Method and System for Processing Delivery of Goods during Absence of Recipient

Abstract

The present invention discloses a system and method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient. The method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps: the delivery item handling system determines whether the customer terminal makes a request to unload the delivery robot that has arrived at the delivery location; and based on the determination result, the delivery item handling system causes the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the delivery location. The step of causing the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the delivery location includes the following steps: when the unloading request is made, the delivery item handling system causes the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the delivery location; and when the unloading request is not made, the delivery item handling system causes the delivery robot to wait at the delivery location, and if there is no communication with the customer terminal within a specified time during the waiting process, the delivery item handling system causes the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the delivery location.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient, and more particularly, to the following technical idea: in a delivery system using a delivery robot, when the recipient (customer) who needs to receive the delivered item is absent, with the consent of the customer, the delivered item can be placed at a specified location. Background Art

[0002] As it becomes more difficult to staff and manage personnel, labor costs increase, and the preference for non-face-to-face services grows, the demand for using delivery robots, unlike manual delivery, is gradually increasing.

[0003] However, unlike existing delivery personnel (humans), when arriving at the delivery location, if the customer (recipient) is absent, it is difficult for the delivery robot to respond quickly and flexibly. Moreover, during the waiting process for the customer, the quality of the delivered item may deteriorate depending on the type of the delivered item (e.g., food, etc.), and if the delivery robot waits at a delivery location for too long, it may affect other deliveries.

[0004] Also, even when it is not during the absence period, customers prefer to have the delivered item placed at a specified location such as in front of the door or in the corridor rather than directly receiving the delivered item.

[0005] In the case of existing direct manual delivery by delivery personnel, although such problems are less likely to occur, the delivery robot may have various problems during the process of selecting an appropriate location for placing the delivered item and placing it in a state to prevent damage to the delivered item.

[0006] Therefore, like existing delivery personnel, there is currently a need for a technology that enables a delivery robot to stably unload a delivered item at an accurate location during the absence of the recipient.

[0007] Prior Art Documents

[0008] Patent Documents

[0009] Patent Document 1: Korean Patent No. 10-20155994 (Loading Box for Preventing Temperature Drop of Asphalt Concrete). Summary of the Invention

[0010] Technical Problem

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide the following technical idea: enabling a delivery robot to stably unload a delivered item at an accurate location during the absence of the recipient.

[0012] Technical Solution

[0013] To achieve the above technical objectives, the method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient in the embodiments of the present invention may include the following steps: The item delivery handling system determines whether the customer terminal makes an unloading request for the delivery robot that has arrived at the delivery location; and based on the determination result, the item delivery handling system causes the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivered items at the delivery location. The step of causing the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivered items at the delivery location includes the following steps: When the unloading request is made, the item delivery handling system causes the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivered items at the delivery location; and when the unloading request is not made, the item delivery handling system causes the delivery robot to wait at the delivery location, and if there is no communication with the customer terminal within a specified time during the waiting process, the item delivery handling system causes the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivered items at the delivery location.

[0014] Furthermore, the method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient may further include the following steps: When the customer terminal designates an unloading location, the item delivery handling system determines the designated location as the unloading location; and when the customer terminal does not designate an unloading location, the item delivery handling system determines an arbitrary location within the delivery location as the unloading location.

[0015] Moreover, the step of the item delivery handling system determining the designated location as the unloading location may include: The item delivery handling system captures the delivery location within a specified range through at least one camera provided on the delivery robot; transmits the captured data to the customer terminal; the item delivery handling system receives the unloading location designated within the captured data from the customer terminal; and the item delivery handling system determines the matching location as the unloading location by matching the unloading location designated within the captured data with the location within the actual delivery location.

[0016] Furthermore, the method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient may further include the following steps: The item delivery handling system captures the delivery location including the unloaded delivered items through at least one camera provided on the delivery robot; and transmits the captured data to the customer terminal.

[0017] The method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient may be implemented by a computer program provided in a data processing device.

