Vehicle based dual access refrigeration space with conveyance
AssigneesToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsPaxton S. Williams, Ryan C. Harris, Keith O'Brien
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for a dual-access refrigeration space with conveyance system. The dual-access refrigeration space being accessible from both inside and outside the passenger cabin of a vehicle, and the conveyance system capable of conveying objects within the dual-access refrigeration space. The conveyance of such objects enabling passengers of the vehicle to access refrigerated objects that may have been loaded from an area external to the passenger cab without the passengers needing to exit the vehicle. In some examples, such convention may be reversed such that the refrigeration space within a passenger cabin may be utilized by a user outside the passenger cabin.
Claims10
A dual access refrigeration space comprising:
- a cab portion located within a passenger cabin of a vehicle, the cab portion being refrigerated and accessible within the passenger cabin of the vehicle;
- a non-cab portion located outside the passenger cabin of the vehicle, the non-cab portion being refrigerated and accessible outside the passenger cabin of the vehicle;
- and
- a conveyance system configured to convey objects between the non-cab portion and the cab portion.
A method comprising:
- receiving, at a processor, a first sensor data indicating an external lid of a dual access refrigeration space has been opened and closed;
- receiving, at a processor, a second sensor data indicating the presence of objects within a non-cab portion of the dual access refrigeration space;
- after receiving the first and second sensor data, sending control data to a conveyance system within the dual access refrigeration space to convey objects within the non-cab portion of the dual access refrigeration space to a cab portion of the dual access refrigeration space;
- and
- after receiving sensor data indicating the presence of objects within the cab portion of the dual access refrigeration space, sending control data to the conveyance system to cease conveying objects from the non-cab portion of the dual access refrigeration space to the cab portion of the dual access refrigeration space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.