The inventory management system comprises a central control unit, a number of parts terminal units deposed at each parts container, and some guide terminal units arranged at each parts container shelf. A worker goes to a parts container in accordance with the guidance on the guide terminal units, performs parts storing, parts collecting or stocktaking jobs in accordance with a job display and parts quantity display on the parts terminal unit and can also correct a displayed parts quantity if the...

A method for locating and retrieving a randomly placed object, such as a steel coil, in a warehouse, such as a crane bay of a steel mill storage warehouse. The method comprises the steps of attaching an indicia identification to the object, recording the indicia of identification, determining the coordinates of the object, indexing the indicia to the coordinates, and retrieving the object with a transporting means.

An apparatus is provided for monitoring inventory in a business or hospital to provide an immediate indication of the number of items in such inventory, the number of items needed to be reordered at any time to replenish the inventory to its maximum level, and the critical minimum inventory level necessitating a stock reorder to avoid depletion of stock before new stock items can arrive from the business' supplier.

An inventory control collar incorporating a resident memory for use on a cylindrical neck of a storage container comprising an electrically insulative housing having a central opening sized to fit around the cylindrical neck of the storage container, and a circumferential groove located in the top of the housing. A first conductive ring inserted into the circumferential groove in the housing is electrically connected to the first terminal of the memory and a second conductive ring inserted into ...

An inventory control procedure which supplies materials at various stations along an assembly line without providing excess amounts of these materials. In particular, an embodiment of the present invention is an inventory control procedure which operates in conjunction with an inventory control system to manage a manufacturing process along an assembly line, which assembly line includes (a) assembly stations, (b) stock areas which are associated with the assembly stations for storing associated ...

An apparatus is disclosed for displacing a portion of liquid stored in a tank using impervious bladders formed with flexible membranes. The bladders are filled with material having a density greater than the density of the stored liquid and cover substantially the entire usuable bottom of the tank. The tank bottom also has unusable areas including inflow pipes, outflow pipes, heaters, support columns or floating roof support legs. Substantially rigid protectors are provided preventing the bladde...

A concealed inventory control device for readily identifying and accounting for objects arranged in sequential front to back and side to side alignment comprising a mechanism for readily identifying the objects arranged from front to back and side to side on a mechanism for supporting the objects, a mechanism for concealing the mechanism for readily identifying, a mechanism for moving the mechanism for readily identifying between a first viewable position and a second non-viewable position, and ...

An inventory control system includes a computer system which may be coupled to a bar code scanner to allow items added to the inventory or deleted from the inventory to be scanned. The scanner may be mounted on an inventory storage container to facilitate inventory control. When the inventory of a particular item falls below a given level, an indication can be provided to assist in inventory control. A given list of items can be compared to the available inventory to determine whether the list o...

A method and apparatus for managing inventory in a distressed inventory warehouse with the aid of a programmable computer is disclosed. The method and apparatus provides for the complete automation of the inventory management of a distressed inventory warehouse. The method and apparatus also provides for the continual updating of records related to the distressed inventory as it passes through various stages within the distressed inventory warehouse.

A computer system and computer-implemented method for controlling inventory of vendors at one level of a part distribution chain. The system includes a computer programmed with software for generating order data in response to reference data indicative of sales, inventory, demographics, and/or market characteristics of or pertaining to at least two vendors at the same distribution level. The order data is indicative of one or more of a recommended inventory increase transaction (such as a reorde...