Storage and distribution device for articles

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an object storage and distribution device; these are, in particular, but not exclusively, stackable boxes of varying dimensions, for example packs of cigarettes, cassettes, books, etc; preferably the objects have a parallelepipedic shape or have a packaging in this way.

The present invention was intended to be used for example in the public places for storage, distribution and refueling of said objects.

A storage and distribution device intended primarily for the sale of medicine boxes is known from French Patent No. 2 138 272. Such a device comprises:

- at least one fixed parallelepipedic module containing slides juxtaposed and divided respectively into vertical compartments each intended to contain a stack of objects of a certain type. The two side walls of each slide have two openings in each compartment facing each other that can give way to an object contained in the compartment, communicating these two openings through a slot made at the base of the said slide,

- mechanical means for extracting a slide from said module followed a horizontal translation movement, to drive a compartment of this slide over a common evacuation means to all the slides of the same module, and constituted by a conveyor belt arranged at along the module perpendicular to the aforementioned horizontal translation, and equipped with an ejector that can be inserted into said groove.

This storage and distribution device was particularly adapted to the needs of a pharmacy.

It is also known from DE-B 1 290 488 an object distribution device comprising a plurality of overlapping annular stores having a common symmetrical axis and forming a cylindrical structure, and a motor associated with an oangle encoder that allows the cylindrical structure to be dragged in rotation, each store comprising a plurality of housings intended to store a unit box respectively and having an opening on the periphery of the cylindrical structure to allow passage to a single box.

This device has been designed to extract bags of films in a workshop and does not lend itself to installation in a public place.

Finally, a device following the preamble of independent claims 1 and 15 is known from document USA 3,439,815.

In this device all storage boxes have the same dimension.

The purpose of this invention is to carry out a device for storing and distributing extremely varied objects, better adapted than previous devices for sale in public places, and whose cost is adapted to this use.

This purpose is achieved according to the invention by the device as defined in one of the independent claims. As regards the examples of preferred embodiment of this device, reference is made to the secondary claims.

Thanks to the invention, the extraction of a case of the device is obtained by a simple relative movement of the cylindrical storage structure and of an organ of extraction drive.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following description of embodiments given by way of illustration and in no way limiting.

In the attached drawing:

- Figure 1 is a schematic view in partially sectioned elevation and with an example of the device starting according to the invention,

- Figure 2 shows an example of arrangement of objects of different sizes on a plate of an annular warehouse following the invention,

- Figure 3 shows another variant of arrangement of objects of different sizes on a plate of an annular storage according to the invention,

- Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view following the line IV-IV of the figure 1 partially showing a warehouse belonging to a device following the invention, associated with an organ for actuating the means for extracting objects,

- Figure 5 is a schematic view from above showing in greater detail the important part of the drive organ of the means for extracting objects from Figure 4,

- Figure 6 is a partial sectional view following the line VI-VI of Figure 5,

- Figure 7 is a semi-sectional cross-sectional view showing the cooperation of the extraction drive o-ring with an ejector link of a drag chain located below the housing of an annular warehouse following the invention,

- Figure 8 is a view analogous to that of Figure 7 showing the cooperation of the extraction drive body with a normal link of said chain following the invention,

- Figure 9 is a plan view from above of the drag chain of an object according to the invention, located below a housing of an annular warehouse,

- Figure 10 is an enlarged view of some links of the drag chain of Figure 9,

- Figure 11A is an elevation view of an ejector link belonging to the drag chain of Figure 10,

- Figure 11B is a side view of the ejector link of Figure 11A,

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- Figure 12A is an elevation view of a normal link belonging to the drag chain of Figure 10,

- Figure 12B is a view of the link in Figure 12A,

- Figure 13 is a longitudinal semi-sectional view of a housing of an annular warehouse with its lower compartment intended to contain the drag chain following Figure 9,

- Figure 14 is a side view corresponding to the longitudinal view of Figure 13,

- Figure 15 is a partial cross-sectional view of a housing with its compartment provided with the chain following the invention,

