Automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, in particular tools and accessories for individual protection

Abstract

 An automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, such as tools and other devices or accessories for individual protection (individual-protection devices ^~IPDs), designed to record the data of each individual withdrawal of material (date, time, matriculation number, product withdrawn) by using electronic keys or company badges to be inserted in special readers (16) set on board the machine; in this way, the availability of the products is ensured at any moment, and the operating, bookkeeping and financial management of the product stores is totally eliminated.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, such as tools and other devices or accessories for individual protection (individual-protection devices ^∼ IPDs).

[0002] By individual-protection devices (IPDs) are meant gear and equipment to be used for protecting workers from risks that may threaten their safety or health at work, as well as any ancillary item and accessory designed for this purpose.

[0003] Recent safety standards in working environments and standards of accident prevention in general call for the continuous availability of tools or devices for individual protection, such as gloves, goggles, breathing apparatus, ear protectors, and disposable overalls, for personnel engaged in work places that require such appurtenances.

[0004] In particular, the employer must make available equipment that is adequate for the tasks to be performed and is suitable for ensuring the safety and health of workers, and must take the necessary measures for ensuring that such equipment is installed in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer, used correctly and subjected to an appropriate maintenance.

[0005] For this purpose, specific stores of the aforesaid devices have been set up so as to enable real-time supply thereof to workers whenever required and to enable checks to be carried out, as well as the necessary maintenance operations.

[0006] However, such stores require an operative, bookkeeping and financial management, which is inevitably added to the types of management already required inside a plant (personnel management, accounting, purchasing, management of spare-parts warehouse, etc.).

[0007] A purpose of the present invention is therefore to overcome the problems referred to above and, in particular, to provide an automatic machine for dispensing tools and devices for individual protection, which will enable employers to fulfil the requirements of current standards regarding accident prevention and safety in the work place, at the same time solving the problem of management and distribution of such items of protection.

[0008] A further purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, which will enable an immediate and continuous availability of said products.

[0009] Yet a further purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, which will enable dispensing of various types of tools and other equipment for individual protection in a simple, safe, practical and economical way by virtue of the advantages afforded.

[0010] The above and other purposes are achieved by an automatic machine for dispensing industrial products according to Claim 1, to which the reader is referred for reasons of brevity.

[0011] Other preferred characteristics are described in the subsequent claims.

[0012] Advantageously, the automatic machine for dispensing industrial products according to the present invention enables timely and continuous supply of any tool or accessory for ensuring worker protection and safety, eliminating completely stores of equipment and devices for individual protection, as well as the corresponding operative, bookkeeping and financial management. In addition, it enables an accurate logistics study regarding the distribution and location of the products, in such a way as to permit fast, safe and practical access thereto and timely intervention for replenishing the products when they run out.

[0013] Finally, the machine according to the present invention constitutes a flexible distribution system in so far as it makes possible recording, processing and comparison of data for each individual withdrawal, as well as identifying, at any moment, especially in the event of an accident, the time and date of the withdrawal, and enabling the corresponding payment to be made upon actual consumption of the products.

[0014] The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention and its advantages compared to the prior art will emerge even more clearly and evidently from the ensuing detailed description, with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate a preferred, but non-limiting, example of embodiment of the automatic machine according to the invention.

[0015] In particular, in the drawings:

• Figure 1 is an overall axonometric view of an example of embodiment of the automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, such as tools and devices for individual protection, according to the present invention; and
• Figures 2-4 are block diagrams of a series of three different variants, provided purely by way of non-limiting example of embodiment, of a process for withdrawing products from an automatic dispensing machine of the type illustrated in Figure 1.

[0016] With particular reference to Figure 1, the automatic machine for dispensing industrial products according to the present invention envisages, inside a protective casing 10, a set of drawers 11 for containing products, the said drawers being fixed to a structure 12, preferably of a rotary type, designed to present each time the drawer 11 containing the product selected in a position corresponding to an ejection system, so as to cause the product to drop into an area where it may be collected from the machine, the said area being accessible through a door or hatch 13 made in the casing 10.

[0017] It is to be noted that, of course, the automatic machine for dispensing industrial products according to the present invention may envisage any other delivery system of a known and currently used type, without thereby departing from the principles of novelty inherent in the inventive idea.

[0018] The automatic machine for dispensing industrial products constitutes an extremely safe, easy-to-use, practical and flexible system, in so far as it adapts perfectly to the distribution requirements and may be suitably located inside a factory or plant according to an analysis of consumption and an appropriate organization of the logistics of distribution of the given factory or plant. In addition, operations of replenishment of the dispenser may be envisaged in all the cases of imminent need, and the corresponding payments are made on what is actually consumed.

[0019] Finally, it is possible to dispense, at any moment (twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week) all types of individual protection devices that may be useful for preventing risks in the work place and safeguarding the health of workers, such as gloves, goggles, breathing apparatus, ear protectors, and disposable overalls, etc.

