The invention relates to a delivery box for unattended receiving and temporary storing of delivered goods and in particular of groceries, which delivery box comprises storage compartments, a heat transfer apparatus, a locking mechanism, and a control unit.

The home delivery service of groceries and other perishable goods requires that there is someone at home to take a delivery of goods to make sure that it is brought reliably to its destination and immediately stored in an appropriate manner. If there is no receiver present, the products ordered often have to be left in the open air where they are at the mercy of weather and thieves. In the case of groceries in particular it is important that storage conditions are suitable for them.

EP application publication 851 187 discloses a storage compartment assembly which is intended for indoor spaces of a building and whose compartments are cooled and/or heated by means of thermoelements, the operation of which is controlled by means of a keypad and a selector switch connected to a control unit of the device. The compartment assembly is not as such suitable for placement in the open air and in its heat transfer arrangements no allowance has been made for outdoor temperatures, which may be lower than the normal refrigerator temperature. The operations of the device can be monitored and controlled only on site.

FR patent 2563987 discloses a public storage box which is equipped with its own computer and telecommunications connection with a central server which is linked to a network of storage boxes through a telephone system. JP patent application 4114891 discloses a distribution box which can be used for sending and receiving goods. There is a data processing unit transmitting information between the box and the supplier of goods.

EP patent application 821 518 discloses a distribution system comprising a storage unit for goods which can be provided with a telecommunications connection with the supplier, distributor and receiver of goods. US patent 4, 894, 717 describes a control system for a computer-controlled delivery locker assembly.

EP patent 359 667 describes a method and a system for remote ordering and delivering of products into a locker assembly placed in a sales room, from which the customer can collect the goods ordered by him/her against payment. EF patent 531 942 discloses a method similar to the preceding one, in which ordered products are placed in a locker assembly which is located in a locked indoor space and from which the customer collects them against payment.

An object of the invention is to provide a new type of delivery box which is intended for the use of households and which allows unattended receiving of delivered goods. In particular, an object is a delivery box which is suitable for outdoor locations and which is capable of maintaining products at a desired temperature in varying conditions. A further object is a delivery box whose operations can be monitored and controlled from a distance.

With a view to achieving these objectives as well as those which will come out later, the delivery box according to the invention is characterized in what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 1.

The delivery box suitable for outdoor use according to the invention comprises an impervious, weatherproof and heat-insulated outer shell whose interior space has been divided into several sections and compartments, of which at least some can be separated tightly or almost tightly from each other. The delivery box comprises a heat transfer apparatus, by means of which different storage temperatures can be arranged in different compartments, and a control unit, which has been arranged to monitor and control the operation of the delivery box, as well as a locking mechanism. The heat transfer apparatus comprises both heating means and cooling means.

Like a conventional refrigerator, the delivery box can include a freezing compartment and a refrigerator space which may be further divided into compartments having different temperatures. These cooled compartments can be totally separate spaces or they can be connected together in the same way as in a refrigerator. The arrangement differs from known refrigerators, among other things, in that the compartments of the delivery box intended to be located outdoors can be heated, if needed, when the temperature of outdoor air is lower than the desired temperatures inside the compartments. Preferably, the delivery box also comprises a compartment for products that need not be stored in a cooled space or which must absolutely be stored in a warm place.

The control unit comprises electric circuits and couplings which are needed for monitoring and controlling of the operation of the delivery box. The control unit monitors the temperatures in the storage compartments and out of doors and controls based on them the operation of the heat transfer devices and heating and cooling of the different compartments. The control unit collects information on the state of operation of the box (temperatures, on/off-state, door closed/open, goods inside/empty box) and transmits it forwards. Advantageously, the control unit of the delivery box can be provided with a telecommunications connection by means of which the delivery box is capable, on the one hand, of reporting outside on its state and, on the other hand, of receiving commands coming from outside. This telecommunications connection can be provided either by means of dedicated lines or by means of a wireless connection.

The locking mechanism of the delivery box can be mechanical or electrical or a combination thereof. It may also be remote controlled. The lock may be opened only by a person having the right of use. The delivery box may also be provided with a movement detector, which is capable of detecting a living being present inside the box and, in that case, of preventing the locking of doors.

