# US 10,503,164 B2 · Delivery system

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- Number: US 10,503,164 B2
- Document ID: US10503164B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/576,736
- Filed: 2017-01-30
- Published: 2019-07-18
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2016-05-02
- Assignees: V-Sync Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: V-Sync Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Takaya Ibe
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10503164B2

## CPC

- G05D 1/0027: {involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling (fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00)}
- B60P 3/00: Vehicles adapted to transport, to carry or to comprise special loads or objects (ambulances or other vehicles with special provisions for transporting patients or disabled persons, or their personal conveyances A61G3/00; hearses A61G21/00; fire-fighting land vehicles A62C27/00; refuse-collecting vehicles B65F3/00, B65F7/00; snow-removing vehicles E01H; armoured or armed vehicles F41H7/00; self-propelled mine-clearing vehicles F41H11/16)
- B61B 13/00: Other railway systems
- B65G 1/06: with means for presenting articles for removal at predetermined position or level (B65G1/12 takes precedence)
- B65G 61/00: Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for
- G01C 21/206: {specially adapted for indoor navigation}
- G01C 21/3492: {employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical (traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968)}
- G05D 1/0297: {by controlling means in a control room}
- G06Q 10/04: Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" (market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202)
- G06Q 10/08: Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
- G06Q 10/083: Shipping
- B65G 1/0478: {for matrix-arrangements}
- B65G 1/133: the circuit being confined in a horizontal plane
- B65G 1/1375: {the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck}
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- B60P: VEHICLES ADAPTED FOR LOAD TRANSPORTATION OR TO TRANSPORT, TO CARRY, OR TO COMPRISE SPECIAL LOADS OR OBJECTS (vehicles with special provisions for transporting patients or disabled persons, or their personal conveyances A61G3/00)
- B61B: RAILWAY SYSTEMS; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (lifts or hoists, elevators, escalators, moving walkways B66B)
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A delivery system includes: a delivery vehicle which can carry a delivery box; and a carrier vehicle which can carry the delivery vehicle thereon, the carrier vehicle including a storage container which can store delivery boxes, the carrier vehicle including a conveyance control mechanism which performs conveyance control to convey the delivery box located at a predetermined storage location in the storage container to a storage location different from the predetermined storage location, the conveyance control mechanism performing the conveyance control to convey the delivery box to a receipt location at which the delivery vehicle can receive the delivery box, the delivery vehicle including a carrying control mechanism which performs carrying control to receive the delivery box from the carrier vehicle at the receipt location and to carry the received delivery box thereon, wherein the delivery vehicle deliveries to the delivery destination the delivery box carried on the delivery vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A delivery system comprising:
a delivery vehicle configured to be able to carry a delivery box to be delivered to a delivery destination; and
a carrier vehicle configured to be able to carry the delivery vehicle thereon, the carrier vehicle including a storage container configured to be able to store one or more delivery boxes,
the carrier vehicle including a conveyance control mechanism configured to perform conveyance control to convey the delivery box located at a predetermined storage location in the storage container to a storage location different from the predetermined storage location, the conveyance control mechanism performing the conveyance control to convey the delivery box to a receipt location at which the delivery vehicle can receive the delivery box, and
the delivery vehicle including a carrying control mechanism configured to perform carrying control to receive the delivery box from the carrier vehicle at the receipt location and to carry the received delivery box thereon,
wherein the delivery vehicle delivers to the delivery destination the delivery box carried on the delivery vehicle by the carrying control of the carrying control mechanism.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The delivery system according to claim 1, wherein:
the storage container is constituted by a plurality of layers and configured to be able to store the delivery box in each of the layers, and
the carrying control mechanism includes:
a holding part configured to hold the delivery box carried on the delivery vehicle; and an interlayer transfer controller configured to perform transfer control, when a specified layer having the storage location at which the delivery box to be delivered to the delivery destination is stored is full, and when a delivery box different from the delivery box to be delivered to the delivery destination is located at the receipt location, the interlayer transfer controller performing the transfer control to hold the different delivery box located at the receipt location by the holding part to transfer the different delivery box to a layer different from the specified layer.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The delivery system according to claim 2, wherein:
the holding part is configured to be able to move up and down with respect to the plurality of layers; and
the interlayer transfer controller performs the transfer control to move the holding part holding the different delivery box up and down to transfer the different delivery box to a layer different from the layer in which the delivery box received from the carrier vehicle is stored.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The delivery system according to claim 2, wherein the conveyance control mechanism includes:
a first conveyor provided at least in the receipt location and configured to convey the delivery box in a front-to-back direction and a width direction of the carrier vehicle;
a second conveyor provided at least at a storage location different from the receipt location and configured to convey the delivery box in the front-to-back direction of the carrier vehicle; and
a conveyance controller configured to perform conveyance control to convey the delivery box by controlling at least one of the first conveyor and the second conveyor.

### Claim 5

A delivery system comprising:
a delivery vehicle configured to carry a delivery box to be delivered to a delivery destination; and
a carrier vehicle configured to carry the delivery vehicle thereon, the carrier vehicle including:
an automated warehouse configured to store a plurality of delivery boxes and change locations of the plurality of delivery boxes; and
a controller configured to control the automated warehouse such that the delivery box to be delivered to the delivery destination is located at a receipt location at which the delivery vehicle can receive the delivery box by the time the delivery vehicle gets out of the carrier vehicle at a relay point on a delivery route from a shipping place to the delivery destination, and
the delivery vehicle carries the delivery box to be delivered to the delivery destination thereon upon receiving the delivery box located at the receipt location;
the delivery vehicle gets out of the carrier vehicle when the carrier vehicle arrives at the relay point for the delivery destination; and
the delivery vehicle travels on the delivery route from the relay point to the delivery destination to deliver the delivery box to the delivery destination.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The delivery system according to claim 5, wherein:
the automated warehouse can store the plurality of delivery boxes to be delivered to a plurality of delivery destinations, respectively; and
the controller controls the automated warehouse such that the plurality of delivery boxes to be delivered to the plurality of delivery destinations are located in the receipt region in a delivering order according to the delivery destination.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The delivery system according to claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine whether or not to change the delivery destination;
change the delivering order according to the changed delivery destination when determining to change the delivery destination; and
control the automated warehouse to locate each of the delivery boxes in the receipt location in the changed delivering order.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The delivery system according to claim 7, wherein the controller determines whether or not to change the delivery destination, based on at least one of traffic information and road information on the delivery route.