Article dispensing – Cellular magazine type – Conveyer type
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-08
2001-05-29
Bollinger, David H. (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
Cellular magazine type
Conveyer type
C221S091000, C221S120000, C221S121000, C221S125000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237806
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF APPLICATION
This invention concerns a device to distribute photographic material.
The invention is used to distribute to customers photographic material such as envelopes containing photographs, negatives, films, slides, etc., whether it be new material or material arriving from laboratories or photographic studios after processing has been completed.
STATE OF THE ART
The state of the art covers those commercial enterprises which apart from selling photographic material such as for example blank rolls of photographic film, are also equipped to collect exposed film, negatives, slides or other photographic material to be processed for example developed, printed, enlarged, duplicated, etc., by specialised laboratories or by the appropriate integrated structures, such as for example those known as minilabs.
In these commercial enterprises, the photographic material given in by the client is collected and placed in the appropriate envelopes on which the identification data of the client, and that of the process to which the photographic material is to be subjected, is written manually.
The envelopes are then sent to the place where processing is carried out, and, when the required processes have been completed, the envelopes are then sent back to the commercial enterprises which in turn return them to the clients.
Such commercial enterprises require the continual presence of at least one person to collect the photographic material; this person has to perform a high number of manual operations which are subject to many possible errors such as for example mistaken envelopes, mistaken information concerning the photographic processes required by the client, etc.
In order to limit the presence of the worker, the state of the art includes distribution points, for example in supermarkets, which entrust to the clients the task of collecting the photographic material.
To collect the material, the client has to find the envelope containing his own processed photographic material amongst all those situated in the appropriate display containers.
The distribution points however do not guarantee the client a discreet and confidential management of the photographic material which he has to collect, they do not prevent errors, they are available at times which may not be convenient for all or they may be situated in places which are distant and/or inconvenient to get to. WO-A-89/08901 shows a device to collect and distribute photographic material which has a slot to distribute the identification labels which are to be affixed to the film to be processed, and tickets which the client must keep in order to be able to collect his processed photographic material.
The device comprises housing stations to contain the rolls of film to be processed and the envelopes containing the processed photographic material.
The stations are sub-divided into three distinct sections: one section to house the films, a column for the wrappers, and a section wherein there is a hook to hang the envelopes which have to be delivered.
The delivery procedure is that first the client must be identified, then the correct station with the envelope containing the client's photographic material must be selected.
Then, a current passes through the hook supporting the envelope and melts the plastic of the envelope, making it fall on a slide element which is accessible to the client. This delivery procedure is extremely complex, it requires the seatings to be opportunely conformed so that there is no interference between super-imposed envelopes, the available spaces are very inefficiently filled, the envelopes and their contents may be damaged as they fall onto the slide, all the hooks must be fed with electric current, and other problems, including the need to supply envelopes or wrappers with the appropriately defined structure and size.
WO 90/11582 describes a machine to collect and distribute articles to be processed where the articles are collected by means of a housing unit sub-divided into compartments, each of which can be associated with an envelope or other wrapper containing the processed material.
The mechanism by which the selected envelope is picked up comprises a pair of tracks, one horizontal and the other vertical, by means of which a blade element can be displaced until it is positioned in correspondence with the correct compartment and thus proceed to select the envelope.
Subsequently the blade element is positioned in correspondence with the distribution slide.
The mechanism is very complex, occupies a great deal of space, requires additional drive units, it is delicate and easily prone to break-downs and malfunctions and has management and maintenance problems.
EP-A-234.833 has substantially the same problems since it has an expeller device which acts on the selected envelope and pushes it out, once the correct compartment of one of the rotary housing containers has been positioned in correspondence with the outlet slide to which the client has access.
Where the expeller device is missing, the envelope falls due to the force of gravity onto the outlet slide, which causes problems of possible damage to the envelope and the contents thereof, and also problems of gripping.
Moreover, in the above-described solutions, with the automatic distribution of the envelope, the wrappers must have a defined form and therefore be of substantially standardised size and shape; it is therefore not possible to use wrappers of different shapes and sizes, as happens for example in the case of the distribution of prints, where very different shapes and sizes of material must be delivered inside an envelope which must therefore have different shapes and sizes.
The present applicants have designed, tested and embodied this invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to achieve further advantages.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to provide a device to distribute photographic material which will perform, automatically, efficiently and without requiring the continual presence of a worker, those operations carried out by commercial enterprises, such as for example: distributing new photographic material, distributing to clients the processed photographic material and any other possible operations relating to the management of photographic material.
A further purpose of the invention is to provide an extremely simple and solid device, which will not be easily subject to break-downs and malfunctions, which will not need complex and delicate expulsion mechanisms nor involve any danger for the safety of the envelopes or wrappers containing the photographic material or their content.
Another purpose of the invention is to guarantee absolute freedom of choice, within certain constraints of size, regarding the type of wrapper for the product to be distributed, both in terms of shape and size.
A further purpose of the invention is to provide a device which will involve a limited number of manual operations, able to drastically reduce the possibility of human eror and to provide statistics and reports concerning the operations carried out.
Yet another purpose of the invention is to provide a distribution device able to guarantee the client that the above-mentioned operations will be carried out at any time of the day, and that it will be possible to use the device without the direct use of money, by means of credit payment or pre-payment; furthermore, that the service will be available in locations throughout the territory, for example in supermarkets or other places which are commonly frequented by the public, without causing any disturbance to the existing environment.
A further purpose is to accelerate the operations, and thus permit a direct relationship between the client and the processing site, moreover ensuring the client a more discreet and confidential handling of the photographic material than with the systems known to the state of the art.
The invention uses a device, equipped at least with a system to identify the client, comprising a distribution container to deliver to
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Bollinger David H.
LandOfFree
Device to distribute photographic material does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device to distribute photographic material, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device to distribute photographic material will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2474624