Order Delivery System and Order Delivery Method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for automatically delivering orders to a receiving location outside a premises. [Solution] The system of the present invention comprises a bag arranged to receive a bag in connection with this control; signal transmitting means for transmitting a signal of the presence of a customer in the vicinity of the receiving location and / or detection means for detecting the presence of the customer; a transport module mounted at an elevated position, said transport module comprising: hanging means for suspending said bag on a transport track; automatic moving means for automatically moving said hanging means on said transport track; and activation means for activating said automatic moving means arranged to move a number of bags containing different parts of the order to said receiving location when said signal transmitting means and / or said detection means emit a signal confirming the presence of the user in the vicinity of the receiving location.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] 1. Technical Field to which the Invention Belongs The technical field of the present invention is the logistics field in stores and warehouses, particularly the logistics field related to the transportation and sorting of goods. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for delivering ordered goods. The present invention is particularly used in the receipt of food or consumer goods at a receiving point, also known as a "drive-through", and for the delivery of goods at a relay point.

Background Art

[0002] 2. Prior Art There are known stores that provide an online order delivery service at a receiving point known as a "drive-through" service. While a customer is waiting to receive the ordered goods that they have come to pick up, one or more pickers collect the ordered goods and store them in a bag on the shelf. The sorting of the ordered goods can be carried out during the collection round or when the ordered goods are placed on the shelf. This order picking technology has many drawbacks. This technology requires a fairly large storage space to store the ordered goods and a large workforce. In addition, according to this technology, while the picker goes to pick up the ordered goods on the shelf and delivers them to the customer, the customer who has come to pick up the ordered goods has to wait, or if all the pickers are running around busily and cannot deliver the customer's ordered goods, the customer has to wait for some time.

[0003] To reduce the waiting time of customers, it was considered possible to simply deliver the ordered goods to the customer by putting the bag containing the goods into a large box and sending this large box to the storage space of an automatic large box storage system. The drawback of this technology using large boxes is that it requires the management of large boxes. Another drawback of this technology is that it is costly to implement. It has also been pointed out that the installation cost is extremely high in many large and medium-sized stores.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] 3. Objectives of the Invention Therefore, the present invention is particularly intended to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide an order delivery technology that reduces the number of times an operator intervenes. Another object of the present invention is to provide a technology for transmitting commands that are easy to implement. Another object of the present invention is to provide a control delivery technology that enables free use of floor space. Another object of the present invention is to provide a technology that reduces costs and operating costs.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] 4. Content of the Present Invention These objectives, as well as other objectives that will appear later, are achieved by a system for automatically delivering an ordered item consisting of a plurality of articles stored in a building to a receiving location for that ordered item located outside the building.

[0006] According to the present invention, a system for automatic delivery of ordered items is provided, the system comprising: a plurality of bags provided to receive bags; means for associating information for identifying the ordered items with a selected bag among the plurality of bags in which the items of the ordered items are placed; signal transmitting means for transmitting a signal of the presence of a user to whom the ordered items are to be delivered or the presence of a truck intended to take charge of the management of the ordered items in the vicinity of the receiving location and / or detection means for detecting the presence of the user or the presence of the truck; and a conveying module at least partially mounted at a high place, the conveying module comprising: at least one conveying track at least a substantial part of which extends into the building; hanging means for hanging the bag on the conveying track; automatic moving means for automatically moving the hanging means on the conveying track; and operating means for operating the automatic moving means so as to move a plurality of bags in which various items of the ordered items are placed and the information for identifying the ordered items is associated to the receiving location when the signal transmitting means and / or the detection means issue a signal confirming the presence of the user or the presence of the truck in the vicinity of the receiving location.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] Thus, the present invention proposes, in a novel way, to convey a bag suspended at a high place, store the items of the ordered items placed or not placed in the bag, and further convey them to a receiving location outside the store. The ordered items are automatically handed over to the customer who placed the order or handed over to a delivery truck arriving near the receiving location. The receiving location may be, for example, a dedicated parking area for "drive-through", may be arranged close to the store, or may be the storage volume of the truck.

[0008] In the present invention, the term "in the vicinity" means that the person receiving the ordered goods (or the receiving truck) is within less than a few meters or within several hundred meters from the receiving location. Therefore, for example, the signal transmitting means and / or the detecting means may be provided to emit a signal for confirming the presence of the user or the truck when the user or the truck stops right near the receiving location, or in other embodiments when the user or the truck passes through the entrance to the store's parking lot or a specific location in the parking lot. Finally, since the bag is suspended at a high place, it should be noted that the present invention saves a lot of floor space.

[0009] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the present invention, the transport track may extend both inside and outside the building, or may extend only inside the building. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the transport track includes a chain housed in a rail. In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the transport track is attached to the ceiling or the middle floor of the building. In another embodiment of the present invention, it is conceivable to attach the transport track to a dedicated transport structure. The transport structure includes, for example, one or more gantries.

[0010] Advantageously, the transport module includes means for sorting a plurality of bags for collecting the bags associated with the identification information of the ordered goods in at least one area of the building. Thereby, the bags containing the articles of the ordered goods can be pre-collected, and the ordered goods can be delivered quickly.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, the signal transmitting means and / or the detecting means includes at least one signal transmitting element and / or detecting element belonging to a group including at least a barcode reader; a QR code reader; a magnetic stripe or chip reader; a numeric keypad for entering a code; a dedicated application downloadable to the user's terminal; a biometric authentication reader such as a fingerprint reader; a presence sensor; a geolocation system. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the bag is formed of cloth or net and has two handles. The soft bag has the advantage that it can be folded when no articles are stored therein, thus reducing the space it occupies.

[0012] In other embodiments of the present invention, the bag may be formed entirely or partially of a plurality of rigid parts so as to be able to carry heavy articles such as, for example, packs of mineral water, or fragile articles such as, for example, boxed eggs. Advantageously, the conveying module comprises means for temporarily storing at least one of the bags in at least one of the high storage areas of the building. In order to store articles from different locations, several high-bay storage areas can be provided.

[0013] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the storage area is a temperature-controlled area. These areas may be positive-temperature storage areas or negative-temperature storage areas suitable for frozen goods. In this way, fresh or frozen goods can be taken out in advance from the store shelves or cold storage rooms and stored in the conveying module while waiting for the customer who has come to pick up the ordered goods or while waiting to deliver the ordered goods to the truck.

[0014] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the conveying module comprises a tunnel that encloses a part of the conveying track extending outside the building above the lane of the motor vehicle. Thereby, the recipient of the ordered goods can easily access the receiving location by his own motor vehicle and directly put the ordered goods into the trunk thereof.

[0015] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the location for receiving the ordered goods is the loading volume of the truck. Thereby, the ordered goods can be easily loaded onto the truck, and the delivery of the ordered goods to the relay point can be ensured. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the above-described automatic order delivery system includes a bag storage module provided to be mounted within the loading volume of the truck, and means for connecting the bag storage module to the transport track, the means for moving the bag from the bag storage module to the transport track. Thereby, the bag of the ordered item can be directly transferred to the truck or the truck can be emptied without manual intervention.

[0016] The present invention also relates to a method for automatically delivering ordered items consisting of a plurality of articles stored in a building to a location for receiving the ordered items located outside the building. According to the present invention, this method includes the following steps: collecting the articles constituting the ordered items and putting at least a part of the articles into at least one bag; putting one or more bags and articles not put in the bags into bags suspended on a transport track of a transport module selected from a plurality of bags and at least partially attached at a high place; associating information for identifying the ordered items with the bag in which a part of the ordered items is put; a signal transmission step of transmitting a signal of the presence of a user to whom the ordered items are to be delivered or the presence of a truck intended to take charge of the management of the ordered items in the vicinity of the receiving location and / or a detection step of detecting the presence of the user or the presence of the truck; a transport step of transporting, on the transport track, the bag associated with the identification information of the ordered items to the receiving location based on receiving a signal by a receiving unit. The signal transmission step and / or the detection step include a step of transmitting a signal for confirming the presence of a user or a truck in the vicinity of the receiving location, and the transport step includes a step of automatically operating means for automatically moving means for suspending the bag on the transport track.

[0017] According to an advantageous aspect of the present invention, such a method includes a sorting step of sorting a plurality of bags, and the sorting step includes a step of gathering bags associated with the identification information of the ordered items in at least one zone of the building.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] 5. List of Drawings Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by reading the description of two embodiments of the present invention shown below as merely illustrative and non - limiting examples.

[0019]

Figure 1

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Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] 6. Detailed Description of the Invention 6.1. Example of an Embodiment of the Present Invention FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively show an example of an embodiment of an order delivery system 10 according to the present invention implemented in a supermarket in a top view and a perspective view. This system 10 includes a conveying module 11 having a circulating conveying track 12 for a flexible fabric bag 13, and the circulating conveying track 12 is formed from an assembly of rail sections to which electric chains are attached. In this embodiment of the present invention, each bag is suspended by a hook from a connector of the chain within the conveying track. The bag automatically moves along a section of this conveying track by driving the chain attached to the conveying track, and a transfer device (e.g., a pusher) is provided to move the bag from one chain to the other.

[0021] The conveying track 12 is arranged within a warehouse 14 adjacent to the sales area of a supermarket, and extends outside the warehouse through a tunnel 15 leading to three order picking stations 16 having openings that enable customers 17 to pick up various goods ordered by them and receive the ordered goods either in the bag or without a bag. This elevated tunnel is preferably provided to pass above a lane 18 that enables customers to park their vehicle 19 within the reach of the customer's arm at the order picking station. The conveying track 12 consists of a first loop 12A that circulates the bag between a bagging station 110 and a storage area 111 supported on the mezzanine floor 112, and a second loop 12B that can convey the bag between the storage area 111 and the picking station 16.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying track has three sets of comb-like parts 113 superimposed on the storage area 111. The teeth 114 of the comb-like part located at the distal end 115 of the storage area 111 are in a positive-temperature cold storage environment where fresh goods are stored. The temperature of the other teeth of the comb-like part is the environmental temperature of the warehouse. In the storage area, when the bag 13 is not being used to carry part of the ordered goods, it is preferable that the sides of the bag 13 are bent towards each other, which can save space.

[0023] At the bagging station 110, pickers who have collected a portion of the ordered items place them into the bags in front of them. Each bag 13 carries an identifier which, in this particular embodiment of the invention, consists of a barcode printed on one of the bag's straps. This identifier is read by a barcode reader when the bag is presented to the picker and transmitted to the supermarket's Warehouse Management System (usually also referred to by the acronym WMS for "Warehouse Management System"). When a portion of the ordered items is placed inside the bag 13, the picker easily confirms on a terminal such as a touchpad that a portion of the ordered items has been placed inside the bag. Then, the Warehouse Management System assigns the number of the order validated by the picker using the terminal to that bag, and the identifier of that bag is scanned in its database for assigning the bag to the order.

[0024] In FIG. 3, which is a partial cross-sectional detailed view of the portion of the order delivery system 10 located outside the supermarket warehouse, each picking station 16 is equipped with a touch screen 31 that enables the customer to enter the numeric code assigned to their order, which the customer receives via email or SMS (Short Message Service) on their smartphone. By entering this code, the customer can inform the Warehouse Management System that they are in front of one of the picking stations, and this picking station sends a signal to the system 10 containing an instruction to deliver the customer's ordered items to the picking station where the customer entered the code. Next, the order delivery system 10 sends the individual bags containing portions of the customer's order into the tunnel 15 and distributes the individual bags to the picking stations 16 along the conveyor tracks connecting to the tunnel.

[0025] In a variant of this particular embodiment of the present invention, it is conceivable that a customer who has picked up an ordered item notifies their presence near the picking station by scanning a barcode or QR code received on their smartphone, or by reading the magnetic stripe of the store card assigned to this customer, or by using a biometric reader to identify themselves, or by using a dedicated application downloaded to the smartphone. In yet another variant of this particular embodiment of the present invention, it is conceivable to use the geographical location information system of the customer's smartphone to detect the presence of a customer in the vicinity of the picking station.

[0026] In FIG. 5, the steps of an embodiment of an order delivery method according to the present invention implemented using the order delivery system 10 are shown in the form of a diagram. After a customer places an order for various items on the store's website, the warehouse management system sends an instruction to the picker to collect the ordered items from the fresh produce area, the frozen goods area, the dried goods area, and / or the store's storage room (step 51). During this step, the picker can collect items for several different orders in the same collection round.

[0027] During this collection, the picker puts several items together into the same bag or multiple bags (step 52).

[0028] In step 53, as soon as the picker completes the collection round, the picker goes to the bagging station 110 of bag 13 and puts the bag and the non-bagged items into one of the bags of the order delivery system 10 that continuously arrives at the bagging station respectively. In the present invention, the picker can access the bagging station in an undetermined order and can put the bag or the non-bagged items into the bag that has arrived at the bagging station 110 in any order. In this step 53, the identifier of each bag that continuously arrives at the bagging station is scanned and sent to the warehouse management system.

[0029] After the picker puts the bag or the item into the bag, the picker uses the touch pad to confirm that the bagging has been done and enters information on which order the item put into the bag corresponds to. In a modification of this embodiment of the present invention, it is also conceivable that the operator scans the code printed on the order bag.

[0030] Next, the order identification information is associated by the warehouse management system with the bag waiting at the bagging station (step 54), and this bag is moved along the transport track of the transport module to make room for a new bag.

[0031] Next, in step 55, the bag into which the item is put is stored in the comb-shaped area of the storage area according to the content of the item being carried. For example, the fresh item is carried towards area 115.

[0032] When a customer who has arrived near the order picking station sends a signal by entering an order code into the touch sensor keyboard of the picking station (step 56), a confirmation signal is issued by the management system and transmitted to the transport module 11 (e.g., by radio waves) (step 57). In this transport module 11, in the first step 58, it sorts the bags for collecting a plurality of bags associated with the identification information of the order into the buffer zone of the bag transport track 12. Then, in step 59, the sorted bags are transported through the tunnel 15 to the picking station where the customer is located, and the customer can take out the ordered items.

[0033] 6.2. Another example of an embodiment of the present invention FIG. 4 shows another example of the order delivery system 40 according to the present invention. In this example, it is possible to deliver ordered items to the order delivery truck at the relay point. As shown in FIG. 4, this system 40 includes, in addition to the transport module 41 that is substantially the same as the transport module 11 of the order delivery system described above, an electric bag storage module 42 mounted within the loading volume of the truck 43.

[0034] This storage module 42 can be connected to the transport track 44 of the transport module 41 via the connection unit 45 by moving the rear part of the truck backward to the level of the door 46 drilled in the outer wall of the warehouse 47. The connection unit 45 is provided with a device for transferring bags between the transport track 44 and the storage module 42. In this embodiment of the present invention, the bag transfer device can perform a reversible operation, can move the bags from the transport track 44 to the storage module 42, and can move the bags from the storage module to the transport track 44 in order to unload these bags from the truck.

Claims

1. An order delivery system for automatically delivering ordered items consisting of a plurality of items stored in a building to a place for receiving the ordered items located outside the building, the order delivery system comprising: The order delivery system includes: a plurality of bags provided to receive bags; means for associating information for identifying the ordered items with a selected one of the plurality of bags in which the items of the ordered items are placed; signal transmitting means for transmitting a signal indicating the presence of a user to whom the ordered items are to be delivered or the presence of a truck intended to take charge of the management of the ordered items in the vicinity of the receiving place and / or detecting means for detecting the presence of the user or the presence of the truck; a conveying module at least partially mounted at a high place, The conveying module includes: at least one conveying track at least a substantial part of which extends into the building; hanging means for hanging the bag on the conveying track; automatic moving means for automatically moving the hanging means on the conveying track; actuating means for actuating the automatic moving means provided to move a plurality of bags containing various items of the ordered items and associated with information for identifying the ordered items to the receiving place when the signal transmitting means and / or the detecting means emits a signal confirming the presence of the user or the presence of the truck in the vicinity of the receiving place; The order delivery system, wherein the conveying module includes a tunnel enclosing a part of the conveying track extending outside the building above a lane of a motor vehicle.

2. The order delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the conveying track includes a chain housed in a rail.

3. The order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the conveying track is attached to the ceiling or the middle second floor of the building.

4. The order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conveying module includes means for sorting a plurality of bags provided to gather the plurality of bags associated with the identification information of the ordered items in at least one zone of the building.

5. The signal transmitting means and / or the detecting means include at least one signal transmission element and / or detection element belonging to a group including at least a barcode reader; a QR code reader; a magnetic stripe or chip reader; a numeric keypad for entering a code; a dedicated application downloadable to a user's terminal; a biometric authentication reader such as a fingerprint reader; a presence sensor; a geolocation system, in the order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The bag is formed of cloth or net and has two handles, in the order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The transport module includes means for temporarily storing at least one of the bags in at least one of the high storage areas of the building, in the order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The storage area is a temperature-controlled area, in the order delivery system according to claim 7.

9. The place for receiving the ordered goods is a loading area of a truck, in the order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The order delivery system includes a bag storage module provided to be mounted in the loading area of the truck, and means for connecting the bag storage module to the transport track, the means for moving the bag from the bag storage module to the transport track, in the order delivery system according to claim 9.

11. An order delivery method for automatically delivering ordered goods consisting of a plurality of articles stored in a building to a place for receiving the ordered goods located outside the building, collecting the articles constituting the ordered goods and putting at least a part of the articles into at least one bag; putting each of one or more bags and articles not put in the bags into a bag suspended on a transport track of a transport module selected from a plurality of bags and at least partially mounted overhead; associating information for identifying the ordered goods with the bag in which a part of the ordered goods is put; a signal transmission step of transmitting a signal of the presence of a user to whom the ordered goods are to be delivered or the presence of a truck intended to take charge of the management of the ordered goods in the vicinity of the receiving place and / or a detection step of detecting the presence of the user or the presence of the truck; Based on receiving a signal by a receiving unit, a step of conveying on the conveying track through a tunnel that wraps a part of the conveying track extending outside the building above a lane of an automobile to the receiving location, a bag associated with identification information of the ordered item being at the receiving location; and The signal transmitting step and / or the detecting step includes a step of transmitting a signal for confirming the presence of a user or a truck in the vicinity of the receiving location. The conveying step includes a step of automatically operating means for automatically moving means for suspending the bag on the conveying track, the order delivery method.

12. The order delivery method includes a sorting step of sorting a plurality of bags. The sorting step includes a step of gathering bags associated with the identification information of the ordered item in at least one zone of the building, the order delivery method according to claim 11.

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