Mobile Freight Stations for Reliable Autonomous Parcel Delivery

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current freight distribution, delivery, and collection systems lack flexibility and reliability, particularly in the postal and parcel transport sector, as they often require human intervention and are not optimized for autonomous operation.

Innovation Solution

A system comprising mobile freight stations equipped with autonomous delivery robots and vehicles that can automatically load and unload freight, communicate with each other, and recharge, enabling autonomous operation and optimized routing for efficient distribution and delivery.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If autonomous delivery robots are deployed without mobile freight stations, then automation extent increases, but reliability decreases due to lack of support functions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautonomous operationVSAvoidsystem reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The mobile freight station serves as an intermediary between central logistics centers and delivery robots. It provides support functions (charging, loading, maintenance) that enable autonomous operation while ensuring system reliability through automated infrastructure support.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system is segmented into multiple independent mobile freight stations that can operate autonomously in different locations. Each station is a self-contained unit with charging interfaces, loading devices, and control units, allowing the system to maintain reliability even if individual stations are offline.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Stability of the object's composition

If fixed freight stations are used, then infrastructure stability increases, but flexibility decreases due to immobile location

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinfrastructure stabilityVSAvoidlocation flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The freight stations are made dynamic and mobile rather than fixed. Each station can be transported to different locations using vehicles, allowing the system to adapt to changing delivery demands and locations while maintaining the stability of the station's internal infrastructure and equipment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Device complexity

If manual loading and unloading is used, then device complexity decreases, but productivity decreases due to human intervention requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem complexityVSAvoiddelivery efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service automated loading and unloading. The loading devices on mobile freight stations automatically transfer freight between vehicles and delivery robots without human intervention. The freight vehicles and delivery robots are equipped with interfaces that enable autonomous coupling and uncoupling, maintaining manageable complexity while dramatically improving productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Productivity

If delivery robots are continuously operational, then productivity increases, but energy consumption increases requiring frequent recharging

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedelivery throughputVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The mobile freight station provides preliminary charging actions before delivery robots commence their delivery routes. Multiple charging interfaces are available at each station, allowing robots to be charged in advance and in parallel, ensuring continuous operational readiness without interrupting delivery throughput.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system ensures continuous useful action by maintaining a fleet of delivery robots at each mobile freight station with varying charge levels. While some robots are on delivery routes, others are being charged or are ready for deployment, ensuring uninterrupted delivery service and optimizing overall energy utilization across the fleet.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS11880784B2System and mobile freight station and method for distribution, delivery, and collection of freight

Publication Date: 2024.01.23 STARSHIP TECH OU

AI summary

The invention concerns a system for distributing, delivering and collecting freight, with a number I of mobile freight stations, with I≥1, each having a first interface for automatically loading freight into freight vehicles from a freight storage of the mobile freight station and for automatically unloading freight from freight vehicles into the freight storage, wherein the freight vehicles are arranged and executed for automatically loading/unloading freight via the first interface and for automatically securing/fixing freight in a storage space of the freight vehicles, the mobile freight stations each have a number ni≤Ni, with i=1, . . . , I, of delivery robots, where Ni is the maximum number of delivery robots present in the ith freight station and ni is the number of delivery robots currently present in the ith freight station, and the I freight stations each have a loading device for automatically loading the Ni delivery robots with a respective freight from the freight storage and for automatically unloading a respective freight from the Ni delivery robots into the freight storage.