EP0257112A1 - Lockable receptacle for hotel rooms - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to facilitate billing for goods removed from room bars in hotels, receptacles with individual compartments are provided for the goods. Each compartment has a flap or door (3) that is provided with a lock. Together with the room key, the guest obtains an additional key with which he can open the individual compartments of the receptacle. The additional key is constructed, for example, as a hollow cylinder. When the additional key is inserted into a lock of the receptacle, a marking pin (6) is pushed into the hollow cylinder and remains in the key. When the room key and additional key are handed back, the one or more pins remaining in the key indicate whether and, as the case may be, to what extent goods have been removed from the receptacle. Different marking pins can be provided for goods of different value. The marking pins removed by operating the lock can be replaced with other pins after the relevant compartments have been replenished with new goods. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a closable goods container for hotel rooms.

Such goods containers for hotel rooms are, for example, so-called room bars, which are small refrigerators that can be opened by the guest with the room key or a special key. As a rule, in a certain hotel business each room refrigerator contains a certain assortment of drinks, sweets and the like.

Experience has shown that there are always difficulties when billing the goods removed from the refrigerator, for example when the hotel guest rightly or wrongly claims that he has not taken out the goods billed to him.

With most common alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a certain shrinkage is taken into account, i.e. the hotel business, for example, does not pay for the missing drinks if the guest claims that they have not removed the drinks.

One can think of providing not only drinks but also other goods in hotel rooms, for example cosmetic items such as high-quality soaps, creams, aftershaves, perfumes and the like. Since such articles are relatively expensive, it is generally only worthwhile to provide them if it is ensured that no misuse is possible. A system must therefore be available which ensures that those of a hotel guest are in the room goods removed from the sensitive container are actually paid for.

The invention has for its object to provide a goods container for hotel rooms, which allows reliable detection of removed goods.

For this purpose, the invention provides a lockable goods container for hotel rooms, with several separate compartments, each of which is assigned a lock that can be unlocked by a key, the lock being equipped with a marking element that remains on or in the key after unlocking.

In the case of the goods container according to the invention, the guest cannot easily open the container in order to remove the goods desired by him, but the lock which belongs to the compartment containing the desired goods must first be opened. When the key is inserted into the lock and the lock is unlocked, a mark remains on the key. This marking enables the management of the hotel to determine exactly whether a lock of the container in the room in question has been opened and consequently goods have been removed. Flawless billing is possible.

In a particularly simple embodiment, the marking element is a pin, which is arranged in the keyhole of the lock, while the key has a hollow cylinder, into the cavity of which the pin enters the keyhole when the key is inserted. When the guest has opened the compartment and removed the goods, the remains Pen in the key. When the invoice is paid, the staff can see from the key that a product has been removed and can put a corresponding amount on the invoice. When the emptied compartment is refilled, a new marker pen is inserted into the lock.

Basically, it is possible that the hollow cylinder receives only a single pin. In a preferred embodiment, however, the hollow cylinder of the key is so long that it can hold several pins. The hotel guest can remove various goods from the container without having to get a new (empty) key several times.

If only goods of one price range are offered, it was sufficient to provide only one type of marking element for all subjects. With the help of different marking elements, differently expensive goods can be offered. The different markings can be implemented, for example, in such a way that the pens are of different lengths, have different colors and / or are made of different materials. However, it is also possible to provide only a single type of marking pen and to apply coding to the individual - apparently identical - marking pens which are characteristic of a certain price.

The flaps or doors of the individual compartments can be labeled or illustrated so that the user is informed about the contents of the compartments. Preferably, however, the flaps or doors of the compartments are made of transparent material so that the goods in the compartments can be seen from the outside.

In order to facilitate the filling of the individual subjects, a door or flap provided with a separate lock can be provided for all subjects or for individual groups of subjects, which releases all subjects or subjects of the respective groups in the open state.

The goods container for cosmetic articles is particularly well suited, since on the one hand offering such articles in hotel rooms is worthwhile and on the other hand it is ensured that the removed cosmetic articles are actually paid for by the respective guest.

In view of the two points of view shown above, the invention provides a lockable cosmetic article container for hotel rooms, with several compartments, which have a lock that can be unlocked with a key, in which a mark remains due to the unlocking process.

• Fig. 1 eine teilweise geschnittene perspektivische Ansicht eines in einem Hotelzimmer aufge­stellten Warenbehälters für Kosmetikartikel, und
• Fig. 2A-F Skizzen, die die Handhabung des Warenbe­hälters veranschaulichen.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. Show it:

• Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned perspective view of a container for cosmetics set up in a hotel room, and
• 2A-F sketches that illustrate the handling of the goods container.

In the following, the invention is described specifically with reference to a goods container for hotel rooms which is suitable for the storage and provision of cosmetic articles. However, the goods container can also be used for the storage and provision of drinks and other objects are used.

The goods container shown in Fig. 1 has the form of a cabinet 1 with several individual compartments 2, each of which is assigned a transparent closure flap 3. Behind each closure flap 3 there is a separate compartment in which one or more cosmetic articles are stowed.

The individual flaps 3 have hinges in the area of their upper edge, which are fastened to a horizontal bar of the cabinet 1, so that the flaps can be opened in the manner shown in FIG. 1 below.

Each flap 3 has in its lower right corner a lock 4 with a keyhole 5 in which a marker pin 6 is inserted. By inserting and turning a suitable key, the lock 4 can be unlocked and the flap 3 can be folded up for goods removal.

Fig. 2 outlines the successive stages in the use of the goods container:

2A: when receiving a room key 7 with a pendant 8 attached to it, the hotel guest receives an additional key 9 at the same time. The additional key 9 (which is hereinafter simply referred to as "key" because the room key 7 is of no interest here) contains one Handle 10 with an adjoining shaft 11 designed as a hollow cylinder and a key bit 12. With the room key 7, the hotel guest opens the door, with the key 9 he can individual compartments 2 of the goods container 1 open.

Fig. 2B: in the container, various cosmetic items are contained in the individual compartments. The compartment shown in FIG. 2 contains, for example, a cream in a packaging 13. The guest sees the cream box 13 through the transparent flap 3. To open the compartment 2, the guest inserts the key 9 into the keyhole 5 (arrow direction). (In the illustration according to FIG. 2, the individual locks 4 are not in the corner, but in the middle of the individual closure flaps 3).

Fig. 2C: by turning the key 9, the guest unlocks the flap. When the key 9 is pulled out of the keyhole 5, the marker pin 6 previously arranged in the keyhole 5 remains in the hollow cylinder 11 of the key 9.

Fig. 2: since the lock 4 is now unlocked, the guest can lift the flap 3 and remove the cream box 13.

Fig. 2E: if the guest temporarily or permanently leaves the hotel and hands over his room key 7 and his additional key 9 at the reception, the staff can recognize from the marker pin 6 remaining in the hollow cylinder of the key 9 that goods have been removed from the container. The corresponding amount is placed on invoice 14.

Fig. 2F: when refilling the goods container, a new cream box 13ʹ is placed in the compartment 2, the flap 3 is closed, the lock 4 is locked and a new marker pin 6ʹ is inserted into the keyhole 5.

Claims (12)

1. Lockable goods container for hotel rooms, with several separate compartments (2), each of which is assigned a lock (4) that can be unlocked by a key (9), the lock (4) being equipped with a marking element (6) that remains on or in the key (9) after unlocking. 2. Goods container according to claim 1, characterized in that the marking element is a pin (6) which is arranged in the keyhole (5) of the lock (4), and in that the key (9) has a hollow cylinder (11) in the cavity of which the pin (6) enters when the key (9) is inserted into the keyhole (5). 3. Goods container according to claim 2, characterized in that the hollow cylinder (10) has such a depth that it can accommodate a plurality of pins (6). 4. Goods container according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that different marking elements are provided. 5. Goods container according to one of claims 2-4, in which pins of different lengths are provided. 6. Goods container according to one of claims 2-5, in which pens of different colors and / or different materials are provided. 7. Goods container according to one of the claims 1-6, characterized in that the marking elements carry a coding. 8. Goods container according to one of claims 1-7, characterized in that each compartment (2) is assigned a transparent closure flap (3) or door. 9. Goods container according to one of claims 1-7, characterized in that each compartment is designed as a drawer with a transparent front plate. 10. Goods container according to one of claims 1-9, characterized in that for all subjects (2) or for groups of subjects a provided with a separate lock door or flap is provided, which in the open state all subjects or the subjects of the respective Group releases. 11. Goods container according to one of claims 1-10, characterized by the use for cosmetic articles. 12. Lockable cosmetic article container for hotel rooms with several compartments, which have a lock that can be unlocked with a key, in or on which a mark remains due to the unlocking process.

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