CN213247739U

CN213247739U - Closed storage space part

Info

Publication number: CN213247739U
Application number: CN202020077524.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 戴夫·M·普顿
Original assignee: Bombardier Transportation GmbH
Current assignee: Alstom Transportation Germany GmbH
Priority date: 2019-01-14
Filing date: 2020-01-14
Publication date: 2021-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2030-01-14
Also published as: GB2580601A; GB201905792D0; GB201900498D0; GB2581215A; GB2581215B; GB2580601B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a closed storage space element comprising two structural parts including a fixed structure and a door, characterized in that the closed storage space element further comprises a tamper-evident indicator comprising a flag element movable between a first position and a second position relative to a first of the two structural parts, an abutment element fixed relative to a second of the two structural parts to hold the flag element in the first position when the door is in the closed position, biasing means for urging the flag element towards the second position when the door is moved from the closed position to the open position, and a key-actuated reset mechanism fixed to the first structural part, wherein actuation of the reset mechanism from the neutral position to the active position causes the flag element to move from the second position to the reset position, and wherein the biasing means is such as to subsequently cause the flag to move from the reset position to the first position.

Description

Closed storage space part

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a closed storage space part provided with means for determining whether the closed storage space part has been reached, for example for public transport vehicles, in particular rail vehicles, for example a closure, a cubicle, in particular a cupboard, a storage cubicle or a fire extinguisher housing.

Background

In many cases it is necessary to determine whether the enclosed storage space piece has been accessed without authorization, for example to determine whether it is necessary to inspect the contents of the enclosed storage space piece to refill the enclosed storage space piece if necessary, or to check whether the contents of the enclosed storage space piece may have been tampered with.

This may be achieved by means of a seal or alternative tamper-evident means which is significantly broken or otherwise undergoes a visible and irreversible change of state when the door of the closed storage space is opened. However, these devices need to be replaced once they have fulfilled their function.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present invention aims to provide an improved tamper-evident indicator for a closed storage space, such as a mass transit vehicle.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a closed storage space element, in particular for a storage enclosure, cubicle, cabinet, stationary housing or the like for a mass transit vehicle, comprising two structural parts, said two structural parts comprising a fixed structure and a door, the door being movable between a closed position and an open position with respect to the fixed structure, characterized in that the closed storage space element further comprises a tamper-indicating indicator, the tamper-indicating indicator comprising: a flag movable between a first position and a second position relative to a first structural component of the two structural components; an abutment fixed relative to a second of the two structural members to hold the flag in the first position when the door is in the closed position; biasing means for urging the flag towards the second position when the door is moved from the closed position to the open position; and a key-actuated return mechanism secured to a first of the two structural components, wherein actuation of the return mechanism from a neutral position to an activated position causes the flag to move from the second position to the reset position, and wherein the biasing device causes the flag to subsequently move from the reset position to the first position.

The combination of the biasing means for moving the flag from the reset position to the first position and vice versa and the key actuated reset mechanism for moving the flag from the second position to the reset position ensures that the flag will automatically move to the second position when the door is opened and can only be reset by a human operator with the appropriate key.

Preferably, the flag in the first position does not interfere with the opening of the door from the closed position to the open position. Similarly, the flag in the second position does not interfere with the opening of the door from the closed position to the open position or the closing from the open position to the closed position. In other words, the flag is not used to lock or otherwise interfere with the movement of the door.

Advantageously, the biasing means may comprise one or more of: spring, weight, magnetic biasing means. More generally, the biasing means may comprise potential energy storage means for storing mechanical or magnetic potential energy when the flag is moved from the second position to the first position and for releasing said potential energy when the flag is moved from the first position to the second position.

In fact, the flag is movable from at least a first position to a second position when the reset mechanism is in the neutral position.

In one embodiment, the reset mechanism is movable from an activated position to a neutral position when the flag is in the first position.

In a preferred embodiment, the reset mechanism comprises a plug provided with a keyway and a barrel fixed to a first of the two structural members, wherein the plug is linked to the flag such that actuation of the plug relative to the barrel from a neutral position to an activated position causes the flag to move from the second position to the reset position and such that when the plug is in the neutral position, the flag can move from the first position to the second position without movement of the plug.

Preferably, the flag is guided such that it pivots about a pivot axis fixed with respect to a first of the two structural components from the first position to the second position, from the second position to the reset position and from the reset position to the first position. In one embodiment, the movement of the flag from the first position to the second position and the movement of the flag from the second position to the reset position are in opposite directions such that the flag does not complete a full rotation. In another embodiment, the movement of the flag from the first position to the second position, the movement from the second position to the reset position, and the movement from the reset position to the first position are in the same direction and the flag completes a full rotation about the pivot axis.

Most preferably, the pivot axis of the flag relative to the first of the two structural members is coaxial with the axis of rotation of the plug in the barrel.

The enclosed storage volume may include a lock for locking the door in the closed position, wherein the key-actuated return mechanism does not interlock with the lock. The tamper indicator itself remains very simple, as it does not have to interact with the lock. In one embodiment, the lock is a latch that automatically locks when the door is moved to the closed position.

In one embodiment, a first of the two structural parts is provided with a through hole, the first portion of the flag being visible through the through hole in one of the first and second positions and not visible through the through hole in the other of the first and second positions. Therefore, the state of the flag can be easily checked through the through hole. Advantageously, the second portion of the flag is not visible through the through-hole in said other of the first and second positions and is not visible through the through-hole in said one of the first and second positions, the second portion of the flag having a unique surface layout. The two portions of the flag may have different colors, pictograms, or labels such as "sealed" and "unsealed".

Preferably, the through-hole is closed by a transparent pane. Therefore, the marker cannot be tampered with from the outside of the closed storage space.

In a preferred embodiment, the first of the two structural parts is a door. In an alternative embodiment, the first of the two structural components is a fixed structural part.

In a preferred embodiment, the flag is located on the inner side of the door at least when the door is closed. A housing may be provided to prevent unauthorized access to the flag when the door is opened.

According to one embodiment, the door is pivotably mounted relative to the fixed structure between a closed position and an open position. In particular, the door may have a vertical pivot axis or a horizontal rotation axis.

In one embodiment, the door is provided with a retaining clip for clipping articles of a predetermined size into the enclosed storage space when the door is moved from the open position to the closed position. The item is automatically released when the door is opened. The door is preferably provided with stop means to limit the movement of the door between the closed and open positions and to control the movement of the released article.

In one embodiment, the enclosed storage space member is a fire extinguisher housing.

Drawings

Other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention, given by way of non-limiting example only and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a closed storage space member in a closed position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the enclosed storage space of FIG. 1 in an open position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the closed storage volume of FIG. 1 with the tamper evident indicator mechanism in a first position in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the mechanism of the tamper evident indicator of FIG. 3 in a second position;

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of the mechanism of the tamper evident indicator of FIG. 3 in a reset position;

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of a tamper evident indicator mechanism of another embodiment of the enclosed storage space component of FIG. 1 in a first position in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of the mechanism of the tamper evident indicator of FIG. 6 in a second position;

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of the mechanism of the tamper evident indicator of FIG. 6 in a reset position;

FIG. 9 is a schematic front view of a tamper evident indicator mechanism of another embodiment of the enclosed storage space component of FIG. 1 in a first position in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic front view of the mechanism of the tamper evident indicator of FIG. 9 in a second position;

FIG. 11 is a schematic front view of the mechanism of the tamper evident indicator of FIG. 9 in a reset position;

fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a closed storage space of another embodiment of the present invention in an open position;

figure 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the fire extinguisher housing of the present invention in a closed position;

figure 14 is a perspective view of the fire extinguisher housing of figure 13 in an open position;

figure 15 is a perspective view of the door of the fire extinguisher housing of figure 13.

Corresponding reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Detailed Description

A closed storage space element 10, in particular a cabinet or a storage cupboard, for example for a public transport vehicle or a building, comprises a fixed structural element 12, wherein the fixed structural element 12 is fixed to the body of the public transport vehicle, and a door 14, wherein the door 14 is movable relative to the fixed structural element 12 between a closed position illustrated in fig. 1 and an open position illustrated in fig. 2. More specifically, the door 14 is hinged to the fixed structure 12 so as to pivot about a vertical pivot axis 500.

The door 14 is equipped with a lock 16, the lock 16 being operated by a key (not shown) to lock and unlock the door 14 in the closed position.

The closed storage space piece is also provided with a tamper evident indicator 18, in this embodiment the tamper evident indicator 18 is centrally located on an inside portion 20 of the door 14, and the closed storage space piece is provided with a through hole 22 located in the door 14. The through-hole 22 is closed by a transparent pane. In fig. 2, only the housing 24 of the tamper evident indicator 18 is shown, but the housing 24 has been removed in fig. 3-5, which show the mechanism 26 of the tamper evident indicator 18 in fig. 3-5.

The tamper evident indicator 18 is provided with a key-actuated reset mechanism 30, in this example the key-actuated reset mechanism 30 comprising a barrel 32 fixed to the door and a plug 34 (fig. 3-5) received in the barrel 32 and provided with a keyway 36 (fig. 1) accessible from the exterior of the door 14. The plug 34 is rotatable relative to the barrel 32 about an axis of rotation 100 between a neutral position and an actuated position, as is known in the art. When the plug 34 is in the neutral position, an authorized user may insert a key into the keyway 36 to rotate the plug 34 from the neutral position to the activated position in a direction 400 (fig. 5). To remove the key, the user must turn the plug 34 in the direction 300 (fig. 4) and stop back in the neutral position.

The plug 34 has a protruding end that protrudes from the barrel 32 in the housing 24 of the tamper evident indicator 18. The flag 38 is pivotally mounted on the nose portion so as to pivot relative to the plug 34 about a pivot axis 200 coaxial with the rotational axis 100 of the plug 34 in a direction 300 between a first position illustrated in fig. 3 and a second position illustrated in fig. 4 and in an opposite direction 400 between the second position of fig. 4 and a reset position illustrated in fig. 5. The protruding end of the plug 34 is provided with a stopper 40, and the stopper 40 may interfere with the marker 38. A biasing device 42, here a spring, urges flag 38 toward the second position.

In fig. 3, flag 38 is in the first position and plug 34 is in the neutral position. The stopper 40 does not interfere with the flag 38. The flag 38 bears against an abutment 44, the abutment 44 being fixed to the fixed structural part 12 of the closed storage volume 10 and protruding through a slot 46 of the tamper indicator housing. The spring 42 urges the flag 38 towards the second position and maintains pressure between the flag 38 and the abutment 44 in the first position. A portion 138 of the flag 38 is visible from the exterior of the enclosed storage space member through the through hole 22.

The flag 38 in the first position does not interfere with the opening of the door 14 from the closed position of fig. 1 to the open position of fig. 2. When the door 14 is opened, the tamper evident indicator 18 moves with the door and the flag 38 moves out of registration with the abutment 44. As shown in fig. 4, the spring 42 pivots the flag 38 about the pivot axis 200 in the direction 300 and toward the second position against the stop 40 such that the portion 138 of the flag 38 previously visible through the through-hole 22 is obscured. In this embodiment, the flag 38 becomes completely invisible and the rear wall of the housing 24 becomes visible through the aperture 22.

The flag 38 bears against the stop 40 and is held in the second position by a spring 42. If the door 14 is closed again, the flag does not interfere with the abutment 44 — the abutment 44 can enter the slot 46 unimpeded-and the door 14 can be closed and re-opened with the flag 38 held in the second position by the spring 42.

The housing 24 prevents access to the flag 38 in the open position of the door 14.

To reset the mechanism 26, with the door 14 remaining open, an authorized user must insert a key into the keyway 36 and rotate the plug 34 in the direction 400 to move the flag 38 pushed by the stop 40 to the reset position of fig. 5. The door 14 may then be closed and the plug 34 rotated back to the neutral position to extract the key from the keyway 36. The spring 42 moves the flag 38 back to the first position against the abutment 44 and the mechanism 26 returns to the state illustrated in fig. 3.

Holding the reset mechanism 26 is very simple and the reset mechanism 26 is not interlocked with the lock 16 of the door 14. The mechanism 26 can be easily retrofitted onto existing doors 14 or provided as an option.

The tamper evident indicator 18 is relatively compact because the pivotal movement of the flag 38 between the first and second positions and back to the first position is not a full rotation. However, when the door 14 is closed, the mechanism 26 cannot be reset.

In the embodiment of fig. 6-8, the plug 34 is provided with an additional stop 48, and the reset mechanism 26 is such that the plug 34 can complete a full rotation in the direction 300.

Operation of the tamper evident indicator from the position of fig. 6 to the position of fig. 7 is similar to that discussed with reference to fig. 4 and 5.

To reset the mechanism 26, an authorized user closes the door 14, inserts the key into the keyway 36 of the plug 34, and rotates the key in the direction 300 in which the flag 38 pivots from the first position to the second position. The additional stop 48 pushes the flag 38 until the unstable equilibrium position shown in fig. 8 is reached. As the plug 34 continues to rotate, the flag 38 is urged toward the first position by the spring 42. Once a full turn of the plug 34 is completed, the key can be removed and the mechanism returned to the position of fig. 6. This embodiment has the advantage that the mechanism can be operated in the closed position of the door 14 after the door is locked. However, this mechanism requires more space within the enclosed storage volume to accommodate a full rotation of the flag 38.

Various changes may be made. Other biasing means, such as a weight or a set of magnets at the free end of flag 38, may be used in place of spring 42. The biasing means 42 should be sufficiently strong to ensure that the flag 38 moves from the first position to the second position and remains in the second position under standard operating conditions, such as a change in the inclination of the enclosed storage space 10 or vibration of the vehicle. On the other hand, the potential energy of the biasing means 42 should not be too high, since the biasing means 42 is manually reset by the key-actuated reset mechanism 30.

In the embodiment of fig. 9 to 11, the flag 38 is such that: in the first position, the first portion 138 of the flag is visible through the aperture 22, while in the second position, the second portion 238 of the flag is visible through the aperture 22. The portion 138 visible in the first position and the portion 238 visible in the second position should be clearly distinguishable, for example, having different colors, pictograms or messages. In order to avoid any interference between the abutment 44 and the flag 38 in the second position of fig. 10, a free space is provided between the first portion 138 and the second portion 238. Before flag 38 can be reset from the position of fig. 11 to the position of fig. 9, door 14 must be opened. According to another variant (not shown), the flag 38 may be a disc.

In the embodiment of fig. 12, the mechanism 26 of the tamper evident indicator 18 is fixed to the fixed structural part 12 of the closed storage space piece 10, preferably the mechanism 26 of the tamper evident indicator 18 is fixed to the fixed structural part 12 of the closed storage space piece 10 inside the closed storage space piece, while the abutment 44 is provided on the door. The through-hole 22 is provided on the fixed structural member 12. In a variant, the door 14 may cover the wall of the fixed structure 12 where the hole 22 is provided, in which case the door should be provided with two holes that are in registry with the hole 22 and the keyhole 36 in the closed position of the door 14.

The closed storage space part 10 of fig. 13 to 15 is a housing for a fire extinguisher 50, the closed storage space part 10 comprising a fixed structural part 12 and a door 14 hinged thereto for pivoting about a horizontal pivot axis 600.

The door 14 is equipped with a lock 16, the lock 16 being operated by a key (not shown) to unlock the door 14 in the closed position. Lock 16 is a slam lock, i.e., lock 16 is a lock that automatically locks when door 14 is closed.

The closed storage volume is also provided with a tamper evident indicator 18 similar to one of the previous embodiments. The mechanism 26 of the tamper evident indicator 18 is secured to the fixed structural member 12 of the enclosed storage space member 10 and protected inside the enclosed storage space member by the shell 24. The abutment 44 is provided on the door 14. The through hole 22 and the key hole 36 are provided on the fixed structural member 12.

The inner side 20 of the door 14 is equipped with a clamp 51 for restraining the fire extinguisher 50 when the door 14 is closed. A pair of hooks 5 are provided on the fixed structure 12, the pair of hooks 5 engaging a stop 54 on the door 14 when the door 14 reaches the open position illustrated in fig. 14 to prevent further opening. When the door 14 is opened, the clip 51 is moved out of engagement with the fire extinguisher 50 and the fire extinguisher 50 is automatically released. Stop 54 limits the movement of door 14, but also indirectly the movement of fire extinguisher 50.

