Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6527139
-
Patent Number
6,527,139
-
Date Filed
Friday, May 11, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 4, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Ellis; Christopher P.
- Ridley; Richard
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 221 197
- 221 154
- 221 198
- 221 232
- 221 253
- 221 259
- 221 282
- 221 268
- 221 231
-
International Classifications
-
-
Disclaimer
Terminal disclaimer
Abstract
A secure dispensing magazine for an article dispenser capable of dispensing a plurality of stacked articles includes a housing member having a lid that is operable to permit access to an internal cavity. The lid can be secured to the housing member and an internal gate member can be movable mounted within the housing member to permit the dispensing of articles. A gate operating mechanism can permit the gate to be opened and the magazine to be secured to a dispensing apparatus, while a gate locking assembly can lock the gate member after it has cycled through an open and closed position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus that can be recharged with articles such as magnetic cards for telephone usage, IC cards, cash value script, value credit cards, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lockable cassette, or magazine, in which the inventory of articles being dispensed can be securely provided to a vending machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vending machines for dispensing various articles, such as prepaid telephone cards, has been known in the art. Various forms of compact equipment for dispensing such cards have been known such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,587 and European Laid Open Patent Application Ser. No. EP 0 805 772. An example of prior art can be seen in
FIG. 8
wherein a cube shaped storage member can support a vertically aligned stack of laminated card bodies
3
. A support plate
4
supports the stacked array of cards
3
and is apertured with a window
38
to permit a friction roller
5
to extend into the storage space for sending out a card. Adjacent the aperture window
38
is a small apertured window
39
that permits an arm
44
of a micro switch to contact the stack of cards and to indicate when the storage space is empty.
An exit aperture
40
permits a delivering roller
7
to dispense the lowest card in the stack of cards. Adjacent to the delivering roller
7
is an inversion roller
8
which is rotated in a reverse direction to the card delivering direction to thereby ensure that only one card is sent out at a time. It is also possible to reverse the movement of the roller
5
if there has been a jam in order to clear any cards that are stuck.
A problem in the use of such a card dispensing structure has been the susceptibility of having valuable cards misappropriated or stolen by service personnel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a secure magazine for holding a plurality of articles to be dispensed from a dispensing machine and further provides the combination of a secured magazine and a dispensing apparatus. A housing member with a cavity for storing articles having a pivotal lid provides the structure of the magazine. The magazine can be releasably secured to a dispensing apparatus for appropriately dispensing the articles. The magazine can have a lock member for locking the lid to the housing member. A gate member is movably mounted within the housing member to control an exit aperture through which the articles are dispensed. When the magazine is initially charged with articles, the lid member can be secured by a lock member and the gate member is initially set as a closed position. Service personnel can then install the secure magazine in the appropriate dispensing apparatus.
A one cycle gate operating mechanism includes a movable actuator movable from a first position to a second position to permit the securement of the magazine to dispensing apparatus. The movable actuator also is coupled to the gate member for moving the gate member from the initial close position to an open position for dispensing the articles by the dispensing apparatus. The actuator can also be moved back to a first position to release the magazine from the dispensing apparatus and to permit the closing of the gate. A gate locking apparatus will lock the gate member in the closed position after the one cycle of the gate operating mechanism. Accordingly, if the gate mechanism is open to permit the removal of articles, when the gate is again closed, it will prevent the magazine from being operatively mounted to the dispensing apparatus and the personnel in control of the secure magazine will have to explain the failure to properly install the magazine and to explain the missing articles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The exact nature of this invention will be readily apparent from consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1
is a perspective side view of a dispensing magazine with security features;
FIG. 2
is an exploded view of the components of the magazine of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is an exploded view of a portion of security apparatus for the magazine;
FIG. 4
a
is a rear elevational view of the security apparatus;
FIG. 4
b
is a perspective view of the security apparatus;
FIG. 5
a
is a rear elevational view of the security apparatus in operation;
FIG. 5
b
is a perspective view of the security apparatus in operation;
FIG. 6
a
is a rear elevational view showing the security apparatus in a locked position;
FIG. 6
b
is a perspective view showing the security apparatus in a locked position;
FIG. 7
is a side view of the magazine mounted in a vending machine; and
FIG. 8
is a schematic view of a prior art example.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the general principles of the present invention have been defined herein to specifically provide a security magazine that provides a controlled operation of a gate member to prevent theft.
