Management device

Abstract

To provide a management device capable of flexibly receiving a baggage per receivable range specified in an organization.SOLUTION: A management device (5) according to an embodiment comprises: a first acquisition unit (51) which acquires specified receivable range information of a baggage (B) specified by a cargo owner (P1) of the baggage (B) among a plurality of receivable ranges of the baggage (B) based on organization information registered in a database (6); a second acquisition unit (52) which acquires information of receivable places which can receive the baggage (B) assigned per receivable range; and an identification unit (53) which identifies a delivery place (7) to which the baggage (B) is delivered on the basis of the specified receivable range information and the receivable place information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a management device.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a delivery system in which a recipient can receive a package at a receiving box designated by the recipient as the receiving location of the package by designating a receiving box installed at a predetermined location.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The applicant of the present application has found the following problems. Although the delivery system of Patent Document 1 can receive a package at a receiving box designated by an individual recipient, it cannot receive a package flexibly according to a designated receivable range within an organization.

[0005] This disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and realizes a management device that can flexibly receive packages for each designated receivable range within an organization.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A management device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a management device for delivering packages, a first acquisition unit that acquires designated receivable range information of the package designated by the shipper of the package from among a plurality of receivable ranges of the package based on organization information registered in a database; a second acquisition unit that acquires receivable location information capable of receiving the package allocated for each receivable range; A specific unit that identifies a delivery location to deliver the package based on the specified delivery range information and the delivery location information, It is equipped with.

[0007] Preferably, the management device described above includes a transmission unit that transmits delivery instruction information to an information device held by the delivery person delivering the package, so as to deliver the package to the delivery location.

[0008] In the management device described above, it is preferable that the transmitting unit transmits delivery completion information indicating that the package has been delivered to the delivery location to an information device held by a recipient within the designated receiving range specified by the consignor.

[0009] In the management device described above, the receiving range decreases as the number of people included in the receiving range decreases. It is preferable that the lower-level eligible recipient range is included in a higher-level eligible recipient range that has a larger number of recipients than the lower-level eligible recipient range.

[0010] In the management device described above, it is preferable that each delivery location is a post box installed in a room or floor where access for people is restricted for each receiving area, and that only people within that receiving area can receive the package. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] This disclosure allows for flexible package delivery within designated receiving areas within the organization. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is an image diagram showing the overall configuration of the delivery system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the management device for the delivery system of the embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating organizational information. [Figure 4]It is a timing chart for explaining the flow of delivering a package using the delivery system of the embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a diagram for explaining how to specify the designated receivable range. [Figure 6] It is a diagram for explaining how a receivable person receives a package from the delivery location.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. Also, the following description and drawings are simplified as appropriate.

[0014] FIG. 1 is an image diagram showing the overall configuration of the delivery system of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the delivery system 1 includes a first information device 2, a second information device 3, a third information device 4, a management device 5, a database (DB) 6, and a delivery location 7.

[0015] The first information device 2, the second information device 3, the third information device 4, the management device 5, the DB 6, and the delivery location 7 are connected by a wired or wireless communication line, for example, the Internet.

[0016] Although details of the delivery system 1 will be described later, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a package B ordered by a shipper P1 is delivered by an in-facility in-building deliverer P2 to a delivery location 7 allocated within the designated receivable range specified by the shipper P1, and only a receivable person P3 who is within the designated receivable range can receive the package B.

[0017] The first information device 2 is a smartphone or a PC (Personal Computer) possessed by the shipper P1. The shipper P1, for example, inputs the address of the facility where the package B ordered via the first information device 2 is to be delivered, or specifies the receivable range of the package B.

[0018] The shipper P1 receives the package information delivered to the facility via, for example, the first information device 2. The package information may include the item information of the package B, the shipper information, and the like. Here, the receivable range designated by the shipper P1 is referred to as the designated receivable range.

[0019] The second information device 3 is a smartphone, a PC, or the like held by the in-facility deliverer P2. The in-facility deliverer P2, for example, registers the package information delivered to the facility via the second information device 3, or transmits the delivery completion information indicating that the delivery of the package B to the delivery location 7 has been completed. The delivery completion information may include, in addition to the package information, the location information of the delivery location 7 where the package B has been delivered within the facility.

[0020] Also, the in-facility deliverer P2 receives, for example, the delivery instruction information for instructing the delivery of the package B to the delivery location 7 via the second information device 3. The delivery instruction information may include, in addition to the package information, the location information of the delivery location 7 where the package B is to be delivered within the facility.

[0021] The third information device 4 is a smartphone, a PC, or the like held by the receivable person P3. The receivable person P3 includes the shipper P1 according to the designated receivable range designated by the shipper P1. The receivable person P3 receives the delivery completion information via the third information device 4, for example. Also, the receivable person P3 transmits the receipt completion information of the package B via the third information device 4, for example.

[0022] The management device 5 manages the delivery of the package B. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the management device of the delivery system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the management device 5 includes a first acquisition unit 51, a second acquisition unit 52, a specifying unit 53, and a transmission / reception unit 54.