[0018] To achieve the above technical objectives, the delivery item handling system during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit that communicates with a customer terminal; a captured data acquisition unit that acquires captured data captured by at least one camera provided on a delivery robot; and a control unit that controls the functions of the above-mentioned delivery robot. The control unit performs the following steps: when the delivery robot arrives at the delivery location, confirm whether the customer terminal has submitted an unloading request; when the unloading request is submitted, control the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery item at the delivery location; when the unloading request is not submitted, cause the delivery robot to wait at the delivery location, and when there is no communication with the customer terminal within a specified time during the waiting process, control the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery item at the delivery location; and when the delivery item is unloaded, the captured data acquisition unit can receive the captured data of the delivery location including the unloaded delivery item and control the communication unit to transmit it to the customer terminal.

[0019] Moreover, the control unit can confirm from the customer terminal whether an unloading location is specified and control the delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery item to the specified unloading location or any location within the delivery location based on the confirmation result.

[0020] Furthermore, the delivery item handling system further includes: an image conversion unit that performs specified image processing on the captured data; and a position extraction unit that extracts the unloading location from a specified image. The delivery item handling system can receive an image specifying the unloading location from the customer terminal that receives the captured data of the delivery location, and control the delivery robot to unload the delivery item at the matching location by extracting the specified unloading location from the received image and matching it with the location within the actual delivery location.

[0021] Effects of the Invention

[0022] The present invention has the following effects. That is, according to an embodiment of the present invention, during the delivery process using a delivery robot, the delivery item can be stably unloaded during the absence of the recipient. Thus, not only the waiting time of the delivery robot is reduced to make the delivery plan smooth, but also when the recipient is absent, the delivery robot can return without unloading directly to avoid dissatisfaction of the recipient due to not receiving the pre-paid delivery item. Therefore, a delivery service with high satisfaction can be provided. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] Hereinafter, a brief description of each drawing is provided in order to fully understand the drawings cited in the detailed description of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 1To briefly show the structural diagram of the system for implementing the method for handling the delivery of items during the recipient's absence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 To briefly show the flowchart of the method for handling the delivery of items during the recipient's absence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 A diagram for explaining the method for handling the delivery of items during the recipient's absence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4 A diagram for explaining the designated unloading location of the method for handling the delivery of items during the recipient's absence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 And Figure 6 A diagram for explaining the unloading system of the delivery robot of the method for handling the delivery of items during the recipient's absence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 7 And Figure 8 A diagram for explaining the unloading system of the delivery robot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 9 To briefly show the structural diagram of the system for handling the delivery of items during the recipient's absence according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0031] The present invention can be subjected to various transformations and has various embodiments. Therefore, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in this specification. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific implementation manner, and it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalent technical solutions, and alternative technical solutions within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. During the description of the present invention, when it is determined that the specific description of related well-known technologies may confuse the main idea of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0032] Although terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various structural elements, the above structural elements are not limited to the above terms. The above terms are only used to distinguish one structural element from other structural elements.

[0033] In this application, the terms used are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Unless clearly indicated otherwise in the context, the singular expression includes the plural expression.

[0034] It should be understood that terms such as "including" or "having" in this specification are only used to specify the existence of the features, numbers, steps, operations, structural elements, components or combinations thereof recorded in this specification, and do not preclude the existence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, structural elements, components or combinations thereof in advance.

[0035] Moreover, in this specification, when it is stated that a certain structural element "transmits" data to another structural element, in addition to the above-mentioned structural element directly transmitting the above-mentioned data to the above-mentioned other structural element, it may also mean transmitting the above-mentioned data to the above-mentioned other structural element through at least one other structural element. On the contrary, when it is stated that a certain structural element "directly transmits" data to another structural element, it may mean that the above-mentioned data is transmitted from the above-mentioned certain structural element to the above-mentioned other structural element without passing through the above-mentioned other structural element.

[0036] Figure 1 To briefly show the structural diagram of the system for implementing the method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 To briefly show the flowchart of the method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 It is a diagram for explaining the method for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] First, refer to Figure 1 , the system 100 for handling the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the delivery item handling system) communicates with the customer terminal 300 and can control the operations and functions of the delivery robot 200.

[0038] According to an embodiment, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 is provided in the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 and can be implemented by a control system for controlling the operations of the above-mentioned delivery robot 200.

