EP3789163A1 - Lockout box - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a lock box for locking objects, in particular keys, comprising a container with a receiving space open to the front for the objects, and a front flap pivotably attached to the container and adjustable between a closed position and an open position, the receiving space in closed in the closed position and open in the open position, the container having several securing openings for attaching locking elements, in particular padlocks, in order to fix the front flap in the closed position on the container, and wherein the front flap has an at least partially transparent front panel having, wherein in the open position an information carrier designed in particular as a sheet of paper, in particular a work permit, can be pushed into the front flap behind the front panel or behind the Front panel can be attached to the front flap, and in the closed position removal of the information carrier is prevented.

Description

The invention relates to a lock box for locking objects, in particular keys, comprising a container with an open receiving space for the objects, and a flap pivotably attached to the container and adjustable between a closed position and an open position, the receiving space in the closed position is closed and opened in the open position, the container having a plurality of securing openings for attaching locking elements, in particular padlocks, in order to fix the flap in the closed position on the container.

A lock box, which is also referred to as a "lockout box", is mainly used for a so-called group lockout. For work such as maintenance, repair or cleaning, electrical systems are put out of operation, for example by disconnecting the system or parts of the system from the associated voltage supply, and secured against restarting, in order to endanger the own employees performing the work or employees of external companies for the long term to avoid the work. For this purpose, in the case of group exclusion, the individual energy sources are each locked with a machine lock, in particular a padlock. The keys to the machine locks are then locked in the lock box. On the outside, each employee hangs a personalized lock, in particular a padlock, in the security openings provided for this purpose and locks it so that the lock box can no longer be opened. The personalized locks are keyed differently, ie each employee has his own lock with his own key. This key does not fit into any other His colleagues did not close and vice versa either. The machine locks can be selected to be keyed differently or keyed alike, depending on the planning. Each employee does not have to hang a respective lock on each excluded energy source, but only one on the lock box, without the intention of "lockout" or the security achieved thereby being impaired. The energy sources can only be activated again when all employees have removed their locks from the lock box after completing their work, since the lock box can only then be opened again and the keys stored in it for unlocking the locks on the energy sources can be removed. A lock box mentioned at the beginning is for example from the document DE 10 2014 106 228 A1 known.

All information relevant to the work, such as the type of activities to be performed, the hazards and the safety precautions to be taken, can be documented in a work permit, which must be signed by the supervisor when the work is completed, so that safety measures taken can be revoked again . With a work permit, however, there is always the risk that it will be misplaced or even lost.

The present invention is based on the object of creating a possibility of keeping a work permit available at all times for the persons involved in the associated group exclusion.

This object is achieved by a lock box with the features of claim 1, and in particular by a lock box for locking objects, in particular keys, comprising a container with a forwardly open receiving space for the objects, and one on the container, in particular by means of a swivel joint , in particular at least one hinge, mounted pivotably between a closed one Position and an open position adjustable front flap, the receiving space being closed in the closed position and open in the open position, the container having several safety openings for attaching locking elements, in particular padlocks, to the front flap in the closed position on the To fix container, and wherein the front flap has an at least partially transparent front panel, in particular a front panel, wherein in the open position an in particular flat information carrier, in particular a sheet of paper, in particular a work permit, can be inserted behind the front panel into the front flap or can be attached to the front flap behind the front panel, and in the closed position removal of the information carrier is prevented.

According to the invention, the lock box thus not only holds the keys for the machine locks, but also the information carrier, in particular the associated work permit. This has the advantage that the work permit cannot be misplaced or lost. Rather, there is a predetermined location where the work permit is at all times. Everyone involved in a group exclusion therefore always knows where to find and view the work permit. In addition, the work permit with the keys of the machine locks is locked in the lock box until the work is completed. There is therefore no risk that security measures will be revoked again by incorrectly releasing the work permit, although not all work has yet been completed. This improves security. Due to the placement in the front flap behind a front panel that is at least partially transparent, the work permit is clearly visible in the closed position and at the same time protected against access.

