EP0714841B1 - Method and apparatus for dispensing objects - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for dispensing objects Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0714841B1
EP0714841B1 EP94810676A EP94810676A EP0714841B1 EP 0714841 B1 EP0714841 B1 EP 0714841B1 EP 94810676 A EP94810676 A EP 94810676A EP 94810676 A EP94810676 A EP 94810676A EP 0714841 B1 EP0714841 B1 EP 0714841B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
stack
objects
flap
driven
wall
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
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EP94810676A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0714841A1 (en
Inventor
Maurice Engelmann
Nicolas Engelmann
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Individual
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Individual
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Priority to EP94810676A priority Critical patent/EP0714841B1/en
Priority to DE69417752T priority patent/DE69417752T2/en
Priority to AT94810676T priority patent/ATE178557T1/en
Publication of EP0714841A1 publication Critical patent/EP0714841A1/en
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Publication of EP0714841B1 publication Critical patent/EP0714841B1/en
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/46—Supplementary devices or measures to assist separation or prevent double feed
    • B65H3/52—Friction retainers acting on under or rear side of article being separated
    • B65H3/5207—Non-driven retainers, e.g. movable retainers being moved by the motion of the article
    • B65H3/523—Non-driven retainers, e.g. movable retainers being moved by the motion of the article the retainers positioned over articles separated from the bottom of the pile
    • B65H3/5238—Retainers of the pad-type, e.g. friction pads
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H1/00—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated
    • B65H1/04—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles substantially horizontally, e.g. for separation from top of pile
    • B65H1/06—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles substantially horizontally, e.g. for separation from top of pile for separation from bottom of pile
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/46—Supplementary devices or measures to assist separation or prevent double feed
    • B65H3/56—Elements, e.g. scrapers, fingers, needles, brushes, acting on separated article or on edge of the pile

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method by which a flat object disposed at one end of a stack of said objects is taken from said stack to be delivered to a user, pressure being exerted on said object by stacking so that a surface of the object is in contact with means suitable for driving the object along a path perpendicular to the axis stacking in order to distribute it on request to a user, means of retainer being provided to retain the object or objects of the stack adjacent to the object to be sampled.
  • the invention also relates to a device allowing the application of this process.
  • Patent EP-A-0.339.059 describes a dispenser of objects allowing to distribute thin and flexible objects piece by piece and automatically. Since during its passage inside said device, the object travels comprising two opposite curvatures, the device described can only distribute thin and flexible objects and therefore could not be applied to distribution a relatively thick and / or rigid object.
  • a first object of the invention is therefore to propose a process thus a device for the distribution of objects, which can be used to distribute both thin and flexible objects, such as tickets or tickets than possibly thicker and / or more rigid objects, such as example of cigarette packs or credit cards, including means for driving the object to be removed as well as retaining means subsequent objects, simple in design and operation.
  • Another object of the invention is to propose a distribution device inviolable.
  • the object distribution device 1 has a face before 10 accessible to the user while all the part of the device arranged on the other side (on the right side of the figure) of the partition wall 11 is not accessible to the user.
  • the device 1 firstly comprises a storage part 12 for objects 2, these being stacked on top of each other.
  • the storage part 12 consists of four angles 13 arranged vertically and whose concave parts form the four edges vertical sides of a storage volume with perpendicular dimensions to said edges correspond to the dimensions of length and width of an object 2.
  • the stack of objects 2 is introduced from the top of the storage part 12, that it is held between the four angles 13, the objects 2 tending to descend along said angles inside of the storage volume 12 under the action of gravity.
  • the object 20 placed at the bottom of the stack comes to rest on means 3, consisting here of a friction drive roller 30 and a support roller 31.
  • the two upper generators of rollers 30 and 31 define a support plane for the object 20, this plane preferably being horizontal.
  • the axis of the drive roller 30 is driven by motorized means 32, the latter being controlled by a control unit 33 or, for a simpler embodiment, the axis of the roller 30 can be directly driven by mechanical means, for example a lever accessible from outside.
  • All or part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller friction drive 30 includes an adherent coating 34, preferably rubberized, and may include drive grooves, such as represented on a portion of said surface, so as to be able to extract by friction the object 20 disposed at the bottom of the stack when the motorized means 32 actuate the drive roller 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow.
  • the backing roller 31 is formed of any material, and pivots freely on its axis when moving object 20. It could be replaced by a stationary support surface.
  • this unit 33 controls the starting of the motor 32 in order to rotate the friction drive roller 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow, then frictionally driving the object 20 disposed at the very bottom of the stack, support on rollers 30 and 31 as mentioned above, towards guiding and retaining means 4.
  • the object 20 first passes through an opening 40 arranged between the roller 30 and the lower edge 41A of a vertical wall portion 41, then comes to rest on a rotating roller 42 free, against which it is pressed by a retaining blade 43, preferably in rubber, the usefulness of which will be explained below.
  • a retaining blade 43 preferably in rubber, the usefulness of which will be explained below.
  • the object 20 comes into abutment inside a V consisting of a portion oblique 15 of an edge of the lower portion of the wall 11 and of a portion surface, preferably semi-circular, of a movable retaining flap 44, as seen in Figure 2.
  • the movable flap 44 is slidably mounted by a slide 45 on an upper and inner portion of the wall 11, so as to close off or uncover, depending on its position, an outlet slot 16 arranged between the upper and lower portions of the wall 11 and allowing the output of the object 20.
  • a slide 45 on an upper and inner portion of the wall 11, so as to close off or uncover, depending on its position, an outlet slot 16 arranged between the upper and lower portions of the wall 11 and allowing the output of the object 20.
  • the distance between the outlet slot 16 and the vertical plane containing the axis of the roller 30 is determined so that when the rear end of object 20 arrives at immediate proximity to this plane, a sufficient portion of the front part of the object 20 has passed through the slot 16 so that the object 20 can easily be entered by the user and completely extracted from the device, as can see it in figure 3.
  • the unit 33 controls the rotation stop of the roller 30 when the rear end of the object 20 is in the immediate vicinity from the vertical plane mentioned above.
  • the retaining means 4 are intended to prevent more than one object at a time either delivered through the exit slot 16.
  • the opening 40 ( Figure 1) is limited by a lower edge 41A of a wall portion vertical 41.
  • the objects 21 and following arranged above the object 20 to be sampled should come up against the inside of this portion wall 41 and thus be prevented from following object 20.
  • a final precaution to prevent the exit of an object 21 may consist of limiting movement vertical of the movable flap 44 to a value only very slightly higher to the thickness of an object, as well as to limit the thickness of the slot 16 in order to allow only one object to pass at a time.
  • the path followed by the object 20 inside the device is rectilinear, according to the plane of the object 20, the latter never having to be curved; this is obtained by aligning the lower end of the stack with the roller 42 and slot 16.
  • the storage part 12 consists of four angles 13; it is understood that other forms of execution may be provided, for example one or more of the faces of the storage part capable of be made up of solid or perforated plates.
  • a pressure block 22 having a determined mass above the stack of objects 2, so as to have, when the stack is at almost completely consumed and there are only a few objects left, minus a minimum mass allowing good support of the object 20 on the roller drive 30.
  • a detector 17 of known technique is arranged in a suitable place towards the bottom of the storage part 12, so that to detect that the stack is soon empty of objects and that it is necessary to replenish.
  • This detector 17 can also act on the control unit 33 in order to to prevent an item from being delivered when the stack falls below a stock minimum.
  • the drive part 3, described so far as constituted of a single roller 30, can also be designed according to various embodiments or variants. Instead of a single roller 30, one can also have two or more rollers arranged parallel to each other under the storage part, each of them can be rotated.
  • roller 30 it is not necessary that the rubberized part 34 of the roller (s) 30 extends over the entire width of the roll (s), respectively of the object 20, but or could also very well have two or more rubberized portions arranged side by side side on each roll with a space between them.
  • execution drive means 3 is shown in Figure 5 where instead of roller 30 we have an endless drive belt 35, also preferably rubberized, circulating around two rollers 36, at least one of them being motorized. This last embodiment of the drive means allows in particular to bring the object 20 in the immediate vicinity of the roller 42 and the retaining blade 43, which may be particularly suitable for very flexible objects.
  • FIG. 6 Another form of execution of the training means is visible in Figure 6 where we see that the stack of objects comes first lean on a free-rolling support roller 31, driving the object 20 being obtained by a pusher 37, pushing the object 20 by its rear face under the action of motorized means 38 of known technique, or as previously, for a simpler embodiment, the pusher 37 can be activated by mechanical means, lever or push button, accessible from outside. Since the height of the pusher 37 cannot exceed that of object 20, this embodiment is particularly usable for objects of a certain thickness, for example packs of cigarettes.
  • this flap 44 can also be of a form other than circular, for example arcuate or even on an inclined plane.
  • the length of the movable flap 44 is preferably slightly longer than the length of the slot 16, so as to completely close this slot when the flap 44 is lowered. In this way, the slot 16 is inviolable and it is impossible to insert a blade or pliers therein to collect an object from it 20 without having paid the necessary amount by the collection device 14.
  • the flap 44 may include spring means, symbolized at 46 so that the flap 44 is fairly firmly pressed against the bottom; the action of these spring means 46 must not, however, prevent the lifting of the flap 44 under the action of the thrust exerted by the object 20.
  • locking means 47 controlled by the unit 33 which do not allow opening of the flap 44 only when an object 20 has been regularly ordered.
  • a additional means to prevent theft of the device is to extend the slot 16, as shown in phantom in Figure 1.
  • the next object 21 can be in positions different depending on what restraint stopped him. So object 21 can have been stopped directly by the lower edge 41A of the wall 41 (see figure 6) and therefore have not moved from the battery, or it may have is part of the exit path and have been blocked by blade 43 (see figure 3) or it may have accompanied the object 20 to near the slot 16 and have only been blocked by the movable flap 44 (see FIG. 4).
  • the next object 21 becomes the next object to be issue 20.
  • control unit 33 It is necessary that the control unit 33 be able to know its position so as to control the advance of the roller 30 only by the quantity necessary to allow the new object 20 to protrude out of the slot 16 in order to be entered by the user.
  • means for detecting position preferably cells 18 of known technique (see FIG. 1) are arranged along this path to detect the starting position of the new object 20.
  • the device 1 has been described above with an object to be removed placed below the pile, a pressure being exerted on the object 20 by the mass objects 2 of the stack, possibly increased by the pressure exerted by the block 22 disposed at the top of the stack.
  • a pressure being exerted on the object 20 by the mass objects 2 of the stack, possibly increased by the pressure exerted by the block 22 disposed at the top of the stack.
  • the object to be removed 20 being placed at the top of the stack, the pressure to be exerted by the upper face of the object 20 against the roller friction 30 which is superimposed on it being obtained by means of pressure, for example spring loaded, which act on the object placed below the battery.
  • a representation of this embodiment would be obtained by inverting Figure 1, the block 22 then representing the pressure means mentioned.
  • the method and the device described above make it possible to extract a flat object, which can be thin and flexible as well as rigid and thick, while ensuring that the object or objects adjacent to the object to be extracted are securely retained inside the device.
  • the means provided for this purpose are simple in design, with very few moving parts and allow particular to make the device inviolable.

Abstract

The dispenser consists of a drive (3) which moves the bottom sheet (20) of a stack (2) while the remainder of the stack is held in place by a retainer. Supplementary stops (42,43,44) prevent more than one article being dispensed at a time, with a wing (44) able to move adjacent to the dispenser's outlet slot (16) and acting as an anti-theft device. The first of the retaining stops (41A) is formed by the bottom edge of the housing wall containing the flat sheets, and is located at a distance from the bottom of the stack which is slightly greater than the thickness of one sheet. The supplementary components comprise a flexible vane (43) and a cylindrical thrust surface.

Description

La présente invention concerne un procédé par lequel un objet plat disposé à une extrémité d'un empilage desdits objets est prélevé dudit empilage pour être délivré à un utilisateur, une pression étant exercée sur ledit objet par l'empilage afin qu'une surface de l'objet soit en contact avec des moyens d'entraínement aptes à entraíner l'objet selon un trajet perpendiculaire à l'axe de l'empilage afin de le distribuer sur demande à un utilisateur, des moyens de retenue étant prévus pour retenir le ou les objets de l'empilage adjacents à l'objet à prélever. L'invention concerne aussi un dispositif permettant l'application de ce procédé.The present invention relates to a method by which a flat object disposed at one end of a stack of said objects is taken from said stack to be delivered to a user, pressure being exerted on said object by stacking so that a surface of the object is in contact with means suitable for driving the object along a path perpendicular to the axis stacking in order to distribute it on request to a user, means of retainer being provided to retain the object or objects of the stack adjacent to the object to be sampled. The invention also relates to a device allowing the application of this process.

Le brevet EP-A-0.339.059 décrit un distributeur d'objets permettant de distribuer pièce par pièce et automatiquement des objets minces et souples. Vu que durant son passage à l'intérieur dudit dispositif l'objet effectue un trajet comportant deux courbures opposées, le dispositif décrit ne peut distribuer que des objets minces et souples et ne pourrait donc pas s'appliquer à la distribution d'un objet relativement épais et/ou rigide.Patent EP-A-0.339.059 describes a dispenser of objects allowing to distribute thin and flexible objects piece by piece and automatically. Since during its passage inside said device, the object travels comprising two opposite curvatures, the device described can only distribute thin and flexible objects and therefore could not be applied to distribution a relatively thick and / or rigid object.

Le dispositif décrit dans la demande EP-A-0.543.559, bien que décrit pour être utilisé pour distribuer des enveloppes, pourrait aussi être utilisé pour des objets plus épais et/ou plus rigides. Toutefois ce dispositif décrit des moyens assez compliqués, comprenant plusieurs rouleaux et courroies d'entraínement nécessaires pour l'entraínement de l'objet à distribuer ainsi que pour retenir le ou les objets ultérieurs.The device described in application EP-A-0.543.559, although described to be used to distribute envelopes, could also be used to thicker and / or more rigid objects. However, this device describes fairly complicated means, including several rollers and drive belts necessary for the training of the object to be distributed as well as to retain the subsequent object (s).

Un premier but de l'invention est donc de proposer un procédé ainsi qu'un dispositif pour la distribution d'objets, pouvant être utilisé pour distribuer aussi bien des objets minces et souples, comme par exemple des billets ou des tickets que des objets éventuellement plus épais et/ou plus rigides, comme par exemple des paquets de cigarettes ou des cartes de crédit, ceci en prévoyant des moyens d'entraínement de l'objet à prélever ainsi que des moyens de retenue des objets ultérieurs, simples de conception et de fonctionnement. A first object of the invention is therefore to propose a process thus a device for the distribution of objects, which can be used to distribute both thin and flexible objects, such as tickets or tickets than possibly thicker and / or more rigid objects, such as example of cigarette packs or credit cards, including means for driving the object to be removed as well as retaining means subsequent objects, simple in design and operation.

Un autre but de l'invention est de proposer un dispositif de distribution inviolable.Another object of the invention is to propose a distribution device inviolable.

Ces différents buts sont obtenus tout d'abord par un procédé de distribution d'objets conforme aux caractéristiques des revendications 1 à 3, ainsi que par un dispositif de distribution d'objets possédant les caractéristiques des revendications 4 à 17.These different goals are obtained first of all by a distribution process objects conforming to the characteristics of claims 1 to 3, as well only by a device for distributing objects having the characteristics of claims 4 to 17.

Le procédé et le dispositif selon l'invention sont décrits ci-dessous en se référant au dessin annexé comportant les figures où:

  • la figure 1 représente une vue latérale en coupe d'une forme d'exécution préférentielle d'un dispositif de distribution d'objets selon l'invention,
  • la figure 2 représente une vue partielle du dispositif précédent montrant le fonctionnement d'un volet mobile,
  • la figure 3 montre le fonctionnement de deux des moyens de retenue,
  • la figure 4 montre le fonctionnement du volet mobile comme moyen de retenue,
  • la figure 5 montre une autre forme d'exécution des moyens d'entraínement, et
  • la figure 6 montre encore une autre forme d'exécution des moyens d'entraínement appliquée pour des objets ayant une certaine épaisseur, et
    • The method and the device according to the invention are described below with reference to the appended drawing comprising the figures where:
  • FIG. 1 represents a side view in section of a preferred embodiment of an object distribution device according to the invention,
  • FIG. 2 represents a partial view of the previous device showing the operation of a movable flap,
  • FIG. 3 shows the operation of two of the retaining means,
  • FIG. 4 shows the operation of the movable flap as a retaining means,
  • FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the drive means, and
  • FIG. 6 shows yet another embodiment of the drive means applied for objects having a certain thickness, and

    • A la figure 1, le dispositif de distribution d'objets 1 présente une face avant 10 accessible à l'utilisateur alors que toute la partie du dispositif disposée de l'autre côté (sur la partie droite de la figure) de la paroi de séparation 11 n'est pas accessible à l'utilisateur. Le dispositif 1 comprend tout d'abord une partie de stockage 12 d'objets 2, ceux-ci étant empilés les uns sur les autres. De préférence la partie de stockage 12 est constituée de quatre cornières 13 disposées verticalement et dont les parties concaves forment les quatre arêtes latérales verticales d'un volume de stockage dont les dimensions perpendiculaires auxdites arêtes correspondent aux dimensions de longueur et de largeur d'un objet 2. On comprend donc que la pile d'objets 2 est introduite par le haut de la partie de stockage 12, qu'elle est maintenue entre les quatre cornières 13, les objets 2 ayant tendance à descendre le long desdites cornières àl'intérieur du volume de stockage 12 sous l'action de la gravité.In Figure 1, the object distribution device 1 has a face before 10 accessible to the user while all the part of the device arranged on the other side (on the right side of the figure) of the partition wall 11 is not accessible to the user. The device 1 firstly comprises a storage part 12 for objects 2, these being stacked on top of each other. Preferably the storage part 12 consists of four angles 13 arranged vertically and whose concave parts form the four edges vertical sides of a storage volume with perpendicular dimensions to said edges correspond to the dimensions of length and width of an object 2. We therefore understand that the stack of objects 2 is introduced from the top of the storage part 12, that it is held between the four angles 13, the objects 2 tending to descend along said angles inside of the storage volume 12 under the action of gravity.

    L'objet 20 disposé au bas de la pile vient s'appuyer sur des moyens d'entraínement 3, constitués ici d'un rouleau d'entraínement à friction 30 et d'un rouleau d'appui 31. Les deux génératrices supérieures des rouleaux 30 et 31 définissent un plan d'appui de l'objet 20, ce plan étant de préférence horizontal. L'axe du rouleau d'entraínement 30 est entraíné par des moyens motorisés 32, ces derniers étant commandés par une unité de commande 33 ou, pour une forme d'exécution plus simple, l'axe du rouleau 30 peut être directement entraíné par des moyens mécaniques, par exemple un levier accessible depuis l'extérieur. Tout ou partie de la surface périphérique extérieure du rouleau d'entraínement à friction 30 comprend un revêtement adhérent 34, de préférence caoutchouté, et pouvant comporter des rainures d'entraínement, comme représenté sur une portion de ladite surface, de manière à pouvoir extraire par friction l'objet 20 disposé au bas de la pile lorsque les moyens motorisés 32 actionnent le rouleau d'entraínement 30 dans le sens indiqué par la flèche. Le rouleau d'appui 31 est formé d'un matériau quelconque, et pivote librement sur son axe lors du déplacement de l'objet 20. Il pourrait être remplacé par une surface d'appui immobile.The object 20 placed at the bottom of the stack comes to rest on means 3, consisting here of a friction drive roller 30 and a support roller 31. The two upper generators of rollers 30 and 31 define a support plane for the object 20, this plane preferably being horizontal. The axis of the drive roller 30 is driven by motorized means 32, the latter being controlled by a control unit 33 or, for a simpler embodiment, the axis of the roller 30 can be directly driven by mechanical means, for example a lever accessible from outside. All or part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller friction drive 30 includes an adherent coating 34, preferably rubberized, and may include drive grooves, such as represented on a portion of said surface, so as to be able to extract by friction the object 20 disposed at the bottom of the stack when the motorized means 32 actuate the drive roller 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow. The backing roller 31 is formed of any material, and pivots freely on its axis when moving object 20. It could be replaced by a stationary support surface.

    Ainsi, lorsqu'un utilisateur demande que lui soit délivré un objet 20, par exemple en introduisant un montant déterminé dans une partie d'encaissement de monnaie schématisée en 14 sur la figure, et après que le compte ait été vérifié et que quittance ait été donnée à l'unité de commande 33 pour délivrer un objet, cette unité 33 commande la mise en marche du moteur 32 afin de faire pivoter le rouleau d'entraínement à friction 30 dans le sens indiqué par la flèche, entraínant alors par friction l'objet 20 disposé tout au bas de la pile, en appui sur les rouleaux 30 et 31 comme mentionné précédemment, vers des moyens de guidage et de retenue 4. L'objet 20 passe tout d'abord par une ouverture 40 aménagée entre le rouleau 30 et la bordure inférieure 41A d'une portion de paroi verticale 41, puis vient en appui sur un rouleau 42 en rotation libre, contre lequel il est pressé par une lame de retenue 43, de préférence en caoutchouc, dont l'utilité sera expliquée plus bas. Toujours poussé par le rouleau 30, l'objet 20 arrive en butée à l'intérieur d'un V constitué d'une portion oblique 15 d'une bordure de la portion inférieure de la paroi 11 et d'une portion de surface, de préférence demi-circulaire, d'un volet de retenue mobile 44, comme on le voit à la figure 2. Le volet mobile 44 est monté de manière coulissante par une glissière 45 sur une portion supérieure et intérieure de la paroi 11, de manière à obturer ou découvrir, selon sa position, une fente de sortie 16 aménagée entre les portions supérieure et inférieure de la paroi 11 et permettant la sortie de l'objet 20. Lorsque la face avant ou l'arête avant de l'objet 20 est poussée au fond du V, l'appui apporté par la portion de surface oblique 15 tend à légèrement soulever l'extrémité avant de l'objet 20, soulevant de même le volet mobile 44 et découvrant de ce fait la fente de sortie 16. La distance entre la fente de sortie 16 et le plan vertical contenant l'axe du rouleau 30 est déterminée de manière à ce que lorsque l'extrémité arrière de l'objet 20 arrive à proximité immédiate de ce plan, une portion suffisante de la partie avant de l'objet 20 ait passé par la fente 16 de manière à ce que l'objet 20 puisse facilement être saisi par l'utilisateur et complètement extrait du dispositif, comme on peut le voir sur la figure 3. De préférence l'unité 33 commande l'arrêt de la rotation du rouleau 30 lorsque l'extrémité arrière de l'objet 20 est à proximité immédiate du plan vertical mentionné précédemment.Thus, when a user requests that an object 20 be delivered to him, for example by entering a specific amount in a collection part of money shown schematically at 14 in the figure, and after the account has has been checked and that receipt has been given to the control unit 33 to deliver an object, this unit 33 controls the starting of the motor 32 in order to rotate the friction drive roller 30 in the direction indicated by the arrow, then frictionally driving the object 20 disposed at the very bottom of the stack, support on rollers 30 and 31 as mentioned above, towards guiding and retaining means 4. The object 20 first passes through an opening 40 arranged between the roller 30 and the lower edge 41A of a vertical wall portion 41, then comes to rest on a rotating roller 42 free, against which it is pressed by a retaining blade 43, preferably in rubber, the usefulness of which will be explained below. Always pushed by the roller 30, the object 20 comes into abutment inside a V consisting of a portion oblique 15 of an edge of the lower portion of the wall 11 and of a portion surface, preferably semi-circular, of a movable retaining flap 44, as seen in Figure 2. The movable flap 44 is slidably mounted by a slide 45 on an upper and inner portion of the wall 11, so as to close off or uncover, depending on its position, an outlet slot 16 arranged between the upper and lower portions of the wall 11 and allowing the output of the object 20. When the front face or the front edge of the object 20 is pushed to the bottom of the V, the support provided by the oblique surface portion 15 tends to slightly lift the front end of object 20, likewise lifting the movable flap 44 and thereby discovering the exit slot 16. The distance between the outlet slot 16 and the vertical plane containing the axis of the roller 30 is determined so that when the rear end of object 20 arrives at immediate proximity to this plane, a sufficient portion of the front part of the object 20 has passed through the slot 16 so that the object 20 can easily be entered by the user and completely extracted from the device, as can see it in figure 3. Preferably the unit 33 controls the rotation stop of the roller 30 when the rear end of the object 20 is in the immediate vicinity from the vertical plane mentioned above.

    Vu le coefficient de friction existant entre l'objet 20 à prélever et celui 21 qui lui est directement superposé dans la pile, ce dernier a généralement tendance à être entraíné dans le même mouvement que celui de l'objet 20. Il en est de même pour les objets 2 directement superposés à l'objet 21. Les moyens de retenue 4 sont destinés à empêcher que plus d'un objet à la fois soit délivré par la fente de sortie 16. Comme mentionné plus haut, l'ouverture 40 (figure 1) est limitée par une bordure inférieure 41A d'une portion de paroi verticale 41. En principe, les objets 21 et suivants disposés au-dessus de l'objet 20 à prélever devraient venir buter contre la face intérieure de cette portion de paroi 41 et ainsi être empêchés de suivre l'objet 20. Si, pour des objets possédant une épaisseur non négligeable, par exemple des paquets de cigarettes, cette possibilité est relativement facile à réaliser en disposant la bordure 41A à une hauteur légèrement supérieure à une épaisseur d'objet et nettement inférieure à deux épaisseurs (voir figure 6), il n'en est pas de même pour des objets minces et relativement flexibles. Dans ce cas, la paroi 41 permettra uniquement de imiter à un nombre minimum, par exemple de 1 à 3 le nombre d'objets adjacents 21 suivant le mouvement de l'objet 20, les objets disposés au-dessus dans la pile étant retenus par la paroi 41. La figure 3 montre qu'un objet 21 a pu passer par l'ouverture 40 en sus de l'objet 20. La lame de retenue 43 dont il a été fait mention précédemment est destinée à retenir celui ou ceux des objets 21 en sus de l'objet 20 à extraire et qui auraient passé par l'ouverture 40. L'extrémité effilée de la lame 43 s'appuie sur le rouleau 42, laissant passer l'objet 20, mais la force d'appui est néanmoins suffisante pour empêcher le passage des objets 21 suivants. Au cas où néanmoins un objet 21 aurait pu passer par dessous la lame de retenue 43, on voit à la figure 4 que le volet mobile 44 représente une barrière suffisante pour arrêter avec sûreté l'objet 21 avant son passage par la fente 16. En effet, même si l'objet 20 a pu soulever le volet mobile 44 de la manière décrite plus haut, l'objet 21, s'appuyant sur le plan représenté par la surface supérieure de l'objet 20, ne peut bénéficier de l'effet de relèvement du volet mobile 44 apporté par la portion de surface inclinée 15. En conséquence, et vu la forme en arc de cercle de la face arrière du volet mobile 44, l'objet 21 ne pourra aller que buter contre ce volet, sans pouvoir passer dessous et suivre l'objet 20. Une ultime précaution permettant d'empêcher la sortie d'un objet 21 peut consister à limiter le déplacement vertical du volet mobile 44 à une valeur que très légèrement supérieure à l'épaisseur d'un objet, de même qu'à limiter l'épaisseur de la fente 16 afin de ne permettre le passage que d'un seul objet à la fois. Comme on a pu le remarquer sur les figures, le trajet que suit l'objet 20 à l'intérieur du dispositif est rectiligne, selon le plan de l'objet 20, celui-ci n'ayant jamais à être courbé; ceci est obtenu par l'alignement de l'extrémité inférieure de la pile avec le rouleau 42 et la fente 16.Considering the coefficient of friction existing between the object 20 to be sampled and that 21 which is directly superimposed on it in the stack, the latter generally tend to be dragged in the same movement as that of object 20. It the same is true for objects 2 directly superimposed on object 21. The retaining means 4 are intended to prevent more than one object at a time either delivered through the exit slot 16. As mentioned above, the opening 40 (Figure 1) is limited by a lower edge 41A of a wall portion vertical 41. In principle, the objects 21 and following arranged above the object 20 to be sampled should come up against the inside of this portion wall 41 and thus be prevented from following object 20. If, for objects having a significant thickness, for example cigarette packs, this possibility is relatively easy to achieve by placing the border 41A at a height slightly greater than an object thickness and significantly less with two thicknesses (see figure 6), it is not the same for objects thin and relatively flexible. In this case, the wall 41 will only allow to imitate a minimum number, for example from 1 to 3 the number of adjacent objects 21 following the movement of the object 20, the objects arranged above in the stack being retained by the wall 41. Figure 3 shows that a object 21 may have passed through opening 40 in addition to object 20. The retaining blade 43 which was mentioned above is intended to retain the person or persons objects 21 in addition to object 20 to be extracted and which would have passed through the opening 40. The tapered end of the blade 43 rests on the roller 42, leaving pass object 20, but the supporting force is nevertheless sufficient to prevent the passage of the following objects 21. In case, however, an object 21 has could go under the retaining blade 43, we see in Figure 4 that the movable flap 44 represents a sufficient barrier to stop safely the object 21 before passing through the slot 16. Indeed, even if the object 20 may have lift the movable flap 44 in the manner described above, the object 21 being supported on the plane represented by the upper surface of the object 20, cannot benefit from the lifting effect of the movable flap 44 provided by the portion of inclined surface 15. Consequently, and considering the arc-shaped shape of the face rear of the movable flap 44, the object 21 can only abut against this flap, without being able to pass underneath and follow object 20. A final precaution to prevent the exit of an object 21 may consist of limiting movement vertical of the movable flap 44 to a value only very slightly higher to the thickness of an object, as well as to limit the thickness of the slot 16 in order to allow only one object to pass at a time. As we have noticed in the figures, the path followed by the object 20 inside the device is rectilinear, according to the plane of the object 20, the latter never having to be curved; this is obtained by aligning the lower end of the stack with the roller 42 and slot 16.

    A côté du principe de fonctionnement du dispositif décrit ci-dessus, on peut mentionner certaines dispositions constructives ainsi que certaines variantes. Il a été dit que la partie de stockage 12 était constituée de quatre cornières 13; il est bien entendu que d'autres formes d'exécution peuvent être prévues, par exemple une ou plusieurs des faces de la partie de stockage pouvant être constituées par des plaques pleines ou ajourées. D'autre part, il peut être avantageux de disposer un bloc de pression 22 ayant une masse déterminée au-dessus de la pile d'objets 2, de manière à avoir, lorsque la pile est à peu près complètement consommée et qu'il n'y reste que quelques objets, au moins une masse minimum permettant un bon appui de l'objet 20 sur le rouleau d'entraínement 30. De préférence un détecteur 17, de technique connue, est disposé en un endroit adéquat vers le bas de la partie de stockage 12, de manière à détecter que la pile est bientôt vide d'objets et qu'il est nécessaire de la réalimenter. Ce détecteur 17 peut aussi agir sur l'unité de commande 33 afin d'empêcher de délivrer un objet lorsque la pile arrive en dessous d'un stock minimum. La partie d'entraínement 3, décrite jusqu'à présent comme constituée d'un unique rouleau 30, peut aussi être conçue selon diverses formes d'exécution ou variantes. Au lieu d'un seul rouleau 30, on peut aussi avoir deux ou plus de rouleaux disposés parallèlement entre eux sous la partie de stockage, chacun d'entre eux pouvant être entraíné en rotation. De même, il n'est pas nécessaire que la partie caoutchoutée 34 du ou des rouleaux 30 s'étende sur toute la largeur du ou des rouleaux, respectivement de l'objet 20, mais ou pourrait aussi très bien avoir deux ou plus portions caoutchoutées disposées côte à côte sur chaque rouleau avec un espace entre elles. Une autre forme d'exécution des moyens d'entraínement 3 est représentée à la figure 5 où au lieu du rouleau 30 on a une courroie d'entraínement sans fin 35, aussi de préférence caoutchoutée, circulant autour de deux rouleaux 36, l'un d'entre eux au moins étant motorisé. Cette dernière forme d'exécution des moyens d'entraínement permet en particulier d'amener l'objet 20 à proximité immédiate du rouleau 42 et de la lame de retenue 43, ce qui peut être particulièrement approprié pour des objets 20 très flexibles. Une autre forme d'exécution des moyens d'entraínement est visible à la figure 6 où on voit que la pile d'objets vient tout d'abord s'appuyer sur un rouleau d'appui 31 en rotation libre, l'entraínement de l'objet 20 étant obtenu par un poussoir 37, venant pousser l'objet 20 par sa face arrière sous l'action de moyens motorisés 38 de technique connue, ou comme précédemment, pour une forme d'exécution plus simple, le poussoir 37 peut être activé par des moyens mécaniques, levier ou poussoir, accessible depuis l'extérieur. Vu que la hauteur du poussoir 37 ne peut pas dépasser celle de l'objet 20, cette forme d'exécution est particulièrement utilisable pour des objets d'une certaine épaisseur, par exemple des paquets de cigarettes. Au lieu de s'appuyer sur le rouleau 31, il est aussi possible de prévoir des glissières (non représentées sur la figure) sur lesquelles les deux portions latérales de la face inférieure de l'objet 20 peuvent s'appuyer et entre lesquelles peut passer le mécanisme d'entraínement du poussoir 37. On voit aussi sur cette figure, que pour des objets relativement épais, il est plus facile de dimensionner l'ouverture 40 afin de retenir avec sûreté l'objet suivant 21. Dans ce dernier cas, il pourrait être possible de se passer de la retenue constituée par le rouleau 42 et la lame 43. La retenue constituée par ces deux derniers éléments peut aussi être conçue différemment que décrite plus haut, par exemple le rouleau 42 peut être remplacé par une surface d'appui, éventuellement arquée, sur laquelle vient s'appuyer la lame 43 qui peut aussi être constituée d'une lame ressort métallique. Comme on le voit à la figure 4, seule la portion inférieure du volet mobile 44 est efficace pour empêcher la sortie d'un objet 21; en conséquent la portion supérieure dudit volet peut être de forme quelconque, voire même être supprimée. En ce qui concerne la portion inférieure de ce volet 44, celle-ci peut aussi être d'une autre forme que circulaire, par exemple arquée ou même selon un plan incliné. La longueur du volet mobile 44 est de préférence légèrement supérieure à la longueur de la fente 16, de manière à fermer complètement cette fente lorsque le volet 44 est abaissé. De cette manière, la fente 16 est inviolable et il est impossible d'y enfoncer une lame ou une pince pour en prélever un objet 20 sans en avoir acquitté le montant nécessaire par le dispositif d'encaissement 14. Afin de rendre plus efficace cette protection contre le vol, le volet 44 peut comprendre des moyens à ressort, symbolisés en 46 afin que la volet 44 soit assez fermement appuyé contre le bas; l'action de ces moyens à ressort 46 ne doit toutefois pas empêcher la levée du volet 44 sous l'action de la poussée exercée par l'objet 20. Il est aussi possible d'inclure des moyens de verrouillage 47, commandés par l'unité 33 qui ne permettent l'ouverture du volet 44 que lorsqu'un objet 20 a été régulièrement commandé. Un moyen supplémentaire permettant d'empêcher de voler le dispositif consiste à prolonger la fente 16, comme représenté en traits mixtes sur la figure 1.Besides the operating principle of the device described above, we can mention some constructive provisions as well as some variants. It has been said that the storage part 12 consists of four angles 13; it is understood that other forms of execution may be provided, for example one or more of the faces of the storage part capable of be made up of solid or perforated plates. On the other hand, it can be advantageous to have a pressure block 22 having a determined mass above the stack of objects 2, so as to have, when the stack is at almost completely consumed and there are only a few objects left, minus a minimum mass allowing good support of the object 20 on the roller drive 30. Preferably a detector 17, of known technique, is arranged in a suitable place towards the bottom of the storage part 12, so that to detect that the stack is soon empty of objects and that it is necessary to replenish. This detector 17 can also act on the control unit 33 in order to to prevent an item from being delivered when the stack falls below a stock minimum. The drive part 3, described so far as constituted of a single roller 30, can also be designed according to various embodiments or variants. Instead of a single roller 30, one can also have two or more rollers arranged parallel to each other under the storage part, each of them can be rotated. Likewise, it is not necessary that the rubberized part 34 of the roller (s) 30 extends over the entire width of the roll (s), respectively of the object 20, but or could also very well have two or more rubberized portions arranged side by side side on each roll with a space between them. Another form of execution drive means 3 is shown in Figure 5 where instead of roller 30 we have an endless drive belt 35, also preferably rubberized, circulating around two rollers 36, at least one of them being motorized. This last embodiment of the drive means allows in particular to bring the object 20 in the immediate vicinity of the roller 42 and the retaining blade 43, which may be particularly suitable for very flexible objects. Another form of execution of the training means is visible in Figure 6 where we see that the stack of objects comes first lean on a free-rolling support roller 31, driving the object 20 being obtained by a pusher 37, pushing the object 20 by its rear face under the action of motorized means 38 of known technique, or as previously, for a simpler embodiment, the pusher 37 can be activated by mechanical means, lever or push button, accessible from outside. Since the height of the pusher 37 cannot exceed that of object 20, this embodiment is particularly usable for objects of a certain thickness, for example packs of cigarettes. Instead of lean on the roller 31, it is also possible to provide slides (not shown in the figure) on which the two lateral portions of the face lower part of the object 20 can be supported and between which can pass the drive mechanism of the pusher 37. We also see in this figure, that for relatively thick objects, it is easier to size the opening 40 in order to safely retain the following object 21. In the latter case, it might be possible to do without the restraint constituted by the roller 42 and the blade 43. The restraint formed by these last two elements can also be designed differently than described above, for example roller 42 can be replaced by a bearing surface, possibly arched, on which rests on the blade 43 which can also consist of a blade metal spring. As seen in Figure 4, only the bottom portion of the movable flap 44 is effective in preventing the exit of an object 21; Consequently the upper portion of said flap can be of any shape, or even even be deleted. Regarding the lower portion of this flap 44, this can also be of a form other than circular, for example arcuate or even on an inclined plane. The length of the movable flap 44 is preferably slightly longer than the length of the slot 16, so as to completely close this slot when the flap 44 is lowered. In this way, the slot 16 is inviolable and it is impossible to insert a blade or pliers therein to collect an object from it 20 without having paid the necessary amount by the collection device 14. In order to make this protection against theft, the flap 44 may include spring means, symbolized at 46 so that the flap 44 is fairly firmly pressed against the bottom; the action of these spring means 46 must not, however, prevent the lifting of the flap 44 under the action of the thrust exerted by the object 20. It is also possible to include locking means 47, controlled by the unit 33 which do not allow opening of the flap 44 only when an object 20 has been regularly ordered. A additional means to prevent theft of the device is to extend the slot 16, as shown in phantom in Figure 1.

    Comme on l'a vu précédemment, lorsque l'utilisateur retire l'objet 20 qui fait saillie hors de la fente 16, l'objet suivant 21 peut se trouver en des positions différentes selon quel moyen de retenue l'a arrêté. Ainsi, l'objet 21 peut avoir été arrêté directement par la bordure inférieure 41A de la paroi 41 (voir figure 6) et en conséquent ne pas avoir bougé de la pile, ou alors il peut avoir fait une partie du trajet de sortie et avoir été bloqué par la lame 43 (voir figure 3) ou encore il peut avoir accompagné l'objet 20 jusqu'à proximité de la fente 16 et n'avoir été bloqué que par le volet mobile 44 (voir figure 4). Lorsque l'objet 20 a été retiré du dispositif, l'objet suivant 21 devient le prochain objet à délivrer 20. Il est nécessaire que l'unité de commande 33 puisse connaítre sa position afin de ne commander l'avance du rouleau 30 que de la quantité nécessaire pour permettre au nouvel objet 20 de faire saillie hors de la fente 16 afin d'être saisi par l'utilisateur. A cet effet des moyens de détection de position, de préférence des cellules 18 de technique connue (voir figure 1) sont disposées le long de ce chemin afin de détecter la position de départ du nouvel objet 20.As we saw earlier, when the user removes the object 20 which protrudes out of the slot 16, the next object 21 can be in positions different depending on what restraint stopped him. So object 21 can have been stopped directly by the lower edge 41A of the wall 41 (see figure 6) and therefore have not moved from the battery, or it may have is part of the exit path and have been blocked by blade 43 (see figure 3) or it may have accompanied the object 20 to near the slot 16 and have only been blocked by the movable flap 44 (see FIG. 4). When object 20 has been removed from the device, the next object 21 becomes the next object to be issue 20. It is necessary that the control unit 33 be able to know its position so as to control the advance of the roller 30 only by the quantity necessary to allow the new object 20 to protrude out of the slot 16 in order to be entered by the user. To this end, means for detecting position, preferably cells 18 of known technique (see FIG. 1) are arranged along this path to detect the starting position of the new object 20.

    Le dispositif 1 a été décrit ci-dessus avec un objet à retirer disposé au-dessous de la pile, une pression étant exercée sur l'objet 20 par la masse des objets 2 de la pile, éventuellement augmentée par la pression exercée par le bloc 22 disposé au sommet de la pile. Cette disposition pourrait tout aussi bien être inversée, l'objet à retirer 20 étant disposé au sommet de la pile, la pression que doit exercer alors la face supérieure de l'objet 20 contre le rouleau de friction 30 qui lui est superposé étant obtenue par des moyens de pression, par exemple à ressort, qui agissent sur l'objet disposé au-dessous de la pile. Une représentation de cette forme d'exécution serait obtenue en inversant la figure 1, le bloc 22 représentant alors les moyens de pression mentionnés.The device 1 has been described above with an object to be removed placed below the pile, a pressure being exerted on the object 20 by the mass objects 2 of the stack, possibly increased by the pressure exerted by the block 22 disposed at the top of the stack. This provision could equally be reversed, the object to be removed 20 being placed at the top of the stack, the pressure to be exerted by the upper face of the object 20 against the roller friction 30 which is superimposed on it being obtained by means of pressure, for example spring loaded, which act on the object placed below the battery. A representation of this embodiment would be obtained by inverting Figure 1, the block 22 then representing the pressure means mentioned.

    Ainsi le procédé et le dispositif décrits ci-dessus permettent d'extraire un objet plat, pouvant être mince et souple aussi bien que rigide et épais, tout en garantissant que le ou les objets adjacents à l'objet à extraire soient retenus avec sûreté à l'intérieur du dispositif. Les moyens prévus à cet effet sont simples de conception, avec très peu de pièces mobiles et permettent en particulier de rendre le dispositif inviolable.Thus the method and the device described above make it possible to extract a flat object, which can be thin and flexible as well as rigid and thick, while ensuring that the object or objects adjacent to the object to be extracted are securely retained inside the device. The means provided for this purpose are simple in design, with very few moving parts and allow particular to make the device inviolable.

    Claims (17)

    1. Method by which a flat object (20) disposed at one end of a stack of said objects (2) is removed from said stack to be dispensed to a user, a pressure being exerted upon said object (20) by the stack so that one surface of the object is in contact with drive means (3) able to drive the object along a path perpendicular to the axis of the stack in order to dispense it to the user upon demand, retention means (4) being provided to retain the object or objects (21) of the stack adjacent to the object to be removed, the retention means (41, 41A) acting first to limit the number of objects (21) of the stack driven with the object to be removed (20)
      characterised in that
      said objects of the stack driven with the object to be removed are then blocked by a movable device (44) that only the object to be removed (20) is able to push aside, made up of a movable flap (44), mounted in a sliding way (45) on the inner face of an outer wall (11) of a distribution device so as to cover or uncover an aperture (16) provided in said outer wall, the rear part of said flap being arc-shaped and cooperating with an oblique surface portion (15) of a lower portion of the outer wall (11) forming a lower edge of said aperture (16), the flap (44) being able to slide under the action of a pressure exerted by the object to be removed (20), the arc-shaped part of said flap being able to block the adjacent object or objects (21) driven with said object to be removed.
    2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that one or more of the objects (21) of the stack driven with the object to be removed are retained by a supplementary retention means (42, 43) disposed between the first retention means (41A) limiting the number of objects driven and the movable blocking device (44).
    3. Method according to one of the claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the movable blocking means (44) also serves as an anti-theft device.
    4. Device for dispensing a flat object, comprising a part for storage (12) of a stack of objects (2), means for driving (3) an object to be removed (20), disposed at one end of the stack, along a path perpendicular to the axis of said stack, and means for retaining (4) the object or objects (21) of the stack adjacent to said object to be removed, said retention means being made up of a first retention device (41, 41A) able to limit the number of objects (21) of the stack driven with the object to be removed (20),
      characterised in that
      said retention means further comprise a movable blocking device (44) able to be actuated only by the object to be removed (20), and able to block the adjacent object or objects (21) driven with said object to be removed, made up of a movable flap (44), mounted in a sliding way (45) on the inner face of an outer wall (11) of said dispensing device, in order to cover or uncover an aperture (16) provided in said outer wall, the rear part of said flap being arc-shaped and co-operating with an oblique surface portion (15) of a lower portion of the outer wall (11) forming a lower edge of said aperture (16), the flap (44) being able to slide under the action of a pressure exerted by the object to be removed (20), the arc-shaped part of said flap being able to block the adjacent object or objects (21) driven with said object to be removed.
    5. Device according to claim 4, characterised in that the first retaining device is made up of a vertical wall portion (41) limiting at least one portion of a face of the stack of objects (2), a horizontal edge (41A) of said wall being disposed at a distance from the end of the stack slightly greater than the thickness of the object to be removed.
    6. Device according to one of the claims 4 or 5, characterised in that the movable flap (44) further comprises spring means (46) pressing said flap into closed position and/or locking means (47) in a closed position in order to block access to the device from the outside through the aperture (16).
    7. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 6, characterised in that it further comprises another retention device, made up of a support surface (42) opposite a flexible blade (43), the object to be removed (20) passing between said support surface (42) and the flexible blade (43), the adjacent object or objects (21) driven with the object to be removed (20) being retained by the flexible blade (43).
    8. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 7, characterised in that the drive means are made up of at least one roller (30) of which at least one portion of the peripheral surface (34) is equipped with a friction drive covering.
    9. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 7, characterised in that the drive means are made up of at least one continuous belt (35) of material having a friction drive covering, said belt circulating on at least two rollers (36) of which at least one is driven.
    10. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 7, characterised in that the drive means are made up of a driven pushing device (37) acting according to a movement transverse to the axis of the stack on a rear face of the object to be removed (20).
    11. Device according to one of the claims 8 to 10, characterised in that said drive means are mechanical, comprising in particular a lever or push button accessible from the outside of said device.
    12. Device according to one of the claims 8 to 10, characterised in that said drive means are motorised (32; 38) and are controlled by a control unit (33).
    13. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 12, characterised in that it further comprises means (17) to detect a minimum number of objects (2) in the stack.
    14. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 13, characterised in that it further comprises means (18) to detect the position at which the next object to be removed (21) has been blocked by the retention means (4).
    15. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 14, characterised in that the end of the stack from which the object to be removed (20) has been removed corresponds to the lower end of said stack, the pressure exerted upon said object to be removed being caused by the objects (2) contained in the stack.
    16. Device according to claim 15, characterised in that a pressure block is disposed on the upper end of the stack.
    17. Device according to one of the claims 4 to 14, characterised in that the end of the stack from which the object to be removed (20) is removed corresponds to the upper end of said stack, the pressure exerted upon said object to be removed being caused by pressure means (22) disposed at the lower end of the stack.
    EP94810676A 1994-11-29 1994-11-29 Method and apparatus for dispensing objects Expired - Lifetime EP0714841B1 (en)

    Priority Applications (3)

    Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
    EP94810676A EP0714841B1 (en) 1994-11-29 1994-11-29 Method and apparatus for dispensing objects
    DE69417752T DE69417752T2 (en) 1994-11-29 1994-11-29 Method and device for dispensing objects
    AT94810676T ATE178557T1 (en) 1994-11-29 1994-11-29 METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DISPENSING ITEMS

    Applications Claiming Priority (1)

    Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
    EP94810676A EP0714841B1 (en) 1994-11-29 1994-11-29 Method and apparatus for dispensing objects

    Publications (2)

    Publication Number Publication Date
    EP0714841A1 EP0714841A1 (en) 1996-06-05
    EP0714841B1 true EP0714841B1 (en) 1999-04-07

    Family

    ID=8218345

    Family Applications (1)

    Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
    EP94810676A Expired - Lifetime EP0714841B1 (en) 1994-11-29 1994-11-29 Method and apparatus for dispensing objects

    Country Status (3)

    Country Link
    EP (1) EP0714841B1 (en)
    AT (1) ATE178557T1 (en)
    DE (1) DE69417752T2 (en)

    Families Citing this family (3)

    * Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
    Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
    DE29917741U1 (en) * 1999-10-05 1999-12-16 Nagler Automaten Technik Gmbh Device for separating flat objects
    FR2833934B1 (en) * 2001-12-24 2004-07-09 Neopost Ind MAIL ARTICLE SELECTOR DEVICE
    US7331576B2 (en) 2004-05-03 2008-02-19 Zih Corp. Feeder device having increased media capacity and multiple media thickness feed capability and associated method

    Family Cites Families (4)

    * Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
    Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
    DE2354107A1 (en) * 1973-10-29 1975-05-07 Licentia Gmbh Equipment for singling out stacked letters - has rollers below elastically mounted friction device for supporting stack front
    US4961566A (en) * 1986-11-14 1990-10-09 International Paper Box Machine Co., Inc. Apparatus for feeding sheets from a stack of sheets
    US5050852A (en) * 1989-08-23 1991-09-24 Rengo Co. Ltd. Blank feeder and method for controlling the same
    GB9124171D0 (en) * 1991-11-14 1992-01-08 Ncr Co Apparatus for dispensing flat articles

    Also Published As

    Publication number Publication date
    DE69417752T2 (en) 1999-11-11
    EP0714841A1 (en) 1996-06-05
    DE69417752D1 (en) 1999-05-12
    ATE178557T1 (en) 1999-04-15

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