Piece goods cabinet and method for keeping piece goods available and collecting them
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing general cargo lockers pose difficulties for collectors due to the random placement of items, leading to challenges in accessing compartments located high or low, especially for individuals with varying heights, making it cumbersome to retrieve parcels.
Innovation Solution
Equipping some compartments with a rear wall unit that can be adjusted from a rear non-use position to a front use position, allowing items to be pushed forward towards the compartment opening for easier retrieval, combined with a locking mechanism controlled by authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If items are placed randomly in compartments, then storage capacity is maximized, but accessibility for collectors of varying heights deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rear wall unit is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to be adjusted between a retracted position (maximizing storage space) and a forward position (improving accessibility). This dynamic adjustment enables the system to adapt to different operational needs without compromising either storage capacity or ease of retrieval.
Solution Approach 2:
The rear wall unit acts as an intermediary mechanism between the stored items and the compartment opening. By pushing items forward against this movable wall, collectors can easily retrieve items from any height without straining, while the wall itself serves as a mediator that transfers the pushing force efficiently to move items into the retrieval position.
2Reliability
If locking devices are secured in closed position, then security is improved, but ease of access for authorized collectors deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication device performs preliminary verification of the collector's identity before the locking device is released. This preliminary action ensures security is maintained while enabling quick and easy access for authorized users, as the system is already prepared to unlock upon successful authentication without requiring additional manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking device is designed to automatically release and open the compartment upon successful authentication, eliminating the need for manual unlocking operations. The system serves itself by automatically transitioning from a secured state to an accessible state based on authentication input, combining security with convenience.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
Described and illustrated is a piece goods cabinet (1) for holding piece goods (21) to be picked up, comprising a plurality of separate piece goods compartments (2, 30, 40) for inserting and removing piece goods (21), comprising a control device (10) for controlling the insertion and removal of piece goods (21) into or from the piece goods compartments (2) and comprising an authentication device (5) for authenticating a person picking up the piece goods (21), wherein the piece goods compartments (2, 30, 40) are each assigned a locking device (3) which can be adjusted from a locking position preventing access to the associated piece goods compartment (2, 30, 40) into an opening position permitting access to the associated piece goods compartment (2, 30, 40),wherein the control device (10) is coupled to at least one locking device (11) which can be adjusted from a locking position locking a closure device (3) in the closed position to a release position enabling the closure device (3) to be adjusted to the open position, and wherein the authentication device (5) for activating the control device (10) upon successful authentication of the pickup person is coupled to the control device (10). In order to enable pickup persons to remove piece goods more easily from the corresponding piece goods compartments, it is provided that at least some of the piece goods compartments (2, 30, 40) have a rear wall unit (17, 33, 41) which can be adjusted within the associated piece goods compartment (2, 30, 40) from a rear non-use position to at least one front use position for displacing a piece goods compartment (2, 30,40) contained piece goods (21) forwards in the direction of an opening (14) of the piece goods compartment (2,30,40).