EP2239714A1 - Goods dispensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The goods issuing device comprises a carrier (8) which rotates around a horizontal axle (7). A series of containers (11) with a container opening (16), is mounted in the periphery of the carrier. A cover (15) is provided for each container opening, where a stationary path arrangement (19) is guided partly around the carrier in an area of the movement of the cover.

Description

Especially when selling medicines, the situation arises that the required medicines are not available directly in the pharmacy. The customer can then deposit only his order, so that the pharmacist from the wholesale procured the appropriate drug. It must then be made a renewed attempt to hand over the drug to the customer. Difficulties arise if the customer can not carry out this experiment during the normal opening hours of the pharmacy.

On the other hand, it can also happen that the drug is ordered by phone and must be provided outside the normal pharmacy opening times.

For this case, it is known to provide a goods dispensing facility located within the premises of the pharmacy. On the side of the pharmacy this goods issue device is filled with the drugs customized. The customer can get the goods from outside the pharmacy rooms after an appropriate identification of his person.

Such a goods issue device comprises, for example, a plurality of containers movable along a closed path. Along the track is located at one point a goods issue option, which is closed by a door is. After identifying the customer, the door is opened and the customer can remove the goods from the container.

As a rule, the products to be transferred are relatively small in volume and not particularly heavy.

Based on this, it is an object of the invention to provide a goods delivery device that does not require much mechanical effort and also saves space.

This object is achieved with a goods issue device having the features of claim 1.

The new goods dispenser has a carrier rotatable about a horizontal axis, to which containers distributed in the circumferential direction are attached. Each container has a container opening facing away from the axis.

In this way, it is possible to temporarily store a relatively large variety of goods to be dispensed along the circumference of the carrier until it is delivered to the customer.

Each container has a container opening, which is associated with a lid. The lid prevents, during the rotation of the carrier falling out of the goods from the container.

There is a fixed track assembly intended to hold the lid to the container so that the Container opening remains closed.

Along the path arrangement, which extends, for example, over a circular arc of 270 °, there is preferably a movable path section in the lower region. This movable track piece is movable between two positions back and forth. In one position, it complements the web arrangement, so that the lid of the container in question is kept closed when passing by. In the other position, the sheet moving aside allows the lid to be opened so that the container can open and release the goods for the customer. For this purpose, below the arrangement, a goods receiving device may be present, to which the goods fall.

Depending on the storage volume, there may also be two or more such circumferentially arranged rows of containers, wherein each ring of containers is assigned its own web arrangement. The storage volume doubles in this way, without the technical complexity has to be increased significantly.

In order to create a maximum storage possibility, the entire circumference of the carrier is expediently equipped with containers.

Easy opening and closing of the lid, simply as a result of the movement of the container, is achieved when the lid is connected to the associated container by a hinge whose axis is parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier.

The axis of rotation can be based on the direction leading the lid.

The lid may be easily closed when the lid carries an extension away from the axis of rotation cooperating with the track assembly. This extension should not be a slider or a roller or the outer ring of a roller bearing.

The web assembly may be part of a housing surrounding the carrier provided with the containers.

The web assembly may have an interruption corresponding to a loading position of the respective container.

The movable web piece can be articulated via a hinge whose axis of rotation is parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier. As a result, blocking situations can be avoided.

In particular, when the hinge is in the direction of rotation with respect to the web piece, very simple conditions result.

The following description of the figures explains aspects for understanding the invention. Further details not described to those skilled in the usual manner can be seen from the drawings, which supplement the description of the figures. It is clear that a number of modifications are possible.

The following drawings are not necessarily to scale. Illustrating details may possibly be certain areas are exaggerated in size. Moreover, the drawings are simplistically simplified and do not include any detail that may be present in the practical embodiment. The terms "top" and "bottom" refer to the normal position of use.

Fig. 1

die erfindungsgemäße Warenausgabevorrichtung in einer schematisierten Seitenansicht.

Fig. 2 und 3

die Maßnahmen zum Öffnen und Schließen des Deckels eines Behälters.

Fig. 4 und 5

zeigen eine Anordnung mit einem verschiebbaren Gleitbahnstück in unterschiedlichen Betriebsstellungen.

In the drawing, an embodiment of the object of the invention is shown. Show it:

Fig. 1

the goods dispensing device according to the invention in a schematic side view.