Claims

1. A closed storage space piece (10), the closed storage space piece (10) being for a mass transit vehicle, the closed storage space piece (10) comprising two structural parts including a fixed structural part (12) and a door (14), the door (14) being movable relative to the fixed structural part (12) between a closed position and an open position, characterized in that the closed storage space piece (10) further comprises a tamper evident indicator (18), the tamper evident indicator (18) comprising: a flag (38), the flag (38) being movable relative to a first structural component of the two structural components between a first position and a second position; an abutment (44), said abutment (44) being fixed relative to the second of said two structural parts to retain said flag (38) in said first position when said door (14) is in said closed position; a biasing device (42), the biasing device (42) for urging the flag (38) towards the second position when the door (14) is moved from the closed position to the open position; and a key-actuated return mechanism (30), the key-actuated return mechanism (30) being fixed to the first of the two structural components, wherein actuation of the return mechanism (30) from a neutral position to an activated position causes the flag (38) to move from the second position to a return position, and wherein the biasing device (42) causes the flag (38) to subsequently move from the return position to the first position.

2. The closed storage space (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flag (38) in the first position does not obstruct the opening of the door (14) from the closed position to the open position.

3. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the marker (38) in the second position does not interfere with the opening of the door (14) from the closed position to the open position or the closing of the door (14) from the open position to the closed position.

4. The closed storage volume (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the biasing means (42) comprises one or more of: spring, weight, magnetic biasing means.

5. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flag (38) is movable at least from the first position to the second position when the resetting mechanism (30) is in the neutral position.

6. The closed storage volume (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reset mechanism (30) is movable from the activated position to the neutral position when the flag (38) is in the first position.

7. The closed storage volume (10) according to claim 1, wherein the reset mechanism (30) comprises a plug (34) provided with a keyway (36) and a barrel (32) fixed to the first of the two structural components, wherein the plug (34) is linked to the flag (38) such that actuation of the plug (34) relative to the barrel (32) from the neutral position to the active position causes the flag (38) to move from the second position to the reset position and such that when the plug (34) is in the neutral position, the flag (38) is movable from the first position to the second position without movement of the plug (34).

8. The closed storage space piece (10) according to claim 7, wherein the flag (38) is guided such that it pivots about a pivot axis (200) fixed relative to the first of the two structural parts from the first position to the second position, from the second position to the reset position and from the reset position to the first position.

9. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 8, wherein the pivot axis (200) of the flag (38) relative to the first of the two structural components is coaxial with the axis of rotation (100) of the plug (34) in the barrel (32).

10. The closed storage space piece (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the closed storage space piece (10) further comprises a lock (16) for locking the door (14) in the closed position, wherein the key actuated return mechanism (30) does not interlock with the lock (16).

11. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 10, characterized in that the lock (16) is a latch which automatically locks when the door (14) is moved to the closed position.

12. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 1, wherein the first of the two structural parts is provided with a through hole (22), a first portion (138) of the marker (38) being visible through the through hole (22) in one of the first and second positions and not visible through the through hole (22) in the other of the first and second positions.

13. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 12, wherein a second portion (238) of the flag (38) is not visible through the through hole (22) in the other of the first and second positions and is not visible through the through hole (22) in the one of the first and second positions, the second portion (238) of the flag (38) having a unique surface layout.

14. The closed storage space (10) as claimed in claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the through-hole (22) is closed by a transparent pane.

15. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first of the two structural parts is the door (14).

16. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the marker (38) is located on the inner side (20) of the door (14) at least when the door (14) is closed.

17. The closed storage space (10) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the door (14) is pivotably mounted relative to the fixed structure (12) between the closed position and the open position.

18. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 17, wherein the door (14) has a vertical pivot axis (500).

19. The closed storage space (10) according to claim 17, wherein the door (14) has a horizontal pivot axis (600).

20. The closed storage space piece (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the door (14) is provided with a holding clamp (51), the holding clamp (51) being for clamping a predetermined size of an item (50) into the closed storage space piece when the door (14) is moved from the open position to the closed position.

21. The closed storage space (10) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the closed storage space (10) is a fire extinguisher housing.