The information carrier, in particular designed as a sheet of paper, in particular the work permit, can be pushed into the front flap behind the front panel or attached to the front flap behind the front panel. Preferred embodiments of the invention described below primarily relate to the insertion of the information carrier, in particular the sheet of paper, in particular the work permit, into the front flap. In principle, however, it is sufficient if the information carrier, in particular designed as a sheet of paper, in particular the work permit, is attached in some way to the rear of the front panel, in particular held, e.g. by means of at least one spring clip or the like.

The invention also includes that several information carriers, in particular several sheets of paper, can be pushed into the front flap behind the front panel or can be attached to the front flap behind the front panel.

The front panel, in particular the front panel, is preferably designed as an acrylic glass panel. Acrylic glass is unbreakable and at the same time resistant to aging and UV. In addition, acrylic glass is comparatively inexpensive, especially because it is available as sheet material and is easy to process.

The front flap can be designed as a flap that opens downwards, i.e. the aforementioned swivel joint is at the bottom. In this way, particularly ergonomic operation of the lock box is achieved. However, the flap can also be attached to the right or left. In addition, an upward-opening flap is basically also conceivable.

The front flap is preferably designed as a pocket which is closed on three sides and which is particularly open at the top, as is particularly advantageous in the case of a flap that opens downwards. The work permit can therefore be based on can easily be pushed into the front flap and held securely in it. In particular, the closed pocket has a front wall and a rear wall, wherein the front panel can form the front wall or a part thereof. As mentioned above, the front flap can have a rear wall, it being preferred if, in the open position, the information carrier can be inserted between the front panel and the rear wall. The rear wall and / or the container is preferably formed from sheet metal. The rear wall and / or container is preferably formed from a hard material, in particular sheet metal.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the rear wall has on its front side on two opposite, in particular lateral, sides lateral receiving grooves extending in the insertion direction of the information carrier, and optionally at its end lying in the insertion direction of the information carrier a receiving groove extending transversely to the insertion direction of the information carrier, on, in which the front panel, in particular also by insertion, is added. When assembling the front flap, the front panel can therefore be pushed into one of the two receiving grooves of the rear wall on both sides. This results in a front flap that has a simple structure and is easy to assemble and that can be produced inexpensively.

The respective receiving groove can be formed by a bar protruding from the rear wall, the respective bar being angled inward at its free end. In particular, the two strips can each be L-shaped.

It is preferred if the respective receiving groove is formed by bending a respective edge of the rear wall, in particular forms a respective flanged edge of the rear wall. In particular if the rear wall is made of sheet metal, the receiving grooves can each form an especially L-shaped flanged edge of the rear wall. The receiving grooves can thus be easily made be produced that a correspondingly cut back wall is reshaped at the appropriate edges by appropriate bending.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the front panel has a, in particular step-shaped, thickening on its rear side in the area of two opposing, in particular lateral, edges with which the front panel is received in the two receiving grooves of the rear wall. In other words, the front panel has a smaller thickness in the area between its two thickened edge areas with which it is received in the receiving grooves of the rear wall than in the two edge areas. The smaller thickness between the two edge areas creates sufficient space for the information carrier to be inserted.

The rear wall preferably has at least one, in particular rectangular, cutout, in particular a cutout. The rear wall is therefore not designed over the entire area, but rather has less material than a full-area design. This allows the weight of the front panel and thus of the lock box to be reduced.

In particular, the rear wall can have several cutouts formed one above the other and / or next to one another, the rear wall having a respective web between two cutouts formed one above the other and / or next to one another, in particular in each case. Due to the webs, the rigidity of the rear wall can be largely retained, despite the cutouts. In addition, webs running in the direction of insertion of the information carrier can effectively prevent the information carrier from getting stuck on transverse edges of the cutouts when it is inserted. This enables the information carrier to be pushed in more easily.

A rear wall made from sheet metal can have on its front side a resilient elevation made by a sheet metal forming process, which presses against the rear side of the front panel. In this way, on the one hand, the front panel and, moreover, also the inserted information carrier, in particular designed as a sheet of paper, in particular the work permit, can be held in the front flap in a particularly simple manner.

