US3757941A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Document and information storage and retrieval system
Assignee: Varian Adco
•
Filing: 1971-11-03
•
Granted: 1973-09-11
•
Expires: 1991-11-03
Abstract
Abstract Documents or information in the form of microfilm, microfiche or other permanent form are mounted on rectangular frames or carriers which are edge coded. A plurality of carriers are stored in a random manner in spaced slots arranged in one or more elongated storage bins with the bins arranged side by side. A bridge which carries a random document locator and retrieve and refile head assembly is adapted to move across the bins to a selected bin. The document locator, retrieve, and refile head assembly then moves along the bridge over the selected bin to store or retrieve selected carriers. During location, the coded edges are scanned to locate the desired carrier; an electrical control starts the retrieve cycle to pick up the carrier having the desired document and deposits the carrier on a conveyor system for transport to an output location where the document or information is presented to a video camera and the signal from the camera may be transmitted to a remote video terminal for viewing. The carrier is then returned to the document refile assembly along the same conveyor system where it is picked up and refiled by the head assembly.
Inventors
- 👤 W Anstin
- 👤 J Byrne
- 👤 G Clifford
- 👤 L Quaglia
- 👤 D Smith
- 👤 R Henkel
- 👤 A Odell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 22:49
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K17/00; G06K17/0003; G06K17/0012; G06K17/0009
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
114 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system comprising a plurality of elongated storage bins adapted to store document carriers, said bins disposed in side-by-side relationship, a bridge adapted to span lengthwise the storage bins, means for supporting said bridge for movement across said storage bins to span a selected bin, a head assembly adapted to move lengthwise along said bridge, conveyor means carried by and movable with said bridge for conveying carriers lengthwise along the bridge, said head assembly including carrier pick-up and refile means for removing carriers from said selected bin and delivering them to said conveyor means or for receiving carriers from said conveyor means and filing them in said selected bin.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
114 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system comprising a plurality of elongated storage bins adapted to store document carriers, said bins disposed in side-by-side relationship, a bridge adapted to span lengthwise the storage bins, means for supporting said bridge for movement across said storage bins to span a selected bin, a head assembly adapted to move lengthwise along said bridge, conveyor means carried by and movable with said bridge for conveying carriers lengthwise along the bridge, said head assembly including carrier pick-up and refile means for removing carriers from said selected bin and delivering them to said conveyor means or for receiving carriers from said conveyor means and filing them in said selected bin.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 1 including an output location and additional conveyor means for receiving carriers from said bridge conveyor and delivering them to said output location or returning them to said bridge conveyor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 2 wherein said additional conveyor means transports carriers transversely across said bins to the output location and means are provided at the end of said bridge conveyor for receiving said carriers therefrom and delivering them to the transverse conveyor or for receiving carriers from said transverse conveyor and delivering them to said bridge conveyor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 3 wherein said output location includes means for temporarily storing one or more of said document carriers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 4 wherein said temporary storage means stores the carriers in a vertical position and wherein means cooperate with the carriers leaving the transverse conveyor to turn them into a vertical position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
42 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 4 wherein said output location iNcludes means for viewing the documents on a carrier and means for receiving a carrier from the temporary storage means and presenting them to the viewing means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 6 wherein said means for receiving said document carriers can be moved in linear directions perpendicular to one another and rotated to thereby present a predetermined portion of the carrier at a predetermined orientation to said viewing means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 6 wherein a lens is provided between the viewing means and the carrier document and means are provided for moving the lens to focus the viewing means onto the document.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 8 wherein said viewing means comprises a video camera.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
66 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 1 wherein said carrier pickup and refile means includes spaced fingers for holding the edges of said carriers, carriage means for supporting said fingers, and means for guiding said carriage to move the fingers over a predetermined path to move the carriers between the bin and the means for placing the carriers on the bridge conveyor.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 10 including means for holding the carriers in said fingers as the carriers are moved between the bins and placing means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
A document carrier storage system as in claim 11 wherein said predetermined path extends vertically and horizontally.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
38 words
A document carrier as in claim 12 wherein said holding means includes an elongated slot serving to hold the carriers as they are moved vertically and a movable wall serving to guide the carriers when they move horizontally.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 1 wherein said carriers include a notched code and said head assembly includes means for reading the notched code to select a desired carrier.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
40 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 1 wherein rails are disposed between adjacent bins and said head assembly includes means for supporting and guiding the head on said rails whereby it travels along a selected bin.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
52 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 15 wherein said bridge includes a rail portion adapted to receive said head as the bridge moves from bin to bin and adapted to cooperate with the bin rails of a selected bin whereby the head can move along the bin rails.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
63 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 1 including servo motor drive means for separately driving each end of said bridge, one of said servo motor drive means being responsive to control signals for driving said bridge and the other of said servo motor drive means being responsive to driving by the one whereby it is slaved to said one.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
47 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 17 including means on said bridge for deriving a skew signal and applying it to means for controlling said other servo motor drive to control the speed of said motor drive to maintain the bridge in alignment.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
154 words
A document carrier and storage retrieval system comprising a frame, a plurality of elongated carrier storage bins supported in side-by-side relationship on said frame, a bridge adapted to bridge said storage bins lengthwise, track means adjacent each end of said storage bins, means for supporting said bridge on said track means whereby the bridge can travel across said bins to bridge a selected bin, a head assembly associated with said bridge, said head assembly adapted to move along said bridge and in cooperation with the selected bin, conveyor means carried by and movable with said bridge to convey carriers therealong, retrieve and refile means on said head assembly serving to pick up a selected carrier from a bin and deposit the carrier on the conveyor or for removing a carrier from the conveyor and reinserting it in the bin, an output station, and means for appLying carriers from said conveyor to said output station.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
154 words
A document carrier and storage retrieval system comprising a frame, a plurality of elongated carrier storage bins supported in side-by-side relationship on said frame, a bridge adapted to bridge said storage bins lengthwise, track means adjacent each end of said storage bins, means for supporting said bridge on said track means whereby the bridge can travel across said bins to bridge a selected bin, a head assembly associated with said bridge, said head assembly adapted to move along said bridge and in cooperation with the selected bin, conveyor means carried by and movable with said bridge to convey carriers therealong, retrieve and refile means on said head assembly serving to pick up a selected carrier from a bin and deposit the carrier on the conveyor or for removing a carrier from the conveyor and reinserting it in the bin, an output station, and means for appLying carriers from said conveyor to said output station.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 19 wherein said output station includes means for receiving individual carriers and presenting them for viewing by an associated viewing means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
18 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 20 wherein said output station includes viewing means.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
47 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 20 wherein said means for receiving individual carriers can be moved in linear directions perpendicular to one another and rotated thereby to present a predetermined portion of a carrier at a predetermined orientation to said viewing means.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
56 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 19 wherein said means for conveying carriers to said output station includes a cross conveyor adapted to receive carriers from the bridge conveyor and a temporary storage means adapted to receive carriers from the cross conveyor and temporarily store them for cooperation with said viewing means.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
215 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system comprising a plurality of elongated carrier storage bins disposed in side-by-side relationship, a bridge adapted to span individual storage bins lengthwise, means for supporting said bridge across said storage bins to span a selected bin, a head assembly associated with said storage bins to move lengthwise therealong, conveyor means carried for movement with said bridge to convey the carriers therealong, said head assembly including a pickup and refile means for removing carriers from said bins and delivering them to said conveyor or for removing them from the conveyor and filing them in the storage bins, an output station, conveyor means cooperating with said longitudinal conveyor for delivering carriers from and to said conveyor and to and from said output location, temporary storage means at the output location adapted to receive one or more carriers and temporarily store the carrier, a display station including a video camera and means for supporting individual carriers, means for inserting carriers from said temporary storage means into said carrier holding means for viewing by said video camera, means associated with said carrier holding means for rotating the same and translating the same to thereby present a predetermined portion of the document carried by the carrier at a predetermined orientation to the viewing means.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
215 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system comprising a plurality of elongated carrier storage bins disposed in side-by-side relationship, a bridge adapted to span individual storage bins lengthwise, means for supporting said bridge across said storage bins to span a selected bin, a head assembly associated with said storage bins to move lengthwise therealong, conveyor means carried for movement with said bridge to convey the carriers therealong, said head assembly including a pickup and refile means for removing carriers from said bins and delivering them to said conveyor or for removing them from the conveyor and filing them in the storage bins, an output station, conveyor means cooperating with said longitudinal conveyor for delivering carriers from and to said conveyor and to and from said output location, temporary storage means at the output location adapted to receive one or more carriers and temporarily store the carrier, a display station including a video camera and means for supporting individual carriers, means for inserting carriers from said temporary storage means into said carrier holding means for viewing by said video camera, means associated with said carrier holding means for rotating the same and translating the same to thereby present a predetermined portion of the document carried by the carrier at a predetermined orientation to the viewing means.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
34 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 24 wherein said display station includes additionally a lens means and means for moving said lens for focusing the video camera on said carriers.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
63 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 24 including servo motor drive means for separately driving each end of said bridge, one of said servo motor drive means being responsive to control signals for driving said bridge and the other of said servo motor drive means being responsive to driving by the one whereby it is slaved to said one.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
47 words
A document carrier storage and retrieval system as in claim 26 including means on said bridge for deriving a skew signal and applying it to means for controlling said other servo motor drive to control the speed of said motor drive to maintain the bridge in alignment.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3288024A
Cited
US3176279A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-09-10 | 1977-03-12 | 1977-09-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-09-10 | 1981-03-12 | 1981-09-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-09-10 | 1985-03-12 | 1985-09-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |