TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to electrical engineering and more specifically relates to smart universal delivery and collection box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the ever greater popularity of today online shopping multiple deliveries may be made on any single day. Waiting for deliveries at home may not be an option for everyone and missing a delivery can be a real headache. Smart parcel box is thus a solution which becoming more and more popular. With the use of “smart parcel box” and through its connectivity including associated mobile devices and application, it is possible to send and receive parcels at your own home. Through the network and connectivity between the smart parcel box, the user’s devices and the pick-up and/or delivery party’s devices, notification of pick-up and delivery including authorization to enable concern party to gain access to the smart parcel box so as to make pick and delivery remotely can be achieved.

KR20160107894 disclosed a transformable unmanned parcel service box which includes: a base; a prefabricated receiving box composed of a bottom plate connected to a lower part of the base to be able to rotate, lateral plates connected to both sides of the base to be able to rotate, a front plate moving forward and backward along the lateral plates, and a cover plate connected to an upper part of the base to be able to rotate and foldable and spread to the front side of the base, and forming a receiving space by assembling the components; and a locking means locking the cover plate to the receiving box wherein the receiving space is formed to prevent the cover plate from being open; and an unlocking means unlocking the locking unit by receiving opening signals from the remote plate.

Collapsible parcel boxes (tradename: Courier Buddy) are known, but in such case while in collapsed state, such parcel box cannot accommodate a parcel or in a non-functional state.

A conventional parcel box typically having one door for accessing the storage compartments. The ability to adjust the size of the sub-compartments is desired and a box that can expand and contract with the changing size of one or more of the sub-compartments is also desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a universal delivery and collection box which allows expansion or increase of its volume or storage capacity when required. In an embodiment, the universal delivery and collection box according to the principle of the invention comprises an outer shell and at least one inner shell arranged within the outer shell. The outer shell is prepared with a first volume and the inner shell is prepared with a second volume. The universal delivery and collection box is configured to transform and allow expansion of its volume or its storage capacity.

In an embodiment, the universal delivery and collection box according to the principle of the invention the outer shell is prepared with a first volume and the inner shell is prepared with a second volume. Through the arrangement between the outer shell and the inner shell, it enables the universal delivery and collection box to transform between a non-expanded state and an expanded state wherein, in the non-expanded state, the inner shell is housed within the outer shell and wherein in an expanded, the inner shell is configured to slide out of the outer shell allowing a merge of the volume between the volume of the outer shell and the volume of the inner shell enabling the universal delivery and collection box to expand its volume or storage capacity to accommodate additional parcels or a parcel with a larger dimension.

In an embodiment the inner shell having adjustable means or an adjustable plate to divide the inner volume into one compartment or two compartment.

In an embodiment, the universal delivery and collection box according to the present invention comprises a connectivity means allowing the universal delivery and collection box to connect or to establish a communication link between the universal delivery and collection box and mobile devices and/or with a network allowing designated persons or parties to gain access to the universal delivery and collection box for delivery and pick up of parcels.

In an embodiment the front cover comprises an upper sub-door portion and an lower subdoor portion each of sub-door portion can open and close individually or simultaneously integrally with other sub-door portion to gain more access to the universal delivery and collection box

In an embodiment, the universal delivery and collection box according to the present invention also comprises of supporting means that is configured to receive hooking means of the hangers or laundry bags for the purpose of laundry delivery service.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF FORMAL DRAWINGS

Characteristics and advantages of the invention will be appreciated from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in which, as a non-limiting example, some preferable embodiments of the principle of the invention are described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a universal delivery and collection box according to the principle of the present invention in an unexpanded state with closing front cover.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with its front cover being disengaged from a locking mechanism;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a universal delivery and collection box according to the principle of the present invention in an expanded state.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 with an illustration of a relationship between an outer shell and an inner shell of the universal delivery and collection box having one compartment.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 with an illustration of a relationship between an outer shell and an inner shell of the universal delivery and collection box having two compartments .

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 with an illustration of a relationship between the upper sub-door portion and the lower sub-door portion.

FIG. 7. shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 with an illustration of a relationship between the upper sub-door portion and the lower sub-door portion .

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 with an illustration of a relationship between an inner shell and the separator plate.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the lower sub-door portion is opened.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 with the lower sub-door portion is opened in an expanded state.

FIG. 1 1 shows an enlargement view of slide rails 30 situated between the inner shell 21 and the outer shell 11

FIG. 12. shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 with an illustration of a relationship between an inner shell and the separator plate.

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 with an illustration of a relationship between an inner shell , the separator plate and control plate.

FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 with an illustration of a relationship between an inner shell , the separator plate and control plate..

FIG 15 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 with an illustration of a relationship between an inner shell , the separator plate and control plate. FIG. 16 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 with an illustration of a relationship between an inner shell , the separator plate and control plate.

FIG. 17 shows a sectional view of a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 4 FIG. 18 shows a sectional view of a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2

FIG. 19 shows an enlargement of the laundry bag having hooking means configured to support with supporting means 40 or vice versa.

FIG. 20 shows an enlargement of the laundry bag having hooking means configured to support with supporting means 40 or vice versa.

FIG. 21. shows a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. Iwith a laundry bag 200.

FIG. 22 .shows a schematic diagram of an operation flow of a universal delivery and collection box 1 utilization.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a universal delivery and collection box I configured to allows expansion or increase of its volume or storage capacity when required. For the purpose of understanding of the principle of the invention, characteristics and advantages of the invention will be described as non-limiting examples of some preferable embodiments of the principle of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings as shown in FIGs. 1-22.

Referring to FIG 1-22 , the universal delivery and collection box 1 of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1. the universal delivery and collection box I comprises an outer shell 10 and at least one inner shell 20 arranged within the outer shell 10. To accommodate the parcel, the outer shell 10 having a first volume surrounded with walls, the outer shell 10 is fabricated into a box-like shape with a top wall 12, a bottom wall 14 and first side wall 11 and a second side wall 13 and a back wall 15 forming an enclosure. The inner shell 20 is prepared for a second volume and has a shape and dimensions corresponding to that of the outer shell 10 such that it allows the inner shell to be housed within the outer shell 10. That is, the inner shell 20 is also fabricated into a box-like shape with a top panel 22, a bottom panel 24, a first side panel 21, a second side panel 23, and a front cover 100. The universal delivery and collection box 1 is configured to transform and allow expansion of its volume or its storage capacity.

In an embodiment, the transformation of the universal delivery and collection box 1 which results in the expansion of its storage capacity is achieved through the arrangement of the outer shell lOand the inner shell 20 wherein through their arrangement it enables the universal delivery and collection box to be manipulated to transform between a non-expanded state and an expanded state. That is, in the non-expanded state, the inner shell 20 remains housed within the outer shell, while in the expanded state, the inner shell is slide out of outer shell 10. The ability for the inner shell 20 to be manipulated to slide out of the outer shell 10 allows a merge of the volume between the volume of the outer shell 10 and the volume of the inner shell 20 and resulting in an expansion of the volume of the universal delivery and collection box 1. That is, the expansion of the volume of the universal delivery and collection box 1 derived from a combined volume of the volume of the outer shell 10 and the volume of the inner shell 20. The ability to permit volume expansion, accordingly, allows the universal delivery and collection box 1, as shown in Fig 4., to increase its volume or its storage capacity and consequently it enables the universal delivery and collection box 1 to accommodate additional parcels or to accommodate a parcel with larger dimension (i.e. larger than the volume/dimension of the universal delivery and collection box in a non-expanded state).

In an embodiment, to achieve an expansion of the volume or storage capacity of the universal delivery and collection box 1, the inner shell 20 is configured to be manipulated to transform from a non-expanded state to an expanded state. In an example, as shown in FIG 11, a pair of slider rails 30 is equipped between outer shell and the inner shell 30 allowing the inner shell 20 to slide out of the outer shell 10 or slide back into the outer shell as needed. Other means which a person skilled in the art is familiar to achieve the same effect, for example, a push-and-release mechanism or use of loaded spring, or a motor to enable the inner shell 10 to transition out of or into the outer shell 10 manually, electronically or semi-automatical ly are also possible. Further, the fact that the inner shell 20 is arranged within or telescopically arranged to the outer shell 10. It will be obvious to a skilled person that it is not essential that the inner shell 20 is completely or substantially completely arranged inside the outer shell 10, but rather, the inner shell 30 may be partly arranged within the outer shell 10.

As shown in FIG. 1-10 ,the front cover 100 ofthe inner shell 20 is also acted as a front cover or a front door of the universal delivery and collection box 1 allowing access for pick-up and delivery of parcels as well as to limit access to the universal delivery and collection box 1 for security purposes. The front cover 100 is configured to open or close, for example, with the use of hinges (not shown). As also shown in FIG. 3, the front cover 100 of the inner shell 30 is equipped with a locking means 19 designed to lock/unlock the front cover as needed. For the locking means 19 could be a mechanical or digital lock, but digital lock which locking and unlocking remotely controllable is preferred. The front cover 100, comprise a drop slot 90 or an aperture or the like allowing depositing of envelops and small packages into the universal delivery and collection box 1 Further, the front cover 90 may further include one or more support rib for an enhanced structural strength of the front cover 90. In addition, the front cover 100 may comprising two sub-door portions: an upper sub-door portion and an lower sub-door portion: each portion can be opened /closed individually or simultaneously with other portion For function aforesaid, one embodiment of the invention includes a pair of rails I02A attachable to the upper sub-door portion.100A along its vertical axis, herein the plate 101 can engage/reengaged into the hole of a pair of rails 102A; a pair of rails 102B attachable to the upper sub-door portion.100B along its vertical axis, herein the plate 101 can engage/reengaged into the hole of a pair of rails 102A

The rails 102A, 102B may further having a plurality of slots or holes to facilitate repositioning of the position plate 101. The plate 102 may having retaining pins (not shown) that protrude from the plate 102 to engage both the upper sub-door portion 100A and the lower subdoor portion 100B in case of simultaneous opening/closing of the upper sub-door portion 100A and the lower sub-door portion 100B. It will be understood that each sub-door portion can be opened/closed individually by engaging the plate 101 to the rails 102A or the rail 102B as shown in Fig 6-10.

