Apparatus for temporary storage of articles

Claim 2

Apparatus for storing articles, comprising a storage unit in the form of a helical shelf with a vertical axis and which is mounted for rotation around said axis, conveying means providing for movement of said articles seriatim along a path between the shelf and a stationary delivery point outside the shelf, which path remains substantially fixed in lateral poSition as the shelf rotates and which leads directly to different positions along the shelf dependent on the rotational position of the shelf, and means for providing relative vertical movement between the storage unit and a part of the conveyor means adjacent the shelf so as to maintain a constant relationship between said part of the conveyor means and the surface of the shelf as the shelf rotates.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage unit is mounted for rotation without vertical movement, and wherein said part of the conveyor means adjacent the shelf is vertically movable by an amount equivalent to the overall axial height of the shelf.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conveying means includes pinch belts.

Claim 5

Apparatus for storing thin flat flexible articles, comprising a storage unit in the form of a helical shelf with a vertical axis and which is mounted for rotation around said axis, pinch belt means for conveying said articles seriatim between the storage unit and a stationary delivery point outside the unit along a path which remains substantially fixed in lateral position as the shelf rotates and which leads directly to different positions along the shelf dependent on the rotational position of the shelf, said pinch belt means including a movable end part adjacent the shelf arranged to hold said articles vertical while moving the articles laterally to allow transfer of said articles between the pinch belt means and the shelf, means providing vertical movement of said end part of the pinch belt means so as to maintain a constant relationship thereof to an adjacent portion of the shelf as the shelf rotates, said pinch belt means also including an intermediate part twisted through 90* relative to said movable end part, said intermediate part providing an inclined path of varying length between a delivery end part of the pinch belt means, which delivery end part is stationary in position, and the said movable end part.

Claim 6

Apparatus for storing thin flat flexible articles, comprising a storage unit in the form of a helical shelf with a vertical axis and which is mounted for rotation around said axis, pinch belt means for conveying said articles seriatim between the storage unit and a stationary delivery point outside the unit along a path which remains substantially fixed in lateral position as the shelf rotates and which leads directly to different positions along the shelf dependent on the rotational position of the shelf, said pinch belt means including a movable end part adjacent the shelf arranged to hold said articles vertical while moving the articles laterally to allow transfer of said articles between the pinch belt means and the shelf, means providing vertical movement of said end part of the pinch belt means so as to maintain a constant relationship thereof to an adjacent portion of the shelf as the shelf rotates, said pinch belt means also including an intermediate part twisted through 90* relative to said movable end part, said intermediate part providing an inclined path of varying length between a delivery end part of the pinch belt means, which delivery end part is stationary in position, and the said movable end part.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the junction between the intermediate part of the pinch belt means and the delivery end part thereof is defined by first horizontal pulley means, and wherein the junction between the said intermediate part and the said movable end part is defined by second horizontal pulley means, said second horizontal pulley means being movable vertically without lateral movement with the said movable end part of the pinch belt means, and wherein further pulley means are provided holding return reaches of said pinch belt means spaced away from the operative reaches thereof, said further pulley means being biased away from said operative reaches to hold the operative reaches taut in spite of movements of said second pulley means.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said pinch belt means comprises a main set of pinch belts, which main set includes said intermediate part and a portion of the movable end part of the pinch belt means, and a further set of pinch belts forming another portion of the movable end part of the pinch belt means, said further set of pinch belts being part of a feeder/stacker operable selectively to feed articles from a stack of said articles on the shelf in side-by-side relationship and in vertical radial planes, into the main set of pinch belts, or to transfer said articles from the main set of pinch belts onto the shelf to form a similar stack of said articles.

Claim 9

Apparatus for storing thin flat flexible articles, comprising: a support, bearing means carried by the support and having a vertical axis, a helical shelf co-axially mounted on said bearing means for rotation about the axis thereof, carriage means movable vertically on said support, means being provided for simultaneously rotating said shelf and moving said carriage means in such manner that the carriage means maintains a vertical constant relationship with the surface of the shelf, pulley means carrying a main set of pinch belts, including a first set of horIzontal pulley means mounted on the support in stationary position, a second set of horizontal pulley means mounted on said carriage means, said first and second sets of pulley means defining the ends of an inclined path of varying length for operative reaches of the pinch belts carried thereby, and further pulleys spaced from the operative reaches of the said pinch belts for holding return reaches of said pinch belts, and a feeder/stacker also mounted on said carriage means and including means for moving said articles between said main pinch belts and stacked positions on the shelf, in which stacked positions the articles lie in substantially vertical planes extending radially of the shelf.

Claim 10

Apparatus for storing thin flat flexible articles, comprising: a support, bearing means carried by the support and having a vertical axis, a helical shelf co-axially mounted on said bearing means for rotation about the axis thereof, carriage means movable vertically on said support, means being provided for simultaneously rotating said shelf and moving said carriage means in such manner that the carriage means maintains a vertical constant relationship with the surface of the shelf, pulley means carrying a main set of pinch belts, including a first set of horIzontal pulley means mounted on the support in stationary position, a second set of horizontal pulley means mounted on said carriage means, said first and second sets of pulley means defining the ends of an inclined path of varying length for operative reaches of the pinch belts carried thereby, and further pulleys spaced from the operative reaches of the said pinch belts for holding return reaches of said pinch belts, and a feeder/stacker also mounted on said carriage means and including means for moving said articles between said main pinch belts and stacked positions on the shelf, in which stacked positions the articles lie in substantially vertical planes extending radially of the shelf.

Claim 11

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said pulley means for said main pinch belts also include vertical pulley means mounted on said carriage means and spaced horizontally from said second set of horizontal pulley means, whereby said pinch belts are twisted through 90* on passing from said second set of horizontal pulley means to said vertical pulley means, and wherein said feeder stacker includes a further set of pinch belts carried by further vertical pulley means and capable of receiving said articles from the main pinch belts passing around said vertical pulley means.

Claim 12

Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said further set of pinch belts has an entry point adjacent one edge of the shelf and a discharge point adjacent an end of the main set of pinch belts, one of the belts of said further set of pinch belts also having a reach extending from said end of the main set of pinch belts to the shelf and passing over the side of the shelf opposite to said one edge.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the feeder stacker comprises friction belt means, movable independently of said further set of pinch belts and positioned over said shelf so as to deliver articles from the shelf to said further set of pinch belts.

Claim 14

Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said feeder/stacker includes movable stop means against which said articles are stacked by the feeder/stacker when operating in a stacking mode, said stop means being movable to allow feeding of said articles from the side of the shelf opposite to that over which the articles pass when being stacked.

Claim 15

Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said feeder/stacker is arranged to stack said articles on the shelf by movement radially inward relatively to the shelf.

Claim 16

Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said further set of pinch belts has an entry point adjacent one edge of the shelf and a discharge point adjacent an end of the main set of pinch belts, one of the belts of said further set of pinch belts also having a reach extending from said end of the main set of pinch belts to the shelf and passing over the side of the shelf opposite to said one edge.

Claim 17

Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the feeder stacker comprises friction belt means, movable independently of said further set of pinch belts and positioned over said shelf so as to deliver articles from the shelf to said further set of pinch belts.

Claim 18

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said feeder/stacker includes movable stop means against which said articles are stacked by the feeder/stacker when operating in a stacking mode, said stop means being movable to allow feeding of said articles from the side of the shelf opposite to that over which the articles pass when being stacked.

Claim 19

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said feeder/stacker is arranged to stack said articles on the shelf by movement radially inward relatively to the shelf.

Claim 20

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said carriage means are movable vertically by a motor controlled by sensing means carried by the carriage means and which senses the height relative to the carriage means of a portion of the shelf adjacent the carriage means.

Claim 21

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first set of horizontal pulley means is mounted on further caRriage means, said further carriage means being normally stationary during operation of the apparatus but being adjustable in height.

Claim 22

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said frame is provided with wheels to allow the apparatus to be moved, with articles stacked therein, from one location to another.

Claim 23

A process for temporarily storing flat thin articles such as letters, comprising the steps of: moving said articles seriatim while disposed vertically into a pinch belt arrangement at stationary point, rotating said articles by said belt arrangement to dispose the articles in a horizontal plane, moving said articles by said belt arrangement along an inclined plane to a level different from said stationary point, said inclined plane being fixed in lateral position, rotating said articles into the vertical plane and simultaneously moving said articles in a horizontal direction towards stacking means, stacking said articles along a helical shelf, said shelf being continuously rotated during stacking so that the lateral position of the stacking operation remains fixed, while continuously raising or lowering the stacking position in accordance with the level of that part of the shelf receiving the articles.

Claim 24

A process for temporarily storing flat thin articles such as letters, comprising the steps of: moving said articles seriatim while disposed vertically into a pinch belt arrangement at stationary point, rotating said articles by said belt arrangement to dispose the articles in a horizontal plane, moving said articles by said belt arrangement along an inclined plane to a level different from said stationary point, said inclined plane being fixed in lateral position, rotating said articles into the vertical plane and simultaneously moving said articles in a horizontal direction towards stacking means, stacking said articles along a helical shelf, said shelf being continuously rotated during stacking so that the lateral position of the stacking operation remains fixed, while continuously raising or lowering the stacking position in accordance with the level of that part of the shelf receiving the articles.

Claim 25

A process according to claim 20, wherein said articles are stacked with one end against a stop adjacent one edge of the shelf, which stop remains in fixed position relative to the stacking position during the stacking operation, said process including a subsequent step of displacing the stop from said fixed position and feeding articles from the stack on the shelf with the stop displaced to allow the articles to be fed from the shelf over the said one edge.