A system for collecting parcels or similar, including a controlled access locker

Abstract

A system for collecting parcels (P) or similar, including a controlled access locker (1) provided with a plurality of safety compartments (2) selectively accessible by a user for picking one or more parcels (P) located inside of a specific safety compartment (2). The controlled access locker (1) comprises an external structure (3) and a shelving unit (5) included inside the external structure (3). The shelving unit (5) is configured as removable with respect to the external structure (3) between an extracted position, for loading parcels (P) to be placed inside said locker (1), and a safety position inserted inside of the external structure (3).

Description

[0001] “A system for collecting parcels or similar, including a controlled access locker”

[0002] ****

[0003] TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

[0004] Field of the invention

[0005] The present invention relates to a system for collecting parcels or similar, including a controlled access locker, provided with a plurality of safety compartments selectively accessible by a user for picking one or more parcels located inside of a specific safety compartment, wherein the locker comprises an external structure having at least one main wall on which a plurality of doors is made available to access said safety compartments respectively, and a shelving unit included inside said external structure, defining said plurality of safety compartments.

[0006] Prior art

[0007] Following the exponential spread of e-commerce platforms in recent years, there has been a consequent growth in the services of delivery of objects and / or parcels to private homes and workplaces. Usually, parcel deliveries are carried out by natural persons, who go to the dedicated address and contact the buyer to personally deliver the parcel to the recipient or to a delegated person. In the event that the courier is unable to find the recipient, the parcel is usually held for a possible second delivery attempt, or alternatively, the parcel is left unattended near the entrance to the delivery location, with all the risks involved.

[0008] To overcome this solution, specific solutions for the delivery and collection of parcels are already known, by setting up, for example in public places such as supermarkets or service stations, dedicated lockers comprising a plurality of safety compartments.

[0009] Currently, these lockers are made with fixed structures, consisting of metal shelves forming a certain number of compartments, possibly of different sizes, individually accessible through a door provided with a safety lock. The opening of each individual door is controlled through a centralized system and can be activated by the delivery personnel to deposit the goods, or by the recipient to collect the goods, typically through an enabling code. The operation of depositing parcels inside the locker is usually carried out by delivery personnel with the aid of a computer system, in the following way:

[0010] - a computer tracking system chooses a preliminary allocation of a given parcel, based on the size of the parcel to be deposited and the availability of suitable spaces to accommodate the parcel;

[0011] - the driver of a commercial vehicle receives the preliminary allocation information and goes to the vicinity of the indicated locker;

[0012] - the driver opens a specific door by interfacing with a centralized safety locking system, and manually transfers the parcel from the vehicle to the specific compartment;

[0013] - the driver closes the specific door, possibly interfacing with the centralized safety locking system, to confirm that the deposit has taken place.

[0014] However, the solutions known to date have some drawbacks, including the fact that the parcel delivery personnel, once they have reached a given locker, must necessarily carry out numerous opening / closing operations of the doors, to deposit all the parcels assigned to that locker. The operations of depositing parcels to a specific locker may therefore be inefficient, especially in relation to the stringent timescales to which delivery services are subjected.

[0015] In the context outlined above, the present invention therefore intends to provide a system for collecting parcels or similar, including a controlled access locker designed to make the parcel delivery process inside said locker more efficient.

[0016] Object of the invention

[0017] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for collecting parcels, which meets the needs mentioned above.

[0018] Summary of the invention

[0019] The above-mentioned objects are achieved by a system for collecting parcels or similar, including a controlled access locker provided with a plurality of safety compartments selectively accessible by a user for picking one or more parcels located inside of a specific safety compartment, wherein said controlled access locker comprises:

[0020] - an external structure comprising at least one main wall on which a plurality of doors is made available to access the compartments respectively, having an orderly arrangement with vertical and horizontal rows, and a bottom wall parallel to the main wall,

[0021] - a shelving unit included inside the external structure, comprising a plurality of horizontal support shelves and vertical dividing walls, so as to define the compartments equally to the row arrangement of the doors,

[0022] - said system being characterized in that:

[0023] - the shelving unit is configured as removable with respect to the external structure between an extracted position, for loading parcels to be placed inside said locker, and a safety position inserted inside of the external structure,

[0024] - wherein the external structure comprises within it a stiffening structure protruding into the volume defined by said external structure, comprising a plurality of horizontal stiffening planes and a plurality of vertical stiffening partitions, respectively adjacent to the horizontal support shelves and the vertical dividing walls of the shelving unit, when the shelving unit is positioned inside the external structure,

[0025] - wherein the stiffening structure comprises a plurality of slots sized to enable the insertion of the shelving unit inside the external structure, with the vertical dividing walls and the horizontal support shelves of the shelving unit respectively adjacent to the vertical stiffening partitions and the horizontal stiffening planes.

