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EP-3756030-B1 - SMART LOCKER SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR USE THEREOF

EP3756030B1EP 3756030 B1EP3756030 B1EP 3756030B1EP-3756030-B1

Inventors

  • RAZZOLI, Michael Robert

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20181227

Claims (3)

  1. A locker for storage of a parcel, wherein the locker comprises: i) a first and second side wall; ii) a front side with a vertical height and horizontal width; wherein each of the first and second side walls have the vertical height and a horizontal depth; wherein the vertical height is larger than the horizonal width, the horizontal width being chosen for ensuring that a flat parcel inserted into the locker does not lie flat on a floor of the locker and instead stands at an angle and is supported by one of the first and second walls; iii) a door configured for being opened to allow outside access to an inner volume of the locker and for being closed to deny outside access to the inner volume of the locker; iv) a sensor system comprising: an array of emitters located at the first side wall, each emitter being configured for emitting a respective electromagnetic wave, wherein the emitters are disposed horizontally along a bottom of the first side wall, near the floor; an array of receivers located at the second side wall and facing the first side wall, each receiver being configured for detecting the electromagnetic waves from one or more of the emitters, each receiver being configured for generating first signals indicative of detection and lack of detection of the electromagnetic waves, wherein the receivers are disposed horizontally along a bottom of the second side wall, near the floor; a door sensor, configured to sense whether the door is open or closed and to generate second signals indicative of the door being open and the door being closed; a controller configured to receive the signals from the receivers and processing the signals to determine a presence or absence of the parcel in the locker; the locker being further characterized in that : the door sensor being configured to be in communication with a control unit, the control unit being part of a system of lockers, such that the door sensor and the sensor system are configured to send data to the control unit to determine a status of the locker; wherein the emitters are embedded in the first side wall and the receivers are embedded in the second side wall, thereby ensuring that the parcel does not stand above a propagation axis of the electromagnetic waves and is supported by the floor and by one of the first and second walls, and therefore stands at an angle to effectively block a propagation of at least some of the electromagnetic waves toward at least one of the receivers.
  2. The locker of claim 1, wherein: the first and second walls have respectively first and second recesses, the recesses being level with a floor of the locker and parallel to a floor of the locker; the emitters are arranged horizontally and located in the first recess; the receivers are arranged horizontally and located in the second recess.
  3. The locker of claim 2, wherein: the emitters are arranged horizontally and located in the first recess, such that a first empty space is present between the floor and the array of emitters; the receivers are arranged horizontally and located in the second recess, such that a second empty space is present between the floor and the array of receivers.

Description

Cross-References To Related Applications The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 62/610,754 filed on December 27, 2017, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 62/610,799 filed on December 27, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 62/638,712 filed on March 5, 2018. Technical Field The present invention relates smart lockers or intelligent lockers for delivery and pickup of parcels. Background of the Invention Today's smart lockers are designed horizontally where any package or envelope sits on the ground of the locker regardless of the size or the thickness of the delivered package, parcel, or envelope. Some lockers are equipped with sensors configured for detecting the presence of any package having a thickness larger than 0.635 cm (1/4 inch). Data about the presence or absence of a package in a smart locker from the sensors enables control the smart locker's workflow fully automatically. For example, once the presence of the data is detected, a control unit associated with the smart locker automatically sends the recipient of the package a message to inform the recipient that the package is waiting to be picked up at the smart locker, with information on how to retrieve the package. However, if the thickness of the delivered package is less than 0.635 cm (1/4 inch), which is the case for most flats and envelopes, the sensors are not able to detect these thin packages and thus cannot determine the existence of these types of package in the locker. As a result of this issue, control unit cannot rely on the sensors to generate accurate information regarding the existence of a package in a smart locker regardless of the size or thickness of the package, because a delivery person may choose to deliver a thin package or a flat to any locker. Therefore, if a package or flat isn't detected by the sensors, the control unit relies on the delivery person to indicate if he/she has in fact delivered a package or not. If the delivery person inputs the wrong message into the smart locker's user interface, the control unit's workflow - which includes data recording and notification to the recipients - may generate undesired results, such as the "Empty Locker" or "Ghost Delivery" errors. An "Empty Locker" error happens if the delivery person indicates a delivery even when he/she didn't deposit a package inside the smart locker. In this case the control unit records a delivery, generates a pickup code and sends an email or text notification to the recipient that contains the pickup code. The recipient of this pickup code will find a locker that is empty, which leads to confusion and most likely a support call to the support department. A "Ghost Delivery" error happens when the delivery person selects "No Delivery" even though he/she has delivered a thin package to the smart locker. In this case, the control does not record a delivery, the locker is not be marked as occupied, no pickup code is generated, and no notification is sent out to the recipient. This leads to a package delivered to a locker but there is no record of it and nobody knows anything about it. Likewise, today's dry cleaning lockers do not have a sensors and thus the application workflow cannot rely on the sensors to indicate whether a package is delivered or not and whether a package have been picked up after the smart locker's door has been opened. Therefore, a wrong input by the delivery person into the dry cleaning locker causes the "Empty Locker" error or "Ghost Delivery" error. Patent Publication WO 2016/138582A to Armstrong teaches a detection system for detecting mail in a mailbox is described. In one aspect, the detection system includes a base portion constructed of a clear medium. The base portion defines a relief element having a ledge. The base portion includes an optical emitter directed to emit light through the relief element and into the mailbox. The base portion also includes an optical detector oriented to detect light at the ledge. Brief Summary of Embodiments of the Invention Therefore, an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates toa locker for storage of a parcel, wherein the locker comprises: i) a first and second side wall; ii) a front side with a vertical height and horizontal width; wherein each of the first and second side walls have the vertical height and a horizontal depth; wherein the vertical height is larger than the horizonal width, the horizontal width being chosen for ensuring that a flat parcel inserted into the locker does not lie flat on a floor of the locker and instead stands at an angle and is supported by one of the first and second walls; iii) a door configured for being opened to allow outside access to an inner volume of the locker and for being closed to deny outside access to the inner volume of the locker; iv) a sensor system comprising: an array of emitters located at the first side wall, each emitter b