Material or article handling – Plural – static structures for supporting discrete loads and... – Load-underlying members
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-09
2002-11-12
Werner, Frank E. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Plural, static structures for supporting discrete loads and...
Load-underlying members
C360S092100, C414S277000, C414S281000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06478524
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a storage receptacle for objects, comprising a storage device and a transport device with an object carrier designed for respectively receiving an object. The invention furthermore relates to a storage receptacle comprising a storage cabinet for storing a plurality of objects and a storage arrangement which is designed integrally with the storage cabinet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such a storage arrangement can be used by itself, i.e. without the storage cabinet, or integrally with the storage cabinet. The storage arrangement consists of a storage device and a transport device. The storage device contains storage spaces for storing objects, a transfer space for the short-term reception of objects prior to and following their storage, and a transport device for moving the objects between the delivery device and the storage spaces. The delivery spaces are formed by compartments, which are arranged on top of each other, of one or several storage shafts. The transport device is used for transporting the objects between the storage spaces and the delivery device, it comprises an object carrier, which is moved by means of a vertical displacement device, a horizontal rotating device and a horizontal displacement device.
A storage receptacle of the type mentioned essentially consists of a storage cabinet and a storage arrangement. The storage cabinet is designed in the manner of a housing and has a lock window opening in one of its walls, which can be closed by means of a lock window, through which objects can be passed prior to or after having been stored.
Within the framework of the present specification, objects are understood to be individual articles as well as containers with various contents, in particular also flowable contents.
A storage receptacle of the type mentioned at the outset is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,229, for example. It is used for storing electronic storage devices, such as cassettes or CDs, and it could also be used in the same design for books, boxes and like objects. The delivery device of this storage receptacle is located in the interior of the storage cabinet, namely in its own cabinet section, and is designed for being able to receive a plurality of objects. The objects to be stored assume an oblique position in the storage cabinet, at the delivery device and during their transport by means of the transport device. In its dimensions the lock window opening corresponds to the delivery device in such a way that, with the lock window open, the entire delivery device is accessible from the exterior of the storage cabinet. Although this storage receptacle is suitable for its intended purpose, namely the storage of objects such as electronic storage devices, for which storage conditions, such as temperature, humidity and the type of the surrounding fluid need only be maintained within the widest margins, it is not suited for the storage of objects which need to be kept under controllable conditions or at least free of duct during a defined amount of time. The storage arrangement of this storage receptacle is unsuited to receive objects which are constituted by receptacles with contents of flowable materials and therefore must always assume a horizontal position.
Storage receptacles with controlled climatic conditions are needed, for example, if the objects to be stored are substances which are to be cultured and which optimally thrive only under defined temperature and humidity conditions, as well as in an exactly defined gasification atmosphere. Another application example for such storage receptacles is the short-term storage of substances Which must be stored while exactly defined climatic conditions are maintained. Since the substances to be processed are comparatively expensive, there is the desire to process them only in minimal amounts. Accordingly, correspondingly small storage devices, or respectively storage cabinets, are required for efficient processing or storage, while the requirements regarding the stability of the climate inside the storage cabinets nets rise out of proportion. Corresponding to the reduction of the storage devices and the storage cabinets, the permissible dimensions for the transport devices, which are used for loading and unloading the storage devices, also shrink, and the space requirement of each apparatus must be kept as small as possible.
As already mentioned, the storage receptacle in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,229 is un-suitable for such purposes, namely in particular because of the design and arrangement of the delivery device and the dimensions of the lock window opening. The arrangement of the delivery device in the interior of the storage cabinet and its design for receiving a plurality of objects require that the lock window opening be comparatively large and that the lock window dow needs to be opened very often and/or for very long times, which is detrimental to the stability of the climate inside the storage cabinet.
A climate-controlled storage cabinet has become known from EP 0 293 782 which, however, also has a comparatively large opening for stocking and emptying. Since the dimensions of the opening are of importance for the stability of the climate which is all the greater, the smaller a climate-controlled cabinet is, no stable climatic conditions can be achieved in the interior of this climate-controlled cabinet because of the large opening.
Swiss Patent Application No. 1997 1097/97 describes a climate-controlled storage receptacle with a storage device in the form of a rotatable turntable. The transport device comprises a vertical displacement device, or respectively an elevator system for bringing an object carrier heightwise into a suitable position for the delivery of objects, and a horizontal displacement device for delivering or receiving objects. A horizontally-rotating device, by means of which the turntable is rotated, is used for the angular alignment of the object carrier on the storage device. Because of the space requirements for such a turntable, it is not possible to produce such a climate-controlled cabinet with an integrated turntable in a small size. Moreover, this arrangement is dynamically disadvantageous, since the comparatively large mass of the turntable must be accelerated and decelerated time and again.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,024 discloses a module-like system of a storage receptacle, and in particular a transport device in numerous variations, wherein practically all movement sequences which are possible at all are being described, which actually do not constitute an invention. But a storage receptacle with a single lock window opening is not described.
It can be stated that the previously known storage arrangements and storage receptacles do not meet the requirements which arise in the course of transporting and storing objects, and in particular in connection with processing of small amounts, but a large number, of substances. The problems in connection with the temporary storage of such substances under controllable climatic conditions in particular have not been resolved.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore the object of the invention,
to provide a storage receptacle of the type mentioned at the outset, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art and permits an efficient manipulation of small objects, and
to provide a storage receptacle of the type mentioned at the outset, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art, wherein the exchange of the ambient air, or respectively ambient gas, occurring when the lock window is opened, is minimized.
In accordance with the invention, this object is attained
in connection with the storage arrangement of the type mentioned at the outset by means of the features of the characterizing portion of claim
1
, and
in connection with a storage receptacle of the type mentioned at the outset by means of the features of the characterizing portion of claim
9
.
Advantageous further developments of the storage arrangement of the invention and storage receptacle of the
Browdy and Neimark , P.L.L.C.
Liconic AG
Werner Frank E.
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