US3727756A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Article supply system
Assignee: OI Glass Inc
•
Filing: 1971-05-27
•
Granted: 1973-04-17
•
Expires: 1991-05-27
Abstract
Abstract An article supply system for supplying articles on demand to a production line at which the demand for the articles may be variable or irregular. The system is specifically designed for the production line assembly of composite articles in which two components of the article are continuously manufactured at independently variable rates and fed through separate lines which merge with each other at an assembly station. The system includes a bank of individual storage cells operable to receive, store and discharge in an oriented position like units constituting one component of the composite article. A supply accumulator cell is located upstream of the storage cells to continuously receive the units as they are manufactured and to intermittently transfer the units to selected ones of the storage cells. A demand accumulator is located between the storage cells and the assembly station to continuously supply units to the assembly station in accordance with the demand rate at which the second components of the article are fed to the assembly station. The demand accumulator is supplied with units from the storage cells to maintain an adequate supply of bases within the demand accumulator at all times. Selection of the individual storage cells to be loaded or unloaded is under the control of a computer which maintains an inventory of the status of the various cells at all times. An inspection system also operates through the computer to prevent substandard articles from being transferred to the assembly station.
Inventors
- 👤 J Koluch
- 👤 R Wittman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 05:43
CPC Classifications
C; C03; C03B; C03B23/00; C03B23/0013; B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/34; B65G47/46; B65G47/51; B65G47/5104; B65G47/5109; B65G47/5113; B65G2201/00; B65G2201/02; B65G2201/0235; B65G2201/0244; B65G2201/0261; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P40/00; Y02P40/50; Y02P40/57; Y10; Y10S; Y10S209/00; Y10S209/922; Y10T; Y10T156/00; Y10T156/17; Y10T156/1702; Y10T156/1744; Y10T156/1768
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
166 words
The method of supplying articles on demand to a production line work station wherein a normal substantially constant rate of demand for articles at said work station is subject to variation or temporary interruptions for random and unpredictable lengths of time comprising the steps of: manufacturing said articles at a rate approximating said normal rate of demand, continuously feEding the articles as manufactured to a supply accumulator operable to receive and store up to a predetermined number of said articles, successively transferring articles in unit groups from said supply accumulator to individual ones of a group of like storage cells each having the capacity to receive and store a unit group of articles, intermittently emptying said cells sequentially, and transferring the articles emptied from said cells to a demand accumulator to store at least a minimum number of articles in said demand accumulator at all times, and transferring the articles from said demand accumulator to said work station on demand for articles at said work station.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
166 words
The method of supplying articles on demand to a production line work station wherein a normal substantially constant rate of demand for articles at said work station is subject to variation or temporary interruptions for random and unpredictable lengths of time comprising the steps of: manufacturing said articles at a rate approximating said normal rate of demand, continuously feEding the articles as manufactured to a supply accumulator operable to receive and store up to a predetermined number of said articles, successively transferring articles in unit groups from said supply accumulator to individual ones of a group of like storage cells each having the capacity to receive and store a unit group of articles, intermittently emptying said cells sequentially, and transferring the articles emptied from said cells to a demand accumulator to store at least a minimum number of articles in said demand accumulator at all times, and transferring the articles from said demand accumulator to said work station on demand for articles at said work station.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of maintaining the articles in a desired orientation by confining movement of said articles to a flow path having one dimension normal to the direction of movement of the articles only slightly exceeding one major dimension of said articles to thereby maintain said one major dimension of said articles normal to the direction of movement at all times.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of storing the articles in said accumulators and said cells in a vertical layer having a thickness of said one major dimension and a width and height respectively corresponding to multiples of other major dimensions of said articles.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 3 further comprising the steps of gravitationally feeding the articles into and out of said accumulators and said cells.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
129 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said cells are located in an aligned bank and the step of feeding said articles into said cells comprises the steps of transferring articles in line from said supply accumulator along a first path extending transversely above said bank of cells, diverting articles from said first path at a selected one of a plurality of locations on said first path, each of said plurality of locations being operatively aligned with one of said cells to cause articles diverted at a given one of said locations to drop into the cell operatively aligned therewith, and continuing to divert articles from said first path at said selected one of said plurality of locations until the cell aligned with the selected location is filled with articles.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method defined in claim 5 further comprising the steps of diverting said articles from said first path by means of a chute moveable along said first path to said locations, maintaining an inventory of those cells which are empty, and selecting the next cell to be filled as that empty cell which requires the least amount of movement of said chute.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
77 words
The method defined in claim 1 further comprising the steps of periodically inspecting an article at an inspection station upstream of said storage cells to determine if the article inspected is satisfactory or unsatisfactory, maintaining an inspect inventory of those cells into which articles passing said inspection station between successive inspections are transferred, and removing from the selected sequence of cells to be emptied those cells in said inspect inventory upon the inspection of an unsatisfactory article.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
121 words
The method defined in claim 1 further comprising the steps of alternatively directing the flow of articles during the manufacturing step through either of a first or second decorating station respectively operable to apply a first or a second decoration to articles passing therethrough, regulating the flow of articles to said cells in accordance with the decoration applied to the articles so that each filled cell contains only articles having one type of decoration, maintaining a first inventory of those cells filled with articles having said first decoration, maintaining a second inventory of those cells filled with articles having said second decoration, and confining the selection of cells to be emptied to a selected one of said first and second inventories.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method defined in claim 1 further comprising the step of transferring the artIcles from said cells to said demand accumulator at a rate dependent upon the number of articles stored in said demand accumulator.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
193 words
A storage system for supplying articles to a production line on demand comprising a plurality of storage cells grouped together in side by side relationship, each of said cells being adapted to receive, store and discharge articles in a preselected orientation, cell leading means operable to feed oriented articles into a selected first empty storage cell until the cell is filled, first control means operable upon the filling of said selected first cell for shifting said cell loading means to a selected second empty cell for subsequent loading of articles into said second empty cell, cell unloading means operable to empty all articles from a selected first filled storage cell, second control means operable upon the emptying of all articles from said selected first filled cell for shifting said cell unloading means to a selected second filled storage cell for subsequent unloading of said second filled cell, transfer means for receiving articles from said cell unloading means and transferring the received articles to said production line in accordance with the demand for articles at said production line, and control means operable by said transfer means for controlling operation of said cell unloading means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
193 words
A storage system for supplying articles to a production line on demand comprising a plurality of storage cells grouped together in side by side relationship, each of said cells being adapted to receive, store and discharge articles in a preselected orientation, cell leading means operable to feed oriented articles into a selected first empty storage cell until the cell is filled, first control means operable upon the filling of said selected first cell for shifting said cell loading means to a selected second empty cell for subsequent loading of articles into said second empty cell, cell unloading means operable to empty all articles from a selected first filled storage cell, second control means operable upon the emptying of all articles from said selected first filled cell for shifting said cell unloading means to a selected second filled storage cell for subsequent unloading of said second filled cell, transfer means for receiving articles from said cell unloading means and transferring the received articles to said production line in accordance with the demand for articles at said production line, and control means operable by said transfer means for controlling operation of said cell unloading means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
139 words
A storage system as defined in claim 10 wherein each of said cells comprises a pair of parallel vertically disposed partitions spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to one major dimension of the article to receive and store the articles with said one major dimension of each article oriented in a dimension normal to said partitions, upper, lower and opposite sidewall means extending between said partitions to define an article receiving and retaining chamber therebetween, article inlet means in the upper wall of said chamber for receiving oriented articles from said cell loading means, gate means in said lower wall normally closed to retain articles in said chamber, and gate opening means on said cell unloading means operable to open the gate means of a selected filled cell to permit articles to be discharged from the cell.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
105 words
A system as defined in claim 11 wherein said lower wall is substantially horizontal further comprising flipper means extending along said lower wall between said sidewalls and said gate means normally maintained in a horizontal position flush with said lower wall, and means on said cell unloading means for shifting said flipper means into an active position wherein said flipper means are elevated relative to said lower wall and inclined downwardly toward said gate means after a predetermined number of articles have been gravitationally discharged from the cell upon opening of the gate means to facilitate the discharge of the remaining articles from the cell.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
67 words
A system as defined in claim 10 wherein said transfer means comprises an article accumulator, first conveying means for conveying articles from said cell unloading means to said accumulator, second conveying means for conveying articles from said accumulator to said production line, and means responsive to the number of articles in said accumulator for actuating said control means and controlling the operation of said first conveying means.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
64 words
A system as defined in claim 10 further comprising supply means operable to manufacture said articles and to discharge the articles in an oriented position at a selected constant rate, a supply accumulator for receiving articles from said supply means and accumulating the received articles in an oriented condition, and conveying means for conveying articles from said supply accumulator to said cell loading means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
94 words
A system as defined in claim 10 wherein said cell unloading means comprises a loading carriage mounted for movement along a path extending transversely above said cells normal to said partitions, positioning means operable to shift said loading carriage along said path intO operative relationship with any selected one of said cells, and cell selection means including memory means maintaining an inventory of which of said cells are empty for selecting the next cell to be filled and operating said positioning means to shift said loading carriage into operative relationship with said next cell.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
110 words
A system as defined in claim 15 further comprising manufacturing means for manufacturing said articles and discharging the manufactured articles in an oriented position at a substantially constant selected rate, a supply accumulator for receiving and accumulating oriented articles from said manufacturing means, conveying means for conveying articles from said supply accumulator to said cell loading means, gate means in said conveying means moveable between an open position accommodating flow of articles from said conveying means to said loading means and a closed position blocking flow of articles to said cell loading means, and means for shifting said gate means to said closed position during movement of said loading carriage.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
194 words
In an article storage system having a plurality of like article storage cells grouped together in a side by side arranged bank; loading means for loading articles into said cells comprising conveying means for conveying articles in line along a first path extending transversely across and above said bank of cells from one end of said bank of cells to the opposite end thereof, a loading carriage mounted above said cells for movement parallel to said first path, a chute mounted on said loading carriage for movement therewith and having an article receiving inlet opening maintained in said first path, said chute diverging from said inlet opening to one side of said conveying means and thence downwardly to an article discharge opening, positioning means for locating said carriage at selected positions along its path whereat said article discharge opening is in alignment with a selected one of said cells to divert the flow of articles from said first path into said selected ones of said cells, and gate means at said one end of said bank of cells for stopping the flow of articles along said first path during operation of said positioning means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
194 words
In an article storage system having a plurality of like article storage cells grouped together in a side by side arranged bank; loading means for loading articles into said cells comprising conveying means for conveying articles in line along a first path extending transversely across and above said bank of cells from one end of said bank of cells to the opposite end thereof, a loading carriage mounted above said cells for movement parallel to said first path, a chute mounted on said loading carriage for movement therewith and having an article receiving inlet opening maintained in said first path, said chute diverging from said inlet opening to one side of said conveying means and thence downwardly to an article discharge opening, positioning means for locating said carriage at selected positions along its path whereat said article discharge opening is in alignment with a selected one of said cells to divert the flow of articles from said first path into said selected ones of said cells, and gate means at said one end of said bank of cells for stopping the flow of articles along said first path during operation of said positioning means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
68 words
In an article storage system as defined in claim 17; the further improvement comprising stationary guide means extending above and along that side of said conveying means opposite said one side to maintain articles on said first path, and extensible article guide means extending along said one side of said conveying means from said one end of said bank of cells to said inlet opening of said chute.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
64 words
In an article storage system as defined in claim 17; the further improvement comprising counting means located adjacent said conveying means for counting articles passing into said selected cell, and means operable by said counting means for closing said gate means to discontinue the flow of articles into said selected cell after a predetermined number of articles have been loaded into said selected cell.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
61 words
In an article storage system as defined in claim 17; the further improvement comprising means for continuously manufacturing and supplying articles at a substantially constant rate to a first location, an article accumulator for receiving and temporarily storing said articles at said first location, and transfer means for transferring articles in an oriented position from said accumulator to said conveying means.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
262 words
In an article storage system; an article storage cell assembly having a plurality of like cells in side by side relationship, each cell comprising a pair of like partitions mounted in opposed parallel relationship to each other to define opposed vertical walls of said cell spaced from each other by a distance slightly exceeding one major dimension of the articles to be stored therein, means extending between said partitions to define opposite side walls of said cell, an upper wall extending between said partitions having at least one article inlet openiNg therethrough to accommodate the passage of articles into said cell with said major dimension of the article normal to said partitions, a lower wall extending between said partitions and having an article discharge opening therethrough accommodating the passage of articles from said cell with said major dimension of the article normal to said partitions, retractible gate means normally closing said discharge opening to permit the filling of said cell with a plurality of articles stacked in a vertically disposed layer one article in thickness with said major dimension of each article normal to said partitions, gate actuating means for retracting said gate means clear of said discharge opening to permit the gravitational discharge of articles from said cell, first conveying means extending above said cell assembly for feeding articles to the inlet openings of said cells, cell unloading means moveable beneath said cell assembly into alignment with a selected cell and operable when aligned with a selected cell to control operation of the gate actuating means of the cell aligned therewith.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
262 words
In an article storage system; an article storage cell assembly having a plurality of like cells in side by side relationship, each cell comprising a pair of like partitions mounted in opposed parallel relationship to each other to define opposed vertical walls of said cell spaced from each other by a distance slightly exceeding one major dimension of the articles to be stored therein, means extending between said partitions to define opposite side walls of said cell, an upper wall extending between said partitions having at least one article inlet openiNg therethrough to accommodate the passage of articles into said cell with said major dimension of the article normal to said partitions, a lower wall extending between said partitions and having an article discharge opening therethrough accommodating the passage of articles from said cell with said major dimension of the article normal to said partitions, retractible gate means normally closing said discharge opening to permit the filling of said cell with a plurality of articles stacked in a vertically disposed layer one article in thickness with said major dimension of each article normal to said partitions, gate actuating means for retracting said gate means clear of said discharge opening to permit the gravitational discharge of articles from said cell, first conveying means extending above said cell assembly for feeding articles to the inlet openings of said cells, cell unloading means moveable beneath said cell assembly into alignment with a selected cell and operable when aligned with a selected cell to control operation of the gate actuating means of the cell aligned therewith.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
93 words
An article storage cell as defined in claim 21 wherein said discharge opening is located centrally of said lower wall and further comprising a flipper bar mounted at each side of said discharge opening for pivotal movement about an axis normal to said partitions, each flipper bar extending from said discharge opening to the adjacent side wall of said cells, and flipper bar operating means operable subsequent to the retracting of said gate means for pivoting said flipper bars upwardly about their respective axes to assist in gravitationally discharging articles from said cells.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
63 words
In an article storage system as defined in claim 22 said cell unloading means comprising an unloading carriage mounted for movement along a path extending beneath said cells in a direction normal to said partitions, means mounting said flipper bar operating means on said carriage for movement therewith, and carriage drive means for positioning said carriage beneath a selected one of said cells.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
106 words
In an article storage system as defined in claim 23; the further improvement comprising conveying means having an article receiving run extending beneath said carriage in parallel relationship to the path of movement of said carriage, chute means mounted on said carriage having an article receiving opening located to be in vertical alignment with the article discharge opening of said selected one of said cells, said chute having an article outlet opening at its opposite end for discharging articles onto said article receiving run of said conveying means with said major dimension of the articles normal to the direction of movement of said article receiving run.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
264 words
An article storage system comprising a plurality of like article storage cells arranged in a side by side bank, each of said cells having an article receiving opening at the top of the cell, the article receiving openings in the respective cells being aligned with each other in a row, an article infeed conveyor extending across and above said bank in parallel relationship to said row of openings for conveying articles above said bank of cells, feeding means for feeding articles onto the inlet end of said infeed conveyor, gate means at the inlet end of said infeed conveyor, gate control means operable to selectively position said gate means in an open or in a closed position wherein said gate means respectively permits or blocks the movement of articles from said feeding means onto said infeed conveyor, article diverting means moveable along said conveying means into alignment with the article receiving opening of a cell to transfer articles conveyed on said conveying means into said cell, positioning means actuable to shift said diverting means into alignment with the opening of a selected one of said cells, first control means actuable in response to the filling of a first cell to a predetermined extent with articles for closing said gate means, second control means operable to predetermined time after actuation of said first control means for actuating said positioning means to shift said diverting means into alignment with a second empty cell, and third control means operable in response to the alignment of said diverting means with said second cell for opening said gate means.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
264 words
An article storage system comprising a plurality of like article storage cells arranged in a side by side bank, each of said cells having an article receiving opening at the top of the cell, the article receiving openings in the respective cells being aligned with each other in a row, an article infeed conveyor extending across and above said bank in parallel relationship to said row of openings for conveying articles above said bank of cells, feeding means for feeding articles onto the inlet end of said infeed conveyor, gate means at the inlet end of said infeed conveyor, gate control means operable to selectively position said gate means in an open or in a closed position wherein said gate means respectively permits or blocks the movement of articles from said feeding means onto said infeed conveyor, article diverting means moveable along said conveying means into alignment with the article receiving opening of a cell to transfer articles conveyed on said conveying means into said cell, positioning means actuable to shift said diverting means into alignment with the opening of a selected one of said cells, first control means actuable in response to the filling of a first cell to a predetermined extent with articles for closing said gate means, second control means operable to predetermined time after actuation of said first control means for actuating said positioning means to shift said diverting means into alignment with a second empty cell, and third control means operable in response to the alignment of said diverting means with said second cell for opening said gate means.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
34 words
A system as defined in claim 25 further comprising means responsive to the jamming of articles in movement between said gate means and the cell receiving opening for stopping operation of said conveying means.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
66 words
A system as defined in claim 25 wherein said second control means includes detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of articles in said diverting means, and fourth control means operable by said detecting means for preventing actuation of said positioning means upon the presence of an article in said diverting means after a predetermined time interval subsequent to the closing of said gate means.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
79 words
A system as defined in claim 25 wherein said first control means comprises a counter for maintaining a count of articles fed to said cell and operable to generate a signal upon the counting of a predetermined number of articles, level sensing means adjacent the inlet opening of said cell operable to generate a signal, and signal receiving means responsive to a signal generated by either of said counter and said level sensing means for closing said gate means.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
218 words
Article storage means comprising a plurality of like article storage cells arranged in a side by side bank, each of said cells having an article discharge opening at the bottom of the cell, the discharge openings in the respective cells being aligned with each other in a row gate means on each cell normally closing the cell discharge opening and moveable to an open position to permit the discharge of articles from the cell, conveying means extending beneath said bank of cells in underlying relationship to said row of discharge openings for conveying articles from said bank of cells, an unloading carriage moveable beneath said cells between said openings and said conveying means and operable when aligned with a cell discharge openings to conduct articles from the cell onto said conveying means, positioning means actuable to move said carriage into alignment with the discharge opening of a cell, first control means responsive to the alignment of said carriage with the discharge opening of a first cell for opening the gate means of said first cell, second control means responsive to the emptying of said first cell for closing said gate means, and third control means responsive to the closing of said gate means for actuating said positioning means to shift said carriage to a selected filled second cell.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
218 words
Article storage means comprising a plurality of like article storage cells arranged in a side by side bank, each of said cells having an article discharge opening at the bottom of the cell, the discharge openings in the respective cells being aligned with each other in a row gate means on each cell normally closing the cell discharge opening and moveable to an open position to permit the discharge of articles from the cell, conveying means extending beneath said bank of cells in underlying relationship to said row of discharge openings for conveying articles from said bank of cells, an unloading carriage moveable beneath said cells between said openings and said conveying means and operable when aligned with a cell discharge openings to conduct articles from the cell onto said conveying means, positioning means actuable to move said carriage into alignment with the discharge opening of a cell, first control means responsive to the alignment of said carriage with the discharge opening of a first cell for opening the gate means of said first cell, second control means responsive to the emptying of said first cell for closing said gate means, and third control means responsive to the closing of said gate means for actuating said positioning means to shift said carriage to a selected filled second cell.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
113 words
A system as defined in claim 29 further comprising flipper bar means on the bottom of each cell adjacent the discharge opening moveable from a normally maintained inactive position on the cell bottom to an active position wherein said bar means incline downwardly toward said opening to assist in gravitationally discharging articles from the cell, counting means for maintaining a count of articles discharged from the cell, a bar actuating means on said carriage operable when said counting means reaches a preset count for shifting said flipper bar means to said active position, and means responsive to the closing of said gate means for restoring said flipper bar means to said inactive position.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
87 words
A system as defined in claim 29 further comprising demand accumulator means for receiving articles from said conveying means and for discharging articles at a randomly variable rate, said accumulator being operable to store and accumulate a supply of articles to compensate for fluctuations in the rate at which articles are discharged therefrom, drive means for driving said conveying means at different rates of speed, and drive control means for controlling operation of said drive means in accordance with the number of articles accumulated in said acCumulator.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system as defined in claim 31 wherein said drive control means includes means for stopping said conveying means when said accumulator is substantially filled with articles.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
62 words
A system as defined in claim 32 wherein said carriage comprises a chute defining a confined gravitational flow path for articles from the discharge opening onto the surface of said conveying means, stoppage of said conveying means, by said drive control means during emptying of a cell causing articles on said conveying means to block the flow of articles from said chute.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
30 words
A system as defined in claim 33 further comprising means in said third control means for preventing actuation of said positioning means until said conveying means is cleared of articles.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-04-16 | 1976-10-16 | 1977-04-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-04-16 | 1980-10-16 | 1981-04-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-04-16 | 1984-10-16 | 1985-04-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |