WO2019044866A1 - Container with battery, and delivery system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container comprising a battery and a dispensing system using the container comprising the battery, able to operate continuously for a long time. The object of the invention is to provide a container which comprises a housing body for containing a material to be transported and which is transported by an external device, the container having a battery for supplying power to the external device.

Description

Battery-powered container and delivery system

The present invention relates to a container with a battery and a delivery system using the same.

In the logistics industry where labor shortages are becoming serious, automation of various operations such as delivery operations and warehouse operations is desired. These movements not only resolve the labor shortage, but in the medium- and long-term, it is pointed out that they may greatly influence the competitiveness of the business and may bring about changes in the structure of the industry. ing.

In particular, in recent years, improvements in sensors and software used for attitude control of an unmanned aerial vehicle and autonomous flight progressed, and the operability of the unmanned aerial vehicle has dramatically improved. As a result, a delivery system utilizing unmanned aircraft has been expected (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). A delivery system using an unmanned mobile unit such as an unmanned aerial vehicle has the advantage that it can be operated for a long time as well as eliminating the shortage of labor.

However, in order to operate the unmanned mobile unit without interruption, energy supply to the unmanned mobile unit is a problem. For example, when driven by an engine, fuel supply is essential. Further, even when a motor is used, it is necessary to always supply power by charging the battery or by wire feeding.

JP, 2015-009709, A JP, 2016-088675, A

When power is supplied to the unmanned mobile unit by wire feeding, the movement range of the unmanned mobile unit is significantly restricted. On the other hand, when using an engine or a battery, it is necessary to periodically refuel or stop at a charging spot, which is inefficient. In the case of unmanned aerial vehicles in particular, it is difficult to increase the size of the battery from the viewpoint of weight reduction, which hinders long-term continuous operation.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a battery-equipped container that enables long-term continuous operation of an external device for transporting the container, and a delivery system capable of automating container transshipment work.

A container with a battery according to the present invention is a container carried by an external device, comprising: a case body for containing a carried object; a battery for supplying power to the external device; and an electronic and / or magnetic device for the external device. And / or optically readable destination information of the transported item.

By providing the battery with the container, the battery attached to the container can supply power to the external device. By connecting another container to the external device, power can be supplied to the external device from the battery attached to the other container. The battery attached to the container can be charged before it is disconnected from the external device and then connected to the external device. Therefore, if a plurality of containers with battery are prepared, the external device can be continuously operated by transferring the containers appropriately.

It is difficult to replace the battery while the external device is transporting the goods because the battery is used. Integrating the battery and the container, and exchanging the battery with the container at the time of transferring the container is highly compatible in operation and efficient.

And, when the container has the delivery destination information of the articles, it becomes possible to automatically transport each container to each delivery destination. In particular, when the external device is an unmanned mobile unit, it is necessary to set delivery destination information of the load on the unmanned mobile unit. When setting the destination information directly to the unmanned mobile unit, it is difficult to set this while the unmanned mobile unit is moving, so perform the setting operation at a limited timing, such as when loading containers. There is a need. In the present invention, the destination information is registered on the container side, and the external device reads the destination information from the container, thereby registering the destination information at an arbitrary timing until the container is attached to the external device. It can be performed.

Preferably, the battery is connected to the external device by attaching the container to the external device.

By attaching the container to the external device so that the battery attached to the container is connected to the external device, it is possible to save the trouble of separately connecting the external device and the battery.

Preferably, the container includes a guide mechanism that corrects the positional deviation between the external device and the container when the container is attached to the external device. At this time, it is preferable that the guide mechanism is a tapered portion provided on the side surface of the container and inclined so as to gradually protrude outward from the top to the bottom.

By providing the guide mechanism in the container, when attaching the container to the external device, it is possible to accurately connect them without adjusting the relative position precisely. This prevents a connection failure between the external device and the battery and a reading failure of the destination information. The guide mechanism which provides a taper part in the side of a container can be provided comparatively easily, and is preferred in terms of cost etc.

In addition, a delivery system according to the present invention includes an unmanned aerial vehicle having rotary wings, a container transported by the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a container transshipment device, the container including a case body in which a cargo is accommodated. A battery for supplying power to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the container transfer device receives one of the containers transported by the unmanned aerial vehicle from the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the other container to the unmanned aerial vehicle Wearing is the gist.

The automatic transshipment of containers capable of supplying electric power to the unmanned aerial vehicle enables automation of the delivery system and long-term continuous operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

In general, unmanned aerial vehicles flying with rotary wings consume more power than unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with fixed wings and land mobile devices. In addition, it is also difficult to increase the capacity of the battery from the viewpoint of weight reduction and the like, so it is necessary to replace the battery frequently. According to the present invention, since the battery can be exchanged together with the container at the time of delivery of the goods, even an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with rotary wings can be operated without any problem.

An unmanned aerial vehicle flying with a rotary wing is excellent in the speed of movement and freedom of movement, and can rapidly deliver materials to, for example, remote islands and mountain areas. Moreover, since the unmanned aerial vehicle provided with the rotary wings is capable of vertical take-off and landing, the shock at take-off and landing can be mitigated, and the cargo is less likely to be damaged.

In addition, a delivery system according to the present invention includes an unmanned aerial vehicle having rotary wings, and a container carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the container is a case body in which a cargo is accommodated, and power is supplied to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle has an internal battery that is a battery that supplies power to the unmanned aerial vehicle when the battery of the container is not connected, and the unmanned aerial vehicle carries the The gist of the present invention is to automatically attach the other container in the vicinity after separating the one container which has been sent at its destination.

By providing the internal battery with the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle can move on its own power by the power supplied from the internal battery, even after being disconnected from the battery of the container. This makes it possible to automate transshipment of the battery-equipped container even when the above-described container transshipment device is not provided.

And in the delivery system according to the present invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle has a photographing means, the outer surface of the container is provided with a marker which is a mark distinguishable from the outside by image recognition, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is by the photographing means It is preferable that the positional relationship between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the container can be specified by recognizing the marker.

The unmanned aerial vehicle has a photographing means, and by identifying the marker attached to the outer surface of the container and specifying the relative position to the container, it becomes possible to facilitate the transshipment of the container. Moreover, since it is possible to transpose containers without human intervention, the delivery system can be automated.

In addition, a pole extending in a bar-like shape is provided on the upper surface of the container, a hole vertically penetrated is formed in an airframe of the unmanned aircraft, and the pole is inserted into the hole. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the positional deviation between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the battery-equipped container is corrected.

By inserting the pole on the upper surface of the container into a hole provided in the airframe of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the positional deviation between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the container can be easily corrected. In particular, when the unmanned moving object is an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with rotary wings, turbulence may occur near the ground, but if the guide mechanism as described above is provided, the position can be adjusted at a height at which the influence of turbulence is small. Therefore, it is particularly preferable.

According to the battery-equipped container of the present invention, the battery attached to the container supplies power to the external device. When another container is connected to the external device, power is supplied to the external device by a battery attached to the other container. This enables the external device to operate continuously for a long time.

The battery attached to the container can be charged before it is disconnected from the external device and then connected to the external device, so that power can be supplied without stopping the operation of the external device.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the delivery system which concerns on this invention, the installation operation | work of the container to a unmanned aerial vehicle can be automated.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the container of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the unmanned aerial vehicle which is an external apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transshipment operation | work of a container based on the delivery system of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transshipment operation | work of a container based on the delivery system of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, the delivery system of a first embodiment of the present invention will be described using the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a battery-equipped container 2 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “container 2”). FIG. 3: is a schematic diagram which shows the transshipment operation | work of the container which concerns on this embodiment.

The multicopter 1, which is a type of unmanned aerial vehicle, is an external device that is supplied with power from the battery-equipped container 2a and transports the case body 21. The multicopter 1 mounts the container 2a with a battery, and transports the container 2a with a battery to a destination. At the destination, a container transfer device 3 and another battery-equipped container 2b are installed.

The battery 22 attached to the battery-equipped container 2b is fully charged, and power is supplied to the multicopter 1 from the fully charged battery 22 by transposing the battery-equipped container 2a and another battery-equipped container 2b. can do. Also, the battery-equipped container 2a separated from the multicopter 1 at the destination can be charged until it is next connected to the multicopter 1 or another external device.

The battery-equipped container 2 includes a case body 21 in which a load is stored, and a battery 22. The battery 22 is connected to an external device by an electrode 221 and supplies power to the external device. Note that instead of the electrode 221, it may be connected to an external device through a power cord or the like. When the electrode 221 is provided, the container is attached to the external device, whereby the battery attached to the container is connected to the external device, and there is no need to separately connect the external device and the battery. At this time, the battery 22 and the multicopter are structured such that at least one of the electrode 221 or the corresponding terminal of the multicopter 1 has an elastic force or a structure in which the container 2 with battery is pressed against the multicopter 1 by the container holder 17 The connection with 1 is stable, and power can be prevented from being interrupted during transportation.

The battery 22 of the battery-equipped container 2 may be detachable from the case body 21 or may be integrated with the case body 21 in an inseparable manner. When the battery 22 is charged, the battery 22 may be removed from the case body 21 for charging, or may be charged in a state where the battery 22 and the case body 21 are integrated. Moreover, although the battery 22 is arrange | positioned out of the case body 21 in this example, the battery 22 may be accommodated in the case body 21. FIG. In this case, if only the electrode 221 of the battery 22 is exposed to the outside of the case body 21 or if other terminals and contacts electrically connected to the battery 22 are provided on the outside of the case body 21 Good. In the future, wireless power supply without physical contact between terminals and contacts is considered to be possible. Further, the shape of the case body 21 is not particularly limited as long as the articles to be transported can be accommodated. For example, the shape may be box-like, bag-like, plate-like or the like.