[0020] Use of the automatic machine according to the present invention is by selecting the desired product on a push-button panel 14 set on the front panel 15 of the machine and by inserting a magnetic key or badge inside a special reader device 16 of the machine itself.

[0021] In this way, the machine is able to record, process and compare all the data of each individual withdrawal, as regards, in particular, date and time of the withdrawal, type of product withdrawn and matriculation number of the worker who made the withdrawal, merely as a result of the fact that the worker inserts the company badge.

[0022] This makes it possible to know at any moment (especially in the event of occurrence of an accident) the identification data of the persons making the withdrawals and the date and time of the withdrawals.

[0023] According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, provided by way of non-limiting example, the process of recording and/or processing data regarding the withdrawals may be organized according to the modalities described in what follows.

[0024] In the first place, it is possible to envisage that the reading system or badge reader 16 may interact with an infrared mobile unit 21 for unloading the data recorded after each withdrawal. In particular, it is possible to use a pocket-type infrared PSION interface for this purpose.

[0025] The above portable interface is further connected to a PC terminal 22, typically by means of a PSION cable connection for processing the data using a special program, designed to unload the data read and to enable the PC to carry out sequential printing of the withdrawals, without any possibility of processing the corresponding data (see, in this connection, the block diagram of Figure 2).

[0026] As an alternative to this solution, the badge-reader device 16 may be associated to a data base 23, provided on board the dispensing machine and consisting of an appropriately sized magnetic key 24, with an additional memory.

[0027] Once the pocket electronic key 24 has been picked up and inserted into a special reader 25, which is in turn connected via cable to a data-processing PC terminal 22, a specifically developed Windows ® application program enables unloading of the data read and their processing, it being possible to make a series of queries on the withdrawals (see the block diagram of Figure 3).

[0028] A third solution (see the block diagram of Figure 4) enables the dispensing machine, by means of a communications software 27 connected to the badge-reader device 16 via the data base 23, to enter LAN networks 28 and, hence, local networks 29 (e.g., an Intranet network) and/or external networks 30 (such as an Internet network).

[0029] In this way, using a PC terminal, of the type of the ones designated by 22 in Figures 2 and 3, on which a specially compiled application program is implemented, it is possible to download the data and process them as desired.

[0030] From the foregoing description the characteristics of the automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, in particular tools and devices or accessories for individual protection (IPDs), which forms the subject of the present invention emerge clearly, as likewise are clear the advantages achieved.

[0031] Finally, it is evident that numerous other variations can be made to the automatic dispensing machine in question, without thereby departing from the principles of novelty inherent in the inventive idea, just as it is clear that, in the practical embodiment of the invention, the materials, the shapes and the dimensions of the items illustrated may be any whatsoever according to the requirements, and the said items may be replaced with other technically equivalent ones.

Claims

1. An automatic machine for dispensing industrial products, in particular tools and other devices or accessories for individual protection, characterized in that said products are withdrawn by the users by means of electronic keys or magnetic badges that are to be inserted in reader devices (16) in such a way that the data of each individual withdrawal are recorded and processed via processing means (21, 22) connected to said machine.

2. The automatic machine according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises, inside a protective casing (10), a set of drawers (11) for containing products, which are fixed to a structure (12), designed to present each time a drawer (11) containing the selected product in a position corresponding to an ejection system, to cause the product to drop into an area where it can be collected from the machine, the said area being accessible to the user through a door (13) made in said casing (10).

3. The automatic machine according to Claim 1, characterized in that said individual-protection devices and accessories (IDPs) comprise equipment for preserving the health of workers in work places, such as gloves, goggles, breathing apparatus, ear protectors (plugs or muffs), or disposable overalls.

4. The automatic machine according to Claim 1, characterized in that said processing means (21, 22) are able to record, process and compare all the data of each individual withdrawal, as regards, in particular, the date and time of the withdrawal, the type of product withdrawn and the matriculation number of the worker who has made said withdrawal.

5. The automatic machine according to Claim 4, characterized in that said process for recording and processing data on the withdrawals envisages that said reader device (16) interacts with a mobile unit or infrared interface (21), which enables downloading of the data recorded after each withdrawal, said interface (21) being connected to an electronic data processor (22), designed for downloading said data read and for carrying out a sequential printout of the withdrawals.

6. The automatic machine according to Claim 4, characterized in that said process for recording and processing data on the withdrawals envisages that said reader device (16) is associated to a data base (23) provided on board the machine and comprising at least one magnetic key (24) with additional memory, which, once introduced inside an external terminal (25) connected to a data-processing terminal (22), enables downloading and processing of the data read.

7. The automatic machine according to Claim 4, characterized in that said process for recording and processing data on the withdrawals envisages use of a communications software (27), connected to said reader device (16) by means of at least one data base (23) for entering LAN networks (28) and local networks (29) and/or external networks (30).

8. An automatic machine for dispensing industrial products substantially as described and illustrated and for the purposes herein specified.

Drawing