Patent GB-924703-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for the automatic dispensing of articles
IPC: B65G1/137
Filed: 1959-05-05
Abstract: 924,703. Dispensing articles. D. G. GUMPERTZ. May 5, 1959 [May 5, 1958], No. 15293/59. Class 116. [Also in Group XXX] In an article dispensing system, coded information as to items and required quantities thereof is stored, e.g. magnetically, on a rotary drum 21, Fig. 4, and the coded information is repeatedly scanned, and during each scan one of each item in which the quantity required exceeds the number already dispensed is dispensed. Shoots.-The articles are stored on dispenser units 20, Fig. 1, each comprising an inclined shoot 34, Fig. 2, the lowest article resting against a paddle wheel 42 operated by a solenoid 54, the circuit of which is controlled by a relay 68 which is connected to an individual thyratron 81, Fig. 6, in a matrix which is fired to actuate the relay by coded information from the storage drum 21. At the end of a scanning cycle of drum 21 all of the solenoids 54 associated with energized relays are connected to a power supply so that one of all of the selected articles is dispensed simultaneously. Energization of a solenoid 54 moves a slide 46 from right to left, whereby a cam surface 60 rotates the paddle 42 to flip the article on to conveyer belts. The dispensed article breaks a switch 62 to deenergize the relay 68 and extinguish the associated thyratron 81. Storing information.-As shown, the system is controlled by punch cards, each card having, for example, four columns representing the item number and two columns representing the quantity number. A stack of cards representing a whole order is placed in a card reader 10, Fig. 4, and on depression of a manual start button 29 the first card passes through the card reader and its information is converted into a binary code in a code translator 11 the output of which is transferred through gates 13 to a shift register 15. The information is shifted out serially from register 15 to the recording head 19 of the drum 21 by bit pulses derived from a bit timing track on the drum 21 which is provided with timing scales X, Y, Z, which produce respectively a pulse X denoting the start position of drum 21, word pulses Y denoting the intervals in which the information from a single punch card is stored and bit pulses Z which operate the shift register. The operation of the register is maintained in step with the word pulses by a pair of counters A, B, which are stepped around respectively by the word pulses Y from drum 21 and the start-ofword pulses from the card reader 10. The counters A, B, are connected to an AND circuit 47 and when the counters are at the same step the word pulses Y pass through the circuit 47 to a flip-flop 41 so that it opens a gate 39 permitting the following bit pulses Z to pass through the gate 39 to shift the information out of register 15 on to the drum 21. The compare pulse from circuit 47 also passes through a delay circuit 59 and then passes to the card reader 10 to serve as the next start-of-word pulse which initiates reading of the next punch card. The information on each card in an order is thus converted into a binary code and transferred into successive word positions on the drum 21. Dispensing.-An end-of-order pulse produced . after all the cards in one order have been read out opens a gate 65 to permit a start-ofscanning pulse, produced by the start mark X on the drum at the end of a complete revolution, to open the gate 39, permitting bit pulses to be fed to the register 15, and to open a gate 71 through which information from a scanning head 73 is transferred to the input of register 15. At the end of a complete revolution of the drum 21 a second start pulse X from drum 21 closes gate 65. As each word is shifted into register 15 it controls the firing of an appropriate dispensing unit 20, Fig. 1. The fourcoded item number digits in each word pass from the register to two diode matrix converters 92, 93, Fig. 6, the first two digits energizing one of a hundred different output lines 95, 97 &c. arranged horizontally whilst the second two digits energize one of a hundred output lines 99 101, &c. arranged vertically. The four digits therefore energize one horizontal and one vertical output line which raises the voltage of a resistance 103 at the crossing point connected to the control grid of a thyratron 81 associated with the control relay of the appropriate dispensing devide 20, preparing the thyratron to be fired by a word pulse from amplifier 89. At the completion of the first scanning of the information track of drum 21 the words shifted out of the register 15 have fired appropriate thyratrons associated with the items required in the order to actuate the relay 68 associated with the respective delivery shoots. The start mark X produces a dispensing pulse at the end of the revolution which passes through gates 77 and 125 to open a gate 117 permitting power from a source 115 to pass through the closed relays 68 and operate the selected dispensers 20 to discharge a single article. The dispense pulse also steps round a counter 109 from zero and after passing through a delay device D starts another scanning cycle by re-opening gate 65. The quantity digits from each word in the register 15 produce a voltage proportional to the quantity on a device 105, which voltage is compared at 111 with a voltage on a device 107 representing the number of scannings counted by counter 109. As long as the voltage 105 is greater than that of 107, a gate 113 is held open, permitting a word pulse Y from drum 21 to pass to the amplifier 89 to fire the appropriate thyratron for an article to be dispensed; the gate 113 is closed when the voltage 105 for any word is equal to 107, indicating that the required number of articles has been dispensed, so that the word pulses are blocked by gate 113 and no more of that particular article are dispensed. The scanning cycles of the drum 21 therefore continue until the highest number of articles of any one item has been dispensed. On the last scanning cycle, when all the articles have been dispensed, the dispense pulse may be diverted to provide a pulse indicating that the order is complete. Checking features.-The firing of a thyratron is checked by a flip-flop 129, Fig. 4, which is normally held inoperative by the arrival of word pulses passing through gate 113 and echo pulses from a transformer 83 in the power supply to the thyratrons. In the absence of an echo pulse, the word pulse activates flipflop 129 to energize an error indicating light 131 and to render the scanning heads of the drum 21 inoperative. On operation of a restart button 135 the B counter, which is caused to slave to the A counter during scanning, remains stationary at the error position detected until the A counter has been returned by the rotation of drum 21 into step with the B counter after which normal dispensing is resumed. Shortage of items in any dispensing unit is checked by non-operation of the switch 66, Fig. 2, so that the associated thyratron remains conductive after the dispense operation. A relay 85 remains energized so that the dispense pulse is diverted from the counter 109 to operate a shortage indicator flip-flop 140 and close a gate 144 to prevent the dispense pulses passing to the dispensing gate 117. On the next scanning cycle the error flip-flop 129 is actuated when the station at which the article was not dispensed is reached and the system has to be restarted by the switch 135 as before. Conveyer belt control.-The items are dispensed from the shoots 20, Fig. 3, on to bay conveyer belts 70...76 from which the articles are transferred on to collector conveyers 78, 80, 82 by diverter gates 104, 106, &c. which are coupled together so that the gates can be set to transfer the articles from all the bay conveyers 70 ... 76 on to a selected collector conveyer 78... 82. A channel select pulse from the card reader 10, Fig. 4, at the start of a new order operates a stepping switch 170, Fig. 5, when timers A and B indicate that the bay conveyers are cleared of articles, to energize the control of a selected collector conveyer, the select pulse passing through a gate 179 opened by switch 170 to the diverter gate control of the selected collector, e.g. control 114, which sets the gates to deliver the order on to collector 78. At the end of the dispensing of the order an end-of-order pulse from the circuit of Fig. 4 actuates a stepping switch 168, when the timers A, B indicate that the bay belts are clear, to return the gates of the collector 78 to their inoperative position and operate a timer 186 which prevents operation of gate control 114 until the articles diverted on to collector 78 reach a stop gate 120. The next select pulse operates stepping switch 170 to operate one of the other gate controls 116 or 118. When the timer 186 switches off, a pulse operates the belt control 90 to stop the associated belt until the packer presses switch 132 which opens the stop gate 120 and restarts the belt drive 90; simultaneously, a timer 195 prevents operation of the associated gate control 114 for a period sufficient for the articles to clear the stop gate 120. A gate 197 held open until operation of the ready switch 132 also prevents selection of a collector belt until the previous order has moved past the stop gate, the gate causing the switch 170 to step twice to select another collector belt. If all the gates 197 are open, indicating piling up of orders against all of the stop gates 120, 122, 124, an AND circuit 206 operates the integrator 133 of Fig. 4 to interrupt scanning of the drum 21 until a ready switch is pressed. Specifications 700,262,728,272 and 924,705 are referred to.