- Figure 16 shows a variant of the device according to Figure 4 comprising several extraction drive bodies on each floor,

- Figure 17 shows in longitudinal section an example of housing belonging to a variant of the device according to the invention and intended to contain a row of boxes,

- figure 18 is a side view following arrow XVIII of figure 17,

- Figure 19 shows in plan view from above very schematically associated with its extraction drive organ,

- figure 20 shows in longitudinal section a variant of the housing of figure 17 with a blister row,

- Figure 21 is a side view following the arrow

XXI of Figure 20,

- Figure 22 schematically shows in partial plan view from above semi-selected a fixed annular cartridge with a rotating internal extraction drive organ,

- Figure 23 shows in greater detail in plan view from above the extraction drive body of Figure 22,

- figure 24 shows in more detail the chain intended to cooperate with the extraction drive body of figure 23,

- Figure 25 is a partially torn schematic elevation view of another type of device following the invention with fixed annular cartridges,

- Figure 26 is a partial schematic elevation view of an annular cartridge belonging to the device of Figure 25,

- Figure 27 is a plan view from above sectioned according to line XXVII-XXVII of Figure 26,

- Figure 28 is a partially sectioned plan view from above of an annular cartridge of Figure 26 associated with the unit drive assembly of the extraction means,

- Figure 29 is a semi-sectioned schematic view passing through the axis of the storage device of Figure 25 and showing annular cartridges associated with the drive unit unit of the extraction means,

- Figure 30 is an enlarged view of the skylight that appears in Figure 29,

- Figure 31 is a side view associated with the view of Figure 30,

- Figure 32 illustrates schematically and partially in plan view from above a variant of the extraction means of Figure 28 and its actuator,

- Figure 33 is a side elevational view corresponding to arrow 801 of Figure 32,

- Figure 34 is an anabolic view to that of Figure 25 with a variant for the drive unit for extracting means.

In figure 1 there is a semi-torn assembly view of an example of the device according to the invention.

A frame 1 is shown, comprising a stack of annular stores such as the warehouse 10 which have a common axis 2 and joined together.

As will be seen in more detail below, each warehouse is equipped with radial housings that contain respectively a stack of boxes, 4, 4 ', of a certain type.

The cylindrical structure 9 of axis 2 that has just been defined is rotatably driven around this axis by a stepper motor 3 or by an engine associated with an anon encoder. The sense of rotation was mentioned by the arrow

23.

Reference 8 corresponds to the area in which an object extracted from the device can be received.

Figure 2 gave another schematic example of accommodation arrangement in an annular warehouse that has been referenced with 300; These are of different sizes but are all oriented in the same way, in a substantially radial position. The housings 301 are intended, for example, to receive a stack of cassettes, the housings 302 of the cassettes or the packages of cigarettes placed lying down, the housings 303 of the packages of two cassettes placed lying down; housings 304 and 305 may contain a stack of books, boxes of various cosmetics, etc ... All housings serve an evacuation opening on the periphery of the warehouse 300.

In the variant of Figure 3, the warehouse 400 does not have all its housings oriented radially in front of the axis 2; The housings are arranged in order to cover the largest possible surface of the base plate of the warehouse in 400 and have in its entirety an evacuation opening 401, 402, 403, 404, ... 410 located on the periphery of the warehouse in 400.

All these warehouses can be made from a base plate and partitions, or from housings joined and fixed by any appropriate means.

If reference is made to Figure 4, the removal of an object from a housing 111,

112, 113, .... of a warehouse 10 was secured by a drive body 20, located outside the cylindrical structure 9. The different drive bodies are joined to each floor of the device at column level 5. Each oorgano essentially comprises a toothed metal sector on its periphery 21, whose first fixed tooth has been referenced with 22. In front of this tooth, a movable tooth 24 provided by an arm 25 pivoting about an axis 27 is provided by the start-up of an electroimaon 26.

