Delivery support system

Abstract

To allow a deliverer to efficiently unload a plurality of packages loaded on a delivery vehicle.SOLUTION: A delivery support system includes a database 66 in which delivery completion information is registered for each package, a display device 30 having a display screen 31, and a control apparatus 62. The control apparatus 62 classifies, based on the delivery completion information, a plurality of packages loaded on a delivery vehicle 10 into packages for which satisfaction of a carry-out permission condition is determined and packages for which unsatisfaction of the carry-out permission condition is determined. The display apparatus 30 controls display of the display screen 31 so that a deliverer 20 can visually discriminate the packages for which satisfaction of the carry-out permission condition is determined from the packages for which unsatisfaction of the carry-out permission condition is determined, out of the packages on the delivery vehicle 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a delivery support system for assisting the work of a delivery person who delivers luggage to a delivery destination using a delivery vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a support system for assisting a worker in loading luggage onto a delivery vehicle and unloading the luggage from the delivery vehicle. In this support system, when assisting in unloading, among a plurality of pieces of luggage loaded on the delivery vehicle, the luggage addressed to a delivery destination located within a predetermined range including the current position of the delivery vehicle is selected as the target luggage. Then, based on the work history at the time of loading the luggage onto the delivery vehicle, the storage position of the target luggage in the delivery vehicle is specified.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When the delivery person parks the delivery vehicle at a predetermined parking location, the delivery person carries out the luggage addressed to a delivery destination located near the parking location from the delivery vehicle. Then, the delivery person delivers the luggage carried out from the delivery vehicle to the delivery destination. The problem of the present invention is to enable the delivery person to efficiently unload the luggage from the delivery vehicle when the delivery vehicle is parked at a predetermined parking location.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The delivery support system for solving the above problems is a system that assists a delivery person in unloading packages from a delivery vehicle loaded with multiple packages when the vehicle is parked at a designated parking spot. The delivery support system comprises a database in which delivery completion status information, which is information regarding whether or not the delivery person can complete the delivery of a package when they transport the package to its destination, is registered for each package; a display device having a display screen; and a control device. When the delivery vehicle is parked at the parking spot, the control device determines that packages among the multiple packages loaded in the delivery vehicle that satisfy both of the following conditions: that the delivery can be completed based on the delivery completion status information, and that the package is destined for a destination within the range that the delivery person can deliver from the parking spot; are packages for which the loading permission conditions have been met. On the other hand, packages that do not satisfy at least one of the following conditions are determined to be packages for which the loading permission conditions have not been met. The display device controls the display screen so that, when the delivery person unloads the goods from the delivery vehicle at the parking location, the delivery person can visually distinguish between the goods that meet the conditions for permission to unload and the goods that do not meet the conditions for permission to unload from among the multiple goods loaded in the delivery vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The above delivery support system has the effect of enabling delivery personnel to efficiently unload multiple packages when they are loaded onto a delivery vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the delivery support system of an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a delivery truck with multiple packages loaded onto its cargo bed. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the display screen of the display device that constitutes the delivery support system in Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the database that constitutes the delivery support system in Figure 1. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow when assisting delivery personnel with unloading cargo from delivery vehicles in the delivery support system shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the display screen shown in Figure 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] An embodiment of the delivery support system will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6. Referring to Figure 1, the general configuration of the delivery support system will be explained. The delivery support system is a system that assists the work of delivery personnel 20 who deliver packages to destinations using a delivery vehicle 10. The delivery support system comprises a central device 60 and a display device 30. The display device 30 is configured to communicate with a mobile terminal 40 owned by the delivery personnel 20. The mobile terminal 40 is configured to communicate with the central device 60 via a communication network 100. In other words, the central device 60 and the display device 30 can communicate with each other via the mobile terminal 40 and the communication network 100. The mobile terminal 40 can be a smartphone or a tablet device.

[0009] <Delivery vehicle> The delivery vehicle 10 delivers packages DL to multiple delivery destinations DD according to a pre-set delivery schedule. The delivery vehicle 10 has a location information receiver 15 that receives its own location information. The location information received by the location information receiver 15 is transmitted to the center device 60 via the communication network 100. This allows the center device 60 to know the current location of the delivery vehicle 10.

[0010] Figure 2 illustrates a state in which multiple packages DL are loaded onto the cargo bed 11 of the delivery vehicle 10. More specifically, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the delivery vehicle 10 as seen from the rear of the vehicle. When the delivery person 20 parks the delivery vehicle 10 at the designated parking point PS, he unloads the packages DL from the cargo bed 11. Then, with the delivery vehicle 10 still parked at the parking point PS, the delivery person 20 transports the packages DL that he unloaded from the cargo bed 11 to the delivery destination DD of each package DL.

[0011] In this case, if the resident at the delivery address DD is at home, the delivery person 20 completes the delivery of package DL by handing it to the resident. Even if the resident at the delivery address DD is absent, if unattended delivery is permitted, the delivery person 20 completes the delivery of package DL by, for example, leaving package DL at the entrance of the delivery address DD or placing package DL in a delivery box. However, if the resident is absent and unattended delivery is not permitted, the delivery person 20 cannot leave package DL at the delivery address DD. In this case, the delivery person 20 cannot complete the delivery of package DL.

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, each of the multiple DL packages is attached to a tag TG containing identification information for identifying the DL package. An example of a tag TG is RFID. "RFID" is an abbreviation for "Radio Frequency Identification".

[0013] <Display device> As shown in Figure 1, the display device 30 has a display screen 31. An example of the display device 30 is a wearable terminal configured so that the delivery person 20 can view the display screen 31 when worn by the delivery person 20. In the example shown in Figure 1, the display device 30 is smart glasses. In this case, the lenses of the smart glasses function as the display screen 31.

[0014] The display device 30 has a camera 32 that images the front of the wearer of the display device 30 and a reading device 33 that reads the identification information registered in the tag TG of the luggage DL. The image captured by the camera 32 is displayed on the display screen 31. When the luggage DL is present in the imaging range of the camera 32, the reading device 33 can read the identification information registered in the tag TG of the luggage DL. The display device 30 transmits the identification information read by the reading device 33 to the center device 60 via the mobile terminal 40 and the communication network 100.

[0015] When the reading device 33 reads the identification information registered in the tags TG of a plurality of pieces of luggage DL, the display device 30 executes a predetermined unloading support display process. In the unloading support display process, the display device 30 controls the display on the display screen 31 so that the delivery person 20 can visually distinguish between the piece of luggage DL for which it is determined that the predetermined unloading permission condition is satisfied and the piece of luggage DL for which it is determined that the unloading permission condition is not satisfied among the plurality of pieces of luggage DL loaded on the delivery vehicle 10. The determination process for whether the unloading permission condition is satisfied will be described later.

[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the display on the display screen 31 when the unloading support display process is executed. That is, on the display screen 31, the piece of luggage DLA for which it is determined that the unloading permission condition is satisfied is displayed, while the piece of luggage DLB for which it is determined that the unloading permission condition is not satisfied is not displayed. By performing such display control, the delivery person 20 can visually distinguish between the piece of luggage DL for which it is determined that the unloading permission condition is satisfied and the piece of luggage DL for which it is determined that the unloading permission condition is not satisfied.

[0017] <Center device> The center device 60 manages the delivery of the luggage DL by a plurality of delivery vehicles 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the center device 60 includes a communication device 61, a control device 62, and a database 66. The communication device 61 is an interface of the center device 60 for communicating with communication devices outside the center device 60. When the communication device 61 receives information via the communication network 100, it outputs the information to the control device 62. The communication device 61 transmits the information output by the control device 62 to communication devices outside the center device 60 via the communication network 100.

[0018] An example of the control device 62 is an electronic control device. In this case, the control device 62 has a CPU 63 and a memory 64. The memory 64 stores a control program executed by the CPU 63. By executing the control program, the control device 62 executes a series of processes for assisting the work of the deliverer 20. The series of processes will be described later.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 4, the database 66 will be described. The database 66 is a storage device in which various types of information regarding the goods DL to be delivered by the delivery vehicle 10 to the delivery destination DD are registered. For example, in the database 66, parking location information, delivery destination information, delivery completion availability information, etc. are registered for each of the goods DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6, DL7,....

[0020] The parking location information is information regarding the parking location PS where the delivery vehicle 10 is parked when the deliverer 20 delivers the goods DL to the delivery destination DD. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the parking location information for the plurality of goods DL1 to DL5 indicates that the parking location PS is the first parking location PS1. Also, the parking location information for the plurality of goods DL6 and DL7 indicates that the parking location PS is the second parking location PS2.

[0021] The delivery destination information is information about the delivery destination of package DL. The delivery destination information includes the delivery destination DD of package DL and the distance L from the parking location PS to the delivery destination DD. For example, the delivery destination information for package DL1 indicates that the delivery destination DD of package DL1 is delivery destination DD1, and the distance L from the first parking location PS1 to delivery destination DD1 is the first distance L1. For example, the delivery destination information for package DL2 indicates that the delivery destination DD of package DL2 is delivery destination DD2, and the distance L from the first parking location PS1 to delivery destination DD2 is the second distance L2. For example, the delivery destination information for package DL6 indicates that the delivery destination DD of package DL6 is delivery destination DD6, and the distance L from the second parking location PS2 to delivery destination DD6 is the sixth distance L6.