[0026] Brief description of the figures

[0027] Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

[0028] - figure 1 is a schematic front view of a controlled access locker for collecting parcels, according to a possible embodiment, in which a shelving unit is illustrated in a partially extracted position, to allow an operator to load the parcels onto the shelving unit,

[0029] - figure 2 is a schematic front view of a controlled access locker for collecting parcels, according to a possible embodiment, in which a shelving unit is illustrated in a partially inserted position, after loading the parcels onto the shelving unit,

[0030] - figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a controlled access locker, according to a possible embodiment,

[0031] - figure 4 is a perspective view of a bottom wall of the locker, according to a possible embodiment,

[0032] - figure 5 is a perspective view of a shelving unit, according to one possible embodiment,

[0033] - figure 6 is a perspective view of the bottom wall illustrated in figure 4, on which the shelving unit illustrated in figure 5 is positioned,

[0034] - figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of a shelving unit, according to one possible embodiment, and

[0035] - figures 8-10 illustrate further features of a controlled access locker, according to possible embodiments.

[0036] Detailed description of several embodiments

[0037] In the following description, various specific details are illustrated to provide a thorough understanding of examples of one or more embodiments. The embodiments may be implemented without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc.

[0038] In other cases, known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the embodiments. Reference to “an / one embodiment” in this description means that a particular configuration, structure, or feature described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.

[0039] Thus, phrases such as “in an / one embodiment,” which may appear in several places in this description, do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0040] Furthermore, particular conformations, structures or features may be combined in an appropriate way in one or more embodiments and / or associated with the embodiments in a way other than as illustrated herein, so that for example a feature exemplified herein in relation to a figure may be applied to one or more embodiments exemplified in a different figure.

[0041] The references illustrated herein are only for convenience and therefore do not delimit the extent of protection or the scope of the embodiments.

[0042] The present invention relates to a system for collecting parcels P or similar, including a controlled access locker 1 provided with a plurality of safety compartments 2 selectively accessible by a user for picking one or more parcels P located inside of a specific safety compartment 2. Typically, the parcels P may contain one or more products purchased by a subject, via a web portal.

[0043] With reference in particular to figures 1 -3, the locker 1 comprises an external structure 3, preferably made of metal material. The external structure 3 comprises at least one main wall 3’ on which a plurality of doors 4 is made available to access the compartments 2 respectively.

[0044] In one or more embodiments, as illustrated in the attached drawings, the external structure 3 is shaped like a parallelepiped, and the doors 4 are made available on a front wall of the parallelepiped structure, having an orderly arrangement with vertical and horizontal rows. The parallelepiped structure also comprises a bottom wall 3” opposite said main wall 3’, an upper wall, a lower wall and two opposite lateral walls. The terms “upper”, “lower” and “lateral” refer to the final operational configuration of the locker 1 , resting on the floor.

[0045] With reference in particular to figures 1 , 2, 5-7, the controlled access locker 1 comprises a shelving unit 5 included inside the external structure 3, defining said plurality of safety compartments 2. In the case of the present invention, the shelving unit 5 is configured as removable with respect to the external structure 3 between an extracted position, for loading parcels P to be placed inside said locker 1 , and a safety position inserted inside of the external structure 3.

[0046] With reference in particular to figures 1 , 2, 5-7, the shelving unit 5 comprises a plurality of horizontal support shelves and vertical dividing walls, so as to define the compartments 2 similarly to the row arrangement of the safety doors 4. A single compartment 2 is therefore defined by two vertical dividing walls and two horizontal dividing walls. The shelving unit 5 is therefore configured to create a plurality of compartments 2, each arranged in correspondence with a respective safety door 4 carried by the external structure 3.

[0047] To allow the movement of the shelving unit 5, with respect to the external structure 3, the external structure 3 comprises at least one wall that can be moved entirely from a closed position to an open position, and vice versa, or a relating access door obtained on one of the walls of the external structure 3. In all the solutions, moving means can be provided to achieve the movement from an open position to a closed position, and vice versa, of the sliding or swing door type.

[0048] In one or more embodiments, as illustrated in figures 1 , 2, the external structure 3 comprises one of the two lateral walls that is fully movable, or is provided with a relating access door. Of course, in the second case, the access door must have sufficient dimensions to allow the insertion and extraction of the shelving unit 5.

[0049] In one or more embodiments, as illustrated in figure 3, the main wall 3’ is movable from a closed position to an open position, and vice versa, for extracting or inserting the shelving unit 5, along a horizontal direction perpendicular to the bottom wall 3”. Preferably, the main wall 3’ can be moved integrally with lateral walls, upper and lower walls, with respect to the bottom wall 3”.

[0050] In one or more embodiments, the shelving unit 5 is made of a lightweight plastic material, for example polypropylene.

[0051] In one or more embodiments, the shelving unit 5 may comprise moving means provided on the lower wall, such as for example a plurality of pivoting wheels, to facilitate the movement of the shelving unit 5. Advantageously, in all embodiments, the operator who loads the parcels P onto the shelving unit 5, may use support equipment such as for example a transport trolley C (illustrated schematically in figures 1 , 2), to move the shelving unit 5 with respect to the external structure 3.

[0052] Thanks to said features, it will therefore be appreciated that the controlled access locker allows the operations of depositing the parcels P to be carried out, without having to open the safety doors, making the process of delivering parcels inside said locker more efficient. More specifically, in the use, the operator extracts the shelving unit 5, loads the parcels P onto the compartments 2, and inserts the shelving unit inside the external structure. The present invention is therefore based on the idea of carrying out the storage of parcels inside the locker, and possibly the withdrawal of any parcels not withdrawn or returned by the final recipient, with a single action having effect on all the compartments of the locker, or on a subgroup of these, by the delivery service personnel, thus absolving the personnel from the opening / closing functions of the individual doors 4.

[0053] According to a further feature, illustrated purely by way of example in figures 3, 4, 6, 9, the external structure 3 comprises within it a stiffening structure 6 comprising a plurality of horizontal stiffening planes 6' and a plurality of vertical stiffening partitions 6", respectively superimposed on the horizontal support shelves and the vertical dividing walls of the shelving unit 5, when the shelving unit 5 is positioned inside the external structure 3 (as illustrated in figure 6). Therefore, considering for example a given compartment 2 formed by two vertical dividing walls and two horizontal support shelves of the shelving unit 5, the compartment 2 will be reinforced with respective horizontal stiffening planes 6’ and vertical stiffening partitions 6”, in the configuration of the shelving unit 5 positioned inside the support frame. Thanks to these features, the stiffening structure 6 can be made of metal material, to stiffen the compartments 2 - made of low- resistance material to reduce the overall weight of the removable shelving unit 5 -, thus preventing a user, once a given door 4 has been opened, from damaging part of a given compartment 2 and accessing the parcel contained in an adjacent compartment. In other words, the stiffening structure 6 creates a plurality of safety walls to protect the compartments 2.

[0054] According to a further feature of the stiffening structure 6, illustrated in particular in figure 4, the horizontal stiffening planes 6’ are mutually spaced along the horizontal direction, and the vertical stiffening partitions 6” are spaced along the vertical direction, so as to create a plurality of slots sized to enable the insertion of the shelving unit 5 inside the external structure 3, with the vertical dividing walls and the horizontal support shelves of the compartments 2 exactly superimposed on the horizontal stiffening planes 6’ and the vertical stiffening partitions 6” (as illustrated in figure 6).

[0055] According to a further feature, illustrated in figures 3, 4, 6, the stiffening structure 6 is formed along the internal surface of the bottom wall 3”.

[0056] According to a further feature, illustrated in figure 3, the external structure 3 is fully movable from a closed position to an open position, and vice versa, with respect to the fixed bottom wall 3”, to allow an operator to insert / extract the shelving unit 5.

