US1133627A - Parcel-locker. - Google Patents

Description

w. s. FARN'SWORTH.

PARCEL LOCKER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1912.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

' To all whomitmay concern WILLIS Q Z-E 0E TRANoIsm, chrirronma, ASSIGNOR '10 coIN CALIFORNIA.

coNrnoLLEn LQCK-CO., or SAN FRANeIscwoALIFomvIA, apoarom'rron or PARCEL-LOCKER.

Be it known that I, WILLIS WORTH, a citizen of the United States, residing in thecity and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Parcel- Lockers', of "which. the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a parcel locker, and particularly pertains to a locker in which coin-controlled means are. employed in operating the doors thereof.-

It is-the object of this invention to provide a locker having .a series of parcel receiving compartments which are-fitted with doors. for the closing thereof; to providecoin-controlled mechanismfor locking and unlocking the doors separate and independent of each other, with means operating in;

- dependent-ofthereoin-controlled mechanism for opening the doors; and to-provide means for the disposition of the coins or tokens employed in operating the several 'coincontrolled mechanisms by which they are delivered to a common receptacle. Other objects will appear in the following specification. g

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 7 L Figure 1 is a perspective view of a parcel -locker constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2.is a detail horizontal section on the line WW of Fig. 1. Fig. 3

. is a reduced vertical section on the line X-X of Fig.2; Fig. his an enlarged detail section on the line' Y-Ypf Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail cross section onthe line Z-Z of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A represents the mam body portion of the locker which is formed with a series of parcel receiving compartments which are I arranged in superposed rows, as shown in Fig. 1 if.

The present inventlon resides in the means employed for closing and locking the- Speciflcation of Letters Patent.

S. FARNS- Patented Mar. 30 11915.

Application filed May 14, 1912.: Serial N 0. 697,141.

posed series being hinged on a vertically disposed rod 2, rigidly mounted .on the locker case A.

formed of a sheet metal plate which is hingedly mounted on the rods 2 to form a gate or closure for a channel 4 formed in the body portion A, as shown in Fig. 2. The channels 4 extend from the upper end of the case A to the lower end thereof and open at their lower ends to a horizontally extending channel 5, as shown in Fig. 4.

Mounted on the inner faces of the stile plates 3 are locks 6 of any suitable description, preferably of the coin-controlled type shown in my co-pendin application for Letters Patent Ser. No. 6 6,448, filed February 8, 1912. This lockfis provided with ,a bolt 7 which is adapted to engage a keeper! 8 mounted on the outer edge of the door B when the door Y 4 B and the hinged stile plate 3 are in their closed positions, as shown in Fig.2.

Means are provided for locking the hinged stile plates 3 in the closed position and is here shown as consisting of a vertically disposed slidable bar 9 mounted in the channel 4:, on which brackets 10 are car ried; the brackets 10being formed with a slot 11 on their undersides' which are adapted to engage upwardly extending flanges 12 or similar projections formed on the easings of the. lock 6 or; otherwisecarried by the hinged stile plates 3.

The upper ends of the bars 9 extend into a horizontally disposed channel 13 formed in the upper end of the case A and termi nate adjacent to the underside of the horiz'ontally disposed reciprocable bar 14 mount ed in the channel 13, as shown in Fig. 3. The bar 14 is designedto be reciprocated a by means of a hand lever 15, or in any other suitable manner, and is formed with notches 16 on its underside which are adapted to register with the upper ends of the bars 9. The lever 15 is positioned in the end channel 4, the hinged stile plate 3 of which is norinally locked. in its closed position by means of a lock 6, the bolt 7 of which enga es a keeper 8' on the end of the case A.

locking the hinged stiles 3 in their closed-positions, the bar 14 is moved so that the notches 16 will be disposed above the upper ends of the bars 9. The hinged stiles are then partially'closed, and the rods 9 are moved upwardly by means of handles 17 formed thereon which project through slots 18 formed in the hinged stiles 3. The rods 9 being moved upwardly by the handles 17 move the brackets 10 clear of the flanges 12, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, so

that the hinged stiles 3 may be entirely closed, whereupon the bars 9 are allowed to drop back to their normal lowermost position, in which position the flanges 12 will be engaged by the notches 11 formed on the brackets 10,-thereby locking the hinged stiles against being opened. The bar 14 is now moved longitudinally by means of the lever 15 so as to position the notches16 out of alinement with the upper ends of the bar 9, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby preventing the bar being moved upwardly to disengage the bracket 10 from the flange 12. By closing and locking the end stile plate 3 and closing the channel 4, in which the lever 15 is mounted, the remaining stile plates 3 are securely locked against being. opened by unauthorized persons. The lock 6 is of such a character that it. can be operated only by the depositing of a proper coin or: token so that the doors B normally remain free to be opened and closed.

.WVhen it is desired to lock the door B, a 'coin or token of the required character. is inserted in the look so that the key therein may be turned to advance the bolt 7 into engagement with the keeper 8 on the door; the coin being supported in the lock during the time the door remains in its closed and locked position. When the lock. is operated to open the door, this coin or token is released and allowed to drop into the'channel 4 down which it passes and falls into the channel 5.

It will be seen that by this arrangement any number of locker compartments may be disposed, one above the other, and that the coins employed in operating the lock mechanism will be delivered from the various locks to a common receptacle, here shown as consisting of the channel 5; the channel 5 extending the full lengthof the cabinet, and

any number of the channels a desired lead thereto so that when a coin is released from any one of the locks 6 of the locker it will drop into -the channel 5 to be afterward removed.

Means are provided for closing the channel 5 against access by unauthorized persons, which means is here shown as consisting of a horizontally, extending and vertically swinging gate 18 which is hinged at 19 on a rod extending endwise of the case A on the underside thereof. The gate 18 is designed to be locked against opening by means of a bolt 20 which engages a keeper 21 carried on the gate 18. The bolt 20 is formed on a lever 22 mounted on the end channel 4.

From the foregoing it will be 'seen that in the event any of the doors B shouldbe locked and the key for operating the lock thereof be lost, the door may be opened by operating the door B and bar 9, as before described, to disengage the hinged stiles 3. This being done the stiles 3 and door B, attached thereto by means of the lock 6, may be swung outwardly together so as to withdraw the bolts 7 out of. engagement with the keepers 8, thereby giving access to the parcel containing compartments.

By inclosing the locks 6 in the channels 4 they are protected from damage and are not accessible to those" using the lockers as would be the case if the locks were carried by the doors B in the usual manner. A particular advantage of disposing the locks 6 in the channels 4, instead of on the d'oors B, is to obviate the jar and consequent racking of the parts of the bolt occasioned by theconstant opening and closing and possible slamming of the doors B. This arrange;

ment also permitsv of a continuous channel for conveyingcoins to a commonreceptacle mdependent of the doors B and their'hinged comprising locks, carried on the channel 010- sure, keepers on the compartment closures engageable' by the bolts of said locks, and

means carried by the channels for locking. the channel closures in their closed positions.

2. In 'a locker, a vertical row of superposed compartments, a channel on each side" of said compartments, hinged closures for said compartments, hinged closures for the channels, means for locking the compartment closures and a channel closure together, comprising locks carried on the channel closure, keepers on the compartment closures 'engageable by the bolts of said locks, means for. locking the channel closures in their closed positions, consisting of vertically reciprocable bars carried by the channels, and detachable means for connecting said bars to the channel closures.

3. In a locker, having a'number of vertlcal rows of superposed compartments, between and at the outside of which channels are formed, hinged closures for said compartments, hinged closures for the channels, means for locking said closures together, comprising locks carried on thechannel closure, and keepers on the compartment closures engageable by the bolts of said locks, means for locking the channel closures in their closed positions, consisting of vertically reciprocable bars within said inside channels and carried thereby, detachable means for connecting said bars to the channel closures, means for locking said bars against movement, and means located within one of'the said outside channels for controlling said locking means.

i 4. In a locker, the combination with a series of superposed compartments, hinged doors for closing said compartments, a hinged stile adjacent to said doors, a vertical channel closed by said stile, locks on the inner face of said stile within said channel,-

keepers on the inside of the doors engageable by the bolts of said locks to lock said doors andsaid stile together, andmeans for locking the stile to the channel.

5. In a locker, the combination with a series of superposed compartments, hinged doors for closing said vcompartments, a hinged stile adjacent to said doors, a vertical channel closed by said stile, locks on the inner face of said stile within said channel, keepers on' the inside of the doors engageable by the bolts of said locks to lock said doors and said stile together, means for lookkeepers on the inside of the doors engageable by the bolts of said locks to lock said doors and said stile together, means for looking the stile to the channel, comprising a reciprocable bar, a notched bracket on said bar, a'member on the stile 'engageable with said bracket, and means for locking the bar against movement. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the" presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

. LIS S. FNSWORTH. Witnesses:

JOHN H. me, GENEVIEVE S. Dom.

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