JPH05321531A - Locker device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To safely contain an article, confirm the containing condition of the article, and monitor the containing condition of the article in a remote place. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of locker units 2 are parallelly arranged in a locker device. In the door 3 equipped in respective locker units 2, a small hole 4 at the upper part is fitted to a fixing claw 5 and locked. To open the door 3 for a specified user, electric current is conducted in an electromagnetic solenoid 6 to attract a member 6a and to raise the fixing claw 5 for unlocking. When a key K is contained, a key receiving plate 8b is lowered and the contact output of a detector 10 of containing condition is turned 'on'. On the other hand, when the key K is taken out, the key receiving plate 8b is raised and the contact output of the detector 10 of containing condition is turned 'off'. In this way, the containing condition of the key can be confirmed. The information of the users and the data like the containing condition of the key are transmitted to monitor in a security room.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a locker device,
In particular, the user of the locker unit is identified, the door of the locker unit is opened only to the effective user, the presence / absence of the stored object in the locker unit is detected, and the usage status of the locker unit is separated from the remote location. The present invention relates to a locker device that can be monitored at.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a key for each room in a factory or a laboratory is generally stored in a guard room, and a user receives the key from a guard who is resident in the guard room as needed.

[0003]

However, in recent years,
It is planned that the guard rooms will be unattended at factories and research laboratories, and along with that, users will not have to pass the keys needed to go through the guards.
And it is required to be able to receive safely. In order to meet such demands, it is conceivable to use a locker device in which the user is identified by an ID card or a password and only the effective user can retrieve the key.

By using such a locker device, the user can safely receive the required key without the guard, but on the other hand, the user does not go through the guard, so that the user cannot use the locker. It is not possible to immediately recognize whether or not the key required for the device is stored, and in order to confirm the presence of the key, it is necessary to bother to enter the ID card or password and open the locker door. There is a problem that it is inconvenient for users.

Further, since the guards do not store the keys, the usage status of the locker device such as who took out which key or the key being returned, and the storage state of the key are separated from each other, for example, It is required to be able to monitor in a security room.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an important object such as a key is safely stored in a locker, and only the specific user takes out the object. An object of the present invention is to provide a locker device capable of recognizing the stored state of an object to be stored and monitoring the use state of the locker device and the stored state of a key in a remote place.

[0007]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve such an object. That is, in the invention according to claim 1, a plurality of locker units having an automatic unlocking mechanism on a door, an identification unit for identifying a user of the locker unit, and a user identified by the identification unit are It is determined whether or not the locker unit can be used, and if it is determined that the user is an effective user, unlocking control means for unlocking the door of the locker unit, and an object to be stored which is arranged in the locker unit. Is tilted to one side about the fulcrum when placed, and the bottom plate tilted to the other centered around the fulcrum when the stored object is removed, and whether the stored object is stored or not depending on the tilted state of the bottom plate. And a storage state detecting means for detecting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above locker device, at least the information of the user identified by the identifying means and the stored state of the stored object detected by the stored state detecting means. In order to transmit the data to the remote place, the data transmission means for transmitting the data is provided.

[0009]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. That is,
According to the invention described in claim 1, the identifying means identifies the user of the locker unit. The unlock control means determines whether or not the user identified by the identifying means can use the locker unit, and when determining that the user is an effective user, activates the automatic unlock mechanism and opens the door of the locker unit. .. The user closes the door after storing the object to be stored in the locker unit with the door opened or taking out the object to be stored from the locker unit. When the door is closed, the storage state detection means determines whether the stored object is stored in the locker unit depending on the tilted state of the bottom plate, that is, whether the user stores the stored object in the locker unit. , Detects whether the stored object is taken out from the locker unit. This is because the bottom plate is placed inside the rocker unit so that it can be swung when the object is placed or taken out. It is detected whether or not.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the data transmission means sets the storage state of the storage object detected as described above to the remote place together with the information of the user who opened the door of the locker unit. Send data for transmission.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of the locker device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of the locker device. In this embodiment, a locker device for storing a key will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the locker device 1 includes a plurality of locker units 2 for storing keys.
However, they are arranged side by side with their respective locker unit numbers. Each locker unit 2 is provided with a lamp 11 for indicating a key storage state. When the lamp 11 is lit, it indicates that the key is stored, and when it is off, the key is stored. Indicates that it has not been taken out (taken out). Switching between turning on and off the lamp 11 is performed by the storage state control unit 34 described later.

