JP7626665B2 - Delivery box - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a delivery box, and in particular to a delivery box that has multiple storage sections (storage boxes) for storing packages.

In both Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, which are letter boxes or mailboxes, a device is proposed to facilitate electrical wiring for locking and managing a large number of storage compartments.

In Patent Document 1, a wiring path is formed on the inner wall of the box body, and a control unit for controlling a corresponding electric lock device among multiple electric lock devices is connected to each electric lock device by wiring that passes through the wiring path 10.

In Patent Document 2, output connectors and input connectors are provided on the top and bottom of each of a number of mailboxes, which electrically connect to adjacent mailboxes, and the output connectors and input connectors of vertically adjacent mailboxes in each row are connected simply by stacking the mailboxes. The mailboxes in each row are placed on relay boxes lined up in the left-right direction, and are connected to a control unit via the relay boxes.

JP 2009-100874 A [A47G 29/12 E05B 49/00, 65/02] JP 2016-140434 A [A47G 29/124, 29/122]

Neither Patent Document 1 nor Patent Document 2 is sufficient to simplify the overall wiring.

Therefore, the main object of this invention is to provide a new delivery box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a delivery box that simplifies wiring overall.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration. Note that the reference symbols and supplementary explanations in parentheses indicate the corresponding relationship with the embodiments described to aid in understanding the present invention, and do not limit the present invention in any way.

A first invention is a delivery box comprising: a main box row having a control box with a display unit and an operation unit provided on a front surface thereof; a sub-box row having a plurality of storage boxes subordinate to the main box row and each having a storage door; a master unit including a first computer that controls the display unit and the operation unit; a slave unit provided corresponding individually to each of the plurality of storage boxes and having a second computer that manages each of the storage boxes; a first two-wire serial signal line connecting the first computer and the second computer, and a second two-wire serial signal line connecting a second computer connected to the first computer and a second computer subsequent to the second computer; the main box row and the sub-box row are each formed of an individual inner case, and further comprising an outer case that houses the individual inner case, a predetermined gap is formed between each of the plurality of inner cases and the outer case to ensure thermal insulation, the slave unit is provided near the corresponding storage box in the predetermined gap, and the first two-wire serial signal line and the second two-wire serial signal line are both wired within the predetermined gap .

In the first invention, a delivery box (10: a reference symbol illustrating a corresponding part in the embodiment; the same applies below) includes a main box row (12) and a sub-box row (14) subordinate to the main box row (12), the main box row (12) is formed with a control box (18) having a display unit (24) and an operation unit (26) on its front side, and the sub-box row (14) includes a plurality of storage boxes (28) each having a storage door. A first computer (38) of a master unit (34) controls the display unit (24) and the operation unit (26). A second computer (60) of a plurality of slave units (56) provided in individual correspondence with each of the plurality of storage boxes manages each storage box (28). The first computer (38) of the master unit (34) and the second computer (60) of the first-stage slave unit (56a) are connected by a first two-wire serial signal line (84), and the second computers (60) of the next-stage slave unit (56b) following the first-stage slave unit (56) are connected by a second two-wire serial signal line (84). Furthermore, the main box row (12) and the sub-box row (14) are each formed of an individual inner case (74) and further include an outer case (72) that houses the individual inner case (74), a predetermined gap is formed between each of the multiple inner cases and the outer case to ensure thermal insulation, the slave unit (56) is provided near the corresponding storage box (28) in the predetermined gap, and both the first two-wire serial signal line (84) and the second two-wire serial signal line (84) are wired in the predetermined gap.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first computer of the master unit and the second computer of each slave unit can be connected and linked only by serial signal lines, so that the wiring can be simplified overall. Moreover, a space can be provided between the inner case and the outer case to ensure thermal insulation, and the thermally insulated space can be used to provide the slave units and route the signal lines, so that the electrical components can be efficiently arranged and safely protected.

