GB2327668A

GB2327668A - Dispensing device

Info

Publication number: GB2327668A
Application number: GB9715902A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen William Clarke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-07-29
Filing date: 1997-07-29
Publication date: 1999-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2017-07-29
Also published as: GB9715902D0; GB2327668B

Abstract

A dispensing device has a housing (10) which is divided into an upper loading chamber (38) and a lower dispensing chamber (40) by means of a shutter (32) which is slidably mounted in the housing. The upper and lower chambers (38, 40) are provided with a respective hinged lid (22, 34) to allow access. The shutter (32) may be withdrawn to allow the contents of the upper loading chamber (38) to fall into the dispensing chamber (40). The front wall of the loading chamber (38) is transparent to enable a person to determine readily that the loading chamber is empty and should be reloaded. The slide can be transparent, have a barcode (48, Fig 2) to identify products e.g. rivets and can have a writing surface (44) coverable by a plastic surface (44).

Description

DESCRIPTION DISPENSING DEVICE The present invention relates to dispensing devices.

In engineering workshops and on production lines and the like, it is often the case that many components are needed very frequently during manufacture or assembly. For example in a production line for a major part (e.g. a wing) of an aircraft, it may be necessary for many different types and sizes of rivets to be repeatedly used in the construction of the part.

To facilitate manufacture or assembly it is common practice for frequentlyused components to be stored in a series of open trays or bins. When a particular component is required it is necessary merely to reach into one of the trays or bins and select the appropriate component.

One of the problems with such an arrangement is the inadvertent mixing of components, whereby an incorrect component may inadvertently be dropped into the wrong tray or bin with the result with the result that the wrong component may be selected at some time in the future.

Whilst the above disadvantage can to a great extent be overcome by providing lidded trays or bins for the components, there is another problem which to date has not been satisfactorily overcome.

Because the components in question are required very frequently, it is necessary to have a relatively large stock to ensure that production can continue.

If this does not occur then the production of the whole article may temporarily terminate as a result of the absence of one particular component. Thus, it is common for a stock control person to monitor the level of each component. When the level of a component falls below a desired level the stock control person merely locates the appropriate components from the stores and then fills up the appropriate tray or bin with the components.

One significant disadvantage is that such practices inevitably result in a "residue" of components at the base of the tray or bin which never get used or which only get used after a very long period of time.

This increases the likelihood of damage to the components before they are fitted.

Moreover, it will be observed that with the existing practice different batches of components are mixed together, which makes it very difficult to trace the source of a particular component should this be necessary. One consequence of this is that if a particular component is found to fail a test when in position on the finished article, then it is necessary to test all of the identical components on the article since it is impossible to determine from which batch each component originated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing device which overcomes or reduces the disadvantages associated with the prior art.

In accordance with the present invention a dispensing device comprises a housing having an upper loading chamber, a dispensing chamber located beneath the loading chamber and movable gate means adapted to allow selective communication of the loading chamber and dispensing chamber.

With such an apparatus a batch of components can be loaded into the upper chamber with the gate means in the closed position whereby the loading chamber and the dispensing chamber are not in communication. Components in the lower, dispensing chamber can then be used as required.

When no components remain in the lower dispensing chamber the gate means is opened, thereby allowing the components in the upper chamber to fall into the lower, dispensing chamber.

In this way, the likelihood of there being a "residue" of components in the dispensing chamber which are never used or which are only used after a very long period of time is greatly reduced. In other words, in general terms, each batch of components is used in the order in which it is loaded into the dispenser.

Preferably, the portion of the housing defining the loading chamber is at least partially transparent to enable viewing of the component therein. In this way, if components can be seen through the transparent portion, the dispensing device contains at least the batch of components in the loading chamber and reloading of the dispensing device is not necessary. If no components can be seen through the transparent portion of the loading chamber then it is an indication that loading of components into the loading chamber should then take place safe in the knowledge that the lower chamber will contain virtually a full batch of components, assuming that the dispensing device is checked regularly.

Preferably, the gate means comprises a plate or shutter which is slidably disposed into and out of the housing. It is also advantageous for the plate to have markings thereon for identifying components contained in the bin. These markings preferably comprise a bar code or other machine readable marking. This facilitates automation of stock control - the markings can be machine read and a stock control database can be updated automatically.

Additionally or alternatively, the plate may have written indications thereon which allows the identity and date of the loading of the batch of components to be written thereon.

Preferably, the loading chamber and/or the dispensing chamber is provided with a lid, for example a hinged lid.

By way of example only, a specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of dispensing device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, shown in a first position; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the dispensing device of Fig. 1 shown in an alternative position; and Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the dispensing device as shown in Fig. 1.

With reference to the drawings, a dispensing device comprises a housing 10 which is conveniently made from a plastics material. The housing comprises two parallel planar generally L-shaped side walls 12, a vertical, planar, rectangular rear wall 14, a rectangular, planar upper wall 16, a rectangular, planar base 18, a lower, forwardly inclined front wall 19 and a main, upper, transparent front wall 20.

The upper transparent front wall 20 comprises the front rectangular planar face 22 of an upper hinged loading lid 24, a central wall portion 26 which is divided into a main, vertical wall portion 28 and a lower, L-shaped wall portion 30 by virtue of a slidable gate or shutter 32 (to be described in more detail hereinafter) and a lower hinged lid 34.

The gate or shutter 32 is slidably disposed in channels 36 provided on the inner faces of each of the side walls 12 and divides the internal volume of the housing into an upper, loading chamber 38 and a lower, dispensing chamber 40.

The gate or shutter 32 can be moved from a first, shut position illustrated in Fig. 1, in which the loading chamber 38 and dispensing chamber 40 cannot communicate, to an open position illustrated in Fig. 1, in which the gate or shutter 32 is partially displaced out of the housing, thereby allowing the loading chamber 38 and dispensing chamber 40 to communicate.

The upper surface of the gate or shutter 32 is also provided with a transparent hinged cover 42 which can be hinged upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, to reveal a writing surface 44 beneath in the form of a stock control record.

In use, components will be loaded into the loading chamber 38 on a batch basis. In doing so, the gate 32 would first normally be withdrawn to the position illustrated in Fig. 2, whereupon details of the batch being loaded would be written on the upper writing surface of the gate. The gate 32 would then be pushed into the closed position illustrated in Fig. 1 and the upper lid of the dispensing device would be opened to the position shown in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the upper lid is provided with side walls 46 to assist in ensuring that all of the components of a batch are correctly loaded in the upper, loading chamber 38. The upper lid is then hinged shut into the position shown in Fig. 1.

If there are already components in the lower, dispensing chamber, then these can conveniently be used by lifting the lower lid 34 into the position shown in Fig. 2 and selecting the appropriate number of components. When there are no components in the lower, dispensing chamber 40 the gate or shutter 32 is withdrawn out of the housing into the position shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the upper loading chamber 38 and the lower dispensing chamber 40 are brought into communication with each other, whereupon the batch of components in the loading chamber 38 falls into the dispensing chamber 40, whereafter they can be removed via the hinged lid 34. As the gate or shutter 32 is withdrawn it would then be appropriate to indicate the date on which the batch entering the loading chamber began to be used.

As soon as the batch of components drops from the loading chamber 38 into the dispensing chamber 40 it is apparent to an observer that there is no remaining stock in the loading chamber 38. This would then prompt stock control personnel, who regularly monitor the stocks of components, to order a replacement batch of components, safe in the knowledge that there is approximately a complete batch of components in the lower, dispensing chamber.

The present invention ensures that each batch of components is used on a "first in, first out" basis and that the likelihood of components remaining unused for a long period of time is greatly diminished.

Moreover, it will be apparent that it is much easier to trace the origin and final location of components since the details of each batch can be written on the upper surface of the gate 32.

It might also be advantageous to provide a bar code 48 on the upper surface of the gate 32 which, in combination with a suitable bar code reader, could be read whenever the gate 32 is withdrawn to load components into the dispensing chamber 40 to reorder the appropriate batch of components automatically.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment.

Claims

1. A dispensing device comprising a housing having an upper loading chamber, a dispensing chamber located beneath the loading chamber and moveable gate means adapted to allow selective communication of the loading chamber and dispensing chamber.

2. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gate means is located between the loading chamber and the dispensing chamber.

3. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the gate means comprises a plate or shutter.

4. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plate or shutter is slidably mounted in the housing.

5. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plate or shutter is moveable out of the housing to allow the loading chamber and dispensing chamber to communicate.

6. A dispensing device as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the plate or shutter comprises means for identifying components loaded into the dispenser.

7. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plate or shutter comprises markings for identifying components.

8. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the markings comprise a machine readable marking.

9. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the markings comprise a bar code.

10. A dispensing device as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the plate or shutter comprises a writing surface.

11. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the writing surface is located beneath a removable cover.

12. A dispensing device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the housing defining the loading chamber is transparent.

13. A dispensing device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the housing defining the dispensing chamber is transparent.

14. A dispensing device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the loading chamber is provided with a removable cover.

15. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the removable cover comprises a hinged lid.

16. A dispensing device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the dispensing chamber is provided with a removable cover.

17. A dispensing device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the removable cover comprises a hinged lid.

18. A dispensing device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the gate means forms a lower wall of the loading chamber.

19. A dispensing device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the gate means forms a upper wall of the dispensing chamber.

20. A dispensing device substantially as herein described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.