Storage system, storage device, management device, and alarm issue method

Abstract

To provide a storage system immediately solving the cause of deviation occurred between a storage state indicated by information managed by a storage system and a real storage state, and suppressing reduction in working efficiency of a storage device, and to provide a storage device, a management device, and a method for controlling the storage device.SOLUTION: A storage system includes: a storage device provided with a storage chamber having a storage state detection part; a determination part determining whether or not a first storage state as a storage state of articles corresponding to the kind of a performed operation and a second storage state as a storage state detected by the storage state detection part coincide with each other when any one of a plurality of types of operations is performed to the storage chamber; and an issuance part issuing an alarm when the determination part determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not coincide.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a storage system capable of storing items, a storage device, a management device, and an alarm issuing method. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a storage system including a storage device having a plurality of storage compartments. In such a storage system, for example, when a delivery person who delivers an item stores the item in one of the storage compartments, the door is locked, and when a legitimate recipient of the item performs a predetermined operation, the door is unlocked. This allows the recipient to receive the item.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a locker device having multiple boxes whose insides can be cooled, in which a luggage sensor and a removable tray are disposed at the bottom of the boxes, and a sensor window for the luggage sensor is formed in the tray. In the locker device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the luggage sensor can detect the presence or absence of luggage inside the boxes without opening the doors of the boxes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-134902 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a storage system, storage device, management device, and alarm issuance method that can quickly resolve the cause of a discrepancy between the storage status indicated by information managed by the storage system and the actual storage status, and prevent a decrease in the operating rate of the storage device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A storage system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a storage cabinet having a storage state detection unit, a memory unit that stores a correspondence between operations performed on the storage cabinet and storage states of items in the storage cabinet, a determination unit that determines whether a first storage state, which is the storage state detected by the storage state detection unit when the operation is performed, matches a second storage state identified by referring to the correspondence based on the performed operation, and an alarm unit that outputs a signal to sound an alarm when the determination unit determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match.

[0007] A storage device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a storage cabinet having a storage state detection unit, a memory unit that stores a correspondence between operations performed on the storage cabinet and storage states of items in the storage cabinet, a determination unit that determines whether a first storage state, which is the storage state detected by the storage state detection unit when the operation is performed, matches a second storage state identified by referring to the correspondence based on the performed operation, and an alarm unit that outputs a signal to issue an alarm when the determination unit determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match.

[0008] A management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a management device that manages a storage device that accepts the execution of operations on a storage cabinet having a storage state detection unit, and includes a memory unit that stores a correspondence between the operations on the storage cabinet and the storage states of items in the storage cabinet, a judgment unit that, when the operation is executed, determines whether a first storage state, which is the storage state detected by the storage state detection unit, matches a second storage state identified by referring to the correspondence based on the executed operation, and an alarm unit that outputs a signal to issue an alarm when the judgment unit determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match.

[0009] One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for issuing an alarm in relation to a storage device that accepts the execution of operations on a storage unit having a storage state detection unit, and when an operator executes any of a plurality of types of operations on the storage unit, the method determines whether a first storage state, which is the storage state of an item corresponding to the type of operation executed, matches a second storage state, which is the storage state detected by the storage state detection unit, and when it is determined that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match, outputs a signal to issue an alarm. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the storage system of the present disclosure, if a discrepancy occurs between the storage status indicated by the information managed by the storage system and the actual storage status, the cause can be quickly resolved and a decrease in the operating rate of the storage equipment can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of a storage device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the external configuration of one vertical row of storage devices including storage units and storage cabinets that house cooling units. [Figure 4] A diagram showing the inside of the cabinet from the outside with the door open [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a functional configuration of a control unit; [Figure 6] A flowchart for explaining an example of an operation in a storage operation of the storage system. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during execution of a storage operation; [Figure 8] A flowchart for explaining an example of an operation in a receiving operation of the storage system. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during execution of a receiving operation; [Figure 10]A flowchart for explaining an example of an operation in a retrieval operation of a storage system. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during execution of a retrieval operation. [Figure 12] A flowchart for explaining an example of an operation for canceling storage in a storage system. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during execution of a warehousing cancellation operation. [Figure 14] A flowchart for explaining an example of an operation in a storage system for canceling a delivery operation [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during execution of a delivery cancellation operation. [Figure 16] A flowchart for explaining an example of an unlocking operation when an item is present in the storage system. [Figure 17] A flowchart for explaining an example of an unlocking operation when there is no item in the storage system. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during an unlocking operation; [Figure 19] A flowchart for explaining an example of an operation in an inspection operation of a storage system. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit during an inspection operation. [Figure 21] A diagram showing examples of operations performed on the repository for each type of operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the description may be omitted if it is more detailed than necessary. Note that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable a person skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, without limiting the subject matter described in the claims.

[0013] A storage system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.

[0014] <Overall composition> 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a storage system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the storage system 100 includes a storage device 1 and a management device 2.

[0015] The storage device 1 has a control unit 11, a display unit 12, a reception unit 13, a communication unit 14, and a cooling unit 15. The display unit 12, the reception unit 13, the communication unit 14, and the cooling unit 15 are connected to the control unit 11, and the operation of each of them is controlled by the control unit 11. The storage device 1 is also provided with a storage cabinet 16. Each storage cabinet 16 has a storage state detection unit 161 and a key control unit 162. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the storage device 1 has multiple storage cabinets 16, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the storage device may have only one storage cabinet.

[0016] The control unit 11 performs overall control of each component of the storage device 1. The display unit 12 performs various displays related to the storage of items in the storage unit 16. The display unit 12 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display.

[0017] A memory unit 111 is connected to the control unit 11. The memory unit 111 stores various information necessary for the operation of the storage device 1. In particular, the memory unit 111 stores the correspondence between various operations on the storage 16 and the storage state of the items in the storage 16. Note that, although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the memory unit 111 is included in the storage device 1, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and for example, the memory unit connected to the control unit of the storage device may be installed outside the storage device.

[0018] The reception unit 13 receives various input operations for the storage device 1 by a user of the storage device 1. The reception unit 13 is, for example, an input device such as a numeric keypad, a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, a touch pad, a camera, a code reader, etc. Note that a touch panel may be configured by overlapping a display device as the display unit 12 and a touch pad as the reception unit 13 on top of each other.

[0019] The communication unit 14 communicates with the outside (for example, the management device 2 or the alarm device 200 shown in FIG. 1 ) via a network N. The network N is, for example, a public network such as the Internet, or a local network. Note that in the present disclosure, the communication unit of the storage device may communicate with the outside directly without going through the network N.

[0020] The cooling unit 15 is a unit that cools the inside of at least one of the multiple storage compartments 16, and causes each storage compartment 16 to function as a refrigerator or a freezer. In the present disclosure, the structure of the cooling unit 15 is not particularly limited, and a known structure may be appropriately adopted.

[0021] The multiple storage cabinets 16 are boxes for storing items. Each storage cabinet 16 has a storage state detection unit 161 and a key control unit 162. The storage state detection unit 161 and the key control unit 162 are connected to the control unit 11. The storage cabinets 16 may have a heat insulating function.

[0022] The storage state detection unit 161 is a type of sensor that detects the storage state of an item (whether an item is stored or not) inside the storage 16. The storage state detection unit 161 is composed of, for example, a light source and a light receiving unit. For example, an LED or a fluorescent lamp is used as the light source of the storage state detection unit 161. When an item is not stored in the storage 16, the light emitted from the light source is detected by the light receiving unit, and when an item is stored in the storage 16, the light emitted from the light source is blocked by the item and is not detected by the light receiving unit. That is, the storage state detection unit 161 outputs a detection signal indicating whether an item is stored in the storage 16 to the control unit 11 based on whether the light receiving unit detects light or not.

[0023] In order to ensure that the storage status detection unit 161 can detect that an item has been stored in the storage cabinet 16, the location where the item should be placed is indicated so that the item will block light when it is stored in the storage cabinet 16.

[0024] The cabinet 16 has a lockable door. The key control unit 162, under the control of the control unit 11, detects whether the cabinet 16 is closed or not.

[0025] The control of each component of the storage equipment 1 by the control unit 11 will be described in detail later.

[0026] The management device 2 is a device that manages the storage equipment 1. The management device 2 is configured by a computer such as a PC (Personal Computer), a workstation, or a tablet terminal.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the management device 2 includes a communication unit 21, an output unit 22, a control unit 23, and a storage unit 24.

[0028] The control unit 23 controls each component of the management device 2 overall. The communication unit 21 communicates with the storage equipment 1 via the network N. The output unit 22 outputs various information related to the status of the storage system 100 to a display device via the network N. The output destination to which the output unit 22 outputs information, i.e., the display device, is a display device installed outside the management device 2, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display. The memory unit 24 stores various information and the like for the control unit 23 of the management device 2 to appropriately manage the storage equipment 1.

[0029] The storage device 1 of the storage system 100 is, for example, a parcel locker installed in an apartment building. Note that the storage device of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a locker device for receiving parcels installed in various facilities such as train stations or retail stores.

[0030] The management device 2 is constructed, for example, on a cloud system. In the example shown in Fig. 1, one storage device 1 is connected to one management device 2, but in the present disclosure, multiple storage devices may be connected to one management device, and in this case, one management device may manage multiple storage devices.

[0031] In the above example, the management device 2 is constructed on a cloud system, but the management device of the present disclosure is not limited to this. The management device of the present disclosure may be installed in a specific facility (for example, inside the office of a company that provides the storage system 100). In the example shown in Fig. 1, the output unit 22 is a display device installed outside the management device 2, but in the present disclosure, for example, the management device may have a display device instead of the output unit.

