WO1999043234A1

WO1999043234A1 - A storage with compartments that can be opened selectively

Info

Publication number: WO1999043234A1
Application number: PCT/SE1999/000221
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mats Arneving
Original assignee: Mats Arneving
Priority date: 1998-02-27
Filing date: 1999-02-18
Publication date: 1999-09-02
Also published as: AU2752299A; SE9800613D0

Abstract

A storage device comprising a cabinet (1) that has a plurality of mutually juxtaposed compartments and a first means (6, 7, 64-66, 74-76, 80, 81) for permitting the compartments (31) to be opened selectively. The cabinet includes a plurality of generally parallel panels (3) which delimit respective compartments. Two roller shutters are guided for movement along the compartment openings and have complementary edges (61, 71) that extend parallel with the edges of said panels. The shutters are arranged to move so as to join the edges complementarily. Shutter movement is controlled so as to enable a selected compartment to be opened while leaving remaining compartments screened-off.

Description

A STORAGE WITH COMPARTMENTS THAT CAN BE OPENED SELECTIVELY

The invention relates to a storage device of the kind defined in the preamble of Claim 1.

The invention thus relates to a storage device of the kind which includes a cabinet having a plurality of juxtaposed storage compartmentsor boxes , and a first means which permits the various compartments to be opened selectively.

In one embodiment, the inventive storage device is dimensioned and designed for use as a mailbox. Such a mailbox can conveniently be placed in the entrance hall of a multistorey apartment building. A mailman is provided with a key or code key which enables him/her to open all compartments in the cabinet so as to be able to place therein letters, newspapers, magazines, etc.. The compartment lock is adapted and designed to enable the various owners of said compartments to open their respective compartments with a personal, unique code or key.

A storage of the same structural design, however, may be used for other purposes. For instance, the device can be used to accommodate medicines in the various compartments and may be installed in a pharmacy or chemist shop. It is then conceivable that the dispensing chemist or pharmacist will be able to open all compartments with a code or key and place products therein. It is also conceivable that doctor's prescriptions that are to be attended to are provided with a code, for instance a bar code, which is read by a code reader so as to open a corresponding compartment in the device and 2 therewith enable the medicine concerned to be taken from the opened compartment.

However, the invention will be described in the following with reference to its use as a mailbox.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mailbox that includes means for delivering items of mail to respective compartments and selectively removing such items from respective compartments. Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following text, either directly or indirectly.

The aforesaid object is achieved with the storage device set forth in the accompanying independent Claims. Further embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying dependent Claims .

In one illustrative embodiment, the invention comprises basically two shutters or blinds, preferably roller shutters, that are guided in a common guide which extends in the proximity of a surface area within which all compartments open out. The two shutters, or blinds, can be driven independently for movement along said guide, by respective drive motors. The arrangement includes control means for controlling and monitoring the shutter motors . The two shutters have end-edges that can be caused to abut one another, each in its respective movement direction. The edges are complementary and parallel with the compartment wall that borders on said surface area. The two shutters can be moved in unison with said edges lying in mutual abutment, until one of said edges senses, or detects, the presence of a given 3 compartment wall. This compartment wall can be detected simply by counting the number of detected walls from a reference position. Alternatively, the individual compartment walls may, of course, be provided with a code, for instance a bar code, which is unique to a respective wall and which can be identified by a reader/sensor carried by the shutter at said edge. Thus, when a given wall has been identified, the shutter is stopped so that said edge will connect with said compartment wall. The control means then causes the other shutter to move to a position in which its edge is located at the edge of an adjacent compartment wall. The compartment concerned is then accessible through the gap between the separated edges of the two shutters .

A mailman may be equipped with a key/code which when applied to the control means causes the shutters to expose all compartment openings.

In those instances when the compartments are designed to be opened in a horizontal direction, one of the shutters may include a pusher which functions to push items contained in the compartment in a direction towards its exposed opening, subsequent to having moved the shutters apart.

The cabinet of said storage device may include a base that has a plurality of compartment-wall guide grooves, therewith allowing the compartment walls to be moved in parallel so that the individual compartments can be given a desired size/width. The cabinet may optionally also include a press plate having corresponding grooves and adapted to urge the walls down against the grooved base from above. 4

An exemplifying embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a front view of an inventive storage device.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of part of the device illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of part of the device shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a storage device in the form of a parallelepipedic cabinet 1. The vertical front surface of the cabinet includes a rectangular opening 2 which is shown closed by two roller shutters or blinds 6, 7, said shutters being shown lying in a common plane in Fig. 1. The edges 61, 71 of the shutters 6, 7 are mutually complementary and are shown in abutment with one another.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the bottom edges of the shutters 6, 7 are guided in a guide 23 along the bottom part of the opening 2. A corresponding guide is provided for guiding the upper edges of the shutters 6, 7.

The cabinet 1 is provided in the vicinity of its front corner regions with guide rollers 64, 74 around which the shutters 6, 7 are deflected to rollers 65, 75 which function to roll- up/roll-down said shutters and which are driven separately by means of associated motors 66, 76. Shutter guides are also provided in the region between the rollers 64, 65 and 74, 75 5 respectively. The devices 65 for rolling-up and rolling-down the shutters are adapted to ensure that this will take place in a controlled manner, such that the shutter edges 61, 71 will move in correspondence with driving of respective motors

66, 76.

The motors 66, 76 are in control/driving connection with a control unit 80, which is controlled, in turn, by a control device 81.

The cabinet 1 also includes a plurality of mutually identical wall panels 3 disposed in mutually parallel and spaced relationship, and pairs of which define storage compartments 31 therebetween.

The panels 3 are supported by a floor plate 5 and are delimited rearwardly by a back plate 4. Respective compartments 31 are screened-off in a forward direction by the two shutters 6, 7 according to the Fig. 1 illustration.

Arranged in the vicinity of the edge 71 in the upper edge part of the roller shutter 7 is a sensor or code reader 72 which functions to identify the various different walls 3. The control unit 80 is adapted to drive the motors 66, 67 synchronously, so that the shutter edges 61, 71 will be held in tight abutment with each other while the edges 61, 71 are moved along the row of panels 3. When the sensor 72 finds a particular panel 3 in correspondence with the corresponding instruction entered into the control unit 80, the control unit 80 causes the motor 75 to stop so that the shutter edge 70 will be located adjacent the front edge of said panel 3 and parallel therewith. The control unit 80 is also adapted 6 to drive the motor 66 so that the shutter edge 71, which at the upper edge or in the proximity of the edge 61 may carry a sensor/reader corresponding to the sensor/reader 72, is able to sense the other wall 3 of the compartment 31 in question. The sensor 62 is then connected so as to cause the control unit 80 to stop the motor 66. Because the motors are stopped in this position and therewith prevent displacement of the edges 61, 71, only one given compartment 31 will be opened.

This compartment may belong to an individual apartment owner who has a unique code that he/she can enter through a key pad

81 through which the control unit 80 is controlled to carry out the aforedescribed function.

A mailman responsible for delivering items to the various compartments may be provided with a code that he/she enters on the key pad 81 so as to cause the pre-programmed control unit to cause the shutters 67 to be moved so as to expose the entire opening 2, in other words so that all compartments 31 are opened for access through the opening 2.

As will be seen in Fig. 4, the walls 3 may be provided with bar codes 38 which enable the readers 72, 62 to locate respective walls 3 in a positive fashion. It will also be evident that the readers/sensors 62, 72 may be designed to find the walls 3 of the compartment in question, by counting from a reference point.

The walls 3 may consist of rigid plates whose bottom edges rest in corresponding grooves in the bottom plate 5. The bottom plate 5 may include a large number of such parallel grooves, or channels, spaced at a relatively small distance apart, so as to enable the wall panels 3 to be readily moved 7 to mutually different distances apart and therewith establish compartments 31 of different sizes so as to adapt a compartment to the average volume of letters/items to be delivered to respective compartment owners . The panels 3 can be clamped firmly in the selected groove or channel with the aid of an overlying bar that includes an associated latching/locking device (not shown).

In the illustrated embodiment, the wall panels defining the compartments are mutually plane-parallel and disposed adjacent each other. The wall panels are also separated horizontally, wherewith the shutters are moved horizontally.

It will be understood, however, that other arrangements are possible. For instance, the wall panels may be arranged horizontally and separated vertically, wherewith the shutters are moved vertically in front of similarly located panel edges . The compartments are preferably filled/emptied in a generally horizontal direction, although it is, of course, also possible to empty/fill said compartments in a vertical direction when the wall panels are orientated generally vertically.

It will also be understood that oblique intermediate forms can be established with respect to the stack of wall panels.

The roller shutters are suitably bendable about axes that extend perpendicular to the direction of shutter movement, but are rigid around axes that are parallel to said movement direction. This enables the roller shutters to be guided in curved paths. 8

It will also be understood that the roller shutters need not be separate but that each shutter may form a part of one single shutter train. Furthermore, it is not necessary, of course, for the shutters to be rolled-up on a roller shaft as in the case of the described embodiment. The shutters may, of course, be gathered together generally, by pleating or bending the shutters. In the case of the Fig. 2 embodiment, the rollers 65, 75 may therefore be replaced with drive wheels which impart the aforesaid movement to the shutters 6, 7, the end-parts of said shutters 6, 7 being received in the space between the wall 4 and the rear wall of the cabinet 1.

The shutters will preferably be bendable or flexible so as to enable the size of the storage device to be minimised. It will be understood, however, that the shutters may be formed from generally rigid plates, although it is preferred that the shutters are bendable about shafts that extend generally perpendicular to the direction of shutter movement and are parallel with the shutter plane.

A pusher means 73 may be provided at the edge 71 of the shutter 7, for instance, and activated to empty an exposed compartment.

Claims

9CLAIMS

1. A storage device comprising a cabinet (1) that includes a plurality of juxtaposed compartments (31) and a first means (6, 7, 61-66, 71-76, 80, 81) for enabling the compartments (31) to be opened selectively, characterised in that the cabinet includes a plurality of generally parallel panels (3) which delimit the compartments (31); in that an open end of respective compartments opens onto an opening ( 2 ) in the cabinet; in that the open ends of the compartments (31) lie in a given surface with the adjacent panel edges essentially adjacent said surface; in that two roller shutters are guided for movement along said surface; in that said shutters have complementary edges (61, 71) which are parallel with said adjacent panel edges at said surface; in that the shutters are arranged for movement such as to complementarily join said edges in said surface and therewith form a screen (6, 7) which screens the opening; in that the device includes a control unit which enables shutter movement means (66, 76) to move said shutters simultaneously so that the two shutters with mutually joined edges (61, 71) will be moved to the region of a specific compartment (31) selected through the medium of said first means; in that said first means includes elements (72) for stopping movement of the two shutters when their edges are located in the region of the opening of said specific compartment (3) towards said surface; and in that the control unit is adapted to drive the shutter moving means so as to expose the opening of said specific compartment and therewith expose the opening of an adjacent compartment (31) towards said surface. 10

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the edge (71) of one of said shutters (7) carries a sensor (72) which senses one wall-panel edge of the compartment (31) concerned, wherein the control unit (80) is adapted to latch this shutter temporarily with its edge (71) at said compartment edge, and to cause the other shutter (6) to be moved until a sensor (62) carried by said other shutter senses the presence of the other wall (3) of the compartment (31) concerned.

3. A device according to Claim 2 , characterised in that the control unit is adapted to move the shutters ( 7 ) to a position in which they expose all compartments in the cabinet surface in response to activation through the medium of an associated key or code, and therewith allow an authorised person to place items in said compartments, for instance mail items .

4. A storage device according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterised in that the panels are separated horizontally.

5. A storage device according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterised in that the panels (3) are separated vertically.

6. A storage device according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterised in that the shutters (6, 7) are each formed by an end-part of a bendable shutter train.

7. A storage device according to any one of Claims 1-6, characterised in that each shutter is bendable around shafts 1 1 that are perpendicular to the direction of shutter movement and parallel with the shutter plane.

8. A storage device according to any one of Claims 1-7, characterised in that the shutters extend generally in a vertical plane in front of the compartment openings.

9. A storage device according to any one of Claims 1-8, characterised in that one of said shutters carries a pusher means (73) adapted to push items contained in a compartment in a direction towards the opening that is exposed when the shutters have been moved apart.