A card reader 20 for reading information from an ID card (for example, a magnetic card) inserted by a user is attached to the front surface of the locker device 1. The card reader 20 has a magnetic head for reading information such as a password, belonging code, and user code recorded on the inserted ID card, an electric feed for guiding the ID card to the magnetic head, and an ID card for the insertion slot. It has an electric card transport mechanism for returning. The card transport mechanism operates when the inserted card is not a predetermined ID card or when the information recorded on the card cannot be read by the magnetic head because the recording format is not a predetermined format. Then, the inserted card is returned.

Further, on the front surface of the locker device 1, a display device 2 such as an LED for displaying a user's instruction, a number and the like.
1. A keyboard 22 including a numeric keypad for a user to input a password and a locker number is attached.

Next, the structure of the rocker unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the rocker unit 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a door 3 is provided on the front surface of each of the rocker units 2. When the door 3 is closed, the small hole 4 formed in the upper portion of the door 3 is locked by the locking claw 5. Further, the electromagnetic solenoid 6 as the automatic unlocking mechanism has a predetermined current,
When given from the unlocking control unit 33, which will be described later, the member 6a moves to the main body side, and the member 5a formed integrally with the locking claw 5
By moving the tip end of the member 6a from the door 3 side to the main body side with respect to the inclination, the member 5a is pushed up, and the locking claw 5 that is locked in the small hole 4 is released accordingly.
The door 3 is formed so that its center of gravity is on the outside of the door 3, and therefore, due to its own weight, the door 3 is tilted forward around the fulcrum 3b to open the door 3. Furthermore, the electromagnetic solenoid 6
When the current supply from the unlocking control unit 33 is stopped, the member 6a moves to the original position, and the locking claw 5 returns to the original position due to the restoring force of the coil spring 5b. When the user closes the door 3 in this state, since the locking claw 5 has its inclined surface facing the door 3, the locking claw 5 comes into contact with the upper part of the door 3 and is pushed up once by the upper part of the door. Then, it falls down at the small hole 4 and locks and locks the small hole 4. Further, a member 3a is screwed to a side portion of the door 3 by a screw 3c, and when the door 3 is closed, the member 3a pushes a hinge lever 7a of a door open / close detector (limit switch) 7 to output the output of the limit switch 7. The contact is "ON",
On the other hand, when the door 3 is opened, the member 3a does not come into contact with the hinge lever 7a of the limit switch 7, and the output contact of the limit switch 7 is "OFF".

A bottom plate 8 is installed inside the rocker unit 2. A balancer (weight) 9 is attached to the bottom plate 8, and the key mounting portion 8b of the bottom plate 8 is configured to swing up and down around the fulcrum 8a by application of a seesaw. That is, when the key K is not housed, the weight of the balancer 9 causes the key placing portion 8b of the bottom plate 8 to be located above the fulcrum 8a, and at this time, the housed state detector serving as housed state detecting means. The hinge lever 10a of the (limit switch) 10 is not in contact with the bottom plate 8, and the output contact of the limit switch 10 is "OFF".
Becomes On the other hand, when the key K is stored, the key placing portion 8b of the bottom plate 8 is located below the fulcrum 8a due to the weight of the key K. At this time, the hinge lever 10a of the limit switch 10 is pressed downward. The output contact of the limit switch 10 is turned "ON".

The storage state detector 10 is not limited to the limit switch, and may be a photoelectric sensor or a proximity sensor as long as it can detect the upper and lower states of the key placing portion 8b of the bottom plate 8. Good. In this case, for example, the key placement unit 8
A blocking plate is attached to the back surface of b, the blocking plate does not block the light of the photoelectric sensor when the key placing portion 8b is above, and the blocking plate does not block the light of the photoelectric sensor when the key placing portion 8b is below. If the key mounting portion 8b of the bottom plate 8 is configured to be cut off, the upper and lower states of the key mounting portion 8b can be detected. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom plate 8 is not limited to one whose top surface is horizontal, but may be, for example, a configuration in which the top surface portion of the balancer 9 is inclined with the door 3 side raised. As a result, for example, even when the user stores the key K on the door 3 side, the key K is placed on the key placing portion 8b along the inclination, so that the storage state detector 10 described above is used. The detection can be reliably performed.

Next, the structure of the control unit of the rocker device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control unit 30 of the locker device 1. Control unit 30
Is composed of a card determination unit 31, a user determination unit 32, an unlock control unit 33, a storage state control unit 34, and a data transmission unit 35.

The card determination unit 31 is provided in the card reader 20.
When the ID card is inserted in the card reader 20
The information recorded on the ID card read by the magnetic head is received and the content is determined. This determination is performed based on information (affiliation code, etc.) recorded on the ID card regarding the validity of whether the user is a member who can use the locker device 1, for example. If the ID card is not valid according to the above determination, the card transport mechanism of the card reader 20 is instructed to return the ID card. On the other hand, if the ID card is valid, the user determination unit 32 is instructed to pass the information recorded on the ID card and to determine the validity of the user. The card determination unit 31 is in a standby state until the ID card is inserted into the card reader 20.

According to the instruction from the card determining unit 31, the user determining unit 32 determines whether the user is valid, that is, whether the user is an authorized user of the ID card, or the locker unit 2 that the user wants to use. It is judged whether it can be done. To determine whether or not the user is an authorized user of the ID card, a user, that is, a person who inserts the ID card into the card reader 20 determines whether or not the user has entered the ID key in the keyboard 22 according to the password input message displayed on the display 21.
The password entered using the X key (input end instruction key) is compared with the password passed from the card determination unit 31 (password recorded on the ID card).
If the entered password does not match the password recorded on the ID card, the user determines that the user is not an authorized user of the ID card and instructs the card transport mechanism to return the ID card. On the other hand, if the passwords match, it is determined whether the locker unit 2 that the user wants to use can be used. This determination is made according to the locker unit number input message displayed on the display 21, and the locker unit number entered by the user with the numeric keys of the keyboard 22 and the EX key (input end instruction key) (the locker the user wants to use). Whether or not the unit number) can be used is determined based on the user code (user code recorded on the ID card) passed from the card determination unit 31. That is, if the user code recorded on the ID card does not correspond to the usable user code that is determined in advance for each locker unit 2, the user of the locker unit 2 of the entered locker unit number If the card cannot be used, the card transport mechanism is instructed to return the ID card. On the other hand, if the locker unit is available, the unlock control unit 33 is instructed to unlock the locker unit with that number. In addition, during the above-described processing, if the user wants to stop unlocking the locker unit 2 or the like, input of a predetermined key (for example, “Can” key: cancel key) of the keyboard 22 is accepted, and the key is received. When is input, the above process is stopped and I
The card transport mechanism is instructed to return the D card, and the control is transferred to the card determination unit 31 to enter the standby state. The card determination unit 31 and the user determination unit 32 described above correspond to the identification means in the present invention.

The unlocking control section 33 sends a predetermined current to the electromagnetic solenoid 6 attached to the locker unit 2 of the number to be unlocked according to the instruction of the user determining section 32. As described above, the electromagnetic solenoid 6 to which electric current is applied is
The door 3 of the locker unit 2 is unlocked. Also, door 3
As soon as the door is opened, the supply of current to the electromagnetic solenoid 6 is stopped, the locking claw 5 is returned to its original position, the door 3 is locked, and the storage state control unit 34 is locked. Instruct to detect the stored state.

When the storage state control unit 34 receives an instruction from the unlock control unit 33, the storage state control unit 34 activates a timer to close the door 3 of the locker unit 2 of the designated number and attach the locker unit 2 of the designated number to the locker unit 2. It is monitored by the contact output of the door open / close detector 7. That is, when the user closes the door 3, the contact output of the door open / close detector 7 becomes "ON" as described above, and in that state, it is recognized that the door 3 is closed. Further, when the above-mentioned timer has passed a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds), the alarm 23 is sounded,
Prompt the user to close the door 3. This is a function provided to prevent forgetting to close the door 3. When the door 3 is closed, the alarm 23 stops ringing. When the door 3 is closed, the timer is stopped and the locker unit 2
The housed state of the key K inside, that is, whether the key K is housed or taken out is detected by the contact output of the housed state detector 10 attached to the rocker unit 2 of the designated number. That is, as described above, if the key K is stored, the contact output of the storage state detector 10 is “ON”, and if the key K is taken out, the contact output of the storage state detector 10 is Since it is "OFF", the stored state of the key K is recognized according to each state. Depending on the stored state, the lamp 11 provided on the locker unit of the designated number is turned on or off, and the key K
Notify other users of the storage status of. Then, the card carrier is instructed to return the ID card, and
The stored state of the detected key K is passed to the data transmission unit 35, and the data transmission unit 35 is instructed to transmit predetermined data.

The data transmission unit 35 receives information about the user (affiliation code, user code) and information such as the locker unit number used from the user determination unit 32, and passes the information and the storage state control unit 34. Data packaging of the stored information of the stored state of the key K is performed according to a predetermined format. Then, the packaged data is transmitted via a data transmission path (not shown) to a predetermined location (for example, a security room or a control room) for data transmission. Examples of the data transmission line include an optical fiber, a telephone line, a private line, a data transmission line (eg, Ethernet) used in a LAN (local area network), or a wireless line. The data transmission unit 35 performs data conversion according to the connected data transmission path. Data conversion is, for example, conversion of digital data into optical signals when an optical fiber is used as a data transmission path, or conversion of digital data into analog data by a modem when a telephone line is a data transmission path. .. It also establishes a communication line with the receiver according to the communication protocol. For example, dialing is performed or communication speeds are matched.

In the security room or the like, which has received the predetermined data from the above-mentioned data transmission unit 35 by data transmission, based on the received data, who took out which key,
Alternatively, the usage status of the locker device and the storage status of the key, such as whether the key has been returned, are monitored. For example, the user can be identified from the affiliation code or the user code, and the key that has been taken out (returned) can be identified from the received locker unit number and the stored state. It is possible to monitor the usage status of the locker device by tracing to the printer or the like who received (returned) which key together with the reception time. In addition, by displaying a list of the presence or absence of a key of each locker unit on the CRT or monitor so that it is updated with the latest data each time data is received, the storage state of the key of each locker unit of the locker device is displayed. It can also be monitored.

The control unit 30 is a CPU (not shown).
(Central processing unit) and ROM (Read-only memory)
And a RAM (readable and writable memory) and the like. That is, in the ROM, the respective units 31 to 35 of the control unit 30 described above are included.
The processing procedure (program) is stored in advance, and the CPU executes the processing in accordance with the program. The locker device 1 used by the card determination unit 31 for determining the belonging code, and the locker unit used by the user determination unit 32 for determining the validity of the locker unit number. Predetermined data such as a usable user code for each unit number is stored in the RAM. The RAM is backed up by a battery by a power source, and the stored data can be rewritten using a predetermined data changing program or the like, if necessary. Furthermore, this microcomputer, card reader 20, display 21, keyboard 2
2, electromagnetic solenoid 6, each detector 7, 10, lamp 1
1, an alarm 23, and a data transmission path (not shown) are connected by an input / output circuit, and exchange data and instructions.

Next, the operation of the rocker device will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the user inserts the ID card into the card reader 20, the card determination unit 31 and the user determination unit 32 take in the validity of the user and the locker unit number to be unlocked (steps S1 and S2). ).

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the validity of the user and the process of fetching the locker unit number to be unlocked are as follows. First, the card reader 20 determines whether the inserted card is a predetermined ID card or a predetermined ID card. If it is a normal ID card, the card reader 20 reads the affiliation code, password, user code, etc. from the ID card and passes it to the card determination unit 31. The determination unit 31 determines whether the locker device can be used or the like based on the passed affiliation code and the like (step S21). When the card reader 20 or the card determination unit 31 determines that the inserted card is valid, the next password input instruction is displayed, and when it is determined that the card is not valid, step S2
The ID card return process of 9 is performed (step S22), and the process returns to the standby state of step S1 shown in FIG.

Next, the user determination unit 32 displays the password input instruction on the display 21 (step S23) and waits for the completion of the password input by the user (step S2).
4). Completion of inputting this password is determined by inputting the EX key. And the entered password and ID
The password read from the card is compared, and if the passwords match, the next locker unit number input instruction is displayed. If the passwords do not match, the ID card return process of step S29 is performed (step S25), The process returns to the standby state of step S1 shown in FIG.

The user determination section 32 also displays an instruction to enter the locker unit number on the display 21 (step S
26), and waits for the user to complete the input of the locker unit number (step S27). Completion of inputting this number is determined by inputting the EX key. Then, the user code read from the ID card determines whether the locker unit 2 with the input number can be used, and if it can be used, the unlocking process of the locker unit 2 in step S3 shown in FIG. And if you can't use it,
The ID card return process of step S29 is performed (step S28), and the process returns to the standby state of step S1 shown in FIG.

When it is determined that the user is an effective user and the locker unit number to be unlocked is specified by the above-described effectiveness of the user and the processing for fetching the locker unit number to be unlocked, the unlocking control unit 33 unlocks the locker unit 2 of that number (step S3).

When the predetermined locker unit 2 is unlocked, the storage state control unit 34 activates the timer (step S4) to close the door 3 of the unlocked locker unit 2.
It is monitored by the contact output of the door open / close detector 7, and when the user closes the door 3, the timer in step S7 is stopped (step S5). At this time, if the timer operated in step S4 times out, the alarm of step S11 is sounded (step S11).
6). While the alarm is ringing, the closing of the door 3 is monitored (step S12). When the door 3 is closed, the alarm ringing is stopped (step S13), and the process returns to the stop of the timer in step S7. When the storage state control unit 34 stops the timer (step S7), the storage state control unit 34 determines the presence or absence of the key K in the locker unit by the contact output of the storage state detector 10, and the locker unit 2 corresponding to the state is determined. The lamp 11 is turned on or off (step S8).
Then, in order to return the ID card, the card carrying mechanism of the card reader 20 is operated (step S
9) Give a data transmission instruction to the data transmission unit 35.

Then, the data transmission unit 35 stores the information of the user read from the ID card, the locker unit number, and the presence or absence of the key K in the locker unit of that number in a remote place, such as a security room. It is transmitted for data transmission (step S10).

In the apparatus of the embodiment, the storage of the key has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to storing the key, and valuables other than the key, mail, etc. can be safely stored. ..

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the invention described in claim 1, the user is identified, and the locker unit door is opened only to the effective user according to the identification. Therefore, it is possible to realize a locker device that can safely store a valuable object such as a key without requiring human labor. In addition, a bottom plate that tilts to one side about the fulcrum when the stored object is stored and tilts to the other centered on the fulcrum when the stored object is taken out is provided in the rocker unit. By detecting the storage state of the stored items (presence or absence of stored items),
Since the stored object is placed on the bottom plate, the stored state of the stored object can be reliably detected. Further, by making it possible to detect the storage state of the storage object in this way, a storage state display lamp is provided for the convenience of the user, or the data (storage It is possible to obtain the stored state).

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since data is transmitted in order to transmit the information of the user and the storage state of the object to be stored to a remote place, the use status of the locker device, It is possible to realize a locker device for monitoring the stored state of the stored object in a remote place.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit of a rocker device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a locker device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a rocker unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the locker device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of determining validity of a user in the locker device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Rocker device 2 ... Rocker unit 6 ... Electromagnetic solenoid (automatic unlocking mechanism) 7 ... Door opening / closing detector (limit switch) 8 ... Bottom plate 8a ... Support point 10 ... Storage state detector (limit switch: storage state detecting means) 30 ... control unit 31 ... card determination unit 32 ... user determination unit 33 ... unlock control unit (unlock control means) 34 ... storage state control unit 35 ... data transmission unit (data transmission means) K ... key

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H04Q 9/00 311 W 7170-5K

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of locker units having an automatic unlocking mechanism on a door, identification means for identifying a user of the locker unit, and whether the user identified by the identification means can use the locker unit. When it is determined whether or not it is an effective user, unlocking control means for unlocking the door of the locker unit, and disposed in the locker unit, the object to be stored is placed. A bottom plate that tilts to one side about a fulcrum and tilts to the other centering on the fulcrum when the stored object is removed, and a storage state detection unit that detects whether or not the storage object is stored depending on the tilted state of the bottom plate. A locker device comprising: 2. The locker device according to claim 1, wherein at least the information of the user identified by the identifying means and the storage state of the stored object detected by the storage state detection means are transmitted to a remote place. In order to do so, a locker device comprising a data transmission means for transmitting data.