Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
In response to the surge of online commerce, especially during the cautious re-opening of the economy, following the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, Starship robots are delivering contactless parcels, medicines, groceries, and take-out food. Deliveries that include temperature-sensitive items, both piping hot and freezing cold. The Starship Technologies utility patent US10005609B1, titled Device and system for insulating items during delivery by a mobile robot, addresses the problems of spillage, stain and/or persistent odor of the prior art of food delivery insulation and storage. Prior art that consisted in insulated compartment walls with various layers of insulation materials, alternatively the insertion of gel packs into indentations of the storage compartment walls.
The
inventive solution disclosed in the Starship Technologies patent consists in a
removable insulated bag, designed to reduce heat exchange inside the robot’s
payload compartment. The removable bag has a 50 to 80-liter capacity. The bag
“fits snuggly”, vs. sealed, into the robot’s payload compartment. It is
secured to the compartment, and the robot lid, with Velcro (preferably),
alternatively with tape, snaps, button fasteners or suction cups, so that when
the robot lid is unlocked and opened, the insulated bag is also opened.
The
insulated bag has several advantages. It protects the robot’s electronics
from spills. It is also removable for washing and sanitation, thereby
preventing odors, stains and potential microbiological hazards. The insulated
bag may optionally be designed with several horizontal or vertical, separating
walls to compartmentalize the contents transported. For example, the bag
compartments might be used to separate drinks from food, in view of preventing
exchanges between liquids and solids, in addition to promoting thermal
insulation between items.
The insulated bag is made of an inner layer, and a preferably detachable/removable outer layer. The bag inner layer, measuring preferably between 4 to 6 mm, may comprise foam-insulating material, aerogel, air or vacuum-based insulation, providing a thermal conductivity k-value, ranging between 0.03 to 0.05 W/mK. The bag outer layer, made of polymer material, such as polyamide or polyester, is hydrophobic, in case of spills The outer layer of the insulated bag, preferably secured via a zipper, is also removable to facilitate regular cleaning.
Additionally, the bags may comprise an intermediate layer, comprising material with a high reflectance
coefficient (e.g., a foil or aluminum laminate) designed to reduce radiative
heat transfer between the bag cavity and ambient surroundings. In some
embodiments the Starship insulation bags also comprise insulated flaps that fold to open and close, adding an extra layer of insulation
where the lid meets with the bag cavity, at a juncture that is particularly
vulnerable to heat exchange with ambient surroundings.
In general,
temperature exchange will vary according to such factors as the thickness and
type of bag insulating materials, ambient temperature, and the mass of the
temperature-sensitive items transported. Roughly, the thicker the insulating
material, the lower the temperature exchange, ideally between 1 and 5◦
C, over a period of 30 minutes. Thus, the Starship robot insulated bags come in two
thicknesses, which are each used, depending on the delivery turnaround, and the
temperature sensitivity of the items transported.
The payload
compartment might also comprise heating or cooling elements, secured to the
bags. Likewise, the payload compartment might also be equipped with one or
several sensors. Preferably two sensors are included, one to detect the compartment
temperature, the other to detect the compartment humidity. The sensors are thus designed to enable the monitoring of temperature-sensitive items, in view of guaranteeing that the items
retain their temperatures during the last-mile delivery process.
The abstract of the invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 3. The patent Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the insulated bag 1 for transportation of items within its cavity 26, fitted inside a rigid compartment, or bin 100, within the mobile Starship robot 1000. The rigid compartment 100 is recited as an additional barrier between the robot’s electronics and the payload, serving as extra protection against spillage, while also preventing customers from accessing the robot's electronics. The bin 100, with insulated bag attached 1, might also be used to store the payload in a Starship Robovan (mothership), before loading into the mobile Starship robot 1000 for delivery. The patent Figure 3 further depicts the mobile Starship robot body or frame 1010, with 6 wheels 1020, adapted for land use, especially pedestrian walkways. The patent figure 3 also depicts the insulated bag lid 4, secured to the mobile robot lid 1040 with a securing element 40, leaving some space between the inner surface 1042 of the robot lid, and the outer surface of the insulated bag 44. The insulated bag 1 is also depicted with flaps 6, providing extra insulation from ambient conditions at the juncture between the lid 1040, and the mobile robot body 1010.
A corresponding image of the marketed mobile Starship robot, with its lid open, showing
the insulated bag, is also included below.
Reference
Starship Technologies Inc.
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