[0039] According to an example, instead of the above-mentioned delivery robot 200, it can also be implemented by a specified management system that manages the operating system of the above-mentioned delivery robot 200. In this case, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can be implemented by a specified server, and can communicate with the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 and / or the above-mentioned customer terminal 300 through a network and send and receive specified data to implement the technical idea of the present invention. According to another example, a part of the structure of the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 is provided in the specified server, and the remaining part of the structure can also be dispersedly provided in the above-mentioned delivery robot 200. That is, in the drawings, although the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 is shown as a single physical structure instead of the above-mentioned delivery robot, according to an example, the structure of the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can also be organically combined with multiple physical devices through a wired network or a wireless network to implement the technical idea of the present invention.

[0040] Hereinafter, in this specification, although the above-described delivery item handling system 100 is provided in the above-described delivery robot 200 and implemented by a prescribed control system that controls the related operations of the above-described delivery robot 200, the scope of the invention claimed in the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0041] The above-described delivery item handling system 100 can confirm the unloading request of the customer (recipient) through an unloading request signal input by a prescribed GUI (Graphical User Interface) menu provided in the customer terminal 300, order information transmitted from the above-described customer terminal 300, and / or voice information during a call for a delivery request (ordering), etc. Hereinafter, in this specification, the unloading request may mean an unloading request for unloading the delivery item at the delivery location, rather than the recipient directly receiving the delivery item from the delivery robot 200. For example, the above-described unloading request can be a request such as "Please place the delivery item in front of the door and contact." In the case where the recipient is not present within the scheduled arrival time when the delivery robot arrives at the delivery location, or when the recipient does not wish to directly face the delivery staff and the delivery robot 200 but wishes to receive it non-face-to-face, the recipient can directly request the above-described unloading request.

[0042] According to an example, even without an additional unloading request from the recipient, after the delivery robot 200 arrives at the delivery location, if the recipient does not receive the delivery item within a prescribed time or cannot be contacted, the above-described delivery item handling system 100 can cause the above-described delivery robot 200 to automatically unload the loaded delivery item. In this case, the above-described delivery item handling system 100 can determine that the current is during the recipient-absent period based on specific conditions and unload the delivery item at the same delivery location as the one receiving the unloading request. For example, the above-described specific conditions can be a situation where, after the above-described delivery robot 200 arrives at the delivery location, a prescribed time has passed in a state where the recipient cannot be contacted.

[0043] On the other hand, for ease of explanation, in this specification, although the above-described delivery item is food, the present invention is not limited thereto, and those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can easily deduce that all items that can be delivered by the delivery robot 200, such as small parcels, can be applied to the technical idea of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 2 To briefly show the flowchart of the method for handling delivery items during the recipient-absent period of the embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 A diagram for explaining the method for handling delivery items during the recipient-absent period of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3, the delivery item handling system 100 can determine whether the delivery robot 200 has reached the delivery location (step S110) and determine whether the recipient's client terminal 300 has made an unloading request (step S120).

[0046] If the recipient makes an unloading request, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can determine whether there is an unloading location designated by the recipient (step S130).

[0047] At this time, in the case of a designated unloading location, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can cause the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 to unload the delivery items at the designated unloading location (step S140).

[0048] In the case where no unloading location is designated, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can cause the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 to unload the delivery items at any location at the above-mentioned delivery location (step S170).

[0049] In step S120 above, if there is no unloading request from the recipient, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can cause the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 to wait at the delivery location for a specified time (step S150). If the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 waits for the specified time (step S160), the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 determines that it is currently during the period when the recipient is absent, and can cause the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 to unload the delivery items at any location at the above-mentioned delivery location (step S170).

[0050] In any case, if the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 unloads the delivery items at the delivery location, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can take pictures of the delivery items unloaded by the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 at the delivery location (step S180). Moreover, it can transmit the pictures (or videos) of the photographed delivery items to the client terminal 300 (step S190). Hereinafter, the pictures or videos taken by the delivery robot 200 are referred to as photographed data. The photographed data of the above-mentioned delivery items can be directly transmitted to the above-mentioned client terminal 300 through the above-mentioned delivery robot 200, or can be transmitted to the above-mentioned client terminal 300 through the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100.

[0051] Thus, the recipient can confirm the transmitted photographed data through his own client terminal 300.

[0052] According to the example, the above-mentioned delivery item handling system 100 can provide the photographed data to the above-mentioned client terminal 300 by changing the photographed data taken by the camera provided on the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 at multiple perspective levels such as a top view angle and a bird's-eye view angle through a specified image or video processing / synthesis process. In this case, the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 can be provided with multiple cameras capable of taking pictures in different directions.

[0053] As described above, in the case of shooting by the delivery robot 200, compared with the existing method of shooting by the delivery staff using a personal mobile phone, it may have advantages in terms of safety. Even from the perspective of the customer, considering that the delivery staff's shooting of the personal residence may give rise to the idea that a stranger holds photos of the surroundings of their own home, it may have the effect of providing a sense of security.

[0054] Moreover, according to an example, the above-mentioned customer terminal 300 can provide the recipient with information related to the delivery status of the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 and / or status information related to the delivered item.

[0055] For example, the information related to the delivery status may include time information such as the time when the delivery robot 200 arrives at the delivery location, the waiting time after arrival, the time for unloading the delivered item after waiting, or the final return time of the delivery robot 200, and / or the shooting data of the delivery robot 200 arriving at the delivery location and shooting the delivery location.

[0056] The above-mentioned status information related to the delivered item includes status information such as the temperature of the delivered item at the time when the delivered item is unloaded from the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 (for example, the temperature of food in the case where the delivered item is food) or the packaging status, and can be provided to the recipient.

[0057] According to the technical idea of the present invention, in such a delivery service using the delivery robot 200, when the recipient is absent or non-face-to-face reception is expected, more information can be provided to the recipient compared with the existing service provided by the delivery staff.

[0058] On the other hand, according to the technical idea of the present invention, a more convenient service can be provided to the recipient by designating the location where the delivered item is unloaded at the delivery location as the location expected by the recipient. Regarding this, the following will be described with reference to Figure 4 For illustration.

[0059] Figure 4 FIG. for designating the unloading location of the method for handling the delivered item during the absence of the recipient for illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] Referring to Figure 4 the delivery item handling system 100 of the embodiment of the present invention can enable the recipient (customer) to directly designate the unloading location of the delivered item.

[0061] According to an embodiment, after the delivery robot 200 arrives at the delivery location and before unloading the delivered item, it can transmit the shooting data of the delivery location to the above-mentioned customer terminal 300. Thus, as shown in the figure, the recipient can directly select and designate the unloading location from the received shooting data through their own customer terminal 300.

[0062] In the case of transmitting an image to the customer terminal 300, that is, when the shooting data is an image, the transmitted image can be a real-time image captured by the delivery robot 200. In this case, the recipient can confirm in real time whether the delivery robot 200 has reached the delivery location, the moving path, the unloading status, etc.

[0063] In this way, the shooting data captured by the delivery robot 200 can be provided from multiple perspectives through the above-mentioned specified processing procedures. For example, the shooting data provided to the recipient through the customer terminal 300 can be provided from the perspective of one camera installed on the delivery robot 200, or the shooting data captured by multiple cameras installed on the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 that can shoot in different directions can be changed to multiple perspectives such as a top view and a bird's-eye view through specified image or video processing / synthesis and other processes.

[0064] In this case, the unloading position designated by the recipient on the customer terminal 300 can be displayed on a two-dimensional image. In the case of an ordinary two-dimensional image, the two-dimensional to three-dimensional conversion parameters based on the delivery robot camera are stored in memory, so a more accurate unloading position can be extracted from the two-dimensional image. In this specification, the above-mentioned synthesis, processing methods for changing the viewpoint of shooting data, or the technology for providing three-dimensional positions from two-dimensional images are known technologies, so detailed descriptions will be omitted.

[0065] In the case where the recipient designates an unloading position, unless the recipient designates a new unloading position again before unloading is completed, the pre-designated position at the same delivery location can be stored as the basic unloading position later.

[0066] In the case where the recipient does not designate an unloading position, the delivery robot 200 can set any position at the delivery location as the unloading position. The above-mentioned any position can be designated within a specified range that does not deviate from the delivery location.

[0067] In this case, the above-mentioned delivery item processing system 100 can extract an easily unloadable position from the shooting data of the delivery location captured by the above-mentioned delivery robot 200 and designate the extracted position as the unloading position.

[0068] Or, in the case where the recipient does not designate an unloading position, a preset basic position (for example, based on the direction in which the door is opened by the doorknob, the left / right / front of the door, etc.) can also be designated as the unloading position based on specified conditions to unload the delivery items.

[0069] On the other hand, different from the existing method through delivery personnel, when the delivery robot 200 automatically unloads delivery items, the safe unloading of delivery items is particularly important. Hereinafter, there will be Figures 5 to 8 an explanation of the technical idea for it.

[0070] Figure 5and Figure 6 FIG. is a diagram of an unloading system of a delivery robot for a method of handling delivery items during the absence of the recipient for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] Refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 , in the delivery item handling system 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined lifting device may be built in the delivery robot 200.

[0072] The delivery robot 200 may apply various methods for unloading delivery items. According to an example, as Figure 3 shown, in the delivery robot 200, a conveyor belt may be provided inside the loading box for unloading delivery items. In this case, in order to minimize the impact during unloading, the conveyor belt is moved and maintained at a predetermined horizontal distance / height from the ground, and then the delivery items may be transported to the ground through the conveyor belt.

[0073] However, in this case, there is still a risk of impact caused by the delivery items transferred through the conveyor belt contacting the ground.

[0074] However, in this case, even if there is no packaging of the delivery items in the following predetermined shape or an additional device for gripping the delivery items, automatic unloading can be performed without considering the shape or packaging material of the delivery items such as ordinary-shaped packaging (e.g., plastic bags, paper bags, packaging boxes, plastic packaging materials, etc.) or small express deliveries (e.g., envelopes, mails, etc.).

[0075] On the contrary, when a lifting device capable of stably gripping the delivery items and placing them on the ground is provided, not only the impact during unloading is minimized, but also stable unloading can be performed through the above-mentioned lifting device. However, for this purpose, additional packaging of the delivery items or a lifting device for stable gripping / transportation needs to be used, so problems such as the need for double packaging of the delivery items or an increase in cost may occur.

[0076] As Figure 5 shown, in the case where a lifting device is provided, the packaging of the delivery items itself may be made in the shape of a tray, or a dedicated mechanism for transporting the tray may be provided on the lifting device.

[0077] Alternatively, in order to stably grip the delivery items, the packaging of the delivery items may be formed in a shape corresponding to the lifting device. For example, as Figure 6 shown, a groove is formed at a predetermined position of the packaging of the delivery items, and a gripping portion corresponding to the groove is formed on the lifting device, whereby the delivery items can be stably gripped to perform unloading.

[0078] In order to unload the delivery items from the delivery robot 200, although various methods as described above can be applied, each method has different advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, an appropriate unloading method can be selected according to the requirements to provide a delivery service using the delivery robot 200.

[0079] On the other hand, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a dedicated placement box for the delivery robot 200 can also be formed at the recipient's delivery location. In this case, as Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown.

[0080] Figure 7 and Figure 8 are diagrams for explaining the unloading system of the delivery robot according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0081] Referring to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , an additional dedicated placement box can be provided for placing the delivery items unloaded from the delivery robot 200.

[0082] Although this dedicated placement box has the cumbersome problem of needing to be separately formed at the delivery location, in the case where it is difficult to place due to a height difference, or in the case where the state change of delivery items such as food is concerned, the above dedicated placement box can be effectively utilized. Different from express delivery boxes or mailboxes, the above dedicated placement box can be applied to the unloading of the delivery robot 200.

[0083] Therefore, the above delivery item handling system 100 can determine whether a dedicated placement box is set at the delivery location. The setting status of the dedicated placement box can store the information that a dedicated placement box is set at the corresponding location when the dedicated placement box is initially set, or the setting status of the dedicated placement box can also be determined by the delivery robot 200 performing at least one delivery, thereby determining that a dedicated placement box is set at the corresponding delivery location.

[0084] In this way, at the delivery location where a dedicated placement box is set, when the recipient requests unloading, or when it is necessary to unload the delivery items during the absence of the recipient, unless a separate unloading location is specified, the above delivery robot 200 can be made to unload the delivery items to the above dedicated placement box.

[0085] The above dedicated placement box can have a height corresponding to the height of transferring the delivery items from the loading box of the delivery robot 200. For example, the entrance of the loading box of the delivery robot 200 and the entrance of the above dedicated placement box can be formed at the same or similar heights.

[0086] As described above, in the case where a dedicated placement box is set, the above dedicated placement box can include a temperature adjustment function for internal heat preservation, or the dedicated placement box can be made of a heat-insulating material with a heat preservation function.

[0087] According to one example, a power source can be connected to a dedicated storage box to drive temperature-regulating devices such as heaters and coolers provided inside the dedicated storage box. In this case, the dedicated storage box can receive information related to the delivered item (e.g., food) from the delivery robot and pre-regulate the temperature inside the dedicated storage box corresponding to the delivered item. For example, in the case of hot food, the temperature inside the dedicated storage box can be maintained above a specified temperature, and in the case of cold food, it can be maintained below the specified temperature. In this case, even if the time when the recipient is absent increases, the quality of the delivered item can be maintained within a specified time.

[0088] Alternatively, as Figure 8 shown, when the delivered item is placed in the dedicated storage box from the above-mentioned delivery robot 200, the air inside the loading box of the delivery robot 200 can also be supplied into the dedicated storage box to make the temperature regulation inside the dedicated storage box simpler. For example, the temperature inside the loading box of the delivery robot 200 that has loaded hot food inside a sealed loading box is higher than normal temperature. Therefore, during the process of placing the delivered item in the dedicated storage box, if high-temperature air can be supplied together, the temperature inside the dedicated storage box can be quickly increased.

[0089] After the customer (recipient) receives the placed delivered item, the dedicated storage box can reduce the variation range of the internal temperature by generating wind inside or, alternatively, can also perform functions such as eliminating the peculiar smell inside the dedicated storage box.

[0090] On the other hand, Figure 9 To briefly show the structural diagram of the delivered item processing system during the absence of the recipient according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0091] Referring to Figure 9 , the delivered item processing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a communication unit 110 for communicating with a customer terminal; a captured data acquisition unit 120 for receiving captured data captured by at least one camera provided on the delivery robot; and / or a control unit 130 for controlling the functions of the above-mentioned delivery robot 200. According to an example, the delivered item processing system 100 may further include: an image conversion unit 140 for performing specified image processing on the captured data; and / or a position extraction unit 150 for extracting an unloading position from a specified image.

[0092] First, the above control unit 130 is provided in the above delivery robot 200 and can execute functions for calculating and controlling other structures to implement the technical idea of the present invention. The above control unit 130 may include a processor, a storage device, and a program stored in the above storage device and run by the above processor. In this specification, those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can easily derive that the delivery robot and / or the control unit 130 execute a specified operation by running the above program through the above processor to perform a series of data processing and / or control.

[0093] The above communication unit 110 communicates with the above customer terminal 300 and can send and receive various information, signals, data, etc. required to implement the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the above communication unit 110 and the above customer terminal 300 can communicate through long-distance wireless communication methods such as 3G, LTE, LTE-A, Wi-Fi, WiGig, UWB (Ultra Wide Band) or short-distance wireless communication methods such as MST, Bluetooth, NFC, RFID, ZigBee, Z-Wave, IR to send and receive voice calls, text messages, push messages, etc. or send and receive specified images and / or videos, etc.

[0094] In another embodiment, the above communication unit 110 and the above customer terminal 300 may also communicate via a specified relay server. In this case, the above communication unit 110 and the above relay server and the above customer terminal 300 and the above relay server can communicate through the above wireless communication methods.

[0095] As described above, the above shooting data acquisition unit 120 can receive shooting data captured by at least one camera provided in the above delivery robot 200.

[0096] The shooting data received in the above manner can be converted into an image with a changeable viewpoint by the above image conversion unit 140 and provided to the above customer terminal 300.

[0097] When the recipient designates an unloading position from the shooting data of the above shooting delivery location through the customer terminal 300, the above position extraction unit 150 receives the image of the designated unloading position and extracts the designated unloading position, and can match it with the position within the actual delivery location to extract the position where the above delivery robot 200 actually unloads the delivery items.

[0098] On the other hand, when the above delivery robot 200 arrives at the delivery location, the above control unit 130 can confirm whether the above customer terminal 300 has made an unloading request.

[0099] When the confirmation result is that the above unloading request has been made, the above delivery robot 200 can be controlled to automatically unload the delivery items at the above delivery location.

