Patent US3414027A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US5438523A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5438523A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for storing and delivering sale units
Assignee: WURTH INTERNATIONAL AG (AKA WUERTH INTERNATIONAL AG)
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Filing: 1994-06-13
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Granted: 1995-08-01
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Expires: 2014-06-13
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus is provided for delivering assembly and machining expendable materials or tools. The apparatus has an internal continuous mechanism with different compartment rows arranged in rotary manner and to move past a removal door row. An embodiment having relatively stationary compartments and movable doors to align with a selected compartment is also disclosed. An inputting keyboard for the positioning of the particular compartment row in front of the removal door row also controls the unlocking of a door in the door row associated with the selected compartment. The delivery unit is connected by means of a long-range transmission means to a data processing unit, which records the removal of the materials and optionally initiates reloading, billing, etc.
Inventors
- 👤 Siegfried Humm
- 👤 Gabor Palosi
- 👤 Karl Weidner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 19:16
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F5/00; G07F5/18; G07F11/00; G07F11/02; G07F11/04; G07F11/16; G07F11/163; G07F11/46; G07F11/58; G07F11/62; G07F5/26; G07F9/00; G07F9/002
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
179 words
An apparatus for storing and delivering articles, comprising: long-range transmission means; storage means comprising a plurality of compartments for storing articles; at least one delivery unit operatively connected to said transmission means, and the delivery unit having at least one delivery door arranged on a front side of the delivery unit; positioning means for moving the delivery door relative to the plurality of compartments into a delivery position in which one of said plurality of compartments is in alignment with the at least one delivery door; release means for releasing the delivery door for exposing a corresponding one of said plurality of compartments located behind the door; and signal generating means for generating signals representative of alignment of one of said plurality of compartments with the delivery position and the release of the door, and said long-range transmission means being for transmitting said signals to a data processing central unit remote from the delivery unit for recording door releases and delivery position alignments of said delivery unit and delivery door relative to individual ones of said plurality of compartments.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
179 words
An apparatus for storing and delivering articles, comprising: long-range transmission means; storage means comprising a plurality of compartments for storing articles; at least one delivery unit operatively connected to said transmission means, and the delivery unit having at least one delivery door arranged on a front side of the delivery unit; positioning means for moving the delivery door relative to the plurality of compartments into a delivery position in which one of said plurality of compartments is in alignment with the at least one delivery door; release means for releasing the delivery door for exposing a corresponding one of said plurality of compartments located behind the door; and signal generating means for generating signals representative of alignment of one of said plurality of compartments with the delivery position and the release of the door, and said long-range transmission means being for transmitting said signals to a data processing central unit remote from the delivery unit for recording door releases and delivery position alignments of said delivery unit and delivery door relative to individual ones of said plurality of compartments.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of compartments are juxtaposed with respect to each other in a plurality of article compartment rows, and said compartment rows are arranged one on top of another.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the compartments further comprise access openings arranged in a common, substantially vertically extending plane.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the substantially vertically extending plane is slightly inclined with respect to a strictly vertical plane.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said compartments have bottoms with the bottoms thereof downwardly inclined to a rear thereof away from a front opening of each of said compartments.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the delivery unit comprises multiple delivery doors juxtaposed as a delivery door row, each door of said multiple delivery doors being separately openable.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of compartments are arranged fixed in a housing, and the delivery unit is moveable relative to said housing.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the delivery unit is moveable in a vertical direction, and is connected to moveable cover means for covering the plurality of compartments.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cover means is at least partially transparent.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cover means is constructed in the form of a roller-shutter.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising guides located at two lateral sides of said housing for guiding the delivery unit.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the guides are made up of transparent guiding strips and non-transparent guiding strips making up the cover means, and arranged in alternating sequence, with the transparent strips being wider than the non-transparent strips.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cover means is guided at the upper and lower ends of said housing by wheels which are rotatable around horizontally extending axes.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the delivery unit is moveable manually after manual triggering of a delivery unit releasing mechanism, said releasing mechanism being releasable only if memory means, interconnected between the signal generating means and the long-range transmission means, is in an operating status for enabling said release.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal generating means comprises coding means for cooperating with the delivery unit for producing position signals representing the position of the delivery unit relative to each individual row of a plurality of rows made up of a corresponding number of compartments of said plurality of compartments.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the coding means comprises optically readable code surfaces, and at least one optical sensor for reading said optically readable code surfaces.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
58 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus for storing and delivering article comprises a plurality of apparatus for storing a delivery articles, each as a storage unit, each storage unit comprising a corresponding plurality of said compartments and a delivery unit, each storage unit being of modular construction for being interconnected to other storage units electrically.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
57 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising at least one storage unit, said storage unit comprising of a plurality of said compartments and a delivery unit, and the apparatus further comprising a separate control unit having memory and the long-range transmission means, the control unit being of modular construction for being electrically connected to the storage units.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the control unit comprises entry means for entering data and a display.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front of the delivery unit is openable for providing access to door release means and to an electronic control device comprising a part of the signal generating means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
35 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display element near each door for indicating a full or empty condition of a compartment of said plurality of compartments which is aligned with the door.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
49 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a direction indicator for indicating a direction in which the delivery unit is to be moved to approach a desired compartment of said plurality of compartments, in which an article is contained, and which has been selected through use of entry means.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising access duration control means for controlling the timing of release of the door.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-07-31 | 1999-01-30 | 1999-08-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-07-31 | 2003-01-30 | 2003-08-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-07-31 | 2007-01-30 | 2007-08-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |