Method and apparatus for coded, self-service transfer of articles

Claim 1

In a coded, automatic, self service garment dispenser of the type having an endless conveyor carrying a plurality of individual sets of conventional wire coat hanger supported garments spaced therealong in front to back closely spaced relation said conveyor having a garment transfer station with a locked immovable compartment along the path thereof and said dispenser having customer actuated code control mechanism for halting said conveyor with the customer''s garments at said station the combination of; coat hanger transfer means at said station, for bodily transporting a set of said coat hangers, so halted at said station, away from said conveyor and into said locked immovable compartment; said means including a carriage, track means supporting and guiding said carriage to move in an arcuate path in a vertical plane; an arm having a horizontally extending terminal hook, said arm being pivoted to said carriage to move in a horizontal plane, and cam means, on said support, for pivoting said arm laterally in a horizontal plane to hook sidewise under the hooks of the hangers of said set; and power means, independent of said conveyor, and responsive to a signal from said code control mechanism to actuate said transfer means to move said carriage back and forth between said conveyor and said compartment whereby the hook of said arm moves horizontally under said hanger hooks, and the vertical arcuate path of said carriage on said track means lifts said hooks up off said conveyor and thence over and down in a vErtical plane to the level of said compartment.

Claim 10

The method of transferring dry cleaned garments suspended on conventional wire coat hangers on a halted endless conveyor into a locked immovable self service compartment by means of a track, carriage and pivoted transfer arm which comprises the steps of: moving said carriage on said track in a compound curved path in a vertical plane, with said arm fixed against vertical movement thereon, up to said conveyor then, pivoting said arm in a horizontal plane on said carriage to move the hooked terminal end thereof horizontally away from the hangers to be engaged as the carriage comes to a halt then pivoting said arm in a horizontal plane in the reverse direction to engage the hooked terminal end under the cluster of hooks of said hangers on said conveyor then moving said carriage in an upwardly inclined direction to lift said hooked end of said arm and thereby lift said hooks off said conveyor for retraction, and then moving said carriage, arm and garments over to said compartmenT while describing a compound curve in a vertical plane to deposit the same in said compartment.

Claim 11

The method of transferring dry cleaned garments suspended on conventional wire coat hangers on a halted endless conveyor into a locked immovable self service compartment by means of a track, carriage and pivoted transfer arm which comprises the steps of: moving said carriage on said track in a compound curved path in a vertical plane, with said arm fixed against vertical movement thereon, up to said conveyor then, pivoting said arm in a horizontal plane on said carriage to move the hooked terminal end thereof horizontally away from the hangers to be engaged as the carriage comes to a halt then pivoting said arm in a horizontal plane in the reverse direction to engage the hooked terminal end under the cluster of hooks of said hangers on said conveyor then moving said carriage in an upwardly inclined direction to lift said hooked end of said arm and thereby lift said hooks off said conveyor for retraction, and then moving said carriage, arm and garments over to said compartmenT while describing a compound curve in a vertical plane to deposit the same in said compartment.