[0100] Moreover, when the above unloading request is not made, the control unit 130 causes the delivery robot 200 to wait at the above delivery location. In the case where there is no communication with the customer terminal 300 within a specified time during the waiting process, the delivery robot 200 can be controlled to automatically unload the delivery items at the above delivery location.

[0101] Moreover, if the above delivery items are unloaded, the control unit 130 can control the communication unit 110 to receive the captured data including the unloaded delivery items through the captured data acquisition unit and transmit it to the customer terminal 300.

[0102] Furthermore, the control unit 130 can confirm whether the customer terminal designates an unloading location through the location extraction unit 150 and control the delivery robot 200 to automatically unload the delivery items to the designated unloading location or any location within the above delivery location based on the confirmation result.

[0103] For this purpose, the control unit 130 can receive an image of the designated unloading location from the customer terminal 300 that receives the captured data of the delivery location through the communication unit 110, and can extract the designated unloading location from the received image through the location extraction unit 150 and match it with the location within the actual delivery location to control the delivery robot 200 to unload the above delivery items at the matching location.

[0104] The above description of the present invention is only an example. It should be understood that without changing the technical idea or basic characteristics of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can easily change the present invention through other embodiments. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are only examples in all aspects and should not be construed as having a limiting meaning. For example, each structural element described as a single type can be implemented dispersedly, and similarly, the structural elements described as dispersed can also be implemented in combination.

[0105] The scope of the present invention should be defined based on the scope of the invention claimed, rather than the above detailed description. All changes or modifications derived from the meaning, scope, and equivalent concepts of the scope of the invention claimed fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0106] Industrial Applicability

[0107] The present invention can be used for a method and system for handling delivery items during the absence of the recipient.

Claims

1. A method for processing delivery items during the absence of the recipient, characterized in that it includes the following steps: The delivery item processing system confirms whether the customer terminal makes an unloading request for the delivery robot that has arrived at the delivery location; and Based on the confirmation result, the above-mentioned delivery item processing system causes the above-mentioned delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the above-mentioned delivery location. The step of causing the above-mentioned delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the above-mentioned delivery location includes the following steps: If a dedicated storage box is provided at the above-mentioned delivery location, the delivery item processing system controls the delivery robot to automatically unload the above-mentioned delivery items into the above-mentioned dedicated storage box. Wherein, The above-mentioned dedicated storage box receives information on the above-mentioned delivery items delivered from the above-mentioned delivery robot to prepare by pre-adjusting the temperature inside the above-mentioned dedicated storage box to correspond to the above-mentioned delivery items.

2. The method for processing the delivery of items during the absence of the recipient according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method for processing delivery items during the absence of the recipient further includes the following steps: When the above-mentioned delivery robot automatically unloads the above-mentioned delivery items into the above-mentioned dedicated storage box, the above-mentioned delivery robot sends the air in the delivery box of the above-mentioned delivery robot into the above-mentioned dedicated storage box.

3. A computer program product, characterized in that, It is set in a data processing device and recorded to execute the method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A delivery item processing system, characterized in that it includes: A communication unit that communicates with the customer terminal; A captured data acquisition unit for acquiring captured data captured by at least one camera provided on the delivery robot; and A control unit for controlling the functions of the above-mentioned delivery robot. The above-mentioned control unit executes the following steps: When the above-mentioned delivery robot arrives at the delivery location, confirm whether the above-mentioned customer terminal makes an unloading request; When the above-mentioned unloading request is made, control the above-mentioned delivery robot to automatically unload the delivery items at the above-mentioned delivery location; Wherein, if a dedicated storage box is provided at the above-mentioned delivery location, the delivery item processing system controls the delivery robot to automatically unload the above-mentioned delivery items into the above-mentioned dedicated storage box. Wherein, the above-mentioned dedicated storage box receives information on the above-mentioned delivery items delivered from the above-mentioned delivery robot to prepare by pre-adjusting the temperature inside the above-mentioned dedicated storage box to correspond to the above-mentioned delivery items.

5. The delivery item processing system according to claim 4, characterized in that When the above-mentioned delivery robot automatically unloads the above-mentioned delivery items into the above-mentioned dedicated storage box, the above-mentioned delivery robot sends the air in the delivery box of the above-mentioned delivery robot into the above-mentioned dedicated storage box.

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