The second invention is dependent on the first invention, and is a delivery box further comprising an electric lock for locking and unlocking a storage door that opens and closes the storage box, and the slave unit is provided on the side where the electric lock is provided within a specified space outside the individually corresponding storage box, and manages the locking and unlocking of the electric lock and the storage of stored items.

In the second invention, an electric lock (32) is further provided for locking and unlocking a storage door that opens and closes the storage box, and the slave unit (56) manages and controls the locking and unlocking of the electric lock (32) of the corresponding storage box (28) and the stored items, i.e., the stored item detection sensor (88).

A third invention is according to the first or second invention, and is a delivery box, in which the master unit includes a first transceiver connected to a first computer and a first general-purpose input/output connector connected to the first transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line, the slave unit includes a second transceiver connected to a second computer and a second general-purpose input/output connector connected to the second transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line, and the first two-wire serial signal line connects the first general-purpose input/output connector and the second general-purpose input/output connector.

In the third invention, the master unit (34) includes a first transceiver (52) connected to a first computer (38) and a first general-purpose input/output connector (54) connected to the first transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line (50). The slave unit (56) includes a second transceiver (66) connected to a second computer (60) and a second general-purpose input/output connector (70a or 70b) connected to the second transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line (68a or 68b). And, a first two-wire serial signal line (84) connects the first general-purpose input/output connector (54) and the second general-purpose input/output connector (70a or 70b) .
According to the third invention, the master unit and the slave unit can be connected simply by connecting the first general-purpose input/output connector and the second general-purpose input/output connector with the first two-wire serial signal line, thereby further simplifying the wiring.

The fourth invention is dependent on the third invention, and is a delivery box in which the slave unit further includes a third general-purpose input/output connector connected to the second transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line, and the second two-wire serial signal line connects the third general-purpose input/output connector of the preceding slave unit to the third general-purpose input/output connector of the succeeding slave unit.

In the fourth invention, the slave unit (56) further includes a third general-purpose input/output connector (70b or 70a) connected to the second transceiver (66) via a two-wire serial signal line (68a or 68b). A second two-wire serial signal line (84) connects the third general-purpose input/output connector (70b or 70a) of the preceding slave unit to the second general-purpose input/output connector (70a or 70b) of the succeeding slave unit .
According to the fourth invention, the slave units can be connected to each other simply by connecting the third general-purpose input/output connector and the second general-purpose input/output connector with the second two-wire serial signal line, thereby further simplifying the wiring.

The fifth invention is dependent on the third or fourth invention, and is a delivery box in which the master unit includes a third transceiver connected to the first computer and a fourth general-purpose input/output connector connected to the third transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line, and the display unit and the operation unit are connected to the third transceiver via the fourth general-purpose input/output connector.

In the fifth invention, the master unit (34) includes a third transceiver (46) connected to the first computer (38) and a fourth general-purpose input/output connector (48) connected to the third transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line (44), and the display unit (34) and the operation unit (26) are connected to the third transceiver via the fourth general-purpose input/output connector.

According to the fifth invention, the display unit and the operation unit are connected to the first computer via the fourth general-purpose input/output connector, so that the display unit and the operation unit can be controlled by the first computer.

According to this invention, the master unit that controls the whole system and the slave units that manage and control each storage box (and also between the slave units) are connected by a two-wire serial signal line, which greatly simplifies the overall wiring.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a home delivery box according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a master unit used in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a slave unit used in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a state in which the master unit and the slave unit are connected in the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of stored object detection and electric lock control in the embodiment of FIG. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example of an infrared distance measuring sensor used in the embodiment of FIG. 5, with FIG. 6A showing a front view and FIG. 6B showing a side view.

Referring to FIG. 1, a delivery box 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed in, for example, apartment complexes and other collective housing, as well as offices, convenience stores, supermarkets and other stores and commercial facilities, or public facilities such as train stations and hospitals, and stores deliveries to the delivery destination in a lockable manner. It is also sometimes called a delivery locker.

In this embodiment, the delivery box 10 includes one main box row 12 and multiple (two in this embodiment) sub-box rows 14, 14 subordinate to the main box row 12, and the main box row 12 and the sub-box rows 14, 14 are fixed closely to each other on a common base 16.

The main box row 12 includes a control box 18, to which a control door 20 is attached so as to be able to be opened and closed, and which is fitted with a lock 22. However, although this lock 22 may be an electronic lock, it is normally kept locked and is only unlocked by the administrator of this delivery box 10 when necessary.

On the front side of the control door 20, there is provided a display unit 24 that displays the presence or absence of items stored in each storage box 28 (described later), as well as an operation unit 26 for inputting, for example, a PIN number or storage box number to lock or unlock each storage box 28.

The main box row 12 further includes a plurality of storage boxes 28 above and below the control box 18. However, the main box row 12 does not necessarily need to include storage boxes 28.

Each storage box 28 is provided with a storage door 30 that can be opened and closed, and the storage door 30 is also provided with an electric lock 32 similar to the electric lock 22 of the control door 20 described above. Locking and unlocking of this electric lock 32 is controlled by a slave unit 56 (Figure 3) described below.

However, an electric lock refers to a lock that can be managed or controlled (locked/unlocked) by electrical or electronic operation using a computer, etc., and is a concept that includes so-called electronic locks.

The sub-box rows 14, 14 adjacent to the main box row 12 do not have a control box 18, but only have storage boxes 28 similar to those in the main box row 12. A master unit 34 (see Figure 2), which will be described later, manages and controls at least whether the electric locks 32 of each storage box 28 in this sub-box row 14 can be unlocked. In that sense, the sub-box row 14 can be said to be subordinate to the main box row 12.

The electric lock 32 is unlocked when there is no item stored in the storage box 28, and the delivery company can open the storage door 30 of the storage box 28 to store the delivery item. Once the delivery item has been stored, the delivery company closes the storage door 30 and locks the electric lock 32. When the user to whom the delivery item is addressed enters, for example, a personal identification code (ID) using the operation unit 26, the input is verified by the master unit 34. If the input verification is successful, the master unit 34 sets the corresponding electric lock 32 to be unlocked. When the user performs an unlock operation in this state, the electric lock 32 of the corresponding storage box 28 is unlocked, and the storage door 30 can be opened to remove the delivery item.

In addition, in this embodiment, the size of the storage boxes 28 (height in the vertical direction in FIG. 1) is set to be different between the central sub-box row 14 and the right-most sub-box row 14, but they may be the same size. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the width (horizontal direction in FIG. 1) of the main box row 12 and the sub-box row 14 is set to be the same, but the width of each row 12, 14 may be different.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example of the master unit 34 described above includes a microcomputer 38 mounted on a master board 36. This microcomputer 38 functions as a first computer, and is responsible for the overall management and control of the delivery box 10 of the embodiment. For example, the "RX65N" (32-bit microcomputer with built-in Ethernet (product name) controller) manufactured by Renesas Corporation can be used as this microcomputer 38.

The master board 36 is further equipped with a LAN (Local Area Network) connection device 40, which is controlled by an Ethernet controller built into the microcomputer 38. For this purpose, the LAN connection device 40 is connected to the Ethernet controller built into the microcomputer 38 via, for example, a two-wire serial signal line (hereinafter simply referred to as the "serial signal line") 42. The connection between the LAN connection device 40 and the external communication is not limited to a wired LAN, but may be a wireless LAN that connects via wireless communication.

A transceiver (RS-232C Tx/Rx) 46 for a serial signal line 44, such as RS-232C (product name), is connected to the microcomputer 38 using specific pins (four including power/GND). A general-purpose input/output connector (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "connector") 48 called GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) is provided on the serial signal line 44, and this connector 48 is used to connect to the display unit 24 and operation unit 26 mentioned above. Note that this connector 48 is, for example, an 8-pin connector, and as is well known, not only can the input pins or output pins be freely rearranged, but individual pins can also be disabled or enabled as necessary.

The microcomputer 38 is further connected to a transceiver (RS-485 Tx/Rx) 52 for a serial signal line 50, such as RS-485 (product name), using other specific pins (four pins including power/GND). The serial signal line 50 is provided with a connector 54, which is used to link with a slave unit 56 (FIG. 3) (microcomputer 60) described below.

3, an example of the slave unit 56 described above includes a microcomputer 60 mounted on a slave board 58. This microcomputer 60 functions as a second computer, and individually manages and controls each storage box 28 of the delivery box 10 of the embodiment. An example of this microcomputer 60 is the "RL78" (16-bit microcomputer) manufactured by Renesas Corporation.
etc. are available.

In this embodiment, four serial signal lines such as RS-485 or analog/digital signal lines 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d are connected to the microcomputer 60, and general-purpose connectors such as GPIO 64a, 64b, 64c, and 64d are connected to the signal lines 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d, and power/GND is also supplied by separate lines. In this embodiment, four serial signal lines or analog/digital signal lines 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d are provided, but in reality, only two signal lines 62a and 62b are used for detecting stored items and controlling the opening and closing of the electric lock, as described below. Therefore, the number of signal lines 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d can be increased or decreased as necessary.

A transceiver (RS-485Tx/Rx) 66 for a serial signal line 68 is connected to the microcomputer 60 using specific pins (four pins including power/GND). The serial signal line 68 branches into two serial signal lines 68a and 68b, and the branched serial signal lines 68a and 68b are provided with connectors 70a and 70b, respectively. One connector 70a (or 70b) is used to link with the preceding slave unit 56 (its microcomputer 60), and the other connector 70b (or 70a) is used to link with the following slave unit 56 (its microcomputer 60). However, in the slave unit 56 that directly links with the master unit 34, the connector 70a (or 70b) is connected to the aforementioned connector 54 (Figure 2) by a serial signal line.

In the embodiment of the delivery box 10 shown in FIG. 1, the control box 18 and storage box 28 are linked by connecting the master unit 34 and slave unit 56 via a data transmission path that includes only serial signal lines, as shown in FIG. 4. The microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34 manages and controls the delivery box 10 as a whole, and the microcomputer 60 of the slave unit 56 manages and controls the corresponding storage box 28 individually.

Note that Figure 4 basically shows a portion of the internal structure (longitudinal cross section) of the delivery box 10 in Figure 1, but some parts have been omitted, and the position and size of the control box 18 in the main box row 12, as well as the number and positions of the storage boxes 28, differ from those in Figure 1, but this is merely for convenience.

The main box row 12 and the sub-box row 14 each include an outer case 72 made of a metal such as stainless steel, and an inner case 74 made of a similar metal, and the outer case 72 and the inner case 74 are connected to each other by welding or the like, with a predetermined gap between them, in order to ensure thermal insulation and also due to the need for internal component placement. However, in this Figure 4, the connection between the outer case 72 and the inner case 74 by welding or the like is not shown.

A partition plate 76 made of the same metal is placed across the left and right side walls of the inner case 74 at the same height and is fixed to the left and right side walls by welding or the like. The room in the inner case 74 separated into upper and lower parts by this partition plate 76 is used as the control box 18 or the storage box 28.

The master unit 34 is provided at a predetermined location in the gap between the outer case 72 and the inner case 74, between the ceiling portions of both cases in the embodiment of FIG. 4. The microcomputer 38 (FIG. 2) of the master unit 34 is connected by a LAN connection device 40 (FIG. 2) to a centralized management device 78 installed, for example, in the delivery company's office or the management room of an apartment building, via a wireless network 80. The centralized management device 78 can therefore grasp the current status of the delivery box 10 according to the data sent from the master unit 34, and can also send the necessary control data from the centralized management device 78 to the master unit 34.

The microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34 is connected to the display unit 24 and the operation unit 26 by a serial signal line 82, such as RS-232C, which is connected to the connector 48. Therefore, the microcomputer 38 receives operation input from the operation unit 26 and executes a predetermined process, and displays on the display unit 24, for example, the presence or absence of items stored in the storage box 28, which is obtained from the slave unit 56.

By connecting the connector 54 (Fig. 2) and the connector 70a (or 70b) (Fig. 3) by a serial signal line 84 such as RS-485, the microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34 is connected to the microcomputer 60 (Fig. 3) of the first-stage slave unit 56a, which is arranged in parallel with the control box 18 and manages and controls the storage box 28 (first-stage storage box) in the main box row 12.

This first-stage slave unit 56a is further connected to the next-stage slave unit 56b, which controls the following next-stage storage box. In other words, the connector 70b (or 70a) of the first-stage slave unit 56a and the connector 70a (or 70b) of the next-stage slave unit 56b are connected by a serial signal line 84, such as RS-485, thereby linking the microcomputers 60 of the slave units 56a and 56b.

The slave unit 56b is further connected to the slave unit 56c in the next stage. In other words, the connector 70b (or 70a) of the slave unit 56b and the connector 70a (or 70b) of the slave unit 56c in the next stage are connected by a serial signal line 84 such as RS-485, thereby linking the microcomputers 60 of the slave units 56b and 56c.

Then, in the same manner, the next-stage slave unit 56d is connected to the previous-stage slave unit 56c by connecting the connector 70b (or 70a) and the connector 70a (or 70a) with a serial signal line 84 such as RS-485.

In this way, the slave unit 56a for the first storage box 28 is connected to the master unit 34, and the slave units 56 of the subsequent storage boxes 28 are successively connected in series by the serial signal line 84, and as a result, the slave units 56b, 56c, 56d, 56e, 56f, ... of all the storage boxes 28 are linked to the master unit 34.

The input connector of the slave unit 56 may be either connector 70a or connector 70b, and the output connector may be either connector 70b or connector 70a.

In FIG. 4, a bushing 85 is formed between adjacent outer cases 72 to allow the serial signal line 84 to pass through.

In this way, in the delivery box 10 of the embodiment, the microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34, which manages and controls the display unit 24 and operation unit 26 of the control box 18, and the microcomputer 60 of the slave unit 56, which manages and controls the multiple storage boxes 28 individually, can be connected and linked using only a serial signal line, which simplifies the wiring overall and thereby significantly reduces the manufacturing cost of the delivery box 10.

Furthermore, in the delivery box 10 of this embodiment, the control box 18 is provided only in the main box row 12, the sub-box row 14 is provided subordinate to the main box row 12, and the sub-box row 14 is provided with only storage boxes 28. Therefore, by adding only the sub-box rows, the capacity of the delivery box can be easily increased. However, in this case, the storage boxes 28 may or may not be provided in the main box row 12.

Furthermore, in the delivery box 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a notch 86 is formed in the side wall 74a of the inner case 74 that forms each storage box 28, and an infrared distance measuring sensor 88 is provided on the outer surface of the notch 86. In this embodiment, this infrared distance measuring sensor 88 functions as a stored item detection sensor. As the infrared distance measuring sensor used in this embodiment, for example, an "ORA1M05" infrared distance measuring sensor manufactured by Kodenshi Co., Ltd. is used, but it is not necessarily limited to this specific element.

Referring to FIG. 6, this infrared distance measuring sensor 88 has a housing 90 that protrudes rearward when viewed from the side shown in FIG. 6(B), with screw holes 94 formed at the top and bottom ends 92 of this housing 90, an infrared light emitting element 96 provided in the lower interior portion of the housing 90, and a light detecting element 98 provided in the upper interior portion. The infrared distance measuring sensor 88 is then attached to the outer surface of the side wall 74a of the inner case 74 using the screw holes 94 and screws 100 so that infrared light 96a from the infrared light emitting element 96 is irradiated onto the storage box 28 through the notch 86, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element 98 through the notch 86.

