Collective objects management system using R.F. object indentification
First Claim
1. A system for managing file folders in a filing cabinet, said system comprising:
- a cabinet drawer frame having a pair of electrically conductive support rails;
a pair of electrically conductive signal leads coupled to said support rails;
a plurality of file folders each having a pair of electrically conductive support arms arranged to engage said support rails so as to be removably suspended thereby; and
a plurality of r.f. circuits each carried by a different one of said folders, each of said plurality of r.f. circuits having a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and a visible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal applied to said pair of electrically conductive signal leads causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the associated visible indicator to be activated.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A collective objects management system for objects such as documents contained in file folders in drawers of file cabinets. Each file folder has an electrical circuit with a visible indicator mounted on the file folder. Each folder circuit has a crystal which is responsive to an R.F. signal of a specific frequency, the frequency being different for each folder circuit. An associated computer operates an R.F. signal generator to produce an R.F. signal at the frequency of the particular folder circuit of the file folder selected for retrieval. To aid the user, each file drawer has a visible indicator mounted on the front panel, the panel indicator being illuminated when the sought folder is contained in that drawer. The R.F. signal generator can be operated in a sweep mode for checking the integrity of the file. The invention can be applied to a wide variety of collective objects management systems, such as supermarkets, automobile parts distributors, and various manufacturing operations.
115 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A system for managing file folders in a filing cabinet, said system comprising:
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a cabinet drawer frame having a pair of electrically conductive support rails; a pair of electrically conductive signal leads coupled to said support rails; a plurality of file folders each having a pair of electrically conductive support arms arranged to engage said support rails so as to be removably suspended thereby; and a plurality of r.f. circuits each carried by a different one of said folders, each of said plurality of r.f. circuits having a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and a visible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal applied to said pair of electrically conductive signal leads causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the associated visible indicator to be activated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for managing file folders in a file cabinet, said system comprising:
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a file cabinet having a plurality of file drawer locations; a plurality of file drawers each slidably mounted in a different one of said file drawer locations between a closed position and an opened position, each of said plurality of file drawers having a pair of electrically conductive support rails; a plurality of pairs of electrically conductive signal leads each coupled to a different one of said plurality of pairs of support rails, each said pair of electrically conductive signal leads being coupled in parallel to a common signal input terminal; a plurality of file folders each having a pair of electrically conductive support arms arranged to engage said support rails so as to be removably suspended thereby; and a plurality of r.f. circuits each carried by a different one of said folders, each of said plurality of r.f. circuits having a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and a visible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal of a specific frequency applied to said common input terminal causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the visible indicator associated to said only one of said plurality of crystals to be activated. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. For use in a system for managing file folders in a file cabinet having at least one file drawer with a pair of electrically conductive support rails for removably suspending a plurality of file folders each having a pair of electrically conductive support arms adapted to engage the file drawer support rails;
- the improvement comprising a plurality of r.f. circuits each adapted to be mounted on a file folder, each of said plurality of r.f. circuits having a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and a visible indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal applied to the electrically conductive support rails causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the associated visible indicator to be activated.
- View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for managing objects distributed in an object location space, said system comprising:
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a receptacle for a plurality of objects, said receptacle having a pair of electrically conductive members; a pair of electrically conductive signal leads coupled to said pair of electrically conductive members; and a plurality of r.f. circuits each associated to a different one of said objects, each of said plurality of r.f. circuits having a pair of electrically conductive terminals in electrical contact with said electrically conductive members when the associated object is located in said receptacle, a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and an indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal applied to said pair of electrically conductive signal leads causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the associated indicator to be activated. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for managing objects distributed in an object location space, said system comprising:
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a plurality of receptacles for a plurality of objects, each of said receptacles having a pair of electrically conductive members; a plurality of pairs of electrically conductive signal leads each coupled to a different one of said plurality of pairs of electrically conductive members, each of said plurality of pairs of electrically conductive signal leads being coupled in parallel to a common signal input terminal; and a plurality of r.f. circuits each associated to a different one of said objects, each of said plurality of r.f. circuits having a pair of electrically conductive terminals in electrical contact with one of said plurality of pairs of electrically conductive members when the associated object is located in one of said receptacles, a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and an indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal applied to said common input terminal causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the associated indicator to be activated. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. For use in a system for managing objects distributed in an object location space having at least one receptacle with a pair of electrically conductive members;
- the improvement comprising a plurality of r.f. circuits each associated to a different object, each of said plirality of r.f. circuits having a pair of electrically conductive terminals in electrical contact with said electrically conductive members when the associated object is located in said receptacle, a crystal resonant at a specific frequency and an indicator activated whenever the associated crystal detects an r.f. signal at the specific frequency of that crystal, the resonant frequency of each of said crystals being different from the remaining ones of said crystals so that an r.f. signal applied to said pair of electrically conductive members causes only one of said plurality of crystals to resonate and only the associated indicator to be activated.
- View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
Specification