Patent WO-2021116722-A1 (WO)
Inventor: ÓDOR Krisztián
IPC: G07F11/52
Filed: 2020-12-08
Abstract: The object of the invention is an automatic product-return apparatus with rotating intermediate storage unit according to the invention, which has a housing (10), a holding unit (20) positioned in an internal space (11) of the housing (10) containing at least one compartment (21) for collecting the products (1) to be returned, furthermore, a feeding zone (30) arranged on the housing (10) provided with at least one receipt door (31) for inserting the products (1) to be returned, and a product forwarding part-unit located (40) in the internal space (11) of the housing (10) interposed between the feeding zone (30) and the holding unit (20), where the product forwarding part-unit (40) has a rotation shaft (41) that rotates as compared to the housing (10), and at least two space delimiting elements (42) secured to the rotation shaft (41) and encompassing a transport space (43), the rotation shaft (41) is in a torque-transfer connection with a drive unit (2), and the drive unit (2) is in a signal-transmission connection with a control unit (3). The characteristic feature of the invention is that the longitudinal axis (41a) of the rotation shaft (41) is at an angle of inclination (a) to the vertical main plane (12) of the housing (10) of a maximum of 10°, furthermore at least three dividing elements (44) are inserted in the transport space (43) encompassed by the two space delimiting elements (42) connected to the rotation shaft (41), and the transport space (43) is separated into at least three separated product receipt part-spaces (43a, 43b, 43c) using the dividing elements (44), a position-monitoring part-unit (4) consisting of one position signal detecting element (4a) and at least one position signal transmitting element (4b) cooperating with it is positioned in the internal space (11) of the housing (10), where either the position signal detecting element (4a) or the position signal transmitting element (4b) is securely fixed in the housing (10), while the other is associated with at least one of the product receipt part- spaces (43a, 43b, 43c) of the product forwarding part-unit (40), and is connected to the rotating product forwarding part-unit (40) or to its rotation shaft (41), furthermore the space part (13 ) of the internal space (11) of the housing (10) enclosed by a delimiting plane (45) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (41a) of the rotation shaft (41) and lying on the point of intersection (41b) of the two neighbouring space delimiting elements (42) and the longitudinal axis (41a) of the rotation shaft (41) contains an insertion space-part (13a) connected with a receipt door (21), a monitoring space-part (13b) equipped with an image recording device (5), and a storage space-part (13c) accommodating a compartment (21), and each of the product-receipt part-spaces enclosed (43a, 43b, 43c) between the space delimiting elements (42) and the two dividing elements (44) are in connection with the insertion space-part (13a), the monitoring space-part (13b) and then the storage space-part (13c) cyclically and temporarily in order one after the other.