Order delivery system and order delivery method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for automatically delivering orders in bags to a receiving location outside a premises. [Solution] The system of the present invention comprises means for transmitting a signal of the presence of a customer in the vicinity of the receiving location and / or means for detecting the presence of the customer; a transport module mounted at an elevated position, said transport module comprising: a plurality of hanging elements for suspending bags from a conveying track; automatic moving means for automatically moving said hanging elements on said conveying track; and actuation means for activating said automatic moving means, which is arranged to move a plurality of bags containing the various 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 can be particularly used in the receipt of food or consumer goods at a receiving point also known as a "drive-through", and can also be used for the delivery of goods at a relay point.

Background Art

[0002] 2. Prior Art There are known stores that provide an online delivery service for ordered goods at a receiving point known as a "drive-through" service. While the customer is coming and waiting to receive the ordered goods, one or more pickers collect the ordered multiple goods and store them in a bag on the shelf. The sorting of the ordered goods can be carried out during the pick-up round or when the ordered goods are placed on the shelf.

[0003] 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 coming to receive the ordered goods has to wait, or the customer has to wait for a while when all pickers are busy in the collection round and cannot deliver the customer's ordered goods.

[0004] In order to reduce the customer's waiting time, 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 a large box 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

[0005] 3. Objectives of the Invention Accordingly, the present invention is particularly intended to overcome the drawbacks of the above 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 simple commands. Another object of the present invention is to provide a control delivery technology that allows 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

[0006] 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 order consisting of a plurality of articles in one or more bags stored in a building to a receiving location for that order located outside the building.

[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided a system for automatically delivering ordered goods, the system comprising a transport module at least partially mounted at a high place, the transport module comprising: at least one transport track at least a substantial part of which extends into the building; a plurality of bag hanging elements provided on the transport track; automatic moving means for automatically moving the hanging elements on the transport track; means for associating information for identifying the ordered goods with one or more hanging elements from which bags containing the various articles of the ordered goods or the bags are hung; signal transmitting means for 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 detecting means for detecting the presence of the user or the presence of the truck; and the transport module further comprising actuating means for actuating the automatic moving means provided to move the hanging element from which the bag is hung 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.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] Thus, the present invention proposes, in a novel way, to hang bags containing articles of ordered goods at a high place so that these bags can be stored, and to transport these bags to a receiving place outside the store. The ordered goods are automatically handed over to the customer who placed the order or handed over to a delivery truck arriving in the vicinity of the receiving place. The receiving place may be, for example, a dedicated parking area for "drive-through", may be arranged in the vicinity of the store, or may be the storage volume of the truck.

[0009] In the present invention, the term "vicinity" means that the person (or the truck receiving) the ordered goods 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 parking lot or a specific location in the parking lot. Finally, it should be noted that the present invention saves a lot of floor space since the bag is suspended at a high place.

[0010] Furthermore, in 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 or to be able to protect fragile articles such as boxed eggs. 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.

[0011] 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 mezzanine 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.

[0012] Advantageously, the transport module includes hanging element sorting means for gathering a plurality of hanging elements that hang a bag containing the articles of the ordered goods and to which the identification information of the ordered goods is associated in at least one area of the building. Therefore, a plurality of bags containing articles of the same order can be pre-gathered, and the ordered goods can be delivered quickly.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, the signal transmitting means and / or the detecting means include at least one signal transmitting element and / or detecting element belonging to a group including 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 reader such as a fingerprint reader; a presence sensor; a geolocation system. In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the hanging element belongs to a group including at least a hook and a rod.

[0014] Advantageously, the conveying module comprises means for temporarily storing at least one of the bags suspended from the hanging element in at least one of the high storage areas of the building. Some high storage areas can be provided to store different types of articles. 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, while waiting for a customer who has come to pick up an ordered item or for the ordered item to be handed over to a truck, fresh or frozen goods can be taken out in advance from the store shelves or cold storage rooms and stored in the conveying module.

[0015] According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, the conveying module comprises a tunnel enclosing a part of the conveying track extending outside the building above the lane of a motor vehicle. Thereby, the recipient of the ordered item can easily access the receiving location by his own motor vehicle and directly put the ordered item into its trunk.

[0016] According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, the receiving location of the ordered item is the loading volume of a truck. Thereby, the ordered item can be easily loaded onto the truck, and the delivery of the ordered item to the relay point can be ensured. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the above-described automated order fulfillment and delivery system includes a bag storage module configured to be mounted within the loading volume of the truck, and means for connecting the bag storage module to the transport track, the means including means for moving the hanging element that suspends the bag from the bag storage module to the transport track. Thereby, the bag can be transferred directly from the order to the truck or the truck can be emptied without manual intervention.