[0032] In the storage system 100, apart from the management device 2, an alarm device 200 is installed in a facility (hereinafter referred to as an operator's room in this specification) where an operator who manages the overall operation of the storage equipment 1 is stationed. The alarm device 200 is communicably connected to the communication unit 14 of the storage equipment 1, and issues an alarm to the operator based on an alarm signal transmitted from the storage equipment 1 when an abnormality occurs in the storage equipment 1. This allows the operator to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the storage equipment 1. The alarm device 200 may have a function of issuing an alarm to the operator in the operator's room by an alarm lamp or speaker, or a communication function of transmitting a signal to issue an alarm to a communication terminal device (such as a smartphone or tablet device) carried by the operator, or may have both of these functions.

[0033] <External configuration of storage device 1> Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the external configuration of the storage device 1. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the storage device 1 has a total of 30 storage units 16, five in the vertical direction and six in the horizontal direction.

[0034] In the example shown in Fig. 2, a control panel 18 is provided in the center of the storage device 1. An operation panel including a display unit 12 and a reception unit 13 is provided as part of the control panel 18. Although the control panel 18 is provided in the center of the storage device 1 in the example shown in Fig. 2, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the control panel 18 may be provided, for example, at either the left or right end of the storage device.

[0035] A plurality of storage sections 17 for storing cooling units 15 are provided at the top of the storage device 1. One cooling unit 15 stored in one storage section 17 can cool the interiors of five storage compartments 16 arranged vertically below it. In this case, the cooling unit 15 may cool the five storage compartments 16 below it in one of a plurality of operation modes. Examples of the operation modes include a room temperature mode (about 10°C to about 25°C), a refrigeration mode (about 2°C to about 5°C), and a freezer mode (about -18°C to about -25°C).

[0036] The multiple cooling units 15 may each cool the storage 16 in a different operation mode. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 2, the third row from the left may be in normal temperature mode, the fourth row from the left in refrigeration mode, and the fifth and sixth rows from the left in freezing mode. The multiple cooling units 15 may also be able to set the interior of the storage 16 to different temperatures even in the same mode. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 2, the cooling units 15 may be able to set the fifth row, which is in freezing mode, to -20°C, the sixth row to -25°C, and so on.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the external configuration of one vertical row of storage devices including storage units 16 and storage units 17 for storing cooling units. FIG. 3 shows the state in which the doors 163 of the storage units 16 are open. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the storage units 16 have double doors, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the doors of the storage units may be single doors. In this embodiment, the outer door of the double doors constituting the door 163 has an automatic lock function (a function that automatically locks when the door is closed). Therefore, the above-mentioned key control unit 162 has a function of unlocking the door 163.

[0038] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the inside of the storage 16 with the door 163 open, as viewed from the outside. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a window 1611 of the storage state detection unit 161 is provided on the bottom surface SB of the storage 16. The window 1611 is a window through which light from a light source constituting the storage state detection unit 161 is emitted. The window 1611 is made of a transparent material. The dashed arrow in FIG. 4 illustrates the direction in which the light emitted from the window 1611 travels. In this embodiment, a light receiving unit (not shown) constituting the storage state detection unit 161 is provided on the upper surface of the storage 16. When a person (operator) who stores an item in the storage 16 places an item so that the window 1611 is completely covered by the item, the storage state detection unit 161 can detect the storage state of the item. Note that a mark indicating the range in which the item should be placed may be displayed on the bottom surface SB.

[0039] <Various operations performed on storage device 1>

[0040] A person using the storage device 1 can perform any of the following multiple types of operations on any of the storage cabinets 16. The multiple types of operations that can be performed on the storage cabinets 16 include, for example, a storage operation, a receiving operation, a shipping operation, a storage cancellation operation, a shipping cancellation operation, an unlocking operation, and an inspection operation.

[0041] The storage operation is, for example, an operation in which a delivery company stores an item, such as a delivery item, in storage 16, the recipient of which is a resident of the apartment complex in which storage device 1 is installed, and registers the storage of the item in storage system 100.

[0042] The receiving operation is an operation in which, for example, a legitimate recipient of an item stored in the storage 16, for example, a resident of an apartment building to which a delivery item is to be sent, receives the item from the storage 16 and registers the receipt of the item in the storage system 100.

[0043] The outgoing operation is, for example, an operation in which a delivery company takes out an item that was once stored in storage 16, and registers the fact that the item has been taken out in storage system 100. The outgoing operation is performed, for example, when a delivery company mistakenly puts an item in storage 16.

[0044] The storage cancellation operation is, for example, an operation performed by a delivery company after starting a storage operation, to cancel the operation without storing the item.

[0045] The outgoing cancellation operation is, for example, an operation performed by a delivery company when, after starting a outgoing operation, the delivery company cancels the operation without storing the item.

[0046] The unlocking operation is an operation performed when, for example, a manager of an apartment building in which storage device 1 is installed, or a maintenance company that performs maintenance on storage device 1, unlocks the door of storage device 16 to check the inside of storage device 16, etc.

[0047] The inspection operation is an operation performed by, for example, a manager of an apartment building in which storage device 1 is installed, or a maintenance company that maintains storage device 1, who inspects storage unit 16 to resolve an abnormality that is detected in the storage condition of storage unit 16 during the other operations described above.

[0048] In the following description, a person who performs various operations on the storage device 1 is collectively referred to as an executor. The executor includes multiple types such as a delivery person, a recipient, a manager, a cleaner, and a maintenance worker. Note that the types of executors exemplified in the above description of each operation (delivery person, resident of an apartment building, manager, cleaner, and maintenance worker) are merely examples, and in the present disclosure, a wider variety of types may be included in the executor.

[0049] <Explanation about the person who operates various operations> An authority required to execute any operation on the storage device 1 is given in advance to an executor. The authority possessed by each executor is determined in advance for each executor.

[0050] For example, a resident of an apartment building who is about to receive a delivery from the storage device 1 has the authority to execute a receiving operation. Also, a delivery company who is about to store a delivery in the storage device 1 has the authority to execute an entry operation, a delivery operation, an entry cancellation operation, and a delivery cancellation operation.

[0051] The manager of the apartment building in which the storage device 1 is installed, the cleaning company in charge of cleaning, or a maintenance company has the authority to carry out the unlocking operation and the inspection operation.

[0052] The present disclosure is not limited to the examples described in the present embodiment, and for example, some implementers may have the authority to perform operations other than those described above. For example, a maintenance company may have the authority to perform repair operations to repair the storage device 1.

[0053] In addition, the manager of an apartment building, a cleaning company in charge of cleaning, or a maintenance company may have the authority to perform not only unlocking and inspection operations, but also receiving operations, entry operations, delivery operations, entry cancellation operations, and delivery cancellation operations.

[0054] A person who uses the storage device 1 is authenticated by an authentication unit 36, which will be described later, and is then able to carry out operations according to the authority that each person has.

[0055] In this embodiment, the operator, as already explained, is a person who has the authority to perform specific operations, i.e., unlocking and inspection operations. In other words, the operator includes the manager of the apartment building, a cleaner, a maintenance company for storage system 100, or a service person, but does not include a delivery company or a recipient.

[0056] In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the executor has authority according to the type of operation that can be performed. However, for example, any one of multiple levels of authority may be given to each type of executor. For example, a high or low level of authority may be given to each of the recipient, the courier, the manager, the cleaner, and the maintenance company. In this case, for example, the recipient and the courier may have low level of authority, and the manager, the cleaner, and the maintenance company may have higher level of authority. An executor with high level of authority may be set to be able to perform more operations on the storage device 1 than an executor with low level of authority. In this example, a case has been described in which each executor has one of two levels of authority, but each executor may have one of three or more levels of authority.

[0057] <Functional configuration of the control unit> Next, the functional configuration of the control unit that realizes each function of the storage device 1 will be described. In the following description, the functional configuration of the control unit 11 of the storage device 1 will be described, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the control unit 23 of the management device 2 may have an equivalent functional configuration. In addition, the control unit 11 of the storage device 1 and the control unit 23 of the management device 2 may have the same functional configuration and be configured to be appropriately switched. Furthermore, the functional configuration described below may be possessed by, for example, a control device (not shown) provided outside the storage device and the management device. The control device is, for example, a device that can collectively control multiple storage devices.

[0058] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the functional configuration of the control unit 11. As shown in FIG.

[0059] The control unit 11 has, as its functional configuration, a cooling control unit 31, a storage management unit 32, a determination unit 33, a notification unit , a notification unit 35, and an authentication unit .

[0060] The cooling control unit 31 controls the cooling operation of the cooling units 15 inside the storage 16. The cooling control unit 31 manages the operation mode and the like for each of the multiple cooling units 15.

[0061] The storage management unit 32 manages the storage status for each of the multiple storage cabinets 16. The storage status is information that indicates whether or not an item is stored in the storage cabinet 16. The storage management unit 32 may manage the storage status of the multiple storage cabinets 16 by, for example, acquiring the storage status from a storage status detection unit 161 provided for each storage cabinet 16 and storing the storage status in the memory unit 111 (see FIG. 1) in association with the identifier of the storage cabinet 16.

[0062] In this specification, information on the storage state managed by the storage management unit 32 and acquired from the storage state detection unit 161 is referred to as a first storage state.

[0063] The determination unit 33 determines whether or not an abnormality in the storage state has occurred in any of the multiple storage cabinets 16. When any of the multiple types of operations is performed on any of the multiple storage cabinets 16, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not a first storage state, which is a storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 in the storage cabinet 16 that is the target of the operation, matches a second storage state, which is a storage state corresponding to the type of the performed operation.

[0064] After each operation is normally executed, it is assumed that the storage state of the item in the storage unit 16 that is the target of the operation will be a state determined by the operation. For example, after a storage entry operation or a storage cancellation operation is normally executed, the target storage unit 16 should have an item stored therein. Also, for example, after a receiving operation, a storage withdrawal operation, or a storage cancellation operation is normally executed, the target storage unit 16 should have no item stored therein.

[0065] Information indicating the correspondence between the type of operation and the stored state (simply referred to as the correspondence in this specification) is stored in advance in, for example, storage unit 111 (see FIG. 1).

[0066] When the operator performs an input operation on the receiving unit 13 corresponding to an operation to be performed or has been performed, the determination unit 33 acquires information on the type of operation to be performed or has been performed from the memory unit 111 based on the input operation. When some operation is performed on the storage unit 16, the determination unit 33 can estimate the storage state of the target storage unit 16 by referring to the correspondence in the memory unit 111 based on the operation to be performed. In this specification, the storage state that is identified by referring to the correspondence based on the type of the performed operation when a certain operation is performed is referred to as a second storage state.

[0067] If the operation performed by the user on storage 16 is completed normally, the second storage state will naturally match the first storage state. However, if the operation performed by the user on storage 16 is not completed normally and some abnormality occurs in the storage state of storage 16, the first storage state and the second storage state may not match.

[0068] The abnormalities include those caused by the user, those caused by the state of the storage cabinet 16, and those caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161.

[0069] Abnormalities caused by the operator include, for example, forgetting to store an item during a storage operation, forgetting to remove an item during a receiving operation, forgetting to remove an item during a shipping operation, and an item not being placed in a position that can be detected by the storage status detection unit 161 during a storage operation.

[0070] An abnormality caused by the state of the storage cabinet 16 includes internal contamination of the storage cabinet 16. In particular, if foreign matter such as water, frost, ice, dirt, or dust adheres to the window portion 1611 or the light receiving portion of the storage state detection unit 161, an abnormality caused by the state of the storage cabinet 16 may occur.

[0071] An abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161 includes, for example, an abnormality in which the light source of the storage state detection unit 161 does not emit light, the light receiving unit cannot detect light, or the wiring is broken.

[0072] Of these various abnormalities, an abnormality caused by the executor can be resolved by the executor if the executor notices that an abnormality has occurred. Specifically, in the case of forgetting to put away an item during a storage operation, the abnormality is resolved by the delivery company as the executor storing the item again. In the case of forgetting to take out an item during a receiving operation, the abnormality is resolved by the recipient as the executor taking out the item again. In the case of forgetting to take out an item during a shipping operation, the abnormality is resolved by the delivery company as the executor taking out the item again. If an item is not placed in a position that can be detected by the storage status detection unit 161, the delivery company as the executor adjusts the position of the item to a position where the item blocks the light of the storage status detection unit 161, thereby resolving the abnormality.

[0073] Furthermore, an abnormality caused by the state of the repository 16 can be resolved by, for example, the manager as the executor cleaning the inside of the repository 16.

[0074] On the other hand, an abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161 cannot be resolved by the delivery company, the recipient, or the manager among the implementers. An abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161 cannot be resolved unless the maintenance company of the storage device 1 repairs the malfunction.

[0075] In order to quickly resolve an abnormality that occurs in the storage device 1, it is necessary to immediately detect the occurrence of the abnormality. As described above, the determination unit 33 determines whether an abnormality has occurred based on whether the first storage state obtained from the storage state detection unit 161 at any time matches the second storage state determined by the type of operation performed, based on an input made to the reception unit 13 by an operator who performs an operation on the storage cabinet 16. This makes it possible to quickly determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the storage system 100.

[0076] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 5, when the determination unit 33 determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match, that is, that an abnormality has occurred, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to the user requesting that the user re-execute the executed operation.

[0077] Specifically, when the determination unit 33 determines that an abnormality has occurred after the delivery company performs the storage operation, the notification unit 34 causes the display unit 12 to display a display requesting the delivery company to redo the storage operation. The display requesting the delivery company to redo the storage operation may be, for example, a display that urges the delivery company to redo the storage operation or a display that suggests the need to redo the storage operation, such as "Please perform the storage operation again" or "You need to perform the storage operation again." Note that in this specification, the description "the notification unit performs a notification" is not limited to the notification unit 34 causing the display unit 12 to perform various displays. In the present disclosure, for example, the notification unit includes sounding various sounds on a speaker (not shown) or sending a message to a mobile terminal device (such as a smartphone or tablet terminal) owned by the executor.

[0078] As another example, when the judgment unit 33 judges that an abnormality has occurred after the recipient performs the receiving operation, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to the recipient requesting that the recipient check the inside of the storage unit 16 and repeat the receiving operation.

[0079] In this way, the notification unit 34 notifies the user requesting that the user redo the operation, and the user realizes the abnormality and redoes the operation, so that the abnormality caused by the user should be immediately resolved. Therefore, in the storage device 1, when the determination unit 33 determines that there is an abnormality in the storage 16, the notification unit 34 notifies the user, so that the user can be expected to quickly resolve the abnormality caused by the user.

[0080] Note that even if the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to the performer requesting that the performer redo the operation and the performer redoes the operation, the abnormality is likely not resolved if the abnormality is not caused by the performer. In this case, the determination unit 33 will determine that the first storage state and the new second storage state acquired by the performer redoing the operation do not match. Therefore, if the abnormality is not caused by the performer, the determination of the abnormality by the determination unit 33 and the notification of the request to redo by the performer will be repeated multiple times.

[0081] If an abnormality has occurred in storage 16 even after the determination unit 33 has repeated the abnormality determination a predetermined number of times, it is considered that the cause of the abnormality is not the performer. Therefore, when the determination unit 33 has repeated the abnormality determination (determination that the first storage state does not match the new second storage state acquired by redoing the operation) a predetermined number of times, the notification unit 34 will issue a notification as follows based on the type of operation performed. The predetermined number of times is a number that is arbitrarily set when the storage system 100 is installed or when operation starts, and is, for example, about 2 to 10 times.

[0082] If the operation performed is an operation other than the storing operation for storing an item, i.e., a receiving operation, a taking out operation, an unlocking operation, or a taking out cancellation operation, the notification unit 34 notifies the user that the operation has been completed normally, so that the user does not need to repeat the same operation again.

[0083] On the other hand, if the executed operation is a storage operation, the notification unit 34 issues a change request notification to request that the storage cabinet 16 that is the target of the operation be changed to another storage cabinet 16.

[0084] If the operation performed is an operation other than an entry operation for storing an item, i.e., a receiving operation, an unloading operation, an unlocking operation, or an unloading cancellation operation, the operation itself is considered to have been completed normally even if an abnormality has occurred in the storage status of the storage unit 16.

[0085] For example, when considering a receiving operation, a case where the determination unit 33 determines that there is an abnormality at the time of completion of the operation is a case where the storage state detection unit 161 detects the presence of an item inside the storage unit 16 even though the recipient has removed and received the item. In such a case, even if the determination unit 33 determines that there is an abnormality in the receiving operation, the receiving operation is completed without incident (successful) from the recipient's perspective, and there are no items remaining in the storage unit 16 that has been determined to be abnormal.

[0086] Therefore, if the operation performed is an operation other than an entry operation for storing an item, i.e., a receiving operation, an unloading operation, an unlocking operation, or an unloading cancellation operation, the notification unit 34 will notify the user that the operation itself has been completed normally after the judgment unit 33 has judged an abnormality a predetermined number of times, in order to reduce the effort required for the person performing the operation to redo it.

[0087] In addition, in the case where the storage state detection unit 161 does not detect the item even though the recipient has not taken out the item during the receiving operation, this does not occur in this embodiment by redoing the above-mentioned operation. The same applies to the unloading operation, the unlocking operation, and the unloading cancellation operation.

[0088] On the other hand, when considering the storage operation, the determination unit 33 determines that there is an abnormality at the time of completion of the operation is when the storage state detection unit 161 does not detect the item even though the delivery company has put the item in. Note that in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the case where the storage state detection unit 161 detects the presence of the item even though the delivery company has forgotten to put the item in, does not occur by redoing the operation as described above.

[0089] When an item is stored in a storage unit 16 by a storage operation and the determination unit 33 determines that the storage state of the storage unit 16 is abnormal, the item is left in the storage unit 16 where the abnormality occurs. In such a case, if the storage operation is deemed to have been completed normally, other users will not be able to perform other operations (receiving operation, shipping operation, etc.) on the storage unit 16. From this perspective, in this embodiment, in the case of a storage operation, the operation is redone a predetermined number of times, and if the determination unit 33 further determines that there is an abnormality, the storage operation cannot be performed on the storage unit 16, and the notification unit 34 issues a notification to the effect that the storage unit 16 to be operated is requested to be changed to another storage unit 16. This allows the delivery company to normally complete the storage operation in another storage unit 16 where the storage state is not abnormal.

[0090] In the present disclosure, in the case of a storage operation, even if the determination unit 33 determines an abnormality after a predetermined number of repetitions, the notification unit does not necessarily have to issue a notification to change the target storage unit to another storage unit. For example, the notification unit may notify that the storage operation has been completed normally after the storage operation has been repeated a predetermined number of times. In this case, since it is necessary for another executor to resolve the abnormality, it is desirable for the notification unit, which will be described later, to issue an alarm to the other executor (such as an operator).

[0091] The notification by the notification unit 34 is not limited to the above-mentioned example. Other examples of notification by the notification unit 34 will be described in detail in the operation example of the storage system 100 described later.

[0092] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 5, the alarm unit 35 outputs a signal for issuing an alarm to the operator of the storage device 1 when the determination unit 33 determines that there is an abnormality (determination that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match) a predetermined number of times.

[0093] More specifically, the alarm issuing unit 35 transmits a signal to issue an alarm to the alarm device 200 installed outside the storage equipment 1 via the communication unit 14 (see FIG. 1). This causes the alarm device 200 to issue an alarm. As described above, the alarm device 200 is installed in an operator's room or the like where an operator who manages the operation of the storage system 100 resides. Therefore, when the alarm issuing unit 35 causes the alarm device 200 to issue an alarm, the operator can recognize that some abnormality not caused by the operator has occurred in one of the storage cabinets 16 of the storage equipment 1.

[0094] Incidentally, the alarm issuing unit 35 may cause an alarm device of the storage equipment 1 to issue an alarm, instead of transmitting a signal for issuing an alarm to the alarm device 200 installed outside the storage equipment 1.

[0095] The authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates an executor who is attempting to perform various operations on the storage device 1. Specifically, when an executor who is attempting to perform various operations presents authentication data to the reception unit 13, the authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates the executor by determining whether the authentication data matches the authentication data stored in the storage unit 111. If the authentication data received by the reception unit 13 matches the authentication data stored in advance, the authentication unit 36 ​​determines that the authentication of the executor has been successful, and if not, determines that the authentication has failed. If the authentication unit 36 ​​determines that the authentication has failed, the storage device 1 does not accept the execution of operations by that person.

[0096] The authentication data includes information indicating the type of actor presenting the authentication data (eg, courier, recipient, etc.).

[0097] Examples of authentication data include authentication codes such as two-dimensional codes and bar codes, as well as biometric data such as the performer's face, iris, and voiceprint, and authentication result data of the performer by an authentication system (not shown) external to the storage system 100.

[0098] <Processing flow of storage system 100> The following describes the process flow for each operation of the storage system 100. In the following description, the control unit 11 of the storage device 1 mainly performs the process, but the same process is performed when the control unit 23 of the management device 2 mainly performs the process.

[0099] (warehousing operation) Fig. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the storage system 100 in a storage operation. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the notification unit 34 on the display unit 12 as an example of the notification content during the storage operation.

[0100] As described above, the storage operation of the storage system 100 is performed, for example, when a delivery company attempts to store an item in the storage equipment 1. At this time, the delivery company causes the reception unit 13 of the storage equipment 1 to read the authentication data.

[0101] In step S11, the authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates the delivery company based on the authentication data.

[0102] If the authentication is successful, in step S12, the storage management unit 32 accepts the selection of a delivery operation by the delivery company. Fig. 7A shows an example of a screen when an operation is selected.

[0103] When "store package" is selected in step S12, in step S13, the storage management unit 32 accepts the delivery company's selection of a storage unit 16 in which to store the item. Fig. 7B shows an example of a screen for selecting a storage unit 16. The delivery company may select, for example, from among the selectable storage units 16, a storage unit 16 that corresponds to a storage temperature determined for each item.

[0104] In step S14, the storage management unit 32 controls the lock control unit 162 of the selected storage unit 16 to unlock the door. This allows the delivery company to store the item in the storage unit 16. Fig. 7C shows an example of a screen that is displayed from when the selection of the storage unit 16 is accepted until the delivery company stores the item.

[0105] As shown in Fig. 7C, during the period from when the selection of storage unit 16 is accepted until the delivery company stores the item, a "Cancel" button for canceling the storage operation is displayed on the screen. During the period from when the selection of storage unit 16 is accepted until the delivery company stores the item, in step S15, storage management unit 32 determines whether or not an operation for selecting cancellation of the storage operation (an operation for selecting the "Cancel" button in Fig. 7C) has been performed.

[0106] When the delivery company stores the items in the selected storage unit 16 and closes the door, that is, when the delivery company does not perform a cancel operation between accepting the selection of the storage unit 16 and storing the items (step S15: N), the process proceeds to step S16. When a cancel operation is performed (step S15: Y), the process proceeds to the "storage cancellation operation" described in FIG.

[0107] In step S16, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door of the storage cabinet 16 has been closed. This allows the storage management unit 32 to recognize that a storage operation has been performed.

[0108] In step S17, the determination unit 33 acquires the first storage state of the selected storage cabinet 16. As described above, the first storage state is information that is detected by the storage state detection unit 161 and indicates the presence or absence of an article inside the storage cabinet 16.

[0109] In step S18, the determination unit 33 determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match. As described above, the second storage state is information indicating the storage state when the selected type of operation is executed successfully. When the storage operation is executed, items are stored in the storage cabinet 16, so the second storage state after the storage operation is executed becomes a state in which there are items. The determination unit 33 may estimate the second storage state based on the fact that the storage operation was selected in step S12.

[0110] If the first storage state and the second storage state do not match (step S18: N), that is, if it is assumed that some abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, if the first storage state and the second storage state match (step S18: Y), that is, if it is assumed that no abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S115.

[0111] In step S19, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the mismatch count, which is the number of times it was determined in step S18 that there was no match, has reached N. N is a positive integer (for example, N=2 to 5) and is a preset threshold value. The process in step S19 determines whether or not the re-execution of the operation associated with the determination of an abnormality in the storage state in step S110 and thereafter described below has been repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0112] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N (step S19: N), the process proceeds to step S110. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count is N (step S19: Y), the process proceeds to step S112.

[0113] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N, that is, if the re-execution of the operation has not been repeated the predetermined number of times, then in step S110, the determination unit 33 increments the mismatch count by one.

[0114] Then, in step S111, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to request re-execution of the storage operation. Fig. 7D shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the re-execution request notification is issued.

[0115] After step S111, the process returns to step S14 (unlocking the door), which allows the delivery company to redo the storing operation in the same storage unit 16.

[0116] When it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N, that is, when the operation has been re-executed a predetermined number of times, in step S112, the alarm issuing unit 35 issues an alarm to the manager via the alarm device 200. This allows the manager, who is different from the delivery company and has higher authority than the delivery company (for example, the manager of an apartment building), to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the storage state of one of the storage units 16 in the storage device 1. The manager who recognizes the occurrence of the abnormality will then inspect the relevant storage unit 16, for example, by the inspection operation described in FIG.

[0117] In step S113, the notification unit 34 issues a change request notification to change the storage unit 16 and perform a new storage operation. Fig. 7E shows an example of a screen displayed when the change request notification is issued. This allows the delivery company to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the storage unit 16 and that storage is not possible.

[0118] In step S114, the storage management unit 32 controls the key control unit 162 of the storage unit 16 in which the storage has been performed to unlock the door. This allows the delivery company to remove the stored item. After step S112, the process returns to the selection of the storage unit 16 in step S13. This allows the delivery company to store the item in another storage unit 16.

[0119] In step S115, the notification unit 34 issues a notification of operation completion, which indicates that the storage operation has been completed successfully. Fig. 7F shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the operation completion notification is issued. This allows the delivery company to recognize that the storage operation has been completed.

[0120] In this way, if the first storage state and the second storage state do not match during the storage operation and an abnormality in the storage state of the storage 16 is detected, the storage system 100 requests the delivery company to perform the storage operation again. This makes it possible to highly likely resolve an abnormality caused by the performer, such as the delivery company forgetting to store an item or an item not being placed in a position where it can be detected by the storage state detection unit 161. By increasing the number of retries (threshold N in step S19), it is possible to further increase the probability of resolving an abnormality caused by the performer.

[0121] If the abnormality in the storage state is not resolved even after retrying the storage operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is highly likely not caused by the operator. For this reason, the storage system 100 can resolve the abnormality by issuing an alarm to an operator with higher authority via the alarm device 200, and having the operator inspect the storage 16 where the abnormality occurred.

[0122] (Receive operation) Fig. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the receiving operation of the storage system 100. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 by the notification unit 34 as an example of notification content during execution of the receiving operation.

[0123] As described above, the receiving operation of the storage system 100 is performed when a recipient, such as a resident, attempts to receive an item delivered to the storage device 1. At this time, the recipient has the reception unit 13 of the storage device 1 read the authentication data.

[0124] As noted above, the authentication data includes information indicative of the type of actor presenting the authentication data, in this case, information indicating that the actor is a recipient.

[0125] In step S21, the authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates the recipient based on the authentication data.

[0126] If the authentication is successful, in step S22, the storage management unit 32 accepts the recipient's selection of a storage unit 16. Fig. 9A shows an example of a screen when selecting a storage unit 16 in a receiving operation. For example, the recipient may be notified by the delivery company of information indicating which storage unit 16 the item has been stored in after the delivery company has completed the storage operation in the storage device 1.

[0127] In step S23, the storage management unit 32 controls the key control unit 162 of the selected storage unit 16 to unlock the door. This allows the recipient to take out the item from the storage unit 16.

[0128] In step S24, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door of the storage cabinet 16 has been closed. This allows the storage management unit 32 to recognize that a receiving operation has been performed.

[0129] In step S25, the determination unit 33 acquires the first storage state of the selected storage unit 16.

[0130] In step S26, the determination unit 33 determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match. When the receiving operation is performed, the item is removed from the storage 16, so the second storage state after the receiving operation is performed is a state in which there is no item. The second storage state may be estimated based on the authentication data indicating the recipient obtained in step S21.

[0131] If the first storage state and the second storage state do not match (step S26: N), that is, if it is assumed that some abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S27. On the other hand, if the first storage state and the second storage state match (step S26: Y), that is, if it is assumed that no abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S213.

[0132] In step S27, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the mismatch count, which is the number of times it was determined in step S26 that there is no match, has reached N. By the process of step S27, it is determined whether or not the re-execution of the operation associated with the determination of an abnormality in the storage state in step S28 and subsequent steps described below has been repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0133] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N (step S27: N), the process proceeds to step S28. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count is N (step S27: Y), the process proceeds to step S210.

[0134] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N, that is, if the re-execution of the operation has not been repeated the predetermined number of times, then in step S28, the determination unit 33 increments the mismatch count by one.

[0135] Then, in step S29, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to request re-execution of the receiving operation. Fig. 9B shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the re-execution request notification is issued.

[0136] After step S29, the process returns to step S23 (unlocking the door). This causes the recipient to try to pick up the item again. This makes it possible to eliminate an error caused by the sender, such as the recipient failing to pick up the item, with a high probability.

[0137] On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N, that is, if the operation has been re-executed a predetermined number of times, in step S210, the alarm issuing unit 35 issues an alarm to the manager via the alarm device 200. This allows an manager who is different from the delivery company and has higher authority than the delivery company (for example, the manager of an apartment building) to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the storage state of one of the storage units 16 in the storage equipment 1. The manager who recognizes the occurrence of the abnormality will then inspect the relevant storage unit 16, for example, by the inspection operation described in FIG.