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All these elements are found again in the plan view from above on a larger scale of Figure 5. In case of non-excitation of the electromagnet 26, the tooth 24 is placed in front of the tooth 22 in the same plane as west or below. In case of excitation of the electroimóan 26 (see Figure 6), the arm 25 supporting the tooth 24 is pushed up in the direction of the arrow 28, to reach the position 25'-24 'illustrated in broken lines, and located at a level higher than that of teeth 21-22.

The extracting drive organ of the object 20 is intended to cooperate with a gear portion belonging to chains 200 located respectively below the bottoms 122 of each housing 111, 112, 113 of the annular stores 10 (see Figure 4). Such a chain will now be described in detail by means of Figures 9 to 15.

The chain 200 comprises a plurality of idyllic links 201 that cooperate with each other by means of kneecaps.

A link 201 seen in plan from above in Figure 10, is shown in elevation in Figure 12A with its ball head 202 and its cavity 203, and in side view in Figure 12B. Portion 204 of the link constitutes a tooth of chain 200 while faces 205 and 206 constitute the guide faces of the chain on its ramp. It is seen in Figure 12B that tooth 204 forms the entire height of link 201.

The chain 200 also includes two diametrically opposed particular links 220 and 230, but in an identical manner, intended for the extraction of the objects.

In figure 10 the link 220 is seen in plan view from above with its ball head 202, its cavity 203 and its tooth 224. In figure 11A this same link is seen in elevation and in figure 11B in side view. It should be noted that the tooth 224 of the link 220 was cut in its lower part and therefore truncated in front of the tooth 204 of the adjacent links 201. On the contrary, like links 201, links 220 and 230 have guide faces 205 and 206; These are also equipped respectively, above the plane of the links, with an ejection tachore 225.

The chain of figures 9 and 10 was intended to cooperate with a ramp visible in figures 13 and 14 and, when present, is presented in plan view from above as in figure 9.

In Fig. 13, a housing 111 is shown with its bottom 122 and its opening 121 which allows the evacuation of an object outwards. This bottom carries a support 123 that defines a ramp for the chain 200 and mainly for its faces 124 and 125 that form a groove and intended to come into contact respectively with the faces 205 and 206 of the links of the chain 200. The groove formed in this way was not placed in a horizontal plane since it is essential that during the extraction a single ejector block 220 or 230 is above the level of the bottom 122 to push the object.

Thus, a first extremity zone 251 of the chain is formed (figure 9), which forms a semi-circle whose center was in 252, then an area 253 in which the ramp descends in relation to the plane of the first zone to a level in that zone 252 of the chain allows the top of a ejector tachometer 220 and 230 to be completely retracted. A semicircular area 255 is again found whose center was 256 from which the tachy can emerge again from its groove, and a loneal zone 257 that joins the circular zone 251.

The groove portion illustrated in contiguous line in Figure 9 also appears in contiguous line in Figure 4 at the level of the bottoms of the housings 111, 112, 113.

The situation of the two taquóes appears clearly in figure 15 in which it is seen how the taquóe 230 plays its role of ejector of the package 4 while the taquóe 220 was retracted below the bottom 122.

The device followed the invention works as follows: each housing 111 was defined by the floor of its warehouse 10 and a coded value of the rotation angle of the motor 3. The cylindrical structure 9 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow 23 (figures 1 and 5).

In case of non-actuation, the tooth 24 of the organ 20 is in a low position and does not attack the chains 200.

In case of actuation, the tooth 24 of the organ is operated in a high position by the electroimaon 26 (figure 6) just ahead of the passage of the store 111 (see figure 7). It is then in contact with the truncated tooth 224 of the ejector link 220 (see the position of Figure 7); as the store rotates around its axis 2, it begins to drag the chain 200; the teeth 22 and then 21 of the toothed sector then reach the relay and attack the teeth 204 of the ordinary links 201 (see figure 8).

During this time (see figure 9), the chain 200 operates in the direction of the arrows 51, the tacho 220 disappears under the bottom 122 at the level of the zone 254 while the tacho 230 plays its ejector role and pushes the object 4 towards exit 121 of the accommodation; the object falls into the reception area 8.

At the end of the extraction, it is link 230 which is at the site of link 220 of Figure 9.

Preferably all links are made of molded plastic material.

The links can be considered to cooperate with each other for another type of assembly than the type of ball joint.

The chain followed the invention is particularly advantageous since it does not need the use of gear. Obviously following another variant, its placement could be foreseen at the level of centers 252 and 256 without leaving the scope of the invention. In any case, this chain cooperates with the extraction drive organ 20 without any intermediate gear system, which has a great mechanical interest.

As a variant, as in Figure 16, the arrangement around the cylindrical structure 9 of a second extraction drive body 20 'with its receiving area 8', or even a third scheme body4 can be considered

017 964 chalked by rectangle 11 in dashed lines and a quarter, so that it serves several clients simultaneously.

In the variant embodiment illustrated in Figures 17 to 21, the housings are provided for storing a row of boxes.

In Fig. 17 a row 420 of boxes 421 interspersed between the turns 422 of a spring 423 is shown, whose first end 424 was fixed on a vertical wheel 425 and whose other free end 426 was held in a guide

429 The bottom 427 of the housing contains a chain 430 analogous to the chain 200 described above, but no longer housed in a ramp with decline but instead in a horizontal groove, by way of example, the chain 430 comprises sixty links, five of which have a truncated tooth like tooth 224 of Figure 11B.

The wheel 425, in solidarity with the support 431, is capable of being dragged in rotation by intermediate cradles 433 around its axis 432. These cradles cooperate with the teeth of the chain

430, at the moment when the teeth located in the opposite part of the housing cooperate with the extraction drive organ 440 fixedly arranged as in figure 4. In the chosen example, the wheel 425 carries twelve cradles.

When a box 421 must be removed from its housing, the organ 440 operates at the moment when the housing passes in front of it and engages a truncated tooth of the chain 430, then the other teeth; on the opposite side the teeth of the chain rotate the wheel 425 one turn and therefore the spring 423 and its last spiral 426 that releases the first box of the row, then swinging this box in the direction of arrow 435.

When the extraction operation has been completed, a truncated tooth is found again at the height of the extraction drive organ 440.

In figures 20 and 21, there is a housing designed to contain a row 449 of blister packs 441. These blister packs are hooked at the level of the lower parts of the turns 442 of a spring 443 hooked on a bar 448 at the level of the roof of the housing. .

On this roof there is a chain 430 completely similar to that of Figure 17 and intended to cooperate with an extraction drive organ 440. As in the previous variant, one end 424 of the spring is integral with a wheel 426 carrying cradles 447 As before, these cradles cooperate with the teeth of the chain 430 when the extraction drive organ 440 operates. The wheel 446 and the springs 448 take a turn and the first blister 441 comes off the turn 426 of row 449.

It is seen in plan view from above in Figure 19, the axis 2 of the cylindrical assembly of the warehouses, and the direction of rotation 23 of this assembly in front of the extraction drive organ 440. A chain has been mentioned very schematically 430 and its movement by arrow 450. In adjacent lines 451 and 452, adjacent housings have been shown.

In all the aforementioned variants, the cylindrical structure formed by the annular stores was mobile in rotation in front of the extracting drive bodies external to the structure.

In the variants whose description follows, the cylindrical structure of the annular stores is fixed and the extraction drive bodies are mobile in rotation inside the cylindrical structure.

Thus, in the variant of figures 22, 23, 24, there is a frame 307 that supports a plurality of fixed annular stores of axis 2, such as the store 311 partially seen in figure 22. The store 311 is provided with housings radial 308, 309, which respectively contain a stack of objects such as the box that is referenced with 310 located at the bottom of a stack.

The extraction drive was secured on each floor by an extraction drive organ 320 located inside the cylinder defined by the annular stores and dragged around the axis 2 in the direction of the arrow 323 by a stepper motor or an engine associated with an anon encoder. Organs 320 of all floors have sympathized with each other.