[0057] According to a further feature, illustrated in particular in figures 7-9, the shelving unit 5 may comprise an auxiliary bottom wall 7 arranged to enclose, at least partially, the compartments 2 created by the shelving unit 5, so as to reduce the risk of parcels P falling during loading operations inside the external structure 3. The auxiliary bottom wall 7 may comprise a plurality of passage slots 7’ corresponding to the horizontal stiffening planes 6’ and the vertical stiffening partitions 6” of the stiffening structure 6. Therefore, in the case of insertion of the shelving unit 5 in contact with the bottom wall 3” carrying the stiffening structure 6 (movement of the shelving unit 5 along a horizontal direction perpendicular to the bottom wall 3”), the passage slots 7 allow the unit 5 to position itself correctly in a position aligned with the stiffening structure 6, in particular with the respective horizontal stiffening planes 6’ and vertical stiffening partitions 6”.

[0058] According to a further feature, illustrated in particular in figures 7, 10, the shelving unit 5 may comprise a front auxiliary wall 8 arranged to further enclose the compartments 2 created by the shelving unit 5, so as to reduce the risk of parcels P falling during loading operations inside the external structure 3. The front auxiliary wall 8 may comprise a plurality of auxiliary openings 8' corresponding to the compartments 2 and the doors 4, for enabling a person to withdraw the parcel P once the respective door 4 has been opened. Such auxiliary openings 8' may be made, for example, as illustrated in figure 10, by means of a deformable pocket, possibly provided with hook and loop or zip closure means.

[0059] Of course, notwithstanding the principle of the invention, the construction details and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what is described and illustrated purely by way of example, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the attached claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for collecting parcels (P) or similar, including a controlled access locker (1 ) provided with a plurality of safety compartments (2) selectively accessible by a user for picking one or more parcels (P) located inside of a specific safety compartment (2), wherein said controlled access locker (1 ) comprises:- an external structure (3) comprising at least one main wall (3’) on which a plurality of doors (4) is made available to access the compartments (2) respectively, having an orderly arrangement with vertical and horizontal rows, and a bottom wall (3”) parallel to the main wall (3’),- a shelving unit (5) included inside the external structure (3), comprising a plurality of horizontal support shelves and vertical dividing walls, so as to define the compartments (2) equally to the row arrangement of the doors (4),- said system being characterized in that:- the shelving unit (5) is configured as removable with respect to the external structure (3) between an extracted position, for loading parcels (P) to be placed inside said locker (1 ), and a safety position inserted inside of the external structure (3),- wherein the external structure (3) comprises a stiffening structure (6) protruding inside the volume defined by said external structure (3), comprising a plurality of horizontal stiffening planes (6’) and a plurality of vertical stiffening partitions (6”), respectively adjacent to the horizontal support shelves and vertical dividing walls of the shelving unit (5), when the shelving unit (5) is positioned inside the external structure (3),- wherein the stiffening structure (6) comprises a plurality of slots sized to enable the insertion of the shelving unit (5) inside the external structure (3), with the vertical dividing walls and the horizontal support shelves of the shelving unit (5) respectively adjacent to the vertical stiffening partitions (6”) and the horizontal stiffening planes (6’).

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the stiffening structure (6) is formed along an internal surface of the bottom wall (3”).

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the main wall (3’) is configured as movable from a closed position to an open position, and viceversa, for extracting or inserting the shelving unit (5), along a horizontal direction perpendicular to the bottom wall (3”).

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the shelving unit (5) comprises an auxiliary bottom wall (7) arranged to enclose, at least partially, the compartments (2) provided by the shelving unit (5), so as to reduce the risk of parcels (P) falling during the movement of the shelving unit (5).

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary bottom wall(7) comprises a plurality of passage slots (7’) corresponding to the horizontal stiffening planes (6’) and the vertical stiffening partitions (6”), arranged for enabling the movement of the unit (5) along said horizontal direction perpendicular to the bottom wall (3”).

6. The system according to any of the previous claims, wherein the shelving unit (5) comprises a front auxiliary wall (8) corresponding to the main wall (3’) of the external structure (3), wherein the front auxiliary wall(8) and the main wall (3’) are arranged adjacent one to the other when the shelving unit (5) is inserted inside the external structure (3), wherein said front auxiliary wall (8) includes a plurality of auxiliary openings (8’) for enabling a person to withdraw a parcel (P), once the respective door (4) has been opened.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the auxiliary openings (8’) comprise a deformable pocket, provided with hook and loop or zip closure means.

8. The system according to claim 3, wherein the main wall (3’) can be moved integrally with lateral walls, upper and lower walls of the external structure (3), with respect to the bottom wall (3”).

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