[0138] In step S211, the notification unit 34 performs an operation completion notification to indicate that the receiving operation is completed. Fig. 9C shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the operation completion notification is performed. This allows the recipient to recognize that the receiving operation is completed.

[0139] In this way, if the abnormality is not resolved even after the recipient repeats the receiving operation a predetermined number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is not caused by the sender. Also, even if an abnormality occurs in the storage state of the storage unit 16 as viewed from the storage device 1, from the recipient's perspective, the item has been successfully received by step S28. In such a case, the storage system 100 determines that the receiving operation has been completed successfully for the recipient, and attempts to resolve the abnormality by an operator with higher authority than the recipient.

[0140] Then, in step S212, the notification unit 34 issues a prohibition notification to the effect that further operations on the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred are prohibited. This makes it possible to prevent the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred from being used until the abnormality is resolved.

[0141] On the other hand, even if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred, in step S213, the notification unit 34 performs an operation completion notification indicating that the storage operation has been completed.

[0142] In this way, if the first storage state and the second storage state do not match during the receiving operation and an abnormality in the storage state of the storage 16 is detected, the storage system 100 requests the recipient to perform the receiving operation again. This makes it possible to highly likely resolve an abnormality caused by the performer, such as the recipient failing to take out an item. By increasing the number of retries (threshold N in step S19), it is possible to further increase the probability that an abnormality caused by the performer can be resolved.

[0143] If the abnormality in the storage state is not resolved even after retrying the storage operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is highly likely not caused by the operator. For this reason, the storage system 100 can resolve the abnormality by issuing an alarm to an operator with higher authority via the alarm device 200, and having the operator inspect the storage 16 where the abnormality occurred.

[0144] (Issuance operation) Fig. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the retrieval operation of the storage system 100. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the notification unit 34 on the display unit 12 as an example of notification content during execution of the retrieval operation.

[0145] As described above, the retrieval operation of the storage system 100 is executed, for example, when a delivery company attempts to retrieve an item stored in the storage device 1. At this time, the delivery company causes the reception unit 13 of the storage device 1 to read the authentication data.

[0146] As mentioned above, the authentication data includes information indicating the type of actor presenting the authentication data, in this case information indicating that the actor is a delivery person.

[0147] In step S31, the authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates the delivery company based on the authentication data.

[0148] If the authentication is successful, in step S32, the storage management unit 32 accepts the selection of a removal operation by the delivery company. Fig. 11A shows an example of a screen displayed when selecting an operation.

[0149] When "remove package" is selected in step S32, in step S33, the storage management unit 32 accepts the delivery company's selection of the storage unit 16 from which the item is to be removed. Fig. 11B shows an example of a screen for selecting the storage unit 16.

[0150] In step S34, the storage management unit 32 controls the key control unit 162 of the selected storage unit 16 to unlock the door. This allows the delivery company to remove the item from the storage unit 16. Fig. 11C shows an example of a screen that is displayed from when the selection of the storage unit 16 is accepted until the delivery company removes the item.

[0151] As shown in Fig. 11C, during the period from when the selection of storage unit 16 is accepted until the delivery company takes out the item, a "Cancel" button for canceling the outgoing operation is displayed on the screen. During the period from when the selection of storage unit 16 is accepted until the delivery company takes out the item, in step S35, storage management unit 32 determines whether or not an operation for selecting cancellation of the outgoing operation (an operation for selecting the "Cancel" button in Fig. 11C) has been performed.

[0152] If the delivery company removes the item from the selected storage unit 16 and closes the door, that is, if the delivery company does not perform a cancel operation between accepting the selection of the storage unit 16 and removing the item (step S35: N), the process proceeds to step S36. If a cancel operation is performed (step S35: Y), the process proceeds to the "return cancellation operation" described in FIG.

[0153] In step S36, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door of the storage cabinet 16 has been closed. This allows the storage management unit 32 to recognize that a removal operation has been performed.

[0154] In step S37, the determination unit 33 acquires the first storage state of the selected storage cabinet 16. As described above, the first storage state is information that is detected by the storage state detection unit 161 and indicates the presence or absence of an article inside the storage cabinet 16.

[0155] In step S38, the determination unit 33 determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match. When the take-out operation is executed, an item is removed from the storage 16, so the second storage state after the take-out operation is executed becomes a state in which there is no item. The determination unit 33 may estimate the second storage state based on the fact that the take-out operation is selected in step S32.

[0156] If the first storage state and the second storage state do not match (step S38: N), that is, if it is assumed that some abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S39. On the other hand, if the first storage state and the second storage state match (step S38: Y), that is, if it is assumed that no abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S315.

[0157] In step S39, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the mismatch count, which is the number of times it was determined in step S38 that there is no match, has reached N. The process in step S39 determines whether or not the re-execution of the operation associated with the determination of an abnormality in the storage state in step S310 and subsequent steps described below has been repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0158] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N (step S39: N), the process proceeds to step S310. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count is N (step S39: Y), the process proceeds to step S312.

[0159] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N, that is, if the re-execution of the operation has not been repeated the predetermined number of times, then in step S310, the determination unit 33 increments the mismatch count by one.

[0160] Then, in step S311, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to request re-execution of the retrieval operation. Fig. 11D shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the re-execution request notification is issued.

[0161] After step S311, the process returns to step S34 (unlocking the door), which allows the delivery company to redo the retrieval operation from the same repository 16.

[0162] When it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N, that is, when the operation has been re-executed a predetermined number of times, in step S312, the alarm issuing unit 35 issues an alarm to the manager via the alarm device 200. This allows an manager who is different from the delivery company and has higher authority than the delivery company (for example, the manager of an apartment building) to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the storage state of one of the storage units 16 in the storage device 1. The manager who recognizes the occurrence of the abnormality will then inspect the relevant storage unit 16, for example, by the inspection operation described in FIG.

[0163] In step S313, the notification unit 34 performs an operation completion notification to indicate that the outgoing operation is completed. Fig. 11E shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the operation completion notification is performed. This allows the delivery company to recognize that the outgoing operation is completed.

[0164] In this way, if the abnormality in the removal operation is not resolved even after the delivery company has repeated the operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is not caused by the person who carried it out. Also, even if an abnormality occurs in the storage state of the storage unit 16 from the perspective of the storage device 1, from the perspective of the delivery company, the item has been successfully removed by step S312. In such a case, the storage system 100 informs the delivery company that the removal operation has been completed successfully, and allows the operator, who has higher authority than the delivery company, to resolve the abnormality.

[0165] Then, in step S314, the notification unit 34 issues a prohibition notification to the effect that further operations on the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred are prohibited. This makes it possible to prevent the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred from being used until the abnormality is resolved.

[0166] On the other hand, even if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred, in step S315, the notification unit 34 performs an operation completion notification indicating that the storage operation has been completed.

[0167] In this way, if the first storage state and the second storage state do not match during the removal operation and an abnormality in the storage state of the storage 16 is detected, the storage system 100 requests the delivery company to perform the removal operation again. This makes it possible to highly likely resolve an abnormality caused by the performer, such as the delivery company failing to take out an item. By increasing the number of retries (threshold N in step S39), it is possible to further increase the probability of resolving an abnormality caused by the performer.

[0168] If the abnormality in the storage state is not resolved even after retrying the unloading operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is highly likely not caused by the operator. For this reason, the storage system 100 can resolve the abnormality by issuing an alarm to an operator with higher authority via the alarm device 200, and having the operator inspect the storage 16 where the abnormality occurred.

[0169] (Cancel entry operation) Fig. 12 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the storage system 100 in canceling a storage entry. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the notification unit 34 on the display unit 12 as an example of the content of notification during the execution of a storage entry cancellation operation.

[0170] As described above, the storage cancellation operation of the storage system 100 is executed, for example, when the delivery company cancels the storage operation in the middle of the storage operation (step S14:Y in FIG. 6). Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the delivery company has already been authenticated.

[0171] In step S41, based on an operation to cancel a storage operation by the delivery company, the notification unit 34 issues a take-out request notification to take out an item from the storage 16. Fig. 13A shows an example of a take-out request notification screen.

[0172] In step S42, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door of the storage cabinet 16 has been closed. This allows the storage management unit 32 to recognize that the item being stored has been removed from the storage cabinet 16 and that a storage cancellation operation has been performed.

[0173] In step S43, the determination unit 33 acquires the first storage state of the selected storage cabinet 16. As described above, the first storage state is information that is detected by the storage state detection unit 161 and indicates the presence or absence of an article inside the storage cabinet 16.

[0174] In step S44, the determination unit 33 determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match. When the entry cancellation operation is performed, the item is removed from the storage 16, so the second storage state after the entry cancellation operation is performed becomes a state in which there is no item. The determination unit 33 may estimate the second storage state based on the fact that the cancellation operation was performed in step S14 of FIG. 6.

[0175] If the first storage state and the second storage state do not match (step S44: N), that is, if it is assumed that some abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S45. On the other hand, if the first storage state and the second storage state match (step S44: Y), and it is assumed that no abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S412.

[0176] In step S45, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the mismatch count, which is the number of times it was determined in step S44 that the two do not match, has reached N. By the process of step S45, it is determined whether or not the re-execution of the operation associated with the determination of an abnormality in the storage state in step S46 and subsequent steps described below has been repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0177] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N (step S45: N), the process proceeds to step S46. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count is N (step S45: Y), the process proceeds to step S49.

[0178] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N, that is, if the re-execution of the operation has not been repeated the predetermined number of times, the determination unit 33 increments the mismatch count by one in step S46.

[0179] Then, in step S47, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to request re-execution of the warehousing cancellation operation. Fig. 13B shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the re-execution request notification is issued.

[0180] After step S47, in step S48, the storage management unit 32 unlocks the selected storage unit 16. This allows the delivery company to remove the item from the storage unit 16 and to redo the storage cancellation operation.

[0181] When it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N, that is, when the operation has been re-executed a predetermined number of times, in step S49, the alarm issuing unit 35 issues an alarm to the manager via the alarm device 200. This allows an manager who is different from the delivery company and has higher authority than the delivery company (for example, the manager of an apartment building) to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the storage state of one of the storage units 16 in the storage equipment 1. The manager who recognizes the occurrence of the abnormality will then inspect the relevant storage unit 16, for example, by the inspection operation described in FIG.

[0182] In step S410, the notification unit 34 issues a completion notification to indicate that the storage cancellation operation has been completed. Fig. 13C shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the completion notification is issued. This allows the delivery company to recognize that the storage cancellation operation has been completed.

[0183] In this way, if the abnormality in the storage cancellation operation is not resolved even after the delivery company has repeated the operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is not caused by the person who performed the operation. Also, even if there is an abnormality in the storage state of the storage unit 16 as viewed from the storage device 1, from the delivery company's perspective, the item has been successfully removed by step S49. In such a case, the storage system 100 informs the delivery company that the storage cancellation operation has been successfully completed, and allows the operator, who has higher authority than the delivery company, to resolve the abnormality.

[0184] Then, in step S411, the notification unit 34 issues a prohibition notification to prohibit further operations from being performed on the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred. This makes it possible to prevent the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred from being used until the abnormality is resolved.

[0185] On the other hand, even if it is determined that no abnormality has occurred, in step S412, the notification unit 34 performs an operation completion notification indicating that the storage operation has been completed.

[0186] In this way, if the first storage state and the second storage state do not match during the storage cancellation operation and an abnormality in the storage state of the storage 16 is detected, the storage system 100 requests the delivery company to retry the storage cancellation operation. This makes it possible to highly likely resolve an abnormality caused by the implementer, such as the delivery company failing to pick up an item. By increasing the number of retries (threshold N in step S45), it is possible to further increase the probability of resolving an abnormality caused by the implementer.

[0187] If the storage status abnormality is not resolved even after retrying the storage cancellation operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality that has occurred is highly likely not caused by the user. For this reason, the storage system 100 can resolve the abnormality by issuing an alarm to an operator with higher authority via the alarm device 200, and having the operator inspect the storage 16 where the abnormality has occurred.

[0188] (Cancel shipment) Fig. 14 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the storage system 100 in a delivery cancellation operation. Also, Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the notification unit 34 on the display unit 12 as an example of notification content during execution of a delivery cancellation operation.

[0189] As described above, the shipping cancellation operation of the storage system 100 is executed, for example, when the delivery company cancels the shipping operation in the middle of the shipping operation (step S34:Y in FIG. 10). Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 14, it is assumed that the delivery company has already been authenticated.

[0190] In step S51, the notification unit 34 issues a return request notification to request the return of the article to the storage 16 and the closing of the door, based on an operation to cancel the outgoing operation by the delivery company. Fig. 15A shows an example of a screen for the return request notification.

[0191] In step S52, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door of the storage unit 16 has been closed. This allows the storage management unit 32 to recognize that the item that was in the process of being removed from the storage unit 16 has been returned to the storage unit 16 and that the removal cancellation operation has been performed.

[0192] In step S53, the determination unit 33 acquires the first storage state of the selected storage cabinet 16. As described above, the first storage state is information that is detected by the storage state detection unit 161 and indicates the presence or absence of an article inside the storage cabinet 16.

[0193] In step S54, the determination unit 33 determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match. When the outgoing cancel operation is performed, the item is returned to the storage 16, so the second storage state after the outgoing cancel operation is performed becomes a state in which the item is present. The determination unit 33 may estimate the second storage state based on the fact that the cancel operation was performed in step S34 of FIG. 10.

[0194] If the first storage state and the second storage state do not match (step S54: N), that is, if it is assumed that some abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S55. On the other hand, if the first storage state and the second storage state match (step S54: Y), that is, if it is assumed that no abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to step S59.

[0195] In step S55, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the mismatch count, which is the number of times it was determined in step S54 that the two do not match, has reached N. The process in step S55 determines whether or not the re-execution of the operation associated with the determination of an abnormality in the storage state in step S56 and subsequent steps described below has been repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0196] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N (step S55: N), the process proceeds to step S56. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count is N (step S55: Y), the process proceeds to step S58.

[0197] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N, that is, if the re-execution of the operation has not been repeated the predetermined number of times, then in step S56, the determination unit 33 increments the mismatch count by one.

[0198] Then, in step S57, the notification unit 34 issues a re-execution request notification to request re-execution of the outgoing cancellation operation. Fig. 15B shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the re-execution request notification is issued. This allows the delivery company to return the item from the storage 16 and re-execute the outgoing cancellation operation.

[0199] When it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N, that is, when the operation has been re-executed a predetermined number of times, in step S58, the notification unit 34 issues an operation completion notification indicating that the outgoing cancellation operation has been completed. FIG. 15C shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when notifying the completion of the operation. This allows the delivery company to recognize that the outgoing cancellation operation has been completed. After step S57, the process returns to step S52.

[0200] In this way, if the abnormality is not resolved even after the delivery company repeats the operation a predetermined number of times during the delivery cancellation operation, it is assumed that the abnormality is not caused by the person who performed the operation. Also, after the delivery cancellation operation is performed, the goods to be received by the recipient are stored in storage 16.

[0201] Therefore, if an alarm were issued to the operator at this time, as with other operations, there is a concern that the operator's inspection of the storage unit 16 in question may prevent the recipient from receiving the item stored in the storage unit 16 with the abnormality. For this reason, in the case of a shipping cancellation operation, the storage system 100 does not issue an alarm to the operator even if the number of times the first storage state and the second storage state do not match reaches a predetermined number.

[0202] In this case, the storage unit 16 in which the abnormality occurred will have the abnormality detected when the recipient performs the receiving operation, and after the recipient receives the item, the storage unit 16 will ultimately be inspected by an operator (see Figure 6).

[0203] Returning to the description of Fig. 14, if it is determined in step S54 that no abnormality has occurred, in step S59, the notification unit 34 issues an operation completion notification indicating that the taking-out operation has been completed.

[0204] In this way, if the first storage state and the second storage state do not match during the outgoing cancellation operation and an abnormality in the storage state of the storage 16 is detected, the storage system 100 requests the delivery company to re-execute the outgoing cancellation operation. This makes it possible to highly likely resolve an abnormality caused by the implementer, such as the delivery company mistakenly removing an item or moving an item outside the detection range of the storage state detection unit 161. By increasing the number of retries (threshold N in step S55), it is possible to further increase the probability that an abnormality caused by the implementer can be resolved.

[0205] If the storage status abnormality is not resolved even after retrying the cancel delivery operation a specified number of times, it is assumed that the abnormality is highly likely not caused by the user, but the cancel delivery operation does not issue an alarm to the operator so as not to interfere with subsequent receiving operations. This allows for smooth operation of the storage system 100.

[0206] (Unlocking operation) Figures 16 and 17 are flow charts for explaining an example of the operation of unlocking the storage system 100. Also, Figure 18 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that the notification unit 34 displays on the display unit 12 as an example of the content of notification during the execution of the unlocking operation.

[0207] FIG. 16 is a flowchart for a storage state in which items are stored in the storage cabinet 16 that is the target of the unlocking operation (items present), and FIG. 17 is a flowchart for a storage state in which items are stored in the storage cabinet 16 that is the target of the unlocking operation (items not present).

[0208] The difference between the unlocking operation when an object is present and when an object is not present is that the unlocking operation when an object is not present shown in Fig. 17 includes a process of issuing an alarm in step S78, whereas the unlocking operation when an object is present shown in Fig. 16 does not include a process of issuing an alarm. In the following explanation of Figs. 16 and 17, steps in which similar processes are performed will be explained together.

[0209] In steps S61 and S71, the authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates the operator based on the authentication data. Fig. 18A shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when authentication is successful in the unlocking operation. As shown in Fig. 18A, the operator has the authority to perform many operations on the storage device 1.

[0210] The authentication data of the operator includes information indicating that the operator (such as a manager, cleaner, maintenance worker, or serviceman) has a predetermined level of authority or higher.

[0211] When the manager selects "unlock door" from among multiple operations on the selection screen shown in Fig. 18A, in steps S62 and S72, the storage management unit 32 accepts the manager's selection of a storage unit 16. Fig. 18B shows an example of the screen when a storage unit 16 is selected in an unlocking operation. For example, the manager may be notified of which storage unit 16 an abnormality has occurred in.

[0212] In addition, the storage management unit 32 determines whether the subsequent processing is an unlocking operation when there is an item present or an unlocking operation when there is no item present, based on the storage status of the storage cabinet 16 selected in steps S62 and S72.

[0213] In steps S63 and S73, the storage management unit 32 controls the key control unit 162 of the selected storage unit 16 to unlock the door. This enables the manager to inspect the inside of the storage unit 16. Fig. 18C shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the door of the storage unit 16 selected by the manager is unlocked.

[0214] In steps S64 and S74, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door of the storage cabinet 16 has been closed. This allows the storage management unit 32 to recognize that an unlocking operation has been performed.

[0215] In steps S65 and S75, the determination unit 33 acquires the first storage state of the selected storage unit 16.

[0216] In steps S66 and S76, the determination unit 33 determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match. Since the storage state of the items should not change even if the unlocking operation is performed, it is assumed that the second storage state after the unlocking operation is performed will be the same as the storage state before the unlocking operation is performed. In other words, the second storage state is specified based on the storage state of the storage cabinet 16 selected in steps S62 and S72 before the unlocking operation is started.

[0217] If the first storage state and the second storage state do not match (steps S66, S76: N), that is, if it is assumed that some abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to steps S67, S77. On the other hand, if the first storage state and the second storage state match (steps S66, S76: Y), that is, if it is assumed that no abnormality has occurred in the storage state of storage cabinet 16, the process proceeds to steps S611, S713.

