Autonomous delivery robot

Abstract

To provide an autonomous travel type delivery robot capable of automatically performing an unattended delivery process which is equivalent in quality to an unattended delivery service performed by a delivery person.SOLUTION: An autonomous travel type delivery robot R includes: an unattended delivery device 2 mounted on a robot body 1 having a package compartment; and a control part C for executing an unattended delivery process. The unattended delivery device 2 includes: two or more facing-surface separation distance detection parts 9 for detecting, from positions different from each other, distances between a surface (wall) W faced by the robot body 1 in a package carry-out direction 31x upon arrival at a delivery destination and the robot body 1; and a robot body angle calculation part C2 for calculating the angle of the robot body 1 with respect to the facing surface W on the basis of values detected by the facing-surface separation distance detection parts 9. The autonomous travel type delivery robot R performs: a pre-unattended-delivery correction process for correcting the position and attitude of the robot R to a target position and target attitude set in advance, on the basis of the values detected by the facing-surface separation distance detection parts 9 and a value calculated by the robot body angle calculation part C2; and a finish pushing process for pushing out a package toward the facing surface W while the package is placed on a package delivery surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), and more particularly to an autonomous mobile delivery robot device that can deliver packages stored in a cargo compartment inside the robot to a destination. [Background technology]

[0002] The number of parcels has surged in recent years, driven by the spread and expansion of electronic commerce (EC) and the special demand for EC due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a booming parcel delivery market. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, since the state of emergency was declared in April 2020, the number of parcels delivered has remained approximately 10% higher than the previous year. Meanwhile, the increase in parcels has increased the workload of delivery drivers, and labor shortages have become a problem in the logistics industry. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in demand for non-face-to-face and non-contact delivery, and it is expected that demand for non-contact delivery will further increase during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

[0003] As one way to address the increase in parcel delivery volume, the increased workload on delivery drivers, and labor shortages, domestic trials are underway to reduce the workload of delivery drivers by having some of their work delegated to autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for automated delivery, and practical application is also progressing overseas (see Non-Patent Document 1 below).

[0004] Additionally, as a response to the increasing workload of delivery drivers, labor shortages, and the demand for non-contact delivery, a demonstration experiment is underway in which the task of drop-off delivery (a delivery method in which the delivery person leaves the package at a designated location rather than handing it directly to the recipient) is entrusted to an autonomous robot, which then automatically leaves the package at the destination (see Non-Patent Document 2 below). Drop-off delivery allows the delivery person to leave the package at a designated location without handing it over, regardless of whether the recipient is at home or not. This effectively reduces the effort and time required for redelivery, thereby significantly contributing to improved work efficiency (delivery efficiency). It has also been reported that delivery efficiency has improved due to a significant drop in redelivery rates amid the self-restraint measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] “Delivery robot DeliRo”, [online], [searched May 20, 2021], Internet,<URL:https: / / www.zmp.co.jp / products / lrb / deliro> [Non-patent document 2] “Amoeba Energy, Japan Post / Successful continuous delivery by robot”, [online], [Retrieved May 20, 2021], Internet,<URL:https: / / www.lnews.jp / 2020 / 01 / m0130401.html> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When using the delivery robot described in Non-Patent Document 1, the recipient of the package can collect it by removing it from the delivery robot's box. However, if the recipient is not at the delivery destination, the robot must either wait at the delivery destination for a certain period of time or return to the base and then redeliver the package.

[0007] Furthermore, the delivery robot described in Non-Patent Document 2 can automatically place and deliver packages by itself, avoiding situations where the robot has to wait at the delivery destination for a certain period of time or return to the delivery center and then redeliver even if the recipient is not at home. However, it has the following drawbacks. First, the delivery robot described in Non-Patent Document 2 has a loading space near the floor to accommodate packages placed on the floor, forcing the recipient to crouch down to receive the package even during normal deliveries. This is also true when loading and unloading packages to be delivered at delivery centers, etc., resulting in reduced efficiency in the loading work of workers. Furthermore, the delivery robot described in Non-Patent Document 2 uses a pair of dedicated crawlers on the left and right as a travelling means, making it impossible or extremely difficult to adapt or replace it with a delivery robot equipped with more practical wheels, etc., and in this respect, it can be said that the degree of flexibility is low.

[0008] Demand for delivery robots that can cover labor shortages and also handle contactless delivery is not limited to the home delivery industry, but is also seen in the retail, hospital, and hotel industries, etc., and the question of how to provide last-mile logistics services (logistics services from the final base to the end user) is becoming an important issue for industries that require package delivery.

[0009] In consideration of this current situation, the applicant has developed an autonomous delivery robot R' as shown in Figure 19 and is currently conducting tests toward practical application (Patent Application No. 2021-101787). The autonomous delivery robot R' is equipped with an autonomously traveling means T' and a delivery device 2' mounted on a robot main body 1' having a cargo compartment, and is configured to be able to select between a delivery process in which the lift-down mechanism 4' of the delivery device 2' lifts down the bottom plate 31' of the movable basket 3' to a delivery position where it contacts the floor of the delivery destination, and a process in which a normal delivery is performed without operating the lift-down mechanism 4'.

[0010] In such a delivery robot R', a configuration is adopted in which the package N' is discharged by tilting the bottom plate portion 31' of the movable basket portion 3' via a mechanical link member that is linked to the movement of the lift-down mechanism 4' accompanying the lift-down operation of the package N'.

[0011] However, with this configuration, when the robot arrives at a delivery point based on a self-location estimation algorithm (e.g., AMCL: adaptive Monte Carlo localization), simply performing a delivery process immediately at the arrival point may result in the package being left in the wrong position or posture at the delivery target point.

[0012] Furthermore, in a delivery device equipped with a lift-down mechanism, when the bottom plate of the movable basket is tilted to discharge the package onto the package delivery surface (floor, table, etc.), and then the autonomous mobile robot moves backward to completely place the entire package on the floor, the bottom surface (rolling surface) of the package is not necessarily smooth, and if the center of gravity of the package is eccentric, the position and posture of the package may shift when it is rolled out.

[0013] Furthermore, since packages come in a variety of sizes, if the robot were to be guided in advance according to size to prevent changes in posture within the cargo compartment, a movable guide mechanism and posture sensing means would need to be installed within the compartment, which would complicate the structure and require extra work at the delivery point when loading the package into the compartment.

[0014] Furthermore, if the luggage is light, it is likely that the luggage will not be completely ejected from the movable basket section after the lift-down process is completed, and the luggage will be dragged backward to a certain extent when the robot moves backward, which will cause the luggage to deviate from its target posture and target position.

[0015] Placing a package at the target location, facing perpendicular to the wall at the delivery destination, is an important service quality that influences the customer's impression, and the same quality of delivery service as when a delivery person delivers is required. For example, there have been recent cases where delivery people were caught on surveillance cameras leaving packages in a messy manner, leading to complaints. Therefore, careful package placement is expected to be required for autonomous delivery robots, which are being considered in industries such as logistics, retail, hospitals, and hotels.

[0016] The present invention has been made with an eye on such problems, and its main purpose is to provide an autonomous delivery robot that can leave and deliver packages, and can adjust the posture of the placed package and the gap distance between the package and the wall to be appropriate posture and distance (position), thereby performing the delivery process with the same quality as if the package were delivered by a delivery person. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] That is, the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention comprises a driving means capable of autonomous driving, a robot body having a part of its internal space set as a luggage compartment, a delivery device mounted on the robot body, and a control unit that executes at least the delivery process. The delivery device comprises a movable basket portion capable of storing luggage, a lift-down mechanism that lifts down the movable basket portion from a storage position where the entire movable basket portion is stored in the luggage compartment to a storage position where at least a part of the bottom plate portion of the movable basket portion contacts or is close to the luggage delivery surface of the delivery destination, and a detection device that detects the distance between the robot body and a surface (opposing surface) that faces the direction in which the robot body carries out the luggage when the robot arrives at the delivery destination from two different positions. The robot is characterized by the above-mentioned opposing surface distance detection unit, a robot body angle calculation unit that calculates the angle of the robot body relative to the opposing surface based on the detection value of the opposing surface distance detection unit, a pre-delivery correction process that corrects the position and attitude of the robot to a preset target position and target attitude based on the detection value of the opposing surface distance detection unit and the calculation value of the robot body angle calculation unit before the control unit operates the lift-down mechanism to perform the drop-off and delivery process, and a finishing push process that pushes the packages that have been moved from the movable basket unit to the package delivery surface toward the opposing surface after the lift-down mechanism is operated to lift down the movable basket unit from the storage position to the drop-off and delivery position. Here, the "surface that the robot body faces in the direction of package removal when it arrives at the delivery destination (opposing surface)" in this invention can be a "wall" such as an exterior wall or interior wall of a house. It should be noted that the "opposing surface" in the present invention does not have to be a completely flat surface like a wall, as long as it is a surface that has a partially flat surface. Examples other than walls such as the exterior and interior walls of a house include outdoor structures (exteriors) such as walls, fences, walls, and gates, as well as pillars (pillars and beams of a house), poles (poles in a parking lot, etc.), legs of desks and tables, box-shaped items (trash cans, shelves, pallets, chests of drawers, etc.), stairs (stairs in front of a door, stairs inside a house, etc.), delivery boxes, elevators, garages, etc.

[0018] In this way, the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention is configured to, when performing a drop-off process to move a package stored in the luggage compartment to a package delivery surface (floor, ground, etc.) at the delivery destination, perform a pre-drop-off correction process to correct the distance of the robot body from the opposing surface to a predetermined target position based on detection values ​​from two or more opposing surface distance detection units, and correct the attitude of the robot body with respect to the opposing surface to a predetermined target attitude based on a calculation value from the robot body angle calculation unit, before operating the lift-down mechanism to move the movable basket to the drop-off location (lift-down movement). Here, because the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention is equipped with two or more opposing surface distance detection units that detect the distance between the opposing surface and the robot body from mutually different positions, the distance of the robot body from the opposing surface can be corrected to the target position by moving the robot body by the traveling means so that, for example, the detection values ​​of the opposing surface distance detection units are equal to each other and the absolute value of the distance approaches a target distance suitable for drop-off. In addition, the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention is equipped with a robot body angle calculation unit that calculates the angle of the robot body relative to the opposing surface based on the detection value of the opposing surface distance detection unit, and therefore the angle of the robot body relative to the opposing surface can be corrected to a target angle by changing the orientation of the robot body using the traveling means so that the calculated value of the robot body angle calculation unit approaches a predetermined value.

[0019] Therefore, even if the robot arrives at the delivery destination based on a self-location estimation algorithm (e.g., adaptive Monte Carlo localization (AMCL)), which is an estimation based on probability theory, by executing the pre-delivery correction process, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the package is left at the delivery destination in a misaligned position or posture. This advantage can also be expected to eliminate accumulated deviations caused by the characteristics or slope of the ground when odometry based on wheel contact is used for autonomous driving.

[0020] Furthermore, with the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention, after the lift-down mechanism is activated to lift down the movable basket section from the storage position to the delivery position, a finishing pushing process is performed to push the luggage that has been moved from the movable basket section to the luggage delivery surface toward the opposing surface.By pushing the luggage toward the opposing surface while maintaining the angle of the robot body at the time of the pre-delivery correction process, even if a deviation occurs in the delivery position or delivery posture of the luggage due to the smoothness of the bottom surface (rolling surface) of the luggage or an imbalance in the center of gravity of the luggage at the time the luggage is completely discharged, the luggage can be moved to the vicinity of the opposing surface with the specified delivery posture corrected.

[0021] With this autonomous delivery robot of the present invention, there is no need to install a mechanism or posture sensing means inside the cargo compartment to guide the cargo in advance according to its size so that the loading posture does not change in the cargo compartment inside the robot body, which avoids complicating the structure and also avoids the situation where the delivery source has to perform extra work when loading the cargo into the cargo compartment.

[0022] The specific means (pushing means) for pushing the parcel toward the opposing surface during the finishing push process in the present invention is not particularly limited, and the present invention also includes aspects such as having a part of the movable basket section or a part of the lift-down mechanism function as the pushing means, or having the pushing means constituted by a dedicated part mounted in an appropriate location on the autonomous delivery robot. Any part or dedicated part functioning as the pushing means can be considered as a parcel priority contact part that comes into contact with the parcel preferentially during the finishing push process.

[0023] In particular, if the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention is equipped with a luggage priority contact section that makes priority contact with the luggage during the finishing push process, and a force measurement section that measures the force (applied force) acting on the luggage priority contact section that has come into contact with the luggage, and is configured to stop the finishing push process when the measurement value of the force measurement section exceeds a predetermined threshold during the finishing push process, it becomes possible to detect that the luggage has reached the opposing surface based on a change in the measurement value of the force measurement section, and by ending the finishing push process when the luggage has been moved to a position where it has reached the opposing surface, the luggage can be moved to an appropriate position close to the opposing surface.

[0024] The finishing push process in the present invention may be a process in which, immediately after the movable basket section is lifted down from the storage position to the delivery position, the robot body at that time is moved by the traveling means in a direction approaching the opposing surface, thereby pushing the package toward the opposing surface. However, if priority is given to completely moving the package from the movable basket section to the package delivery floor surface, a configuration is preferred in which, immediately after the movable basket section is lifted down from the storage position to the delivery position, a retraction process is performed in which the traveling means moves the robot body in a direction away from the opposing surface, and the finishing push process is performed following the retraction process. In the latter case, that is, if the finishing push process is a process performed following a retraction process in which the traveling means moves the robot body in a direction away from the opposing surface, it is best to start monitoring the measurement value of the force measurement unit during the finishing push process after the robot body has been moved toward the opposing surface a distance equal to the retraction movement distance during the retraction process (the distance by which the traveling means moved the robot body in a direction away from the opposing surface). The reason for this is as follows. In other words, if the package is heavy, the measurement value of the force measuring unit changes significantly at a relatively early point when the package starts to move (move forward) from the retreating state (retreat state) toward the opposing surface again. This is a change that occurs at the point when the package comes into contact with the heavy package, even before it reaches the opposing surface. If the finishing push process is stopped based on this change, the delivery will be completed before the package can be brought closer to the opposing surface, which can be a factor in reducing the quality of delivery compared to a drop-off service provided by a delivery person.

[0025] Therefore, in the present invention, if the device is configured to start monitoring the measurement value of the force measuring unit after the load has been moved (moved forward) toward the opposing surface a distance equal to the evacuation movement distance during the evacuation process, monitoring of the measurement value of the force measuring unit will not have started at the point in time before the load reaches the opposing surface and when it comes into contact with the heavy load, so the change in the measurement value at that point in time will be ignored, and it will be possible to reliably detect that the load has reached the opposing surface based on the first change in the measurement value after monitoring of the force measuring unit's measurement value has begun, and by stopping the finishing push process based on this change, delivery can be completed with the load close to the opposing surface.

[0026] In the present invention, if the luggage is light and the evacuation process is performed when the luggage has not been completely discharged from the movable basket onto the luggage delivery surface at the time the lift-down process is completed, the luggage may be dragged backward to a certain extent (in the evacuation direction of the robot body) by the evacuation movement, causing a deviation from the originally intended position and posture of the luggage. However, with the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention, by performing the above-mentioned finishing push process, the luggage can be moved to the appropriate delivery target position near the facing surface after correcting the deviation and setting it to the appropriate delivery target posture. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] According to the present invention, the position and attitude (orientation) of the robot body relative to the opposing surface (typically a wall) are corrected to an appropriate target position and target attitude before performing the drop-off / delivery process, the drop-off / delivery process is performed in the corrected state, and the finishing push process is performed. This allows the package placed on the delivery surface for drop-off delivery to be delivered in an appropriate attitude in contact with or close to the opposing surface, thereby completing the delivery. This makes it possible to provide an autonomous delivery robot that can perform drop-off / delivery processes with quality equivalent to that achieved by a delivery person. The autonomous delivery robot of the present invention is not limited to the home delivery field, but can also be used in fields such as retail, hospitals, and hotels. Therefore, the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention is highly versatile and can be used in many industries and fields as an autonomous delivery robot with the function of delivering, transporting, or transporting items. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall view of an autonomous delivery robot according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of the autonomous delivery robot at the time of completion of delivery in the same embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an autonomous delivery robot executing a normal delivery process in the same embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the mechanism of the delivery device in the embodiment immediately after the initial operation, with some parts omitted. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a rear view showing the mechanism of the delivery device in the embodiment immediately after the initial operation, with some parts omitted. [Figure 6] 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing the time point at which the lift-down process is completed in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 and showing the time point at which the lift-down process is completed in the embodiment. [Figure 8] 5 is a diagram illustrating a state during a lift-down process in the same embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 9]5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 and illustrating a state at the time when the auxiliary wheels start to touch the ground during the lift-down process in the same embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a state in which the bottom plate portion is tilted by the ground reaction force of the auxiliary wheels during the lift-down process in the same embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating processing contents of pre-placement correction processing in the embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing delivery processing (leaving at a location) in the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of the autonomous delivery robot immediately after initial operation in the same embodiment. [Figure 14] 14 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 and showing the time point at which the door opening process is completed in the same embodiment. [Figure 15] 14 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 and showing the time point at which the outrigger grounding process is completed in this embodiment. FIG. [Figure 16] 14 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 and showing the time point at which the lift-down process is completed in the same embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a change in the measurement value of the force measuring unit during the finish pressing process in the same embodiment. [Figure 18] 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating target position setting conditions in the pre-placement correction process according to the embodiment; [Figure 19] An overall view of an autonomous delivery robot for which the applicant has previously applied for a patent. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment includes an autonomously traveling vehicle T, a robot main body 1 having a cargo compartment 1S as a part of its interior, a delivery device 2 mounted on the robot main body 1, and a control unit C that controls the operation of the autonomous delivery robot R to perform delivery or normal delivery depending on the selected delivery type (delivery method). FIG. 1 shows an overall external view of the autonomous delivery robot R in a normal state (i.e., not performing delivery) upon arrival at the delivery destination, while FIG. 2 shows an overall external view of the autonomous delivery robot R performing delivery. While no parcel is shown in either drawing, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is suitable for delivering parcels with a box-like external shape (such as the parcel N' in FIG. 19). Of course, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment can also deliver parcels with an external shape other than a box.

[0031] In this embodiment, the travel means T is equipped with two front wheels T1 and two rear wheels T2, and can move forward and backward in the front-to-back direction X where the front wheels T1 and rear wheels T2 are aligned. It can also move laterally in the direction Y by steering while stopped (rotating the front wheels T1 and rear wheels T2 by 90 degrees to change the direction of forward and backward movement). The front wheels T1 and rear wheels T2 can also be turned left and right by changing their orientation (swinging). The part of the autonomous delivery robot R that is equipped with the travel means T and supports the robot body 1 can be considered as a cart B.

[0032] The robot body 1 is an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) that can autonomously move to a destination by means of a travelling means T and has the ability to recognize its surroundings. The robot body 1 of this embodiment is box-shaped and includes a door D that can open and close the interior space. A portion of the interior space of the robot body 1 is set as a luggage compartment 1S that can accommodate luggage (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the robot body 1 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped robot having a long planar shape in the front-rear direction X where the front wheels T1 and rear wheels T2 are aligned, and a predetermined height. An opening K formed on only one side of the robot body 1 can be opened and closed by the door D (right door D1, left door D2). Specifically, the pair of doors D (right door D1, left door D2) are configured to be able to open and close in a double-door style (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the pair of doors D are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction X. In the following description, the door D on the front wheel T1 side is referred to as the left door D2, and the door D on the rear wheel T2 side is referred to as the right door D1.

[0033] The autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is configured to be able to store packages in a movable basket 3 set in a luggage compartment 1S. As shown in Fig. 3, when at least one of the left and right doors D (right door D1, left door D2) is in the open position (DB), a user (such as a package recipient P or a package sorter) can access the luggage compartment 1S through the opening K. This allows the package recipient P to remove packages set in the luggage compartment 1S, and allows the package sorter to load (store) packages into the luggage compartment 1S or remove (collect) packages from the luggage compartment 1S.

[0034] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the movable basket 3 is mounted at a height position that allows an adult P of average height to access the movable basket 3 set in the luggage compartment 1S without having to crouch. In other words, in the case of normal delivery, the movable basket 3 is mounted at an appropriate height position that makes it easy for the parcel recipient P to remove parcels from the movable basket 3 set in the luggage compartment 1S. This also means that the movable basket 3 is mounted at an appropriate height position that makes it easy for a parcel sorter at the delivery source (delivery origin) to store and collect parcels from the movable basket 3 set in the luggage compartment 1S.

[0035] As shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5, the movable basket section 3 includes a bottom plate section 31 on which luggage can be placed, and a pair of upright plate sections 32 arranged in an upright position from the edge of the bottom plate section 31 on the front wheel T1 side and the edge of the bottom plate section 31 on the rear wheel T2 side, respectively. Rotatable rollers 34 are arranged in multiple rows in a predetermined area of ​​the bottom plate section 31 that directly contacts the luggage (see Figure 2). Note that Figures 4 and 5 omit a portion of the bottom plate section 31 including the rollers 34. The upper ends of the upright plate sections 32 are connected to each other by rod-shaped connecting sections 35 (see Figures 4 and 5). The movable basket section 3 constitutes the delivery device 2, and is movable by a lift-down mechanism 4.

[0036] The delivery device 2 includes a lift-down mechanism 4 that lifts down the movable basket 3 set in the luggage compartment 1S to a position where it contacts or is close to the floor F, an outrigger mechanism 5 that extends outward from the robot body 1 to prevent it from tipping over, and a door opening / closing mechanism (not shown) that opens and closes the doors D (right door D1, left door D2). In this embodiment, the control unit C is configured to be able to control the travel of the cart B and the operation of each mechanism (lift-down mechanism 4, outrigger mechanism 5, door opening / closing mechanism). The control unit C is mounted at an appropriate position on the autonomous delivery robot R and is only shown schematically in FIG. 1.

[0037] The autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment has a delivery device 2 consisting of assemblies with the above-mentioned functions (lift-down mechanism 4, outrigger mechanism 5, door opening / closing mechanism), and its control unit C mounted on the top of a trolley B.

[0038] As shown in Figures 4 to 7, the lift-down mechanism 4 lifts down the movable basket 3 from a storage position (3A) where the entire movable basket 3 is stored in the luggage compartment 1S to a placement position (3B) where at least a portion of the bottom plate 31 of the movable basket 3 is in contact with or near the floor F (baggage delivery surface) of the delivery destination. Figures 4 and 5 are side and rear views, respectively, showing, with some parts omitted, the internal mechanism of the placement and delivery device 2 when the movable basket 3 is set in the storage position (3A). Figures 6 and 7 are views corresponding to Figures 4 and 5, respectively, showing the movable basket 3 moved to the placement and delivery position (3B).

[0039] In this embodiment, the lift-down mechanism 4 is configured using a parallel link mechanism 41. The parallel link mechanism 41 is a link mechanism including a first link arm 43 having one end attached to a drive input shaft 42 (first parallel link shaft 42) and a second link arm 45 having one end attached to a second parallel link shaft 44 fixed at a position relatively close to the first parallel link shaft 42, the other end of the first link arm 43 being attached to the upright plate portion 32 of the movable car portion 3 via a shaft (third parallel link shaft 46), and the other end of the second link arm 45 being attached to the upright plate portion 32 of the movable car portion 3 via a shaft (fourth parallel link shaft 47). The parallel link mechanism 41 is switchable between a storage position (4A) (see FIGS. 4 and 5) in which the first link arm 43 and the second link arm 45 are stored in the internal space of the robot body 1 in an upright position (an upright position tilted at a predetermined angle) and aligned substantially parallel to each other, and a lift-down position (4B) (see FIGS. 6 and 7) in which the first link arm 43 and the second link arm 45 are tilted in a direction to throw the movable basket 3 from the luggage compartment 1S out of the luggage compartment 1S through the opening K of the robot body 1, so that the first link arm 43 and the second link arm 45 are aligned sideways (a sideways position tilted at a predetermined angle) and overlap in the height direction. By switching the parallel link mechanism 41 from the storage position (4A) to the lift-down position (4B), the movable basket 3 can be lifted down from the storage position (3A) to the placement position (3B), and the luggage stored in the luggage compartment 1S can be lowered to the vicinity of the floor F of the delivery destination.

[0040] The lift-down mechanism 4 includes a lift drive motor (not shown) that drives the parallel link mechanism 41 between a storage position (4A) and a lift-down position (4B). In this embodiment, by driving the lift drive motor, the rotation of the drive output shaft (gearhead output shaft) is transmitted through a reduction gear train associated with each parallel link mechanism 41 to rotate an input shaft (first parallel link shaft 42) attached to the lower end of a first link arm 43 of the parallel link mechanism 41, and as a result, the parallel link mechanism 41 is configured to change its position between the storage position (4A) and the lift-down position (4B).

[0041] The lift-down mechanism 4 is equipped with a lift-down angle encoder 4E that detects the absolute angle of at least one of the first link arm 43 or the second link arm 45 that constitute the parallel link mechanism 41 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). In this embodiment, the lift-down angle encoder 4E is provided at the lower end of the first link arm 43 of one of the parallel link mechanisms 41. Based on the detected value (detected angle) by the lift-down angle encoder 4E, the parallel link mechanism 41 is set to reciprocate (reciprocate between the stored position (4A) and the lift-down position (4B)) within a preset target angle range (0 degree to the target angle).

[0042] The lift-down mechanism 4 is also provided with a storage position limiter (e.g., a photosensor, not shown) that detects a physical stroke limit when the movable car 3 returns to the storage position (3A), and is set to stop the lift drive motor when the storage position limiter detects that the movable car 3 has reached the storage position (3A). Note that the lift drive motor may also be set to stop when it is detected that the movable car 3 has reached the storage position (3A) based on the angle detected by the lift-down angle encoder 4E.

[0043] The lift-down mechanism 4 is equipped with a drop-off position limiter (e.g., a photosensor, not shown) that detects a physical stroke limit when the movable basket 3 is moved to the drop-off position (3B) near the floor F of the delivery destination, and is set to stop the lift drive motor when the drop-off position limiter detects that the movable basket 3 has reached the drop-off position (3B). Note that the lift drive motor may also be set to stop when it is detected that the movable basket 3 has reached the drop-off position (3B) based on the angle detected by the lift-down angle encoder 4E.

[0044] After the initial operation, the lift-down mechanism 4 detects that the value (absolute angle) of the lift-down angle encoder 4E is 0 degrees (home position) or that the movable car section 3 is in the stowed position (3A) using the stowed position limiter. When the lift drive motor is driven in this state, the rotation of the drive output shaft (gearhead output shaft) rotates the input shaft (first parallel link shaft 42) attached to the lower end of the first link arm 43 of the parallel link mechanism 41 via a reduction gear train associated with each parallel link mechanism 41, causing the parallel link mechanism 41 to change position from the stowed position (4A) to the lift-down position (4B). At this time, the detected value of the lift-down angle encoder 4E increases.

[0045] As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 , the autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment includes a priority ground contact portion 8 that contacts the parcel delivery surface F (floor) in preference to the bottom plate portion 31 when the bottom plate portion 31, on which parcels are placed, approaches the parcel delivery surface F (floor) within a predetermined distance when the lift-down mechanism 4 lifts down the movable basket portion 3 from the storage position (3A) to the drop-off / delivery position (3B). The priority ground contact portion 8 is attached to the bottom plate portion 31 and specifically includes a bracket 81 fixed to the bottom plate portion 31 and an auxiliary wheel 82 rotatably supported at the lower end of the bracket 81. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 , the priority ground contact portion 8 is provided at both ends of the bottom plate portion 31 in the width direction w (both sides of the bottom plate portion 31). In this embodiment, the width direction w of the bottom plate portion 31 is the same direction as the X direction in FIG. 1 . Furthermore, a direction d (depth direction of the bottom plate portion 31) perpendicular to the width direction w of the bottom plate portion 31 in a plane is the same direction as the Y direction in Fig. 1. The priority grounding portion 8 is fixed to the bottom plate portion 31 in an orientation that protrudes downward from the bottom plate portion 31.

[0046] The bottom plate 31, which is integrally provided with the priority contact portion 8 protruding downward, is configured to be rotatable about a bottom plate rotation axis 31A disposed at the end of the bottom plate 31 facing the baggage discharge direction 31x (see FIG. 2). Therefore, when the priority contact portion 8 touches the baggage delivery surface F (floor) while the movable basket 3 is being lifted down from the storage position (3A) to the placement and delivery position (3B) (see FIG. 9), and the movable basket 3 is further lowered toward the placement and delivery position (3B), the bottom plate 31 rotates about the bottom plate rotation axis 31A toward the baggage discharge direction 31x due to the ground reaction force received by the priority contact portion 8, and gradually tilts overall (see FIG. 10). In this embodiment, the tilt angle of the bottom plate 31 is set to a predetermined maximum tilt angle suitable for baggage discharge when the movable basket 3 reaches the placement and delivery position (3B) (see FIGS. 6 and 7). As a result, by lifting down the movable basket section 3 from the storage position (3A) to the placement position (3B), the luggage can be slid by its own weight in the inclined direction of the bottom plate section 31 (the same direction as the luggage removal direction 31x, see Figure 2) and discharged onto the luggage delivery surface F (floor).

[0047] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, a partially arcuate guide groove 36 that guides the tilting movement of the bottom plate 31 is formed in the upright plate 32 of the movable car unit 3, and a guide pin 37 provided on the bottom plate 31 moves along the guide groove 36, so that the movement trajectory of the bottom plate 31 during the tilting movement and when returning from the tilted posture to the normal posture (a posture in which the bottom plate 31 is substantially flat) is constant. A notch 38 is formed in the upright plate 32 of the movable car unit 3 to avoid interference with the tilting priority ground contact part 8 (see Fig. 4, etc.).

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 , the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped on the bottom plate 31 with a luggage priority contact portion 48 that contacts the luggage preferentially during the execution of the finishing pushing process S5 (described later). Specifically, the luggage priority contact portion 48 is disposed at the tip (the end portion on the luggage discharge direction 31x side) of the bottom plate 31, protruding toward the luggage discharge direction 31x. The luggage priority contact portion 48 has a flat pressing surface at its tip that presses the luggage, and is configured so that the entire pressing surface contacts the luggage. A delivery roller 39 for discharging luggage is disposed at the tip of the bottom plate 31, and the luggage priority contact portion 48 is disposed in a form that protrudes further toward the luggage discharge direction 31x than the delivery roller 39. In this embodiment, the luggage priority contact portions 48 are disposed at a predetermined pitch at three locations on the tip of the bottom plate 31: both ends in the width direction w and the center in the width direction w.

[0049] The autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped with a force measuring unit 49 that measures the force acting on (applied force to) the luggage priority contact portion 48. The force measuring unit 49 is mounted on each luggage priority contact portion 48. The force measuring unit 49 can be configured using a pressure sensor or a strain gauge, but the force measuring unit 49 can also be configured using other appropriate sensors, etc.

[0050] As shown in Figures 2, 4 to 10, the outrigger mechanism 5 is a mechanism for supporting the autonomous delivery robot R to prevent it from tipping over when the lift-down mechanism 4 raises or lowers packages. The outrigger mechanism 5 is equipped with a grounding arm 51 whose tip end contacts the floor F while extending in a direction to lift down the movable basket 3 from the storage position (3A) toward the placement position (3B). In this embodiment, casters 52 provided at the tip end of the grounding arm 51 are configured to contact the floor F. Specifically, the left and right casters 52 are configured to contact the floor F near both ends in the width direction w of the bottom plate 31 of the movable basket 3 that will contact the floor later, and at positions facing each other across the width direction w of the bottom plate 31 (see Figure 7). The ground arms 51 switch between a storage position (5A) on the outside (outward facing side) of the upright plate sections 32 of the movable car section 3 and not exposed to the outside, and a ground position (5B) inclined from the storage position (5A) to an angle at which the casters 52 at the tips thereof touch the floor F through the opening K of the robot main body 1. The base ends of the ground arms 51 provided on the outside of each upright plate section 32 of the movable car section 3 are connected to a rotation shaft 53, and the pair of ground arms 51 rotate around the rotation shaft 53 between the storage position (5A) and the ground position (5B). The outrigger mechanism 5 is equipped with an outrigger angle encoder 5E that detects the rotation angle of the ground arms 51 from the storage position (5A) to the ground position (5B) (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The detection value (ground contact detection angle) by the outrigger angle encoder 5E when the ground contact arm 51 is rotated from the storage position (5A) to the ground contact position (5B) can be used to set the target angle (angle of the drop-off position (3B)) of the lift-down mechanism 4. That is, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped with a ground contact angle detection unit that detects the ground contact angle at the time when the outrigger mechanism 5 is operated by the control unit C to bring the tip end (castor wheel 52) of the ground contact arm 51, which is the outrigger ground contact portion, into contact with the package delivery surface F (floor), and a lift-down target angle calculation unit C1 that calculates the lift-down target angle of the lift-down mechanism 4 based on the detection value (ground contact detection angle) by the ground contact angle detection unit.In this embodiment, the ground contact angle detection unit is configured using an outrigger angle encoder 5E, and in particular, an absolute encoder that outputs an absolute value of a rotation angle is used as the outrigger angle encoder 5E. The lift-down target angle calculation unit C1 calculates the lift-down target angle of the lift-down mechanism 4 based on the output value of this absolute encoder 5E. In this embodiment, the lift-down target angle calculation unit C1 is configured to calculate the detection value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E when the tip end (castor wheel 52) of the ground contact arm 51, which is the outrigger ground contact portion, touches the floor (floor) as the lift-down target angle of the lift-down mechanism 4. The lift-down target angle calculation unit C1 is schematically shown only in FIG. 7. Note that in this embodiment, the absolute angle of the outrigger angle encoder 5E is set to the origin position (0 degrees) when the ground contact arm 51 is positioned in the stowed position (5A) after the initial operation.

[0051] The outrigger mechanism 5 is equipped with an outrigger drive motor (not shown), and when the outrigger drive motor is driven (FW) with the grounding arm 51 in the stored position (5A), the rotating shaft 53 (for example, reduction ratio 1 / 200) rotates via a gear train, and when the outrigger drive motor detects a current equivalent to grounding detection, the outrigger drive motor is stopped and the detection value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E at this point is recorded. After the outrigger drive motor is stopped, the grounding arm 51 is held in the grounding position (5B) by a non-excitation operated electromagnetic brake contained in the outrigger drive motor.

[0052] In this outrigger mechanism 5, the casters 52 touch down on the floor F before the lift-down mechanism 4 operates, thereby preventing the robot R from tipping over in the roll direction due to a shift in the center of gravity caused by the operation of the lift-down mechanism 4. When returning the ground contact arm 51 from the ground contact posture (5B) to the stowed posture (5A), the outrigger drive motor is driven (BW) after the movable car unit 3 is moved to the stowed position (3A) by the lift-down mechanism 4, and the outrigger drive motor is stopped when the detection value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E reaches 0 degrees (when the outrigger drive motor reaches the origin position corresponding to the stowed posture (5A)). At this time, by clearing the value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E recorded during the previous outrigger operation (the detection value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E when a current equivalent to ground contact detection was detected for the outrigger drive motor and the outrigger drive motor was stopped), the value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E when the ground contact arm 51 is rotated from the stowed posture (5A) to the ground contact posture (5B) during the next outrigger ground contact process can be newly recorded.

[0053] The outrigger mechanism 5 may also be equipped with a first sub-sensor (not shown) that detects the position of the castor 52 attached to the tip of the ground arm 51 (the position of the castor 52 when the ground arm 51 is in the retracted position (5A) or the position of the castor 52 when the ground arm 51 is in the ground contact position (5B)) to account for errors in the detection value of the outrigger angle encoder 5E when the ground contact arm 51 is in the retracted position (5A). The first sub-sensor can also be used to detect when the castor 52 has reached a position slightly higher than the designed position of the castor 52 when in the ground contact position (5B), and use this information to determine whether to switch to current detection mode. The outrigger mechanism 5 may also be equipped with a second sub-sensor (not shown) that detects the moment when the castor 52 touches the ground and a large torque is required and stops the outrigger drive motor. The second sub-sensor can be configured to detect the moment when the castor 52 touches the ground and a large torque is required, and to stop the outrigger drive motor at that detection point. An example of the second sub-sensor is an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that provides a current detection function. Furthermore, when the autonomous delivery robot R is tilted, the outrigger mechanism 5 and the lift-down mechanism 4 are also tilted, so if correction of the target angle by the IMU is not required, the second sub-sensor can be omitted.

[0054] In the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, the operation of each of these mechanisms (lift-down mechanism 4, outrigger mechanism 5) is controlled by a control unit C. The operation of the traveling means T is also controlled by the common control unit C.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 11, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped with an opposing surface distance detection unit 9 that detects the distance between the robot body 1 and a surface (opposing surface) W that the robot body 1 faces in the package carrying-out direction 31x when the robot body 1 arrives at the delivery destination. The opposing surface W can be a building wall. In this embodiment, distance sensors serving as opposing surface distance detection units 9 are mounted on the left and right frame portions of the door frame surrounding the opening K of the robot body 1. In other words, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped with two opposing surface distance detection units 9 that detect the distances d1 and d2 between the opposing surface W and the robot body 1 from different positions. The two opposing surface distance detection units 9 can also be mounted at positions other than the door frame on the robot body 1 or at appropriate locations on the cart B supporting the robot body 1. The two opposing surface separation distance detecting units 9 are preferably disposed at the same height and in the same position in the luggage carrying-out direction 31x, in other words, at positions symmetrical to each other in the width direction w of the bottom plate portion 31 with respect to the center of the width direction w. The distance sensor constituting the opposing surface separation distance detecting unit 9 may be an appropriate type selected from proximity, ultrasonic, infrared, laser, etc. Alternatively, the opposing surface separation distance detecting unit 9 may be configured to detect the distance between the opposing surface W and the robot main body 1 using GPS or image-based distance measuring technology.

[0056] Furthermore, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped with a robot body angle calculation unit C2 that calculates the angle of the robot body 1 relative to the opposing surface W based on the detection value of the opposing surface separation distance detection unit 9. The robot body angle calculation unit C2 calculates the angle θ of the robot body 1 relative to the opposing surface W using the following equation 1, where the detection value of one opposing surface separation distance detection unit 9 is "d1," the detection value of the other opposing surface separation distance detection unit 9 is "d2," and the separation distance between the opposing surface separation distance detection units 9 is "Q." tanθ=(|d2-d1|) / Q Equation 1 The robot main body angle calculation unit C2 is only shown schematically in FIG.

[0057] Next, the delivery process (drop-off service) performed by the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 12. Below, a case where one package is placed in the movable basket 3 set in the luggage compartment 1S and then dropped off at the delivery destination will be described.

[0058] After the parcel is loaded into the movable basket section 3 of the cargo compartment 1S by an operator such as a delivery worker at the delivery source, and when the parcel arrives at the delivery destination (destination) (see Figure 1), the autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment performs a pre-delivery correction process S01 as a pre-processing step before executing the delivery process based on a signal that activates the delivery device 2 (including information specifying the parcel to be delivered).

[0059] The pre-delivery correction process S01 corrects the position and posture of the robot R to a preset target position and posture based on the detected values ​​d1 and d2 of the opposing surface distance detection unit 9 and the calculated values ​​of the robot body angle calculation unit C2. Specifically, to correct the distance to the surface (opposing surface, typically a wall) W facing the robot R at the delivery destination (destination) to an appropriate distance (target position) based on the detected values ​​of the opposing surface distance detection unit 9 (distance sensors), the robot R detects the distances d1 and d2 from the opposing surface W using two opposing surface distance detection units 9 (distance sensors) mounted on the robot R at a predetermined interval Q. The detected values ​​(d1, d2) are sampled while the detected values ​​d1 and d2 are equal to each other and the absolute values ​​of the distances d1 and d2 correspond to the target distance (target position) suitable for delivery. The target distance (target position) suitable for delivery can be set appropriately depending on the size of the package, etc. Furthermore, in the pre-delivery correction process S01, in order to correct the posture of the robot R to the target posture simultaneously with the process of correcting to the target position, the calculated value of the robot body angle calculation unit C2 is sampled, and the travel means T is appropriately driven to move the robot R or change the orientation of the robot R so that the calculated value becomes the target angle (target posture) suitable for delivery, thereby moving the robot R or changing the orientation of the robot R. It is preferable to set the target angle suitable for delivery (the angle θ between the robot R and a reference line WL parallel to the facing surface W shown in FIG. 11) to approximately 0 degrees (0 degrees ± a few degrees).

[0060] In this way, in the pre-delivery correction process S01, the control unit C monitors the detection values ​​d1 and d2 of the two opposing surface distance detection units 9 (distance measurement sensors) while also monitoring the calculated value of the robot body angle calculation unit C2. The control unit C continuously detects the distances d1 and d2 between the robot R and the opposing surface W and calculates the angle θ between the robot R and the opposing surface W for a predetermined period of time. The robot R is then corrected so that these values ​​reach the target values ​​(target distance, target angle), ensuring that the distance between the robot R and the opposing surface W and the robot R's posture relative to the opposing surface W are within the target value range. Examples of the movement mode performed by the travel unit T in this pre-delivery correction process S01 include moving the cart B in the Y direction (crab walking) as shown in FIG. 1, spin turns, and pivot turns. FIG. 13 shows an overall view (side view) of the autonomous delivery robot R at the completion of the pre-delivery correction process S01. Note that in this figure, the mechanisms and parts stored inside the robot body 1 are indicated by hidden lines. In addition, the opposing surface W is omitted in the drawing.

[0061] In the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, following the pre-delivery correction process S01, the control unit C activates the door opening / closing mechanism of the delivery device 2 to switch the right door D1 and left door D2, which are in the closed state (DA), to the open state (DB) (door opening process S1, see FIG. 14). Next, the control unit C activates the outrigger mechanism 5 to place the tip end (castor wheel 52) of the outrigger mechanism 5 on the floor F, which is the package delivery surface (outrigger grounding process S2, see FIG. 15). FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams corresponding to FIG. 13 and show the autonomous delivery robot R at the completion of the door opening process S1 and the outrigger grounding process S2, respectively.

[0062] The outrigger ground contact process S2 is a process for switching the ground contact arm 51 from the storage position (5A) to the ground contact position (5B) by driving the outrigger drive motor of the outrigger mechanism 5 (starting the outrigger mechanism 5). In this embodiment, a detection value (encoder information related to the ground contact angle) is obtained by the outrigger angle encoder 5E at the time when the ground contact arm 51 is rotated from the storage position (5A) to the ground contact position (5B), and the lift-down target angle calculation unit C1 calculates the lift-down target angle of the lift-down mechanism 4 based on this detection value.

[0063] Next, in the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, the control unit C activates the lift-down mechanism 4 to move the movable basket 3 from the storage position (3A) to the delivery position (3B) (lift-down process S3). Figure 16 shows the autonomous delivery robot R at the completion of the lift-down process S3. Note that, until the lift-down process S3 begins, the movable basket 3 is maintained in the storage position (3A) set on the base frame 20 of the delivery device 2 fixed to the luggage compartment 1S (see Figures 4, 13 to 15).

[0064] The lift-down process S3 is a process in which the lift drive motor is driven to change the position of the parallel link mechanism 41 of the lift-down mechanism 4 from the storage position (4A) to the lift-down position (4B), thereby lowering the movable basket 3 to the floor F of the delivery destination. During this process, the control unit C checks the detection value of the lift-down angle encoder 4E (absolute encoder) and lowers the lift-down mechanism 4 until the detection value of the lift-down angle encoder 4E becomes equal to the lift-down target angle of the lift-down mechanism 4 calculated by the lift-down target angle calculation unit C1. Figure 8 shows the lift-down mechanism 4 and the outrigger mechanism 5 immediately after the start of the lift-down process S3, when the movable basket 3 has moved a predetermined distance from the storage position (3A) in the baggage unloading direction 31x (when the bottom plate 31 has moved to a position lower than the base frame 20 of the delivery device 2 fixed to the luggage compartment 1S).

[0065] As shown in FIG. 9, in the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, when the lift-down mechanism 4 lifts down the movable basket 3 from the storage position (3A) toward the drop-off position (3B), the priority contact portion 8 attached to the bottom plate 31 contacts the baggage delivery surface F (floor) at a predetermined distance (approximately 10 cm from the baggage delivery surface F (floor) in this embodiment) from the bottom plate 31 of the movable basket 3. At this point, the detection value of the lift-down angle encoder 4E has not reached the lift-down target angle of the lift-down mechanism 4 calculated by the lift-down target angle calculation unit C1. In other words, the movable basket 3 has not reached the drop-off position (3B). After this point, when the movable basket 3 is further lifted down toward the drop-off position (3B) (approaching the lift-down target angle), the ground reaction force applied to the lower end of the priority contact portion 8 (the force received by the priority contact portion 8) increases as shown in FIG. The direction of the ground reaction force is shown schematically by a relatively thick arrow in the figure), and the bottom plate portion 31 rotates around the bottom plate portion rotation axis 31A and gradually tilts in the luggage carrying-out direction 31x. The value detected by the lift-down angle encoder 4E reaches the lift-down target angle, which is the target value calculated by the lift-down target angle calculation unit C1 (the target value set with reference to the detection value by the outrigger angle encoder 5E at the time when the ground arm 51 is rotated from the storage position (5A) to the ground position (5B)). When the movable basket section 3 is lifted down until the positions coincide, the movable basket section 3 reaches the drop-off position (3B), at which point the inclination angle of the bottom plate section 31 becomes the maximum inclination angle during the drop-off process (see Figures 2, 5, and 6). As a result, the luggage slides in the inclination direction of the bottom plate section 31 (the same direction as the luggage carrying-out direction 31x) due to its own weight, and moves to a position where part of the bottom (one side of the bottom) contacts the floor F while sliding smoothly due to rollers 34 provided on the part of the bottom plate section 31 that comes into contact with the luggage.

[0066] During the lift-down process S3, the guide pin 37 provided on the bottom plate portion 31 moves along the guide groove 36 formed in the upright plate portion 32 of the movable basket portion 3, thereby allowing the bottom plate portion 31 to move smoothly during tilting operation and also preventing the bottom plate portion 31 from shifting in the width direction w while tilting (see Figures 4 to 10).

[0067] When the detection value by the lift-down angle encoder 4E reaches the lift-down target angle calculated by the lift-down target angle calculation unit C1, the lift drive motor is stopped, and the lift-down process S3 by the lift-down mechanism 4 is terminated. Note that the lift drive motor may also be stopped, and the lift-down process S3 by the lift-down mechanism 4 may be terminated, when the drop-off position side limiter detects that the movable car section 3 has reached the drop-off position (3B).

[0068] Following the lift-down process S3, the control unit C activates the travel means T (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2) of the cart B of the autonomous delivery robot R, causing the cart B to move (crab-walk) away from the opposing surface W along the direction of arrow Y in FIG. 1 (evacuation process S4). As a result, the package is completely removed from the movable basket unit 3 onto the package delivery surface F (floor) of the delivery destination. By moving the robot main body 1 away from the opposing surface (wall) W in this way, the autonomous delivery robot R enters an evacuation state (backward state) at a predetermined distance from the package. In this embodiment, when executing the pre-delivery correction process S01, the control unit C may have already performed a process to steer the travel means T (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2) of the cart B of the autonomous delivery robot R. In this case, the evacuation process S4 following the lift-down process S3 can be executed without executing the stationary steering process again. In addition, when the lift-down process S3 is completed, if the direction of travel of the carriage by the traveling means T (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2) is in the direction of arrow X in Figure 1, it is necessary to perform stationary steering process before executing the retraction process S4.

[0069] During the execution of the evacuation process S4, the only parts in contact with the luggage delivery surface F (floor) are the running means (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2), the casters 52 attached to the tip of the grounding arm 51, and the auxiliary wheels 82 of the priority grounding portion 8, and as the running means (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2), which are the drive wheels, move, the casters 52 and the auxiliary wheels 82 roll (follow) on the luggage delivery surface F (floor) as driven wheels.

[0070] In this embodiment, at the end of the evacuation process S4, the package can be completely delivered to the package delivery surface F (floor). In particular, because the above-described processes S1 to S4 are performed after the pre-delivery correction process S01 is performed, the package can be discharged onto the package delivery surface F (floor) of the delivery destination in an appropriate direction relative to the opposing surface (wall) W (a direction in which the package faces directly or substantially directly forward relative to the opposing surface W). Furthermore, a moment in the discharge direction 31x is applied to the package due to the momentum of the package when it is discharged and the difference in level with the package delivery surface F (floor). However, because the pre-delivery correction process S01 is performed in advance, the package is discharged to a position within a predetermined distance of the opposing surface (wall) W, and even if it leans against the opposing surface (wall) W, it will not fall over any further.

[0071] Then, immediately after executing the retraction process S4, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment executes a finishing push process S5 in which the package is pushed in a direction closer to the opposing surface (wall) W. In the finishing push process S5, the robot R is first moved in a direction closer to the opposing surface (wall) W by a distance equal to the distance (retraction movement amount) moved in a direction away from the opposing surface (wall) W during the retraction process S4 after the lift-down process S3. The movement amount at this time is a preset fixed-length feed amount, and a suitable value for the fixed-length feed amount is approximately half the length of the package to be handled in the package carry-out direction 31x.

[0072] While the autonomous delivery robot R is moving toward the opposing surface (wall) W by the fixed feed distance, the parcel priority contact unit 48 comes into contact with the parcel. The autonomous delivery robot R is then further moved in the same direction (toward the opposing surface W) to begin pushing the parcel toward the opposing surface (wall) W. At this time, the pushing direction of the parcel priority contact unit 48 is perpendicular (or nearly perpendicular) to the surface of the opposing surface (wall) W in a planar view, so the orientation of the parcel can be corrected so that the front-to-back direction (depth direction) of the parcel is perpendicular (or nearly perpendicular) to the surface of the opposing surface (wall) W. In this embodiment, once the autonomous delivery robot R has moved (moved forward) toward the opposing surface (wall) W by a distance equal to the amount of retraction movement during the retraction process S4, the control unit C starts a process of monitoring the change in the measurement value (voltage change amount) of the force measurement unit 49. When the change in the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 exceeds a threshold value after the start of the monitoring process, the movement (forward movement) toward the opposing surface (wall) W is stopped.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 17 , the point at which the change in the measurement value of the force measuring unit 49 exceeds the threshold value after the monitoring process start point Pt5 is point Pt7, which is immediately after point Pt6 when the load contacts the opposing surface (wall) W. This allows the load to be identified as having reached the opposing surface (wall) W. If the load is relatively heavy, after point Pt2 when the robot R starts moving forward toward the opposing surface (wall) W immediately after completing the evacuation process S4, the load priority contact unit 48 comes into contact with the load before the amount of movement equal to the amount of evacuation movement (the distance traveled from Pt1 to Pt2), and the measurement value of the force measuring unit 49 changes significantly (Pt3 in the figure). If the forward movement of the robot R is stopped based on the detection of this change, the load cannot be pushed (moved) toward the opposing surface (wall) W simply by contacting the load, and the posture and position of the load cannot be actively corrected or corrected. After the time Pt3 when the luggage priority contact portion 48 comes into contact with the luggage, the luggage does not move until the static maximum friction force between the luggage and the luggage delivery surface F (floor, platform, etc.) is exceeded, and then starts moving at the time Pt4 when the static maximum friction force is exceeded. Therefore, in this embodiment, the time Pt5 when monitoring of the change in the measurement value (voltage change amount) begins is set to the time Pt5 when the luggage has finished moving (moving forward) toward the opposing surface (wall) W by a distance equal to the retreat movement distance.

[0074] On the other hand, if the load is relatively light, after time Pt2 when the robot R starts moving forward from the retracted state toward the opposing surface (wall) W, the load priority contact unit 48 comes into contact with the load at time Pt3, which is less than the amount of movement equal to the retraction movement (the distance traveled from Pt1 to Pt2). However, the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 does not change significantly (the figure illustrates a case where the measurement value does not change). In order to appropriately and flexibly perform the finishing push process S5 for loads of different weights, in this embodiment, the start time Pt5 of monitoring the change in the measurement value (voltage change amount) is set to time P5 when the robot R has finished moving (moving forward) toward the opposing surface (wall) W a distance equal to the retraction movement distance. Note that the threshold value (threshold value related to the change in the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49) when performing the finishing push process S5 for heavy loads and the threshold value when performing the finishing push process S5 for light loads may be set to different values ​​or the same value. Furthermore, it is preferable to use a threshold value that is based on the assumption that the amount of change (degree of change) in the measurement value is captured, but it is also acceptable to use a value that is based on the assumption that the change in the actual measurement value itself is captured.

[0075] In this way, by performing the finishing pushing process S5, which pushes the luggage that has been discharged onto the luggage delivery surface F (floor) to change its orientation and position to a more optimal orientation and position based on the opposing surface (wall) W, the luggage discharged from the movable basket section 3 onto the luggage delivery surface F (floor) can be placed in a neat position, with the luggage facing directly towards the opposing surface (wall) W, in a state where it is in contact with the opposing surface (wall) W without any gaps.

[0076] In the finishing push process S5, the robot R stops moving toward the opposing surface (wall) W (forward movement) at time Pt7 when the change in the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 exceeds a threshold value after the monitoring process start time Pt5, and then moves again a predetermined distance away from the opposing surface (wall) W (backward movement) to release the pressing force of the baggage priority contact unit 48. The finishing push process S5 is completed at the end of this backward movement. Note that during the finishing push process S5, the only parts of the robot R that are in contact with the baggage delivery surface F (floor) are the running means (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2), casters 52, and training wheels 82, just as during the above-mentioned retraction process S4, and the casters 52 and training wheels 82 roll (follow) in accordance with the running movement (forward movement, backward movement) of the running means (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2).

[0077] After the finishing pushing process S5 is completed, the control unit C operates the lift-down mechanism 4 to move the movable basket unit 3, which does not have any luggage placed on it, from the placement position (3B) to the storage position (3A) (lift-down return process S6), and then operates the outrigger mechanism 5 to switch the ground arm 51 from the ground position (5B) to the storage position (5A) (outrigger return process S7), and stores these mechanisms (lift-down mechanism 4, outrigger mechanism 5) in a space inside the robot main body 1 that is not exposed to the luggage compartment 1S. Note that, at the time of executing the process of storing the mechanisms (lift-down mechanism 4, outrigger mechanism 5) in the internal space of the robot main body 1, the robot R has moved (rearward) to a position spaced a predetermined distance from the opposing surface (wall) W, so that interference between the mechanisms (lift-down mechanism 4, outrigger mechanism 5) and the luggage can be avoided.

[0078] Following the outrigger return process S7, the door opening / closing mechanism is activated to switch the doors D (right door D1, left door D2) from the open state (DB) to the closed state (DA) (door closing process S8), the control unit C outputs a signal indicating that the drop-off and delivery process has been completed (drop-off and delivery completion signal), and the running means T (front wheels T1, rear wheels T2), which is in a stationary state, is returned to its original state (stationary and delivery return process S9), thereby preparing to head to the next delivery destination or a designated robot storage base.

