AUTOMATED PRODUCT CABINET FOR INVENTORY CONTROL

• Main Authors: KERNICK, Edward R, SHIMODA, Maile
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 10.08.2022
• Subjects: CALCULATING; CHECKING-DEVICES; COFFEE MILLS; COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS; COMPUTING; CONVEYING; COUNTING; DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS OR METHODS, SPECIALLY ADAPTED FORADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL, SUPERVISORYOR FORECASTING PURPOSES; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; FURNITURE; HAND TOOLS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONTECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING ORPROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA; HUMAN NECESSITIES; INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTEDFOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS; MANIPULATORS; PACKING; PAYING COUNTERS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECOGNITION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS; SPECIAL FURNITURE, FITTINGS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR SHOPS,STOREHOUSES, BARS, RESTAURANTS OR THE LIKE; SPICE MILLS; STORAGE MEANS FOR WORKSHOPS; STORING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE,COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL, SUPERVISORY OR FORECASTINGPURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING ORTIPPING; TRANSPORTING; WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT, e.g. FOR MARKING-OUT WORK

An example automated product cabinet includes a housing defining a storage area configured to receive a product and a face. The cabinet includes a plurality of slots, where each slot is configured to receive a respective unit of the product, and a plurality of visual indicators configured to indicate positions of the units of the product. The cabinet includes a scanning bar configured to be slidably repositioned along the face of the housing, and a data capture device attached to the scanning bar and configured to capture information about the product. The cabinet includes a controller operably coupled to the data capture device. The controller is configured to inventory the product based, at least in part, on the information about the product, and actuate one or more of the visual indicators that are associated with a desired unit of the product.