WO2006034884A1

WO2006034884A1 - Storage device with access recognition

Info

Publication number: WO2006034884A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/053072
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wolfram Klein; Steffen Allert
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2004-09-30
Filing date: 2005-06-29
Publication date: 2006-04-06

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage device (1), in particular for the buffer storage of mail, with a storage rack (11), comprising several storage pigeon holes (6), arranged in a row either vertically or horizontally, with access openings (7) running in the same direction, a light barrier (8), running along the row of pigeon holes (6), the light beam of which extends over the access openings (7) of the pigeon holes (6) and a data processing device (10), coupled to the light barrier (8) to record to the position in which the light beam is interrupted along the light barrier (8) on access to one of the pigeon holes (6) and to determine the pigeon hole (6) concerned for the access based thereon.

Description

BeschreibTang

Storage device with access detection

The invention relates to a storage device having a plurality of storage compartments, in particular for temporarily storing mail items, and a method for determining an allocation state of the storage apparatus.

Such a storage device is known for example from the published patent US 2001/0034665 Al. The basic principle of such storage devices for mail items is the reduction of the costs of parcel delivery in the last few kilometers ("last mile"), ie the individual delivery of the mail items from the last collection point to the final container in which a plurality of storage compartments are arranged to be closable by a door A customer receives after his identification by means of a magnetic card or entry of an access code

Access to his assigned storage compartments. He can then deposit mailpieces to be sent by him into the storage compartments or pick up postal consignments deposited by him in a postal delivery service in the storage compartments. Especially for the delivery service, this eliminates a large part of the costly postal delivery at the recipient's home. To coordinate and monitor the mailpieces, the storage devices are often networked with a central computer.

For the technical operation of the storage devices, for the delivery logistics of the mailpieces and for informing the customer and the delivery service, the error-free monitoring of the accesses and of the loading and unloading processes of the storage device is of great importance. The basis of such monitoring, however, is an error-free detection of whether and in which of the storage compartments access is made and whether, in fact, a mail item is deposited in or disposed of in one of the storage compartments this is taken. Frequently, the access and / or the loading and unloading processes have to be acknowledged manually by the customer and the delivery service, which, however, is not only time-consuming, but also highly error-prone in the case of a large number of storage compartments.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a bearing device, can be monitored automatically and reliably with which hits in the Lagerfäclier, and a corresponding method for determining an occupancy ^~ szu- stands to provide the bearing apparatus.

This object is achieved by the bearing device according to the independent claim 1 and the independent claim 2 and the method according to the independent claim 5 and the inde pendent claim 6.

A storage device according to independent claim 1 consists of at least one storage rack which consists of several storage compartments arranged one above the other in a row or arranged in a row next to one another. An access to one of the storage compartments is registered by interruption of a beam opening of a photocell spanning the storage compartments. The light barriers each consist of a transmitter part and a receiver part, which are arranged on opposite sides of the storage compartments. The light barriers are thus to be provided on the mounting device in such a way that their beam paths horizontally span the access openings of stacked storage compartments horizontally and the access openings of storage compartments arranged side by side vertically. For determining the storage compartment to be accessed, the storage facility comprises a data processing device coupled to the light barrier, which determines the position of the interruption of the beam path along the light barrier relative to a reference point. The vertical and horizontal positio ^¬ NEN of the shelves with respect to the reference point are in the Data processing device stored. The Identifika¬ tion and the assignment of access in one of the storage compartments takes place by comparing the determined position of Zugrif¬ fes with the stored in the data processing device positions of the storage compartments. The arrangement of a light barrier spanning the access openings of the storage compartments permits a reliable and simple determination of the storage compartment which is accessed. The use of the storage device is thereby uncomplicated to the operator and less time-consuming.

The storage device according to the independent claim 2 differs from the storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that the storage compartments of the storage racks are arranged one above the other and next to each other. In order to be able to determine the storage compartment exactly, the storage device has a second light barrier, which covers the access openings of the storage compartments at a different angle than the first photocell. Here, too, a data processing device determines the storage compartment which is accessed by determining the positions of the interruptions along the light barriers relative to a reference point. This results in the advantages mentioned with respect to claim 1.

