Javier Sanchez's
"Cubeful Automated Storage System"
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Since the dawn of man’s ability to shape flint rocks into tools, toys and books, mankind has been plagued by a constant problem that has only grown with the increasing consumerism of today’s society: where does one store all of this “stuff?” Back in caveman times, this was not as big of an issue for rock-based items tended to all look the same and it didn’t make much of a difference if you could not find a specific one because rocks tended to be everywhere. Nowadays though it is not very helpful if one needs a specific colored potholder when all that one can find are pan holders!
To cope with this problem, we as a race have invented equipment that assist us in our ability to store our personal items such as shelves, filing cabinets, drawers, closets, little boxes that allow us to label them so we know what is inside of them. The problem with these inventions though is that it still takes a high degree o forganization to utilize these structures in a mannaer that actually makes life easier. Most items that are supposed to orgianize life fail because it requires that the user be organized themselves. Bookshelves are very handy if the books are placed back neatly in alphabetical order with the spine facing outward and right side up, but the instant that books are placed sideways, next to video tapes, and food items, then they purpose of the bookshelf becomes moot. All that shelves, cabinets, and drawers do is allow us to expand form the cameman habit of throwing all things o0n the floor, these items just create more surface for us to throw our stuff on.
A truly useful storage system would not require that the user be responsible for being organized. Imagine simply a cube, just a plain cube withourt anything complicated attached to it be a square hole on the top. Ideally, one whould just throw the item to be stored into the hole, type a name for what it is and then away the item would go! Out of sight, out of minde, until it is needed again, that is. When the item needs to be retrieved, the user would siply press the button that corresponds to the named aobject and suddenly there it would appear in the opening of the cube. Even a hightly organized person could benefid from such a system, allowing them to relax and spend more time doing useful things like fishing or overthrowing governments.
Right now you are probably asking yourself whether such an amazing dream machine eists, and the answer is YES! Although it sounds too good to be true, The Cubeful Automated Storage System does all these things! Suddenly, where before there were cluttered tables, messy desks and overhead shelves, all is replaced by a sing,e sleek piece of furniture that stores all of your items and serves a s a fancy saddition to your household rooms. Imagine the surprise of your friends as you call up from your CASS any of your possessions on deman, which usually would have take hours of rummaging through boxes and trunks to find. The CASS can store practically anything: silverware, books, CD’s letters, clothes, and shows, the possibilities are endless and you do not have to worry about storing different types of items in the same CASS because the clever automated storage system ensures that your possessions never get mixed up. This is the beauty of the CASS.
How to use the CASS
On the top of the Cubeful is an opening. Take the item to be stored and place it within the opening, making sure that no part of the item sticks out of the hole. At the computer interface, simply type the name fo the item and hit enter. The item will then be moved away, into the Cubeful.
To retrieve an item, call up the storage map which shows all the named items within the CASS. Choose which item from the screen that you want an within seonds, the item will appear at the opening.
Items can also be given a priority number, with the most used item given a priority number of one and the least used given a priority number of eight. Through the interface, the priority for each item can be determined, and then The Cubeful will rearrange the boxes so that the most used ones will be the quickest to retrieve.
How the CASS works
Figure 2 shows the basic working of the CASS. Capable of moving in the Three-Dimensions an index point moves about, under the boxes. On topf o fhtis index points is a series of three magnets, that correspond to magnets beneath the storage boxes. When given a command to retrieve an item, the Cubeful moves underneath the corresponding boxes, moves upward to pick it up, and carries it down the main path to the deposit point, ready for you to retrieve. At this point, the user may place something else in the box, and The Cubeful will move the bo to ist position.
The priority system works by positioning the highest priority boxes closer to the deposit point. To rearrange th boxes, The Cubeful uses the deposit point as a go-between so that boxes may be repositioned in their correct priority position.