Article monitoring system with printing capability

• US 4,845,492 A
• Filed: 05/27/1987
• Issued: 07/04/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mark Singleton
• Original Assignee: Richard G. Cobb
• Inventors: Cobb, Richard G., Chesterton, S. Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US07/054,826
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.49, 340/825.35, 340/568
• US Class Current: 340/8.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 11/00 Arrangements, systems or apparatus for checking, e.g. the occurrence of a condition, not provided for elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/33 by means of a password
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/22 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission

Abstract

A system for storing and electronically monitoring the locations of keys and other articles, and providing a printed record of transactions involving the stored articles. The articles are held on digitally coded article holders which are stored on a storage panel and electronically scanned to determine the identity of the article at each storage location on the panel. When an authorized user of the system enters his user code and makes a request for one of the articles, an indication light is energized to indicate the location of the requested article. If the article is absent, the system displays the user code of the authorized user in possession of the missing article. A printer in the system operates to provide a printed record of which users removed and returned which articles at which times. An optional scale weighs articles such as pharmaceuticals to determine the weight of the contents that are removed.

Claims

1. Apparatus for storing and monitoring the usage of articles such as keys, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of article holders each adapted to hold at least one article;

a storage member having a plurality of discrete storage locations each adapted to receive and store one article holder;

means for accepting valid user codes assigned to authorized users and rejecting invalid user codes;

means for recording each user code that is accepted;

means for recording which article holders are removed from the storage member following acceptance of a valid user code; and

means for recording the return of each removed article holder to the storage member.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including means for providing a warning signal when an article holder is removed from the storage member without a valid user code first having been accepted.

3. Apparatus for storing and monitoring the locations of articles such as keys, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of article holders each holding at least one article and each having a unique identification code which identifies the articles held thereby;

a storage member having a plurality of discrete storage locations for the articles, each storage location having a unique address and being adapted to receive and store one article holder at a time;

means for determining for each address the identification code of the article holder stored at the location corresponding to the address;

means for validating and accepting coded requests corresponding to the identification codes of the article holders;

means for recording removal of an article holder following acceptance of a validated request; and

means for recording the return of each article holder that has been removed.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said means for validating and accepting coded requests comprises:

means for accepting valid user codes assigned to authorized users and rejecting invaid user codes; and

means for accepting said coded requests only when a valid user code has first been accepted.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3, including means for providing a warning signal when an article holder is removed from the storage member without a coded request first having been accepted and validated.

6. A method of storing and monitoring the locations of articles such as keys, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a storage panel having a plurality of discrete addresses at which the articles may be stored;

storing articles on the storage panel at the discrete addresses;

assigning to each article a unique identification code;

determining the identification code of the article stored at each address;

assigning a unique user code to each user authorized to remove articles from said storage panel;

accepting valid user codes and rejecting invalid user codes;

accepting coded requests corresponding to the identification codes of the articles only after a valid user code has first been accepted; and

displaying the identification code of each article that has been removed from the panel and the user code accepted at the time of its removal when a coded request is accepted corresponding to the identification code of an article that has been removed following acceptance of a valid user code.

7. A method of claim 6, including the step of providing a warning signal when an article is removed from said storage panel without a valid user code first having been accepted.