阅读说明：本技术 物流器具及物流器具空满状态识别方法 (Logistics appliance and empty and full state identification method thereof ) 是由 不公告发明人 于 2017-06-26 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及物流领域,公开了一种物流器具及物流器具空满状态识别方法。高效率而准确地实现空满状态的自动识别。本发明中,包括：底座和四面的侧板；底座和侧板之间设置有折叠机构,使得侧板可以向底座折叠；底座和至少一块侧板上分别设置短距无线发送模块和短距无线接收模块；短距无线发送模块用于发送表示物流器具的标识的无线信号；判决器,用于检测短距无线接收模块当前能否收到短距无线发送模块发送的标识,如果能够收到则输出表示空状态的电信号,否则输出表示满状态的电信号。(The invention relates to the field of logistics and discloses a logistics appliance and a method for identifying the empty and full states of the logistics appliance. The automatic recognition of the empty and full states is efficiently and accurately realized. The invention comprises the following steps: a base and four side panels; a folding mechanism is arranged between the base and the side plate, so that the side plate can be folded towards the base; the base and at least one side plate are respectively provided with a short-distance wireless transmitting module and a short-distance wireless receiving module; the short-distance wireless transmitting module is used for transmitting a wireless signal representing the identification of the logistics appliance; and the judger is used for detecting whether the short-distance wireless receiving module can receive the identifier sent by the short-distance wireless sending module at present, outputting an electric signal indicating an empty state if the short-distance wireless receiving module can receive the identifier, and otherwise, outputting an electric signal indicating a full state.)

1. A logistics apparatus, having two structural states of a full state and an empty state, the logistics apparatus comprising:

a plurality of plates combined into a space for loading goods in the full state, the plurality of plates being folded in a space-saving manner in the empty state;

the plurality of boards comprise a first board provided with a first wireless transmitting module and a second board provided with a wireless receiving module, so that the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the full state is greater than D, and the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the empty state is less than D, wherein D is the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module; the first wireless sending module and the wireless receiving module are paired and bound in advance;

the first wireless transmission module is used for transmitting a wireless signal representing the identification of the logistics appliance;

and the decision device is used for detecting whether the wireless receiving module can receive the wireless signal currently, outputting an electric signal indicating an empty state if the wireless receiving module can receive the wireless signal, and otherwise, outputting an electric signal indicating a full state.

2. The logistics apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logistics apparatus is a box, the flow diverter has only four side panels, and the plurality of panels are a plurality of side panels of the logistics apparatus.

3. The logistics apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logistics apparatus is a folding basket or an intermediate bulk container without a lid, the plurality of panels comprises a base and a plurality of side panels of the logistics apparatus; the first plate is a side plate of the logistics appliance, and the second plate is a base of the logistics appliance.

4. The logistics apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logistics apparatus is an intermediate bulk container having a lid, and wherein the plurality of panels comprises a base and a cover of the logistics apparatus; the first plate is a cover plate of the logistics appliance and the second plate is a base plate of the logistics appliance, or the first plate is a base plate of the logistics appliance and the second plate is a cover plate of the logistics appliance.

5. The logistics apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logistics apparatus is a covered intermediate bulk container and the plurality of panels comprises a cover panel and a plurality of side panels of the logistics apparatus; the first plate is a side plate of the logistics apparatus and the second plate is a cover plate of the logistics apparatus.

6. The logistics apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

and the second wireless sending module is electrically connected with the decision device and used for sending the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to a cloud server.

7. The logistics apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first wireless transmission module is a passive RFID tag, or an NFC tag, or an active RFID tag, or an ibeacon tag.

8. The logistics apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a sensor module, wherein an output of the sensor module is electrically connected to an input of the second wireless transmission module, and information output by the sensor module is transmitted to the cloud server through the second wireless transmission module.

9. A logistics appliance is characterized by having two structural states of a full state and an empty state, the logistics appliance comprises a plurality of plates, the plates are combined into a space for loading goods in the full state, and the plates are folded in a space-saving manner in the empty state; the plurality of boards comprise a first board provided with a first wireless transmitting module and a second board provided with a wireless receiving module, so that the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the full state is greater than D, and the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the empty state is less than D, wherein D is the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module; the first wireless sending module and the wireless receiving module are paired and bound in advance; the method comprises the following steps:

the first wireless transmission module transmits the identification of the logistics appliance;

and judging whether the wireless receiving module can receive the identifier sent by the first wireless sending module at present, if so, judging the wireless receiving module to be in an empty state, otherwise, judging the wireless receiving module to be in a full state.

10. The method for identifying the empty and full states of the logistics apparatus of claim 9, wherein the logistics apparatus further comprises a second wireless transmission module;

further comprising the steps of:

the second wireless sending module sends the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal to a cloud server.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of logistics, in particular to a technology for identifying the empty and full states of a logistics appliance.