The container transfer device 3 includes a pallet 31 for receiving the battery-equipped container 2a, a pallet 32 for mounting another battery-equipped container 2b to the multicopter 1, a lift 33 for raising and lowering the pallet, and a conveyor device for moving the pallet. 34 and a landing board 35 supporting the multicopter 1.

After the multicopter 1 lands on the landing board 35, the pallet 31 receives the battery-equipped container 2a and is lowered by the lift 33 onto the conveyor. The conveyor device 34 moves the pallets 31 and 32. When the pallet 32 and the battery-equipped container 2 b on the pallet 32 move immediately below the multicopter 1, they are lifted by the lift 33, and the battery-equipped container 2 b on the pallet 32 is mounted on the multicopter 1.

It is preferable that the battery-equipped containers 2a and 2b be provided with an inclined tapered portion so that the side surfaces gradually project outward from the top to the bottom. When the tapered portion is provided, it is possible to correct the positional deviation from the multicopter 1 and to easily mount the container 2.

According to this embodiment, even when the multicopter 1 does not have an internal battery other than the battery 22 attached to the container 2, the container 2 can be transshipped. The container transfer unit 35 is not limited to the present embodiment, as long as it can transfer the container 2. When the container transfer unit 35 is not provided, the transfer of the container 2 may be performed manually.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the transfer work of the container 2 in the delivery system of the second embodiment.

The multicopter 1 is an external device that is supplied with power from the battery-equipped container 2 and transports the case body 21. The multicopter 1 mounts the container 2a with a battery, and transports the container 2a with a battery to a destination. At the destination, another battery-equipped container 2b is installed.

The multicopter 1 of the present embodiment has the internal battery 11 mounted in addition to the battery 22 attached to the container 2, and after separating the container 2a with a battery, it flies by itself and mounts another container 2b with a battery can do.

At this time, the battery-equipped container 2 b preferably has a guide pole 25 extending upward. By inserting the guide pole 25 into the guide pole insertion hole 16 provided in the multicopter 1, it is possible to correct the positional deviation between the multicopter 1 and the battery-equipped container 2 b. Although unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with rotary blades such as multicopter may generate turbulence in the vicinity of the ground, such a guide mechanism can adjust the position at a height where the influence of turbulence is small.

In addition, the battery-equipped container 2 b preferably includes the marker 24 described in FIG. 1. Thus, the multicopter 1 can automatically recognize the position of the battery-equipped container 2b and mount it. The marker 24 is not particularly limited as long as it can be recognized by the multicopter 1, and a characteristic mark may be printed on the surface of the container 2, or a light source such as an LED light may be embedded and displayed.

When the multicopter 1 is equipped with the internal battery 11, it is possible to automatically transfer the container 2 without requiring the container transfer device 3 as shown in FIG. Further, the internal battery 11 can also be used as a spare battery when the battery 22 of the battery-equipped container 2 is broken during transportation, or when the power supply from the battery 22 is interrupted or interrupted due to poor contact or the like. . If the internal battery 11 can be charged by supplying power from the battery 22 attached to the battery-equipped container 2, the internal battery 11 can be charged while the container 2 is transported, which is excellent in convenience.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of a multicopter 1 which is a kind of unmanned aerial vehicle which is an external device of the present invention. The basic configuration and flight function of the multicopter 1 will be described below. The multicopter 1 mainly includes a flight controller FC which is a control unit of the multicopter 1, a receiver 141 which receives a steering signal from an operator (transmitter 120), a rotor R which is a plurality of rotors, and a rotor R. And a driving circuit of the above-described circuit 151 (Electric Speed Controller). Each of the above-mentioned engines is supplied with power by a battery 22 attached to the battery-equipped container 2. In addition to the battery 22 attached to the battery-equipped container 2, the multicopter 1 may further have an internal battery 11 to supply power to the above-mentioned respective engines. In this case, if the battery 11 can be charged by power supply from the battery 22 attached to the battery-equipped container 2, the internal battery 11 can be charged while the container 2 is being transported, which is excellent in convenience. The battery 22 and the internal battery 11 are preferably Li-Po batteries from the viewpoint of light weight and relatively large capacity, but there is no particular limitation as long as they can be charged and used repeatedly.

Each rotor R is composed of a motor 152 which is a drive source, and a propeller 153 mounted on the output shaft thereof. The ESC 151 is connected to the motor 152 and controls the number of rotations of the motor 152 at a speed instructed by the flight controller FC.

