Shared Locker Disinfection System with Cloud Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
As online shopping increases, there is a growing need for secure and disinfectable package delivery solutions that can be shared among multiple delivery companies and recipients, particularly in areas where secure storage and disinfection of packages from contaminants like viruses are essential, but individual companies cannot afford branded locker systems.
Innovation Solution
A shared delivery locker system with a data-cloud-controlled locking mechanism and an internal disinfection system using light, chemical, or nanotechnology-based methods, which can be accessed by authorized personnel and ensures packages are disinfected before retrieval, with a messaging system for secure unlock codes and disinfection completion notifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual delivery companies implement their own branded locker systems, then they can provide secure package delivery, but the cost burden becomes unaffordable for individual companies
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple delivery companies share a common locker system infrastructure, combining their resources to provide secure package delivery without each company bearing the full cost individually. The system allows different companies to operate within the same physical lockers through digital access control.
Solution Approach 2:
The locker system serves multiple delivery companies and various recipients simultaneously, making the infrastructure universal and multi-functional. A single locker can be accessed by different companies at different times, maximizing resource utilization and reducing overall cost.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If packages are disinfected before delivery, then recipient safety is improved, but the disinfection process time increases delivery duration
Solution Approach 1:
Disinfection is performed automatically as a preliminary action when the package is placed in the locker, before the recipient retrieves it. This eliminates the need for separate disinfection steps at delivery time, maintaining safety without adding to the perceived delivery duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The locker system performs self-disinfection automatically using UV-C lights or other disinfection mechanisms without requiring manual intervention. The package disinfects itself during the locked storage period, ensuring safety without extending delivery time.
3Quantity of substance
If a shared locker system is implemented, then cost is reduced, but system complexity and access control requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Physical access control mechanisms are replaced with digital systems including mobile apps, QR codes, and electronic locking mechanisms. This allows multiple companies and users to access the same lockers through software-based authentication rather than physical keys or mechanical combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
A central management system acts as an intermediary between delivery companies and the locker infrastructure, handling authentication, tracking, and coordination. This intermediary layer simplifies the complexity by centralizing control rather than requiring complex point-to-point access mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides a cost-effective, secure, and efficient means of disinfecting packages, ensuring recipient safety and compliance with disinfection needs, while allowing multiple delivery companies to share resources and reducing the financial burden on individual companies.
Implementation Method 1
The disinfection system may comprise one or more of a plurality of types of disinfection systems that provide different types of infection, such as light/UV light/radiation
Implementation Method 2
The disinfection system may comprise one or more of a plurality of types of disinfection systems that provide different types of infection, such as light/UV light/radiation, chemical, or nanotechnology material
Data Source
AI summary
A lockable package delivery locker at a publicly accessible location facilitates secure delivery by a delivery user of a package for later pickup by a recipient user. While the package is inside the locker a disinfection system disinfects the package and potentially its contents. A plurality of disinfection systems may provide different types of disinfection, including UV, chemical, nanotechnology, based on the type of packaging material. An electronic message may facilitate positioning UV emitters or chemical dispersion nozzles relative to the package. A locking mechanism and the disinfection system(s) may be controllable remotely from a server to which a computer device of the locker is in communication with, locally via an application on a UE device, or manually via an interface of the locker. The delivery user may be an individual shipping the package or a delivery service personnel, with the recipient user typically being the other.