JPS5950565B2 - Self-service delivery device and method for goods - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A self-service garment transfer device is provided in which garments are placed on a conveyor,
8, 1961, supported on a pivoted hook, which hook was pushed into a transfer station to release and drop the hanger onto a track leading to a rotating drum transfer device.
Gehrke, US Pat. No. 2,997,133, issued May 22nd.

A similar system using a specially shaped hanger with a square hole inserted by a finger carried by a follower on a curved track is described in Varle U.S. Pat.
No. 5, it is described as a transfer means from a conveyor to a rotating drum.

In Geerke's device, the garments are carried parallel to the conveyor and occupy considerably more floor space than garments carried closely front to back on the conveyor.

In Burley's device, traditional low cost hangers cannot be used and each garment must be supported on a special hanger.

The present invention provides automatic self-service retrieval of dry-cleaned or laundered garments supported closely front to back on conventional hangers in storage areas of hospitals, laboratories, cafeterias, and similar facilities. It is specifically intended for "offhours" (non-business hours).

However, it can also be used for temporary storage of clothes or processing of other items.

Unlike the handling of mechanical parts or food in trays, clean clothes must not be moved carelessly or handled roughly or the clothes will wrinkle.

As a result, garments present special handling problems and are preferably supported on conventional low cost wire coat hangers.

Especially in hospitals, clean clothes should not be mixed with dirty and germ-laden clothes.

Therefore, the present invention consists in providing a separate door and area for soiled clothes near the sealed lock door, through which clean clothes can be automatically delivered and a person can inadvertently pass through the delivery opening to soiled clothes. Place clothes to ensure they do not contaminate the storage area.

The clean clothes are arranged on the endless conveyor in the storage area by name, number, code, etc., and the user has at least one locked and sealed door covering the transfer opening at the transfer station in the path of the conveyor means. from outside the device by inserting a magnetic key or card or coded key or pressing the button.

The conveyor thereby stops the user's clothing at the transfer station.

Preferably, the conveyor device moves around sharp turns at the transfer station and preferably the garments or wire baskets surrounding the garments are spaced apart from each other and the openings allow each of the selected garments to be separated from adjacent garments. Formed on the side.

Before the locked door opens the opening and removes the garment, a partitioning device moves into position at the transfer station to isolate the garment from adjacent garments and prevent access to the storage area through the now opened opening.

If the clothes are to be temporarily deposited, the empty space above the conveyor is stopped at the transfer station, the space is cut off as described above, and the clothes are placed on the conveyor;
The door is then locked and the device issues a receipt in the form of an encoded card or key to retrieve the clothes.

The compartmentalization device may be an outwardly moving enclosure that pinches the garment at the transfer station, and the garment may be supported in a spaced apart wire cage-like enclosure.

A pair of barriers move inwardly to block the basket at the transfer station, or a wire cage-like enclosure slides outwardly to cooperate with the stationary chamber at the transfer station to block access to nearby clothing. It may also be fitted with an insert.

Alternatively, the garments may be transported in their entirety off a conveyor parked in a stationary chamber of a separation device with a locking door for access.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in the drawings, 30 indicates a thief-proof storage area formed by a wall 31, which may be used in establishments such as dry cleaning shops, nightclub check rooms, hospital dry cleaning or laundry departments, or where personnel are required. 2 per day without any risk of having someone else's items stolen.
It is open four hours a day and forms part of any other establishment where it is desired to provide self-service for loading and unloading goods.

For convenience of explanation, area 30 is shown as a typical hospital clean clothes storage area.

There is further a soiled garment pre-sorting region 32, a soiled garment region 33, and a clean garment region 34 on the side of region 30.

The area 34 is separated from the clean area 34 and 30 by the wall 31 and the soiled area 3 so as to prevent the transmission of harmful germs on the clothes.
By means of a glass door 35 in a wall 36 accessible from 2,
Separated.

The hospital corridor is shown at 37, and by means of a soiled garment receiving slot 38, soiled garments, linens, etc. can be received into the pre-separation area 32 at any time without risk of infecting clean garments or linens.

Clean clothes etc. are dispensed manually from the counter 39 during hours or automatically from the self-service transfer stations 41, 42 or 43 at any time of the day or night.

The glass door 35 is locked and the counter door 44 and each of the article delivery doors 45, 46 and 47 are closed to their respective article delivery openings 48. 49. Storage areas 30 and 34 are referred to as "thief-proof" areas, since when 51 and 52 are locked closed, access by unauthorized persons is prevented.

An endless conveyor system 53 is provided within the storage area 30 and is manufactured by White Machine Company Inc., Kenilworth, New Chassis, USA.
“Contin-U-Veyor” created by Pany, Inco,
5, of the conventional type consisting of an endless chain 54 having a plurality of spaced apart upright protrusions 55 secured thereto extending through slots in a slotted tubular track 56 (FIG. 5).