[0023] The first acquisition unit 51 acquires the designated receivable range information of the package B designated by the shipper P1 of the package B from among a plurality of receivable ranges of the package B based on the organization information registered in the DB6.

[0024] Organizational information includes, for example, information about departments (sections, divisions, groups, etc.) within a company, information about pick-up locations assigned to each department, and personal information such as the names of people belonging to each department. Figure 3 is an example illustrating organizational information. In the example in Figure 3, the organizational information includes information for three departments. However, in the example in Figure 3, personal information is omitted.

[0025] The scope of eligibility is set, for example, by department within a company, by combination of departments, or by individual or group of people. Therefore, if the scope of eligibility is set to "department," it will include the "sections" and "groups" belonging to that "department," and will include all people belonging to that "department."

[0026] In other words, the eligible recipient range decreases as the number of people included in that range decreases, and the lower eligible recipient range is included in the higher eligible recipient range, which has a larger number of people than the lower eligible recipient range.

[0027] For example, in the example in Figure 3, the receiving range is set individually and in combination with Management G1, Management G2, and IP G. Alternatively, the receiving range can be set as a combination of one or more people belonging to at least one of Management G1, Management G2, or IP G. The first acquisition unit 51 then acquires the designated receiving range information specified (selected) by the shipper P1 of package B from among these receiving ranges.

[0028] The second acquisition unit 52 acquires information on pick-up locations where packages B, assigned to each pick-up area, can be picked up. The pick-up locations indicated by the pick-up location information may be, for example, mailboxes installed on floors or in rooms where only people within each pick-up area are permitted to enter and exit.

[0029] In this case, the mailbox should be configured such that, for example, when an IC card that constitutes an employee ID is held over it, it determines whether the person who has come to pick up package B is within the designated recipient range (i.e., recipient P3). If the result of the determination is that the person is recipient P3, the mailbox door is unlocked. With such a configuration, it is possible to handle cases where the designated recipient range is an individual.

[0030] The identification unit 53 identifies the delivery location 7 to which package B will be delivered, based on the designated recipient range information and the recipient location information. In other words, the identification unit 53 identifies the delivery location 7 where package B can be received by a person within the designated recipient range specified by the consignor P1.

[0031] The transmitting / receiving unit 54 receives information on the designated delivery range for package B from the first information device 2, information on the package delivered to the facility from the second information device 3, information on the completion of delivery of package B to delivery location 7 from the second information device 3, and information on the completion of receipt of package B from the third information device 4.

[0032] The transmitting / receiving unit 54 transmits information about packages delivered to the facility to the first information device 2, transmits delivery instruction information to the second information device 3 instructing the delivery of package B to delivery location 7, and transmits delivery completion information to the third information device 4.

[0033] DB6 stores organizational information, receiving range information, and receiving location information. The delivery location 7 is the place where package B, identified by the identification unit 53, is delivered, and can be, for example, a mailbox installed in a floor or room where only recipient P3 is permitted to enter and exit.

[0034] Next, we will explain the process of delivering package B using the delivery system 1 of this embodiment. Figure 4 is a timing chart diagram illustrating the process of delivering a package using the delivery system of this embodiment.

[0035] First, when the in-house delivery person P2 receives the package B delivered to the facility designated by the consignor P1, the in-house delivery person P2 registers the package information with the management device 5 via the second information device 3 (S1). Upon receiving the package information, the management device 5 transmits the package information to the first information device 2 to notify the consignor P1 that package B has been delivered to the facility (S2).

[0036] Next, when the consignor P1 specifies the delivery range via the first information device 2, the first information device 2 transmits the specified delivery range information to the management device 5 (S3). As a result, the first acquisition unit 51 of the management device 5 acquires the specified delivery range information for the package B specified by the consignor P1.

[0037] Here, Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating how to specify the designated delivery area. When the consignor P1 specifies the designated delivery area, for example, a specification screen like the one shown in the upper part of Figure 5 is displayed on the first information device 2.

[0038] In the example shown in Figure 5, the first information device 2 displays that package B is a book, and checkboxes are displayed to specify the recipient's department, individual, or no specific recipient.

[0039] Then, for example, when shipper P1 checks the department, organizational information like the lower diagram in Figure 5 is displayed on the first information device 2 as the receiving range, and shipper P1 specifies the department that will receive package B as the designated receiving range. In the example in Figure 5, Management G1 is specified as the designated receiving range.

[0040] For example, if shipper P1 checks "Individual," organizational information is displayed on the first information device 2 as the recipient range, and shipper P1 designates one or more people to receive package B as the designated recipient range. Alternatively, if shipper P1 checks "None," all people within the company are designated as the designated recipient range.

[0041] Next, the second acquisition unit 52 of the management device 5 acquires information on pick-up locations where packages B, allocated to each pick-up range from DB6, can be received. Then, the identification unit 53 of the management device 5 identifies the delivery location 7 to which packages B will be delivered, based on the designated pick-up range information and the pick-up location information.

[0042] In the example shown in Figure 5, office0123 is identified as delivery location 7. In this case, the identification unit 53 of the management device 5 should control the door of delivery location 7 so that only recipient P3, who is included in the designated recipient range, can unlock the door of delivery location 7.

[0043] Next, the transmitting / receiving unit 54 of the management device 5 transmits delivery instruction information to the second information device 3 for delivering package B to delivery location 7 (S4). Then, the in-house delivery person P2 delivers package B to delivery location 7 based on the delivery instruction information (S5).

[0044] Next, the in-house delivery person P2 transmits delivery completion information to the management device 5 via the second information device 3, indicating that the delivery of package B to delivery location 7 has been completed (S6). Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 54 of the management device 5 transmits the delivery completion information to the third information device 4 in order to request that recipient P3, who is within the designated receiving range, pick up package B from delivery location 7 (S7).

[0045] Next, recipient P3 receives package B from delivery location 7 (S8). In this case, for example, if the designated receiving area is specified on a departmental basis, and delivery location 7 is a mailbox located on a floor or in a room where only recipient P3 is permitted to enter and exit, then only recipient P3 can receive package B, and recipient P3's privacy can be ensured.

[0046] Here, Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating how an authorized recipient receives a package from the delivery location. For example, as shown in the upper diagram of Figure 6, when an IC card 8, which serves as an employee ID, is held over the IC reader 7a installed at the delivery location 7, the identification unit 53 of the management device 5 determines whether the person who came to pick up package B is an authorized recipient P3. If the determination result is that the person is an authorized recipient P3, the door to the delivery location 7 is unlocked. This ensures privacy even when the designated authorized recipient range is an individual.

[0047] At this time, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 6, the third information device 4 should be notified that the door to delivery location 7 has been unlocked, in addition to the delivery completion information sent to receive package B from delivery location 7. Subsequently, when the recipient P3 transmits the information that package B has been received to the management device 5 via the third information device 4, the management device 5 terminates the delivery management of package B (S9).

[0048] In this embodiment, the management device 5 identifies the delivery location 7 to which the package B will be delivered, based on the designated delivery range information specified by the shipper P1 within the delivery range based on organizational information, and the delivery location information where the package B can be received, which is allocated to each delivery range. As a result, the management device 5 in this embodiment can flexibly receive the package B for each designated delivery range specified by the shipper P1.

[0049] In the above embodiment, after the in-house delivery person P2 receives package B, the in-house delivery person P2 registers the package information with the management device 5 via the second information device 3, and the management device 5 transmits the package information with the first information device 2 to notify the consignor P1 that package B has been delivered to the facility. However, for example, based on the location information of package B during delivery, the in-house delivery person P2 may register the package information with the management device 5 via the second information device 3, and the management device 5 may transmit the package information with the first information device 2 to notify the consignor P1 that package B has been delivered to the facility.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the in-house delivery person P2 delivers package B to delivery location 7, but a robot may also deliver package B to delivery location 7. In this case, the robot would handle the actions of the in-house delivery person P2 described above.

[0051] Some or all of the above processes may be executed by a computer program. That is, the control of the processing unit is performed by a control computer constituting the processing unit executing a program. The program described above includes a set of instructions (or software code) for causing the computer to perform one or more of the functions described in the embodiments when loaded into a computer. The program may be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium or a physical storage medium. Examples, but not limited to, include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disc or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. The program may be transmitted over a temporary computer-readable medium or a communication medium. Examples, but not limited to, include temporary computer-readable medium or a communication medium that includes electrical, optical, acoustic or other forms of propagating signals.

[0052] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1. Delivery System 2. First Information Device 3. Second Information Equipment 4. Third Information Device 5 Management device, 51 First acquisition unit, 52 Second acquisition unit, 53 Identification unit, 54 Transmitting / receiving unit 6 Databases 7 Delivery location, 7a Leader 8 IC cards B Luggage P1 Shipper P2 In-building delivery person P3 Eligible Recipients

Claims

1. A management device for delivering packages, A first acquisition unit acquires information on a designated delivery range for the package, which is specified by the shipper of the package, from among multiple delivery ranges for the package based on organizational information registered in the database. A second acquisition unit acquires information on pick-up locations where the packages assigned to each of the pick-up ranges can be picked up, A specific unit that identifies a delivery location to deliver the package based on the specified delivery range information and the delivery location information, A control device equipped with the following features.

2. The management device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting unit that transmits delivery instruction information to an information device held by a delivery person delivering the package, so as to deliver the package to the delivery location.

3. The management device according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting unit transmits delivery completion information indicating that the package has been delivered to the delivery location to an information device held by a recipient within the designated receiving range specified by the consignor.

4. The aforementioned eligible recipient range decreases as the number of people included in that eligible recipient range decreases. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lower receiving range is included in a higher receiving range that has a larger number of people than the lower receiving range.

5. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each delivery location is a post box installed in a room or floor where entry and exit of people are restricted for each receiving area, and only people included in the receiving area can receive the package.

Images