Secure Transport Container With Sequential Anchor Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current secure package delivery solutions are impractical and expensive for residential homes, and there is a need for a transport container that can securely adapt to various delivery destinations while monitoring package condition and location.
Innovation Solution
A modular transport container with electronic locking mechanisms and sensors that securely attach to anchor points, featuring a cover lock, locking bars, and an electronic controller to manage states and monitor conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electronic lockers are installed for secure package delivery, then package security is improved, but installation cost and practicality deteriorate for residential homes
Solution Approach 1:
The secure container system is divided into separate functional modules: a reusable secure container body, detachable locking bars, and independent anchor points. This segmentation allows the expensive secure container component to be reused across multiple deliveries, while the inexpensive anchor points are installed once at delivery locations, resolving the contradiction between security and installation cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The secure container is designed as a universal system that can be deployed at multiple different delivery destinations (different anchor points) without modification. The container serves multiple functions: securing packages during transit, providing tamper evidence, and enabling secure handoff at various locations. This universality amortizes the installation cost across many uses and locations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a secure container system is designed to work at multiple delivery destinations, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs universal anchor points with standardized geometries that can be installed at any delivery location. The locking bars are designed to work with any anchor point configuration, allowing the same container to secure packages at diverse destinations (doorsteps, porches, secure rooms) without requiring different hardware, thus achieving adaptability without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking bar mechanism incorporates dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing it to pivot and engage with anchor points at various orientations and positions. This dynamic design enables a single locking bar to adapt to different anchor point configurations rather than requiring fixed-geometry locking mechanisms for each specific delivery location.
3Measurement precision
If monitoring electronics are added to track package condition and location, then measurement capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system leverages existing consumer electronics (smartphones, mobile devices) to perform the complex tasks of tracking, communication, and data processing. The container's electronics serve only simple functions: storing sensor data locally and transmitting it when near a mobile device. This self-service approach uses the recipient's existing technology infrastructure to handle measurement and communication complexity, keeping the container itself relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
A mobile device acts as an intermediary between the container's simple electronics and the complex functions of tracking, authentication, and communication. The mobile device receives data from the container's sensors, processes it, and interfaces with remote servers, thereby mediating the complexity so that the container itself remains relatively simple while still providing precise monitoring capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a controller configured to receive confirmation of attachment of a first locking bar of a transport container to a first anchor point of a structure, the first locking bar transitioning from a first unlocked state to a first locked state during attachment. The controller is also configured to receive confirmation of a locking of the first locking bar to the first anchor point. The controller is further configured to, in response to receiving confirmation of the locking, initiate a release of a second locking bar of the transport container from a second anchor point, wherein enabling the release includes adjusting the second locking bar from a second locked state to a second unlocked state.