According to a preferred embodiment, in the closed position the front flap is arranged in the container offset backwards in such a way that wall sections of the container have a forwardly protruding, in particular circumferential, collar in which the securing openings are formed. In the closed position, the locking elements can then be attached, which then stand in the way of opening the front flap. The front flap can then be free of safety openings, i.e. no corresponding safety openings have to be provided in the front flap.

The wall sections can have at least one stop on the inside, in particular in the form of an angle piece, for the front flap in the closed position. This allows the closed position of the front flap to be established in a simple manner.

In addition, at least one hook strip can be attached in the receiving space on the rear side wall of the container. The respective hook strip can be designed in such a way that it can be optionally removed. The keys of the machine locks can then be hung on the hooks of the hook rail, i.e. the keys do not have to be placed on the bottom of the container. This is for the sake of clarity.

In particular, several hook strips can be attached one above the other in the receiving space on the rear side wall of the container, with two each Hook strips attached one above the other are arranged laterally offset from one another. This is particularly advantageous if the lock box is also used as a storage location for the machine locks and / or the padlocks before and after they are used. Due to the offset arrangement of the hook strips, the number of machine locks and / or padlocks that can be stored in the lock box at the same time can be increased.

A lock, in particular a magnetic lock, is preferably provided which holds the front flap in the closed position even when the locking elements are not attached. For this purpose, the magnetic closure can be a closure part that is attached to the inside of the front flap and at least one magnet, which is opposite the closure part in the closed position, is attached to the inside of a side wall of the container and which acts in particular as a stop for the front flap , exhibit. The arrangement of the closure part and the at least one magnet can also be reversed, i.e. the closure part can also be attached to the inside of a side wall of the container and the at least one magnet can be attached to the inside of the front flap. The front flap can be opened, for example, by means of a handle attached to the front flap against the effect of the magnetic force of the magnetic lock.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are also described in the dependent claims, the description of the figures and the drawing.

Fig. 1

einen erfindungsgemäßen Verschlusskasten in einer perspektivischen Ansicht mit einer frontseitigen Klappe in einer geschlossenen Stellung,

Fig. 2

den Verschlusskasten gemäß Fig. 1, wobei die frontseitige Klappe eine geöffnete Stellung einnimmt,

Fig. 3

den Verschlusskasten gemäß Fig. 1, wobei die frontseitige Klappe weggelassen ist,

Fig. 4

die frontseitige Klappe aus Fig. 1 in einer Rückansicht mit einer transparenten Frontplatte und einer Rückwand,

Fig. 5

die frontseitige Klappe in der Darstellung gemäß Fig. 4, wobei die transparente Frontplatte weggelassen ist,

Fig. 6

die frontseitige Klappe gemäß Fig. 4 in einer Vorderansicht, wobei die transparente Frontplatte weggelassen ist,

Fig. 7

die frontseitige Klappe in der Darstellung gemäß Fig. 6, wobei zusätzlich ein oberseitiger Steg weggelassen ist,

Fig. 8

die vorgenannte Rückwand in einer Vorderansicht im Bereich einer in der Rückwand ausgebildeten, nach vorne vorstehenden Erhebung,

Fig. 9

eine Draufsicht auf die vorgenannte transparente Frontplatte, und

Fig. 10

eine Rückwand mit Verschluss in einer Rückansicht gemäß einer alternativen Ausführungsform der Erfindung.

The invention is described below by way of example using an advantageous embodiment with reference to the drawing. Show it,

Fig. 1

a lock box according to the invention in a perspective view with a front flap in a closed position,

Fig. 2

the lock box according to Fig. 1 with the front flap in an open position,

Fig. 3

the lock box according to Fig. 1 with the front flap omitted,

Fig. 4

the front flap Fig. 1 in a rear view with a transparent front panel and a rear wall,

Fig. 5

the front flap in the illustration according to Fig. 4 with the transparent front panel omitted,

Fig. 6

the front flap according to Fig. 4 in a front view, wherein the transparent front plate is omitted,

Fig. 7

the front flap in the illustration according to Fig. 6 , whereby an upper bar is also omitted,

Fig. 8

the aforementioned rear wall in a front view in the area of a protrusion formed in the rear wall and protruding to the front,