For this reason, the endless chain 54 has an upright protrusion 55
and can move within the slotted tubular track 56.

In such cases, clothing such as hospital staff uniforms belonging to a particular servant are hung between two adjacent projections, and when these projections are stopped at a transfer station, the owner Get back your own uniform change.

The conveyor apparatus 53 is preferably similar to an elongated link type endless conveyor such as that also made by the aforementioned White Machine Company, Inc., but conventionally 30.5c.
m (12 inches), but this link is not that long.

In this invention, the rigid suspension chain links 57 are only 7.6 cm (3 inches) or 10.2 cm (4 inches) long, each of which accommodates an individual hung garment, and the chain 58 is only 59 inches long. As shown, when going around a small diameter U-turn, it increases the spacing between adjacent sets of clothing for separation and isolation.

Transfer station 4 in FIGS. 1 and 2 and 4
As best shown at 1 and 42, the links 57 are suspended from a tubular track 62 by trolley style hangers 61 and are hinged together to form an endless chain 58.

The conveyor device 53 includes a power drive 63 having a suitable sprocket 64 and a reversible motor 65, which conveyor device is advanced in a closed loop path by a suitable electrical circuit 66 and cooperates with a code element 76. magnetic card, key or scepter 6
Door 44, 45 or 4 by 8, 69 or 71
6 near one of the areas 30 and 31 from outside.

In its simplest form, shown at 1 at transfer station 43 in FIGS.
a lug-type conveyor for advancing closely wrapped garments 72 from front to back and supported on conventional low cost wire coat hangers 73 suspended from slotted tubular tracks 56 to a stop position at 3; 54 is used.

Assuming that there are several hundred projections 55 on the endless chain 54, each adjacent pair of projections bears a number, name, or other visual indicia that can be seen through the window 75 in the wall 31. , constitute the code element 76.

By means of the cord element 76 the chain 54 is stopped at the transfer station 43 so that the user brings his clothes to the transfer station.

Preferably, however, the code element 76 is of a known type so that when the user inserts a magnetic key or card or printed circuit card into the receptor 71, the circuit is closed and the motor 65 is activated. energize and stop the chain at the transfer station 43 at the appropriate garment 72.

Code elements 76 spaced apart along the conveyor system each automatically align with a user's card.

The compartmental device 77 of the invention in this embodiment comprises a wire basket having a top edge 79 with slots 81 for hangers, a closed rear wall 82, a closed bottom 84 and side walls 83 and an open outer edge 85 for the transfer of clothes. It includes an upright enclosure 78 of burglar-proof material such as.

The enclosure 78 is normally kept out of the path of the garment 72 and is movably mounted on an endless conveyor 86 driven by a reversible motor 87.

The enclosure is held down by a bar 88 and is held against lateral movement by a projection 89 and the rim of the conveyor belt sheave.

When the correct garment reaches station 43, alignment of code element 76 and user's card 92 causes automatic control 93 to energize motor 87 to project the wire basket enclosure and encircle garment 72. and isolates the garment from nearby clothing while preventing access to nearby clothing and storage area 30.

A limit switch 94 is closed by sealing engagement of the outer edge 85 of the enclosure 78 and the inner surface 95 of the wall 31 near the opening 52 and signals the automatic controller 93 to
By releasing the key 96 of 7, the user opens the door and removes the clothes 7.
2 from the enclosure 78.

Door 47 and opening 52 constitute a separation device 97 of the present invention.

When the door 47 is closed, it seals the opening and closes the enclosure 78.
further restricts extra access when the door is opened.

In the embodiment shown in transfer station 42 and in FIG. 4, rigid links 57 are used, each link having a wire cage-like structure similar to enclosure 78 that is not movably attached to the transfer station but is movable with the conveyor. It supports the enclosure 101.

Each enclosure has a rod 10 for a hanger 73 of a garment 72.
2, if the device is used for temporary storage,
Items such as hats, shoes or luggage are placed in the lower compartment 103.

When parked at the transfer station, the user activates the control device 93 with the appropriate card 92, which energizes the reversible motor 104, causing the motor to:
A pair of upright, movable, arcuate bulkheads or barriers 105 and 106, normally located outside the passageway of enclosure 101, are rotated on a vertical axis in a horizontal plane to isolate the enclosure at station 42.

Barriers 105 and 106 are wire mesh, sheet metal, or any other burglar-proof material and combine to form a chamber 107 that includes a top 108 and a A bottom portion 109 is provided.

A curved rear wall 111 prevents the enclosure from moving inwardly, and the enclosure is open at its outer edge 112 to receive clothing.

Thus, enclosure 101, barriers 105 and 10
6, and the rear wall 111 constitute the partitioning device 77 of this embodiment, while the openings 51 . Door 46 and lock 110 form separation device 97, both devices being controlled by card 92 and control device 93, as described above.

The embodiment shown in station 41 and FIGS. 2 and 3
In the figure, the enclosures 101 are similar to those shown in FIG. 4, but each enclosure 101 is provided with a wire cage insert 114 having a skeletal tubular frame 113 and a skeletal tubular frame 115. There is.

The insert is capable of projecting approximately 20.3 cm (8 inches) to 3 cm while carrying the garment 72 onto the rod 117.
The holes are nested so that they move outwardly over the rollers 116 by 8.1 cm (15 inches).

Each enclosure includes a sidewall 118 and is open at a bottom 119 and an outer edge 121, and each insert is closed at a bottom 122 and open at an outer edge 123.

Both the enclosure and insert are made of wire mesh of considerable strength.

The movable insert 114 of the partitioning device thus forms a transfer device for transporting the hung sets of clothes away from the conveyor device and into the chamber 124 of the separation device, complete with their bodies.

A stationary chamber 124 is provided in this embodiment with upright side walls 125 and 126, a sealing lid or door 45 with a slotted interior opening 127 and a lock 128 for slidably receiving the insert at the transfer station.

A camming surface 129 is placed at station 41 and hook element 1 is positioned to allow mechanical action to unlock and open door 45 to draw insert 114 into chamber 124.
31 is pivoted to the ore at the point 132, and its hook 133
is on the surface of the gum.

Thus, the insert 114 is normally within its enclosure;
A hook 133 is normally located outside the passageway of the enclosure, such as in chamber 124.

By inserting a particular card 92 into the receptor 68, the code element 76 and controller 93 will stop the conveyor to bring the correct garment 72 to the transfer station 41.

Door 45 is then unlocked and opened.

By opening the door, the hook 133 rests on the cam surface 129 to prevent access to clothing in the adjacent enclosure and to prevent access to the storage area 30.
Engages bottom 122 of insert 114.

Further opening of the door 45 pulls the insert into the slot 127 and into the chamber 124 where the garment can be removed or stored or deposited.

Rear wall 134 prevents rearward rocking of the enclosure, and its lateral movement is prevented by side walls 125 and 126.

When the door 45 is closed, the hook 133 pushes the insert back into the enclosure and out of the enclosure passageway, as shown by the dotted lines.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, dry cleaned articles are removed from the cleaning device 136 on the clean side, conveyed by conveyor 137 to area 30, and placed on the desired hanger.

This overlay is performed by a predetermined control system that can be adapted by the user's card.

Doors 45, 46 or 47 are preferably clear plastic with piano hinges, rubber gaskets, safety handles and springs, and the lights are turned off when the door is closed in a known manner.

In FIG. 6, the circuit diadem shows one system by which the device of the invention is achieved.

It should be noted that the system may follow any one of the aforementioned patent specifications.

Liquidonics Company in Chatsworth, California
y) cy>Card key system section (CardKe
A commercially available “Security Card” created by the y System Division
i-Card)” data system is automatic control device 9
3 and as the basis for card 92, but
Any other suitable system for accomplishing coding and control would be equally satisfactory.

As shown, the card 92 is a magnetic card key issued to a user, customer, or hospital employee, and is magnetic during manufacture so that one end 141 thereof can be read by a reader, i.e., receptor 68, 69, or 71. When inserted into the reader, the release mechanism 96,11
Activate 0 or 128.

The other end 142 of each card 92 is magnetically encoded during manufacture to provide a unique code number or code pattern for each user.

These distinguishing code numbers are assigned to the code element 7 corresponding to each set of garments on the conveyor, as shown, for example, by "76".
The code digits of 6 are compared repeatedly.

That is, with the insertion of portion 142 of card 92 encoded into reader 68, 69 or 71, circuit 66 leading to conveyor motor 65 causes comparator 143 to sense the code number "76" in code element 76. moves the conveyor-carried garment through the appropriate transfer station 41, 42 or 43 until it senses that the garment corresponding to that code element has reached the transfer station, and when the corresponding garment reaches the transfer station, the conveyor to stop.

In transfer stations where there is a conveyor for enclosure 78 at transfer station 43 and power-operated partitioning devices such as barriers 105 and 106 at station 42, respective motors 87 and 1
04 is activated by appropriate circuitry prior to release of door locks 110 and 96, for example by actuation of limit switch 94.

Each magnetic key card 92 is connected to an arbitrary reader 68,
69 or 71, multiplexer 145 scans all the readers and determines which ones are not activated (i.e. card-in inserted) and the signal is sent to multiplexer 1.
45 to stop.

Multiplexer 145, data converter 146, data controller 1
47 and access controller 148 all work together to request and receive data on portions 141 and 142 of card 92 from the reader, and the access controller generates a signal in response to a valid card. .

This generated signal first activates circuit 66 to move the conveyor, and then activates comparator circuit 143 to detect the code digits on the user's card 92 and the code digits on the clothing (code digits of code element 76). The conveyor is operated until a match is made, at which time the conveyor is stopped.

If the compartment device is then moved mechanically, such as by hook element 131, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the access controller actuates (opens) the door lock 128, or If the compartment device is powered, such as by enclosure motor 104 or 87, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the access controller first closes the circuit to enclosure motor 104 or 87 and turns the motor off. It then closes the circuit to the door lock 110 or 96 and activates the key.

(open).

The access controller is active as long as the card is held in the reader, but the multiplexer is open within half a second to determine the next reader to be read that is waiting. be done.

Printer 149 is used to record data, time from tarot 151, card code numbers and other information.

An override controller 152 and automatic override detection circuit 153 detect a card override at the reader station and deny access while closing the appropriate alarm circuits to override alarms 154, 155 and 156.

When the system is activated by a coin receptor/card transfer device combination where coins are used for one-time sorting, a coin placed in the coin receptor 161 activates the control device 93 to control access. Vessel 1
The conveyor motor 65 is energized via 48 to move the conveyor to the transfer station, actuating the compartmenting device 77, and then opening the door at the transfer station and placing the garment on the conveyor.

When the door is closed, the door is locked, and a card delivery device 162 provided separately from the receptor 71 for issuing cards to the user hands the card 92 to the user.

Upon reinsertion of the card 92 into the card transfer device 162, the controller 148 retrieves the garment, activates the compartment device 77, and opens the door to allow removal of the garment.

Slamming the door will reset the system for the next user.

Although not shown, the separation device may consist of a relatively wide and shallow chamber 124 with an external sliding door 45.

In this case, the partitioning device 77 is a transfer device in the form of an automatically powered arm or linkage arranged at the transfer station to grasp a set of garment hangers parked at the station and transfer them as a whole to the chamber 124. It may consist of a device.

Alternatively, the internal door may be closed to shut off the room.
This internal door is located on the rear wall 8 of another embodiment for burglar prevention.
2, 111 and 134 functionally.

The arm or linkage and the transfer station are two
It may be placed between two conveyors so that two conveyors work through the same transfer opening.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the article handling and processing structure of the present invention, with the partitioning and separation devices enlarged. FIG. 2 is a partial, enlarged perspective view of one embodiment of a partitioning device. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 taken from line 3--3 in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 of another embodiment taken from line 4--4 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 of yet another embodiment taken from line 5--5 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating one embodiment of the code and control device. 30... Thief-proof storage area, 31...
Wall, 32...Preliminary division area, 33...
Dirty clothes area, 34...Clean clothes area, 3
5...Glass door, 36...Wall, 37
・・・・・・Corridor, 41. 42. 43...
Transfer station, 45, 46, 47... Door, 48. 49, 51, 52... Opening, 53...
... Conveyor device, 55 ... Projection body, 54
...Endless chain, 56...Track, 58...Chain, 57...
Link, 66...Circuit, 77...Dividing device, 78...Envelope, 72...Clothing, 97...Separating device.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A method for automatically removing articles from an endless conveyor in a closed storage area by means of an endless conveyor, a partitioning device and a locking door of the partitioning device, comprising: arranging the articles on the endless conveyor to convey selected articles to a transfer station in response to a signal; and moving the partitioning device relative to the endless conveyor upon arrival of the selected articles at the transfer station. to interrupt adjacent articles on the endless conveyor or allow only selected articles to approach the locking door; Upon removing a selected article from within the compartmenting device and closing the locking door, moving the compartmenting device in a direction opposite to the relative movement so as to lock the locking door and prepare for the next retrieval signal. A method characterized in that a relative movement is performed with respect to the endless conveyor. 2. An automatic self-service device for receiving and transferring articles to and from a storage area, the apparatus comprising an endless conveyor in the storage area supporting the articles and advancing the articles on the endless conveyor to at least one transfer station. an opening having a closure outside the storage area at the transfer station, the apparatus comprising: an opening having a closure outside the storage area at the transfer station; the closure having a device for sealing the opening; and an enclosure for isolating articles stopped at the transfer station from nearby articles on the endless conveyor when the closure is unsealed. a sectioning device operated at a transfer station; and an automatic control device controlling the sectioning of articles stopped at the transfer station and then releasing the closure to remove the sectioned articles from the endless conveyor. A device comprising: