1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method for controlling security truck door lockers and a structure for controlling security truck door lockers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for controlling security truck door lockers and a structure for controlling security truck door lockers in which a control device detects the unlocked/locked status of an electronic locker and changes the status accordingly, and then informs users of the current status of the electronic locker. The electronic lockers can be controlled in either an automatic-mode or manual-mode to lock and unlock.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transport via land costs much less and is much safer than transport via air or sea. However, vehicles loaded with valuable goods can be a big target for robbers.
Security trucks, which are commonly used for transporting goods, have bolts on external surfaces of their doors to lock the doors. Since the doors are difficult to open whilst driving, most robberies happen when the security trucks have stopped. Security trucks are always bulky and have multiple dead spaces where it is difficult for the drivers or operators to view the surrounding area. If the drivers or operators fail to pay close attention, the bolts are easily removed so that the doors can be opened and the goods inside access accessed, especially tiny and highly valuable electronic products such as chips or microprocessors. Once those highly valuable goods have been stolen, they are difficult to find and return to their rightful owners. Therefore, it is critical that security firms prevent robberies of security trucks.
An approach in which electronic locks are mounted on respective doors and controlled by a central control system has been previously proposed. Under that approach, electronic lockers are only unlocked from a central control system and the door(s) are opened manually only when loading and unloading. After loading or unloading, the electronic locks are locked again to prevent the doors from being unintentionally opened.
However, the above locking/unlocking mechanism has some disadvantages.
For example, even though all of the doors can be locked or unlocked at the same time by operators, the doors on the sides of the dead space of a bulky security truck are easily opened by a robber. In this circumstance, when the operators are busy unloading/loading goods at some of the doors, other opened doors can be used as an entrance for the robbers to enter the truck.
The unlocking and locking of all electronic lockers are controlled only by the operators. If the operators forget to lock the doors after loading or unloading goods, robberies can occur.
The operators cannot be informed of the current status of the electronic lockers in a timely manner, so they may misjudge the locking and unlocking operation for the lockers.
Furthermore, the operators control the locking and unlocking of the lockers from the driver's seat. If they leave the seat, others are able to take control of the electronic lockers. That raises security issues, too.
The inventors have investigated the control of security truck door lockers and finally found an improved method and a novel structure for controlling the electronic lockers of security truck doors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling the electronic lockers of security truck doors, in which a control device checks and controls the locking and unlocking of all electronic lockers and informs users of their current status. Therefore, the users can confirm if the doors are controlled as desired and keep the goods in the security truck secure.
It is another object to provide a structure of controlling the electronic lockers of security truck doors in electronic mode or hand mode.
In order to achieve the above objectives, a method for controlling the electronic lockers of security truck doors includes turning on the control device; detecting the micro switch in the electronic lockers by using the control device to confirm if they are locked, locking the electronic lockers via the micro switch, and informing users of the status of the electronic lockers; unlocking the electronic lockers via the control device, wherein the control device simultaneously informs the users of the status of the electronic lockers; monitoring the unlocked electronic lockers via the control device to determine whether they have not been operated for a first time period; after the first time period, the control device drives the micro switch to lock the unlocked electronic lockers and informs the users of the status of the electronic lockers; monitoring the unlocked electronic lockers via the control device to determine if they are open during the first time period; if the doors are open, then the control device cancels the counting operation for the first time period until the user closes the door; closing the truck doors, and driving the micro switch via the control device to lock the truck doors in a second time period and then informing the user of the status of the electronic lockers.
According to the above method, users can control the micro switch of the electronic lockers by using the control device for the locking/unlocking operation to open or close the doors as needed, while keeping the idle doors closed when goods are not being loaded or unloaded. Meanwhile, the operation status is fed back to keep users informed of the truck's security.
The present invention further provides a security truck door locker, including a substrate at a front end of which a rotating fastener is pivotally mounted with a receiving space between the substrate and the fastener. A hook is mounted on the top of the fastener to enclose the receiving space. The fastener has a stopper at its bottom. A reciprocating mechanism is pivotally mounted on a rear side of the fastener to provide the stopper with a reciprocating force. A locker core is mounted on a front side of the substrate opposite the bottom of the fastener. A rotating plate extends from a rear of the locker core. A positioning block is pivotally mounted on the rotating plate to rotate forwards and backwards inside the receiving space along the stopper rotating path. A micro switch is mounted on a rear of the substrate. A movable rod extends from a bottom of the micro switch, and a stopping element is fixedly connected to the movable rod opposite the rear of the positioning block to stop the positioning block.
In the above configuration, the micro switch controls the operation of the movable rod so that the stopping element stops or withdraws from the positioning block in a vertical direction. Alternatively, the locker core drives the positioning block to rotate in order to reach the rear of the stopper and abut against or depart from the stopper, thereby the fastener is locked or unlocked.
To provide a further understanding of the present invention, the following detailed description illustrates embodiments and examples of the present invention, this detailed description being provided only for illustration of the present invention.
Wherever possible in the following description, like reference numerals will refer to like elements and parts unless otherwise illustrated.
The term “locker” is used to describe an apparatus or mechanism which locks, the use does not include lockable containers.
Referring to
The method for controlling security truck door lockers includes the following steps:
Step S201: turning on a power c of the control device a; the power c is powered by a battery used for the security truck or an outside battery.
Step S202: the control device a detects the micro switch 6 inside the electronic lockers b to confirm whether they are locked. The electronic lockers b are driven to be locked when an unlocked result is obtained. Users are informed of the completion of checking the locked status for the electronic lockers. After the control device a finishes checking the locked status, users are informed by means of flashing the LEDs of the control device a and by means of switching the power c of the truck's lights d. Therefore, actuating the LEDs, flashing the truck's lights twice, or flashing the LEDs notifies users that the checking process is completed.
Step S203: When the user controls the unlocking operation of the electronic locker b via the control device a, the control device a simultaneously informs the user of the unlocked status. The unlocking status is indicated by a lighting up of the LEDs on the control device a.
Step S204: The control device an automatically monitors the unlocking of the electronic lockers on the security truck doors in a first time period. If there is no further operation in that time period, the control device a drives the micro switch 6 to lock the electronic locker b, and accordingly informs the user of the confirmation of this locked status. The first period of time is set to 20 seconds. The informing action of the locked status will end as the first period of time is over. The locked message is then shown by flashing the truck's lights d once.
Step S205: The control device a monitors the electronic locker b and cancels the counting action in the first counting period if the security truck door is opened during the first period of time. This operation will end at the time the door is closed.
Step S206: When the door is closed, the control device a drives the micro switch 6 to lock the electronic locker b in a second period of time. The user is then informed of confirmation of this locked status. The second period of time is set to 1 second, for example. At Step S203, the status informing action will end as the second period of time is over. The locked status is then shown by flashing the truck's lights d once.
In the above method, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The reciprocating mechanism 4 is pivotally mounted on a rear side of the fastener 2. The reciprocating mechanism 4 has a resilient arm 41 one end of which is pivotally connected to two rear ends of the fastener 2. The resilient arm 41 is inserted through an anti-press spring 42 which offers the stopper 22 the reciprocating force.
A locker core 5 is embedded on the lid 12 of the substrate 1. A rotating plate 51 further extends from the rear side of the locker core 5 opposite to the bottom of the fastener 2. A positioning block 52 is pivotally mounted on the rotating plate 51 in a manner in which the positioning block 52 can rotate forwards and backwards. The positioning block 52 corresponds to the receiving space 3 and has a plurality of positioning pieces 521 laminated upon one another. The positioning block 52 has a first positioning face 522, at its front top side so that the first positioning face 522 is located in the rotating path of the stopper 22 and can abut against the stopper 22. The positioning block 52 has a second positioning face 523 at its rear.
The micro switch 6 is mounted on the rear side of the substrate 1 and covers the casing 11. A movable rod 61 extends from a bottom of the micro switch 6. A stopping element 62 is fixedly mounted on one side of the movable rod 61, opposite to the rear end of the positioning block 52. The stopping element 62 has a rack 621 fixedly mounted on a front side of the movable rod 61. A limiting piece 622 is bent upward from a front side of the rack 621 to correspondingly limit the second positioning face 523 of the positioning block 52.
In the above embodiments, as shown in
At this time, the operator puts the bolt 7 of the truck door in the receiving space 3 and then presses down upon an upper section of the fastener 2. The reciprocating mechanism 4 provides the stopper 22 a reciprocating force to force the fastener 2 to return to its original position. The truck's door is thereby closed.
Subsequently, the operator actuates the micro switch 6 by using a remote control or central control system to drive the movable rod 61 to move upward so that the limiting piece 622 of the stopping element 62 stops the second positioning face 523 of the positioning block 52 in a vertical direction. The positioning block 52 is thereby limited so that it cannot rotate backward. When the stopper 22 of the fastener 2 rotates backward, the fastener 2 is stopped by the first positioning face 522 of the positioning block 52 and thus kept at a certain position. The hook 21 of the fastener 2 further encloses the receiving space 3. The bolt 7 is thereby locked.
As shown in
As shown in
In other circumstances, the operator can insert a key into the locker core 5 to drive the rotating plate 5 to rotate until the stopper 22 can freely move back inside the receiving space 3 to unlock the locker. When the operator presses down upon the slipping-stop pattern 23 of the fastener 2 to rotate the fastener 2, the stopper 22 rotates backwards without interfering with the fastener 2. The bolt 7 can withdraw from the receiving space 3 as the hook 21 of the fastener 2 withdraws from the receiving space 3. Thereby, the operator can open the truck door.
In the view of the foregoing, the invention provides the following advantages over the prior art:
It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above description is only illustrative of specific embodiments and examples of the present invention. The present invention should therefore cover various modifications and variations made to the herein-described structure and operations of the present invention, provided they fall within the scope of the present invention as defined in the following appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20080297344 A1 | Dec 2008 | US |