[0022] Delivery completion status information refers to whether the delivery person will complete the delivery of package DL when they transport the package DL to the delivery destination DD. In the example shown in Figure 4, the delivery completion status information includes information on whether the resident at the delivery destination DD is absent, whether unattended delivery is permitted, and whether a delivery box is installed. For example, the delivery completion status information for package DL1 indicates that the resident at delivery destination DD1 is at home, unattended delivery is permitted, and a delivery box is installed. For example, the delivery completion status information for package DL2 indicates that the resident at delivery destination DD2 is at home, unattended delivery is not permitted, and a delivery box is not installed. For example, the delivery completion status information for package DL3 indicates that the resident at delivery destination DD3 is absent, unattended delivery is permitted, and a delivery box is installed.

[0023] <Unloading support> Referring to Figure 5, the process flow for assisting the delivery person 20 in unloading the cargo from the delivery vehicle 10 will be explained. Figure 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the said process flow.

[0024] In step S101, when the delivery vehicle 10 parks at the parking point PS, the location information of the parking point PS where the delivery vehicle 10 is parked is transmitted to the center device 60. When the delivery person 20 puts on the display device 30, the display device 30 executes the process in step S201. In step S201, the display device 30 obtains the loading position, which is the position of the multiple packages DL on the loading platform 11, by having the reading device 33 read the identification information of the tags TG of the multiple packages DL loaded on the loading platform 11 of the delivery vehicle 10.

[0025] When the communication device 61 of the center device 60 receives location information from the delivery vehicle 10, the control device 62 of the center device 60 executes the process in step S301. In step S301, the control device 62 obtains the parking location PS of the delivery vehicle 10 based on the received location information. In the following step S303, the control device 62 selects the first target package from among multiple packages DL registered in the database 66. The first target package is a package destined for a delivery destination within the range that the delivery person 20 can deliver the package DL from the parking location PS. For example, if the parking location PS is the first parking location PS1, then multiple packages DL1 to DL5 correspond to the first target package.

[0026] In the next step S305, the control device 62 obtains information from the database 66 regarding whether the delivery of the first target package can be completed. Then, in step S307, the control device 62 selects the second target packages from the first target packages. The second target packages are packages that the delivery person 20 can complete delivering when he goes to the delivery destination DD. In other words, packages addressed to the delivery destination DD that the control device 62 has determined can be received correspond to the second target packages. In step S307, the control device 62 determines whether each first target package is a second target package or not based on the delivery completion status information. If there is a resident at the delivery destination DD, as shown in Figure 4 (Delivery DD1), the control device 62 determines that the package addressed to that delivery destination DD is a second target package. Also, if there is a resident at the delivery destination DD, as shown in delivery destination DD3, but unattended delivery is permitted, the control device 62 determines that the package addressed to that delivery destination DD is a second target package. On the other hand, if there is a resident at the delivery destination DD, as shown in delivery destination DD5, and unattended delivery is not permitted, the control device 62 determines that the package addressed to that delivery destination DD is not a second target package.

[0027] Here, the second target package is a package that satisfies both of the following conditions: it is a package addressed to a delivery destination DD that has been determined to be able to receive package DL, and it is a package addressed to a delivery destination DD that is within the range that the delivery person 20 can deliver package DL to from the parking point PS. In other words, in this embodiment, the second target package corresponds to "package DLA for which the above-mentioned loading permission conditions have been met." On the other hand, among the multiple packages DL loaded on the delivery vehicle 10, packages other than the second target package correspond to "package DLB for which the loading permission conditions have not been met."

[0028] When the control device 62 completes the sorting of the second target package DLA, in step S309, the communication device 61 of the center device 60 transmits information identifying the second target package DLA to the display device 30.

[0029] When the display device 30 receives information identifying the second target cargo DLA, it executes the process in step S203. In step S203, the display device 30 obtains the loading position of the second target cargo DLA on the cargo bed 11 based on the loading positions of the multiple cargo DLs obtained in step S201.

[0030] In the center device 60, when the communication device 61 transmits information identifying the second target package DLA, the control device 62 executes the process in step S311. In step S311, the control device 62 sets the priority of the second target package DLA. In this embodiment, the control device 62 sets the priority of the second target packages in order of ease of delivery for the delivery person 20. For example, the control device 62 sets the priority of multiple second target package DLA such that the closer the distance L from the parking point PS, the higher the priority. In the subsequent step S313, the communication device 61 transmits information regarding the priority of the second target package DLA to the display device 30.

[0031] When the display device 30 receives information regarding the priority of the second target cargo DLA from the center device 60, it executes the process in step S205. In step S205, the display device 30 executes unloading support display processing based on the information received from the center device 60. In the unloading support display processing, the display device 30 controls the display on the display screen 31 so that the delivery person 20 can visually distinguish between the second target cargo DLA and the cargo DLB other than the second target cargo DLA among the multiple cargo DLs loaded on the cargo bed 11.

[0032] Figure 6 illustrates an example of the display mode of the display screen 31 after the execution of the unloading support display process. The display device 30 controls the display of the display screen 31 considering the priority of the second target cargo DLA. Specifically, as shown in Figure 6, the display device 30 controls the display of the display screen 31 so that the second target cargo DLA1, which has the highest priority among the multiple second target cargo DLAs, is visually highlighted more than the other second target cargo DLAs.

[0033] Then, when the delivery person 20 unloads the second target cargo DLA1, which has the highest priority among the multiple second target cargo DLAs, from the loading platform 11, the display device 30 controls the display screen 31 so that the second target cargo DLA with the next highest priority after the second target cargo DLA1 that has been unloaded from the loading platform 11 is visually highlighted more than the other second target cargo DLAs. The display device 30 continues to perform unloading support display processing until all second target cargo DLAs have been unloaded from the loading platform 11. That is, once all second target cargo DLAs have been unloaded from the loading platform 11, the display device 30 terminates the unloading support display processing.

[0034] <Operation and Effects of This Embodiment> This explains how the delivery support system works. For example, when the delivery vehicle 10 is parked at the first parking point PS1, the control device 62 selects a first target package from among the multiple packages DL loaded in the delivery vehicle 10. The first target package is a package destined for a delivery destination DD within the range that the delivery person 20 can deliver the package to from the parking point PS of the delivery vehicle 10. According to the database 66 shown in Figure 4, when the parking point PS is the first parking point PS1, the control device 62 selects multiple packages DL1 to DL5 as the first target package.

[0035] Furthermore, the control device 62 selects the second target package DLA from among the multiple packages DL1 to DL5 corresponding to the first target package. Specifically, based on the delivery completion status information of the multiple packages DL1 to DL5, the control device 62 selects packages destined for destinations where it has determined that package DL can be received as the second target package DLA. According to the database 66 shown in Figure 4, if the parking point PS is the first parking point PS1, the control device 62 selects four packages DL1 to DL4 as the second target package DLA. In other words, the control device 62 determines that the four packages DL1 to DL4 are packages DLA for which the conditions for permission to ship have been met. On the other hand, the control device 62 determines that packages other than the four packages DL1 to DL4 are packages DLB for which the conditions for permission to ship have not been met.

[0036] The display device 30 controls the display on the display screen 31 so that the delivery person 20 can visually identify among the multiple packages DL1 to DL7, ... loaded onto the delivery vehicle 10, packages DLA (i.e., second-target packages) for which the conditions for shipment permission have been met, and packages DLB (i.e., packages other than second-target packages) for which the conditions for shipment permission have not been met.

[0037] Therefore, the delivery person 20 can identify which packages DL should be unloaded from the delivery vehicle 10 by looking at the display screen 31. Thus, the delivery support system can enable the delivery person 20 to efficiently unload packages DL when multiple packages DL are loaded onto the delivery vehicle 10.

[0038] In this embodiment, the following effects can be further obtained. (1) The control device 62 sets a priority for each of the second target package DLA when there are multiple second target package DLAs. Specifically, the control device 62 sets a priority for the multiple second target package DLAs in order of ease of delivery for the delivery person 20.

[0039] The display device 30 then controls the display screen 31 to visually highlight the second target item DLA1, which has the highest priority among the multiple second target item DLAs, more than the other second target item DLAs. When the second target item DLA1, which has the highest priority, is unloaded from the delivery vehicle 10, the display device 30 controls the display screen 31 to visually highlight the second target item DLA with the next highest priority after DLA1, which has been unloaded from the delivery vehicle 10, more than the other second target item DLAs. In other words, the delivery support system can inform the delivery person 20 of the order in which the items to be unloaded are to be unloaded. Therefore, the delivery person 20 can unload the items from the delivery vehicle 10 efficiently.

[0040] (2) The display device 30 is a wearable device. Therefore, the delivery person 20 can perform tasks such as unloading while wearing the display device 30. Thus, the delivery support system can contribute to the efficiency of unloading by the delivery person 20.

