US 4,308,960 AGranted

Document retrieval system and components thereof

OwnerRobert J. Kalthoff, Paul J. Neumeierinventors

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Abstract

Apparatus for automatic closed loop retrieval and return of a document, bearing coded document-identifying edge notching, from a mass document store. The mass document store contains plural, selectively retrievable cartridges normally stored at addressable locations, with each cartridge containing plural minicartridges at addressable locations within the cartridge. The documents, randomly stored in the minicartridges, are each coded with an identifying number which distinguishes each document from others in the same minicartridge. A cartridge retriever transfers a cartridge containing a desired document from its addressable storage location to a remote document selector whereat only the minicartridge containing the desired document is selected and released from the cartridge for operative cooperation with document selector to facilitate selection of the desired document therein. A selected document removal/return transport indexable to the selected minicartridge removes the selected document and transfers it to an aligned storage compartment of an intermediate buffer store containing plural document storage compartments. The intermediate buffer store, as well as the document removal/return transport, are addressable to the particular minicartridge of the retrieved cartridge at the document selector which contains the desired document. Also included is a remote buffer store and an associated document transport for transferring documents between aligned document storage compartments of the intermediate buffer store and the remote buffer store. Finally, a document conveyor having an inlet proximate the intermediate buffer store and an outlet proximate the remote buffer store is provided.

Claims90

Dependent claims

Apparatus for retrieving stored documents comprising:

a plurality of cartridges each containing plural minicartridges, each said minicartridge of a given cartridge being stored in said cartridge at a different predetermined selectively addressable minicartridge location, each of said minicartridges containing first and second open walls, said minicartridges each containing randomly stored documents encoded along at least one sorting edge thereof and disposed in said minicartridge in face-to-face relationship with their sorting edges in alignment adjacent said first open wall and a second one of their edges in alignment adjacent said second open wall, said minicartridges of a cartridge being arranged with said first minicartridge walls thereof disposed to collectively define a first cartridge surface and said second minicartridge walls thereof disposed to collectively define a second cartridge surface,
a plurality of separate addressable stationary cartridge storage crypts, each crypt normally storing a different cartridge,
a document selector located remote from said crypts, said document selector having document selecting elements disposed to define a sorting surface substantially coextensive with said first cartridge surface of a retrieved cartridge for facilitating selection movement of only a desired document of a selected minicartridge of said retrieved cartridge operatively engaged with said document selecting elements, said selection movement being in a direction to displace said second edge of said desired document of said selected minicartridge through said second wall thereof relative to the second edges of the undesired documents in said selected minicartridge,
minicartridge selecting means selectively engageable with said selected minicartridge containing said desired document located in said retrieved cartridge, when said retrieved cartridge is located at said document selector for engaging in operative document selecting relation with said document selecting elements the sorting edges of only the documents of said selected minicartridge,
selected document removal means selectively positionable relative to said second wall of said selected minicartridge containing said desired document for removing from said selected minicartridge said displaced selected document extending through said second wall thereof,
a cartridge retriever movable between said remote document selector and a selected crypt for transferring a cartridge containing a desired document between its associated storage crypt and said document selector.

3 more elements

Apparatus for retrieving stored documents comprising:

a cartridge containing plural minicartridges, each said minicartridge being stored in said cartridge at a different predetermined selectively addressable minicartridge location, each of said minicartridges containing first and second open walls, said minicartridges each containing randomly stored documents encoded along at least one sorting edge thereof and disposed in said minicartridge in face-to-face relationship with their sorting edges in alignment adjacent said first open wall and a second one of their edges in alignment adjacent said second open wall, said minicartridges being arranged with said first minicartridge walls thereof disposed to collectively define a first cartridge surface and said second minicartridge walls thereof disposed to collectively define a second cartridge surface,
a document selector having document selecting elements disposed to define a sorting surface substantially coextensive with said first cartridge surface of a cartridge for facilitating selection movement of only a desired document of a selected minicartridge of said cartridge operatively engaged with said document selecting elements, said selection movement being in a direction to displace said second edge of said desired document of said selected minicartridge through said second wall thereof relative to the second edges of the undesired documents in said selected minicartridge,
minicartridge selecting means selectively engageable with selected minicartridge containing said desired document located in said cartridge, when said cartridge is located at said document selector, for engaging in operative document selecting relation with said document selecting elements the sorting edges of only the documents of said selected minicartridge, and
selected document removal means selectively positionable relative to said second wall of said selected minicartridge containing said desired document for removing from said selected minicartridge said displaced selected document extending through said second wall thereof.

1 more element

Apparatus for storing rectangular documents having leading and trailing edges between which is located a bottom sorting edge having a code-notched region, said apparatus being useful with a document selector having a stationary front horizontal platen section with vertically shiftable document select blades, a horizontal movable rear platen section with vertically shiftable document select blades, and a rearwardly shiftable pusher selectively positionable along an axis parallel to said document select blades, said apparatus comprising:

a cartridge positionable in said document selector in first and second different vertical locations overlying said selector platen sections,
a plurality of minicartridges releasably supported by said cartridge for storing documents, each minicartridge containing:
(a) a pair of spaced vertical side walls between which stored documents code-notched along their bottom sorting edges are positioned in vertical face-to-face relation with their leading, trailing, and sorting edges aligned,
(b) a first vertical open front wall adjacent to which the leading edges of stored documents are positioned,
(c) a second horizontal open bottom wall adjacent to which the sorting edges of stored documents are positioned,
(d) a vertical rear wall,
(e) at least one bottom retainer spanning said side walls along the lower margin thereof at a position in nonalignment with said code-notched region of documents therein to vertically support said documents in said minicartridge without interfering with document selecting interaction between said select blades and said code-notched region of said vertically supported documents, and
(f) an upper support member mounted for movement relative to said side walls and bottom retainer by said rearwardly shiftable pusher between a normal support position supportably engaged by said cartridge and a release position horizontally displaced from said normal support position in which said minicartridge is released from said cartridge,
(g) bias means acting on said support member for biasing it to said normal position,
said plurality of minicartridges being stored in said cartridge at a different predetermined selectively addressable minicartridge location, with said open bottom walls thereof collectively defining a first cartridge surface and said open front walls collectively defining a second cartridge surface,
a selected one of said minicartridges being released from support by said cartridge, for placing the sorting edges of documents therein in operative sorting relation with said platen sections to facilitate selection movement of a desired document forwardly through said front wall thereof by said platen sections, by moving the upper support member of said selected minicartridge rearwardly to its release position with said pusher,
a released minicartridge being returnable to support by said cartridge by positioning said upper support member in its release position under the action of said pusher when said cartridge is in its second upper location, and thereafter returning under the action of said bias means said upper support member to its normal position when said cartridge is in its first lower location,
said sorting edges of documents in unreleased minicartridges, when supported by said cartridge in said second upper location above said released minicartridge, being in nonoperative sorting relation with said platen sections to preclude selection movement of a document thereby.

10 more elements

A minicartridge for storing rectangular documents having leading and trailing edges between which is located a bottom sorting edge having a code-notched region, plural minicartridges being releasably supported at different addressable locations in a cartridge positionable at a document selector having a stationary front horizontal platen section with vertically shiftable document select blades, a horizontal movable rear platen section with vertically shiftable document select blades, and a rearwardly shiftable pusher selectively positionable along an axis parallel to said document select blades for releasing a selected minicartridge from the cartridge to position only the code-notched region of documents in the selected and released minicartridge in operative document selecting relation with the document selecting blades of the selector, said minicartridge comprising:

a pair of spaced vertical side walls between which stored documents, code-notched along their bottom sorting edges, are positioned in vertical face-to-face relation with their leading, trailing, and sorting edges aligned,
a vertical open front wall adjacent to which the leading edges of stored documents are positioned,
a horizontal open bottom wall adjacent to which the sorting edges of stored documents are positioned,
a vertical rear wall,
at least one bottom retainer spanning said side walls along the lower margin thereof at a position in nonalignment with said code-notched region of stored documents to vertically support said documents in said minicartridge without interfering with document selecting interaction between the select blades and the code-notched region of the vertically supported documents,
an upper support member mounted for movement relative to said side walls and bottom retainer, by said rearwardly shiftable minicartridge selecting pusher, between a normal support position supportably engaged with a minicartridge-engaging element of the cartridge and a release position horizontally displaced from said normal support position in which said minicartridge is released from the minicartridge-engaging element of the cartridge,
bias means acting on said support member for biasing it to said normal position,
said minicartridge being released from support by the minicartridge-engaging element of the cartridge, for placing the sorting edges of documents therein in operative sorting relation with the platen sections of the document selector to facilitate selection movement of a desired document forwardly through said front wall thereof by the platen sections, by moving the upper support member of said minicartridge rearwardly relative to said side walls to its release position with the pusher, p1 said released minicartridge being returnable to support by the minicartridge-engaging element of a cartridge by positioning said upper support member in its release position under the action of the pusher when the cartridge is in a first upper position with its minicartridge-engaging element displaced from said upper support member, and thereafter returning under the action of said bias means said upper support member to its normal position when the cartridge is in a second lower position with its minicartridge-engaging element disposed to be engaged by said upper support member,
the sorting edges of documents in said minicartridge, when said minicartridge is unreleased and supported by the minicartridge-engaging element of a cartridge in its first upper position, being in nonoperative sorting relation with the platen sections of the document selector to preclude selection movement of a document thereby.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.