Automatic rental safe-depositing box system

Claim 1

In an automated system for storing and retrieving safety deposit boxes including a chamber provided with an opening and door means for sealing said opening, a storage unit disposed in said chamber having a plurality of storage locations arranged in matrix like form for receiving safety deposit boxes, a plurality of private compartments located outside of said chamber and motorized transport means for transporting said safety deposit boxes between said storage locations and said private compartments in a fully automated manner, an improved control system comprising in combination a reception data terminal located in an area remote from said private compartments and said chamber for receiving reception serial numbers and box codes corresponding to safety deposit boxes stored in said storage unit, a plurality of user's data terminals one of which is located in each of said private compartments for receiving said reception serial numbers, user's private codes, and storage and retrieval commands, and means for electrically controlling said transport means coupled to said reception data terminal and said plurality of user's data terminals including first memory means for permanently retaining the private codes and box codes of system users, second memory means for temporarily retaining said reception serial numbers and said box codes input to said reception data terminal, means for comparing (1) box codes stored in said first memory means with box codes input to said reception data terminal to produce the box codes as a preparatory signal when coincidence therebetween is detected, said comparing means further comparing (2) reception serial numbers retained in said second memory with reception serial numbers input to said user's terminals and (3) private codes retained in said first memory with private codes input to said user's terminals to produce a coincident signal upon detection of coincidence therebetween in the comparisons of (2) and (3), said control means allowing said transport means to carry out a preparatory operation for selective transfer of a preselected box to an intermediate storage area in said storage unit in response to said preparatory signal, said control means further allowing selective transfer of the preselected box from said storage unit to a predetermined private compartment in response to said coincident signal.