EP1579395A1

EP1579395A1 - Coin deposit lock

Info

Publication number: EP1579395A1
Application number: EP03778243A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Fuchs
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-01-03
Filing date: 2003-10-29
Publication date: 2005-09-28
Also published as: CN1732482A; AU2003285267A1; DE10394184D2; DE10300031A1; WO2004061788A1; CN100380409C

Abstract

The coin deposit lock comprises a functional part (5) that, by means of a key (1) or coin (2), is moved between two final positions inside a coin compartment (3) and comprises a housing that forms a coin compartment (3) and a key compartment (4). Said functional part alternately releases or blocks the key and the coin. First and second control contours (55A, 55B; 56A, 56B; 57A, 57B) are formed on the function part (50) on both sides of the longitudinal axis (L-L) of the housing (40). In the event of a direct mutual action by the key (10) or coin (20), these control contours cause the functional part (50) to vertically move perpendicular to the functional plane between two high positions (H1, H2) according to both final positions of the key and coin. In addition, first and second blocking contours (58A, 58B; 59) are formed on the functional part (50) and are provided for blocking the key (10) or the coin (20) in the high positions of the functional part (50). All functions of the coin deposit lock are completely integrated in the functional part, which is directly subjected to the action of the coin and key and controls the mutual release/blocking of these parts.

Description

description

Coin-operated lock

Technical field

The invention relates to a coin deposit lock, in particular for use in shopping trolleys.

To secure and properly store shopping carts, for example in the parking lot in front of a supermarket, it has become increasingly common in recent years to equip shopping carts with coin-operated locks. The function of such coin deposit locks is that it is only possible to remove an empty shopping trolley from the row of parked shopping trolleys at the start of shopping if a key in the coin deposit lock is released by inserting a coin into the coin deposit lock a chain is firmly connected to the next shopping cart. During the purchase, the inserted coin is therefore a deposit within the coin deposit lock and cannot be removed from the outside.

If, after shopping, the empty shopping trolley is brought to the designated shopping trolley row and inserted into this row, the key that is firmly connected to the next shopping trolley can be re-entered into the coin deposit lock in reverse order and the inserted coin becomes again Removal released.

If all shopping carts in the area of a supermarket, for example, are equipped with coin locks of the same type, usually achieved or at least encouraged that the theft of shopping carts is avoided or minimized and that after the purchase has been made, the buyers return the empty shopping carts to the designated places in order to receive the deposit coin again.

Such coin deposit systems consequently reduce the expenses for the procurement of new shopping carts and personnel expenses for searching the shopping carts, which are usually scattered far beyond the customer car park, for the operator of the respective supermarket.

State of the art

The design of such coin deposit locks places relatively high demands on the robustness and mechanical stability of the structural design, since the coin deposit systems are exposed to all weather influences, gentle use by the customer cannot be expected, repair and replacement expenses must be reduced as much as possible, so as not to incur any additional costs.

A large number of known systems (for example DE 199 32 287 A1, EP 0 286 460) have functional parts with contours for carrying out the above-described processes Manufactures, releases, and vice versa.

For this purpose, the functional parts used in the known systems carry out displacements and / or rotations in a plane of the coin deposit lock in order to enable the functional parts to intervene in the path of movement of the coin and key. In particular, rotary movements require a relatively high level of manufacturing precision to ensure that the coin deposit lock functions properly. The required components are often space-consuming.

The generic EP 1 286 318 A2 shows a coupling mechanism with a control bolt which is guided linearly in its longitudinal axis in the housing. By means of a control contour of the control bolt, a functional part coupled to it carries out a combined sliding and lifting / lowering movement when a coin or a key is inserted. With this concept, the locking and release positions of the coin and key can be controlled exclusively by linear movements of the functional part and the control bolt, with no need for rotary or pivoting movements. This solution thus considerably simplifies the construction of such coin-operated locks without restrictions in their function or practical suitability.

Presentation of the invention

It is an object of the invention to further simplify the generic coin deposit lock.

Another task is to integrate protection against misuse into the structure.

This object is achieved by the features of the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

The basic idea of the invention is essentially all

To fully integrate the functions of the control bolt and the functional part in the generic device in the functional part, that is, instead of two coupled components, there is a single component, both from a coin and key is acted upon directly, as well as controls the mutual release / blocking of these parts.

