Method and apparatus for taking out and storing articles
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for taking out and storing articles comprising:
- stocking means having a plurality of compartments for storing articles;
carrier means for taking out articles from the compartments of said stocking means and for storing articles in the compartments of said stocking means,said carrier means comprising a rectangular-shaped housing, with an open end adjacent said stocking means, including a fixed driving roller mounted in a lower portion within said rectangular-shaped housing near the open end and a pressing roller movably mounted above said fixed driving roller in an upper portion within said rectangular-shaped housing;
driving means for driving said carrier means in both horizontal and vertical directions relative to said stocking means and for driving said rectangular-shaped housing of said carrier means towards and away from said stocking means to position said fixed driving roller in contact with a desired article within a specific one of the compartments,said pressing roller moving downward toward said fixing driving roller once the desired article contacts said fixed driving roller to secure the desired article therebetween and to draw the desired article out of the specific compartment into said rectangular-shaped housing upon rotation of said fixed driving roller and said pressing roller;
control means for memorizing a position of a compartment in which an article is stored and for controlling said driving means in order to take out or store the desired article, wherein the desired article is identified via an identification code thereon.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for taking out and storing articles includes a stocking device having a plurality of compartments for storing articles, a carrier for moving articles which is movable with respect to the stocking device in multi directions, and a control device for memorizing the position of a compartment in which an article is stored and for controlling movement of the carrier by means of the identification code on the article. The storing and taking out articles can be carried out automatically, thereby reducing operation time required for storing and taking out articles.
40 Citations
15 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for taking out and storing articles comprising:
-
stocking means having a plurality of compartments for storing articles; carrier means for taking out articles from the compartments of said stocking means and for storing articles in the compartments of said stocking means, said carrier means comprising a rectangular-shaped housing, with an open end adjacent said stocking means, including a fixed driving roller mounted in a lower portion within said rectangular-shaped housing near the open end and a pressing roller movably mounted above said fixed driving roller in an upper portion within said rectangular-shaped housing; driving means for driving said carrier means in both horizontal and vertical directions relative to said stocking means and for driving said rectangular-shaped housing of said carrier means towards and away from said stocking means to position said fixed driving roller in contact with a desired article within a specific one of the compartments, said pressing roller moving downward toward said fixing driving roller once the desired article contacts said fixed driving roller to secure the desired article therebetween and to draw the desired article out of the specific compartment into said rectangular-shaped housing upon rotation of said fixed driving roller and said pressing roller; control means for memorizing a position of a compartment in which an article is stored and for controlling said driving means in order to take out or store the desired article, wherein the desired article is identified via an identification code thereon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 10)
-
-
6. A method of taking out and storing a specific article from stocking means having plural compartments in which many articles are stored, comprising the steps of:
-
memorizing, in memory means, an identification code for each article and an address of compartments storing each article; inputting a specific identification code marked on a specific article into control means; moving carrier means to a position in front of a specific compartment which stores the specific article; removing the specific article from the specific compartment; and transferring the removed specific article with the carrier to a predetermined position and putting the removed specific article into a predetermined position, the carrier comprising a rectangular-shaped housing, with an open end adjacent the stocking means, including a fixed driving roller mounted in a lower portion within the rectangular-shaped housing near the open end and a pressing roller movably mounted above the fixed driving roller in an upper portion of the rectangular-shaped housing, said step of removing the specific article comprising the steps of driving the rectangular-shaped housing toward the stocking means, so that the specific article abuts against the fixed driving roller, moving the pressing roller downward toward the fixed driving roller once the specific article abuts the fixed driving roller to secure the specific article therebetween, and rotating the fixed driving roller and the pressing roller in a first direction to draw the specific article out of the specific compartment into the rectangular-shaped housing. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
-
-
11. A carrier for removing and inserting articles into stocking means, the stocking means having a plurality of compartments for storing the articles, the carrier comprising:
-
a rectangular-shaped housing, with an open end adjacent the stocking means; a fixed driving roller, mounted in a lower portion with said rectangular-shaped housing near the open end; and a pressing roller, movable mounted above said fixed driving roller within an upper portion of said rectangular-shaped housing; said rectangular-shaped housing being positioned by driving means in front of a selected compartment and being driven toward the stocking means to position said fixed driving roller in contact with a selected article within the selected compartment, said pressing roller subsequently being driven downward toward said fixing driving roller once the selected article contacts said fixed driving roller to secure the selected article therebetween and to draw the selected article out of the selected compartment, into said rectangular-shaped housing, upon rotation of said fixed driving roller and said pressing roller in a first direction. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
-
Specification