The content of U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,416 is hereby incorporated by reference to supplement the present disclosure.
The security magazine of the present invention includes a gate operating mechanism that can prevent theft from the magazine. If an individual attempts to remove articles from the loaded magazine, he can open the gate to an open position. However, once the gate operating mechanism has been cycled from a closed to an open position and back to a closed position, the gate may not be opened again and it can not be mounted in a dispensing machine. Thus, a limited cycling of the gate movement is provided. A route operator removing articles from the magazine will find that the magazine can no longer be placed in the dispensing mechanism and therefore would be required to explain the situation. Further, a magazine removed from the dispensing mechanism and still including articles may not again be opened to remove the remainder of the articles.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the security magazine or cassette
10
of the present invention for holding a stacked array of articles to be dispensed includes a rectangular base plate
13
and side rectangular members
12
which extend upward from the base plate
13
, respectively. A top plate
14
, as shown in
FIG. 2
, connects the respective side board members
12
. A front plate
15
extends partially across the front dispensing end of the cassette while leaving an opening at the bottom thereof. As can be seen from
FIG. 2
, the rear portion of the cassette magazine
10
can be opened and an L shaped lid plate
16
is pivotally mounted about a hinge member
17
at the rear of the magazine
10
and can extend forward and over not only the side boards
12
but also the flanges or protuberances
19
extending forward from the front of the side board members
12
to complete the housing structure of the magazine
10
with an internal storage cavity. When the lid plate
16
is open, the articles to be dispensed can be easily recharged into the cavity of the magazine
10
. The front plate
15
is mounted between the side boards
12
and creates with the lid plate
23
a cavity there between for receiving a thin box shaped security mechanism
22
to be subsequently described. Additionally, a rectangular gate member
21
is movably positioned in front of the front plate
15
. The gate can be moved, as will be subsequently described, to provide a security function.
Mounted on the upper portion of the lid plate
23
is a lock mechanism
25
. The lock mechanism
25
can be activated by a key (not shown) and its function is to provide a secure engagement with the large L shaped lid plate
16
so that it can be locked onto the magazine. As shown in
FIG. 2
, a hook member
251
that is mounted on the lock mechanism
25
can securely engage and hold a loop or keeper portion
24
mounted on the pivoted L shaped lid plate
16
. Thus, supervisory personnel can charge the magazine
10
with the articles to be dispensed and can then lock the lid plate
16
in place. The charged magazine
10
can then be provided to the delivery personnel for installation in a vending machine.
A second locking mechanism is formed on the lower part of the lid plate
23
and has a freely rotatable actuator knob member
26
with lateral wings. The knob
26
is fixed on the outside edge of a tube shaft
27
, as can be seen in the exploded view of FIG.
3
. The shaft
27
can be secured to the front of a bracket plate
29
through an E-shaped clamp that engages a groove on the shaft
27
. The shaft
27
extends through a mounting bracket
31
having a U-shaped configuration with an appropriate aperture. A cam member
32
having a series of ratchet teeth
37
is affixed to the inner edge of the shaft
27
to function as an actuator. The cam member
32
has an arc shaped cam groove formed adjacent to center of the cam member. As can be seen in
FIG. 3
, this cam groove is formed with a circular configuration
3
R at the right side and an arc division
3
L at the left side which permits an initial rotation of the cam member
32
without movement of the gate member
21
. A pin shaft
35
, which is positioned on the gate member
21
(shown in FIG.
2
), is joumaled within the cam groove and is mounted to be driven by the movement of the cam groove. At a lower outside circumference of the cam member
32
, a hook or keeper member
36
, is integrally formed. This hook portion
36
is roughly diametrically opposite the ratchet teeth portion
37
. A biased ratchet pawl
39
meshes with the ratchet teeth
37
. The ratchet pawl
39
is mounted on the bracket board
29
for free rotation and is installed with an appropriate dimension cylindrical spacer
51
that can also mount a coil spring
52
that can bias the pawl member
39
into engagement with the ratchet teeth
37
. A T-shaped lever
53
is positioned at the right side of the bracket board
29
(shown in FIG.
3
), and can act as a pin body for the security lock.
Mounted horizontally is a pin shaft
55
at the center portion of the pin body
53
which can extend through apertures in the flange
54
(shown in FIG.