[0218] In steps S67 and S77, the determination unit 33 determines whether the mismatch count, which is the number of times that it is determined that there is no match in steps S66 and S76, has reached N. By the processing of steps S67 and S77, it is determined whether the re-execution of the operation associated with the determination of an abnormality in the storage state in steps S68 and S78 described later has been repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0219] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N (steps S67, S77: N), the process proceeds to steps S68, S78. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mismatch count is N (steps S67, S77: Y), the process proceeds to steps S610, S710.

[0220] If it is determined that the mismatch count is not N, that is, if the re-execution of the operation has not been repeated the predetermined number of times, the determination unit 33 increments the mismatch count by one in steps S68 and S78.

[0221] Then, in steps S69 and S79, the notification unit 34 issues a retry request notification to request retry of the unlocking operation. Fig. 18D shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when the retry request notification is issued. After steps S69 and S79, the process returns to steps S63 and S73.

[0222] If it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N, that is, if the operator has repeatedly checked the inside of the repository 16 a predetermined number of times and has attempted to unlock the repository without any article inside, in step S710, the alarm unit 35 issues an alarm to other operators via the alarm device 200. Then, the process proceeds to step S711.

[0223] The process of issuing an alarm is not performed in the case of an unlocking operation when an item is present as shown in Fig. 16, and if it is determined that the mismatch count has reached N and an unlocking operation is being performed when an item is present, the process proceeds to step S610. This is to prevent the receiver from being hindered from performing a receiving operation because an item is stored in the storage unit 16 where the abnormality occurred, as in the case of the above-mentioned cancel delivery operation.

[0224] In steps S610 and S711, the notification unit 34 notifies the user that the unlocking operation has been completed.

[0225] In step S712, the notification unit 34 issues a prohibition notification to the effect that further operations on the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred are prohibited. This makes it possible to prevent the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred from being used until the abnormality is resolved.

[0226] Even if it is determined in steps S66 and S76 that no abnormality has occurred, the notification unit 34 issues an operation completion notification in steps S611 and S713. Note that if an item is present, a prohibition notification is not issued because there is a possibility that an item receiving operation will occur.

[0227] By the above-described process, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to issue an alarm based on whether or not there is an article in the target storage unit 16 during the unlocking operation.

[0228] (Inspection operation) Fig. 19 is a flowchart for explaining an example of operation during an inspection operation of the storage system 100. Also, Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that the notification unit 34 causes the display unit 12 to display, as an example of notification content during execution of the inspection operation.

[0229] The inspection operation of the storage system 100 is carried out when an operator who has received an alarm inspects the storage 16 in order to resolve any abnormalities in the storage 16 detected by the other operations described above.

[0230] In step S81, the authentication unit 36 ​​authenticates the operator based on the authentication data.

[0231] In step S82, the notification unit 34 accepts the selection of an inspection operation. Fig. 20A shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when an inspection operation is selected.

[0232] When the operator selects "Check the alarm history" from among multiple options on the selection screen shown in Fig. 20A, the notification unit 34 displays an alarm history list screen in step S83. Fig. 20B shows an example of the alarm history list screen.

[0233] As shown in FIG. 20B, the storage system 100 manages the history of alarms issued in the storage system 100, and information about the alarm history is registered in, for example, the storage unit 24 of the management device 2. Information about the alarm history includes information such as the type of alarm, the operation during which the alarm occurred, and when the alarm occurred. Alarms included in the alarm history list may include storage state mismatch alarms, which are alarms issued during each of the operations described above, as well as other types of alarms such as unlocking failures. The notification unit 34 reads out the information and causes the display unit 12 to display an alarm history list screen, as exemplified in FIG. 20B.

[0234] The alarm history list screen displays a "Check storage status mismatch" button. The "Check storage status mismatch" button is a button for extracting storage status mismatch alarms from among the alarms included in the alarm history list.

[0235] When the operator selects the "Check storage status discrepancy" button, in step S84, the notification unit 34 displays a screen showing a storage cabinet 16 in which a storage status discrepancy occurred during a predetermined period in the past. Fig. 20C shows an example of the screen showing a storage cabinet 16 in which a storage status discrepancy occurred.

[0236] When the operator selects one of the storage cabinets 16 in which a storage status inconsistency has occurred, in step S85, the storage management unit 32 determines, based on information regarding the alarm history, whether or not the abnormality that previously occurred in the selected storage cabinet 16 was during the storage operation.

[0237] If it is for a warehousing operation (step S85: Y), the process proceeds to step S86, and if not (step S85: N), the process proceeds to step S812.

[0238] In step S86, the storage management unit 32 unlocks the door of the selected storage unit 16.

[0239] In step S87, the notification unit 34 issues a confirmation request notification to have the operator check the inside of the unlocked repository 16.

[0240] Fig. 20D shows an example of a confirmation request notification screen when the operation in which the abnormality occurred is a storage operation. As shown in Fig. 20D, the confirmation request notification includes a status confirmation notification to have the operator check the inside of storage 16 and perform cleaning, item status confirmation, etc., and a placement request notification to have the operator place an item for inspection inside storage 16 and check the operation of storage status detection unit 161. The item for inspection is an item that is prepared in advance for inspection by storage status detection unit 161, and may be any item as long as it can block the light of storage status detection unit 161 and is sufficiently large.

[0241] The placement request notification is only sent when the operation in which the abnormality occurred is a storage operation, because if an abnormality occurs during a storage operation, no items will be stored inside the storage 16 (see FIG. 6).

[0242] When the operator checks the repository 16 in response to the check request notification and closes the door, in step S88, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door has been closed.

[0243] In step S89, the storage management unit 32 determines whether or not the detection of the inspection item is being performed normally by the storage state detection unit 161. Specifically, the storage management unit 32 acquires the first storage state, and if the acquired first storage state indicates the presence of an item, determines that the detection is being performed normally, and if the acquired first storage state indicates the absence of an item, determines that the detection is not being performed normally.

[0244] If it is determined that the detection is normal (step S89: Y), it is assumed that the abnormality in the storage unit 16 has been resolved. Therefore, in step S810, the notification unit 34 issues a notification that the abnormality has been resolved and requests the operator to remove the items for inspection and close the door, as shown in Fig. 20E. Thereafter, when the operator removes the items for inspection and closes the door, the storage system 100 releases the state in which the use of the storage unit 16 is prohibited.

[0245] On the other hand, if it is determined that the detection is not being performed normally (step S89:N), it is assumed that the abnormality in the storage cabinet 16 is not an abnormality caused by the implementer or an abnormality caused by the state of the storage cabinet 16, but an abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161.

[0246] Therefore, in step S811, the notification unit 34 issues a failure notification to the operator to notify that the repository 16 is out of order. Fig. 20F shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when a failure notification is issued.

[0247] If it is determined in step S85 that the abnormality that previously occurred in the selected storage cabinet 16 was not related to the storage operation (step S85: N), in step S812, the storage management unit 32 unlocks the door of the selected storage cabinet 16.

[0248] In step S813, the notification unit 34 issues a confirmation request notification to have the operator check the inside of the unlocked repository 16.

[0249] The confirmation request notification in step S813 differs from the confirmation request notification in step S87 in that it includes only a status confirmation notification to have the operator check the inside of storage 16 and perform cleaning, check the status of items, etc., and does not include a placement request notification.

[0250] When the operator checks the repository 16 in response to the check request notification and closes the door, in step S814, the storage management unit 32 detects that the door has been closed.

[0251] In step S815, the storage management unit 32 determines whether or not the detection of an item is being performed normally by the storage state detection unit 161. Specifically, the storage management unit 32 acquires the first storage state, and if the acquired first storage state indicates that an item is not present, determines that the detection is being performed normally, and if the acquired first storage state indicates that an item is present, determines that the detection is not being performed normally.

[0252] If it is determined that the detection is normal (step S815: Y), it is assumed that the abnormality in the storage unit 16 has been resolved. Therefore, in step S816, the notification unit 34 issues a notification that the abnormality has been resolved. Note that in the notification in step S816, it is not necessary to notify the user that the item for inspection should be removed, so it is sufficient to only notify that the item was detected normally. Thereafter, the storage system 100 releases the state in which the use of the storage unit 16 is prohibited.

[0253] On the other hand, if it is determined that the detection is not being performed normally (step S815:N), it is assumed that the abnormality in the storage cabinet 16 is not an abnormality caused by the user or an abnormality caused by the state of the storage cabinet 16, but an abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161.

[0254] Therefore, in step S817, the notification unit 34 issues a malfunction notification to the operator to notify the operator that the repository 16 is malfunctioning. Fig. 20F shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 12 when a malfunction is notified.

[0255] In this way, during the inspection operation, the operator checks the inside of the storage cabinet 16 where an abnormality has occurred during each of the above-mentioned operations, and can eliminate the abnormality caused by the state of the storage cabinet 16, such as the inside of the storage cabinet 16 being dirty. Also, during the inspection operation, if the abnormality that has occurred in the storage cabinet 16 is due to the storing operation, since no items are stored in the storage cabinet 16, an item for inspection is stored in the storage cabinet 16, and an inspection is performed to see whether the storage state detection unit 161 is operating normally. This makes it possible to accurately check whether an abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161 has occurred.

[0256] <Summary of operation examples for each operation> An example of the operation of the storage system 100 when any of the above-described operations is performed will now be summarized.

[0257] Fig. 21 is a diagram summarizing examples of operation for each type of operation executed (or performed) on the storage unit 16. Fig. 21 summarizes the operation of the storage system 100 when each of the following operations is executed: a storage operation (see Fig. 6), a receiving operation (see Fig. 8), a shipping operation (see Fig. 10), a storage cancel operation (see Fig. 12), a shipping cancel operation (see Fig. 14), an unlocking operation when an item is present (see Fig. 16), and an unlocking operation when an item is not present (see Fig. 17). Note that the inspection operation described in Fig. 19 is not described in Fig. 21 because a mismatch state is not determined.

[0258] Since the storing operation is an operation in which an item is stored in the storage 16, the second storage state is "item present". Therefore, if the first storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 is "item absent" after the storing operation is executed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a re-execution request notification is issued. If the mismatch state is not resolved even after the executor executes the storing operation N times and the mismatch count reaches N, it is considered that the abnormality is not caused by the executor, and an alarm is issued to the operator. Then, a change request notification is issued to request a change of the storage 16 that is the target of the storing operation, and the storage 16 where the storing operation was executed is unlocked. In the storing operation, a prohibition notification is not issued to prohibit the use of the storage 16.

[0259] Since the receiving operation is an operation in which the recipient receives a stored item, the second storage state is "no item". Therefore, if the first storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 is "item present" after the receiving operation is performed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a re-execution request is notified. If the mismatch state is not resolved even after the recipient performs the receiving operation N times and the mismatch count reaches N, it is considered that the abnormality is not caused by the performer, an alarm is issued to the operator, and a prohibition notification is issued to prohibit the use of the storage 16. Note that in the case of the receiving operation, even if the mismatch state (abnormality) is not resolved, the recipient, who is the performer of the receiving operation, has successfully completed receiving the item, so the performer is not notified of the abnormality.

[0260] Since the outgoing operation is an operation in which the delivery company removes stored items, the second storage state is "no items". Therefore, if the first storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 is "item present" after the outgoing operation is executed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a re-execution request notification is issued. If the mismatch state is not resolved even after the delivery company executes the outgoing operation N times and the mismatch count reaches N, it is considered that the abnormality is not caused by the executor, an alarm is issued to the operator, and a prohibition notification is issued to prohibit the use of the storage 16. Note that in the case of the outgoing operation, even if the mismatch state (abnormality) is not resolved, the delivery company, who is the executor of the outgoing operation, has successfully received the items, so the executor is not notified of the abnormality.

[0261] The storage cancellation operation is an operation in which the delivery company cancels the storage operation, so the second storage state is "no items." Therefore, if the first storage state detected by storage state detection unit 161 is "item present" after the storage cancellation operation is executed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a request for re-execution is notified. If the mismatch state is not resolved even after the delivery company executes the storage cancellation operation N times and the mismatch count reaches N, it is deemed that the abnormality is not caused by the executer, an alarm is issued to the operator, and a prohibition notification is issued to prohibit the use of that storage unit 16.

[0262] The outgoing cancel operation is an operation by the delivery company to cancel the outgoing operation, so the second storage state is "item present." Therefore, if the first storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 is "item absent" after the outgoing cancel operation is executed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a request for re-execution is notified. In the outgoing cancel operation, if the mismatch state is not resolved even after the delivery company executes the operation N times, no alarm is issued, no prohibition is issued, etc., because there are still items in the storage 16 that the recipient should receive. In this case, if the mismatch state is not resolved after the recipient executes the receiving operation, an alarm is issued, a prohibition is issued, etc., again at that point.

[0263] The unlocking operation when there is an item is an operation for unlocking the storage 16 when an item is stored in the storage 16, so the second storage state is "item present". Therefore, if the first storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 is "no item" after the unlocking operation is performed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a re-execution request notification is issued. In the unlocking operation when there is an item, if the mismatch state is not resolved even after the unlocking operation is performed N times by the delivery company, there are still items in the storage 16 that the recipient should receive, so no alarm is issued or a prohibition notification is issued. In this case, if the mismatch state is not resolved after the recipient performs the receiving operation, an alarm is issued or a prohibition notification is issued again at that time.

[0264] The unlocking operation when no item is present is an operation for unlocking storage 16 when no item is stored therein, and therefore the second storage state is "no item". Therefore, if the first storage state detected by storage state detection unit 161 is "item present" after the unlocking operation is performed, it is determined that the second storage state and the first storage state do not match (mismatch), the mismatch count is incremented by 1, and a request for retry is issued. In the unlocking operation when no item is present, if the mismatch state is not resolved even after the delivery company performs the unlocking operation N times, it is deemed that the abnormality is not caused by the performer, and an alarm is issued to the operator, and a prohibition notice is issued to prohibit the use of that storage 16.

[0265] <Action and effect> As described above, the storage system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a storage cabinet 16 having a storage state detection unit 161, a memory unit 111 that stores a correspondence between operations performed on the storage cabinet 16 and the storage states of items in the storage cabinet 16, a determination unit 33 that determines whether a first storage state detected by the storage state detection unit 161 matches a second storage state identified by referring to the correspondence based on the executed operation when an operation is performed, and an alarm unit 35 that outputs a signal to sound an alarm when the determination unit 33 determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match.

[0266] Through this process, when an abnormality occurs in the storage 16, a person who recognizes the abnormality through an alarm can be expected to quickly resolve the abnormality. Therefore, if a discrepancy occurs between the storage state indicated by the information managed by the storage system 100 and the actual storage state, the cause can be quickly resolved, preventing a decrease in the operating rate of the storage equipment 1.

[0267] The storage system 100 further includes an authentication unit 36 ​​that determines whether the executor has the authority to perform the unlocking operation or the inspection operation. This allows the executor to perform the operation to resolve the abnormality.

[0268] The storage system 100 further includes a notification unit 34 that issues a confirmation request notification to the user requesting that the user check the inside of the storage unit 16 where the first storage state and the second storage state are determined to be inconsistent by the determination unit 33. This allows the user to carry out an operation to resolve the abnormality.

[0269] Furthermore, in the storage system 100, when the determination unit 33 determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match, the notification unit 34 issues a prohibition notification that prohibits the user from performing operations on the multiple storage cabinets 16. This makes it possible to prevent the storage cabinet 16 in which the abnormality has occurred from being used until the abnormality is resolved.

[0270] Furthermore, in the storage system 100, the notification unit 34 further issues a placement request notification to a storage cabinet 16 determined by the determination unit 33 that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match in the confirmation request notification, requesting that the inspection item be placed in a position detectable by the storage state detection unit. This makes it easier to confirm whether the abnormality that has occurred in the storage cabinet 16 is an abnormality caused by the user.

[0271] Furthermore, in the storage system 100, after the operator arranges the inspection items, the determination unit 33 again determines whether the first storage state and the second storage state match, and the notification unit 34 issues a malfunction notification to notify that the storage cabinet 16 has malfunctioned when the determination unit 33 does not determine that the first storage state and the second storage state match. As a result, when the determination unit 33 repeatedly determines that the second storage state does not match the first storage state, it is assumed that the abnormality that has occurred in the storage cabinet 16 is an abnormality caused by a malfunction of the storage state detection unit 161, and therefore, by issuing a malfunction notification, it is possible to promptly respond to the malfunction. [Industrial Applicability]

[0272] The present disclosure is useful for a storage system having multiple coolers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0273] 100 Storage System 1 Storage device 2 Management device 11 Control section 12 Display section 13 Reception 14 Communications Department 15 Cooling Unit 16 Storage 161 Storage state detection unit 162 Key control section 163 Door 17 Storage unit 18 Control Panel 21 Communications Department 22 Output section 23 Control Unit 24 Memory section 31 Cooling control unit 32 Collection Management Department 33 Judgment section 34 Notification Department 35. Reporting Department 36 Authentication Section 200 Alarm device

Claims

1. A storage unit having a storage state detection unit; a storage unit that stores a correspondence between an operation on the storage unit and a storage state of the item in the storage unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not a first storage state, which is a storage state detected by the storage state detection unit, matches a second storage state that is specified by referring to the correspondence relationship based on the executed operation, when the operation is executed; an alarm unit that outputs a signal for issuing an alarm when the determination unit determines that the first stored state and the second stored state do not match; A storage system comprising:

2. an authentication unit that determines whether or not the user has a predetermined authority before accepting the execution of the operation; The storage system of claim 1 .

3. the alert issuing unit issues the alert to an operator who has been determined by the authentication unit to have authority to execute a specific operation. The storage system of claim 2.

4. a notification unit that issues a confirmation request notification to the person having the predetermined authority, requesting the person to confirm the inside of the storage unit where the determination unit has determined that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match, The storage system of claim 2.

5. When the determination unit determines that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match, the notification unit issues a prohibition notification to prohibit the execution of the operation on the storage. The storage system of claim 4.

6. The notification unit further issues a placement request notification to request that an inspection item be placed in a position detectable by the storage state detection unit in a storage unit where the first storage state and the second storage state are determined not to match by the determination unit in the confirmation request notification. The storage system of claim 4.

7. After the inspection item is placed, the determination unit determines again whether the first storage state and the second storage state match, The notification unit performs a malfunction notification to notify that the storage unit has malfunctioned when the determination unit does not determine that the first storage state and the second storage state match. The storage system of claim 6.

8. A storage unit having a storage state detection unit; a storage unit that stores a correspondence between an operation on the storage unit and a storage state of the item in the storage unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not a first storage state, which is a storage state detected by the storage state detection unit, matches a second storage state identified by referring to the correspondence relationship based on the executed operation, when the operation is executed; an alarm unit that outputs a signal for issuing an alarm when the determination unit determines that the first stored state and the second stored state do not match; A storage device comprising:

9. A management device that manages a storage device that receives an operation for a storage unit having a storage state detection unit, a storage unit that stores a correspondence between an operation on the storage unit and a storage state of the item in the storage unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not a first storage state, which is a storage state detected by the storage state detection unit, matches a second storage state identified by referring to the correspondence relationship based on the executed operation, when the operation is executed; an alarm unit that outputs a signal for issuing an alarm when the determination unit determines that the first stored state and the second stored state do not match; A management device comprising:

10. 1. A method for issuing an alarm regarding a storage device that receives an operation performed on a storage unit having a storage state detection unit, comprising: when any one of a plurality of types of operations is performed by an operator on the storage unit, it is determined whether or not a first storage state, which is a storage state of an item corresponding to the type of operation performed, matches a second storage state, which is a storage state detected by the storage state detection unit; outputting a signal for issuing an alarm when it is determined that the first storage state and the second storage state do not match; How to issue an alarm.

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