In an embodiment of the storage device according to claim 3, the storage device comprises a central weighing device which measures the total weight of the at least one storage case. The data processing device coupled to the weighing device determines the total weight of the storage rack measured by the central weighing device before and after detection of an access. The data processing device calculates individually for each storage compartment a loading weight, which results from the sum of the differences in the total weight after and before the entry of each access assigned to the respective storage compartment. As a result, the weight of the postal items contained therein is always known for each storage compartment. According to claim 4, the storage device can be designed in such a way that the data processing device exactly determines the occupying state of each storage compartment on the basis of the calculated loading weight. At a loading weight not equal to zero, the data processing device assumes that the storage compartment is occupied and changes the occupancy state of the respective storage compartment to an occupied state. Otherwise, ie at a loading weight equal to zero, the data processing device recognizes that the respective storage compartment is unoccupied and therefore changes the occupancy status to unoccupied. By calculating the loading weight of the occupancy state of each storage compartment can be individually determined individually even with Mehr¬ occupancy and irregular loading and unloading of the storage compartment. The user of the storage device receives thereby an exact information about the aktuel¬ le occupancy of the storage compartment.

The method for determining an occupancy state of a storage device according to claim 5 relates to a

Storage device having the features of claim 1. According to this method, the total weight of the storage rack is first detected by the data processing device before each access. After detecting access to one of the storage compartments by interrupting the beam path of the light barrier, the respective position of the interruption with respect to a reference point is detected by the data processing device. By comparing the position of the access or the interruption of the beam path with vertical or horizontal positions of each storage compartment with respect to the same reference point stored in the data processing device, the storage compartment is determined which is accessed. Once the access has been recorded, the total weight of the storage rack is recorded again. On the basis of the total weight stored in the data processing device before and after access, an occupancy state of the storage compartment to which access was made is then changed. By means of these methods, on the one hand the storage compartment to which access is being made can be determined exactly, and its loading condition can be adjusted individually and reliably on the basis of the change in the loading weight before and after the access.

The method according to claim 6 relates to a Lager¬ device according to claim 2. With respect to the Verfahrensschrit¬ te and the advantages, reference is made analogously to the statements with respect to claim 5.

In one embodiment of the method according to claim 7, the differences of the total weight of all storage compartments are summed up before and after the access assigned to the respective storage compartment prior to the change in the loading state and thus forms a loading weight for each storage compartment. The occupancy state of each storage compartment is then changed to an occupied state when the sum (i.e., the load weight) is not equal to zero. Otherwise, i. at a loading weight equal to zero, the loading state is changed to an unoccupied state. This refinement of the method allows exact occupancy status detection even with multiple occupancy of the storage compartments. This results in the advantages mentioned with respect to claim 4.

Exemplary embodiments of the storage device according to the invention and the method according to the invention for determining the occupancy state of a storage device will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an exemplary embodiment of the bearing device,

FIG. 2 shows an inside view of the embodiment of the bearing device illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a first exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention for determining the condition of loading of a storage device, and

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a second exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention for determining the condition of loading of a storage device.

1 shows a front view of an embodiment of the bearing device 1 according to the invention. The bearing device 1 comprises a box-shaped housing 2, the interior of which is made accessible via a rectangular opening. The rectangular opening can be closed by means of a laterally displaceable door 3 (represented by arrows in FIG. 1). To identify a user and to enter data, a card reader 4 with a keyboard is provided on the front side. For the information of the user, a display device 5 is also attached to the front side of the housing 2. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of storage compartments 6 in the form of a storage rack 11 are provided one above the other and next to one another so that the storage compartments 6 are accessible to the user when the door 3 is open via access openings 7 of the storage compartments 6 in the storage compartments 6, for example, to deposit or pick up mail items. The access openings 7 of the storage compartments 6 of the storage rack 11 point in the same direction. The size of the storage rack 11 is adapted so that the user can easily access the storage compartments 6 via the access openings 7 when the door 3 is open. In order to gain access to the storage compartments, the user (including either a customer or a delivery service) must insert an identification card into the card reader 4 and enter an identification code via the keyboard.

Fig. 2 shows the bearing device 1 shown in Fig. 1, but with the front wall removed, so that the arranged within the bearing device 1 functional elements recognizable are. Above and below or laterally right and left of the shelf-like storage compartments 6 transmitter and receiver of light barriers 8 are arranged so that the access openings of the storage compartments 6 in full width vertically and in full height horizontally from the beam paths of the

Photoelectric sensors 8 are spanned. The purpose of the light barriers 8 is to detect access to one of the storage compartments 6. Access to one of the storage compartments 6 is detected as soon as at least one of the light barriers 8 is interrupted at any point. An access is deemed to have ended when both light barriers 8 are no longer interrupted at any point.

The storage compartments 6 are mounted on the bottom of the housing 2 of the storage device 1 via a central weighing device 9. In the same way, it would be possible to hang the storage compartments 6 on the ceiling of the housing 2 via a weighing device 9. The Wie¬ geeinrichtung 9 permanently measures the total weight of all La¬ gerfächer 6 of the storage device 1, so that the information about the weight of all storage compartments 6 is constantly available.

The storage device 1 further comprises a data processing device 10, which essentially consists of a computing unit and a storage unit. The data processing device 10 is coupled to the receiver parts of the light barriers 8 as well as to the weighing device 9 so that a data transfer to the data processing device 10 is possible. In addition, the data processing device 10 is also electrically coupled to the card reader 4 and the display device, so that a data exchange can also take place here.

The horizontal and vertical position (represented by the coordinates x and y in FIG. 2), ie the vertical and horizontal boundaries of each storage compartment with respect to a given reference point BP on the storage device 1 (in FIG 2, by way of example, the lower left corner of the storage rack 11) are stored in the data processing device 10. Furthermore, an occupancy state BZ and a loading weight G are assigned to the storage compartment 6 in the data processing device 10. The data processing device 10 is designed such that it can detect the vertical and horizontal position of the access relative to the predetermined reference point BP when interrupting the Licht¬ barriers 8, ie when accessing a storage compartment 6. By comparing the determined position of the interruption or the

Access to the stored in the data processing device 10 positions or limits of the storage compartments 6 be¬ agrees the data processing device 10, which of the La¬ gerfächer 6 access applies. Furthermore, the data processing device 10 asks the total weight of the storage compartments 6 measured by the weighing device 9 before and after each access, i. H. before and after each interruption of the photoelectric sensors 8, and stores this data. Based on these data, such as the knowledge of which storage compartment 6 is accessed, and the weight before and after the access, the data processing device 10 changes both the occupancy status BZ and the loading weight G of the individual storage compartments 6.

In the following, an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention for determining the state of loading of the storage compartments 6 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. After the identification of the user, for example a customer who wants to deposit a mail item to be sent for picking up by the Zu¬ parking service in one of the storage compartments 6, the door 3 opens and the user can access the storage compartments 6. Even before access to one of the storage compartments 6, for example when opening the door 3, the data processing device 10 queries the total weight of the storage compartments 6 from the weighing device 9 and stores the corresponding value as a weight G in _{front of} the storage device 1 in front of one Access. As soon as the customer reaches into one of the storage compartments 6, the beam paths of the horizontal and vertical light barriers 8 interrupted at the point of access, and the access is detected. The horizontal (coordinate x) and vertical (coordinate y) position of the interruption of the light barriers 8 with respect to a predetermined reference point BP at the storage device 1 is calculated by the data processing device 10 and stored in the data processing device 10 Positions of the storage compartments 6 with respect to the reference point BP compared. Based on this comparison, the computing device 10 determines which bin 6 is being accessed. As soon as the user pulls his hands back out of the storage compartment 6, ie as soon as the beam paths of the light barriers 8 are no longer interrupted, the access is deemed to have ended and the data processing device 10 in turn queries the total weight of the storage compartments 6 measured by the weighing device 9 and stores the corresponding value as Gesamt¬ weight G _gradually decreases after the access. The data processing device 10 now determines the difference ΔG of the total weight of the storage compartments 6 after and before access. As already mentioned above, a loading weight G is stored in the data processing device 10 for each storage compartment 6. After each access to a storage compartment 6, the loading weight G of the storage compartment 6, to which the access has been assigned, is recalculated. The new loading weight G (new) of the storage bin concerned is calculated by the