3
). Between the pair of flanges
54
, a spiral spring
56
is mounted on the pin shaft
55
. At the end or tip of the pin shaft
55
, a pin
57
of a reduced diameter is formed. The lower portion of the pin body
53
is bent or curved to form the projection
59
for contacting a cam surface of the pawl lever
39
.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the gate member
21
has a key hole
61
formed in the vertical standing member
60
. The pin
57
is freely inserted into a small diameter hole at the lower part of the key hole
61
, while the small pin shaft
55
is freely inserted into the large diameter hole at the upper part of the key hole
61
. A small L-shaped member
62
, shown at the central upper part of
FIG. 2
, acts as a stopper in the horizontal direction and can be slid freely through the left division of the front plate
15
by screws. A spring
63
can also be arranged between the stopper
62
and the bracket board
29
. Therefore, the stopper member
62
would be pulled in a downward direction towards the cam board
32
.
In operation, the management personnel can install a large number of articles to be dispensed within the cavity of the magazine
10
. The rotation of the lid plate
16
with the large L-shaped cassette configuration permits ready access for charging the magazine
10
with an array of articles stacked on the base plate
13
. The operator can then rotate and level the knob
26
(as shown in
FIG. 1
) so that the arms of the knob are horizontal. A mounting bracket shown only in phantom lines in
FIG. 7
is mounted in the dispensing machine and has a way of a dove shape for receiving the knob
26
to ensure a proper alignment of the magazine. With the gate in an initial lowered position, the knob
26
can be inserted through the way. Through the opening at the top of the cavity
20
, the top of a T-type pin body
53
is moved in the right direction by rotation against the spring
56
(shown in
FIG. 4
a
). At this time, the smaller diameter pin
57
of the pin body
53
extends into the key hole
61
of the standing member
60
. Simultaneously, the stopper
62
drops by the action of the spring
63
. As a result, the upper part or large diameter portion of this key hole
61
is closed by the stopper
62
. Thus, the small diameter pin
57
and the large diameter portion of the key hole
61
will be stopped by the stopper
62
. In the above mentioned condition, by the rotation of the lid plate
16
with the L-configuration, the large opening of the cassette division
10
and the top opening of the equipment division
20
are closed. The operator can then insert a key (not shown) into the primary lock mechanism
25
and the cassette equipment is then locked.
The loaded cassette member can then be provided to the service personnel while the management personnel can keep and store the key. The locked cassette equipment is then installed by the service personnel on an appropriate card dispensing equipment
30
of a vending machine. The front upper part between the right and left side board members
9
, which constitute both sides of the disposition equipment
30
, is surrounded by the lock board
7
with a U-shape. The cassette member
20
is set between the paired side boards
9
of the disposition equipment
30
. The knob
26
is inserted into a lock hole
6
(shown in
FIG. 4
a
) with the wings of the knob
26
appropriately aligned. At this time, the large hole LH (shown in
FIG. 2
) at the center of the base plate
13
, communicates with the large window
38
. In addition, the small hole SH (also shown in
FIG. 2
) at the side of the base plate
13
is aligned with the small window
39
in FIG.
8
. Knob
26
on the lock member is rotated by 45° in the rightward direction after it has been inserted into the lock hole
6
or way (see
FIG. 5
a
). At this point in the operation, the knob
26
cannot be rotated, even if an attempt is made to rotate the knob
26
in the left direction in order to remove the cassette equipment from the dispensing apparatus or equipment
30
. The rack pawl
39
engages with the rack teeth
37
to prevent any rotation in the leftward direction.
As mentioned above, the hook portion
36
of the cam board
32
is cut into a slot
28
which is at the base of the L-shaped lid plate
23
. Simultaneously, the hook portion
36
will also extend into a slot
5
(refer to
FIG. 6
) of the lower portion of the lock board
7
. The locking knob
26
is further rotated about 45° in the right direction (shown in
FIG. 6
) so that the direction of the knob
26
is now rotated a full 90° to be perpendicular to its original position shown in FIG.