The extraction drive organ 320 essentially comprises a toothed metal sector on its periphery 321, whose first tooth has been referenced with 322. In front of this tooth a movable tooth 324 is provided, carried by an arm 325 pivoting about an axis 327. by the activation of an electroimaon 326. All these elements are again found in the plan view from above on a larger scale in Figure 23.

When the assembly 320 rotates, the outer edge of the teeth 321 follows a path 340 in a horizontal plane. In case of non-excitation of the electroimóan 326 the tooth 324 was placed in front of the tooth 322 in the same plane as this one; This follows the same path 340 or possibly an analogous path in a lower plane. In case of excitation of the electroimóan 326, the arm 335 that supports the tooth 324 is pushed upwards to a level higher than that of the toothed sector 321.

The object extraction drive assembly was intended to cooperate with chains 200 located respectively below the bottoms 331, 332, 333 of each housing of the annular stores (see Figure 22). The chain 200 shown in Figure 24 is completely anaologous to that described by means of Figures 9 to 15; the same reference numbers have been reused for identical elements. However, it is shown in Figure 24 that the paths 340 and 341 of the teeth of the extraction drive organ 320 are not oriented in the same manner in relation to the chain 200 as in the variant of Figure 9.

In the variant described below, the link chain was replaced by another transmission device with equivalent movement in principle.

A semi-rooted schematic view of another is found again in Figure 25

017 964 example of device according to the invention. A frame 501 has been shown that supports a plurality of fixed annular stores 502, which will be described in detail below. These warehouses are superimposed in order to have their symmetry axes confused following the reference axis 2. The aforementioned stores are provided with radial housings that respectively contain a stack 4 of objects of a predetermined type; reference 510 has been given to the object located at the bottom of the stack 4. As will be seen below, each housing will be provided with means for extracting its object 510. The extraction drive will be secured by a unit drive assembly 500 located inside the cylinder defined by the annular stores and rotatably driven around the axis 2 by a stepper motor 3 or by an angle encoder motor. The assembly is piloted by a programmed computer 6. Objects removed from the storage device are recovered in the reception area 507. A protective hood of the entire warehouse has been referenced with 505.

In Figures 26 and 27, a partial elevation view and a semi-selected top plan view of an annular warehouse, for example warehouse 502, are respectively seen.

In its upper part, the warehouse 502 has, for example, forty radial housings; Nine of them have been referenced with 501 to 519. The bottom 521 of each housing is provided with a slot 525 visible in Figure 27. The outer wall of each housing is open in order to allow replenishment with objects; This can have a flange 522 to block the object 510 more under the stack. The wall of each housing located near the axis 2 has a slot 523 that communicates with the slot 520 in order to allow the object 510 to exit towards the axis 2 of the device. The side walls 525 and 526 of each housing serve as guides to the stack.

Obviously, the width of each housing is adapted to the width of the stacking of the objects and the height of the groove 523 is adapted to the thickness of each object.

In its lower part, each warehouse is provided with a compartment 524 that communicates with the corresponding housing by means of a slot 520, and which has the function of accommodating means for extracting the object 510. These means of extraction are visible in Figures 28 a 31.

The housings 516 to 519 and the slots 520 of the annular store 502 are again found in plan view from above. The housing 518 is seen laterally in figure 29 with its stack of objects 4 resting on the bottom 521, its outer flange 522, its evacuation opening 523 for the exit of the object 510. The associated compartment 524 contains a mechanical movement transmission device comprising:

- a wheel 618 (figure 28) with seven teeth that have been referenced with 640 to 646, capable of being dragged in rotation follow arrow 722, missing a tooth between teeth 640 and 646,

- gears 632, 633 (see figures 30 and 31) located above the wheel 618 and capable of being dragged by the rotation of the latter,

- cogwheels 638, 639, one of which (the cogwheel 638) is driven by the gear 633, which supports a chain 634 that carries tacks 636 and 637 capable of circulating in the groove 520.

All the housings of all the annular warehouses are equipped with the means of extraction that have just been described.

The operation of these extraction means will now be described.

Figures 25, 28, 29, 30, 31 illustrate a first embodiment.

