Foldable Locker System for Secure Unattended Package Delivery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of express delivery orders due to online shopping has led to inefficiencies and safety risks as couriers struggle to deliver packages when recipients are not home, resulting in additional delivery attempts, package loss, and inconvenience for both couriers and customers.
Innovation Solution
An article storage and retrieval apparatus with a foldable structure, including a frame body, cap body, and accommodating box, equipped with locking and identity recognition components, allowing secure and convenient storage and retrieval of packages, reducing waiting time and improving delivery efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the courier changes the delivery time when no one is at home, then delivery efficiency is reduced, but package safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third-party storage facility (locker system) as an intermediary between the courier and the recipient. The courier delivers packages to the locker system, which then holds them securely until the recipient retrieves them. This mediator resolves the contradiction by enabling delivery without direct contact, maintaining both efficiency (single delivery attempt) and safety (secure storage with access control).
Solution Approach 2:
The locker system enables self-service delivery and retrieval. The courier completes delivery by placing the package in the locker without needing recipient presence, and the recipient retrieves it later using authentication (code, fingerprint, or card). This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for coordinated timing while ensuring secure access, simultaneously improving delivery efficiency and package safety.
2Loss of time
If the courier delivers to neighbors or places packages at the door, then delivery time is reduced, but safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The locker system serves as a secure intermediary storage point that eliminates the need for unsafe delivery practices. Instead of leaving packages at the door or with neighbors, the courier deposits them in the locked system, which then protects them until authorized retrieval. This resolves the contradiction by providing a secure, time-independent storage solution that maintains both speed and safety.
3Reliability
If the customer waits at home for the courier, then package safety is ensured, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locker system performs preliminary storage action before the recipient needs the package. The courier delivers and secures the package in advance, and the recipient can retrieve it at their convenience using authentication. This eliminates the need for the recipient to wait at home, as the package is already securely stored and ready for pickup, resolving the contradiction between safety and time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the recipient to retrieve their package autonomously at any convenient time using authentication methods (code, fingerprint, or card), eliminating the need to wait for the courier's arrival. This self-service retrieval maintains package safety through controlled access while completely eliminating waiting time, resolving the identified contradiction.
4Volume of moving object
If a foldable structure is used for the accommodating box, then space utilization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The accommodating box employs a foldable structure that transitions between expanded (for storage) and collapsed (for space saving) states. This dynamic design allows the same structure to serve dual purposes: providing adequate storage volume when needed and minimizing occupied space when empty, resolving the contradiction between space utilization and compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The foldable accommodating box can be collapsed into a compact form that nests within or alongside the frame body, minimizing the overall volume when not in use. This nesting capability resolves the contradiction by allowing the structure to occupy minimal space during idle periods while maintaining full storage capacity when activated.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an article storage and retrieval apparatus, including a frame body, configured to be fixed on a vertical mounting surface; a cap body, the cap body, hinged with the frame body at upper end, left end or right end to rotate to open and close; and an accommodating box, arranged in a space formed between the frame body and the cap body, adopting a foldable structure and configured to be unfolded alter the cap body is opened relative to the frame body to form a space for accommodating articles and allow the cap body to be closed relative to the frame body after being folded.