4
A. At this time, the arc division
3
L of the cam groove causes the pin shaft
35
to be pushed up and the gate board will also be vertically lifted upward. As a result of this movement of the gate board
21
, an exit aperture
3
for the card or article to be dispensed will be formed between the lower edge of the gate board
21
and the base plate
13
(shown in
FIG. 6
a
). Additionally, the shoulder S (referring to
FIG. 2
) near the key hole
61
on the gate board
21
will push up the stopper
62
against the resistance of the spring
63
. Thus, the small diameter pin
57
in the key hole
61
, which was previously held or stopped by the stopper
62
, is now placed into a free condition. Thus, the small diameter pin
57
penetrates into the lower or small diameter portion of the key hole
61
which has been moved. When the small diameter pin
57
is freed, the spring
56
can move the pin body
53
in the left direction (refer to
FIG. 6
a
). Accordingly, the projecting division
59
of the pin body
53
will push up the rack lever
39
against the resistance of the spring
52
. As a result, the rack lever
39
is moved away from the ratchet teeth
57
and the cam board
32
, or knob
26
, can be freely rotated. In this condition, the cards that are stored within the cassette magazine
10
can be freely dispensed from the exit aperture
3
in the disposition or dispensing equipment
30
.
When the cassette member is to be detached from the dispensing equipment
30
, the knob
26
is rotated first about 45° in the leftward direction. Since the knob
26
can be freely rotated, the rack lever
39
will be pushed up by the projecting division
59
on the pin body
53
. When the knob
26
begins to rotate in the leftward direction, shoulder S, which was pushing up the stopper
62
, comes off. As a result, stopper
62
is freed and contacts the small diameter pin
57
by the action of the spring
63
. When the locking knob
26
is further rotated in the left direction, pin shaft
35
is depressed by the arc division
3
L of the cam groove (shown in
FIG. 5
a
). As a result, the gate board
21
will be moved downward and the exit aperture
3
for the cards will be closed.
Additionally, with the rotation of the knob
26
, the large diameter pin shaft
55
will fit into the upper part, or large diameter portion of the key hole
61
of the descending gate board
21
. This will ensure that the locking action becomes secure, since the large diameter pin shaft
55
is inserted into the large diameter portion of the key hole
61
by means of the force of the spring
56
. As a result, the gate board
21
will be securely locked by means of the key hole
61
and the pin shaft
55
. As a result, the aperture part exit
3
of the cassette equipment cannot be opened, even if the knob
26
is attempted to be strongly rotated by the operator. Additionally, the knob
26
can be freely rotated, since the rack lever
39
has been pushed up by the projecting division
59
of the pin body
53
. Therefore, it is possible to detach the cassette equipment from the dispensing equipment
30
when the knob
26
is further rotated about 45° in the leftward direction. Thus, the cassette equipment can be detached from the lock board
7
of the dispensing equipment
30
when the knob
26
is positioned in a horizontal level position (shown in FIG.
4
). However, even when the cassette magazine
20
(shown in
FIG. 4
) is removed and the knob is then further rotated in the right direction, the knob can not be returned to its original condition. As shown in
FIGS. 5
a
and
5
b
, the rack lever
39
will engage with the ratchet teeth even if it is intended to rotate the knob
26
in the leftward direction. As a result, the cassette equipment will be unable to be set into the lock board
7
of the card disposition equipment
30
. In the condition of
FIG. 4
, when the knob
26
is rotated in the right direction, it must be rotated 90° (shown in FIG.
6
). As shown in
FIG. 6
, even when the knob
36
is freely rotated and is further rotated in a leftward direction, the large diameter pin shaft
55
is fitted into the key hole
61
. Therefore, the gate board member
21
will be securely locked by means of the key hole
61
in the pin shaft
55
. Thus, the card exit opening
3
of the cassette magazine will not be opened even if the knob is rotated. The lid plate
16
must be opened in order to resist the stopper
62
. The cassette magazine will have to be destroyed to gain access to the articles
36
stored therein.
As a result of this arrangement, it is possible to eliminate the theft problem that may occur when valuable articles are stored in the cassette magazine for mounting on appropriate dispensing equipment.
As can be seen for example in
FIG. 5
a
, the lower portion of the gate board member
21
has ears, or projections
21
c
, that project downward. These corners, or projections
21
c
, are formed of a dimension to extend into small holes
13
h
in the base plate
13
(as seen in FIG.
2
). The insertion of these projections
21
c
further reinforce the security to prevent cards or articles to be removed.
As a further modification, it is possible for a spring bias to be exerted against the array of cards or articles that are stored within the cassette magazine to ensure the dispensing or movement of the cards, even if the cassette equipment is mounted upside down or sideways.
As a result of the features of the present invention, additional security is provided in cassette magazines against operating personnel that have traditionally had access to the inventory of articles to be dispensed. As a result of the present invention, management personnel can ensure the proper charging of the articles to be dispensed before the cassettes are provided to service personnel. If the service personnel attempt to interfere or gain access to the articles, the security system of the present invention can prevent the unauthorized dispensing of articles from the cassette magazine.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.
Claims
- 1. A secure magazine for holding a plurality of articles to be dispensed comprising:a housing member with a cavity for storing articles and having a lid that is openable to permit access to the cavity; a lock member for locking the lid to the housing member; a gate member movably mounted in the housing member from a closed position to an open position, said gate in said open position permitting an article to be moved by a dispensing mechanism from the magazine for dispensing thereof, said gate member, when said magazine is initially loaded with articles, disposed in the closed position, a one-cycle gate operating mechanism including a moveable actuator moveable from a first position to a second position to secure the magazine to the dispensing mechanism and coupled to the gate member for moving the gate member from the initial closed position to the open position for dispensing of articles by the dispensing mechanism and back to the first position to release the magazine from the dispensing mechanism and close the gate; and a gate locking assembly for locking the gate member in the closed position after one cycle of the actuator from the first position to the second position and back to the first position.
- 2. The device of claim 1 including a catch moveable to a latched position to couple said magazine to said dispensing mechanism in response to movement of said actuator from the first to the second position, said gate operating mechanism after said cycle locking said catch against movement to said latched position.
- 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said actuator is rotatable and coupled to a catch, rotation of said actuator from the first to the second position rotating the catch to secure the magazine to the dispensing mechanism and moving the gate to the open position, rotation of the actuator from the second back to the first position disengaging the catch and closing the gate.
- 4. The device of claim 3 wherein the one cycle locking mechanism includes a cam and follower disposed between said gate and said actuator to displace the gate between the first to the open second position in response to rotation of the actuator, and a ratchet surface on said cam and a pawl urged to engage said ratchet surface and permit rotation thereof only in the direction from said first position to said second position and a release adapted to disengage the pawl from the ratchet surface when said actuator is at said second position.
- 5. The device of claim 4 wherein said gate locking assembly and said release includes a pin moveable from a first to a second position to lock said gate when said gate is returned from said second position back to said first position.
- 6. The device of claim 5 wherein said gate includes a bore to receive said pin to lock said gate in the closed position.
- 7. In a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a plurality of articles having a mounting surface with a keeper, the improvement comprising:a housing member with a cavity for storing articles and having a lid that is openable to permit access to the cavity; a lock member for locking the lid to the housing member; a gate member movably mounted in the housing member from a closed position to an open position, said gate in said open position permitting an article to be moved by a dispensing mechanism from the housing member for dispensing thereof, said gate member, when said housing member is initially loaded with articles, disposed in the closed position, a one-cycle gate operating mechanism including a moveable actuator moveable from a first position to a second position to secure the housing member to the dispensing mechanism and coupled to the gate member for moving the gate member from the initial closed position to the open position for dispensing of articles by the dispensing mechanism and back to the first position to release the housing member from the dispensing mechanism and close the gate; and a gate locking assembly for locking the gate member in the closed position after one cycle of the actuator from the first position to the second position and back to the first position.
- 8. The device of claim 7 including a catch moveable to a latched position to couple said housing member to said keeper on such dispensing mechanism in response to movement of said actuator from the first to the second position, said gate operating mechanism after said cycle locking said catch against movement to said latched position.
- 9. The device of claim 7 wherein said actuator is rotatable and coupled to a catch, rotation of said actuator from the first to the second position rotating the catch to secure the housing member to the dispensing mechanism and moving the gate to the open position, rotation of the actuator from the second back to the first position disengaging the catch and closing the gate.
- 10. The device of claim 9 wherein the one cycle locking mechanism includes a cam and follower disposed between said gate and said actuator to displace the gate between the first to the open second position in response to rotation of the actuator, and a ratchet surface on said cam and a pawl urged to engage said ratchet surface and permit rotation thereof only in the direction from said first position to said second position and a release adapted to disengage the pawl from the ratchet surface when said actuator is at said second position.
- 11. The device of claim 10 wherein said gate locking assembly and said release includes a pin moveable from a first to a second position to lock said gate when said gate is returned from said second position back to said first position.
- 12. The device of claim 11 wherein said gate includes a bore to receive said pin to lock said gate in the closed position.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-140275 |
May 2000 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (3)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
805772 |
Nov 1997 |
EP |
1071052 |
Jan 2001 |
EP |