Fig. 9

a plan view of the aforementioned transparent faceplate, and

Fig. 10

a rear wall with closure in a rear view according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

The in Fig. 1 The locking box 11 shown has a cuboid container 13 made of sheet metal with a receiving space 15 that is open towards the front. The container 13 is designed as a container bottom 17 side wall, one as Container top 19 formed side wall, a rear side wall 21, a left side wall 23, a right side wall 25 and a bottom-side, front side wall section 27 is formed. The container bottom 17, the container top 19, the side walls 21, 23, 25 and the front side wall section 27 define or surround the receiving space 15. In addition, the closure box 11 has a downwardly opening front flap 29 via a hinge, namely a hinge 31, pivotally attached to the front side wall portion 27 of the container 13.

In addition, a fixed handle 33 is arranged on the outside of the container top 19 in order to be able to easily transport the lock box 11. As the Fig. 1 and 2 show, the front flap 29 is from a closed position (cf. Fig. 1 ), in which the receiving space 15 is closed, into an open position (cf. Fig. 2 ), in which the receiving space 15 is open, adjustable.

The lock box 11 is a group lock box, which is also referred to as a group lockout box. The lock box 11 is used in a so-called group lockout, in which several employees involved in maintenance, repair or cleaning of a machine or system or other facility have to secure or exclude one or a plurality of energy sources. The individual energy sources are only locked with a machine lock. The keys of these locks are then enclosed in the lock box 11. In particular, the lock box 11 has two intersecting insertion slots 35 on the right side wall 25 in order to insert keys into an already or still locked lock box 11.

The front side wall section 27 is arranged offset to the rear with respect to the container bottom 17, the container top 19 and the side walls 23, 25, so that the front flap 29 pivotably attached to it is also arranged in the container 13 offset to the rear. Forward-facing sections of the container bottom 17, the container top 19 and the side walls 23, 25 form a circumferential collar 37 which, in the closed position of the front flap 29, protrudes forwards beyond the front flap 29 and in which a plurality of securing openings 39 are formed, can be hooked into the locking elements, in particular padlocks. The side walls 23, 25 each have an angle piece 47 on the inside, which serves as a stop for the front flap 29 in the closed position, with FIG Fig. 2 only one of the two angle pieces 47 can be seen.

In the event of a group exclusion, each employee involved hangs his personalized padlock with the front flap 29 closed in one of the safety openings 39 and thus closes the front flap 29 in the closed position on the container 13. The front flap 29 can then no longer be opened. The front flap 29 can remain free of safety openings. Thus, not every employee has to hang a lock on every excluded energy source, but only one on the lock box 11, without the intention of the exclusion and the security achieved by the exclusion being impaired.

The energy sources can only be activated again when all employees have removed their personalized padlocks from the lock box 11 after completing their work and thus released the front flap 29 again. The front flap 29 can then be brought back into the open position in order to remove the keys of the machine locks attached to the energy sources.

In the case of the lock box 11, 13 locking openings 39 are provided on each of the left side wall 23 and on the right side wall 25. Furthermore three securing openings 39 are provided on the container top 19, which can be reserved, for example, for supervising persons. The number of securing openings 39 on the two side walls 23, 25 and on the top 19 of the container is only an example and can in each case also have any other value.

In order to be able to hold the front flap 29 in the closed position when the padlocks are not hung, an additional lock is provided which has a first lock part 41 (cf. Fig. 4-7 ), which is attached to the inside of the front flap 29 or the inside of the rear wall 51 and which has a second closure part 43 (cf. Fig. 3 ), which is attached to the inside of the container top 19, forms a snap connection for closing the front flap 29 on the container 13 in the closed position of the front flap 29. The two closure parts 41, 43 are designed in the form of two snap hooks that interact with one another. A push button 45 is arranged on the outside of the container top 19, which is supported on the snap hook forming the second closure part 43 via a bolt or the like. If the push button 45 is pressed, the snap hook 43 is pushed inward away from the container top 19, whereby the snap connection with the snap hook forming the first closure part 41 is released so that the front flap 29 can be opened. Since the snap hook 43 is resilient, the snap hook 43 moves back into its starting position after the push button 45 is released.

Alternatively, the closure can be designed as a magnetic closure, as shown in FIG Fig. 10 is shown. The closure then has a closure part 71 in the form of a present C-shaped closure plate, which is attached to the inside of the front flap 29 or the inside of the rear wall 51 and that with two magnets 73, each via an angle piece 75 on the inside the container top 19 are attached, in the closed position of the front Flap 29 forms a magnetic connection for closing the front flap 29 on the container 13. The two magnets 73 act simultaneously as a stop for the front flap 29.

In addition, the front flap 29 is designed as a receptacle for an information carrier, in particular a sheet of paper, in particular a work permit, in the form of a pocket closed on three sides that is open at the top, as will be explained in more detail below. A work permit is an information carrier, in particular a sheet of paper, on which the activities to be carried out within the scope of group exclusion, the hazards that arise and the corresponding safety precautions to be taken are documented. This work permit can be securely locked in the lock box 11 with the keys of the machine locks, which results in the advantages mentioned at the beginning.

For this purpose, the front flap 29 has a transparent front plate 49 made of acrylic glass, in particular a front panel, and a rear wall 51 made of sheet metal, between which the work permit in the open position of the front flap 29 from above, ie from the end opposite the hinge 31, can be inserted. The work permit is thus inserted behind the transparent front panel 49 and can be easily read through the transparent front panel 49. In the Fig. 1 and 4th the front plate 49 is not shown transparently for the sake of better illustration. In the closed position of the front flap 29, the work permit cannot be removed.

The rear wall 51 has on its front side on its two opposite longitudinal sides in each case a receiving groove 53 into which the transparent front panel 49 engages with its corresponding longitudinal edges and into which the transparent Front panel 49 was previously inserted. The two receiving grooves 53 are produced by bending over the correspondingly cut edges of the rear wall 51 and each form an L-shaped angled bar protruding from the rear wall 51 in the direction of the transparent front panel 49. The same applies to a transverse receiving groove 55 which is formed at the lower end of the rear wall 51 and in which the transparent front plate 49 is also received. In Fig. 7 is opposite Fig. 8 omit a top web 65 on which a handle 67 for the front flap 29 is attached in order to actuate the front flap 29, so that the two receiving grooves 53 can be seen better.

How out Fig. 9 results, the transparent front plate 49 has a stepped thickening 57 on its rear side in the region of its two mutually opposite longitudinal edges with which the transparent front plate 49 engages in the two receiving grooves 53 of the rear wall 51. Thus, the distance between the transparent front plate 49 and the rear wall 51 in the area in which the work permit is received can be increased, whereby the insertion of the work permit is made easier.

The rear wall 51 is not formed over the entire surface, but is provided with three horizontally extending, rectangular cutouts 59, in particular punched-outs, arranged one above the other, whereby the weight of the rear wall 51 can be reduced. A horizontal web 61 runs between the cutouts 59 in order to obtain sufficient rigidity of the rear wall 51. In addition, a vertically running web 77 can be provided for each of the cutouts 59 which divides the respective cutout 59, for example in the middle, as shown in FIG Fig. 10 is shown. Such vertical webs 77 are advantageous because they can prevent the work permit from getting stuck on the horizontally extending lower edges of the cutouts 59 when it is pushed in.

How in particular from Fig. 8 results, a resilient elevation 63 is formed in one of the horizontal webs 61 of the rear wall 51 on the front side, which was produced by a corresponding sheet metal forming process. The resilient elevation 63 presses against the back of the transparent front panel 49, so that both the transparent front panel 49 and the inserted work permit are held securely.

Finally, several hook strips 69 are attached one above the other in the receiving space 15 on the rear side wall 21 of the container 13, on which the keys of the machine locks and the machine locks themselves or the personalized padlocks can be hung for storage. The hook strips 69 are arranged laterally offset from one another, so that as many machine locks and / or personalized padlocks as possible can be stored at the same time.

List of reference symbols

11

Lock box

13th

container

15th

Recording room

17th

Container bottom

19th

Tank top

21

rear sidewall

23

left side wall

25th

right side wall

27

front sidewall section

29

front flap

31

hinge

33

Handle

35

Slot

37

collar

39

Safety opening

41

first closure part

43

second closure part

45

Push button

47

Elbow

49

transparent front panel

51

Back wall

53

Receiving groove

55

Receiving groove

57

thickening

59

Cutout

61

horizontal bar

63

resilient elevation

65

top bar

67

Handle

69

Hook bar

71

Locking part

73

magnet

75

Elbow

77

vertical bar

Claims (15)

Lock box for locking objects, in particular keys, comprising: a container (13) with a receiving space (15) open to the front for the objects, and a front flap (29) pivotably attached to the container (13) and adjustable between a closed position and an open position, the receiving space (15) being closed in the closed position and open in the open position, wherein the container (13) has several securing openings (39) for attaching locking elements, in particular padlocks, in order to fix the front flap (29) in the closed position on the container (13), and wherein the front flap (29) has an at least partially transparent front panel (49), wherein in the open position an information carrier in particular designed as a sheet of paper, in particular a work permit, can be inserted into the front flap (29) behind the front panel (49) or can be attached to the front flap (29) behind the front panel (49), and in the closed position removal of the information carrier is prevented. Lock box according to claim 1,
characterized,
that the front flap (29) is designed as a downward-opening flap. Lock box according to claim 1 or 2,
characterized,
that the front flap (29) is designed as a pocket (49, 51, 53, 55) which is closed on three sides and which, in particular, is open at the top. Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the front flap (29) has a rear wall (51) made in particular from sheet metal and, in the open position, the information carrier can be inserted between the front plate (49) and the rear wall (51). Lock box according to claim 4,
characterized,
that the rear wall (51) has on its front side on two opposite sides extending in the direction of insertion of the information carrier receiving grooves (53) and optionally at its end lying in the direction of insertion of the information carrier a receiving groove (55) extending transversely to the direction of insertion of the information carrier, in which the front plate (49) is received, in particular also by being pushed in. Lock box according to claim 5,
characterized,
that the respective receiving groove (53, 55) is formed by a bar protruding from the rear wall (51), the respective bar being angled inward at its free end. Lock box according to claim 5 or 6,
characterized by
the respective receiving groove (53, 55) by bending a respective one Edge of the rear wall (51) is formed. Lock box according to one of Claims 4 to 7,
characterized,
that the front plate (49) on its rear side in the area of two opposing edges, with which the front plate (49) is received in the two receiving grooves (53) of the rear wall (51), each has an, in particular step-shaped, thickening (59). Lock box according to one of Claims 4 to 8,
characterized,
that the rear wall (51) has at least one cutout (59), the rear wall (51) preferably having several cutouts (59) formed one above the other and / or next to one another, the rear wall (51) between two cutouts formed one above the other and / or next to one another ( 59) has a respective web (61, 77). Lock box according to one of Claims 4 to 9,
characterized,
that the rear wall (51) made of sheet metal has on its front side a resilient elevation (63) made by a sheet metal forming process, which presses against the rear side of the front plate (49). Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that in the closed position the front flap (29) is arranged in the container (13) offset to the rear in such a way that wall sections (17, 19, 23, 25) of the container (13) have a forwardly protruding, in particular circumferential, collar ( 37), in which the Securing openings (39) are formed, and / or that the front flap (29) is free of securing openings. Lock box according to claim 11,
characterized,
that the wall sections (19, 23, 25) have at least one stop (47) on the inside, in particular in the form of an angle piece, for the front flap (29) in the closed position. Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that at least one hook strip (69) is attached in the receiving space (15) on the rear side wall (21) of the container (13),
wherein a plurality of hook strips (69) are preferably attached one above the other in the receiving space (15) on the rear side wall (21) of the container (13),
two hook strips (69) attached one above the other are arranged laterally offset from one another. Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that a lock (71, 73), in particular a magnetic lock, is provided which holds the front flap (29) in the closed position even when the locking elements are not attached. Lock box according to claim 14,
characterized,
that the magnetic closure (71, 73) has a closure part (71) which is attached to the inside of the front flap (29), and at least one, in the closed position opposite to the closure part (71) Magnet (73), which is attached to the inside of a side wall (19) of the container (13), or vice versa.

Images