In each store, that is to say in each floor of the storage device, at least one drive arm has been associated. In the present example, four of them have been illustrated, on the one hand two diametrically opposite arms 711 and, on the other hand, two diametrically opposite arms 713, which form a straight angle with the two arms 711. These arms are carried by an axis 721 , the shaft being embedded

722 of the arms 712 of the adjacent floor, on the axis 721. The set of the axes is simultaneously dragged in rotation around the axis 2 by the stepper motor 3. As seen in Figure 28, the arm 711, like all analog arms, is equipped with a series of six fixed fingers 621 to 626 located in a horizontal plane on a circle

723 centered on axis 2 and a retractable finger 730 located on a circle 724, also centered on axis 2 in the same plane, but of slightly larger diameter. In Fig. 29, finger 630 is in the outer position; in normal position, it is retracted and does not exceed the horizontal plane 705 of arm 711; This is powered by an electromagnet 631.

The device will follow the invention works as follows: each housing has an address corresponding to the floor of its warehouse and a position determined in rotation of the motor step by step. It is assumed that the object 510 to be extracted is located in the housing 518 of the warehouse 502 (see figure 28). The arm 711 intended to extract the object 510 rotates with its fixed fingers and its retracted finger 630; the fingers travel in the direction of arrow 701 respectively the circular paths 723 and 724 and find no wheel analogous to the wheel 618. On the contrary, when the arm 711 reaches the level of the corresponding warehouse 518, the finger 630 leaves its housing and, on its path 724, finds the tooth 640, which has the effect of dragging the wheel 618 in rotation; the fixed fingers 621 to 626 continue this rotation by successive encounters with the teeth 641 to 646. It is in the drag position of the chain 634 and its taquáes 636 and 637 (see figures 30 and 31). The gears 632 and 633 will be calculated so as to ensure a sufficient stroke of the blockage 646 to extract the object 510.

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As an example:

- the stepper motor turns once every four seconds, with 400 steps per lap.

- The device comprises ten annular stores with 40 housings each: this stores 400 different types of objects.

- The set of superimposed overlapping warehouses is approximately 1.50 m high and 1 m in diameter. They are preferably molded plastic material, as well as the arms of the unit drive assembly.

If two arms are used per floor, 400 objects can be reached in two seconds. One of the arms may be affected to even objects and the other to odd objects.

If four arms are used, or per floor, the speed of engine rotation can be reduced.

In a pharmacy, the number of medications reached in two seconds will be that corresponding to a prescription.

You get very interesting characteristics of distribution, by the realization of a structure whose components are all very economical. A variant embodiment of the means for driving the movement of the object extraction chain has been shown in Figures 32 and 33.

The housing 518, the groove 520 at the bottom 521, and the arm 711 rotated in the direction of the arrow 801 are again found. In this variant, the retractable finger 830 operated by the electromagnet 831 has a circular path 870 of smaller diameter than the path 860 of the fixed fingers 821 to 827. The 818 axle wheel 819 belongs to the mechanical movement transmission device of the housing 518 and is provided with a tooth 840 longer than the other teeth 841 to 847, located at the height of an absent tooth and above the plane of the others. teeth (see figure 33).

It is clearly seen in the figures that, if an object 510 of the compartment 518 must be removed, the finger 830 externally attacks the tooth 840, rotates the wheel 818 in rotation, reaching the other fingers 821 to 827 the relay in front of the teeth 841 to 847, so that wheel 818 returns to its initial position.

Figure 34 shows a variant of the unit drive assembly of the extraction means.

No longer have arms carried by a common axis, but a box 900 that rotates about itself around axis 2, inside the annular stores 502, and which comprises, for example, 2, 4 or 8 vertical bars. Two bars 910 and 920 have been illustrated in the figure. At the level of each floor, the bars support the fixed fingers and the retractable finger described above. This drive has been very schematically drawn by the areas referenced with 930, 940, 950.

The extraction principle is completely identical to that described by means of the preceding figures.

Obviously, the invention was not limited to the few variants described above.

Any means may be replaced without leaving the scope of the invention by an equivalent means.

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