[0017] The present invention also relates to a method for automatically delivering an order consisting of a plurality of articles stored within a building to a location outside the building where the order is received. According to the present invention, the method includes: collecting the articles that make up the order and placing the articles in at least one bag; suspending the bag or bags from one or more bag hanging elements on a transport track of a transport module that is at least partially mounted at a high location; associating identification information of the order with at least one hanging element that suspends at least one bag containing various articles of the order; a signal transmission step of transmitting a signal indicating the presence of a user to whom the order is to be delivered or the presence of a truck intended to take charge of the management of the order 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, at least one hanging element associated with the identification information of the order to the receiving location based on receiving a signal by a receiving unit; wherein the signal transmission step and / or the detection 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, and the transport step includes a step of actuating means for automatically moving the hanging element on the transport track.

[0018] According to an advantageous aspect of the present invention, such a method comprises the step of sorting suspension elements, which step includes gathering suspension elements carrying bags of ordered items and associated with identification information of said ordered items in at least one zone of the building.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] 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.

[0020]

Figure 1

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Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] 6. Detailed Description of the Invention 6.1. Example of an Embodiment of the Present Invention Figures 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 transport module 11 having a bag circulation transport track 12, and the bag circulation transport track 12 is formed by an assembly of rail sections to which an electric chain is attached. In this embodiment of the present invention, each bag 13 is suspended by a hook from a coupler of a chain within the transport track. The bag automatically moves along a section of this transport track by driving the chain attached to the transport track, and a transfer device (for example, a pusher) is provided to move the bag from one chain to the other chain.

[0022] The transport track 12 is arranged within a warehouse 14 adjacent to the sales area of the supermarket, and extends outside the warehouse through a tunnel 15 leading to three order picking stations 16 having openings that enable picking up bags containing various articles ordered by customers 17 and receiving the ordered items. This elevated tunnel is preferably provided to pass above a lane 18 that enables a customer to park a vehicle 19 within the reach of the customer's arm at the order picking station. The transport track 12 includes a first loop 12A for circulating bags between a loading station 110 and a storage area 111 supported on the middle second floor 112, and a second loop 12B capable of transporting bags between the storage area 111 and the picking station 16.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, the transport track has three sets of comb-shaped parts 113 superimposed on the storage area 111. The teeth 114 of the comb-shaped part located at the distal end 115 of the storage area 111 are in a positive-temperature cold storage environment, and fresh products are stored there. The temperature of the other teeth of the comb-shaped part is the environmental temperature of the warehouse.

[0024] At the loading station 110, as shown in FIG. 6, the picker who arrives with one or more bags containing a portion of the ordered items hangs the bags one by one on the hook in front of the picker. Each hook 61 carries an identifier, which in this particular embodiment of the present invention consists of a barcode printed on a plastic piece attached to the base of the hook 61. This identifier is read by a barcode reader when the hook is in front of the picker and is transmitted to the supermarket's warehouse management system (usually also abbreviated as WMS for "Warehouse Management System"). When the bag 13 is hung on the hook 61, it is sufficient for the picker to confirm on a terminal such as a touch pad that the bag containing a portion of the ordered items has been hung on the hook. Then, the warehouse management system assigns the number of the order activated by the picker using the terminal to that hook, and the identifier of that hook is scanned in the hook assignment database.

[0025] In FIG. 3, which is a partial cross-sectional detail 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 numerical code assigned to their order, which the customer receives on their smartphone via email or SMS (Short Message Service). 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 individual bags containing portions of the customer's ordered items to the tunnel 15 and distributes the individual bags to the picking stations 16 along the conveyor tracks connecting to the tunnel.

[0026] In a variant of this particular embodiment of the present invention, it is conceivable that a customer who has brought in an order can notify their presence by scanning a barcode or QR code received on their smartphone near the picking station, 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 customer's smartphone's geographical location information system to detect the presence of a customer in the vicinity of the picking station.

[0027] In FIG. 5, the steps of an embodiment of an order fulfillment method according to the present invention implemented using the order fulfillment system 10 are shown in the form of a diagram. After a customer places orders for various products on the store's website, the warehouse management system sends instructions to the picker to collect the ordered products 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.

[0028] During this collection, the picker puts multiple items together into the same bag or multiple bags (step 52). In step 53, as soon as the picker completes the pick-up round, the picker goes to the loading station 110 and successively hangs the bags on the hooks of the order delivery system 10 that continuously comes to the loading station. Within the scope of the present invention, the picker can access the loading station in an undetermined order and can hang the bags on the hooks coming to the loading station 110 in any order. In this step 53, the identifier of each hook that continuously comes to the loading station is scanned and sent to the warehouse management system.

[0029] After hanging the bag, the picker uses the touch pad to confirm the completion of the hanging and enters the information of the order corresponding to the bag hung on the hook and the type of the articles contained in the bag. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, it is also conceivable that the operator scans the code printed on the order bag. According to this variant, a specific code can be assigned to the bags intended to contain fresh or frozen goods, and these bags can be distinguished from other bags.

[0030] Next, the order identification information is associated by the warehouse management system with the hook waiting at the loading station (step 54), and this hook is moved along the transport track of the transport module to make room for a new hook. Next, in step 55, the bag containing the articles of the order is stored in the comb-shaped area of the storage area according to its contents. For example, fresh articles are transported towards area 115.

[0031] 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, the hooks are sorted to the buffer zone of the transport track 12 in order to gather a plurality of hooks (bags suspended from these hooks as a result) associated with the identification information of the order. Thereafter, in step 59, the gathered 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.

[0032] 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 a truck that delivers ordered items at a relay point. As shown in FIG. 4, this system 40 includes, in addition to a transport module 41 that is substantially the same as the transport module 11 of the order delivery system described above, an electric storage module 42 for bags suspended from hooks, which is mounted within the loading volume of the truck 43.

[0033] This storage module 42 can be connected to the transport track 44 of the transport module 41 via a connection unit 45 by moving the rear of the truck rearward 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 a bag suspended from a hook between the transport track 44 and the storage module 42. In this embodiment of the present invention, the transfer device for the suspended bag can operate reversibly, and can move the bag suspended from the hook from the transport track 44 to the storage module 42, and can also move the bag from the storage module to the transport track 44 in order to unload the bag from the truck.

Claims

1. An order delivery system for automatically delivering ordered items consisting of a plurality of articles in one or more bags stored in a building to a location for receiving the ordered items located outside the building, the order delivery system comprising a conveyance module at least partially mounted at a high location, the conveyance module comprising: at least one conveyance track with at least a substantial portion extending into the building; a plurality of bag suspension elements provided on the conveyance track; automatic moving means for automatically moving the suspension elements on the conveyance track; means for associating information for identifying the ordered items with one or more suspension elements from which bags containing various articles of the bags or the ordered items are suspended; 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; the conveyance module further comprising operating means for operating the automatic moving means provided to move the suspension element with the bag suspended thereon to the receiving location when the signal transmitting means and / or the detection means emits a signal confirming the presence of the user or the presence of the truck in the vicinity of the receiving location; the conveyance module comprising a tunnel enclosing a part of the conveyance track extending outside the building above a lane of a motor vehicle, characterized in that it is an order delivery system.

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

3. The order delivery system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the conveyance 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 conveyance module is provided with means for sorting a plurality of suspension elements provided to group the plurality of suspension elements from which bags containing articles of the ordered items are suspended and with which the identification information of the ordered items is associated, 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, according to any one of claims 1 to 4 of the order delivery system.

6. The hanging element includes a hook, according to any one of claims 1 to 5 of the order delivery system.

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

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

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

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 having means for moving the hanging element that has suspended the bag from the bag storage module to the transport track, according to claim 9 of the order delivery system.

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 the articles into at least one bag; suspending the bag or the plurality of bags from one or more bag hanging elements on a transport track of a transport module mounted at least partially at a high place; associating identification information of the ordered goods with at least one hanging element that has suspended at least one bag containing various articles of the ordered goods; A signal transmission step of transmitting a signal of the presence of a user to whom an ordered item is delivered in the vicinity of the receiving location and / or the presence of a truck intended to take charge of the management of the ordered item, and / or a detection step of detecting the presence of the user and / or the presence of the truck; Based on receiving a signal by a receiving unit, a conveying step of conveying at least one hanging element associated with the identification information of the ordered item to the receiving location on the conveying track through a tunnel that encloses a part of the conveying track extending outside the building above the lane of the motor vehicle; and 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; The conveying step includes a step of operating means for automatically moving the hanging element on the conveying track. An order delivery method.

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