The arrangement of only one functional part creates space for a large clear cross-section within the key chamber and thus for a key with a corresponding cross-section, as is required for a plastic key for reasons of stability. The large cross-section combined with the correspondingly large internal contours of the housing create the conditions for extreme tensile forces without damaging the coin deposit lock.

The function of the housing in the solution according to the invention consists only in the secure accommodation of the (single) functional part and its guidance.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the upper part of the housing (cover) is designed as an injection-molded plastic part, with molded-on spring elements pointing inwards, which make the positioning of the functional part between the end positions of the key / coin or the corresponding height positions even more secure.

Further advantageous configurations and advantages emerge from the following description and the subclaims.

Brief description of the drawings

Two preferred exemplary embodiments of the coin deposit lock according to the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to drawings, in which:

FIG. 1: a top view of the housing of the first exemplary embodiment of the coin deposit lock with an inserted functional part, 2 shows a schematic exploded view as a longitudinal section in the longitudinal axis LL of FIG. 1 of the housing, housing cover, functional part and spring element,

FIG. 3: a schematic representation of the position of the functional part in the housing when the inserted key is locked,

FIG. 4: a schematic representation of the functional part in the housing when the inserted coin is locked,

Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view in the axis V-V in Figure

4, FIG. 6: a top view of the housing of the second exemplary embodiment of the coin deposit lock with an inserted functional part,

7 shows a schematic exploded view as a longitudinal section of the housing, housing cover and functional part in the second exemplary embodiment in the longitudinal axis L-L of FIG. 6,

FIG. 8: a schematic sectional illustration of the coin deposit lock with the key inserted in the plane VIII-VIII of FIG. 9,

FIG. 9: a cross-sectional representation of the coin deposit lock with the key inserted in the plane IX-IX of FIG. 8,

FIG. 10: a schematic representation of the coin deposit lock with the coin inserted in the plane X-X of FIG. 11,

FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional illustration of the coin deposit lock with the coin inserted in the plane Xl-Xl of FIG. 10,

FIG. 12: a perspective illustration of the functional part in the second exemplary embodiment,

Figure 13 is a perspective view of the housing in the second embodiment, and

Figure 14: a perspective view of the housing cover in the second embodiment. Description of the first embodiment

The coin deposit lock according to the first embodiment consists essentially of four parts, namely an essentially cuboid housing 40, a functional part 50 that can be inserted into this housing 40, a spring element 60 inserted between the housing and functional part and a housing cover 30. As is usual with coin deposit locks, there is between These components have space for inserting a key 10 into a key chamber 12 and a coin 20 into a coin chamber 22.

The basic structure of housing 40, housing cover 30 and functional part 50 can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2:

The housing 40 contains a base plate 41, from which first guide elements 41A.41 B extend in the form of pegs formed on both sides of the longitudinal axis LL, and a front and rear central guide block 43 and 44, which hold the functional part 50 and the housing cover in the correct position 30 serve. Guide recesses 42A.42B are embedded in the peg-like first guide elements 41A41B.

The functional part 50 consists of a base plate 51, from which wall elements extend in such a way that the control and locking contours that are decisive for the function of the device are formed:

In the area of the coin chamber 22 there are first control contours 56A.56B in the form of inclined surfaces, which are inclined upward from the horizontal by approximately 30 ° to 40 ° and are arranged at the end of the coin chamber 22.

At the front end of the control part 50 and above the first control contours 56A.56B, tongs-like, coin-side first locking contours 58A, 58B are formed, which have the purpose of inserting a coin 20 into the coin Reach behind position and thereby lock the coin against withdrawal.

On the key side there are second control contours 57A.57B, likewise in the form of inclined surfaces, and below a central plane ME-ME of these second control contours there is a peg-shaped second locking contour 59. It is particularly important here that first / second control contours and associated first / second locking contours come alternately to lie above or below the median plane ME (FIG. 2) in order to ensure the mutual positioning of the functional part 50 described below. For a clear illustration, the control contours 56A.56B and 57A.57B are particularly emphasized in FIG. 2.

On the central part of the functional part 50 there is a lateral cam 52 with an essentially triangular cross section, the function of which is explained below in connection with a spiral spring 60 inserted in the housing 40.

