Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
  • E05B—LOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
  • E05B47/00—Operating or controlling locks or other fastening devices by electric or magnetic means
  • E05B47/06—Controlling mechanically-operated bolts by electro-magnetically-operated detents
  • E05B47/0607—Controlling mechanically-operated bolts by electro-magnetically-operated detents the detent moving pivotally or rotatively
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
  • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
  • G07C9/00309—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
  • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
  • G07C9/00571—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated by interacting with a central unit
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
  • G07C9/20—Individual registration on entry or exit involving the use of a pass
  • G07C9/27—Individual registration on entry or exit involving the use of a pass with central registration
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
  • G07F17/3225—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
  • G07F17/3232—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users wherein the operator is informed
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
  • G07F17/3241—Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
  • E05B—LOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
  • E05B47/00—Operating or controlling locks or other fastening devices by electric or magnetic means
  • E05B47/0001—Operating or controlling locks or other fastening devices by electric or magnetic means with electric actuators; Constructional features thereof
  • E05B47/0002—Operating or controlling locks or other fastening devices by electric or magnetic means with electric actuators; Constructional features thereof with electromagnets
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
  • E05B—LOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
  • E05B63/00—Locks or fastenings with special structural characteristics
  • E05B63/0065—Operating modes; Transformable to different operating modes
  • E05B63/0069—Override systems, e.g. allowing opening from inside without the key, even when locked from outside
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
  • E05C—BOLTS OR FASTENING DEVICES FOR WINGS, SPECIALLY FOR DOORS OR WINDOWS
  • E05C3/00—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively
  • E05C3/12—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively with latching action
  • E05C3/16—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively with latching action with operating handle or equivalent member moving otherwise than rigidly with the latch
  • E05C3/22—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively with latching action with operating handle or equivalent member moving otherwise than rigidly with the latch the bolt being spring controlled
  • E05C3/24—Fastening devices with bolts moving pivotally or rotatively with latching action with operating handle or equivalent member moving otherwise than rigidly with the latch the bolt being spring controlled in the form of a bifurcated member
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
  • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
  • G07C2009/00753—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated by active electrical keys
  • G07C2009/00769—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated by active electrical keys with data transmission performed by wireless means
  • G07C2009/00777—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated by active electrical keys with data transmission performed by wireless means by induction