The flight controller FC includes a controller 130 which is a microcontroller. The control device 130 has a CPU 132 which is a central processing unit, a memory 131 which is a storage device such as a ROM or RAM, a flash memory, and a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller 133 which sends a PWM signal to the ESC 151.

The flight controller FC further includes a flight control sensor group 142 and a GPS receiver 143 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “sensor etc.”), which are connected to the control device 130. The GPS receiver 143 is exactly the receiver of the Navigation Satellite System (NSS). The GPS receiver 143 acquires current longitude and latitude values and time information from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or a regional navigation satellite system (RNSS). The flight control sensor group 142 of the multicopter 1 in this example includes an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit: inertial measurement device) having a 3-axis acceleration sensor and a 3-axis angular velocity sensor, an air pressure sensor (altitude sensor), a 3-axis geomagnetic sensor (azimuth Sensor etc. are included. The control device 130 can acquire the position information of the own aircraft including the latitude and longitude during flight, the altitude, and the azimuth angle of the nose other than the inclination and rotation of the airframe by these sensors and the like.

The memory 131 of the control device 130 stores a flight control program FCP, which is a program for controlling the attitude of the multicopter 1 during flight and basic flight operations. The flight control program FCP adjusts the number of revolutions of each rotor R based on the information obtained from sensors and the like, and causes the multicopter 1 to fly while correcting the attitude and position of the airframe.

The maneuvering of the multicopter 1 may be performed manually by the operator using the transmitter 120, but a flight plan consisting of the autonomous flight program APP with the flight path and velocity of the multicopter 1, altitude parameters, and commands of defined operations It is preferable to register the FP and make the multicopter 1 fly autonomously (hereinafter, such autonomous flight is referred to as "autopilot"). When maneuvering with an autopilot, it is excellent in terms of personnel reduction and operation continuity. The flight plan FP can also be registered by reading the information of the information display unit 23 of the battery-equipped container 2 through the reading device 144.

The multicopter 1, which is an external device, can acquire information of the goods by reading the information of the information display unit 23 of the battery-equipped container 2. The information display unit 23 records the information of the transported item in an electronically, magnetically or optically readable form. It is preferable to provide delivery destination information of the conveyance as the information on the conveyance. The destination information is, for example, information capable of guiding the multicopter 1 to the destination, such as coordinate values such as the latitude and longitude of the destination, a flight plan FP to the destination, or information convertible to information equivalent thereto. I hope there is. In addition, information such as the name, quantity, weight and tracking number of the goods may be provided.

The external device connected to the battery-equipped container 2 is not limited to the form of the multicopter 1. For example, a tractor, a forklift, an aircraft, a ship, etc. may be used, and either a manned or unmanned may be used. When a tow truck or the like is used, the battery-equipped container 2 preferably includes a wheel or the like.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited at all to the said embodiment, A various change is possible within the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention is not limited to a multicopter, and may be a helicopter or a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft.

Claims (8)

A container carried by an external device,
A case body in which the goods are accommodated;
A battery for supplying power to the external device;
A container with a battery, wherein the external device has electronic, magnetic, or optically readable destination information of the transported object. The battery-equipped container according to claim 1, wherein the battery is connected to the external device by attaching the container to the external device. The battery-equipped container according to claim 1, further comprising: a guide mechanism that corrects the positional deviation between the external device and the container when the container is attached to the external device. The side surface of the container is provided with a tapered portion which is sloped so as to gradually project outward from the top to the bottom, thereby providing the guide mechanism for correcting the positional deviation between the external device and the container A container with a battery according to claim 3, characterized in that. An unmanned aerial vehicle with rotors,
A container carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle;
A delivery system comprising: a container transshipment device;
The container is
A case body in which the goods are accommodated;
And a battery for supplying power to the unmanned aerial vehicle.
The delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the container transshipment device receives one container transported by the unmanned aerial vehicle from the unmanned aerial vehicle and mounts the other container on the unmanned aerial vehicle. An unmanned aerial vehicle with rotors,
A delivery system comprising: a container carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle;
The container is
A case body in which the goods are accommodated;
And a battery for supplying power to the unmanned aerial vehicle.
The unmanned aerial vehicle has an internal battery which is a battery for supplying power to the unmanned aerial vehicle when the battery of the container is not connected,
The delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle automatically mounts the other container in the vicinity after the unshipped vehicle separates the transported container at its destination. The unmanned aerial vehicle has a photographing means,
The outer surface of the container is provided with a marker which is a mark that can be identified by image recognition from the outside,
The delivery system according to claim 6, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle can specify the positional relationship between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the container by recognizing the marker by the photographing means. The upper surface of the container is provided with a pole extending upward in a bar shape,
The airframe of the unmanned aerial vehicle is formed with vertically penetrating holes,
The delivery system according to claim 6, wherein the pole is inserted into the hole to correct the positional deviation between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the container.

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