However, in order to prevent the infrared distance sensor 88 from being exposed to the inside of the storage box 28 through the notch 86, it is desirable to seal the notch 86 with a transparent material such as acrylic or polycarbonate, although this is not shown.

A serial signal line such as RS-232C or an analog/digital signal line 102, which is connected to the connector 64a (FIG. 3) of the serial signal line 62a of the slave unit 56, is connected to the infrared distance measuring sensor 88. In more detail, a drive voltage for driving the infrared light emitting element 96 to emit light is output from the microcomputer 60 (FIG. 3) through the serial signal line or analog/digital signal line 102, and a light detection signal (output voltage) from the light receiving element 98 is input to the microcomputer 60 through the serial signal line or analog/digital signal line 102.

When the microcomputer 60 applies a drive voltage to the infrared light emitting element 96, as shown in FIG. 5, the infrared light emitting element 96 outputs infrared light 96a having a predetermined radiation angle, and the infrared light is irradiated into the storage box 28. The reflected infrared light 96a is received by the light receiving element 98, and the output voltage from the light receiving element 98 is detected by the microcomputer 60, so that the distance to the target object can be measured. For example, the light receiving element 98 outputs an analog voltage corresponding to a distance of 5.5 cm to 60 cm from the infrared light emitting element 96. However, if there is no target object within that distance range, the light receiving element 98 does not output a light detection signal (output voltage). Therefore, this infrared distance measuring sensor 88 functions as a sensor for determining whether or not a storage item (delivery item) is present on the partition plate 76 of the storage box 28.

When an item (delivery) is present in a storage box 28, the microcomputer 60 of the corresponding slave unit 56 detects the presence of the item in response to the output voltage from the light receiving element 98, and this information is sent to the microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34 via the serial signal line 84 (Figure 4). Therefore, the master unit 34 can grasp and manage the status of all storage boxes 28 in the delivery box 10.

In this type of delivery box 10, it is essential to detect whether there is an item stored or delivered inside the storage box 28. To that end, a stored item detection device such as a weight sensor or infrared sensor is placed on the partition plate 76 that divides each storage box 28. However, naturally, these stored item detection devices require wiring to the corresponding slave unit 56, but because the partition plate 76 is formed separately from the inner case 74, wiring from the slave unit 56 to the stored item detection device is time-consuming, which causes an increase in manufacturing costs and leads to an increase in the number of steps during maintenance and inspection.

In this embodiment, a detection device for detecting whether or not there is an item to be stored or delivered in the storage box 28, an infrared distance measuring sensor 88 in this embodiment, is provided on the side wall 74a of the inner case 74, so not only can the structure and wiring be simplified, but maintenance is also easier than when a weight sensor or the like is used as the detection device.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a serial signal line such as RS-232C or an analog/digital signal line 104 connected to the connector 64b (FIG. 3) of the serial signal line 62b of the slave unit 56 is connected to the electric lock 32.

When the electric lock 32 is locked, information (signal) indicating this is input to the microcomputer 60 (Figure 3) of the slave unit 56 via the serial signal line or analog/digital signal line 104, and is then transmitted to the microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34, and is then sent to the centralized management device 78. When the microcomputer 38 of the master unit 34 authorizes the unlocking of the electric lock 32 in response to the user's operation of the operation unit 26 (Figure 1), a command to that effect is sent from the microcomputer 38 to the microcomputer 60 of the slave unit 56, and the microcomputer 60 unlocks the electric lock 32. This allows the user to open the storage door 30 of the storage box 28 and remove the stored items (deliveries).

