47 lock part, 48 unlock member, 50 load receiving detection means, 51 Sensor device, 51A 1st sensor unit, 51B 2nd sensor unit, 52 Shielding plate, 52a Shielding unit, 52b Fixed unit, 53 Communication unit, 54 Control unit, 55 Battery, 56A, 56B Sensor element, 57 Connecting plate, 100 External device, 101 home router, 102 wide area communication network, 103 management server, 200 luggage

Claims (2)

A receiving room for storing luggage and
A door that opens and closes the consignment chamber,
A locking means having a locking lever and locking the door by operating the locking lever.
It is a delivery box equipped with
A resin panel portion is provided on the surface of the door, and the door is made of a metal member except for the panel portion.
On the back side of the door
With the sensor device
A trigger member that is interlocked with the locking lever and that moves to a position where the sensor device operates and a detection signal is output when the locking lever is operated.
A communication unit that transmits predetermined information based on the detection signal to an external device,
Is provided ,
The communication unit is a delivery box provided on the back surface of the panel unit . The sensor device has a first sensor unit and a second sensor unit which are arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined gap between them.
The delivery box according to claim 1, wherein the trigger member is a shielding plate that moves to a position where the detection signal is output in the gap when the lock lever is operated.

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