Difference .DELTA.G of the total weight G _after storage compartments 6 after the access and the total weight G _VOr before the access to an old loading weight G (old) of the affected storage compartment 6 is added before the access. The old loading weight G (old) of the storage compartment 6 is then discarded and replaced in the memory of the data processing device 10 by the new loading weight G (new). In a further step, the data processing device 10 checks whether the new loading weight G (new) of the storage compartment is equal to zero. As mentioned above, in the data processing device 10, each storage bin 6 is assigned an occupying state BZ. For a positive test of the new load weight G (new) to zero, the data processing device 10 sets the reference state BZ of the storage compartment 6, in which it was accessed, to an unoccupied state. If it should turn out that the new loading weight G (new) is not equal to zero, the data processing device 10 sets the occupancy status BZ of the storage compartment 6 concerned to occupied.

In a further embodiment, the data processing device 10 can calculate the price B for the delivery of the mail item based on the difference of the total weight .DELTA.G after and before the access and output it via the display. The customer then has the option of paying directly to the storage facility 1 the required price B, either in cash or by credit card. It should be noted that prior to each startup of the storage device 1, the data stored in the data processing device 10 are initialized with zero.

The method just described offers the advantage that the occupancy state BZ of each storage compartment 6 is also determined cor¬ rectly when the customer or the delivery service arbitrarily deposits or removes individual or multiple mail items in the individual storage compartments 6. Thus, both the customer and the delivery service is always correctly informed about which storage bins 6 are occupied and which are still free. By calculating the difference between the total weight .DELTA.G of the storage compartments 6 after and before accessing a particular storage compartment 6, it is possible to judge without error whether a postal item was actually taken from a registered access or deposited in the storage compartment 6.

When the storage device 1 is connected to an electronic information network, for example, the customer can check on-line at his home computer whether a postal item has been deposited in one of his storage compartments 6 or whether a consignment has been picked up by the delivery service. The same possibility can be available to the delivery service. As a result, both for the customer and for the customer, a reliable control of the movements of the mail items on the storage device 1.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention for determining the loading condition of the storage compartments 6 in the storage device 1 shown in FIG. 4, the steps for detecting the total weight of the storage compartments 6 after access are identical to those described with reference to FIG Method. In contrast, the total weight G _after the storage compartments 6 is compared after the access with the total weight G _before the storage compartments 6 before the access and at an ascertained increase in the total weight of the occupancy state BZ of the storage compartment 6, on which accessed wuztrde, occupied changed, whereas in a determined decrease in the weight of Belegungs¬ state BZ of the storage compartment 6 concerned is changed to unoccupied. This embodiment of the method is particularly suitable for storage devices 1, in which only a single item of mail may be deposited per storage compartment 6 o- can. This would be the case, for example, if exclusively package formats which are exactly adapted to the size of the storage compartments 6 may be used for depositing mailpieces. In this case, it is not necessary to determine a loading weight of the individual compartments to determine the exact occupancy state. A comparison of the total weight of the storage compartments 6 before and after the respective access is sufficient to reliably determine the occupancy state of the storage compartments 6.

It should be noted that the storage rack 11 does not necessarily have to consist of superimposed and juxtaposed storage compartments 6. It is equally possible that the storage rack consists of several in a row only one above the other or in a row only juxtaposed Lagerfe- ehern 6. In the case that the individual storage compartments 6 are arranged in a row, it is sufficient for determining the position of an access: s in one of the storage compartments 6, to provide only a light barrier 8, which extends along the row of storage compartments and their beam path completely spans the access openings 7 of the storage compartments 6.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 storage device

2 housing 3 door

4 card reader

5 display device

6 storage compartment

7 access opening 8 photocell

9 weighing device

10 data processing device

11 storage rack

G _before total weight of all storage compartments before access

G _by total weight of all storage compartments after access

BP reference point

ΔG Total weight difference before and before access

G Loading weight of storage compartment BZ Occupancy status of storage compartment

B Shipping costs of the mailing

Claims

claims

1. storage device (1), in particular for the temporary storage of mail items, with - a storage rack (11), which consists of several in one:

Row only one above the other or in a row only nebenein¬ other arranged storage compartments (6) pointing in the same direction access openings (7),

- A light barrier (8) extending along the row of storage compartments (6) and the beam path spans the access openings (7) of the storage compartments (6), and

- One with the light barrier (8) coupled Datenver¬ processing device (10) to the access position in one of the storage compartments (6) to detect the position of the interruption of the beam path along the light barrier (8) and based on the storage compartment (6) determine to which the access applies.