The coin deposit lock is closed at the top by the housing cover 30, which essentially builds on a base plate 31, from which guide elements 31A and 31B extend downwards, which are dimensioned such that they fit into the guide recesses 42A.42B of the Intervene housing 40 and thus ensure both horizontal and vertical positioning of the housing cover 30 in the housing 40, as is to be indicated in Figure 2 by the dotted connecting lines.

When assembling the coin deposit lock, the functional part 50 is first inserted into the housing 40, with a bolt-like part 51 A of the base plate 51 in a first recess 41 C in the base plate 41, and a correspondingly downward extension 59 A of the locking contour 59 in a second key-side Recess 41 D of the base plate 41 engages, which ensures that the functional part 50 in the housing 40 only (with little play) can perform a vertical movement, which is bounded at the bottom by the base plate 41 of the housing 40 and at the top by the base plate 31 of the housing cover 30.

After inserting the functional part 50 into the housing 40, a spiral spring 60 is inserted into the central part of the coin deposit lock, which is supported both on the face on the key 10 and coin 20, and in its central part on the cam 52. The spiral spring 60 has the task of ensuring that the functional part 50 can only occupy one of the two height positions in the long run, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Finally, the housing cover 30 is then placed on the housing 40 to complete the assembly, wherein, as already mentioned above, guide contours 31A.31B engage in the recesses 42A.42B of the housing 40.

The coin deposit lock is thus assembled and a coin 20 can then be inserted into the coin chamber 22 or a key 10 into the key chamber 12 into the coin slot or key slot, the basic operating principle of the structure according to the invention being that the coin 20 and key 10 are without further intermediate components act directly on the control contours 56A.56B or 57A.57B, which convert the horizontal movement of the coin and key into a vertical movement of the control part 50 according to the principle of the inclined plane. It should be emphasized once again that the special arrangement of the locking contours 58A.58B or 59 above or below the median plane ME causes the other element to be blocked / released when one of the control contours 56A.56B or 57A.57B is applied ; this will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, which represent the two height positions H1 and H2 of the functional part 50 when the key 10 (FIG. 3) or the coin 20 (FIG. 4) is locked. (It should be noted that the hatching in these two Figures do not symbolize a sectional representation, but should serve to differentiate the functional part 50 from the housing 40 and the housing cover 30):

In the first end position shown in FIG. 3 (key 10 locked in the coin deposit lock), the functional part 50 is in its raised, first height position H1. In this height position, the key-side second locking contour 59 engages in a corresponding recess 11 in the key 10 and locks it against removal, especially since the functional part 50 is held in this upper position by the spring 60 and the cam 52. If a coin 10 is now pushed into the coin deposit lock in the direction of the coin chamber 22, the coin can initially pass the blocking contours 58A.58B on the coin side below it and finally meets one of its lower edges on both sides of the longitudinal axis on its way in the horizontal plane of the coin deposit lock LL arranged first control contours 56A.56B. If the coin 20 is pushed further, the horizontal path of the coin 20 is converted into a vertical displacement of the functional part 50 as a result of the control contours 56A.56B designed as inclined surfaces according to the inclined plane principle, ie the control part 50 moves down from its first height position H1 to the lower, second height position H2 shown in FIG. 4, on the last part of this path, again supported by the force of the spiral spring 60, which is now supported above the cam 52.

The lowering of the functional part 50 from the first height position H1 to the second height position H2 essentially has two effects:

On the one hand, the second key-side locking contour 59 moves out of the recess 11 of the key 10 so that it can be pulled out, on the other hand, the coin-side first locking contours 58A.58B move behind the edge of the coin 20 in its functional path, in which it covers the rear area of the key Enclose the coin like a pair of pliers so that a pulling out the coin is no longer possible. The insertion of the coin, through its interaction with the first control contours 56A, 56B, causes both the release of the key and the blocking of the coin.

The reverse process is similar:

If, in the illustration in FIG. 4, the key 10 is moved in the direction of the key chamber 12, it can easily be inserted into the key chamber until its front side abuts the key-side, second control contours 57A.57B and through the same interaction, As described above, the key is continued in the horizontal direction in a vertical stroke of the functional part 50 upwards from the second height position H2 back to the first height position H1. This means that the coin-side first locking contours 58A, 58B release the coin again and at the same time the key-side second locking contour 59 engages again in the recess 11 of the key 10 and locks it.

