The present disclosure relates to latching and locking handles and, more particularly, relates to electronic control of the locking function of Lift-Handle and T-Handle products.
In the vending industry and other industries where product security and secured access are needed, latching and locking handles are commonly used. Two common configurations are the “Lift-Handle” style and the “T-Handle” style. Both the Lift-Handle and T-Handle products comprise a latch mechanism controlled by the handle for manually latching and unlatching an enclosure such as a vending machine or otherwise. Typically these products are mounted to the door of the enclosure, and interface to a slot or receptacle in a cabinet of the enclosure.
The latching mechanism may be any of a variety of mechanisms, such as a threaded bolt that engages into a receptacle, or one or more latch bars or bolts for extending into the cabinet. In the case of the Lift-Handle style latch, movement of the handle from the seated position to an extended or raised position serves to unlatch the door from the cabinet. In the case of the T-Handle style latch, turning of the handle from the vertical seated position to a horizontal position or unscrewing the threaded latch from the receptacle will serve to unlatch the door from the cabinet.
In addition to the latch mechanism, both the Lift-Handle and T-Handle style closures typically comprise a lock-plug for locking and unlocking the handle from movement. Lock plugs are typically controlled by mechanical keys to allow operation of the handle to access the cabinet. However, it is appreciated in the industry that lock plugs are vulnerable to vandalism and theft. As an additional problem related to such plugs, mechanical keys are subject to being lost, copied and stolen.
One solution to the foregoing problems is to replace the above described Lift-Handle and T-Handle products with motorized latch and lock products. Exemplary replacement products are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,986 entitled “Bayonet Locking System and Method for Vending Machines and the Like.” However, there is a further need to provide electronic control of the locking function of Lift-Handle and T-Handle products while maintaining the above-described mechanical latching mechanism function/operation to facilitate retrofit of improved closure systems to existing common cabinets in the industry.
The present invention will offer electronic control of the locking function of Lift-Handle and T-Handle products, but maintain the above described mechanical latching mechanism function/operation. In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic control lift-handle product is provided having a handle, a housing, a slider bolt, slider bolt pin, slider bolt guide, and one or more springs 4. The product further includes a CAM, motor, circuit board controller, eye, handle sensor, one or more CAM sensors, and an IRDA infrared transceiver. The unit is configured such that the handle seats in the housing when the unit is in the latched or locked position, the motor serves to rotate the CAM by 360 degrees to change the state of handle from locked to unlocked to latched, and the slider bolt seats in the housing and is biased downward to the latched position by the one or more springs, and wherein the CAM maintains the slider bolt in the locked position if there is an attempt to push the slider bolt up to the unlocked position when the unit is locked.
In another embodiment, an electronic control T-handle product is provided having a handle, a housing, latch hardware, a MCU and CPU control electronics. The handle resides inside of the housing, and the MCU is controlled by the CPU to latch, lock and unlock the handle within the housing. The MCU consists of a slider bolt, a spring, a CAM, a motor, a mount, a cover, a handle sensor, and one or more CAM sensors. The handle is locked into the housing by the slider bolt protruding into a handle slot when the unit is latched or locked. The motor serves to rotate the CAM through 360 degrees to change the state of the handle from locked, to unlocked, to latched, and the CAM controls the slider bolt to maintain a locked position if there is an attempt to push the bolt toward the upward unlocked position when the unit is locked.
While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof will be shown and described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
While this disclosure describes certain lock structures, it should be appreciated that the electronic lock components described herein are not specific to the Lift-Handle and T-Handle products, but rather can be implemented directly, or modified, to control almost any handle-controlled latch/lock mechanism in the industry. This disclosure will first discuss an exemplary embodiment of a lift handle system, and then will move on to discuss an exemplary embodiment of a T-handle system.
Regarding the Electronic Control Lift-Handle, this product is configured for mounting to the door of a cabinet, and attaches to latch hardware to latch the door to the cabinet. The product consists of a handle 1, housing 2, slider bolt 3, springs 4, CAM 5, motor 6, circuit board controller 7, cover 8, eye 9, handle sensor 10, CAM sensors 11, IRDA infrared transceiver 12, Slider bolt pin 13, Slider bolt guide 70, Housing slot 71.
The handle 1 seats in the housing 2 when the unit is in the latched or locked position. The eye 9 attaches to the handle 1, and is held in place by the slider bolt 3 when the unit is latched or locked. The motor 6 serves to rotate CAM 5 by 360 degrees to change the state of handle 1 from locked to unlocked to latched.
The slider bolt 3 seats in the housing 2 and is biased downward to the latched position (See
The CAM 5 controls the slider bolt 3 by being capable of keeping the slider bolt 3 in the locked position by surface 14 interfering with slider bolt pin 13 if there is an attempt to push the slider bolt 3 up to the unlocked position when the unit is locked (see
The electronic controller 7 controls the motor 6 to rotate the CAM 5 to the three positions noted above. The position of the CAM 5 is controlled and sensed by two optical sensors 11 sensing the position of CAM 5 in the illustrated example. A handle position sensor 10 is also utilized in an embodiment. An IRDA infrared transceiver 12 is included for detecting an electronic key. The control of the unit is described in the flow charts of
In the flow chart of
As shown in the flow chart of
As described in the flowchart of
Referring still to
As can be seen from the above, the disclosed electronic control lift-handle product is an effective solution that is able to be mounted to the door of a cabinet, and to secure the door in a manner that overcomes some of the problems found in prior systems. In addition to the electronic control lift-handle product, the novel electronic control t-handle product, while differently configured, is substantially as effective at providing a secure closure in a manner that overcomes problems in prior designs.
The electronic control t-handle product consists of a handle 51, a housing 52, latch hardware 65, a MCU 64 and CPU control electronics (not shown). The housing 52 is mounted to the door of a cabinet, and the latch hardware 65 is attached to a latch device that will operate to latch and unlatch the door to the cabinet. The MCU 64 attaches to the body of the housing 52, and the handle 51 resides inside of the housing 51. The MCU 64 is controlled by the CPU to latch, lock and unlock the handle 51 within the housing 52. When the MCU 64 unlocks the handle 51, the handle pops-out of the housing 52 for the user to operate. The user operates the handle 51 by turning it ¼ turn (90 degrees) clock-wise to operate latch hardware 65. When finished, the user closes the cabinet door, turns the handle 51 ¼ turn in the counter-clockwise direction to re-latch the door to the cabinet. Lastly, the user pushes the handle 51 in so as to lock the handle 51 into the housing 52.
In the illustrated embodiment, the MCU 64 consists of a slider bolt 53, a spring 54, a CAM 55, a motor 56, a mount 57, a cover 58, a handle sensor 60, and one or more CAM sensors 61. The handle 51 seats in the housing 52 when the unit is in the latched or locked position, and is locked into the housing 52 by the slider bolt 53 protruding into handle slot 59 when the unit is latched or locked.
The motor 56 serves to rotate the CAM 55 through 360 degrees to change the state of the handle 51 from locked, to unlocked, to latched. The slider bolt 53 is biased to be latched in the downward position into slot 59 by spring 54 as shown in
The electronic controller CPU controls motor 56 to rotate CAM 55 to three positions. The position to which CAM 55 is controlled or rotated is sensed by two optical sensors 61 sensing the position of CAM 55. A handle position sensor 60 is also utilized. An IRDA infrared transceiver (not shown) is included for detecting an electronic key. The control of the unit is described in the flow charts of
In the flow chart of
In the flow chart of
As described in the flowchart of
In the configuration illustrated in
Similarly, the drawing of
MCU 82 has legs 86 that will extend along the vertical surfaces of housing 83, and the rear view of MCU 82 in
In this embodiment, the installer would apply the MCU 82 by sliding the MCU 82 on the pre-existing housing at for example the 12:00 position as shown in
It will be appreciated that the MCU 82 can also be installed at the 3:00, 6:00 or 9:00 positions; position 3:00 is shown by way of example in
While only certain embodiments have been set forth, alternatives and modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art. These and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and the appended claims.
This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/636,263 filed on Apr. 20, 2012.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1370190 | Cook | Mar 1921 | A |
1875768 | Smith | Sep 1932 | A |
1907625 | Vogt | May 1933 | A |
2269264 | Haim | Jan 1942 | A |
2703431 | Tatom | Mar 1955 | A |
2741503 | Thompson | Apr 1956 | A |
2753202 | Smith et al. | Jul 1956 | A |
2833536 | Joachim et al. | May 1958 | A |
2877637 | Greenwald | Mar 1959 | A |
2896990 | Garvey et al. | Jul 1959 | A |
2903288 | Joachim et al. | Sep 1959 | A |
2943880 | Joachim et al. | Jul 1960 | A |
2978266 | Poe | Apr 1961 | A |
3080633 | Reddy | Mar 1963 | A |
3081078 | Lohr | Mar 1963 | A |
3089330 | Kerr | May 1963 | A |
3200623 | Peters | Aug 1965 | A |
3285043 | Dauenbaugh | Nov 1966 | A |
3302434 | Dauenhaugh | Feb 1967 | A |
3438227 | Wolniak | Apr 1969 | A |
3548618 | Dauenbaugh | Dec 1970 | A |
3550412 | Pitel et al. | Dec 1970 | A |
3594876 | Gunther | Jul 1971 | A |
3688352 | Gunther | Sep 1972 | A |
3834198 | Wiczer | Sep 1974 | A |
3835678 | Meyer et al. | Sep 1974 | A |
3854310 | Paull et al. | Dec 1974 | A |
3947060 | Zimmer et al. | Mar 1976 | A |
4159138 | Smith | Jun 1979 | A |
4167104 | Bond | Sep 1979 | A |
4213230 | Hoen | Jul 1980 | A |
4227723 | Rosell | Oct 1980 | A |
4268076 | Itol | May 1981 | A |
4300664 | Helm et al. | Nov 1981 | A |
4355830 | Rau, III | Oct 1982 | A |
4411544 | Gallman | Oct 1983 | A |
4552001 | Roop | Nov 1985 | A |
4556244 | Bisbing | Dec 1985 | A |
4583775 | Bisbing | Apr 1986 | A |
4594637 | Falk | Jun 1986 | A |
4609215 | Self et al. | Sep 1986 | A |
4671547 | Weinerman et al. | Aug 1987 | A |
4685709 | Kambic | Aug 1987 | A |
4689976 | Larsen | Sep 1987 | A |
4744392 | Tade et al. | May 1988 | A |
4760721 | Steinbech | Aug 1988 | A |
4762348 | Matssumoto et al. | Aug 1988 | A |
4796932 | Tame | Jan 1989 | A |
4803460 | Rhee et al. | Feb 1989 | A |
4819983 | Alexander et al. | Apr 1989 | A |
4838055 | Gallagher | Jun 1989 | A |
4842313 | Boyko et al. | Jun 1989 | A |
4906035 | Nalgai et al. | Mar 1990 | A |
4917022 | Ogasawara et al. | Apr 1990 | A |
4899581 | Myers | Dec 1990 | A |
4993247 | Minemura | Feb 1991 | A |
5035452 | Rogers | Jul 1991 | A |
5038588 | Hall | Aug 1991 | A |
5054300 | Nakahara et al. | Oct 1991 | A |
5106251 | Steinbach | Apr 1992 | A |
5148691 | Wallden | Sep 1992 | A |
5160180 | Mlynarczyk | Nov 1992 | A |
5186516 | Alexander et al. | Feb 1993 | A |
5199288 | Merilainen et al. | Apr 1993 | A |
5269161 | Stillwagon | Dec 1993 | A |
5272894 | Stillwagon et al. | Dec 1993 | A |
5349345 | Vanderschel | Sep 1994 | A |
5394718 | Hotzl | Mar 1995 | A |
5467619 | Stillwagon et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
5548982 | Rawling | Aug 1996 | A |
5561420 | Kleefeldt | Oct 1996 | A |
5575515 | Iwamoto et al. | Nov 1996 | A |
5586459 | Bullock | Dec 1996 | A |
5617082 | Denison et al. | Apr 1997 | A |
5618082 | Jachmich | Apr 1997 | A |
5636881 | Stillwagon | Jun 1997 | A |
5639130 | Rogers et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
5656867 | Kokubu et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5680783 | Kuroda et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
5782384 | Bartel | Jun 1998 | A |
5791179 | Brask | Aug 1998 | A |
5793122 | Dingwall | Aug 1998 | A |
5813257 | Cleghorn et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
5823027 | Glick et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
5836187 | Janssen | Nov 1998 | A |
5839305 | Aston | Nov 1998 | A |
5862693 | Myers et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
5870915 | D'Hont | Feb 1999 | A |
5882053 | Bekins | Mar 1999 | A |
5915766 | Baumeister et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
5921119 | Myers et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
6005487 | Myers et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
6046681 | Solop | Apr 2000 | A |
6049287 | Yulkowski | Apr 2000 | A |
6068305 | Myers et al. | May 2000 | A |
6068308 | Molzer | May 2000 | A |
6068487 | Dionne | May 2000 | A |
6106035 | Hetherington | Aug 2000 | A |
6130611 | Pellaton et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
6196037 | Urschel et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6256932 | Jyawook et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6318138 | Mathews | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6341448 | Murray et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6345522 | Stillwagon et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6360573 | Ming-Chih | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6370928 | Chies et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6374649 | Holcomb et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6382003 | Watanuki | May 2002 | B1 |
6406071 | La Viola et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6442986 | Russell | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6474119 | Halvorson et al. | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6490896 | Segawa | Dec 2002 | B2 |
6496101 | Stillwagon | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6525644 | Stillwagon | Feb 2003 | B1 |
6543264 | Frolov | Apr 2003 | B2 |
6564600 | Davis | May 2003 | B1 |
6575504 | Roatis et al. | Jun 2003 | B2 |
6580355 | Milo | Jun 2003 | B1 |
6581986 | Roatis et al. | Jun 2003 | B2 |
6609402 | Blankenship | Aug 2003 | B2 |
6615623 | Ormerod | Sep 2003 | B1 |
6684671 | Beylotte et al. | Feb 2004 | B2 |
6826935 | Gokcebay | Dec 2004 | B2 |
6867685 | Stillwagon | Mar 2005 | B1 |
6874828 | Roatis et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
7073827 | Cherry | Jul 2006 | B2 |
7089770 | Ramsauer et al. | Aug 2006 | B2 |
7145434 | Mlynarczyk et al. | Dec 2006 | B2 |
7191624 | Beylotte et al. | Mar 2007 | B2 |
7296447 | Priest et al. | Nov 2007 | B2 |
7469564 | Shaw | Dec 2008 | B1 |
7681424 | Antonucci | Mar 2010 | B2 |
7845202 | Padilla | Dec 2010 | B2 |
20020078722 | Corey | Jun 2002 | A1 |
20030127866 | Martinez et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20040154363 | Beylotte et al. | Aug 2004 | A1 |
20040172991 | Forster et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20050161953 | Roatis et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
20060186678 | Myers et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
02-091371 | Mar 1990 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130285393 A1 | Oct 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61636263 | Apr 2012 | US |