Background

In order to save social resources and reduce logistics cost, recyclable logistics devices are currently provided for merchants with needs to share and use. In order to better realize the dispatching of the logistics appliances, the position of each logistics appliance and the empty and full state need to be known. The current technology for realizing positioning is mature, but how to conveniently and reliably judge whether each logistics appliance is in an empty state or a full state is still a challenge at present, and a common method is to register and investigate in a manual mode, but the method is high in cost and low in efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a logistics appliance and a method for identifying the empty and full states of the logistics appliance, which can efficiently and accurately realize the automatic identification of the empty and full states.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present application discloses a logistics apparatus, has two kinds of structural states of full state and empty state, and this logistics apparatus includes:

a plurality of plates combined into a space for loading goods in the full state, the plurality of plates being folded in a space-saving manner in the empty state;

the multiple boards comprise a first board provided with a first wireless transmitting module and a second board provided with a wireless receiving module, wherein the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the full state is greater than D, and the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the empty state is less than D, wherein D is the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module;

the first wireless transmission module is used for transmitting a wireless signal representing the identification of the logistics appliance;

and the decision device is used for detecting whether the wireless receiving module can receive the wireless signal currently, outputting an electric signal indicating an empty state if the wireless receiving module can receive the wireless signal, and otherwise, outputting an electric signal indicating a full state.

In a preferred embodiment, the logistics apparatus has only four side plates, and the plurality of plates are a plurality of side plates of the logistics apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of panels comprises a base and a plurality of side panels of the logistics apparatus; the first panel is a side panel of the logistics apparatus and the second panel is a base of the logistics apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of plates comprises a base plate and a cover plate of the logistics apparatus; the first plate is a cover plate of the logistics apparatus and the second plate is a base plate of the logistics apparatus, or the first plate is a base plate of the logistics apparatus and the second plate is a cover plate of the logistics apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of plates comprise a cover plate and a plurality of side plates of the logistics appliance; the first panel is a side panel of the logistics apparatus and the second panel is a cover panel of the logistics apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises the following steps:

and the second wireless sending module is electrically connected with the decision device and is used for sending the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server.

In a preferred embodiment, the first wireless transmission module is a passive RFID tag, or an NFC tag, or an active RFID tag, or an ibeacon tag.

In a preferred embodiment, the cloud server further comprises a sensor module, an output end of the sensor module is electrically connected with an input end of the second wireless sending module, and information output by the sensor module is sent to the cloud server through the second wireless sending module.

The application discloses a method for identifying an empty and full state of a logistics appliance, wherein the logistics appliance has two structural states of a full state and an empty state, the logistics appliance comprises a plurality of plates, the plurality of plates are combined into a space for loading goods in the full state, and the plurality of plates are folded in a space-saving mode in the empty state; the plurality of boards comprise a first board provided with a first wireless transmitting module and a second board provided with a wireless receiving module, so that the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the full state is greater than D, and the linear distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the empty state is less than D, wherein D is the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module; the method comprises the following steps:

the first wireless transmission module transmits the identification of the logistics appliance;

and judging whether the wireless receiving module can receive the identifier sent by the first wireless sending module currently, if so, judging the wireless receiving module to be in an empty state, otherwise, judging the wireless receiving module to be in a full state.

In a preferred example, the logistics appliance further comprises a second wireless transmission module;

further comprising the steps of:

the second wireless sending module sends the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to a cloud server.

The application discloses commodity circulation utensil includes:

a physical structure for stacking, such that the logistics appliances can be stacked in an empty state;

the wireless transceiver module is arranged on the appliance base or the side wall or the top cover and is used for transmitting and receiving a preset wireless signal;

the decision device is used for detecting whether the wireless transceiving module can receive the preset wireless signal from other logistics appliances at present, if so, outputting an electric signal representing an empty state, otherwise, outputting an electric signal representing a full state;

the maximum effective communication distance of the wireless transceiver module is S, and the position of the wireless transceiver module meets the following conditions:

under the empty state stacking state of the plurality of logistics appliances, the linear distance between the wireless transceiver modules of two adjacent logistics appliances is smaller than S;

in the full state, the linear distance between the wireless transceiver modules of two adjacent logistics appliances is greater than S.

In a preferred embodiment, the logistics appliance is a conventional tray, and the wireless transceiver module is arranged in the central area of the bottom of the tray.

In a preferred embodiment, the logistics apparatus is a recyclable logistics circulation box, or a reverse-rotation nested box without a cover, or a ring basket, or a nested tray, the physical structure for stacking enables the logistics apparatus to be nested, and the wireless transceiver module is arranged in the central part of the base of the recyclable logistics circulation box.

In a preferred embodiment, the system further includes a third wireless sending module, electrically connected to the determiner, for sending the identifier of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the determiner to the cloud server.

The application discloses a logistics appliance empty and full state identification method, the logistics appliance is as described above, and the method comprises the following steps:

the wireless transceiving module sends a preset wireless signal;

and judging whether the wireless transceiver module can receive the preset wireless signal sent by other wireless transceiver modules at present, if so, judging that the logistics appliance is in an empty state, and otherwise, judging that the logistics appliance is in a full state.

In a preferred example, the logistics appliance further comprises a third wireless transmission module;

further comprising the steps of:

the third wireless sending module sends the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server.

