EP3885693B1 - Method for detecting products stored in safety cabinets - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for detecting products stored in safety cabinets, according to which the respective safety cabinet is equipped with at least one sensor device, in particular a weighing device, and according to which at least consumption values of the product are detected with the aid of a control unit.

Safety cabinets or hazardous materials cabinets are typically used to store chemicals, solids, gases, etc. that are fundamentally flammable and therefore need to be protected from any heat sources. In addition to the heat protection described, such safety cabinets can of course also offer health protection, access protection, etc. because their solid (usually metallic) design typically means that only authorized users can access them. The safety cabinets or hazardous materials cabinets in question can be placed both inside and outside buildings.

As a rule, the aforementioned dangerous goods are stored in bottles, canisters, containers, etc. in the relevant safety cabinet. In order to protect the dangerous goods or hazardous substances in the event of a fire and, for example, to prevent explosions, such a safety cabinet is usually equipped with doors that close in the event of a fire and with a specific and specified fire resistance. This can, for example, correspond to a fire resistance of 60 minutes or 90 minutes. This prevents fires and explosions in particular in the event of a fire, which has proven to be fundamentally effective. In general, the invention naturally covers also safety cabinets without the previously mentioned fire resistance.

In addition to such basic safety requirements, safety cabinets nowadays increasingly take on other functions, for example for recording the products or dangerous goods or hazardous substances stored inside and also for recording any consumption values. In fact, the generic doctrine describes the DE 20 2017 102 435 U1 a safety cabinet which is also equipped with a weighing device for determining the mass. The weighing device can be used to determine the mass of the cabinet body and/or of at least one cabinet component located in the cabinet body. As a result, the consumption values of the associated hazardous substance can be determined. In addition, the consumption values can be assigned to an operator or user. This ultimately leads to safety queries. In fact, the consumption values of hazardous substances assigned to the respective user in question can be used to determine, for example, whether an explosive mixture or another flammable solution can be produced with it.

The weighing device, which consists of one or more load cells, is ultimately designed for this purpose. Using an operating unit, access to the user can be controlled in order to identify them or to obtain user-specific data. This can then be linked to consumption values taken from the respective user. The consumption values are determined using the weighing device. This has generally proven to be a good idea.

In addition, the DE 20 2017 102 439 U1 a mixing station for in particular liquid hazardous substances, where an access control unit is provided in order to link a recipe entry to an authorization check of the user in the example case. With the help of a control unit, consumption quantities of the respective hazardous substance can be checked for plausibility and/or safety. In addition, the consumption quantities of the respective hazardous substance can be assigned to a user account, a total consumption account or a storage account, for example.

Regardless of this, there are so-called payment methods, such as those in the WO 2015/181293 A1 can be described. The well-known payment system represents a computer-implemented method for processing purchase-specific and user-specific data. For this purpose, an online shop is implemented that sends purchase-specific data with or without a web server. With the help of a computer system, user-specific data stored by a user can be accessed. This makes it possible to conveniently check this user-specific data.

Finally, the DE 20 2013 002 743 U1 the possibility of equipping a safe with sockets inside for charging the batteries of computers. The safe can also be equipped for the safe storage of mobile computers for charging the batteries and cooling the devices.

The state of the art has proven itself in principle. However, in practice there is an increasing requirement that not only the consumption values must be recorded and correlated with a user in order to carry out security queries. When several users access, for example, one and the same chemical stored in the safety cabinet, security requirements can be mapped, but not costs.

This is disadvantageous in terms of reliable budget planning, for example when the different users belong to different departments of a company. This is where the invention aims to remedy the situation.

The invention is based on the technical problem of further developing such a method for detecting products stored in safety cabinets in such a way that reliable budget planning is possible.

The invention is a method according to claim 1.

The invention is therefore primarily concerned with correlating the individual consumption values of the associated product with user-specific data. The product in question does not necessarily have to be hazardous substances or dangerous goods. In principle, such safety cabinets can also be used to store inaccessible products that must be protected from general access, for example medicines, paints, but also valuables in general. The safety cabinets used here In addition to their previously stated fire protection and the usually obligatory fire resistance of 60 minutes or 90 minutes, they also have a mechanically stable structure that is secure against tampering.

As a rule, however, hazardous substances or dangerous goods are stored in the safety cabinets, which are or can be not only liquid hazardous substances or dangerous goods or gaseous hazardous goods such as gas cylinders. Increasingly, solid hazardous substances or dangerous goods are also stored in the safety cabinets in question, for example batteries, in particular lithium-ion batteries, which are known to have a tendency to self-ignite under certain circumstances and therefore have to be stored safely. Such safety cabinets and in particular battery cabinets are used as examples in the EP 3 396 094 A1 of the applicant. Comparable fireproof cabinets for fireproof storage of data media or as a safe are also described by the DE 40 41 705 C1 known.

The consumption values of the respective product can be recorded using the sensor device. This may be a weighing device. In principle, however, other sensor devices for measuring consumption are also conceivable and are covered by the invention. For example, consumption values can also be determined using a fill level measurement. A pressure measurement is also conceivable, for example for a gas. In addition, consumption values of the product can also be realized using a current measurement, for example by summing up a product flow delivered.

If a weighing device is used, it usually has at least one load cell. The procedure is usually that several load cells are provided, which are arranged, for example, distributed along the foot side of the cabinet body and/or a cabinet component.

The load cell itself usually has a spring body that can be deformed in proportion to its mass. In this way, the load cell transmits electrical signals proportional to its mass to the control unit. A filter can also be provided for the electrical signals in order to eliminate electrical signals caused by vibrations, inclinations, etc.

In any case, with the help of the weighing device or at least one load cell, mass-proportional electrical signals can be transmitted to the control unit, which provide information about the associated consumption values of the respective product. Within the scope of the invention, these consumption values are now combined with user-specific data. In addition, the combination of the consumption values and the user-specific data is converted into payment values, i.e. ultimately into a "price" of the respective product, taking into account the associated consumption.

The general procedure is that the operator or user must first identify themselves to the security cabinet in order to generate the user-specific data.

In fact, in a variant not part of the invention, the procedure here is such that the user-specific data is generated via, for example, an access control unit on or in the security cabinet. In the simplest case, the access control unit can be designed as a keypad on which the user or operator must log in by entering a corresponding code.

Alternatively and according to the invention, the user-specific data is generated using the computer that is independent of the respective security cabinet. This computer can be a portable computer. The independent computer can be designed as a mobile phone, for example a smartphone. In this case, the operator or user is identified using the portable computer or their smartphone in such a way that a user-specific code is stored in the smartphone or computer or must be entered by the user. This code can be an alphanumeric code, a fingerprint, an iris scan, etc.

In any case, this makes it possible to generate user-specific data, which is either generated via the access control unit on or in the security cabinet and then transmitted to the control unit, or transmitted wirelessly from the outset to the central control unit using the computer that is independent of the security cabinet. This is usually the procedure when using a mobile phone or smartphone as a portable computer.

This user-specific data is linked to the associated security cabinet in order to inform the control unit that a planned removal is to be carried out at the security cabinet in question. This link is made automatically at the access control unit on or in the security cabinet because the access control unit is assigned to the security cabinet in question. If the user-specific data is generated using the computer independent of the respective security cabinet, it is compared with a cabinet-specific identification device. With the cabinet-specific In the simplest case, the means of identification can be a so-called "QR code", i.e. a two-dimensional code that can be scanned and read by the portable computer in question. The code in question can be used to clearly identify the associated security cabinet and link it together with the user-specific data. This link is then transmitted (wirelessly) to the central control unit.

As a result, the control unit is informed that the correspondingly identified user intends to carry out a planned withdrawal of a chemical from the safety cabinet that has also been specified. To do this, the safety cabinet is first unlocked, for example using the control unit, provided that the user has tested positive in the sense of an access check. The user can then then withdraw the desired chemical, which he usually also transmits to the control unit via a substance-specific or product-specific identification means. The substance-specific identification means, like the cabinet-specific identification means, can be the "QR code" mentioned above.

At the same time, the weighing device is used to generate the previously mentioned mass-proportional signal and transmit it to the control unit, which corresponds to the consumption value taken after removing and replacing, for example, a canister with the desired chemical. Since the chemical taken out has previously been identified via the substance-specific identification device, as well as the user and the associated safety cabinet, the consumption values can not only be assigned to the specific safety cabinet and the previously identified user, but also, in terms of their quantity, to the respective chemical taken out. Product.

This means that the cabinet-specific or substance- or product-specific identification means is preferably designed as a QR code. In general, other codes can also be used. Using this QR code or generally a two-dimensional code or a code in total, the product removed can now be identified without a doubt together with the safety cabinet and the associated user. At the same time, corresponding consumption values can be linked to this using the obligatory weighing device. The product identification that has taken place can then be used to query the product price, for example a container price for a chemical container in the control unit and combine it with the consumption value in order to obtain the desired payment value. This means that if the user has removed the product in question or the amount of the desired chemical from the safety cabinet, he would strictly speaking have to pay the "payment value" for this, which depends on the consumption value and the product price (for example euros per liter).

However, within the scope of the invention, the payment values are assigned in the central control unit, for example, to a department, an account or another budgeting unit, so that maximum transparency and a fair billing system are provided. This is where the main advantages lie.

The control unit itself can be located in or on the relevant safety cabinet. However, several safety cabinets are usually linked to one another via the control unit. For this purpose, the control unit can be physically housed in a building, on a floor, etc., in which the Safety cabinets are located there. These communicate with the control unit via a network, either wired or wirelessly. In principle, within the scope of the invention, it is also possible for the control unit not only to be integrated into the network constructed in this way from the control unit and the safety cabinets, but also to be embedded in a global network, for example as a cloud server. This also increases data security because the stored data is still available even if, for example, a laboratory or part of a building has burned down or cannot be entered in any other way due to, for example, escaping fumes.

As a result, a method for recording products stored in safety cabinets is provided that goes far beyond previous procedures. By linking the safety cabinets to one another via the central control unit in conjunction with the weighing device assigned to each safety cabinet, not only can chemicals that have been removed be checked for potential safety risks, for example. The invention also expressly provides the option of flanking each quantity removed (consumption value) with a price relevant to the chemical in question and thus storing the payment value associated with the consumption in the control unit. This payment value can then be assigned to an account for budget planning.

According to a further advantageous design, the respective safety cabinet can also be equipped with one or more sockets inside for the electrical supply of, for example, battery chargers. In this case, the consumption value of the product corresponds to Power consumption values of the battery stored inside and connected to the relevant socket via the charger. Otherwise, the consumption values are typically mass reductions for liquids, for example, volume and thus also mass reductions for gases, etc.

If one or more batteries are stored in the safety cabinet in question, user-specific data is again generated first, which allows the user to access the safety cabinet in question. If the user then places the battery in question in the safety cabinet, the presence of the battery inside is registered with the help of the sensor device and transmitted to the control unit with a time. For this purpose, the sensor device can again be the weighing device. Alternatively, other sensor devices are of course also conceivable in this context, for example a camera with image recognition or presence sensors. This can be an infrared sensor, with the help of which the different temperature of the battery compared to the safety cabinet can be recorded. A light barrier is also conceivable. In any case, the consumption values for the battery in question are then summed up or determined in such a way that either the increased power consumption caused by charging the battery is recorded via an electricity meter belonging to the safety cabinet, or a time measurement is simply carried out. As long as the battery is inside the security cabinet, the time measurement can be converted into power consumption and this in turn can be converted into the corresponding payment value.

As soon as the associated battery is removed, which can be detected using the sensor device associated with the safety cabinet, the time for power extraction is stopped and the desired payment value is derived from the duration and stored or further processed in the control unit together with the user-specific data and the material or production-specific identification means. In fact, the battery in question can be equipped again with a material or product-specific identification means in the form of, for example, a QR code, which is read using a portable computer or smartphone in the example case when the battery in question is placed inside the safety cabinet. In this respect, the procedure is comparable to that in the case where a liquid or gas is to be removed from the safety cabinet in question.

In any case, the security cabinet can not only be equipped with one or more batteries in this way. There is also the option of converting consumption values in the form of power consumption values into payment values. In the simplest case, these payment values correspond to the time the battery spends inside the security cabinet, because in this case it is assumed that during the time the battery is charged using one or more sockets inside. In addition to the time it spends inside, there is of course also the option of equipping the entire security cabinet or each individual socket with a consumption meter for the respective power consumption and in this way recording the associated consumption values for the battery stored inside the security cabinet.

The respective consumption values or power consumption values for the product in question are combined or correlated with the user-specific data and in turn converted into the payment values, which are then assigned to the corresponding user with the help of the control unit. can be assigned clearly and unambiguously. This is where the main advantages lie.

Fig. 1

eine Vorrichtung zum Erfassen von in Sicherheitsschränken gelagerten Produkten in einer generellen Übersicht und

Fig. 2

den zugehörigen Sicherheitsschrank schematisch.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing which merely represents an exemplary embodiment; in the drawings:

Fig.1

a device for recording products stored in safety cabinets in a general overview and

Fig.2

the associated safety cabinet schematically.

In the Fig.1 a device for detecting products 2, 3, 4 stored in safety cabinets 1 is shown. In the exemplary embodiment, the products 2, 3, 4 are, and are not limited to, gas bottles 2, canisters 3 for chemicals and batteries 4, in particular lithium-ion batteries. Of course, products 2, 3, 4 that are not classified as hazardous substances can also be stored and protected in the safety cabinets 1 in question.

For this purpose, the respective safety cabinet 1 has, as shown in the Fig.2 First of all, it has two doors 5, which can be locked against a cabinet body 7 using a locking unit or one or more locking elements 6. The doors 5, like the cabinet body 7, are typically made of steel or are equipped with a steel casing. In addition, the doors 5 are equipped to close automatically in the event of a fire, as is the case, for example, in the EP 3 396 094 A1 In addition, an exhaust 8 including a fan (not expressly shown) is usually provided to remove any vapors that may arise inside the safety cabinet 1.

According to the embodiment according to the Fig.2 the security cabinet 1 is also equipped with an access control unit 9. In the embodiment, the access control unit 9 is implemented on the outside of a door 5, but can of course also be attached to the cabinet body 7. A user wishing to gain access must first identify themselves using the access control unit 9 and a keypad provided there without restrictions, using an access code that is entered there. Only when the user's access authorization is checked positively is the locking unit 6 opened so that one or both doors 5 release the interior of the security cabinet 1.

Based on Fig. 2 it can be seen that the locking unit 6, as well as the access control unit 9 and a sensor device 10 to be described in more detail below, are connected to a central control unit 11. In the exemplary embodiment, the sensor device 10 is a weighing device 10 with load cells 10. In fact, the weighing device 10 according to the exemplary embodiment has three load cells 10 with the aid of which the mass or weight of the safety cabinet 1 can be recorded. According to the exemplary embodiment, the consumption of gas in the gas bottle 2, the consumption of the chemical in the canister 3 or the presence or absence of one or more batteries 4 inside the safety cabinet 1 are recorded with the aid of the weighing device 10 or the load cells 10.

In fact, the invention works in such a way that not only the user's authorization but also user-specific data is generated using a computer 12 that is independent of the respective security cabinet 1, instead of the access control unit 9. In the exemplary embodiment, the independent computer 12 is a portable Computer 12, in this case a mobile phone and in particular a smartphone. At least consumption values of the respective product 2, 3, 4 are recorded with the help of the central control unit 11. The consumption values of the product 2, 3, 4 are converted into payment values in conjunction with the user-specific data, as will be explained in more detail below. In addition, permissible data for the access code is stored in the control unit 11 in order to carry out the authorization check of the user.

The consumption values are mass reductions for liquids, for example, in this case a mass reduction of the liquid chemical in the canister 3. However, a volume reduction of the gas in the gas bottle 2 and thus also a mass reduction can just as well be registered as a consumption value and processed further in the control unit 11. Finally, according to the invention and alternatively, the consumption values are power consumption values for the batteries 4 used as an example. For this purpose, the safety cabinet 1 containing the batteries 4 is equipped with one or more sockets 13 or general electrical supply units 13 inside. The battery 4 can be charged via the respective socket 13 as soon as an associated charger is plugged into the socket 13. Of course, the safety cabinet 1 can also be equipped with corresponding chargers or the electrical supply units 13 for the direct electrical supply of the batteries 4.

The user-specific data for identifying the user requesting access are obtained, for example, using the access control unit 9 as shown in the Fig. 2 and the keyboard field displayed there is generated and transmitted to the central control unit 11. As a rule, however, the procedure is such that the user-specific data in question is of the computer 12, in this case the smartphone, which is independent of the respective security cabinet 1. For this purpose, the user-specific data is transmitted via a Fig.1 The network to be recognized is transmitted to the central control unit 11 in question. The network can be the Internet or a wired network inside a building. Of course, combinations are also conceivable.

Either way, a user must first transmit their user-specific data to the control unit 11 via the network in question. To do this, the user enters a code that identifies them or the access code on the portable computer or smartphone 12 in question. This code is then transmitted from the smartphone 12 to the control unit 11 directly or via the network indicated. The access code is then checked for authorization using the control unit 11. Immediately before or after this, a cabinet-specific identification means 14 can also be recorded using the portable computer 12. In the exemplary embodiment, this is a two-dimensional code, for example a QR code, which may simply be glued to the outside of the security cabinet 1 or attached in some other way.

By scanning the cabinet-specific code 14 in question and combining it with his user-specific data and transmitting this combination to the central control unit 11, the central control unit 11 is informed that a user wishes to access the relevant security cabinet 1. If the user is authorized to do so, the control unit 11 then ensures that the locking unit 6 of the relevant security cabinet 1 is actuated to release one or both cabinet doors 5.

The user now has access to security cabinet 1.

It is then necessary for the user to document, using another substance- or product-specific identification means 15, that he wishes to manipulate the product 2, 3, 4 in question. The substance- or product-specific identification means 15 is again a code, in particular a two-dimensional code and, for example, a QR code, which, like the QR code, can be read by the portable computer 12 as a cabinet-specific identification means 14.

If the user now takes something from the product 2, 3, 4 in question, corresponding consumption values associated with a mass reduction can be recorded using the weighing device 10 of the relevant safety cabinet 1 and assigned to the user identified via the user-specific data on the one hand and to the safety cabinet 1 on the other hand using the cabinet-specific identification means 14 and finally to the relevant product 2, 3, 4 via the substance or product-specific identification means 15. In the case of the battery 4, the assignment corresponds to the fact that, for example, a time measurement is started because the switching off of the associated battery 4 in the safety cabinet 1 recorded using the weighing device 10 is identified with the fact that the battery 4 in question is being charged with electrical current via the supply unit 13. As long as this is the case, this time can be measured in the central control unit 11 and assigned to a power consumption value. The same applies, for example, to the amount of chemicals removed from canister 3 or the amount of gas removed from gas bottle 2.

In any case, these different consumption values in conjunction with the user-specific data can be converted into payment values. costs for the relevant product 2, 3, 4 are stored in the central control unit 11, for example a price per liter for the gas stored in the gas cylinder 2, a price per liter for the chemical in the canister 3 or an electricity price for each operating hour. In any case, the associated payment value can be generated from the consumption values in conjunction with the user-specific data in the control unit 11, which can then be further processed for budgeting. For this purpose, the payment value can be assigned to a user account, for example.

The control unit 11 can be connected to the individual security cabinets 1 via a wired connection and can communicate with them. Of course, a wireless solution is also possible within the scope of the invention. In addition, the control unit 11 can also be integrated into a global network (Internet), for example as a cloud server. The communication of the portable computer 12 also typically takes place wirelessly with the central control unit 11, but can just as easily be carried out via a wired connection.

Claims (7)

1. A method for detecting products (2, 3, 4) stored in safety cabinets (1), according to which the respective safety cabinet (1) is equipped with at least one sensor device (10), in particular a weighing device (10), and according to which at least consumption values of the product (2, 3, 4) are detected by means of a control unit (11),

   wherein the consumption values in conjunction with user-specific data are converted into payment values, wherein

   by means of a computer (12) that is independent of the respective safety cabinet (1) not only the authorization of a user but also the user-specific data is generated in that

   the user wanting access scans a cabinet-specific code (14) and combines it with his user-specific data and transmits this combination to the central control unit (11), so that

   the central control unit (11) is informed that the user wishes to gain access to the safety cabinet (1) in question.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the consumption values are mass decreases in the case of, for example, liquids, volume decreases in the case of, for example, gases, power consumption values in the case of, for example, batteries, etc.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the safety cabinet (1) is equipped inside with one or more electrical supply units (13), for example electrical outlets (13), for the electrical supply of, among other things, charging devices for the batteries (4) .
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the computer (12) is designed as a portable computer, for example a mobile telephone and, in particular, a smartphone.
5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the user-specific data is transmitted to the central control unit (11) via a network.
6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the cabinet-specific and/or a substance-specific or product-specific identification means (14, 15) is in each case designed as a QR code.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the control unit (11) is embedded in the network as a cloud server, for example.

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