Delivery lockers

Abstract

To provide a home delivery locker which can prevent a door from being left wide open without installing a display device or handle on the door, allows a user to easily find an unlocked door, and allows the user to easily open the door.SOLUTION: A home delivery locker 12 includes: a locker body 13 which has a package compartment 14 that stores a package; a door 20 which blocks an opening of the package compartment 14; a locking device which is provided on the locker body 13 or the door 20; an auto-close mechanism 30 which biases the door 20 in the closing direction; and a pop-up mechanism 50 which applies greater force to the door 20 in the opening direction than the force that biases the door 20 in the closing direction of the auto-close mechanism 30 so as to open the door 20 by 5 mm to 50 mm with respect to the close position at the tip.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a delivery locker.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, a delivery locker installed in a public place available to unspecified persons and having a plurality of luggage compartments for storing luggage is known. This delivery box can be used by a large number of unspecified persons to send parcels.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In such a delivery locker, after use, the user may leave without closing the door. For this reason, it is conceivable to provide an auto-close mechanism for biasing the door in the closing direction in order to prevent the door from being left open in the delivery locker. On the other hand, when such a mechanism is provided, even if the door locking device is unlocked by a control device or the like, the door remains closed. As a result, when there are a plurality of luggage compartments, it is difficult for the user to easily find out which door is in the unlocked state. At this time, it is also conceivable to provide a display device for indicating the unlocked door, but if a display device is provided on the door, the display device is exposed on the front surface of the door. In addition, it is desired to make it easy to open the door without providing a handle on the door.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a delivery locker that can prevent the door from remaining wide open without providing a display device or a handle on the door, and that allows the user to easily find the unlocked door and is easy to open the door.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The parcel locker of this disclosure comprises a locker body having a luggage compartment for storing luggage, a door that closes the opening of the luggage compartment, a locking device provided on the locker body or the door, an auto-close mechanism that biases the door in the closing direction, and a pop-up mechanism that biases the door with a force greater in the opening direction than the force that biases the door in the closing direction of the auto-close mechanism, so that the door opens 5 mm to 50 mm from the closed position at its tip. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the delivery locker described in this disclosure, it is possible to prevent the door from remaining wide open without installing a display device or handle on the door, and it is also possible for users to easily find the unlocked door and open the door. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of a delivery locker device equipped with a delivery locker according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the delivery locker extracted from Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is an enlarged view of section A in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 2 is a magnified perspective view showing a portion of the delivery locker doors in a fully open position. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view showing an enlarged view of section B in Figure 4. [Figure 6] In this embodiment, the perspective view shows the positional relationship of the components of the auto-close mechanism when the door is closed. [Figure 7] This figure corresponds to Figure 3, which shows the door in an unlocked state in the embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the unlocked door moved to the front. [Figure 9] This is a perspective view of the locker body, showing the part opposite the front edge of the door. [Figure 10]Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the pin-side cover removed. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view showing the outer part of the locking box removed from Figure 10. [Figure 12] (a) is a perspective view showing the hinge-side end when the door is fully opened in another embodiment, and (b) is an enlarged view of section C in (a). [Figure 13] This figure corresponds to Figure 8 in another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The shapes, materials, and quantities described below are illustrative examples for illustrative purposes and can be appropriately changed according to the specifications of the delivery locker. In all drawings below, equivalent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, in the descriptions within the text, previously mentioned reference numerals will be used as necessary. In the following descriptions, the left-right direction refers to the left-right direction when viewing the delivery locker with the door closed and facing the door.

[0010] In the following description and drawings, the X direction is the left-right direction of the delivery locker device 10 or delivery locker 12, the Y direction is the depth direction of the delivery locker device 10 or delivery locker 12, and Z is the height direction of the delivery locker device 10 or delivery locker 12. The X, Y, and Z directions are orthogonal to each other.

[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a delivery locker device 10 equipped with a delivery locker 12 according to an embodiment. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the delivery locker 12 removed from Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of part A in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a large portion of the door 20 of the delivery locker 12 in Figure 2 with the door fully open. Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing part B in Figure 4. The delivery locker device 10 is installed in a public place accessible to an unspecified number of people and can be used by an unspecified number of people to send packages.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the home delivery locker device 10 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped exterior body (main body) 11, a plurality of home delivery lockers 12 arranged adjacent to each other in the left - right direction, a measuring device 90, and an operation display unit 100. As shown in FIG. 2 described later, each home delivery locker 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped locker body 13 having a plurality of luggage compartments 14 in the height direction, and a door 20 that closes the opening of each luggage compartment 14. The luggage compartment 14 is box - shaped for accommodating home delivery items in and out.

[0013] The door 20 closes the front - side opening, which is on one side in the depth direction Y of the luggage compartment 14 (the front side of the paper surface in FIG. 1). The door 20 is a single - opening type attached to the home delivery locker 12 and can open and close the opening of the luggage compartment 14 by swinging around the hinge axis α in the Z direction (FIG. 5). The door 20 is locked by a locking device 80 shown in FIG. 10 described later. The locking device 80 is unlocked by a user's operation or the like on the operation display unit 100 (FIG. 1) described later. Note that the locking device may be configured to be unlocked using wireless signal transmission and reception using Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like with a mobile terminal such as a barcode, QR code (registered trademark), smartphone, a touch - less key using radio waves or infrared rays, an IC card, input using a numeric keypad, etc.

[0014] The measuring device 90 has a measurement storage chamber 91 disposed at the lower end in the height direction Z at one end in the left - right direction X of the home delivery locker device 10 (the left end in FIG. 1), and a door 92 that can open and close the opening at the front - side end of the measurement storage chamber 91. The measuring device has a function of measuring the dimensions of the internal luggage from an image taken by a camera provided inside the measurement storage chamber 91.

[0015] The operation display unit 100 is arranged above the measurement device 90 on the front surface of the home delivery locker 12. The operation display unit 100 is composed of a touch panel display or the like, and has a function of receiving input by a user's operation and a function of a display unit. Below the operation display unit 100, a settlement unit 101 is arranged. The settlement unit 101 performs electronic money settlement by transmitting and receiving a radio signal to and from an IC card held by the user, for example. Note that instead of the operation display unit 10, it may be configured to have a display unit composed of an LCD and an operation unit composed of a numeric keypad or the like. Also, the settlement unit 101 may be configured to perform settlement by inputting the identification number and password of a credit card with a numeric keypad.

[0016] When the shipper of the home delivery item, who is a customer of the home delivery company, makes a home delivery request using the home delivery locker device 10, it is done as follows. For example, when the shipper selects the "shipment" display section from the menu screen displayed on the operation display unit 100 of the home delivery locker device 10, the door 92 of the measurement device 90 automatically opens. When the shipper stores the home delivery item in the measurement storage chamber 91 and closes the door 92, the measurement device 90 recognizes the shape of the home delivery item in the measurement storage chamber 91 and then measures the dimensions of the home delivery item based on the shape. Also, the measurement device 90 calculates the volume as the size of the home delivery item. The shape recognized by the measurement device 90 and the measured dimensions, etc. are displayed on the operation display unit 100.

[0017] After the shipper inputs the destination address and the like using the operation display unit 100, the shipper takes out the home delivery item from the measurement storage chamber 91. Note that it may be configured such that the shipper can pre-register the destination address and the like by prior reservation using the Internet instead of the operation display unit 100. Then, the shipper selects unlocking of the luggage compartment 14 using the operation display unit 100. As a result, the main control device of the home delivery locker device 10 unlocks the door 20 that closes the unused luggage compartment 14 via the locking control device described later. For this reason, the door 20 automatically opens, so the shipper stores the home delivery item in the luggage compartment 14 where the door 20 has opened. After that, by closing the door 20, the door is locked, and the shipping fee is displayed on the operation display unit 100, so the shipper settles the shipping fee with the settlement unit 101.

[0018] When payment for a delivery is processed, the main control unit (not shown) of the delivery locker device 10 notifies the delivery company's terminal device, the sender's terminal device, and the management server of the delivery request via the communication network. The delivery company then goes to the location where the delivery locker device 10 is installed, opens the door 20 of the corresponding package compartment 14, retrieves the package from the package compartment 14, and carries out the delivery to the destination.

[0019] Next, the delivery locker 12 will be explained using Figure 2 and other figures. As described above, the delivery locker 12 comprises a roughly rectangular locker body 13 having a plurality of luggage compartments 14, and a door 20 that is rotatably attached to the locker body 13 so as to close off each luggage compartment 14.

[0020] Hinge pins 21 are inserted vertically into both the upper and lower ends of one end of the door 20 in the left-right direction (the left end in Figure 5). Each hinge pin 21 is fixed to the upper and lower ends of one end of the opening 15 (Figures 4 and 5) of the locker body 13 in the left-right direction (the left end in Figure 5), and is locked by passing through the veneer portion 16 (Figure 5) that protrudes to the front side in the vertical direction. The hinge pin 21 has a hinge axis α, which is its central axis. In Figure 5, the illustration of the hinge pin at the upper end of the open door 20 and the illustration of the veneer portion formed at the lower end of the door 20 are omitted. As a result, the door 20 is attached to the locker body 13 so as to be rotatable around the hinge axis α along the vertical direction of one end in the left-right direction.