Compared with the prior art, the embodiment of the invention has at least the following differences and effects:

make into the curb plate with the commodity circulation utensil and can be to the folding structure of bottom plate, set up short distance wireless sending module and wireless receiving module on the curb plate of commodity circulation utensil and base respectively, can conveniently judge the empty full state of commodity circulation utensil. The empty and full state of the recyclable logistics appliance does not need to be checked manually on site, the wireless receiving module detects that the box can actively send data to the cloud server of the background after being folded, and the background carries out remote scheduling according to the empty and full state of the recyclable logistics appliance, so that the effective utilization rate of the recyclable logistics appliance is improved.

It is understood that within the scope of the present invention, the above-described technical features of the present invention and the technical features specifically described below (e.g., embodiments and examples) may be combined with each other to constitute new or preferred technical solutions. Not to be reiterated herein, but to the extent of space.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a folding mode of a logistics apparatus in a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic pre-and folded configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for identifying an empty/full state of a logistics apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic view of a logistics apparatus in an empty state stacking and full state in a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a third embodiment of the present invention showing a non-nested type of pallet stack in an empty and full condition;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a structure with a basket and its empty stacking mode in a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a reverse nest having 4 slots in a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic stacking view of a reverse nest in a third embodiment of the invention in an empty state and a full state;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a nestable lidded shipping container according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of a stackable lidded container stack according to a third embodiment of the invention in an empty and a full condition;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a foldable case in which a wireless transceiver is respectively disposed on a cover plate and a base in an empty state and a full state according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a foldable box in an empty state and a full state with wireless transceiving devices respectively arranged on a cover plate and side plates according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of the second embodiment of the collapsible enclosure of the present invention in an empty and full condition;

figure 14 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the present invention showing stacking of nestable tray types in an empty and a full condition.

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous technical details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions claimed in the present application may be implemented without these technical details and with various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments.

The following is a description of some concepts in the application file of the present application:

the effective communication distance refers to a wireless communication distance over which information can be efficiently transferred. Sometimes, because the distance between the transmitting module and the receiving module is too far, although the receiving module can sense the wireless signal sent by the transmitting module, because the signal is too weak, the information in the wireless signal cannot be effectively analyzed, and at this time, the wireless signal is not within the effective communication distance.

RFID refers to Radio Frequency IDentification (Radio Frequency IDentification)

NFC refers to Near Field Communication (Near Field Communication)

The electrical connection means that two modules are connected in a circuit manner to transmit signals, and the two modules may be directly connected or indirectly connected with each other through another module. For example, there may be an intermediate module, such as a signal amplification module or a noise filtering module, between two electrically connected modules.

Stacking refers to stacking multiple logistics appliances together in a vertical direction.

Nested refers to stacking in a nested fashion.

Empty state stacking refers to stacking of the logistics appliances in an empty state, i.e. in a space-compressed manner in case of an empty state. The empty state stack includes nesting. Generally, logistics appliances can be stacked in a full state and also in an empty state, but the manner of stacking is different. For example, for logistics totes, the headers can be removed in an empty state and stacked in a nested fashion to save space, and in a full state, they can only be stacked simply because of the presence of the headers (as shown in fig. 4). For another example, as for the trays, in the case of an empty state, the trays can be directly stacked, and the distance between the upper and lower adjacent trays is relatively short; in the full state, other articles may be placed between the upper and lower adjacent trays, and even if stacked, the distance between the upper and lower adjacent trays is relatively long.

The empty state refers to a state in which the physical distribution tool is not loaded with articles, and the full state refers to a state in which the physical distribution tool is loaded with articles. These two states are applicable to various logistics appliances, and are not specific to the state of box-shaped logistics appliances.

IBC: intermediate bulk container (intermedia bulkcontainer). Also known as container barrels, and composite intermediate bulk containers. Is a necessary tool for storing and transporting liquid products in modern storage. The container is formed by combining an inner container and a metal frame, the inner container is formed by blow molding high molecular weight high density polyethylene, and the container has high strength, corrosion resistance and good sanitation.

Some of the innovative points of the present application are described below:

the commodity circulation utensil that will fix the shape originally reforms transform into folding form, that is to say sets up rotary mechanism between each curb plate and base, and the curb plate on four sides can be folded to the base, and a benefit of doing so is when not loading the thing, and the commodity circulation utensil can be folded, reduces the space that occupies. On folding basis, set up low-power consumption short range wireless sending module on a curb plate, the corresponding low-power consumption short range wireless receiving module that sets up on the base, wherein sending module sends the identification information of this commodity circulation utensil, if receiving module can receive this sign, explain present commodity circulation utensil is in fold condition or be in empty state, if receiving module can not receive this sign, can judge that this commodity circulation utensil belongs to non-fold condition or be in full state (stipulate well if the commodity circulation utensil has unloaded the goods and must fold to practice thrift the space). The effective communication distance between the wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module needs to be carefully set, so that the effective communication distance is smaller than the linear distance between the wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the full state, and the effective communication distance should be larger than the linear distance between the wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module in the empty state. The low-power-consumption short-distance transceiver modules arranged on the base and the side plates in the logistics appliance are paired and bound one by one, and mutual interference caused by stacking of the recyclable logistics appliance is avoided.

Alternatively, the logistics appliances are modified into a form capable of stacking in an empty state, and each logistics appliance is provided with a physical structure capable of stacking in an empty state. Each logistics appliance is provided with a low-power-consumption short-distance wireless transceiver module for sending or receiving a specific wireless signal, if the wireless transceiver module of one logistics appliance can receive the specific wireless signal sent by other logistics appliances, the logistics appliance can be considered to be in an empty state, and if the wireless transceiver module of any other logistics appliance cannot receive the specific wireless signal sent by any other logistics appliance, the logistics appliance can be considered to be in a full state. The design of the physical structure and the position of the low-power short-distance wireless transceiver module are required, that is, in the empty stacked state, the linear distance between the wireless transceiver modules of two adjacent logistics appliances should be smaller than the effective communication distance of the wireless transceiver modules, and in the full state, the linear distance between the wireless transceiver modules of two adjacent logistics appliances should be larger than the effective communication distance of the wireless transceiver modules. If a logistics apparatus is in an empty stacked state, we consider it to be in an empty state, and a logistics apparatus in a full state can not be stacked in an empty state. If a logistics apparatus is in a full state, we consider it to be in a full state, because the logistics apparatus itself has a physical structure for stacking empty states, so the operator naturally thinks of stacking empty states of the emptied logistics apparatus to reduce the occupied space. Therefore, the empty and full states of the logistics appliances are ingeniously judged through the physical structure capable of being stacked in the empty state and the setting of the effective communication distance and the installation position of the low-power-consumption short-distance wireless transceiver module. While it may not be possible to determine exactly one hundred percent, the accuracy is still quite high in the normal case and the needs of normal logistics scheduling can already be met.

The low-power-consumption short-distance wireless transmitting module can be passive, such as a passive RFID tag or an NFC tag, and the low-power-consumption short-distance receiving module is a reader for reading the tag, and emits radio waves when the reader needs to read, and the passive tag emits identification information of the logistics appliance under the induction of the radio waves. The passive tag has the advantage that no additional power supply needs to be arranged on the side plate. Of course, the low power short range wireless transmitting module may also be active.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The first embodiment of the present invention relates to a logistics apparatus. The logistics device is provided with a plurality of foldable plates (comprising side plates, a base, a cover plate and the like) and has two structural states of a full state and an empty state, wherein the plurality of plates are combined into a space for loading goods in the full state, and the plurality of plates are folded in the empty state so as to reduce the space occupation. In at least two of the boards (hereinafter referred to as a first board and a second board), a first wireless transmission module and a wireless reception module are respectively provided, a linear distance between the first wireless transmission module and the wireless reception module in a full state is greater than D, and a linear distance between the first wireless transmission module and the wireless reception module in an empty state is less than D, where D is a maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmission module and the wireless reception module.

The first wireless transmission module is used for transmitting a wireless signal representing the identification of the logistics appliance;

the logistics apparatus further comprises:

and the decision device is used for detecting whether the wireless receiving module can receive the wireless signal currently, outputting an electric signal indicating an empty state if the wireless receiving module can receive the wireless signal, and otherwise, outputting an electric signal indicating a full state.

And the optional second wireless sending module is electrically connected with the decision device and used for sending the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server.

Such a collapsible logistics apparatus can have various implementations, four examples of which are given below.

Example 1, foldable logistic utensil-folding basket:

as shown in fig. 1, the logistics apparatus comprises:

a base 3 and four side panels 4.

A folding mechanism is arranged between the base and each side plate, so that each side plate can be folded towards the base. The side plates have two states, a folded state and an unfolded state. Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a state in which a part of the side panels are folded and a part of the side panels are not folded, so as to help understand the folding manner of the side panels. In one embodiment, the logistics apparatus has a header. In one embodiment, the top cover of the logistics apparatus can be folded against the side panel. In one embodiment, the top cover of the logistics apparatus is detachable. In one embodiment, the logistics apparatus is free of a header.

Set up first wireless sending module 1 and wireless receiving module 2 on base and the at least curb plate respectively, the biggest effective communication distance between this first wireless sending module and the wireless receiving module is D, and this first wireless sending module and wireless receiving module's linear distance X is greater than D at curb plate unfolded state, and this first wireless sending module and wireless receiving module's linear distance Y is less than D at curb plate folded state. In one embodiment, the wireless transmitting module is arranged on the side plate, and the wireless receiving module is arranged on the base. In another embodiment, the wireless transmitting module is arranged on the base, and the wireless receiving module is arranged on the side plate. In various embodiments of the present application, the wireless module is disposed on the base, included in the base, and also included on a surface of the base (for example, the wireless module is fixed on an inner surface or an outer surface of the base by means of pasting), and similarly, the wireless module is disposed on the side board, included in the side board, and also included on a surface of the side board (for example, the wireless module is fixed on an inner surface or an outer surface of the side board by means of pasting). Similarly, the positioning on the top cover includes both the interior of the top cover and the surface of the top cover (e.g., by adhesively securing the wireless module to the inner or outer surface of the top cover).

The first wireless transmission module is used for transmitting a wireless signal representing the identification of the logistics appliance. In one embodiment, the first wireless transmission module is a passive RFID tag or an NFC tag. In another embodiment, the first wireless transmission module is an active RFID tag or an ibeacon tag.

And the decision device is used for detecting whether the wireless receiving module can receive the identifier sent by the first wireless sending module at present, outputting an electric signal indicating an empty state if the wireless receiving module can receive the identifier, and otherwise, outputting an electric signal indicating a full state. In one embodiment, the electrical signal may be a simple high-low level, one level indicating an empty state and the other level indicating a full state. In one embodiment, the electrical signal may be an analog signal, and exceeding a predetermined level indicates an empty state and falling below the predetermined level indicates a full state. In one embodiment, the electrical signal may be a sequence of encoded digital signals, with different encodings representing an empty state or a full state, respectively.

And the second wireless sending module is electrically connected with the decision device and is used for sending the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server. In one embodiment, the second wireless sending module is a communication module based on a cellular mobile system (such as a 3G, 4G, 5G communication system), and the second wireless sending module sends information to the base station, and the information is relayed to the cloud server by the base station. In one embodiment, the second wireless sending module is a bluetooth module, and the second wireless sending module establishes a connection with a nearby mobile phone, sends information to the nearby mobile phone, and forwards the information to the cloud server through the mobile phone. In one embodiment, the second wireless sending module is a wifi module, and the second wireless sending module sends the information to a wifi access point, and forwards the information to the cloud server through the access point.

The output end of the sensor module is electrically connected with the input end of the second wireless sending module, and the information output by the sensor module is sent to the cloud server through the second wireless sending module. The sensor module may be a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, or the like. In a logistics appliance, the number of the sensor modules can be one, or a plurality of sensor modules, or certainly not.

And the positioning module is electrically connected with the second wireless sending module and used for acquiring the current positioning information of the logistics appliances and sending the positioning information to the cloud server through the second wireless sending module. Therefore, the cloud server can know the current position of each logistics appliance, and scheduling is facilitated. In an embodiment, the positioning module may not be provided, the second wireless sending module is connected to an intelligent mobile terminal (for example, a smart phone) through communication methods such as bluetooth or wifi, the intelligent mobile terminal reports the received information to the cloud server after receiving the information sent by the second wireless sending module, and meanwhile, the self-positioning information (which can be obtained through GPS positioning or wifi positioning) is attached, because the intelligent mobile terminal is located near the logistics appliance when forwarding the information, the self-positioning information reported by the intelligent mobile terminal can be approximated, and the self-positioning information is considered to be the positioning information of the logistics appliance.

Make into the curb plate with the commodity circulation utensil and can be to the folding structure of bottom plate, set up short distance wireless sending module and wireless receiving module on the curb plate of commodity circulation utensil and base respectively, can conveniently judge the empty full state of commodity circulation utensil.

In one embodiment, the first wireless transmission module is powered by a button battery. The wireless receiving module is powered by a lithium battery. Of course, the power supply mode is various, and it is only necessary to provide enough electric energy to the wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module and ensure that they have enough working time.

Example 2, collapsible logistics apparatus-lidded IBC:

as shown in fig. 11, the upper half of fig. 11 is in a folded state (empty state) and the lower half is in an unfolded state (full state). The basic principle of example 2 is substantially the same as that of example 1 (the main discussion difference here, and many details are not repeated), mainly the difference is that, in example 2, the first wireless transmitting module is disposed in the cover plate, and the wireless receiving module is disposed in the base; in example 1, the first wireless transmission module is provided in the side panel, and the wireless reception module is provided in the base. In another embodiment, the first wireless transmitting module is disposed in the base and the wireless receiving module is disposed in the cover.

As can be seen from fig. 11, in the empty state, the first wireless transmission module disposed in the cover plate and the wireless reception module disposed in the base are relatively close to each other (the distance is X); in a full state, the first wireless transmitting module arranged in the cover plate is far away from the wireless receiving module arranged in the base (the distance is Y); and X < D < Y, D being the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module.

Example 3, collapsible logistics apparatus-lidded IBC:

as shown in fig. 12, the upper half of fig. 12 is in a folded state (empty state) and the lower half is in an unfolded state (full state). The basic principle of example 3 is substantially the same as that of example 1 (the main discussion difference here, and many details are not repeated), mainly the difference is that, in example 3, the first wireless transmitting module is disposed in the side plate, and the wireless receiving module is disposed in the cover plate; in example 1, the first wireless transmission module is provided in the side panel, and the wireless reception module is provided in the base. In another embodiment, the first wireless transmission module is disposed in the cover plate, and the wireless reception module is disposed in the side plate.

As can be seen from fig. 12, in the empty state, the first wireless transmission module provided in the side plate and the wireless reception module provided in the cover plate are relatively close to each other (distance X is set); in a full state, the first wireless transmitting module arranged in the side plate is far away from the wireless receiving module arranged in the cover plate (the distance is Y); and X < D < Y, D being the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module.

Example 4, collapsible logistics appliance-coaming box:

the logistics apparatus is shown in fig. 13, wherein the upper half of fig. 13 is in an unfolded state (full state) and the lower half is in a folded state (empty state). The basic principle of example 4 is substantially the same as that of example 1 (the difference is mainly discussed here, and many details are not described again), and the main difference is that in example 4, the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module are respectively disposed in two different side plates (in the figure, the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module are respectively disposed on two opposite side plates, and in other embodiments, the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module are also respectively disposed on two adjacent side plates); in example 1, the first wireless transmission module is provided in the side panel, and the wireless reception module is provided in the base.

As can be seen from fig. 13, in the empty state, the first wireless transmission module disposed in the cover plate and the wireless reception module disposed in the base are relatively close to each other (the distance is X); in a full state, the first wireless transmitting module arranged in the cover plate is far away from the wireless receiving module arranged in the base (the distance is Y); and X < D < Y, D being the maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmitting module and the wireless receiving module.

The second embodiment of the invention relates to a method for identifying the empty and full states of a logistics appliance. Fig. 2 is a flow chart of the method for identifying the empty and full state of the logistics apparatus. The logistics appliance has two structural states of a full state and an empty state, and comprises a plurality of plates, wherein the plurality of plates are combined into a space for loading goods in the full state, and are folded in a space-saving mode in the empty state; the plurality of boards include a first board provided with a first wireless transmission module and a second board provided with a wireless reception module, so that a linear distance between the first wireless transmission module and the wireless reception module in the full state is greater than D, and a linear distance between the first wireless transmission module and the wireless reception module in the empty state is less than D, wherein D is a maximum effective communication distance between the first wireless transmission module and the wireless reception module, and the second wireless transmission module is further included.

The identification method comprises the following steps:

in step 301, the first wireless transmission module transmits an identification of the logistics appliance.

Then, step 302 is entered, and it is determined whether the wireless receiving module can currently receive the identifier sent by the first wireless sending module, if so, it is determined to be in an empty state, otherwise, it is determined to be in a full state.

Then, step 303 is entered, and the second wireless sending module sends the identifier of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server. Preferably, the logistics appliance may further include various sensors and a positioning device, and the second wireless sending module sends data output by the various sensors of the logistics appliance and positioning information obtained by the positioning device to the cloud server together with the identification of the logistics appliance and the blank box state. The cloud server can obtain the distribution and the state of all the logistics appliances after receiving the identification and the empty and full state reported by each logistics appliance, so that further scheduling can be conveniently carried out.

This embodiment is a method embodiment corresponding to the first embodiment, and the method of this embodiment can be used for a plurality of types of physical distribution facilities in the first embodiment. The related technical details mentioned in the first embodiment are still valid in this embodiment, and are not described herein again in order to reduce repetition. Accordingly, the related-art details mentioned in the present embodiment can also be applied to the first embodiment.

The method embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, etc. Whether the present invention is implemented as software, hardware, or firmware, the instruction code may be stored in any type of computer-accessible memory (e.g., permanent or modifiable, volatile or non-volatile, solid or non-solid, fixed or removable media, etc.). Also, the Memory may be, for example, Programmable Array Logic (PAL), Random Access Memory (RAM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), or the like.

In addition, the present invention can be further improved over the above-described embodiments. For example, position state detection devices may be provided at the top and bottom of the logistics appliance (such as a turnover box) respectively for detecting whether other appliances are on the top or bottom, for example, a switch device may be used, which is forced to be in a connected or disconnected state by the pressure on the corresponding structure of the logistics appliance; the top and the bottom of the logistics appliance are provided with transmission interfaces, and the two appliances can be electrically connected through the transmission interfaces when being stacked up and down; when a plurality of logistics appliances are stacked together, each logistics appliance knows its relative position through the position state detection devices at the top and the bottom, for example, the position state detection device at the bottom of the lowest logistics appliance is in a state that other logistics appliances are not detected (for example, the switch device is in an on state), and the position state detection device at the top of the logistics appliance is in a state that other logistics appliances are detected (for example, the switch device is in an off state); the lowest logistics appliance wakes up the logistics appliance in sleep above the lowest logistics appliance through the transmission interface connected with the upper logistics appliance at regular time (in order to save electricity, the logistics appliance is generally in a sleep state until the logistics appliance is awakened at regular time or awakened through the transmission interface), and transmits the information of the logistics appliance, and the logistics appliance above the lowest logistics appliance just receives the information transmitted by the lower logistics appliance after being awakened and caches the received information; the logistics appliance above wakes up the logistics appliance above the logistics appliance through the transmission interface, and transmits the self information and the cached information; the information is awakened and uploaded layer by layer through the transmission interface from the lowest logistics appliance, and finally the information of the plurality of logistics appliances which are laminated together is gathered to the logistics appliance at the top layer; the logistics appliances on the top layer transmit the information of the logistics appliances themselves and all the logistics appliances stacked below to the cloud server together. Information transmission between the logistics appliances can use low-power-consumption short-distance communication systems (such as Bluetooth and Zigbee), and transmission between the logistics appliances at the top layer and the cloud server can use high-power-consumption long-distance communication systems (such as 3G, 4G and 5G). The effect of transmitting information to the cloud server is best because the logistics appliances on the top level are minimally affected by the liquid substance loading. In addition, preferably, a solar battery can be additionally arranged at the top of the logistics appliance, electric energy is stored in a capacitor or rechargeable battery mode and is specially used for a high-power-consumption long-distance communication system, an independent built-in battery is used for a low-power-consumption short-distance communication system, and therefore the built-in battery can be used for years, and maintenance cost is greatly reduced. The top-layer logistics appliances do not need to transmit the information to the cloud server immediately after receiving the information of the logistics appliances below, and the information can be transmitted after the charging capacity of the solar battery or the electric quantity of the rechargeable battery reaches a certain threshold.

A third embodiment of the present invention relates to a logistics apparatus, which can be a variety of types, such as a recyclable logistics container having side walls and a top, a logistics tray having substantially only one base, and the like.

This commodity circulation utensil includes:

a physical structure for stacking, so that the logistics appliances can be stacked in an empty state. The physical structure for stacking referred to in this embodiment may be various as long as a plurality of physical distribution equipments can be stacked up and down. There are various implementations of the physical structure for stacking, as long as it can be realized that stacking can be performed in a manner of compressing space when empty. Specific embodiments will be described hereinafter in which various stacking schemes can be seen.

The wireless transceiver module used in this embodiment is a low power consumption short range wireless transceiver module, such as RFID, bluetooth, etc. The maximum effective communication distance of the wireless transceiver module is S, and S can be adjusted by adjusting the transmitting power of the wireless transceiver module.

And the decision device is used for detecting whether the wireless transceiving module can receive the preset wireless signals from other logistics appliances at present, outputting the electric signals representing the empty state if the wireless transceiving module can receive the preset wireless signals, and otherwise, outputting the electric signals representing the full state. In one embodiment, the determiner is a microprocessor. In another embodiment, the decision device is a logic circuit formed by combining a plurality of gate circuits, where the gate circuits include an and gate, an or gate, a not gate, and the like, and the identification of the specific electrical signal is realized by one logic circuit, which is prior art in the field and is not described herein again.

And the third wireless sending module is electrically connected with the decision device and is used for sending the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server. The third wireless sending module only sends the empty state or full state signal to the cloud server and does not relate to empty state or full state judgment. In one embodiment, the third wireless sending module is a communication module based on a cellular mobile system (such as a 3G, 4G, 5G communication system), and the third wireless sending module sends information to the base station, and the information is relayed to the cloud server by the base station. In one embodiment, the third wireless sending module is a bluetooth module, and the third wireless sending module establishes a connection with a nearby mobile phone, sends information to the nearby mobile phone, and forwards the information to the cloud server through the mobile phone. In one embodiment, the third wireless sending module is a wifi module, and the third wireless sending module sends the information to a wifi access point, and forwards the information to the cloud server through the access point.

The logistics apparatus of this embodiment may further include various sensor modules, such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, an acceleration sensor, and the like, in addition to the above modules, and may further include a positioning module for obtaining current positioning information of the logistics apparatus. The information output by the various sensor modules and the positioning module can be sent to the cloud server through the third wireless sending module.

The wireless transceiver module can be arranged on the base, the side wall or the top cover of the logistics appliance. The material flow device can be arranged inside the base and the side wall top cover of the material flow device, and can also be arranged on the inner surface and the outer surface of the base, the side wall or the top cover in a surface attaching mode. In this embodiment, the position of the wireless transceiver module has specific requirements, which are as follows:

under the empty state stacking state of the plurality of logistics appliances, the linear distance between the wireless transceiver modules of two adjacent logistics appliances is smaller than S;

in the full state, the linear distance between the wireless transceiver modules of two adjacent logistics appliances is greater than S.

The above conditions are mainly the relationship between the linear distance and S of the wireless transceiver module in the stacked and non-stacked states. In order to satisfy the above conditions, the linear distance in the stacked and non-stacked states may be adjusted by adjusting the installation position of the wireless transceiver module on the logistics apparatus, or S may be adjusted by selecting the communication system of the wireless module and the transmission power of the wireless module.

Some specific examples of the stacking type logistics appliances are given below.

EXAMPLE 5 case with no lid-inverted case

Fig. 7 shows a reverse nest box with 4 slots for stacking, a wide shallow slot a, a narrow deep slot B, a narrow shallow slot C, and a wide deep slot D. When the upper layer box is stacked in the forward direction, the upper layer B enters the lower layer B, the upper layer D enters the lower layer D, the stacking is in an empty state, and the stacking density is high. When the upper case was piled up in reverse, upper B got into lower floor C, and upper D gets into lower floor A, and this condition piles up for full state, has storing space between two adjacent cases.

The upper part of figure 8 shows from the side the situation when the inversion nests are nested together in an empty situation, the middle part shows the situation when the inversion nests are stacked together in a full situation, and the lower part shows a perspective view of the inversion nests.