[0079] In this way, the autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment can complete the provision of a delivery service that includes all of the pre-processing, pre-delivery correction processing S01, and the finishing processing (post-processing), finishing push processing S5.

[0080] In this way, with the autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment, by operating the lift-down mechanism 4 in a state that allows the lift-down movement of the movable basket section 3 by the lift-down mechanism 4 (with the left and right doors D open) and lifting down the movable basket section 3 to the drop-off position (3B), the package to be dropped off and stored in the cargo compartment 1S can be moved to the package delivery surface F (floor) of the delivery destination.

[0081] In particular, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is configured to perform a pre-delivery correction process S01 before the lift-down mechanism 4 is activated to move the movable basket 3 to the delivery location (3B) (lift-down movement). The pre-delivery correction process S01 corrects the distance between the robot body 1 and the opposing surface (wall) W to a predetermined target position based on the detection values ​​of two or more opposing surface distance detection units 9, and corrects the orientation of the robot body 1 relative to the opposing surface (wall) W to a predetermined target orientation based on the calculation value of the robot body angle calculation unit C2. Therefore, even if the robot body 1 arrives at the delivery destination based on a self-location estimation algorithm (e.g., adaptive Monte Carlo localization (AMCL)), which is an estimation based on probability theory, by performing the pre-delivery correction process S01, it is possible to avoid placing the package at the delivery destination in a position or orientation that is incorrect. Similarly, even if cumulative deviations occur due to the characteristics or slope of the ground when using odometry based on wheel contact for autonomous driving, the pre-delivery correction process S01 can eliminate such deviations. As shown in FIG. 18, the target position (target distance, the distance of the robot body 1 from the opposing surface W) in the pre-placement correction process S01 can be, for example, a distance equal to or greater than the sum (H+I'+J') of the amount of the movable basket 3 to be taken out (the distance the movable basket 3 is extended from the surface 10 of the robot body 1 that faces the opposing surface (wall) W toward the opposing surface (wall) W) and the length of the baggage in the carry-out direction 31x ("I'" + "J'" in the figure) taking into account the inclination of the baggage. As explained in the figure, the maximum value of "I'" is I cos θ, and "I'" can also be set to a value smaller than I cos θ. Of course, the target position (target distance) can also be set using an arithmetic expression other than "H+I'+J'". Then, by correcting the distance of the robot body 1 from the opposing surface W to the target position (target distance) by the pre-delivery correction process S01, even if the cargo tends to tip in the cargo carrying-out direction 31x due to its momentum or the unbalanced center of gravity of the cargo itself when it is carried out from the movable basket section 3, the cargo can be prevented from tipping over by hitting or leaning against the opposing surface (wall) W.

[0082] Furthermore, according to the autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment, after the lift-down mechanism 4 is activated to lift down the movable basket unit 3 to the placement position (3B), the robot enters a retreat state (retracted state) at a predetermined distance from the package (i.e., executes the above-mentioned retreat process S4), thereby allowing the entire package to be placed completely on the package delivery surface F, and by executing a finishing push process S5 in which the robot moves (forward) from the retreat state toward the opposing surface (wall) W to push the package toward the opposing surface (wall) W, the delivery robot R can place the package completely on the package delivery surface F. The luggage will be pushed by the tip of the movable basket section 3 (the end on the luggage discharging direction 31x side) in a direction approaching the opposing surface (wall) W while maintaining the angle of the robot body 1 at the time of completion of the pre-delivery correction process S01, and even if a deviation occurs in the delivery position or delivery posture of the luggage at the time the luggage is discharged from the movable basket section 3 due to the smoothness of the bottom surface (rolling surface) of the luggage or the luggage's center of gravity imbalance, the luggage's delivery posture can be corrected to a posture facing directly at the opposing surface (wall) W, and the luggage can be moved to a predetermined delivery position in contact with or close to the opposing surface (wall) W.

[0083] Furthermore, with the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, even if the luggage is light and has not been completely ejected from the movable basket section 3 and has been dragged backward to a certain extent by the robot R's backward movement (evacuation process S4), by executing the finishing push process S5, the luggage can be placed in the correct position with the misalignment corrected, in contact with the opposing surface (wall) W without any gaps.

[0084] With the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, there is no need to install a mechanism or posture sensing means in the cargo compartment S1 to guide the cargo in advance according to its size so that the loading posture does not change in the cargo compartment 1S within the robot body 1. This avoids a complicated structure and also avoids the need for extra work at the delivery point when loading the cargo into the cargo compartment 1S.

[0085] In particular, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment is equipped with a luggage priority contact unit 48 that makes contact with the luggage preferentially during the finishing pushing process S5, and a force measurement unit 49 that measures the force acting on the luggage priority contact unit 48 that has come into contact with the luggage. Therefore, it is possible to detect that the luggage has reached the opposing surface (wall) W based on the event that the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 exceeds a predetermined threshold during the finishing pushing process S5. Then, by stopping the process of pushing the luggage toward the opposing surface W when the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 exceeds the predetermined threshold, it is possible to move the luggage to an appropriate position close to the opposing surface (wall) W. In this embodiment, a luggage priority contact portion 48 is provided at the front end (end on the luggage unloading direction 31x side) of the bottom plate portion 31 of the movable basket portion 3, protruding further forward (in the luggage unloading direction 31x) than other components and parts.Therefore, immediately after the evacuation process S4 is completed, the movable basket portion 3 that has been lifted down to the placement position (3B) does not need to be returned to the storage position (3A) but the finishing push process S5 can be executed by moving the robot R toward the opposing surface (wall) W in the same position (with the movable basket portion 3 remaining in the placement position (3B)).This simplifies the processing content and shortens the processing time compared to an embodiment that requires a process to return the movable basket portion 3 from the placement position (3B) to the storage position (3A) immediately after the evacuation process S4 is completed.

[0086] In the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment, during the finishing push process S5, monitoring of the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 is started when the robot body 1 is moved (forward) toward the opposing surface (wall) W by a distance equal to the distance moved by the traveling means T in a direction away from the opposing surface (wall) W (the retreating movement distance; a distance equal to the distance greater than the maximum value of the package's dimensions along the package carry-out direction 31x). Therefore, since monitoring of the measurement value of the force measurement unit 49 is not started at time Pt3 when the package begins to contact the opposing surface (wall) W before it reaches the opposing surface (wall), any change in the measurement value at that time is ignored. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect that the package has reached the opposing surface (wall) W based on the first change in the measurement value after the start of measurement value monitoring Pt5 of the force measurement unit 49. When the finishing push process S5 is stopped based on this change, the package can be placed in contact with or close to the opposing surface (wall) W.

[0087] As described above, the autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment has a significantly higher probability of discharging packages in the target position on the package delivery surface F (floor) in the target posture. Furthermore, it can adjust the posture of the package discharged on the package delivery surface F (floor) and the gap distance between the package and the opposing surface (wall) W to the appropriate posture and distance (position), allowing it to perform the drop-off and delivery process with the same quality as if it were delivered by a delivery person. The autonomous delivery robot R according to this embodiment can also carry multiple packages. In this case, the drop-off and delivery process can be performed appropriately by placing only the packages to be dropped off on the bottom plate 31 of the movable basket 3 in the luggage compartment 1S of the robot body 1 and then lifting down the movable basket 3. This allows packages to be delivered to multiple destinations in a single delivery round in the appropriate posture, close to the opposing surface (wall) W. Furthermore, the autonomous delivery robot R of this embodiment can flexibly combine regular delivery and drop-off delivery, and by achieving the various effects described above, it can solve all of the current problems such as an increase in parcels, increased workload on delivery drivers, driver shortages, and demand for non-contact delivery.

[0088] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the above-described embodiments illustrate an embodiment in which three luggage priority contact areas are arranged at a predetermined pitch on the tip of the bottom plate. However, the number of luggage priority contact areas may be two or less or four or more, and the locations of the luggage priority contact areas can be selected and changed as appropriate. Therefore, the present invention also includes a configuration in which luggage priority contact areas are provided at locations other than the bottom plate of the movable basket, such as a pair of left and right upright plates, a configuration in which luggage priority contact areas are provided at locations other than the movable basket, such as appropriate locations of the link mechanism that constitutes the lift-down mechanism, or appropriate locations on the door or the cart. The material and shape of the luggage priority contact areas can be selected and changed as appropriate. Furthermore, instead of using a dedicated luggage priority contact area (the above-described luggage priority contact area 48) to form the luggage pushing means (pushing means), it is also possible to employ a configuration in which the tip of the movable basket (the end on the luggage unloading direction side) itself functions as the pushing means (luggage priority contact area).

[0089] The timing of performing the finishing push process to move the luggage toward the opposing surface after the movable basket section has been lifted down from the storage position to the delivery position is not limited to the timing immediately after the retraction process described in the above embodiment, and the present invention also includes, for example, a mode in which the finishing push process is performed immediately after the lift-down return process, a mode in which the finishing push process is performed immediately after the outrigger return process, or a mode in which the finishing push process is performed immediately after the door closing process. Even in a mode in which the finishing push process is performed immediately after the outrigger return process or the door closing process, the finishing push process can be performed by the push means by making the part of the door or cart that faces the opposing surface itself function as the push means (luggage priority contact portion), or by adopting a mode in which the push means (luggage priority contact portion) is configured by a dedicated part mounted on the door or cart.