In the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, the slave unit 56 is placed in the gap between the outer case 72 and the inner case 74 on the left side of the storage box 28. This allows the serial signal line or analog/digital signal line (wire harness) to be the shortest when connecting to the infrared distance sensor 88 or electric lock 32 provided on the left side of the storage box 28. By unitizing the units, it is possible to simplify the wiring, reduce maintenance work, and reduce the amount of work required for wiring.

However, a different structure may be considered, such as arranging the slave unit 56 on the right side of the storage box 28. In this case, the distance between the infrared distance measuring sensor 88 or the electric lock 32 and the slave unit 56, i.e., the length of the serial signal line or analog/digital signal line, may become longer, but this does not prevent the simplification of the wiring, since it is only necessary to connect the serial signal line or analog/digital signal line to the general-purpose input/output connector as in the embodiment.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the storage box above the control box 18 in the main box row 12 is described as the first-stage storage box, and the slave unit 56a that manages and controls it is described as the first-stage slave unit. However, the meaning of the first-stage storage box refers to the storage box that corresponds to the slave unit to which the master unit 34 is first connected, and is not named according to the location where the storage box is located.

In the above embodiment, the control box 18 is provided in the main box row 12, and the main box row 12 is also provided with a plurality of storage boxes 28, but the main box row 12 may only have the control box 18, and all the storage boxes 28 may be provided in the sub-box row 14 subordinate to the main box row 12. In this case, in the extreme case, it is also conceivable that only the control box 18 and the master unit 34 that manages and controls it constitute one box row.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an infrared distance sensor is used as the stored item detection mechanism for the storage box 28, but stored item detection sensors of other structures or methods may also be used.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 delivery box 12 main box row 14 sub-box row 18 control box 20 control door 24 display unit 26 operation unit 28 storage box 30 storage door 32 electric lock 34 master unit 38 microcomputer (first computer)
42, 44, 50, 68, 82, 84 ... 2-wire serial signal line 56 Slave unit 60 ... Microcomputer (second computer)

Claims (5)

a main box row having a control box with a display unit and an operation unit provided on the front surface;
a sub-box row having a plurality of storage boxes subordinate to the main box row, each of the storage boxes having a storage door;
a master unit including a first computer that controls the display unit and the operation unit;
a slave unit provided in correspondence with each of the plurality of storage boxes and having a second computer for managing each of the storage boxes;
a first two-wire serial signal line connecting the first computer and the second computer, and a second two-wire serial signal line connecting the second computers together ;
The main box row and the sub box row are each formed with an individual inner case, and further include an outer case that houses the individual inner case,
a predetermined gap is formed between each of the plurality of inner cases and the outer case in order to ensure thermal insulation, and the slave unit is provided in the predetermined gap near the corresponding storage box,
the first two-wire serial signal line and the second two-wire serial signal line are both wired within the specified gap . The delivery box of claim 1, further comprising an electric lock for locking and unlocking a storage door that opens and closes the storage box, the slave unit being provided on the side where the electric lock is provided within the specified space outside the individually corresponding storage box, and managing the locking and unlocking of the electric lock and the stored items. the master unit includes a first transceiver connected to the first computer, and a first general-purpose input/output connector connected to the first transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line;
the slave unit includes a second transceiver connected to the second computer, and a second general-purpose input/output connector connected to the second transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line;
3. The delivery box according to claim 1, wherein the first two-wire serial signal line connects the first general-purpose input/output connector and the second general-purpose input/output connector. the slave unit further includes a third general-purpose input/output connector connected to the second transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line;
4. The delivery box according to claim 3, wherein the second two-wire serial signal line connects the third general-purpose input/output connector of a preceding slave unit and the second general-purpose input/output connector of a succeeding slave unit. the master unit includes a third transceiver connected to the first computer, and a fourth general-purpose input/output connector connected to the third transceiver via a two-wire serial signal line;
5. The delivery box according to claim 3, wherein the display unit and the operation unit are connected to the third transceiver via the fourth general-purpose input/output connector.

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