Patent Application
20150294267
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a device for delivering tire supplies like balancing weights or valves to workshops, and to provide these supplies to a worker in such a way that they are easily accessible.
2. Description of Relevant Art
In JP 2001/039509, an automated storage and retrieval system as well as a management method thereof is disclosed. Controlling this system requires additional personnel having adequate skills. WO 1993/014463 discloses a method for ordering, shipping and merchandising goods. Here, the goods are stored in attractive floor display. The kind of display is not suitable for goods like balancing weights for vehicle wheels, as these have a comparatively high density resulting in high masses and large weights.
The embodiments are based on the object of providing tire supplies and balancing weights to workshops in such a way that a minimum quantity of supplies is always available and can easily be accessed by a worker. Furthermore, operating the system should not require a specific education. Accordingly, it should be possible for an untrained person to operate the system. Furthermore, the system should be suitable for handling and storing small, but comparatively heavy articles like balancing weights for vehicle wheels.
The invention relates to a method and a device for delivering tire supplies like balancing weights or valves as well as other car components, accessories and parts to workshops or (car) plants, and to provide these supplies to a worker/recipient in such a way that they are easily accessible.
In an embodiment, a rack is provided, for example in a workshop—in this document the term workshop also includes a plant—for storing and delivering the supplies.
Preferably, the rack holds a plurality of trays. Instead of the trays, also boxes or containers may be used. For simplicity, herein reference is made to trays, which should include any kind of boxes, containers and any combination thereof for storing small and comparatively heavy articles like balancing weights for vehicle wheels and other supplies like tire valves. It is further preferred, if the rack has at least one slide for holding at least one tray. Preferably, a plurality of trays is stored on a slide. The slides have a front end, which is at least accessible for receiving supplies, and a rear end distant from and opposing to the front end. Preferably, the front end has a lower position than the rear end, which results in a downward slope, which causes a tray to slide to the front end. During normal use, supplies may be manually taken from the tray, which is close to the front end of the slide. If the tray is empty, the tray may be removed from the slide, causing the next tray on the slide for sliding forward to the front end of the tray and provide supplies. Refilling may either be done by pushing a new tray from the front end, and therefore pushing all other trays on the slide backwards to the rear end. In an alternate embodiment, refilling may also be done by inserting a tray at or close to the rear end of a slide. Refilling may also be done by replacing a whole slide by a new slide with filled trays.
Preferably, at least one detector for detecting the presence and/or number of trays is provided. Such a detector may be arranged at each slide. It may be arranged at the front end of a slide for detecting a front most tray. In an alternate embodiment, it may be arranged at the rear end of a slide. It may be a distance sensor measuring the distance from the rear end or any other position. By measuring a distance to the trays, preferably the rearmost tray, the number of trays on a slide may be calculated. In an alternate embodiment, there may be a weight sensor. Such a weight sensor may not only determine the number of trays, it may also give an estimate of the number of items or supplies which are on the trays, preferably in the front most tray. By this way, it may even be determined whether a tray is full, empty, or nearly empty. In another embodiment, there may be an optical sensor like a camera. In the case of a camera, there may be a pattern recognition software which identifies the number of trays and which may even identify the content of the trays. The sensor may be combined with or be part of an identification system. For example, it may be combined with a bar code reader, reading bar codes or similar codes, like QR codes on at least one tray. This code may contain information about the tray and the contents thereof. It may identify the type of supplies as well as the number of pieces contained in a tray. An alternate sensor would be an RFID tag reader reading RFID tags attached to trays. This may prevent false filling of the slides with wrong trays, and it furthermore may help to count the number of pieces and to estimate the required pieces, which may be ordered.
The sensors are coupled to a network for communicating status information. This may be done by a local processor or a local computer, which may for example be a personal computer. The network may be a standard network, like an Ethernet, which may have a connection to the Internet. It may also be a wireless network, like a WLAN or a WAN (Wide Area Network) which may be based on GSM.
The rack may further comprise or be at least associated with a terminal for manually entering information and displaying information. This terminal may be used to indicate the status of the rack. It may further indicate status information from the sensors, which may provide values of the numbers of available trays and/or the contents of the trays, and/or the numbers and types of articles available in the trays and/or rack. Furthermore, the terminal may be used to order specific articles, like specific balancing weight sizes or specific tire valves. It may also be used to order higher quantities than the usual quantities of articles. The terminal may also be a tablet PC or PDA. It may have a touch panel or a key board with an optional mouse or trackball. The terminal may also be connected to a kind of network as described before in conjunction with the sensors. The rack may also have slides and/or means for holding trays, which are not connected or controlled by sensors. This may be useful for articles which are rarely used and which can manually be reordered for example by using the terminal.
The information provided by the sensors and/or the terminal is processed by a computing system, which obtains a status of the rack and its contents and/or the status of a plurality of racks. For example, it may obtain the status of all racks in a larger workshop having a plurality of racks. The data processing system may collect all status information and calculate therefrom an estimate of articles, which will be required in a future time period, like a day, a week, or a month. Of course, any other period of time may be chosen. This estimate and optional other specific orders which have been manually entered via the terminal, are forwarded to a supplier which forwards the information to its processing facility for manufacturing and/or providing the required articles, which then are delivered to the workshop and which can then be stored in the rack, thus refilling the rack.
In the following, the invention will be described by way of example, without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples of embodiment and with reference to the drawings.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
In
The sensors and/or the terminal may be connected to at least one network. The network may be a wired network and/or a radio network. It furthermore may be connected to the Internet. Information collected by the sensors and/or the terminal is processed by a server 200, which generates orders and/or forecasts. This procedure is shown in more detail in
The orders and/or forecasts may also be generated based on the number of actually used trays and/or articles. This is preferably done in the server 200. In an alternate embodiment, simply a new tray of articles may be ordered if there is only one tray remaining in the rack. Of course, ordering may be done depending on any other number of remaining trays. For example, another three trays may be ordered if there are still two trays remaining in the rack.
Preferably, the orders may be based on the actual consumption of articles and/or trays, based on information 201 received by the sensors, and/or information 202 received by the terminal. The ordering information 211 generated thereby is provided to a supplier 210 which forwards the collected information as a manufacturing information 221 to a manufacturing and delivery site 220 (e.g., to a local server or computer of the manufacturing and delivery site 220 via a wired or wireless network). Here, the required articles are manufactured or at least provided to be delivered by delivery 231 to a delivery service 230, transporting 241 the articles to the workshop, where they can be placed into the rack.
The process flow at the manufacturer or supplier is shown in more detail in
It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to provide a method and device for delivering of tire supplies and balancing weights. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.