[0090] The present invention also includes an embodiment in which a force measuring unit that measures the force acting on the luggage priority contact portion is not provided. In this case, in the finishing pushing process, the distance moved toward the facing surface from the state where the device is retracted from the opposing surface and luggage during the retraction process can be set to the same distance (fixed feed amount) as the retraction movement distance during the retraction process. It is preferable to set the fixed feed amount to a value greater than the maximum length in the luggage discharge direction among the sizes of the luggage being handled. Even in this finishing pushing process using fixed feed, if the luggage has a similar length in the luggage discharge direction, the luggage's posture and the distance between the luggage and the opposing surface can be corrected to the appropriate posture and distance by pushing the luggage at the luggage priority contact portion.

[0091] On the other hand, as in the above-described embodiment, if the finishing push process is performed while detecting the force (or pressure) acting on the luggage priority contact portion based on the measurement value of the force measuring unit, it is possible to flexibly accommodate luggage of different sizes, and after correcting the luggage's orientation to the correct direction (facing directly toward the opposing surface), the luggage can be placed in a state where it is in close contact with the opposing surface at the delivery destination or in close proximity to the opposing surface.

[0092] In the above-described embodiment, a wall is used as an example of an opposing surface in the present invention. However, the opposing surface in the present invention, i.e., the "surface (opposing surface) that the robot main body faces in the direction of package removal when it arrives at the delivery destination," does not necessarily have to be an entirely flat surface like a "wall," but also includes a surface that has a partially flat surface. Specific examples other than "walls," such as the exterior and interior walls of a building, include outdoor structures (exteriors), such as walls, fences, walls, and gates, as well as pillars (pillars and beams of a house), poles (parking lot poles, etc.), legs of desks and tables, box-shaped items (trash cans, shelves, pallets, chests of drawers, etc.), stairs (stairs at a front door, stairs inside a house, etc.), delivery lockers, elevators, and garages. The components constituting the opposing surface distance detection unit and force measurement unit that detect the distance between the opposing surface and the robot main body are not limited to distance sensors, pressure sensors, and strain gauges, but may also be appropriate sensors.

[0093] The specific calculation processing content (calculation formula) of the robot body angle calculation unit, which calculates the angle of the robot body relative to the opposing surface based on the detection value of the opposing surface separation distance detection unit, can be selected or changed to the most appropriate content as appropriate depending on the number of opposing surface separation distance detection units, their mounting locations, etc.

[0094] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example was given of a configuration in which, in order to completely remove (move) the parcel from the movable basket to the parcel delivery surface, a retraction process is performed following the lift-down process, and the entire robot is then moved (forward) toward the opposing surface from a state in which it has been retracted from the opposing surface and the parcels. This configuration is not limited to this. If the autonomous delivery robot can perform an appropriate complete parcel discharge process instead of a retraction process, it can be configured to perform a final push process in which, following the complete parcel discharge process, the parcels moved from the movable basket to the parcel delivery surface are pushed toward the opposing surface. Alternatively, if the parcels can be completely removed (moved) from the movable basket to the parcel delivery surface upon completion of the lift-down process, the final push process can be performed at an appropriate timing after completion of the lift-down process. In these cases, the retraction process in which the entire robot is moved away from the opposing surface and the parcels prior to performing the final push process can be omitted. Examples of complete luggage discharge processes include a process in which the luggage in the movable basket section is completely moved to the luggage delivery surface by a forced movement means (such as an electric transport conveyor or roller conveyor attached to the bottom plate section of the movable basket section, or a pressing section that moves from the rear side of the movable basket section toward the front) that moves only the luggage placed on the bottom plate section of the movable basket section at the placement position toward the opposing surface (in the luggage removal direction), or a process in which only the bottom plate section of the movable basket section at the placement position slides in a direction away from the opposing surface (the bottom of the movable basket section temporarily comes out) to completely move the luggage in the movable basket section to the luggage delivery surface.

[0095] By using a non-stationary driving means or a differential two-wheel type that can perform spin turns with the left and right wheels rotating in opposite directions, forward and backward movement, pivot turns, etc., it is possible to realize an autonomous driving delivery robot that can provide the same drop-off delivery service as described above.

[0096] The doors of the autonomous delivery robot of the present invention are not limited to double-door doors, but can also be shutter-type doors, foldable doors, or doors (upper-type doors) that can be switched to an open state by rotating the door when it is closed around an operating rotation axis installed in a horizontal position at the top end of the door.

[0097] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the bottom plate of the movable basket tilts during the lift-down process by using a priority ground contact point to tilt the bottom plate due to a ground reaction force acting on the priority ground contact point. However, instead, the bottom plate of the movable basket can be tilted via a mechanical link member that is linked to the movement of the lift-down mechanism associated with the lift-down operation of the package. In either case, tilting the bottom plate during the lift-down process can realize a delivery robot that sends packages to be left on the delivery surface. Furthermore, the bottom plate of the movable basket, which is in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position at the completion of the lift-down process, can be tilted electrically or by an appropriate link mechanism after the lift-down process is completed, so that the packages to be left on the delivery surface can be sent.

[0098] When adopting a configuration in which an electric transport conveyor or roller conveyor is provided on the bottom plate of the movable basket, connecting a non-excited brake to the transport conveyor or roller conveyor can prevent or suppress the movement of luggage in the cargo compartment due to tilting of the robot body or the generation of acceleration in each direction while traveling.

[0099] In the present invention, the lift-down mechanism may be a hydraulic lift that moves the movable basket up and down between the storage position and the delivery position. When the hydraulic lift moves the movable basket up and down between the storage position and the delivery position, an actuator that moves the movable basket up and down and an actuator that moves the movable basket from the luggage compartment toward the outside through the opening are required.

[0100] The robot body of the present invention is not limited to a box-like shape, but may be any shape with an appropriate internal space, such as a cylindrical shape. The size of the internal space and the cargo compartment can be appropriately changed depending on specifications. The size of the opening that can be opened and closed by the door can also be appropriately changed. In particular, in the above-described embodiment, an opening is provided on only one side of the robot body and is opened and closed by a door. However, depending on the size of the internal space and the cargo compartment of the robot body, openings may be provided on both sides of the robot body and each opening may be opened and closed by a door. In this case, if the movable basket can be moved from the storage position to the delivery position through each opening by a lift-down mechanism, the options for the direction in which the package is carried out can be increased, which is expected to contribute to the efficiency of delivery operations. Furthermore, openings may be provided on either or both of the front and back sides of the robot body and opened and closed by a door.

[0101] The autonomous delivery robot according to the present invention may have multiple delivery devices mounted on the robot body, or multiple robot bodies mounted on a common cart, each equipped with a delivery device. By increasing the number of delivery devices, such a configuration can accommodate an increase in the number of delivery destinations (an increase in packages to be delivered).

[0102] Furthermore, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 1...Robot body 1S...Luggage compartment 2...Delivery device 3... Movable basket section 31…Bottom plate part (3A)…Housing position (3B)…Delivery location 4...Lift-down mechanism 48... Luggage priority contact part (pushing means) 49...Force measurement unit 9...Opposite surface separation distance detection unit C…Control unit C2: Robot body angle calculation section R...Autonomous delivery robot T…Travel means

Claims

1. An autonomous delivery robot comprising: a traveling means capable of autonomous traveling; a robot body having a part of its internal space set as a cargo compartment; a delivery device mounted on the robot body; and a control unit that executes at least a delivery process; The delivery device includes: a movable basket portion capable of accommodating luggage; a lift-down mechanism that lifts down the movable basket from a storage position where the entire movable basket is stored in the luggage compartment to a placement position where at least a portion of a bottom plate of the movable basket is in contact with or close to a luggage delivery surface of a delivery destination; two or more opposing surface distance detection units that detect the distance between the robot body and an opposing surface, which is a surface that faces the robot body in the direction of carrying out the luggage when the robot body arrives at the delivery destination, from mutually different positions; a robot body angle calculation unit that calculates an angle of the robot body with respect to the opposing surface based on a detection value of the opposing surface separation distance detection unit, a pre-delivery correction process for correcting the position and posture of the robot body to a preset target position and posture based on the detection value of the opposing surface separation distance detection unit and the calculation value of the robot body angle calculation unit, before the control unit operates the lift-down mechanism to execute the delivery process; An autonomous delivery robot characterized in that, after the lift-down mechanism is activated to lift down the movable basket section from the storage position to the delivery position, a finishing pushing process is performed to push the parcels that have been moved from the movable basket section to the parcel delivery surface toward the opposing surface.

2. a luggage priority contact portion that contacts the luggage preferentially during execution of the finishing pressing process; a force measuring unit that measures a force acting on the luggage priority contact portion that is in contact with the luggage, The autonomous delivery robot of claim 1 is configured to stop the finishing press process when the measurement value of the force measuring unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value during the finishing press process.

3. the finishing pressing process is a process performed following a retreat process in which the traveling means moves the robot body in a direction away from the opposing surface, The autonomous delivery robot of claim 2 is configured to start monitoring the measurement value of the force measuring unit after the finishing pushing process has been moved toward the opposing surface a distance equal to the evacuation movement distance during the evacuation process.

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