Second storage device (1), in particular for the temporary storage of mail items, with

- A storage rack (11), which consists of several übereinan¬ and juxtaposed storage compartments (6) pointing in the same direction access openings (7) 3oe-,

two light barriers (8) whose beam paths span the access openings (7) of the storage compartments (6) in different directions, and

a data processing device (10) coupled to the light barriers (8) in order to detect the positions of the interruptions of the beam paths along the light barriers (8) when accessing one of the storage compartments (6) and based thereon the storage compartment (6 ) to determine which access applies.

3. Storage device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the bearing device (1) a central weighing device (9), which is coupled to the data processing device (10), auf¬ has to mes¬ sen the total weight of the storage rack (11), wherein the data processing device (10) is designed such that it from the total weight measured before and after the detection of access is determined for the central weighing device (9) and a loading weight (G) calculated for each storage compartment (6), which is the sum of the differences in the total weight after and before detection of each access the respective storage compartment (6) applies.

4. Storage device (1) according to claim 3, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that the data processing device (10) at a loading weight (G) not equal to zero Bele¬ a condition (BZ) of the respective storage compartment (6) on ei¬ NEN occupied occupancy state and otherwise changes to a blank occupancy state.

5. A method for determining an occupancy state of a storage device (1), in particular for the temporary storage of mail items, comprising at least one storage rack (11) which consists of several in a row only one above the other o- in a row only adjacent storage compartments (6) with access openings (7) pointing in the same direction, and a central weighing device (9) in order to measure the total weight of the storage rack (11), the method comprising the steps of: - detecting the weighing device (9) measured total weight (G _before ) of the storage rack (11) prior to detection of access to one of the storage compartments (6) by a data processing device (10) of the storage device coupled to the weighing device (9)

(D) detecting access to one of the storage compartments (6) by means of a light barrier (8) coupled to the data processing device (10) and extending along the travel path. the storage compartments (6) arranged only one above the other or only adjacent to one another and whose beam path spans the access openings (7) of the storage compartments (6); - detecting the position of the interruption of the beam path along the light barrier (8);

- Determining the storage compartment (6), to which the access applies, by the data processing device (10), in¬ the position of the interruption of the beam path along the light barrier (8) vergli¬ with predetermined, the ein¬ individual storage compartments (6) associated positions becomes;

Detecting the total weight (G _after ) of the storage rack (11) after detecting the access by the data processing device (10),

- Changing an occupancy state (BZ) of the storage compartment (6), which has been accessed, based on the Än¬ change of the total weight before and after detecting the access by the data processing device (10).

6. A method for determining an occupancy state of a storage device (1), in particular for the interim storage of mail, with at least one storage rack (11), which consists of a plurality of superposed and juxtaposed storage compartments (6) facing in the same direction access openings (7) and a central weighing device (9) in order to measure the total weight of the storage rack (11), the method comprising the following steps: - detecting the total weight (G _VOr ) of the storage _rack (11) measured by the weighing device (9) ) before the detection of access to one of the storage compartments (6) by a data processing device (10) of the storage device (1) coupled to the weighing device (9), - detecting access to one of the storage compartments (6) by means of two the data processing device (10) coupled light barriers (8) whose beam paths the Span access openings (7) of the storage compartments (6) in different directions,;

Detecting the positions of the interruptions of the optical paths along the light barriers (8); - Determining the storage compartment (6), to which the access applies, by the data processing device (10), in¬ the positions of the interruptions of the beam paths along the respective light barrier (8) with predetermined, the individual storage compartments (6) associated positions is compared;

7. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 6, character- ized in that prior to changing the occupancy state for each storage compartment (6) the sum of the differences in the total weight after and before the detection of access, which the respective storage compartment (6) applies is ge forms, and the occupancy state, if the sum is not equal to zero, is changed to an occupied state and otherwise to an unoccupied state.