[0021] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4 to 6, the delivery locker 12 is equipped with an auto-close mechanism 30 that biases the door 20 in the closing direction. The auto-close mechanism 30 has a torsion coil spring 31 that is wound around the extension line 22 of the hinge axis α of the door 20, a spring support part 34, and a fixing fitting 40. The torsion coil spring 31 is supported by the door 20 by the spring support part 34. The spring support part 34 has a door fixing plate 35 formed by bending a metal plate, and a locking pin 36. The door fixing plate 35 is fixed to the hinge pin 21 side end of the back side of the door 20. Locking plate parts are provided at both the upper and lower ends of the door fixing plate 35, protruding away from the back surface of the door. The upper and lower ends of the locking pin 36 pass through each locking plate part in the vertical direction, and the locking pin 36 is prevented from falling out of the door fixing plate 35 by a retaining ring that is locked to the locking pin 36. The torsion coil spring 31 is wound around the locking pin 36, with the first leg portion 37 at its upper end pressed against the back surface of the door 20. Furthermore, a portion of the door fixing plate 35 faces the middle portion of the first leg portion 37, opposite the back surface of the door 20, and is capable of engaging with the first leg portion 37. Additionally, the second leg portion 38 at the lower end of the torsion coil spring 31 extends to the other side (right side in Figure 5) in the left-right direction, substantially following the front end surface of the locker body 13.

[0022] Furthermore, the fixing bracket 40 is screw-fastened to one side of the opening edge of the luggage compartment 14 of the locker body 13 (the left end in Figure 5). In this state, the fixing bracket 40 protrudes from the front side of the locker body 13 toward the front, and its tip is bent toward the torsion coil spring 31, giving it a roughly J-shaped cross-section.

[0023] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the components of the auto-close mechanism 30 when the door 20 is closed. As shown in Figure 6, a groove 41 is formed along the depth direction Y in the middle of the height direction of the tip plate portion provided at the end of the fixing bracket 40 on the side of the torsion coil spring 31. The second leg portion 38 of the torsion coil spring 31 is inserted into and locked in this groove 41.

[0024] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, in both the open state of the door 20 in Figure 5 and the closed state of the door 20 in Figure 6, the second leg portion 38 is locked in the groove portion 41 of the fixing bracket 40, and its position does not change. On the other hand, when the door 20 is opened, the torsion coil spring 31 is twisted, and the torsion coil spring 31 tries to return to the direction of the arrows β1 and β2 in Figures 5 and 6, which is the direction in which the twist is reversed. As a result, the torsion coil spring 31 biases the first leg portion 37, via the door fixing plate 35, in the direction of closing the door 20.

[0025] Furthermore, the delivery locker 12 is equipped with a pop-up mechanism that biases the door 20 in the direction of opening. Figure 7 is a diagram corresponding to Figure 3, which shows the door 20 in the unlocked state. Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the unlocked door 20 moved to the front side from Figure 7. Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the part of the locker body 13 that faces the front end of the door 20. Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the pin-side cover 18 (Figure 9) removed from Figure 9.

[0026] The pop-up mechanism 50 includes a fixing pin 51 fixed to the back surface of the other left-right end (right end in Figure 7), which is the leading edge of the door 20, so as to protrude in a direction perpendicular to this back surface, and a pin biasing device 52 provided on the locker body 13 at a position opposite to the fixing pin 51. The pin biasing device 52 is housed and fixed inside the frame 19 that forms the other left-right end (right end in Figure 9) of the luggage compartment 14 in the locker body 13, through a notch 17 provided near the opening edge of the other left-right side (right side in Figure 9) of the luggage compartment 14 and on the front side continuous from near this opening edge.

[0027] The pin biasing device 52 includes a pin biasing spring 54 housed within a bottomed cylindrical portion 53 extending in the depth direction Y, and a movable pin 55 inserted into the cylindrical portion 53 from its front end. The pin biasing spring 54 biases the movable pin 55 in the direction of moving toward the front. The tip of the movable pin 55 is provided with a head 56 with an increased diameter. The movement of the head toward the front is restricted by a pin-side cover 18 (Figure 9), which will be described later.

