EP1626373A1

EP1626373A1 - Coin-operated lock for supermarket carts, luggage trolleys and the like

Info

Publication number: EP1626373A1
Application number: EP05016510A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giacomino Sordella
Original assignee: LA BOITA Srl
Current assignee: LA BOITA Srl
Priority date: 2004-08-10
Filing date: 2005-07-29
Publication date: 2006-02-15
Also published as: ITTO20040561A1

Abstract

A coin-operated lock for supermarket carts, luggage trolleys and the like, comprising an attachment device (2) including a supporting element (4) formed with a housing (7) for a box (1), which contains a coin-operated lock mechanism and can be positioned on one side of the handle (H) of the trolley, and a clamping element (5), which can be irreversibly coupled in rotation to the supporting element (4) in a position corresponding to the opposite side of the handle (H).

Description

The present invention relates to coin-operated locks for supermarket carts, luggage trolleys and the like, said lock having the function of constraining, typically via chains, the trolleys arranged consecutively in rows, and enable them to be taken away by the user only after a coin or token has been inserted in the lock. Instead of being constrained to a contiguous trolley by the coin-operated lock, the trolley can also be constrained to a fixed body.
Coin-operated locks of the above sort usually comprise a box containing a coin-operated lock mechanism, and means of attachment of the box to the handle for pushing the trolley.
Traditionally, the means of attachment are constituted by screws with which the box with the coin-operated lock mechanism, positioned on the upper side of the handle of the trolley, is anchored to a contrast element set underneath the handle.
This arrangement presents a dual drawback. In the first place, fixing of the coin-operated lock to the handle of the trolley involves the use of a screwdriver for tightening the screws, and the operation is in any case far from convenient and requires a certain amount of time. In the second place, the coin-operated lock is exposed to the risk of being fraudulently removed in order to avoid using the coin or token for freeing the trolley, by simply unscrewing the corresponding fixing screws.
The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks and to provide a coin-operated lock of the type defined above, which on the one hand can be fixed to the trolley in a simpler and faster way even without the aid of particular tools, and on the other hand will ensure a higher degree of security against any possible attempts at non-authorized removal thereof from the trolley.
In order to achieve the above purposes, the coin-operated lock according to the invention is basically characterized in that the aforesaid means of attachment of the box on the handle of the trolley comprise a supporting element formed with a housing for said box that can be positioned on one side of the handle of the trolley, and a clamping element that can be irreversibly coupled in rotation to said support in a position corresponding to the opposite side of the handle of the trolley.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the supporting element is formed with a saddle, which can be positioned straddling the handle of the trolley and carries means of threaded fitting. The clamping element consists of a ringnut having a thread complementary to the threaded-fitting means of the supporting element and carrying a counter-saddle, which can engage with said handle. The counter-saddle and the locking ringnut can be coupled to one another axially in such a way that they can normally turn and carry respective toothings that face one another and can engage with one another, following upon screwing between said ringnut and said saddle when the coin-operated lock is installed on the handle of the trolley in order to lock said clamping element by twisting it with respect to said supporting element.
The invention will now be described in greater detail in what follows, with reference to the annexed plate of drawings, which are provided purely by of way of non-limiting example and in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a coin-operated lock according to the invention, applied to the handle of a supermarket trolley;
Figure 2 is a partially exploded view of the coin-operated lock of Figure 1 from a different angle;
Figure 3 is an exploded view at a larger scale of a first detail of the coin-operated lock;
Figure 4 is a perspective view from beneath of a detail of Figure 3;
Figures 5 and 6 are two perspective views at a larger scale, respectively from beneath and from above, of a second component of the coin-operated lock; and
Figures 7 and 8 are two perspective views at a larger scale, respectively from beneath and from above, of a third component of the coin-operated lock.

With initial reference to Figures 1 and 2, a coin-operated lock for supermarket trolleys, luggage trolleys and the like according to the invention basically comprises a box 1 having a substantially flattened parallelepipedal shape and containing a coin-operated lock mechanism, and an attachment device 2 for fastening the box 1 on the crosswise handle H with which the trolley is usually equipped for pushing.
The coin-operated lock mechanism contained in the box 1 will not be described in detail herein for reasons of brevity: it is preferably, but not necessarily, of the type described and illustrated in the European patent application No. 04012698.9, filed in the name of the present applicant, not published at the date of priority of the present application. For the purposes of the present invention it is sufficient to clarify that said mechanism comprises a locking unit operated by a key K, by which the trolley is anchored with a chain C to a contiguous trolley or to a fixed structure, and an actuating assembly that can be actuated by insertion of a coin or token in a side slit 3 of the box 1 to enable extraction of the key K.
The device 2 for attachment of the box 1 on the handle H of the trolley consists of a supporting element 4 and an irreversible clamping element 5, which, in the condition where the coin-operated lock is mounted on the handle H of the trolley, are positioned on opposite sides with respect thereto, and typically the first on top of said handle H and the second underneath said handle H.
With more detailed reference to Figures 3 and 4, the supporting element 4 comprises a body 6 conveniently made of moulded plastic material formed on top with a housing 7, which contains and encloses the box 1, with the corresponding side slit 3 accessible from outside, and is closed on top by a lid 8. The lid 8 is also conveniently made of moulded plastic material and is formed with a pair of lateral centring appendages 9, which can be engaged within corresponding openings 10 of the body 6. The lid 8 is then irreversibly coupled via snap action on the top of the body 6.
Said body 6 is formed at the bottom with a saddle 11, which can be positioned straddling the handle H of the trolley and is delimited by a pair of legs 12 provided on the outside with respective helical projections 13 that constitute a means of threaded connection.
With reference now to Figures 5, 6 and 7, 8, the irreversible clamping element 5 is in turn constituted by two elements, which are also conveniently made of moulded plastic material: a locking ringnut 14, illustrated in detail in Figures 5 and 6, and a counter-saddle 15, illustrated in detail in Figures 7 and 8.
The locking ringnut 14 has a generally circular or polygonal shape with an outer manoeuvring ring 16 carrying an internal thread 17 complementary to the threaded-fitting means 13 of the body 6 of the supporting element 4, and an inner ring 18, which is also circular in shape. The inner ring 18 is connected to the outer ring 16 through radial links 19, between which arched slots 20 are defined, and has on its top face a front saw-toothed annular toothing 21.
The counter-saddle 15 has on top a curved profile complementary to that of the handle H of the trolley, and is formed underneath with a front saw-toothed annular toothing 22 complementary to the annular toothing 21 of the ringnut 14. Axial appendages 23 set at equal angular distances apart and elastically sprung in a radial direction extend underneath the annular toothing 22. Each axial appendage 23 has at its respective free end a catch 24.
To install the coin-operated lock according to the invention on the handle H of the trolley the process is described in what follows.
After inserting the box 1 into the housing 7, the latter is re-closed by the lid 8. Then the supporting element 4 is positioned on the upper side of the handle H setting the saddle 11 straddling this, with the legs 12 extending underneath its sides. Then, after engagement of the appendage 23 via snap action with the catches 24 of the counter-saddle 15 within the slits 20 of the locking ringnut 14, the locking-ringnut 14 - counter-saddle 15 assembly is positioned underneath the handle H, by resting said counter-saddle 15 against the underside thereof.
Finally, the internal thread 17 of the locking ringnut 14 is screwed manually on the threads 13 of the legs 12 of the saddle 11 until front meshing is obtained between the annular toothing 21 and the annular toothing 22. Said meshing results in an irreversible torsional locking between the clamping element 5, constituted, as has been said, by the ringnut 14 and by the counter-saddle 15, with respect to the supporting element 4. Consequently, the attachment device 2 of the coin-operated lock according to the invention can no longer be dismantled from the handle H of the trolley and removed without carrying out operations that destroy the device itself.
From the foregoing it will emerge clearly evident that the coin-operated lock according to the invention is made up of an essential number of components that are particularly simple and inexpensive to produce, can be installed in a convenient and fast way without requiring any particular tool, and guarantees maximum security in regard to attempts at non-authorized dismantling.
Of course the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what is described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the ensuing claims.

Claims

A coin-operated lock for supermarket carts, luggage trolleys and the like, comprising a box (1) containing a coin-operated lock mechanism, and means of attachment (2) of said box (1) on the handle (H) of a trolley, said coin-operated lock being characterized in that said means of attachment (2) comprise a supporting element (4), which is formed with a housing (7) for said box (1) and can be positioned on one side of the handle (H) of the trolley, and a clamping element (5), which can be irreversibly coupled in rotation to said supporting element (4) in a position corresponding to the opposite side of said handle (H).
The coin-operated lock according to Claim 1, characterized in that:
- said supporting element (4) is formed with a saddle (11) that can be positioned straddling the handle (H) of the trolley and carries threaded-fitting means (13);

- said clamping element (5) comprises a ringnut (14) having a thread (17) complementary to said threaded-fitting means (13) of the supporting element (4) and carrying a counter-saddle (15), which can engage with said handle (H); and

- said counter-saddle (15) and said ringnut (14) are axially coupled together in such a way that they can normally turn and carry respective facing front toothings (22, 21) that can engage with one another, following upon screwing between said ringnut (14) of the clamping element (5) and said saddle (11) of the supporting element (4) when the coin-operated lock is installed on the handle (H) of the trolley, for fixing said clamping element (5) by twisting it with respect to said supporting element (4).
The coin-operated lock according to Claim 2, characterized in that said toothings (22, 21) are formed by sawtoothed rings.
The coin-operated lock according to Claim 2, characterized in that said counter-saddle (15) has axial appendages (23) for snap-action engagement through corresponding slits (20) in said ringnut (14).
The coin-operated lock according to Claim 1, characterized in that said supporting element (4) further includes a lid (8) for irreversible closing of said housing (7) of said box (1).
The coin-operated lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said box (1), said supporting element (4) and said clamping element (5) of said attachment device (2) are made of moulded plastic material.
A trolley for supermarkets, for carrying luggage and the like, characterized in that it is equipped with a coin-operated lock according to one or more of the preceding claims.