Method and apparatus for storing articles for use with an article handling device

Abstract

Abstract of Disclosure An article storage container, comprising a bin for storing in an a columnar manner, articles to be dispensed from a dispensing end of the bin. A plurality of article supporting intrusions positioned in a spaced manner along at least a portion of the length of the bin function to provide load bearing support for articles stored in the bin.

Claims 
     
         1.   An article storage container, comprising 
       
         a bin for storing in an a columnar manner, articles to be dispensed from a dispensing end of the bin, said articles being dispensed from inside the bin by passing the dispensing end in a direction opposed to gravity, and 
       
       
         a plurality of article supporting intrusions positioned in a spaced manner inside  the bin, said intrusions functioning to provide load bearing support for the articles, when a plurality of articles are stored in the bin. 
       
     
     
         2.   The article storage container of  claim 1 , wherein said article supporting intrusions function to provide complete load bearing support for at least the weight of one of the articles stored in the bin. 
     
     
         3.    The article storage container of  claim 1 , wherein said article supporting intrusions comprise flexible tabs. 
     
     
         4.    The article storage container of  claim 3 , wherein said tabs have a resistance to bending in the dispensing direction which is less than its resistance to bending in a direction which is opposite to the dispensing direction. 
     
     
         5.   The article storage container of  claim 3 , wherein said flexible tabs are part of an article support having a base secured to an outside wall of said bin, and having tab portions which extend through slots formed in the sides of the bins. 
     
     
         6.   The article storage container of  claim 1 , wherein said bin has a generally rectangular cross-section, and said article supporting intrusions comprise a portion of a corner of each bin, bent inward so as to intrude into the interior thereof and function as a support for said articles. 
     
     
         7.    An article retrieving apparatus, comprising: 
       
         a storage area for storing articles along at least one longitudinal axis in a storage bin; 
       
       
         an article extracting device including an end for selectively extracting an article from a dispensing end of the storage bin; and 
       
       
         a drive mechanism coupled to the article extracting device for moving the end thereof into and then out of the dispensing end of the storage bin and in a direction aligned with the longitudinal axis in the storage bin, in order to extract a selected article from inside the storage bin; 
       
       wherein said storage bin comprises: 
       
         an elongated columnar enclosure having a cross-sectional shape adapted to form a stack of said articles therein, and an opening at the dispensing end for providing access to the interior of said bin;  and 
       
       
         a plurality of article supporting intrusions positioned in a spaced manner inside  the bin, said intrusions functioning to provide complete load bearing support for at least the weight of one of the articles, when a plurality of articles are stored in the bin. 
       
     
     
         8.   The article retrieving apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein said article supporting intrusions function to provide complete load bearing support for at least the weight of one of the articles stored in the bin. 
     
     
         9.    A vending machine for dispensing articles, comprising: 
       
         a housing for forming exterior sides, enclosing an interior volume, and forming an article delivery port for the article dispensing apparatus; 
       
       said interior volume including, 
       
         a storage volume including at least one storage bin for storing articles to be dispensed in a columnar manner from a dispensing end thereof, 
       
       
         an article dispensing device for selectively extracting articles from inside the storage bin by passing the dispensing end in a direction opposed to gravity and providing them to said delivery port, and 
       
       
         control apparatus for controlling said article dispensing device so as to move a selected article from a bin in said storage volume to the dispensing port, 
       
       wherein said bin comprises: 
       
         an elongated columnar enclosure having a cross-sectional shape adapted to form a stack of said articles therein, and an opening at the dispensing end for providing access to the interior of said bin; and 
       
       
         a plurality of article supporting intrusions positioned in a spaced manner inside the bin, said intrusions functioning to provide load bearing support for the articles, when a plurality of articles are stored in the bin, yet said intrusions not inhibiting passage of the article extracting device into the bin, nor inhibiting passage of the article extracting device with a selected article out of the bin. 
       
     
     
         10.   The vending machine of  claim 9 , wherein said article supporting intrusions function to provide complete load bearing support for at least the weight of one of the articles stored in the bin. 
     
     
         11.     An article dispensing apparatus, comprising: 
       
         a housing for forming exterior sides, enclosing an interior volume, and forming an article delivery port for the article dispensing apparatus; 
       
       said interior volume including, 
       
         a storage volume including at least one storage bin for storing articles to be dispensed in an a columnar manner, 
       
       
         an article extracting device for selectively extracting articles from a dispensing end of the storage bin and providing them to said delivery port, and 
       
       
         control apparatus for controlling said article extracting device so as to move a selected article from a bin in said storage volume to the dispensing port, 
       
       wherein said bin comprises: 
       
         an elongated columnar enclosure having a cross-sectional shape adapted to form a stack of said articles therein, and an opening at the dispensing end for providing access to the interior of said bin; and 
       
       
         a plurality of article supporting intrusions positioned in a spaced manner along at least a portion of the inside length of the bin, said intrusions functioning to provide load bearing support for the articles, when a plurality of articles are stored in the bin, yet said intrusions not inhibiting passage of the article extracting device into the bin, nor inhibiting passage of the article extracting device with a selected article out of the bin. 
       
     
     
         12.   The vending machine of  claim 11 , wherein said article supporting intrusions function to provide complete load bearing support for at least the weight of one of the articles stored in the bin. 
     
     
         13.    A method for stocking a vending machine with articles to be vended, comprising: 
       
         providing a bin having a plurality of articles stored in a stacked manner therein, said bin including at least one pair of opposed article supporting intrusions positioned therein, said intrusions functioning to provide complete load bearing support for at least the weight of one of the articles, when a plurality of articles are stored in the bin ; and 
       
       
         placing said bin in a storage area of said vending machine. 
       
     
     
         14.   A method for stocking a vending machine with articles to be vended, comprising: 
       
         providing a longitudinal segment of a bin, said segment having a plurality of articles stored in a stacked manner therein; 
       
       
         assembling multiple ones of said bin segments together to form a continuous stack of articles to be dispensed therein; and 
       
       
         placing said assembled multiple bin segments in a storage area of said vending machine. 
       
     
     
         15.   (Amended)  The method of  claim 14  wherein said assembling step comprises engaging end portions of said segments which include end portions adapted to engage adjacent end portions in an interlocking manner. 
     
     
         16.    The method of  claim 14 , wherein said bin segments include at least one pair of opposed article supporting intrusions in the interior of said segment. 
     
     
         17.    The method of  claim 14 , wherein said bin segments comprise a sleeve holding a prepackaged plurality of articles to be vended, and including a further step of inserting multiple ones of said sleeves into a bin for stocking said bin with a stack of products to be vended. 
     
     
         18.     An article dispensing apparatus, comprising: 
       
         a storage area for storing articles along a plurality of longitudinal axes; 
       
       an article extracting device including a free end for selectively extracting an article from the storage volume; 
       
         a positioning mechanism coupled to the article extracting device and responsive to control signals for positioning the free end of the device in alignment with a selected one of the longitudinal axes 
       
       
         a drive mechanism coupled to the article extracting device for moving the free end thereof in a direction aligned with the longitudinal axes in the storage area; 
       
       
         user interface and control apparatus for allowing a user of the dispensing apparatus to initiate an article dispensing operation, and to cause controlled movement of the article extracting device and the  positioning mechanism so that a selected article is extracted from the article storage area and moved to a dispensing area of the dispensing apparatus, and 
       
       
         a vertical or horizontal shelf or wall, for dividing the interior space in the cabinet into multiple, vertically or horizontally orientated, article storage volumes, each article storage volume including its own article extracting device and positioning mechanism. 
       
     
     
         19.    The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the positioning mechanism in one of said storage volumes operates in 3 coordinate axes (x, y, z), and a positioning mechanism in a different storage volume operates in less than 3 axes (x or y, and z; or z only). 
     
     
         20.   An article dispensing apparatus, comprising: 
       
         a storage area for storing articles along a plurality of longitudinal axes; 
       
       
         an article extracting device including a free end for selectively extracting an article from the storage volume; 
       
       
         a positioning mechanism coupled to the article extracting device and responsive to control signals for positioning the free end of the device in alignment with a selected one of the longitudinal axes 
       
       
         a drive mechanism coupled to the article extracting device for moving the free end thereof in a direction aligned with the longitudinal axes in the storage area; 
       
       
         user interface and control apparatus for allowing a user of the dispensing apparatus to initiate an article dispensing operation, and to cause controlled movement of the article extracting device and the  positioning mechanism so that a selected article is extracted from the article storage area and moved a dispensing area of the dispensing apparatus, and 
       
       
         a vertical or horizontal shelf or wall, for dividing the interior space in the cabinet into multiple, vertically or horizontally aligned, article storage volumes, wherein each article storage volume sharing a common article grasping device and positioning mechanism. 
       
     
     
         21.   An article dispensing apparatus, comprising: 
       
         a storage area for storing articles along a plurality of longitudinal axes; 
       
       
         an article extracting device including a vacuum hose having a free end for selectively extracting an article from the storage volume; 
       
       
         a positioning mechanism coupled to the article extracting device and responsive to control signals for positioning the free end of the device in alignment with a selected one of the longitudinal axes 
       
       
         a drive mechanism coupled to the article extracting device for moving the free end thereof in a direction aligned with the longitudinal axes in the storage area; 
       
       
         user interface and control apparatus for allowing a user of the dispensing apparatus to initiate an article dispensing operation, and to cause controlled movement of the article extracting device and the positioning mechanism so that a selected article is extracted from the article storage area and moves along a common path to a dispensing area of the dispensing apparatus, 
       
       
         a vertical or horizontal shelf or wall, for dividing the interior space in the cabinet into multiple, vertically or horizontally aligned, article storage volumes, each article storage volume including its own article extracting device and 
       
       
         2 vacuum sources, one high vacuum, low flow, one low vacuum, high flow, one for supplying vacuum to a respective one of the hoses of each article extracting device. 
       