In a preferred embodiment, a low power short range radio transceiver module is located in the central portion of each inversion nest floor (either within the floor or attached to the floor surface). As can be seen from the upper and middle parts of fig. 8, the distance of the bottom plates of two reverse nests stacked together in the empty and full conditions is significantly different. If the distance between the bottom plates of the two reverse nests is K (the distance between the bottom plates is equal to the distance between the wireless transceiver modules on the bottom plates) in the empty state and the distance between the bottom plates of the two reverse nests is M in the full state, K < S < M should be satisfied.

Example 6 Belt Ring Structure-Belt Ring basket

Figure 6 shows a stacking (nesting) with baskets. Wherein, the upper part of fig. 6 is a perspective view of the belt-ring basket, the middle part of fig. 6 is a schematic view of the stacking direction of two belt-ring baskets, and the lower part of fig. 6 is a situation after the two belt-ring baskets are stacked in an empty state. The wireless transceiver module can be arranged on a bottom plate of the belt-ring basket (the effect of resisting peripheral appliance interference in the middle of the bottom plate is better), and can also be arranged on a side plate of the belt-ring basket.

Under normal conditions, the belt wheel bamboo basket can pile up with the mode of fig. 6 under empty state, and distance (K) between the wireless transceiver module of two belt wheel bamboo baskets is than short this moment, and the belt wheel bamboo basket is not placed (for example place on the goods shelves in supermarket) in the mode of piling up when holding article, and distance (M) between the wireless transceiver module of two belt wheel bamboo baskets this moment is longer, should satisfy K < S < M also.

Example 7 nestable lidded tote

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of a nestable lidded logistics box. The upper part of fig. 10 shows the stacking of the boxes in a full state and the lower part of fig. 10 shows the stacking of the boxes in a nested state in an empty state. In nesting, the covers of the various boxes can be additionally stacked together.

Preferably, the wireless transceiver module is arranged at the central part of the base of each logistics box. As can be seen from the upper and lower portions of fig. 10, the two logistics boxes stacked together in the empty and full conditions have a significant difference in floor distance. If the distance between the bottom plates of the two logistics boxes is K (the distance between the bottom plates is equivalent to the distance between the wireless transceiver modules on the bottom plates) in the empty state and the distance between the bottom plates of the two reverse nested boxes is M in the full state, K < S < M should be satisfied.

In another embodiment, the transceiver modules of the nestable lidded logistics box can also be located on the side panels (e.g., position 101 in fig. 10).

Example 8 non-nested trays (non-Precisely positioned) -Standard trays

Fig. 5 shows different stacking patterns of non-precisely placed standard pallets in empty and full states. The left side of fig. 5 shows the stacking mode in the empty state, and the right side of fig. 5 shows the stacking mode in the full state. It can be seen that in the full condition the pallets are stacked with goods therebetween, and in the empty condition the pallets are stacked directly with no goods therebetween. Since the tray in the home has only one chassis, the transceiver module is located on the chassis (preferably, it may be located in the center of the chassis). As is apparent from fig. 5, in the empty state, since the trays are directly stacked together, the distance (K) between the wtrus of the trays is relatively short, and in the full state, since the pallets sandwich goods, the distance (M) between the wtrus of the trays is relatively long, and the condition of K < S < M should be satisfied.

Example 9 nested trays (precision set)

The upper part of fig. 14 shows the stacking of the nested trays in the empty state, which can be precisely stacked up and down by the stacking structure on the trays. The precision is that the placement mode of all the trays which are sleeved together is almost the same.

The lower portion of fig. 14 illustrates the manner in which nested trays are placed in a full condition with goods (e.g., other types of logistics boxes) placed between the various trays.

As is apparent from fig. 14, in the empty state, since the pallets are directly stacked together, the distance (K) between the transceivers of the pallets is relatively short, and in the full state, since the pallets sandwich the goods, the distance (M) between the transceivers of the pallets is relatively long, and the condition of K < S < M should be satisfied.

A fourth embodiment of the present application relates to a method for identifying an empty state and a full state of a physical distribution apparatus, the physical distribution apparatus used in the fourth embodiment being the physical distribution apparatus described in the third embodiment, the method including the steps of:

the wireless transceiving module sends a preset wireless signal;

and judging whether the wireless transceiving module can receive the preset wireless signals sent by other wireless transceiving modules at present, if so, judging that the logistics appliance is in an empty state, and otherwise, judging that the logistics appliance is in a full state. The logistics appliance refers to the logistics appliance where the wireless transmission module is located.

And the third wireless sending module sends the identification of the logistics appliance and the empty state or full state signal output by the decision device to the cloud server.

It is noted that, in the present patent application, relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, the use of the verb "comprise a" to define an element does not exclude the presence of another, same element in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. In the present patent application, if it is mentioned that a certain action is executed according to a certain element, it means that the action is executed according to at least the element, and two cases are included: performing the action based only on the element, and performing the action based on the element and other elements.

All documents referred to herein are incorporated by reference into this application as if each were individually incorporated by reference. Furthermore, it should be understood that various changes or modifications of the present invention may be made by those skilled in the art after reading the above teachings of the present invention, and such equivalents may fall within the scope of the claims of the present application.