The delivery box is intended to serve as a home terminal in a logistical chain of perishable goods deliveries, as a receipt and return box, which serves safe supply and delivery of goods. In the most sophisticated version, all automatic operations of the delivery box can

be programmed into the memory of the control unit, which makes it an intelligent whole.

The delivery box can be controlled and monitored, for example, by telephone or by a computer. Reprogramming of the delivery box may also take place through a data network.

In the following, the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying figures 1 to 6, to the details of which the invention is, however, not intended to be narrowly confined.

Figure 1 is an axonometric view of a delivery box which is suitable for unattended receiving of delivered goods and which is intended to be located in the open air.

Figure 2 shows the delivery box from the front with doors removed.

Figure 3 shows the delivery box of Fig. 2 from the side with a side wall removed.

Figure 4 shows the delivery box of Fig. 2 from the rear with a rear plate removed.

Figure 5 shows the delivery box of Fig. 2 from above with a top wall removed.

Figure 6 illustrates the operations of a control unit of the delivery box.

The delivery box 1 shown in Figs. 1-5 comprises a box which is impervious in structure and which is formed of walls 2 and doors 7 made of a weatherproof material. The impervious structure needs, on the one hand, to be heat-retaining, which is achieved by means of a thermal insulation layer of the walls 2 and of the doors 7, and, on the other hand, it must enable moisture, micro-organisms, dirt and other adverse factors to be kept outside the delivery box 1, which can be affected, among other things, by selection of wall materials, joints, and seals. The doors 7 of the delivery box are provided with seals 19, which must also be weatherproof. The term weatherproof refers to materials and structures that maintain their capability to function in conditions with varying moisture

and in a wide temperature range. Advantageously, in connection with the front wall of the delivery box 1 there are arranged local heating resistors or other heating means (not shown), the function of which is to ensure that the seals 19 of the door 7 remain dry, and to prevent them from freezing in winter. Despite its imperviousness, the delivery box 1 may naturally comprise a controlled ventilation system (not shown). The parts of the delivery box containing electronics, in particular a control unit 9, are protected from adverse effects of the surroundings and conditions by placing them in a protective casing.

The interior space of the delivery box 1 is divided by means of a heat-insulated partition wall 6 into two parts, which can be divided further either by means of detachable shelves or by means of fixed partition walls 3 into compartments which can be arranged to have different storage temperatures. In Figs. 1 and 2, one half of the delivery box 1 forms the cold storage space proper, which is divided further by means of a partition wall 3 into a freezing compartment C and a refrigerator space B, and the other half forms an uncooled dry storage space A. Alternatively, the partition wall 6 may be omitted, in which connection the width of the delivery box is only about one half of that shown in the figures and it is without the uncooled dry storage space.

The delivery box 1 comprises a heat transfer apparatus 4 and a control unit 9, whose position in the vicinity of the rear wall of the delivery box 1 is only suggestive in Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 show more clearly the position of the heat transfer apparatus 4 in a space remaining behind the freezing compartment C and the position of the control unit 9 in the electronics casing fixed to the rear wall of the box such that there is easy access both to the heat transfer apparatus 4 and to the control unit 9 by detaching the rear plate of the delivery box 1.

Differing from a conventional refrigerator structure, the heat transfer apparatus 4 comprises both cooling means and heating means. As cooling and heating means it is possible to use devices known in themselves in the state of the art, such as, for example, a refrigeration compressor and a heating resistor. The control unit 9 has been arranged to control their operation based on temperatures measured from the compartments and on

preset target temperatures in order to maintain the temperatures of the storage compartments within a desired range independently of the temperature of the open air. A temperature detector 13,-13c has been placed in each storage compartment A-C for measurement of temperature.

Fig. 1 illustrates in outline detector devices 12 which have been placed in the compartments A and B and the function of which is to detect whether there are any articles in the compartment or whether it is empty. The compartments may also be equipped with a movement detector 11, the function of which is to detect the presence of a living being in the storage compartment, such as a child, a cat, or the like.

The locking of the doors 7 of the delivery box can be accomplished by means of a conventional mechanical series lock. Most advantageously, the locking mechanism 5 is electric, such as, for example, a magnetic lock. In that connection, checking of the right of use of the person can be set as a condition for opening of the lock 5. In the delivery box of Fig. 1, a card reader 8 serves as the means for identification of the person, but many other methods and devices known in themselves can also be used. The locking mechanism 5 may also be remote controlled, in which connection opening of the delivery box 1 can be accomplished, for example, based on a signal sent by a mobile phone and accepted by the control unit 9.

The control unit 9 comprises a microprocessor into which desired functions of the box can be programmed and which enables the operation of the delivery box 1 to be monitored and controlled in many different ways. It is coupled to a current source 14 through the main switch of the delivery box. In the following, the operation of the control unit 9 will be described with reference to Fig. 6 in addition to the figures already described.

The control unit 9 receives information on temperatures of the different storage compartments A-C derived from the temperature detectors 13A-13c as well as information on the temperature of the open air derived from a temperature detector 15. Based on these

data, the control unit 9 produces control signals for regulating circuits 16, and 16B taking care of the heating of the storage compartments A and B and for regulating circuits 17B and 17c taking care of the cooling of the storage compartments B and C. The operations of the heat transfer unit 4 are thus controlled in order to cool and to heat the different compartments A-C of the delivery box 9 as needed. A regulating circuit 18 monitors and controls the operation of the refrigeration device.

The control unit 9 has been programmed to collect information on the operation of the delivery box 1 and to report on any changes that take place in the operation state. Among other things, it monitors whether the delivery box and its heat transfer apparatus 4 are switched on or off, whether the doors 7 of the box are closed or open, whether there are any articles in the compartments A-C or whether they are empty, and whether the box 1 operates within a normal operating range (temperature, moisture, etc.). The monitoring mechanism 22 of the door has been arranged to monitor the position of the door 7 (open/closed). If the movement detector 11 placed in the storage compartments detects any movement inside the box, it transmits information about it to the control unit 9, which gives a command to a locking control circuit 21 to prevent the door from being locked. It is also possible to couple to the control unit 9 devices for identifying the person who is opening the door (for example, the card reader 8 in Fig. 1). A mechanism 20 monitoring the delivery of goods detects when a delivery has arrived.

The control unit 9 comprises a transmitter/receiver for forming a telecommunications connection 10 with a remote object, through which connection 10 the control unit 9 is capable of receiving controls coming from a distance and of reporting on the state of the delivery box 1 at a distance. Owing to the telecommunications connection 10, the control unit 9 and the operation of the entire delivery box 1 can be controlled, for example, by telephone or by means of a computer. Accordingly, the delivery box 1 can be switched on and off from a distance, the box can be programmed to allow a deliveryman to open it, or it is possible to check whether a delivery of goods has arrived. The delivery box can also be coupled to form part of the local network of the home, for example, by means of wireless radio link.

The following example serves to describe further how the delivery box according to the invention can be made use of as part of the logistical chain of perishable goods trade. The consumer places his/her order electrically through the Internet. Based on the shopping list, the supplier of goods collects the goods into a shopping basket, in which the products are divided into products to be placed separately into the freezer and into the refrigerator as well as into products suitable for the dry space. The shopping basket is forwarded to the deliveryman who transports it to the address indicated by the customer by a delivery van which is provided with appropriate cold storage spaces. The destination of the order is a delivery box which is situated outdoors and in whose storage compartments the goods can be left without the customer needing to be present. No one on the outside has access to the products placed in the delivery box without the appropriate right of use. Because of the temperature control of the storage compartments, the products are preserved good irrespective of whether the temperature outside the box exhibits readings of a hot spell or is below freezing. If desired, the customer is informed through the telecommunications connection that the delivery has arrived.

The transport chain may function only in one direction or advantageously in both directions. In the latter case, the supplier of goods packs the purchases in recyclable boxes or bags which are provided with bar or electrical codes or equivalent, possibly disposable identifiers, identifying the customer, the delivery and the products. The customer in turn returns an empty box or bag and, at the same time, empty returnable bottles and cans and the like into his own delivery box, from which the deliveryman collects them further and takes them back to the supplier of goods.

The field of application of the invention is not exclusively confined to receiving of deliveries of perishable goods and to returns from customers associated therewith, but the delivery box described in the application is also suitable for use in receiving and sending other consumer goods, postal items and deliveries of articles associated with different services.