Definitions

• the present invention relates to security systems and in particular, systems for controlling access to multiple secured areas.
• the locks need to be relatively sturdy. This, in turn, requires the solenoid to be powerful enough to generate the force necessary to move the various components of a large mechanism.
• the power requirements for all the solenoids required to unlock a large bank of machines is significant.
• maintaining the solenoid in an energised state while all the machines are emptied generates a significant amount of heat. This will typically shorten the life of the solenoid and have disadvantages for the operation of the machine as a whole.
• the present invention provides a security system for controlling access to a number of secured areas, the system including: one or more secure areas, each area having an openable barrier preventing access when locked and permitting access when unlocked; locks for each barrier and secured area; wherein, each of the locks are adapted to unlock the barrier using a matching key or remotely located central control linked to the locks; such that, any unlocked barrier remains unlocked until it is opened and re-closed.
• each of the locks include: an electrical actuator for switching the lock from a locked to an unlocked state; wherein, the actuator de-activates once the lock is in the unlocked state.
• each of the locks include: an electronic reader for triggering the actuator, wherein, the electronic reader is responsive to a key.
• the term "key” can encompass electronic or magnetic access cards which use a swipe facility or can be read simply by bringing it into close proximity with the electronic reader or other similar type of electronic keys.
• the key may generate an infrared or radio signal or communicate through direct electrical contact, or even use biometric information such as fingerprint or voice recognition.
• the actuators on each of the locks are electronically linked to a central controller such that the central controller can trigger one or more of the actuators.
• the central controller is a computer and the system includes means to sense whether any of the locks is in a locked or unlocked state and the computer is adapted to interrogate and display the current status of all the locks.
• the system includes sensors to sense whether any of the barriers are open or closed and the computer is adapted to interrogate and display the current status of all the barriers.
• the sensors may be any suitable optical or electrical or mechanical sensor.
• each of the matching keys is encoded with individual identification data and the system includes means to record the identity of the key used to unlock any of the locks.
• the electronic reader for each of the locks may be linked to the computer for transmitting and storing data regarding the identity of the keys used to unlock any of the locks.
• each key is encoded with individual privilege data and each of the electronic readers are adapted to compare the privilege data of a key against predetermined authorization criteria to determine whether it is one of the matching keys that will trigger the actuator.
• the computer has a privilege status assigned to the identity data of each key such that the electronic reader sends the identity data to the computer and waits for verification that the key has been assigned sufficient privileges before triggering the actuator.
• each of the locks has a manual override facility for manually triggering the actuator in the event of a power failure, wherein the manual override facility incorporates a tamper evidence indicator.
• the manual override facility is hard-wired to a self-powered alarm.
• the tamper evident indicator is a frangible cover plate concealing the working mechanism of the manual override facility.
• the secured areas are the interiors of individual gaming machines wherein the barrier is a hinged access door in the outer casing of the gaming machine.
• the secured areas also include the money storage area within each gaming machine wherein matching keys issued to maintenance staff for opening the access door in the outer casing do not have the necessary privileges to open the money storage area.
• the present invention provides a lock for securing a door bolt, the lock including: a lock casing; a pre-release element pivotally mounted to the casing for rotation between a locked position and a release position, the pre-release element being resiliently biased toward the locked position; a door bolt retaining element pivotally mounted to the casing for rotation between a locked position and a release position, the retaining element having an actuating lever and a retaining formation for engaging the door bolt, the retaining formation having a striker surface on one side for slidingly engaging the bolt when closing the door to force the retaining element to the locked position, and a retaining surface on the opposing side for retaining the bolt and holding the door closed; a release element pivotally mounted to the casing for rotation between a locked position and a release position, the release element and the actuating lever being adapted to interengage when in their locked position to prevent the lever from rotating to the release position, the release element being resiliently connected to the pre-release element; such that, moving the pre-release
• a lock having this structure is unlocked once the pre-release element is moved to the release position. Once the pre-release element is in the release position, it is held there by the strut. The strut can only be returned to its locked position once the retaining element has been moved to its release position and subsequently returned to its locked position. This ensures that the components of the lock go through an irreversible sequence of events. Hence, the lock does not re-lock until the door has been opened and closed.
• the retaining element is a multi-part component, the parts including a retaining arm and an actuating part, the retaining arm having the retaining surface and the actuating part having the actuating lever, the retaining arm being pivotally connected to the actuating part for movement between an open position and a closed position, the retaining arm being resiliently biased to the closed position and further including a cam surface for engaging the door bolt if the door is shut when the retaining element is in its locked position; such that, a sliding engagement between the door bolt and the cam surface moves the retaining arm to the open position so that the bolt enters the lock and is retained in the retaining formation when retaining arm returns to the closed position.
• This feature takes account of the situation where the lock has been re-locked while the door is still open. Out of idle curiosity, maintenance workers or the cash collection staff may re-lock the lock when the door is open by pressing a pen or screwdriver against the exposed striker surface of the retaining element. If this happens, the door can still be shut and it will be locked as if the tampering had not taken place.
• the lock further includes a solenoid for moving the pre-release element to its release position.
• the lock further includes a switch positioned for actuation by the pre-release element; the switch being adapted for connection to a monitoring system to detect whether the lock is in a locked or unlocked state.
• the lock further includes a manually actuated mechanism for moving the pre-release element to its release position.
• the lock is used to secure the access door to secure sections of a gaming machine.
• a venue that operates a number of gaming machines will no longer need to secure each machine with mechanically actuated locks.
• the loss of a traditional mechanical key will no longer require the replacement of every lock on every machine in the venue. Instead it will merely involve the change of code in the controller.
• Programming the controller can be handled "in-house” by the venue rather than needing to wait for a locksmith or other third party.
• the controller can open all the machines simultaneously (or any chosen subset of machines) for expedient cash removal by the staff.
• the system also has the ability to make a log of the particular staff that have accessed the individual machines, when they were accessed and for how long.
• the lock mechanism is designed such that once it has been unlocked, it will remain unlocked until the access door is opened and then shut again. However, the door is able to be shut and become locked regardless of whether the lock is in a locked or unlocked state prior to shutting the door. Because the lock is unlocked as soon as the pre-release element is moved to the release position, the solenoid actuator need only be energised for a very short period of time. This reduces the power requirement and therefore the heat generated. Furthermore, the maximum force that the solenoid needs to generate is determined by the stiffness of the spring biasing the pre-release element to the locked position and the spring coupling the pre-release element to the release plate. This allows the solenoid to be relatively small.
• the system can detect and display whether the access door on any machine is open, or closed, and whether it is locked or unlocked. This allows for convenient means to check that all machines are secure after the retrieval operation.
• Figure 1 shows a partially exploded perspective view of a lock mechanism suitable for use in the security system according to the present invention.
• Figure 2 shows the lock mechanism of Figure 1 with its components in another operational configuration.
• the lock is shown with some components in their locked positions and others in their release (or unlocked) positions.
• the solenoid (10) is activated and has lifted pre-release arm (5) to its release position.
• Spring (6) is applying a force to cause release plate (4) to rotate.
• One of the two release plates (4) is shown removed to enable a clearer view of pre-release arm (5).
• spring (8) causes retaining arm (2) to rotate clockwise about pivot (14) to close the exit path of the bolt.
• the angle between the retaining face of retaining arm (2) in contact with the bolt (19), and the pivot point (14) is such that retaining arm (2) will not rotate about pivot (14).
• the angle between the same face on retaining arm (2) and pivot (13) is such that any force pushing the door bolt (19) to the right will tend to cause the retaining assembly (2,3,8) to rotate anticlockwise about pivot (13) to allow the escape of the bolt (19).
• pre-release arm (5) When pre-release arm (5) is rotated clockwise about pivot (12) by solenoid (10) or by other means, the end of pre-release arm (5) near strut (18) will move back past the end of strut (18). The end of pre-release arm (5) will no longer hold down strut (18). Strut (18) will then rotate clockwise about pivot (23) by force from spring (7) so that the end of strut (18) is in front of the end of pre-release arm (5) such that pre-release arm
• release plates (4) are captive between pre-release arm (5) and release plates (4). If release plates (4) are free to move, the spring (6) causes release plates (4) to follow the rotational motion of pre-release arm (5). If actuating part (3) applies a large force at tooth (17) to release plates (4), then release plates (4) may not be free to move, and will then remain in the locked position as shown.
• the actuating part (3) can be unloaded by moving the door bolt to the left or by reducing of the force tending to pull the door open, then spring 6 will rotate both release plates (4) about pivot (12) and tooth (17) becomes disengaged.
• the door bolt (19) is moved to the left by nudging the door or just pressing hard against it.
• switch (11) When release plates (4) and pre-release arm (5) are in the locked position, switch (11) is able to rotate actuating arm (16) by internal spring force, to the locked position. Both Figures 1 and 2 show switch (11) in the unlocked release position.
• a suitable electronic reader can be operatively attached to the solenoid (10) or multiple solenoids in one machine, or in multiple machines.
• the solenoid (10) associated with every lock can also be networked to a central controller (not shown). Hence, the lock can be unlocked using a suitable electronic/magnetic key or via the central controller.
• a manual override mechanism can engage the pre-release arm (5).
• the manual override system could consist of a conventional lock barrel and linkage, or other simple mechanical means to lift pre-release arm (5).
• the simple mechanical manual override mechanism could be shielded from access by a tamper-evident frangible cover plate in the facia of the gaming machine. It may also be prudent to have a hard-wired, self-powered alarm attached to the manual override facility.
• the key device could advantageously be configured to perform two way communication with the reader, and/or the central controller, and to store multiple data items. This would allow a key with appropriate authority to reload a list of authorized other keys into the lock reader, and to load information from the reader back into the key, such as a list of the last ten keys that opened tins lock, and the times, and durations of each opening. The keys could later be inserted into another reader, which would then read all the accumulated information stored during that days use.
• buttons or similar control interface devices could be built into either the key device, or the reader device to enable the technician to request the function required at the current time. Such request may include “Open all doors on this machine”, “Open all doors on all machines” or “Open only the main door on this machine”. Where such a reader is linked to other functions in a gaming machine, selectable functions could include “Clear all credits from this machine", and "Reset this machine”.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Lock And Its Accessories (AREA)
• Pinball Game Machines (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=27809889

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (3)

Citations (3)

• 2002
  • 2002-08-15 AU AU2002950803A patent/AU2002950803A0/en not_active Abandoned
• 2003
  • 2003-08-15 CA CA002495583A patent/CA2495583A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-08-15 PL PL03374159A patent/PL374159A1/xx unknown
  • 2003-08-15 WO PCT/AU2003/001031 patent/WO2004016888A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-08-15 RU RU2005107000/12A patent/RU2005107000A/ru not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-08-15 EP EP03787512A patent/EP1546496A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-08-15 BR BR0313488-1A patent/BR0313488A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

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