Safes – bank protection – or a related device – Wall and panel structures – closures and closure adjuncts – Closures
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-28
2001-07-10
Gall, Lloyd A. (Department: 3627)
Safes, bank protection, or a related device
Wall and panel structures, closures and closure adjuncts
Closures
C070S367000, C070S368000, C070S369000, C070S37900R, C070S380000, C109S074000, C312S326000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257154
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to cabinets and more particularly to lockable cabinets.
Devices for dispensing articles are well known and widely used in commerce. Such devices are commonly used to dispense tickets, such as lottery tickets, and/or cards, such as phone cards.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,897 to K. J. Kasper, there is disclosed an apparatus for dispensing articles such as tickets and cards which includes a cabinet and a plurality of article dispensing assemblies inside the cabinet. Each article dispensing assembly includes a base and a frame for enclosing the articles to be dispensed in a stack. The bases are mounted on a pair of vertical support plates. A gate is disposed behind each frame for receiving articles from its associated frame and allowing only one article at a time to pass through. A toothed blade is disposed underneath each frame and a motor driven rack and pinion is coupled to the toothed blade for bringing the toothed blade into engagement with the lowermost article in the stack, moving said toothed blade so that the lowermost article is transported from the stack into the gate, bringing the toothed blade out of engagement with the article and then moving the toothed blade back to engage the next article in the stack. In one embodiment of the invention each frame is hingedly mounted on its base. In another embodiment of the invention each frame is hingedly and lockably mounted on its base and in still another embodiment of the invention, which is intended especially for use with cards which include an integrated circuit chip onto which information can be written into and read off of, each article dispensing assembly includes a read/write head assembly underneath its frame for reading information off of the chip on the card at the bottom of the stack and/or writing information onto the chip on the card at the bottom of the stack.
Devices for dispensing articles of the type described above are often housed within a security cabinet to prevent theft and/or tampering of the articles to be dispensed thereby.
Security cabinets used to house article dispensing devices are commonly equipped with a lock assembly for locking the door of the cabinet in a closed position, thereby precluding the cabinet from being opened by unauthorized personnel, which is highly desirable. Typically, the lock assembly requires a unique key to be used to unlock the security cabinet.
One type of lock assembly which is well known and widely used in the art utilizes a double lock type arrangement. Specifically, the lock assembly comprises a key operated plug which is removably mounted in a shell. The lock assembly also comprises an attachment device, such as a bolt or screw, which is positioned behind and spaced apart from the shell, the attachment device being mounted on some type of plate. In the operation of such a lock assembly, the plug is first removed using a unique security key. After the plug has been removed, a screwdriver or wrench is then inserted through the bore in the shell and is used to unscrew the attachment device. Once the attachment device has been unscrewed, the door can be opened.
Lock assemblies of the type described above are well known in the art and are widely used in high security applications. In particular, lock assemblies of the type described above are commonly used in vending machines, currency changers, automatic bank tellers or any other similar application where it is desirable to lock the access door of a cabinet, box or other similar device.
Although well known and widely used in commerce, lock assemblies of the type described above suffer a couple notable drawbacks.
As a first drawback, lock assemblies of the type described above are time consuming and labor intensive to use. Specifically, it has been found that the secondary unlocking process in which a screwdriver or wrench is inserted through the bore in the shell and is used to unscrew the attachment device is time consuming and difficult to perform.
As a second drawback, lock assemblies of the type described above are relatively insecure. Specifically, it has been found that the secondary unlocking process in which the attachment device unscrewed can be accomplished using any conventional screwdriver or wrench. As a consequence, once the plug has been removed from the shell, any unauthorized person can use a screwdriver or wrench to access the items contained within the cabinet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lock assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved cabinet.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved locking system.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lock assembly of the type having a shell and a removable plug.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hinge assembly for connecting a door to a wall of a cabinet.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a locking system that is difficult to pick.
Accordingly, there is provided a lock assembly comprising a shell having a front end, a rear end, and a central bore extending from the front end to the rear end, a key operated plug axially aligned and rotatably and removably disposed within the central bore of said shell, a cam module rotatably mounted on the rear end of the shell, a key insertable into said plug for removing said plug from said shell, and a tool insertable through the central bore in said shell when said key operated plug is removed from said shell for rotationally engaging and moving said cam module relative to said shell.
According to one feature of the invention, the cam module includes a movable bracket for restricting rotational movement of the cam module relative to the shell.
According to another feature of the invention, there is provided a cabinet comprising a housing having a wall, a door, a hinge assembly for hingedly connecting said door to said wall and a locking system for locking said door in a closed position, said locking system including a lock assembly, said lock assembly comprising a shell having a front end, a rear end, and a central bore extending from the front end to the rear end, a key operated plug axially aligned and rotatably and removably disposed within the central bore of said shell, a cam module rotatably mounted on the rear end of the shell, a key insertable into said plug for removing said plug from said shell, a tool insertable through the central bore in said shell when said key operated plug is removed from said shell for engaging and rotationally moving said cam module relative to said shell, a latch fixedly mounted in said door, a movable plate having a slot and a bracket assembly for connecting said lock assembly to said movable plate having a slot.
According to still another feature of this invention there is provided a hinge assembly for connecting the door of the cabinet to the wall of the cabinet, the hinge assembly comprising a hinge having two leaves, one leaf being fixedly secured to the door and a bracket connected at one end to the other one of the leaves and at the other end to the wall.
Additional objects, as well as features and advantages, of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments for practicing the invention. The embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present inventi
Algonquin Industries Inc.
Gall Lloyd A.
Kriegsman & Kriegsman
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