It can be seen from the cross-sectional illustration of FIG. 5 in the height position H2 that the underside of the functional part 50 is inclined by a small angle α relative to the base plate 41 of the housing 40. In addition, there are first securing contours 53A, 53B in the recesses in the functional part 50 for receiving the first guide elements 41A.41B, which interact with corresponding second securing contours 36A.36B on the housing cover 30.

In the horizontal position shown in FIG. 5, the insertion of the key 10 (as described above) only raises the control part 50 with the horizontal plane remaining the same if the two second control contours 57A.57B arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axis LL simultaneously and with the same force from the Flanks of the key 10 be hit. If this is not the case (for example when attempting to tamper with a non-key object), the uneven loading of the second control contours 57A.57B does not bring about the desired raising of the functional part into the height position H1 to release the coin, but leads a tilting effect by the angle α, with the result that corresponding securing contours 36A.36B or 53A.53B come into engagement with one another, thereby preventing the functional part 50 from being raised to the height position H1. This ensures that such manipulation attempts to withdraw a coin are not tolerated by the system without using the keys provided for this purpose.

Description of the second exemplary embodiment

The second exemplary embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 14, reference being made in particular to the perspective representations of FIGS. 12 to 14, which also facilitate understanding of the functioning of the first exemplary embodiment described above, especially since the basic functional principle in both exemplary embodiments and the essential constructive ones Components are largely identical or at least similar in function, so that the same reference numerals are used for the same components or assemblies.

Therefore, only the decisive differences between the first and second exemplary embodiments are discussed in the following:

Figure 6 corresponds essentially to the representation of Figure 1, Figure 7 corresponds to Figure 2. In particular, from the comparison of the last two figures (Figure 2 compared to Figure 7) it can be seen that the housing 40 and the Functional part 50 was dispensed with the separate spring 60 in the second embodiment. de and their function is provided by a corresponding design of the housing cover 30, which is therefore first described:

On the base plate 31 there are a first stop block 34A (coin side) and a second stop block 34B (key side), between which a first guide channel 35A and a second guide channel 35B are formed (cf. in particular FIG. 14).

First spring tongues 32A.32B move in this guide channel in the direction of the longitudinal axis L-L. The first spring tongues 32A, 32B act on the coin and key in their respective end positions.

Perpendicular to the first spring tongues 32A.32B, second spring tongues 33A, 33B are formed, the front end of which has a thickening or profiling which, in cooperation with corresponding cams 52A.52B (see FIGS. 9 and 11), secures and fixes the position of the functional part Ensure 50 in its respective altitude H1 or H2.

In contrast to the first exemplary embodiment, further first control contours 55A.55B are arranged in the area of the coin chamber 12, which already cause the functional part 50 to be lowered before the coin reaches the first control contours 56A.56B.

The housing 40 has on its base plate 41 first guide elements 41A.41B symmetrically on both sides of the longitudinal axis, into which guide recesses 42A.42B are made, which serve to receive the guide elements 31A.31B of the housing cover 30, the guide elements 41A.41B of the housing 40 are in turn held in guide recesses 51 A, 51 B of the functional part 50, as can be seen particularly from the cross-sectional representations of FIGS. 9 and 11. The basic function of the second exemplary embodiment essentially corresponds to the function explained above, in this case FIG. 8 and FIG. 10 correspond to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 in the first exemplary embodiment, the function of the spring tongues formed on the housing cover 30 in the form of the first and second spring tongues being particularly clear from this becomes.

In the first height position H1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the key 10 is in its locked position and is acted upon by the spring tongue 32A in the longitudinal axis in order to secure this position. The height position H1 of the functional part 50 is secured by the fact that the lower formations of the spring tongues 33A.33B latch under the cams 52A.52B on the functional part 50.

If a coin is now inserted, this causes a two-stage lowering of the functional part 50 into its lower height position H2 and the release of the key 10 via the first control contours 55A, 55B and 56A, 56B, with (FIG. 11) the spring tongues 33A.33B spring past the cams 52A, 52B of the control part 50 and rebound on the upper side thereof, so that the second, lower height position H2 is thereby secured.

A reinsertion of the key 10 in the lower height position H2 of the functional part 50 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 then again causes the release of the coin 20 and the "self-locking" of the key 10 by retracting the second one by acting on the second key-side control contours 57A.57B Locking contour 59 into the recess 11 of the key 10, as a result of which the spring tongues 33A.33B are deflected past the cams 52A.52B and reach under the reached height position H1 again.

The particular advantage of the second exemplary embodiment over the first exemplary embodiment is therefore that the integration of the spring properties in the housing cover 30 means that the entire coin deposit lock including the housing can be constructed from only three components, 30 injection molding techniques, in particular for the housing cover, enabling inexpensive production.

List of reference numbers

10 keys

11 recess

12 key chamber

20 coin

22 coin chamber

30 housing cover

31 base plate

31A.31 B guide elements

32A.32B first spring tongues

33A.33B second spring tongues

34A first stop block

34B second stop block

35A first guide channel

35B second guide channel

36A.36B securing contours

40 housing

41 base plate

41A, 41 B first guide elements

41C.41 D recess

42A.42B guide recesses

43A.43B second guide elements

43 first guide block

44 second guide block

50 functional part

51 base plate

51A.51 B guide recesses

52A.52B cams

53A.53B securing contours

55A.55B; 56A.56B first control contours

57A.57B second control contours

58A.58B first blocking contours

59 second blocking contour

60 spring element

Claims

claims

1. coin deposit lock with a functional part (5) which moves by key (1) or coin (2) between two end positions in a housing which forms a coin chamber (3) and a key chamber (4) and which alternately releases or blocks the key and the coin, characterized in that on the functional part (50) on both sides of the longitudinal axis (LL) of the housing (40) first and second control contours

(55A.55B; 56A, 56B; 57A.57B) are formed, which upon direct mutual action by key (10) or coin (20) cause vertical movement of the functional part (50) perpendicular to the functional plane between two height positions (H1, H2) according to the two end positions of key and coin, and that on

Functional part (50) first and second locking contours (58A.58B; 59) are formed, which block the key (10) or the coin (20) in the vertical positions of the functional part (50).

2. Coin deposit lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the functional part (50) is shaped and embedded in the housing (40) in such a way that it performs an evasive movement when the first or second control contours are not acted on in the central plane (ME) of the securing contours (53A.53B) on the functional part (50) come into engagement with corresponding securing contours (52A.52B) and block the vertical movement of the functional part (50).

3. Coin deposit lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second control contours are at least partially designed as inclined surfaces, with first control contours (56A.56B) on the functional part

(50) in the area of the coin chamber (22) and second control contours

(57A.57B) are provided in the area of the key chamber (12) If the coin (20) or key (10) is inserted horizontally, cause the functional part (5) to move in the opposite direction.

Coin deposit lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the first locking contours (58A, 58B) are provided on the coin-side end of the functional part (50), at least one of which engages behind the coin (20) in its locked position, and at least one second locking contour (59) at the key-side end of the functional part (50), which engages in a recess (11) of the key (10) in its locked position.

5. Coin deposit lock according to claim 3, characterized in that the second control contours on the functional part (50) in the area of the key chamber (12) are matched to the key contour.

6. Coin deposit lock according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that control contours and locking contours are alternately arranged above or below a central plane (ME-ME) of the functional part (50), the first locking contours (58A.58B) and the second Control contours (57A.57B) above the median plane (ME-ME) and the second blocking contour (59) and the first control contours (56A.56B) below the

Middle plane (ME-ME) are arranged.

7. Coin deposit lock according to claim 1, characterized in that a spring element is positioned approximately in the center of the housing (40), which interacts with at least one holding contour on the functional part (50) such that the respective height positions (H1.H2) of the functional part (50 ) are secured.

8. Coin deposit lock according to claim 7, characterized in that the spring element is dimensioned and positioned in the housing (40) that the spring force basically acts on the coin (20) and / or key (10) in the longitudinal axis (LL), so that Coin (20) or key (10) cannot take a rest position between their locking positions or the functional part (50) between its two height positions (H1, H2).

9. Coin deposit lock according to claim 7, characterized in that the spring element is a spiral spring (60) which rests on a cam (52) of the functional part (50).

10. Coin deposit lock according to claim 7, characterized in that the spring element forms part of the housing cover (30) and in the

Spaces between the coin chamber (30) and key chamber (40).

11. Coin deposit lock according to claim 10, characterized in that the spring element on the housing cover (30) held in pairs opposite spring tongues, the first spring tongues (32A.32B)

Provide spring force in the longitudinal axis (LL) and second spring tongues (33A.33B) with cams (52A.52B) on the functional part (50) to fix the height position of the functional part (50) in the two end positions of the key (10) and coin (20) interact.