FIG. 12, illustrate the universal delivery and collection box 1 according to the present invention in an expanded state where the inner shell 20 is being pulled out of the outer shell 30. FIG. 11 is purposely drawn, with other detail omitted, to illustrate just the relationship between the inner shell 20 to the outer shell 10 when the inner shell 20 is transitioned or travel out of the outer shell 10 to the expanded state, the inner shell 30 is drawn or pulled out of the outer shell 10, the volume of the universal delivery and collection box 1 is increased through a merge of the volume of the outer shell with the volume of the inner shell allowing the universal delivery and collection box 1 to store additional parcels or accepting parcel with larger dimensions being delivered to the universal delivery and collection box 1. As mentioned above, the ability to transition in-out of the inner shell 20 is aided by, for example, a pair of slide rails 30, engaged to inner shell 20 and the outer shell 10 in the same manner as with a general drawer hence it specific detail is not necessary. Other forms of device to achieve the same effects and purposes as with the sliders may also be utilized. Further, the inner shell 20 may be pulled out to its fully expanded state or pushed back into the outer shell, to its original non-expanded state, manually. The distance of travelling in-out of the inner shell 20 is controlled by the configuration of the slide rails 30 and the control plate 50 as shown in FIG 13-14 having locking element 50A. The control plate 50 having locking element 50A enable to insert into the grooves 24A,24B of a bottom panel 24 to secure the inner shell 20 from moving in or out and maintaining structural integrity of the universal delivery and collection box 10. The control plate 50 is able to move between the horizontal axis and vertical axis for locking and unlocking by moving the locking element 50A out of the grooves 24A.

Furthermore, the separator plate 60 is configured to divide the inner volume into one compartment or two compartments: the first compartment and the second compartment. In one embodiment, the separator plate 60 can be positioned at the middle of the inner shell 20. The separator plate 60 can foldable to form one compartment and two compartment by sliding along with grooves or rails 20A inside the inner shell 20 as shown in FIG 15,18..

Referring to FIG 17, a length-wise sectional view of the universal delivery and collection box 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, both the outer shell 10 and the inner shell 20 have their own respective bottom wall 14 and bottom panel 24. The bottom panel 24 of the inner shell 20 is arranged such that it is overlaying with the bottom wall 14 of the outer shell 10. The bottom wall 14 of the outer shell 10 intercepts or receives the parcels as the parcel are dropped or placed thereon while the universal delivery and collection box 1 is in its original non-expanded state. The bottom panel 65 of the inner shell 30 is arranged to position underneath the bottom wall 40 of the outer shell 25 with an appropriate gap between them so that once the inner shell 30 is being pulled to the expanded state, the inner shell 30 is allowed to move forward and consequently increase the volume or storage capacity of the universal delivery and collection box 1 , Furthermore, the separator plate 60 is configured to divide the inner volume into one compartment or two compartment.

Referring to FIG 19-21 , the supporting means 40 is configured to receive a hooking member 210 of the laundry bag 200 such that when the cover front 100 is locked, it cannot move the the laundry bag/s 200 form the universal delivery and collection box 1. In addition, the supporting means 40 is able to use with hanger to hold the bag.

As mentioned above, in an embodiment of the invention, the universal delivery and collection box 1 according to the present invention comprise a connectivity means allowing the universal delivery and collection box 20 to connect or to establish a communication link between the universal delivery and collection box 1 and mobile devices and/or with a network allowing designated persons or parties to gain access to the universal delivery and collection box for delivery and pick up of parcels. FIG. 9 shows an exemplary scheme of communication and connectivity of the universal delivery and collection box 20 according to the present invention. As shown in this exemplary scheme,

The customer 2 can drop off/pickup parcels in the universal delivery and collection box 1 by using customer app 10 on mobile devices that connected between universal delivery and collection box 1 by Bluetooth BLE or the like to open or close the cover of the universal delivery and collection box 1.

The courier 3 can collect/deliver parcels to in the universal delivery and collection box 1 by using courier app 3 on mobile devices that connected between universal delivery and collection box 1 by Bluetooth BLE or the like to open or close the cover of the universal delivery and collection box 1. the customer app 10 on mobile devices can send/receive data 8 through the cloud sever 4 to the courier app 3 or vice versa via 3G/4G/LTE or the like.

Furthermore , the universal delivery and collection boxl could have more than one inner shell 20 to increase further volume by using same principle as described above by other inner shell having the slide rails between the inner shell and the outer shell and having the control plate to fix position.

It is also to be understood that variations and modification can be made on the aforesaid structures without departing from structures within the scope at the present invention.