The present invention relates to autonomous-drive or remote- controlled electric vehicles, and its object is to propose a new and advantageous configuration for a vehicle of this type. According to its main characteristic, the invention is aimed at an autonomous-drive or remote-controlled electric vehicle, which is provided with a device for automatic dispensing of food and/or medicines and/or consumer articles, including one or more drawers or doors configured to contain food and/or medicines and/or consumer articles, and a control system for enabling access to said drawers or doors.

The vehicle according to the invention is suitable for a series of advantageous uses, but it may prove to be particularly useful in situations of health emergency due to epidemics of viral diseases, wherein the population is subject to severe confinement measures at home, or in any other situation wherein it is desirable to provide a home sales service from a remote location, without requiring the intervention of an operator and without exposing the user/customer to contact with other people.

In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle according to the invention comprises a frame on which a container for containing said automatic dispensing device is removably mounted. Preferably, a sanitizing device including a UV radiation source is associated with said drawers or doors.

In an embodiment example, a payment and/or recognition system is associated with the control system for accessing said drawers or doors. The vehicle may also be equipped with an alarm system designed to be activated following the detection of an attempted break-in on said drawers or doors. For example, the vehicle may be equipped with a vision system in communication with a control center, for automatically signaling, through processing via software of the received images, the approach of unauthorized persons to the automatic dispensing system. Again by way of example, the vehicle may also be equipped with a localization system in communication with a control center, designed to report any unauthorized movement of the vehicle.

In the preferred embodiment, the vehicle of the invention comprises at least one electric traction motor, at least one electric motor for controlling the steering of the steering wheels of the vehicle, a system for detecting the environment surrounding the vehicle including a plurality of sensors and an electronic control system, to control said at least one electric traction motor and said at least one electric steering motor as a function of a programmed mission of the vehicle, communicated to said control system and as a function of the signals emitted by said sensors. In an example, said plurality of sensors includes at least two detection devices each including a body, which carries a video camera and an infrared (IR) viewer, and which is movably mounted on the roof of the vehicle by means of an articulated support system with several motorized axes.

Alternatively, it is possible to integrate multiple cameras, fixed on the vehicle roof, operating in the visible and mid-infrared spectrum.

The vehicle according to the invention is, however, preferably provided with a passenger compartment with a driving seat and at least one seat for a passenger, to also allow conventional use.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description that follows with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

- Figures 1 and 2 are two perspective views of two different set-ups of the vehicle according to the invention, for distributing medicinal products and food products, respectively,

- Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, with the body panels removed, to show the frame, the vehicle axles and the battery pack,

- Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the control system of the electric motors of the vehicle,

- Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the optical detection devices of which an embodiment example of the vehicle according to the invention is provided, and

- Figure 6 is an additional block diagram illustrating a hierarchical architecture for controlling and processing the signals of the detection devices arranged on the vehicle according to the invention, with zone controllers and a supervisory controller, on the basis of a concept of data processing by zones, rather than centralized.

Figures 1 and 2 show two perspective views of two different set-ups of the vehicle according to the invention, for distributing medicinal products and food products, respectively,

In both cases, the vehicle 1 includes a device D for automatic dispensing of food and/or medicines and/or consumer articles, including one or more drawers or doors DR configured to contain food and/or medicines and/or consumer articles, and a control system for enabling access to said drawers or doors.

As indicated above, the vehicle 1 is suitable for a number of advantageous uses, but it can be revealed to be particularly useful in situations of health emergency, or in any other situation in which it is desirable to provide a home sales service from a remote location without requiring the intervention of an operator and without exposing the user/customer to contact with other people.

In the present description and in the attached drawings, the construction details of the dispensing device D are not illustrated, since this device can be made in any known way, according to the technique usually used for automatic vending machines of articles. The entire structure of the device D is contained within a container B mounted, preferably, in a removable way, within the frame of the vehicle 1.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment example of the structure of the vehicle 1 , which substantially corresponds to the vehicle structure proposed by the same Applicant in the international patent application WO 2016/055874 A1. According to this example, the vehicle 1 comprises a reticular frame 2, consisting of high-strength steel beams 3, and a platform 4 solidly connected to the reticular frame 2, and arranged to house a battery pack 5, consisting of a plurality of battery modules 6 each including a plurality of battery cells 7. The platform 4, which is shown partially cross- sectioned in Figure 3, is in the form of a planar shell structure, comprising a lower tray 4A and an upper cover 4B, for example, of honeycomb material in molded or thermoformed aluminum, or of synthetic material reinforced with fibers, preferably obtained by a rotational printing technique (although other manufacturing technologies are not excluded).

