Device for storing and/or retrieving objects

• US 4,563,120 A
• Filed: 03/29/1983
• Issued: 01/07/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Diebold Incorporated (Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated), Utah Piero G. Ruffinengo, Bountiful
• Original Assignee: Maatel
• Inventors: Josserand, Marie R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheridan, Robert G.
• Application Number:
  US06/480,032
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• Field of Search: 414/273, 414/274, 414/278, 414/280, 414/786, 414/276
• US Class Current: 414/273
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0435 with pulling or pushing means on either stacking crane or stacking area
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1371 with data records
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/069 by box-like containers, e.g. videocassettes, books
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 194/906 Video cassette vendor

Abstract

The device (1) consists of a carriage (10) which can move in front of a set of storage supports (2), with this carriage being movable along an upright (11) which is itself movable along cross members (25, 26) and carrying means (35) for moving the object from the set of storage supports (2) onto the carriage (10) and/or from the carriage (10) into the set of storage supports (2), with a set of electronic control and/or management circuits being provided to operate the means of moving the said upright (11) and the said carriage as well as the means (35) for moving the object so as to move the object up to a location in the set of storage supports and vice versa.

Application to storing cassettes or books.

Claims

1. Apparatus for conveying individual objects between a service station and the compartments of a set of storage supports, said objects being provided with identifying codes, comprising,

a set of storage supports having an access face in front of which the object to be conveyed is moved and having storage compartments for receiving said objects,

a set of electronic circuits for controlling said conveying apparatus,

a code means carried by each object to be stored in said set of storage supports,

code reading means for detecting the code of said objects,

a set of memories for keeping in memory the code of each object stored in a compartment of said set of storage supports and the code of this compartment, so as to have in memory the code of each compartment associated to the code of the object which is therein and an image of the occupied and/or unoccupied compartments of said set of storage supports,

an interface for entering the code of one of the objects placed in said set of storage supports,

a micro computer means linked to the interface and to the set of memories for managing thereof, said micro computer means being operable to control said conveying means to convey the object whose code has been entered on the interface to the service station from the compartment having the code associated to the code of this object,

said micro computer also being operable, when the apparatus is storing objects, to select an unoccupied compartment for an object and to control the conveying means to store the object in said selected compartment,

said apparatus having a carriage which is movable in front of the access face of said set of storage supports, and drive means for moving an object carried by the carriage from the carriage to its location in the set of storage supports and vice versa, said carriage carrying the code reading means for reading the code of the objects.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 having a beam along which the said carriage can move, drive means for moving the carriage along the beam, guide means along which the said beam can move roughly parallel to itself, and drive means for moving said beam along said guide means, transfer means for moving an object from the carriage into the set of storage supports and vice versa, said transfer means being carried by said carriage and comprising a belt provided with a lug which can enter a cavity in the object in order to move the object, and means for driving the belt in both directions.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 for conveying individual objects which are provided with external lug-receiving cavities, said apparatus having a beam along which the said carriage can move, said drive means being operable to move the carriage along the beam, guide means for guiding the beam for movement generally parallel to itself, said drive means also being operable to move said beam along said guide means, transfer means for moving an object from the carriage into the set of storage supports and vice versa, said carriage having two lateral guides forming a channel for receiving the objects, said transfer means being carried by said carriage and comprising an endless belt having a top side extending under said channel and provided with a transferring lug which extends outwards, said lug being operable to enter a cavity in the object when moving upwards and to leave the cavity when moving downwards in order to move the object, and means for driving the belt in both directions.