Vending machine lock arrangements

Details Vending machine lock arrangements Vending machine lock arrangements

1999-09-29

2003-09-09

Knight, Anthony (Department: 3676)

Locks

Special application

For control and machine elements

C070S208000, C070S210000, C070S278700, C070S279100, C070S283000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06615623

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to lock arrangements in vending machines, and in particular, but not exclusively, a lock arrangement for a vending-machine T-bar closure device.
Vending machines, and especially those machines, usually quite large, which dispense cold drinks, conventionally employ a so-called T-bar for effecting closure of the machine. This device consists of a fairly long rod having a threaded portion at one end and a handle at the other, forming the “T” of the device. The “T” portion is slideably connected to the threaded portion and spring-loaded with respect thereto. This is illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, in which a vending machine
10
is shown with its selection buttons
12
and coin changer
14
, shown for illustrative purposes only, and in addition the T-bar
16
which passes through the outer door
18
and an inner, so-called “vault”, door
20
. When it is desired to close the machine, the threaded portion
22
is brought into engagement with a corresponding female member
24
attached to the body
26
of the machine and the handle
27
is turned until both the vault door
20
and the outer door
18
are tightly shut. (It is particularly important to ensure firm seating of the door surfaces in cold-drinks machines in view of the action of the cooling section
28
normally situated below the dispensing columns
30
.) Once the doors are tightly closed, the “T” handle portion is pushed into a recess in the front door, whereupon a locking piece in the “T” portion springs up and holds the “T” portion in place until the next unlocking exercise.
Unlocking is conventionally done by means of a key inserted in a barrel lock
32
disposed inside a bore
34
of the T-bar at the handle end (see FIGS.
3
and
4
). Slideably disposed inside the bore at right angles to the axis of the T-bar and protruding from the bore in the locked state is a locking piece
36
having an outer profile
38
which is angled to facilitate the pushing of the “T” portion into the machine-body recess, as already described. The locking piece
36
in the locked state is held behind a detent member (not shown) secured to the chassis or body
26
of the machine. The locking piece
36
is urged in its uppermost (“locked”) position by a spring
40
, so that a force has to be applied in a downward direction to the locking piece in order to move it to its “unlocked” position. This is achieved by turning of the key in the lock
22
which operates a suitable mechanism (e.g. cam or levers, etc,
42
) which acts on a shoulder
44
of the locking piece
36
, forcing it downwards against the action of the spring.
Once the key is turned and the locking piece is thereby retracted into the bore
34
of the T-bar, the handle
26
is partially ejected by the spring
46
, allowing the holder of the key to open the machine doors by unscrewing the T-bar.
A problem with this conventional system is, firstly, that the key which operates the lock is easily mislaid or lost, or even stolen. Consequently a machine may become subject to theft of its contents. A second problem is that vandals can abuse the machine by interfering with the lock mechanism, in particular by inserting foreign objects into the lock opening, thereby jamming it and preventing lawful opening of the machine. Clearly, such loss and abuse leads to undesirable replacement and repair costs for the operator of the machine. (It should be appreciated that not just the key, but the lock itself may have to be replaced in the interest of security).
There is a requirement for a solution to these problems. Ideally, any solution should be in the form of a retrofit to existing machines, and preferably an inexpensive retrofit, since the profit margin on goods sold via vending machines is already quite small.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a vending machine lock arrangement, comprising a lock mechanism, a T-bar closure device and an electric motor, the lock mechanism being actuable by means of the electric motor and the lock mechanism and motor being functional in association with the closure device.
The motor in a first embodiment may be disposed within an internal bore of the T-bar at a hand-operated end thereof. The T-bar may comprise a locking piece disposed in the bore and slideable along a transverse axis through an opening in a wall of the T-bar, and the arrangement may comprise an actuation means connected to a shaft of the motor for the displacement of the locking piece. The actuation means may comprise a cam member which is engageable during at least part of its travel with the locking piece, advantageously in such a way as to cause the locking piece to be retracted into the bore. In this way use can be made of an existing locking piece and its existing mode of operation.
The motor may derive its power by way of a contact piece likewise slideably disposed in the bore transverse to a longitudinal axis thereof, the contact piece being urged to protrude through an opening in the T-bar wall for contact with a corresponding contact assembly external to the T-bar. Preferably the contact piece is constituted by a contact pin forming one pole of a voltage supply to the motor, the other pole being constituted by a chassis return of the T-bar. Advantageously the chassis return may be made by way of a securing element holding the motor in place inside the T-bar, and in particular by means of a grub screw.
The motor may be a motor commonly used as a film wind-on drive in cameras.
The locking piece may expediently be a locking piece as conventionally provided in T-bars and the opening through which the contact piece is urged may be an opening conventionally present in T-bars in the vicinity of the locking-piece opening.
The motor, cam and contact piece may be disposed inside a tubular insert dimensioned such as to form a push-fit inside the bore.
In an alternative embodiment of the lock arrangement, the motor may be mounted externally to the T-bar and may be adapted to bring a locking piece into engagement with an opening in the T-bar. A shaft of the motor may be attached to an actuation means for the displacement of the locking piece. The actuation means may comprise a cam member, which can be brought into engagement with the locking piece. The locking piece may be constituted by a rocker arm pivoted by pivot means secured to the vending machine chassis, one end of the arm being engageable with the cam member and the other end having an extension substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of the T-bar for engagement with the opening in the T-bar.
The motor is preferably caused to operate by means of an electrical signal generated in a card reader mounted in the vending machine, such generation occurring upon validation of a card inserted into the reader.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending-machine T-bar closure device, comprising a locking piece and, inside an internal bore of the device at a handle-end thereof, an electric motor for the actuation of the locking piece.
According to a third aspect of the invention, a vending machine comprises a card reader and a locking means connected to the reader and responsive thereto for performing a locking and/or unlocking operation on the machine, the card reader being arranged to write data to a smart card inserted, in use, into the reader, the data including data relating to access to the machine.
The reader may be arranged to transfer to the smart card at least some of the contents of a memory associated with the reader. The data which are transferred may relate to one or more of the following: the number of machine accesses made during a given period; the identity of the smart cards used to gain those accesses; the number of accesses refused by said reader; the identity of the smart cards to which access was refused; the identity of said machine; the times of day during which access is authorised, and the route on which the machine is situated.
Prior to writing access-related data to the card, the reader will preferably

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