The electric vehicle according to the invention is configured to operate as an autonomous-drive or remote-controlled vehicle. In any case, preferably, the vehicle is provided with a passenger compartment with a driving seat and at least one seat for a passenger, as illustrated in Figures 1-3, to also allow conventional use.

Both in the autonomous-drive configuration and in the remote- controlled configuration, the vehicle according to the invention comprises at least one electric traction motor M1 (Figure 4), at least one electric motor M2 for controlling the steering of the steering wheels of the vehicle, a system for detecting the environment surrounding the vehicle, including a plurality of sensors S1 , S2, S3, S4, S5, ..., Sn and an electronic control system E, to control the electric traction motor M1 (which is also used for braking) and the electric steering motor as a function of a programmed mission of the vehicle, communicated to the control system E and as a function of the signals emitted by sensors S1 , S2, S3, S4, S5,..., Sn.

In the preferred embodiment, the vehicle is equipped with at least two detection devices S1 , S2, each including a body 8 (Figure 5), which carries a video camera 9 and an IR viewer 10, and which is movably mounted on the roof of the vehicle by means of an articulated support system with several motorized axes. In the example of Figure 5, the body 8 can be rotated around a horizontal axis with respect to two shoulders 11 of a support 12, which can - in turn - be rotated around a vertical axis with respect to a base 13. A detection device of the type illustrated in Figure 5 is commercially available and corresponds to the disclosures of the document EP 667708 A1.

In the example of Figure 1 , the two devices S1 and S2 are mounted at the front on the vehicle roof and are cyclically oriented to provide the vehicle control system with a view of the surrounding environment. Figure 2 does not show the detection devices, but they are also provided in this example.

In an example (Figure 6), two front detection devices S1 and S2 are provided, located on the right and left sides of the vehicle, and two rear detection devices S3 and S4 are provided, located on the right and left sides of the vehicle. The control and signal processing system of the detection devices comprises an electronic front zone controller E1 , which controls and coordinates the two front detection devices S1, S2, to process front vision data, an electronic rear zone controller E2, which controls and coordinates the two rear detection devices S3, S4, to process rear vision data, and an electronic supervisor controller E5, which controls the aforesaid front and rear zone controllers. In a preferred embodiment, the control system also comprises an electronic right side zone controller E3, which controls and coordinates the right front detection device S1 and the right rear detection device S3, to process right side vision data, and a left side zone controller E4, which controls and coordinates the left front detection device S2 and the left rear detection device s4, to process left side vision data. The supervisor electronic controller E5 is configured to control all the aforesaid front, rear, right side and left side zone controllers. Each zone controller is thus able to provide stereoscopic three- dimensional vision data.

Alternatively, it is possible to integrate multiple cameras, fixed on the vehicle roof, operating in the visible and mid-infrared spectrum.

In the preferred embodiment example, a sanitizing device comprising a source of UV radiation is associated with the drawers or doors DR.

In an embodiment example, a payment and/or recognition system is associated with the control system for accessing said drawers or doors. The vehicle may also be equipped with an alarm system designed to be activated following the detection of an attempted break-in on said drawers or doors. For example, the vehicle may be equipped with a vision system in communication with a control center, for automatically signaling, through processing via software of the received images, the approach of unauthorized persons to the automatic dispensing system. Again, by way of example, the vehicle may also be equipped with a localization system in communication with a control center, designed to report any unauthorized movement of the vehicle.

As can be seen in Figures 1 , 2, on the roof of the vehicle there is an external layer of photovoltaic solar cells, for generating electrical energy which is conveyed towards the battery pack. The vehicle according to the invention is suitable for a series of advantageous uses, but it may prove to be particularly useful in situations of health emergency due to epidemics of viral diseases, wherein the population is subject to severe confinement measures at home, or in any other situation wherein it is desirable to provide a home sales service from a remote location without requiring the intervention of an operator and without exposing the user/customer to contact with other people.

Of course, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to that described and illustrated purely by way of example, without departing from the scope of the present invention.