Device for storing and/or retrieving objects

Claim 1

Apparatus for conveying individual objects between a service station and the compartments of a set of storage supports, said objects being provided with identifying codes, comprising, a set of storage supports having an access face in front of which the object to be conveyed is moved and having storage compartments for receiving said objects, a set of electronic circuits for controlling said conveying apparatus, a code means carried by each object to be stored in said set of storage supports, code reading means for detecting the code of said objects, a set of memories for keeping in memory the code of each object stored in a compartment of said set of storage supports and the code of this compartment, so as to have in memory the code of each compartment associated to the code of the object which is therein and an image of the occupied and/or unoccupied compartments of said set of storage supports, an interface for entering the code of one of the objects placed in said set of storage supports, a micro computer means linked to the interface and to the set of memories for managing thereof, said micro computer means being operable to control said conveying means to convey the object whose code has been entered on the interface to the service station from the compartment having the code associated to the code of this object, said micro computer also being operable, when the apparatus is storing objects, to select an unoccupied compartment for an object and to control the conveying means to store the object in said selected compartment, said apparatus having a carriage which is movable in front of the access face of said set of storage supports, and drive means for moving an object carried by the carriage from the carriage to its location in the set of storage supports and vice versa, said carriage carrying the code reading means for reading the code of the objects.