[0028] As shown in Figure 9, a pin-side cover 18, which is a plate-like body with a roughly L-shaped cross-section, is screw-connected to the periphery of the notch 17 (Figure 10) in the right frame 19. This closes the inside of the notch 17 with the pin-side cover 18. A circular hole 18a is formed on the upper side of the plate portion at the front end of the pin-side cover 18, exposing the head 56 of the movable pin 55. When the fixing pin 51 (Figure 7) is not inserted into the hole 18a, the tip surface of the head 56 of the movable pin 55 roughly coincides with the opening end of the hole 18a.

[0029] As shown in Figure 3, when the door 20 is closed, the tip of the fixing pin 51 is inserted into the hole 18a of the pin-side cover 18, and the fixing pin 51 pushes the movable pin 55 into the back of the cylindrical portion 53 against the biasing force of the pin biasing spring 54. In this state, the hook 60 fixed below the fixing pin 51 of the door 20 is engaged by the locking device 80 described later, and the door 20 is locked.

[0030] When the door 20 is unlocked by the locking device 80, the fixing pin 51 fixed to the door 20 is pushed out of the hole 18a via the moving pin 55 by the biasing force of the pin biasing spring 54. As a result, as shown in Figure 7, the front end of the door 20 moves from the closed position P1 to a position where the door 20 is slightly open, and this state is maintained.

[0031] In this embodiment, the pin biasing device 52 biases the door 20 with a force greater than the force of the auto-close mechanism 30 in the closing direction, so that the door 20 opens to a predetermined position in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm relative to the closed position P1, preferably a predetermined position of 15 mm to 20 mm, and more preferably a predetermined position of about 15 mm. As a result, even though the delivery locker 12 has an auto-close mechanism 30 that biases the door 20 in the closing direction, the door 20 can be kept open by a predetermined amount when the door 20 is unlocked. In Figure 7, the door 20 is at a position where its tip has moved by a predetermined amount d in the opening direction from the closed position P1.

[0032] Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the outer portion of the locking box 81 removed from Figure 10. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the locking device 80 includes a locking control device 82 housed in the locking box 81, a locking pin 83 driven by an actuator (not shown) of the locking control device 82, a rotating body 84 rotatably supported in the locking box 81, and a locking arm 85 that engages with the rotating body 84 to prevent the rotating body 84 from rotating in a first rotational direction δ (Figure 11). When the locking is indicated, the locking pin 83 abuts against the rotating body 84, preventing the rotating body 84 from rotating in a second rotational direction (opposite direction to δ). The rotating body 84 has four L-shaped arms 84a protruding from positions with a 90-degree phase difference, with the tip of each L-shaped arm 84a extending forward in the first rotational direction δ. When the door 20 is closed, the roughly U-shaped hook 60 fixed to the door 20 is inserted into the inside of the locking box 81 through the notch 18b on the lower side of the pin-side cover 18 and the opening 81a formed in the locking box 81. At this time, the hook 60 pushes the rotating body 84 in the second rotational direction, and as the rotating body 84 rotates, the tip of the hook 60 engages with the groove between adjacent L-shaped arms 84a. In addition, the tip of the locking pin 83 abuts against the rotating body 84, preventing the rotation of the rotating body 84 and locking the door 20.

[0033] The locking control device 82 receives instructions from the main control device of the delivery locker 12 via a wired or wireless signal to either lock or unlock. Based on these instructions, the locking control device 82 performs either locking or unlocking of the locking device 80. When an unlocking instruction is received, the locking control device 82 moves the locking pin 83 away from the rotating body 84. This allows the rotating body 84 to rotate, and the engagement between the rotating body 84 and the hook 60 is released. In this state, the door 20 is biased by the pin biasing spring 54 of the pop-up mechanism 50, so the door 20 opens to a predetermined amount.

[0034] The locking device is not limited to this configuration, and various structures that allow switching between locking and unlocking the door 20 can be used.

[0035] According to the above-described delivery locker 12 and delivery locker device 10, the auto-close mechanism 30 prevents the door 20 from remaining wide open. Furthermore, when any of the doors 20 are unlocked in response to an operation by a user such as a sender or delivery company, the user can easily find the unlocked door 20 from the predetermined opening amount. In addition, there is no need to install a display device on the door 20 to find the unlocked door 20.

[0036] Furthermore, by opening the door 20 by a predetermined amount, the door 20 can be easily opened by placing a finger on the upper end surface 20a of the opened door 20, as shown in Figure 7, without the need for a handle on the door 20. Also, as in the configuration of Figure 1, when the delivery lockers 12 are adjacent to each other in the left-right direction, the gap between the tip of the door 20 and the locker body 13 is blocked by the end of the door 20 of the other locker body 13. In this case, it becomes difficult to place a finger on the tip surface of the door 20, but as described above, it is still possible to place a finger on the upper end surface 20a of the door 20, making it easy to open the door 20.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pin biasing spring 54 of the pop-up mechanism 50 is provided on the locker body 13. This makes it easy to provide the pop-up mechanism 50 without increasing the thickness of the door 20.

[0038] Figure 12(a) is a perspective view showing the hinge-side end of the door 20 when it is fully opened in another embodiment, and Figure 12(b) is an enlarged view of section C in Figure 12(a).

[0039] In this example, the auto-close mechanism 30a of the door 20 includes two spring-loaded hinges 102, one above the other, provided between the door 20 and the peripheral edge of the opening of the luggage compartment 14 of the locker body 13 of the delivery locker 12. A projection 110 is provided at one side edge of the opening 15 of the luggage compartment 14 in the left-right direction (left end in Figure 12), projecting to the other side in the left-right direction (right side in Figure 12). The spring-loaded hinge 102 includes a fixing plate 103 fixed at two positions above and below the projection 110, a movable plate 104 fixed to the back surface of the door 20, a pin (not shown) inserted into a cylindrical portion 105 fixed to the fixing plate 103 and a cylindrical portion 106 fixed to the movable plate 104, and a spring 107. The spring 107 is wound around the exposed pin portion between the upper cylindrical portions 105, 106 and the lower cylindrical portions 105, 106. The legs 107a and 107b at both the upper and lower ends of the spring 107 are fixed to the fixing plate 103 and the movable plate 104, respectively. When the door 20 is opened, the spring 107 is twisted and tries to return to its original position in the direction of arrow γ in Figure 12, which is the direction that untwists it. As a result, the spring 107 biases the door 20 in the closing direction.

[0040] In this example, the spring-loaded hinge 102 has both the function of rotatably supporting the door 20 relative to the locker body 13 and the function of biasing the door 20 in the closing direction. In this example, the other configurations and operations are the same as those in Figures 1 to 11.

[0041] Figure 13 is a diagram corresponding to Figure 8 in another embodiment. In this example, a pin biasing device 52a including a pin biasing spring 54a of the pop-up mechanism 50a and a locking device 80a are provided on the door 20. Accordingly, on the locker body 13 side, a fixing pin 51 is provided that protrudes from the front end of the right frame 19 and faces the pin biasing device 52a, and a hook 60 is provided that engages with the locking device 80a. In this example, the other configurations and operations are the same as those in Figures 1 to 11.

[0042] In the examples above, the case in which the delivery locker 12 constitutes the delivery locker device 10 has been described, but the delivery locker 12 may be used independently by itself. In this case, the delivery locker 12 is equipped with a main control unit that integrates and controls multiple locking control units 82, which are provided corresponding to each door 20. Users deposit or receive delivery packages by communicating with the main control unit using a mobile terminal or the like, and the main control unit unlocks or locks one of the doors 20 in response to the operation of the user's mobile terminal.

[0043] In this case, the delivery lockers 12 may be arranged side by side in a left-right direction, and each may be used independently. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0044] 10 Delivery locker device, 11 Outer casing, 12 Delivery locker, 13 Locker body, 14 Luggage compartment, 15 Opening, 16 Veneer section, 17 Notch, 20 Door, 21 Hinge pin, 22 Extension wire, 30, 30a Auto-close mechanism, 31 Torsion coil spring, 40 Fixing bracket, 50, 50a Pop-up mechanism, 52, 52a Pin biasing device, 60 Hook, 80, 80a Locking device, 82 Locking control device, 90 Measuring device, 91 Measuring compartment, 92 Door, 100 Operation display section, 101 Payment section, 102 Spring hinge.

Claims

1. A locker body having a luggage compartment for storing luggage, A door that closes the opening of the aforementioned luggage compartment, A locking device provided on the locker body or the door, An auto-close mechanism that biases the door in the closing direction, The system includes a pop-up mechanism that biases the door with a force greater than the force of the auto-close mechanism that biases the door in the closing direction, such that the door opens 5 mm to 50 mm relative to the closed position at its tip. Delivery lockers.

2. The auto-close mechanism has a torsion spring or a spring-loaded hinge that is wound around the extension of the hinge axis of the door. The delivery locker according to claim 1.

3. The pop-up mechanism includes a pin biased by a pin biasing spring, A delivery locker according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. The pin biasing spring of the pop-up mechanism is provided on the rocker body. A delivery locker according to claim 1 or claim 2.

5. The pin biasing spring of the pop-up mechanism is provided on the door. A delivery locker according to claim 1 or claim 2.

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