FR2795122A1 - Coin-operated lock for trolleys used in supermarkets or as luggage trolleys at airports or railway stations, with facility to limit length of stack of trolleys - Google Patents

Abstract

The locking mechanism for the coin-operated lock co-operates with a key (2) attached to another trolley, and with a key (4) connected by a flexible link to a fixed rail forming a boundary rail for the file of stored trolleys. The user's deposit coin is liberated by insertion of the keys.

Description

The present invention relates to a consignment device for transport trolleys, such as supermarket, station or airport trolleys, of the type comprising a housing fixed on the trolley. a setpoint mechanism contained in said housing, said housing comprising at least one insertion slot of a set piece and at least one key insertion slot, said housing containing a locking mechanism arranged to lock a set piece in the absence of key and to release the set piece during the introduction of a key and the locking of said key, the release of said key being produced by the introduction of a set piece. Setpoint devices of the above type have been experiencing for several years a considerable success linked to the fact that they encourage users to return the carriage, after use, to a queue of carriages previously formed to recover their deposit.

In the greatest number of known lockers, the release key of a carriage is secured to another carriage via a flexible link such as a chain. These known devices, however, have the disadvantage of not allowing a limitation of the length of the queue, so that in certain locations, the queue of available carriages formed can take excessive length and hinder, for example, the circulation of automobiles. .

To overcome this drawback, it has been proposed (see for example FR-A-2 582 605) to set a setpoint device at the end of a flexible link connected to the carriage and to cooperate this setpoint device with devices. interlocking with a fixed line. Mounting a setpoint device at the end of a chain is dangerous for users and the setpoint device is also subject to significant risk of damage.

The present invention aims to allow a limitation of the length of the rows of trolleys by means of a simple, robust and efficient installation.

For this purpose, the device according to the invention is characterized in that said locking mechanism is arranged to cooperate simultaneously with a key secured to another carriage and a key connected by a flexible link, such as a chain, a cable or a tape, to a fixed line of consignment.

With the device according to the invention, the recovery of the deposit can only be done on the fixed consignment line, which also has the advantage of prohibiting the formation of so-called wild files behind an abandoned cart with its set piece.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, a key of a carriage and a key of the fixed consignment line are arranged to combine into a single key capable of penetrating into a slot of the housing and to cooperate with the mechanism. locking.

This embodiment of the invention offers the advantage of allowing the use of an existing housing and locking mechanism without any modification.

The combination of meeting the carriage keys and the keys of the landline consignment can be done in various ways.

According to one embodiment, one of the keys is provided with a housing for the other key. This housing can be advantageously formed in an insert forming a key head.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the appended drawing, the single figure of which is a schematic plan view of a combined key.

The combined key 1 shown consists of a half-key 2 connected by a chain 3 to a carriage (not shown) and a half-key 4, symmetrical with the half-key 2, connected by a chain 5 to a fixed line of consignment (not shown).

The half-keys 2 and 4 comprise a head portion formed by a coating 6, 7 respectively of synthetic material ensuring the connection to the respective chain 3, 5. The portions 8, 9 of the half-keys opposite respectively to the head portions form a half-key shaft with, in the example shown, a respective notch 10,11 forming a key notch, the combination of the two half-keys forming a complete key whose stem is identical to that of an existing key to cooperate with an existing known locking mechanism.

The two half-keys 2 and 4 can be held together by any suitable means.

For example, one of the heads 6, 7 may be extended by an insert (not shown) for housing the other head.

Claims (4)

A consignment device for transport trolleys, such as supermarket, station or airport trolleys, of the type comprising a housing fixed on the trolley, a set mechanism contained in said housing, said housing comprising at least one slot for introducing a set piece and at least one insertion slot for a key (1), said box containing a locking mechanism arranged to lock a set piece in the absence of a key (1) and for releasing the set piece during the introduction of a key (1) and the locking of said key (1), the release of said key (1) being produced by the introduction of a set piece, characterized in said locking mechanism is arranged to cooperate simultaneously with a key (2) integral with another carriage and a key (4) connected by a flexible link, such as a chain (5), a cable or a strip, to a fixed line of consignment. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a key (2) of a carriage and a key (4) of the fixed line of consignment are arranged to combine into a single key (1) clean to penetrate into a slot of the housing and to cooperate with the locking mechanism. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that one of the keys (2, 4) is provided with a housing for the other key (4, 2). 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said housing is formed in an insert forming a key head.