[0041] <Example of changes> The above embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. The above embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0042] The display device 30 does not need to be a wearable device, as long as the delivery person 20 can view the display screen 31 while unloading the goods. The control device 62 does not need to set a priority for multiple second target luggage DLA.

[0043] • If the delivery completion status information includes information on whether the resident of the delivery address DD is absent, it does not need to include at least one of the following: information on whether unattended delivery is permitted, or information on whether a delivery box is installed.

[0044] If the delivery completion status information includes information on whether or not unattended delivery is permitted, it does not need to include information on whether or not the resident of the delivery address DD is absent, or information on whether or not a delivery box is installed.

[0045] If the delivery completion status information includes information on whether or not a delivery box is installed, it does not need to include at least one of the following: information on whether or not unattended delivery is permitted, or information on whether or not the resident of the delivery address DD is absent.

[0046] The display device 30 may control the display screen 31 to distinguish between cargo DLA, which is determined to meet the conditions for shipment permission, and cargo DLB, which is determined to not meet the conditions for shipment permission, using different colors.

[0047] The control device 62 is not limited to one that includes a CPU and ROM and executes software processing. In other words, the control device 62 may have any of the following configurations: (a), (b), and (c).

[0048] (a) The control device 62 comprises one or more processors that perform various processes according to a computer program. The processors include a CPU and memory such as RAM and ROM. The memory stores program code or instructions configured to cause the CPU to perform processes. The memory, i.e., computer-readable media, includes any available media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer.

[0049] (b) The control device 62 includes one or more dedicated hardware circuits that perform various processes. Examples of dedicated hardware circuits include application-specific integrated circuits, i.e., ASICs or FPGAs. ASIC is an abbreviation for "Application Specific Integrated Circuit," and FPGA is an abbreviation for "Field Programmable Gate Array."

[0050] (c) The control device 62 includes a processor that executes a portion of the various processes according to a computer program, and dedicated hardware circuits that execute the remaining processes among the various processes.

[0051] In this specification, the expression "at least one" means "one or more" of the desired options. For example, if there are two options, the expression "at least one" means "only one option" or "both of the two options." As another example, if there are three or more options, the expression "at least one" means "only one option" or "a combination of two or more arbitrary options." [Explanation of Symbols]

[0052] 10...Delivery vehicle, 11...Cargo bed, 20...Delivery person, 30...Display device, 31...Display screen, 62...Control device, 66...Database, DL, DL1~DL7...Cargo.

Claims

1. A delivery support system that assists delivery personnel in unloading goods from a delivery vehicle loaded with multiple packages when the vehicle is parked at a designated parking spot, The delivery completion status information, which is information regarding whether or not the delivery person can complete the delivery of the package when they transport the package to the destination, is registered in a database for each package, A display device having a display screen, A control device is provided, The control device is If the aforementioned delivery vehicle is parked at the aforementioned parking spot, Among the multiple packages loaded onto the aforementioned delivery vehicle, Based on the delivery completion status information, packages that satisfy both of the following conditions are determined to be packages for which the delivery permit conditions are met: the package is addressed to a destination to which it is determined that delivery can be completed, and the package is addressed to a destination within the range that the delivery person can deliver the package from the parking location. If a package does not satisfy at least one of the following conditions, it is determined that the package is addressed to a destination to which delivery can be completed, and that the destination is within a range from the parking location to which the delivery person can deliver the package, then it is determined that the conditions for permission to remove the package have not been met. The display device controls the display screen so that, when the delivery person unloads the goods from the delivery vehicle at the parking location, the delivery person can visually distinguish between the goods that meet the conditions for removal permission and the goods that do not meet the conditions for removal permission among the multiple goods loaded in the delivery vehicle. Delivery support system.

2. The aforementioned delivery completion status information includes at least one of the following: information on whether the resident at the delivery address is absent, information on whether unattended delivery is permitted, and information on whether a delivery box is installed. The delivery support system according to claim 1.

3. If the control device determines that there are multiple packages for which the conditions for delivery permission have been met, it sets a priority order for the multiple packages for which the conditions for delivery permission have been met, in order of ease of delivery by the delivery person. The aforementioned display device is Among the multiple packages for which the conditions for permission to transport have been determined to be met, the display screen is controlled to visually highlight the package with the highest priority compared to the other packages. When the highest-priority package is unloaded from the delivery vehicle, the display screen will be controlled to visually highlight the next highest-priority package from the other packages. A delivery support system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. The display device is a wearable terminal configured so that the delivery person can view the display screen when wearing it. The delivery support system according to claim 1.

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