US 7,321,984 B2
Automatic storage unit in smart home
Zhen Fu, Raleigh, N.C. (US)
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US)
Filed on Jul. 02, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/884,452.
Prior Publication US 2006/0005071 A1, Jan. 05, 2006
Int. Cl. G06F 11/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 714—5 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An automatic storage unit comprising:
a storage area having assigned locations for a plurality of stored items;
a manipulator traveling on a manipulator track, said manipulator connected to carry ones of the plurality of stored items between said assigned locations and a presentation area;
a processor connected to control said manipulator; and
a program running on said processor to receive input from a user regarding placement and retrieval of items in said storage area;
a computer storage device for storing a textual description and a plurality of digital photographs of each one of said plurality of stored items;
wherein said program provides a first mode in which a particular photograph of a first one of said stored items and a particular photograph of a second one of said stored items are combined to produce a composite photograph of said first one and said second one of said stored items that is displayed on a screen prior to selecting said first and said second one of said stored items together for retrieval and a second mode in which ones of said stored items are selected for retrieval without combining photographs of said ones of said stored items.