     
     
         22.   The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising multiple dispensing areas, each accessed by its own article extracting device. 
     
     
         23.   The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein each dispensing area is for a certain class of articles and accessed by either article extracting device. 
     
     
         24.   The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein one article extracting device lives in ambient air and one article extracting device lives in refrigerated air. 
     
     
         25.   The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein both article extracting devices operate in the same plane. 
     
     
         26.    The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the refrigerated article storage volume includes a vertically disposed door, whereby an article extracting device moves between the ambient and refrigerated volumes using the door. 
     
     
         27.   A warehouse article dispensing arrangement, including: 
       
         common computer control system 
       
       
         article basket system for moving to different stations where robots pick and place article from the storage area into the basket, where: 
       
       
         at least two different robotic systems are used for article dispensing, the systems consisting of: 
       
       
         at least one robotic system using a vacuum pump (or Venturi) air system (i.e., relatively high vacuum and low flow); and 
       
       
         another robotic system using a vacuum blower system (i.e., relatively low vacuum and high flow). 
       
     
     
         28.   An automated article retrieving apparatus including an article storage area adapted to have selectively positioned therein a removable article storage structure which stores a plurality of the articles to be retrieved, the removable article storage structure comprising; 
       
         a support (219, 1200, 1300) adapted for being selectively positioned into and out of an article storage area of the article retrieving apparatus, at least a portion of the support (219) including wall portions for facilitating the formation of a plurality of adjacently aligned article storage columns, which columns store therein a plurality of pre-packaged groups of the articles to be retrieved (1202, 1302), the columns providing guidance for movement of the articles stored therein in a direction toward an article grasping portion of the article retrieving apparatus. 
       
     
     
         29.   The automated article retrieving apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein: 
       
         one end of the column is adapted for use by the article grasping apparatus for retrieving articles stored therein, and 
       
       
         an opposite end of the column is adapted for use for refilling the column with articles to be stored. 
       
     
     
         30.   The automated article retrieving apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein said support comprises: 
       
         a base having a cross-section adapted for being positioned adjacent a portion of the article storage area which is opposed to the article grasping apparatus, said base providing support for said wall portions so that they extend away from the base and toward the article grasping apparatus. 
       
     
     
         31.   The automated article retrieving apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein said wall portions include outer perimeter walls of the support. 
     
     
         32.   The automated article retrieving apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein said article storage columns are formed by a plurality of said pre-packaged groups of the articles (1202, 1302). 
     
     
         33.   The automated article retrieving apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein said article storage columns are oriented in a direction aligned with the force of gravity. 
     
     
         34.   An article storage structure comprising; 
       
         a support (219, 1200, 1300) adapted for being positioned into and at least partially out of an article storage area of an article retrieving apparatus, 
       
       
         the support (219) including wall portions for facilitating the positioning of a plurality of pre-packaged groups of articles to be handled (1202, 1302) into a plurality of adjacently aligned article storage columns, 
       
       
         the columns providing guidance for movement of the articles stored therein in a direction toward an article grasping portion of the article retrieving apparatus. 
       
     
     
         35.   A method for replenishing articles in a storage area of an article retrieving apparatus, comprising: 
       
         positioning into and out of an article storage area of an article retrieving apparatus, a support which holds a matrix of pre-packaged groups of articles to be retrieved. 
       
     
     
         36.   A method for refilling an article storage apparatus, comprising the steps of: 
       
         providing a support of a type for holding a matrix of columnar aligned article storage segments; 
       
       
         removing from the support empty or partially-empty segments from one end of the column of the aligned article storage segments, and 
       
       
         adding segments pre-loaded with articles to an opposed end of the columns. 
       
     
     
         37.   The method of  claim 36 , where a bottom portion of the support is placed on a supporting surface, and the columns are refilled by using openings on a sidewall of the support which extends towards the one end of the column. 
     
     
         38.   A method of servicing an article retrieving apparatus, comprising the following steps: 
       
         positioning in a support (219) a plurality of pre-packaged groups of articles to be handled (1202, 1302) so that they are arranged in a plurality of adjacently aligned article storage columns which provide guidance for movement of the articles stored therein in a direction toward an article grasping portion of the article retrieving apparatus, and 
       
       
         positioning the support (219) into and at least partially out of the article storage area of the article handling apparatus. 
       
     
     
         39.   The method of  claim 38 , where a bottom portion of the support is placed on a supporting surface, and the columns are refilled by using openings on a sidewall of the support which extends in a direction toward the article grasping portion of the article retrieving apparatus. 
     
     
         40.   The article storage container of  claim 1 , wherein said article supporting intrusions comprise substantially rigid plates (1022) attached to an inside wall of the bin in a manner which allows the plates to tilt substantially only in a direction toward the dispensing end of the bin. 
     
     
         41.   The article storage container of  claim 1 , wherein an article supporting intrusion are formed by making a cut in the sidewall of the bin and then pushing into the interior of the bin a portion of the sidewall freed therefrom by the cut.