FIGS. 2 and 3

the measures for opening and closing the lid of a container.

4 and 5

show an arrangement with a sliding Gleitbahnstück in different operating positions.

Fig. 1 shows a goods issue device 1, which is placed next to the inside of a building wall 2. The building wall 2 contains an opening 3 at an ergonomic height.

The goods transfer device 1 has a cabinet-like housing 4, which is placed on feet 5 on a building floor 6. In the cabinet-like housing 4, a support 8 is rotatably mounted about a horizontal axis of rotation 7. The carrier 8 has the shape of a drum and carries on its outer circumference 9 a plurality of containers 11 of the same or different size.

In the drawing, the arrangement is shown with a view parallel to the axis of rotation. It is therefore not apparent that in addition to the visible sequence of containers 11 more circumferentially extending rows of containers 11 are provided. A reasonable number of rows is 3 or 4, according to the available space within the pharmacy.

The carrier 8 is selectively rotated by a drive motor 14 via a pulley 12, which is rotatably connected to the carrier, by means of a drive belt 13 in rotation.

Each container 11 carries an associated lid 15 which is intended to close a lid opening 16 and which is hinged at 17 adjacent to the container opening 16. The hinge axis of the hinge 17 is parallel to the axis of rotation 7 and is arranged leading in relation to the direction of travel.

On the outside of the lid 15 sits a hemispherical slider 18, which serves to hold the lid 15 in the closed position. The slider 18 cooperates with a slide track 19, which is arranged concentrically to the axis of rotation 7 and surrounds the carrier 8 over an angle of approximately 270 °. The arrangement is made in detail so that the lid 15 can not fold into the open position due to gravity, since they are held in the lower part of the slideway 19 along sliding slider 18 in the closed position. In the upper part, such a slideway is not required because there the lid 15 alone rest on the lid opening 16 due to gravity.

For loading the goods issue device 1, the housing 4 at 21 has an opening whose lower edge 22 coincides with a lower edge 23 of the slide track 19. Through this opening 23, the lid 18 located there can be opened by hand as shown to load the container 11.

In the lower region of the slide 19 is a movable Gleitbahnstück 24, which is hinged at 25. The hinge axis of the hinge 25 is also parallel to the axis of rotation 7 of the carrier 8. The movement of the slidable piece 24 and its operation results from the FIGS. 2 and 3 ,

Below the Gleitbahnstücks 24 is a slide 26 which is guided in a guide device 27 horizontally and thus tangentially to the outside he slide 19. The drive of the slider 26 via a drive motor 28 which is arranged in the slider guide 26. The slider 26 is provided for this purpose, for example, at the bottom with a toothing, which is in engagement with an output gear of the drive motor 27.

The slider 25 can by means of the drive motor 27 from the position to Fig. 2 in a pushed back position according to Fig. 3 to be moved.

In the advanced position according to Fig. 3 pushes the slider 26 coming from the hinge 25 forth against the bottom or back of the pivotable Gleitbandstückes 24 and holds it so that there is a closed circular path on the inside, which corresponds to the path of movement of the slider 18 about the horizontal axis 7. In the pushed back position according to Fig. 3 For example, due to the force of gravity, the movable sliding belt piece 24 can fold down around the hinge 24, so that a gap or opening 29 is created in the sliding track arrangement 19. The length of the opening 29 seen in the direction of movement or in the circumferential direction is slightly smaller than the distance between three adjacent sliders 18 so that with open and swung down Gleitbahnstück 24 only a single lid 15 can pivot into the open position, while the other lid 15 continues in the closed position are kept.

Below the opening 29 is another slide 31 is provided on the displaceable upwardly open collecting basket 32.

The electronics or the program for controlling the movement of the container 11 is not described in detail here and results from the following functional description.

For charging, the container to be filled 11 is controlled by a not further shown electronics in a position in which it can be reached through the feed opening 23 therethrough. For this purpose, the drive motor is set in motion accordingly. In this position, the lid 15 is opened by hand and loaded the goods to be dispensed into the container 11. Then, the lid 15 is closed, wherein it remains in the closed position due to gravity, because the hinge 17 is based on the illustration above the lid 15. In the manner described, the individual containers can be successively loaded with the respective goods to be dispensed. If necessary, this will be gradual or, if specific Container are not yet removed, over several containers, the carrier 8 with the containers 11 in the counterclockwise direction until the desired container to be loaded 11 is in front of the feed opening 21.

If, after the close of business, a customer wishes to pick up his goods, he enters a corresponding code number on a non-illustrated tableau. This code number identifies both the customer eligible for collection and the relevant container 11 in which the product is provided.

After inputting the code number, the drive motor 14 is set in motion via the control until the container 11 allocated to the customer stands in front of the delivery opening 29. After reaching the position of the drive motor 28 is set in motion by the same control, which then the slider 26 from the position to Fig. 2 in the position Fig. 3 transferred. By pulling the slider 26 away from the slide track 24, it can pivot downwardly about the axis of the hinge 25 due to gravity. Since the slideway assembly 19 is now interrupted in this area, the cover 15 located above can also fold down and the goods provided fall out of the container into the collection basket 32.

After the goods have been dispensed in this manner, the motor 28 is started in the opposite direction and pushes the slider 26 back to the position Fig. 3 , Since in this case the slide 26, based on the figures, comes from the right and initially passes over the hinge 25, the sliding piece 24 inevitably moves upward into the position as a result of this movement Fig. 2 pressed. In the course the upward movement of the Gleitbahnstück 24 and the lid 15 is pushed up in the closed position at the container opening 16. The slide movement is stopped when the slide 26 back to the position Fig. 2 comes.

Now, the customer can pull the goods issue basket 32 through the wall opening 3 to him and remove the goods from the basket.

In order to avoid incorrect operation, the goods issue basket 32 may also be actively moved via a drive device. This drive device can be controlled via the central control of the goods issue device 1.

After the goods issue, the slide track piece 24 is raised again and all containers 11 are closed. When the carrier 8 is rotated, preferably always in the same direction, namely in the counterclockwise direction, with reference to the illustration in the figures, the containers 11, which are not to be emptied, run over the pivotable slide piece 24, which in the course of the slide 19 is, and it is held by means of the slider 18 in the closed position of the lid 15. Only when the next container to be opened 11 arrives, the game described above is repeated.

For the individual lid 15, there is no separate drive. They open only by gravity. The closing of the lid 15 happens passively, only on the pushing back of the pivotable Gleitbahnstücks 24. This makes the overall system very simple because individual own drives for the respective lid 15 are dispensable. The drive is limited to the rotary drive for the carrier 8 and the drive for the slider 26, which is thus responsible for all lid in the same way, the selection of the relevant cover 15 is determined by the rotational position of the carrier 8.

As the figure shows, containers of different sizes can also be used. Small containers have the advantage of taking up little space, but may not be able to accommodate the largest package to be dispensed. Therefore, some containers are provided with a larger volume, but their space along the circumference of the arrangement is still such that the adjacent lid 15 can be kept closed by means of the slide track 19. Only the lid of the desired container can pivot when swinging down the Gleitbahnstücks 24.

Both FIGS. 2 and 3 the Gleitbahnstück is hinged to the Gleitbahnanordnung 19 and that about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier 8. Die 4 and 5 show another embodiment. Here, the slide track piece 24, which is intended to close or supplement the outlet opening 29, is mounted so as to be displaceable, tangential to the axis of rotation of the carrier 8.

The slideway assembly according to the 4 and 5 is an approximately semicircular rail with an extension in the direction parallel to the axis of rotation 7 of about 10 mm to 20 mm. Where the output is to take place, that is approximately at the lowest point, the opening or gap 29 is present in this web arrangement 19, as in particular Fig. 5 detect leaves. So at this point according Fig. 4 the respective passing cover 15 can be held in the closed position, the Gleitbahnstück 24 is provided, which is tangentially displaceable laterally next to the Gleitbahnanordnung 19 and has a top 35, which completes the Gleitbahnanordnung 19. As can easily be seen, this circular arc is concentric with the axis of rotation 7.

The Gleitbahnstück 24 sits laterally next to the slide track 19 and is, as shown, slightly longer than the gap 29th

With the aid of a sliding guide 36 can via the drive means 28, the Gleitbahnstück 24 from the position to Fig. 4 in the position Fig. 5 be transferred. In the position after Fig. 4 The two ends 37 and 38 slightly overlap the gap 29 delimiting ends of the slideway arrangement 19.

In order to hold the lid 15 in the closed position of the slider 18 is formed differently from the previous embodiment as a roller or roller whose axial length is designed so that it can be on the one hand with the Gleitbahnstück 24 and on the other hand with the Gleitbahnanordnung 19 in touch. During the rotation of the carrier 8 about the axis of rotation 7, the sliders 18 thus slide along the slideway arrangement 19 until they come into the region of the slideway piece 24. There, the contact changes in the axial direction seen on the support surface 35, which complements the arc of the Gleitbahnanordnung 19. Towards the end of the Gleitbahnstücks 24, the system of the slider 18 then changes back to the slide track assembly 19. The contact point makes a movement perpendicular to the plane, since referring to the illustration in Fig. 4 the movable Gleitbahnstück 24 is higher than the underlying in the drawing Gleitbahnanordnung 19th

When displayed in Fig. 4 It was assumed that the Gleitbahnstück 24 moves to open to the left, ie in the direction of the building wall 2. This requires an opposite direction of rotation to the assumed direction of rotation Fig. 1 ie the carrier 8 rotates clockwise.

When the desired container 11 is in front of the discharge opening or gap 29, the drive means 28 is turned on and thereby the slidable Gleitbahnstück 24 from the position to Fig. 4 to the left in the position after Fig. 5 emotional. The movement is stopped when the relative to the representation right end 37 of Gleitbahnstücks 24 corresponds to the left end in the Gleitbahnanordnung 19 approximately. Now, the lid 15 can fall down due to its gravity. It rotates about the axis of the hinge 17, which is parallel to the axis of rotation 7.

After opening the lid 15, the goods or objects may fall out of the container 11.

In the open position, the slider 18 is located in front of the right end 38 of the movable Gleitbahnstücks 24th

When the discharge has taken place, the displaceable slide track piece 24 is moved out of position by the drive device 28 Fig. 5 in the position Fig. 4 to pushed to the right. During the sliding movement, the cover 15 is pivoted upwards into the closed position via the interaction between the slide track piece 24 and the slider 18. Whereby finally the position after Fig. 4 is reached.

The carrier 8 with the containers 11 attached thereto can now be further rotated if necessary.

A goods dispenser includes a rotatable support having a plurality of containers disposed on the outer periphery thereof, each container having a lid to close the container opening. The carrier rotates about a horizontal axis. In order to avoid opening the lid when the lid is facing down, a slide track arrangement is provided which holds the lid in the closed position. A portion of the slide is pivotable. When opening this piece can also open the lid. Due to the arrangement additional drives for the lid would be unnecessary.

Claims (12)

Goods dispensing apparatus
with a carrier (8), which is rotatably mounted about a horizontal axis (7),
with a series of containers (11) fixed to the carrier (8) distributed along its circumference and having a container opening (16),
a lid (15) per container opening (16), wherein the lid (15) is hinged next to the container opening (16) to selectively close the container opening (16),
with a stationary web arrangement (19) which at least partially surrounds the support (8) in the region of the movement path of the covers (15) and is adapted to hold a respective cover (15) in the closed position when the container opening (16) is in shows a direction in which the lid (15) tends to expose the container opening (16),
with a track (24) provided in the course of the track assembly (19) and movable between a position in which opening of the container (11) is prevented and a position for reciprocating the lid (FIG. 15) from the container opening (16) is possible, and
with a drive device (26, 28) for the track piece (24). Goods dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the circumference of the carrier (8) is fully equipped with containers (11). Goods dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that only one lid (15) is present per container (15). Goods dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the lid (15) with the associated container (11) via a hinge (17) is connected, whose axis is parallel to the axis of rotation (7) of the carrier (8). Goods dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the axis of rotation (7) in relation to the running direction of the lid (15) leads. Goods dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (15) carries an extension (18) pointing away from the rotation axis (7) and cooperating with the web arrangement (19). Goods dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the web arrangement (19) is part of a housing (4) surrounding the carrier (8) provided with the containers (11). Goods dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the web arrangement (19) has an interruption corresponding to a loading position of the respective container (11). Goods dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable web piece (24) is articulated via a hinge (25) whose axis of rotation lies parallel to the axis of rotation (7) of the carrier (8). Goods dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the hinge (25) relative to the web piece (24) lies in the direction of rotation. Goods dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable web piece (24) is mounted at least approximately tangentially displaceable. Goods dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the hinge (25) is such that the movable web piece (24) when closing the gap (29) first passes the hinge and then comes into contact with the lid (15).

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