APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CODED, SELF-SERVICE TRANSFER OF ARTICLES

• US 3,840,103 A
• Filed: 10/24/1972
• Issued: 10/08/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Irving Willis
• Original Assignee: Irving Willis
• Inventors: Willis, Irving
• Primary Examiner(s): Reeves, Robert B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Scherbel, David A.
• Application Number:
  US05/299,951
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 312/97,97.1 198/38,177R 214/11R,16B,11C,60 221/.5,76,79,81,121,129,154,253 194/DIG.9B,DIG.4R 186/14,16
• US Class Current: 194/210
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 95/00 Laundry systems or arrangements of apparatus or machines; Mobile laundries D06F31/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/20 for washing or drying articles, e.g. clothes, motor cars
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus

Abstract

A pilfer-proof area, such as a garment storage, cleaning or checking area, is accessible from outside the area through a wall opening, normally sealed by a locked door, at a transfer station of an endless conveyor which supports the garments within the area. An automatic, coded control means, actuated by the user, causes the conveyor to halt the user'"'"''"'"'s garments at the station, where segregation means isolates them, preferably while still on the conveyor, from others and from the storage area. The garments may then be bodily transported into separation means whereupon a locked door opens to permit removal. Re-locking the door resets the apparatus. A coded receipt is issued for checking garments. A soiled garment-receiving chute is located proximate the dispensing door.

Claims

1. Apparatus for automatically dispensing, or receiving, articles, said apparatus comprising:

a pilfer-proof article storage area enclosed by a wall having an article transfer opening therein;

conveyor means, within said area for conveying a plurality of individual, distinctive articles successively along a path including an article transfer station at said opening;

segregation means including a pilfer-proof enclosure at said article transfer station having side walls, top and bottom encompassing said article transfer opening during transfer;

separation means including a normally locked door covering said article transfer opening and including rear wall means covering the inner portion of said enclosure for isolating articles halted at said station and in said enclosure from adjacent articles on said conveyor to prevent pilferage thereof;

code means, including coded indicia on said conveyor means distinguishing each article from the other; and

automatic control means, operable from outside said wall at said closure, to selectively retrieve any one of said articles in accordance with said code means, move the same on said conveyor to a halt at said transfer station, actuate said segregation means and said separation means and then reset;

whereby articles may be deposited in, and retrieved from, said storage area automatically, by self-service, initiated by coded customer identification elements inserted in said automatic control means.

2. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein:

said articles are hanger supported garments depending, at spaced intervals, from said conveyor means;

said conveyor means includes a U shaped turn opposite said transfer station to create openings on each side of the garments selected to be retrieved and halted at that station; and

said segregation means is an upstanding, enclosure normally poised out of the path of said garments but movable into said path to straddle, and enclose, the garments to be retrieved while blocking access to adjacent garments upon signal from said automatic control means.

3. Apparatus as specified in claim 2 wherein:

said enclosure is a wire cage having an access opening in its outer edge, and a slot in its upper edge for receiving said hangers, and said enclosure is supported on an endless conveyor, powereD by a reversible electric motor.

4. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein:

said articles are hanger supported garments, depending at spaced intervals from said conveyor means; and

said segregation means is an enclosure of pilfer-proof material normally poised out of the path of said garments at said station but movable into said path to enclose the garments halted at said station and block access to adjacent garments, upon signal from said control means.

5. Apparatus as specified in claim 1, wherein:

said articles are hanger supported garments;

said conveyor means includes a plurality of said enclosures depending at spaced intervals therefrom;

each for containing at least one garment and each enclosure having a vertical outer edge opening for transfer of garments thereinto and therefrom; and

said segregation means includes a pair of movable barriers each on an opposite side of said normally locked door at said transfer station, normally poised out of the path of said enclosures but movable into said path along each opposite side of the enclosure halted at said station to block access to the enclosures adjacent thereto.

6. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 whereiin:

said conveyor means includes a U-shaped turn opposite said transfer station to create an opening on each opposite side of an article halted at said station; and

said segregation means includes a pair of movable barriers each normally poised out of the path of said articles but movable into said openings to form said enclosure around said halted article, while said locked door is unlocked, to prevent access to adjacent articles on said conveyor means.

7. Apparatus as specified in claim 6 wherein:

said barriers are each an upstanding, arcuate partition mounted to rotate on a vertical axis in a horizontal plane and each powered by a reversible electric motor.

8. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein:

said articles are hanger supported garments;

said conveyor means includes a plurality of wire cage-like said enclosures depending at spaced intervals therealong, each having a wire cage insert telescopably sleeved therein and adapted to support said hangers, and includes a relatively small diameter curve therein at said transfer station to spread apart the outer edges of the enclosures rounding said curve and, said segregation means includes a dispensing compartment at said station for receiving and enclosing the outwardly projected portion of the wire cage insert at said station and actuation means, coupled to said door for extending said insert upon unlocking of said door.

9. Apparatus as specified in claim 8 wherein:

said actuation means comprises a cam face fixed at said station and hook pivotally connected to said door, said hook riding on said cam and lifting to engage the bottom of said insert to pull it outwardly with the opening of said door, then pushing said insert in the direction of retraction with the closing of said door and then dropping off said cam face to disengage from said insert and remain out of the path of said wire cage-like enclosures.

10. Apparatus as specified in claim 8 wherein:

said actuation means is coupled to said door by mechanical means, energized by the opening of said door, said mechanical means including ratchet and pawl mechanism for engaging each insert halted at said station and pulling it into said compartment, said insert being spring retracted back into its enclosure when said door is re-locked.

11. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein:

said articles are garments supported front-to-back on conventional hangers by said conveyor means; and

said segregation means includes transfer means for bodily transporting the garments halted at said transfer station away from said conveyor means and into a stationary compartment constituting said pilfer-proof enclosure.

12. Apparatus as specified in claim 11 wherein:

the rear wall means of said enclosure is An inner door, automatically closed when said locked door is open.

13. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 wherein:

said conveyor means and said storage area contain cleaned garments as said articles;

said storage area is separated by said wall from a soiled garment cleaning area; and

said wall includes a second opening, proximate the opening of said separation means, for receiving soiled garments into said soiled garment cleaning area;

whereby cross infection is avoided but uses self service in both depositing soiled garments and retrieving cleaned garments is achieved.

14. In a garment cleaning establishment of the type having an endless conveyor for advancing a plurality of hanger supported garments individually and successively along a closed path at spaced distances apart, the combination of:

a pilfer-proof wall extending along the outside of said path, said wall having a garment dispensing opening, at a garment transfer station on said path, and said opening being normally closed by a lockable door;

combined segregation and separation means at said transfer station, including a stationary compartment of pilfer-proof material extending around said garment dispensing opening to constitute a barrier isolating the garments therein from the remaining garments, and including transfer means for bodily transporting the garments halted at said transfer station away from said conveyor into said stationary compartment; and

automatic control means, actuated by a customer from outside said door and wall, at said station, and including code means, to selectively deliver the garments of the customer on said conveyor to said station, actuate said transfer means, and interpose said barrier, permit said lockable door to open for retrieval of said garments and open said barrier upon re-locking of said door.

15. The method of automatically retrieving garments from an endless conveyor in a closed storage area, from outside thereof, by means of a garment transfer member, a garment container member and a lockable door providing access to said garment container member, said method comprising the steps of:

arranging said garments on said conveyor in accordance with a code to respond to a coded signal imparted at said door and deliver the selected garments to a transfer station;

upon arrival of the selected article at said station, moving only one of said members in one direction, relative to the other of said members, to block access to adjacent garments on said conveyor;

then permitting said door to open, in further response to said signal, to enable removal of said garments from said container, through said opening, and upon closing of said door, permitting the same to lock and moving said one of said members relative to the other of said members in the opposite direction to make ready for the next retrieval signal.

16. In automatic self-service apparatus for receiving articles into, and dispensing articles from a storage area, said apparatus including an endless conveyor within said area for supporting said articles, means for advancing said articles on said conveyor to at least one article transfer station and halting a selected article at said station, and an opening to outside said area at said station, said opening having a closure, the combination of:

separation means at said station, including mechanism associated with said closure for normally sealing said opening and locking said closure to prevent access to said area through said opening;

segregation means, operable at said station, including a rectilinearly movable enclosure of pilfer-proof material adapted to isolate articles halted at said station from nearby articles on said conveyor and to prevent access into said area through said opening during transfer when said closure is unsealed and unlocked; and

automatic control means for rectilinearly moving said enclosure to segregate articles halted at said station and then to unlock said closure to permIt access to said segregated articles for removal from said conveyor.