The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 10, 1990
Filed:
Aug. 27, 1987
Yukito Matsuo, Yokohama, JP;
Tsuyoshi Ishida, Yokohama, JP;
Hiromi Miyaji, Yokohama, JP;
Masanori Iwamoto, Tokyo, JP;
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Kanagawa, JP;
Abstract
An apparatus for conveying articles in carrier cases between one location in a hospital to a second location is disclosed. A station with a control panel is located in each room in the hospital which is to be reached by the system. A main conveyance path including a linear induction motor extends between each station. The stations include a branch conveyance path extending from a stop position on the main conveyance path to an input/output section for inputting carrier cases into the system or receiving carrier cases sent from other locations. A transferring device is located at each stop position and transfers carrier cases from the main conveyance path to each station. The system is run by a central control unit which controls the conveyance of the carrier cases along the main conveyance path as well as transference of the articles between the main conveyance path and the station and the movement of the carrier cases at the station itself. A detector is located in each station to detect if a malfunction occurs in any of the stations and reports any malfunctions to the central control unit. If a malfunction is detected, the central control unit operatively disconnects the malfunctioning station from the rest of the system so that no carrier cases may be sent to the malfunctioning station and no carrier cases may be sent from the malfunctioning station to the rest of the system, while maintaining normal functioning of the rest of the system.