JP7611063B2 - Electric dial key box that can be unlocked by BLE communication - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an electric key box that is based on a dial-type key box and uses Bluetooth (BLE communication) to unlock and remove the key using a smartphone.

Existing dial-type key boxes have a dial with two or more numbers between 0 and 9, and the lid is opened when a preset number (PIN number) is entered. However, this is used in emergencies, and normally the lock is opened by driving a motor via external communication.

In this dial key box, when the dial 5 matches, the lock plate 4 fits into groove A on the dial 5 as shown in Figures 2 and 3, causing the lock block 3 to move away from the protrusion of the latch 2, allowing the latch 2 to descend relative to the lid 1. Now, by pressing the latch push button 6 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2, the latch operating lever 7 rotates as shown in Figure 3, causing the latch 2 to descend and opening the lid 1. When the latch push button 6 is released, the latch 2 rises due to the return force of the latch spring 8.

Dial key boxes can be easily locked and unlocked by motor drive using external communication from a mobile phone or other device without the time required to enter a PIN code, and in an emergency, the lock is unlocked by matching the dial. However, when unlocking with a four-digit dial, the lock can be unlocked by matching dial 5 10,000 times. There was a need to prevent such unauthorized unlocking.

Patent No. 5153749 JP 2019-019511 A

The object of this invention is to provide an electric key box in which the structure for electrically moving the lock block in the unlocking direction consists only of an operating wire, motor, worm gear, and worm wheel, thereby saving space and reducing the number of parts, in a dial-type key box that can be easily locked and unlocked by motor drive through external communication from a mobile phone or the like without taking the time to enter a PIN number under normal circumstances, and that unlocks by matching the dial in an emergency, and in which the structure for electrically moving the lock block in the unlocking direction consists only of an operating wire, motor, worm gear, and worm wheel, thereby saving space and reducing the number of parts, and which prevents unauthorized unlocking by setting a release lever that blocks the movement of the lock plate that moves the lock block to release the latch.

This problem is solved by an electric dial key box in which a communications base with a BLE receiver is built into the lid, a motor is driven by BLE communication, a worm gear integrated with the motor shaft rotates the worm wheel, an operating wire fitted into the side groove of the worm wheel moves, and the lock block is electrically moved in the unlocking direction , placing the latch in a position where it can be lowered, and the lid can be opened by pressing the latch push button.In this electric dial key box, when the key is released by dial matching, the lid cannot be opened even if the dial is matched, and in this case, by pushing the lower end of the release lever with the release pin, the release lever rotates clockwise and the upper end disengages from between the lid and the lock plate, and the lock plate forcibly moves the lock block in the unlocking direction due to the reaction force of the lock plate return spring.

Furthermore, with the electric dial key box of this invention, the lid of the key box can be closed and a locking signal can be sent via BLE communication to a BLE receiving unit with a built-in BLE communication platform in the lid, causing the motor to rotate in reverse and locking. Also, the release lever is constantly subjected to a counterclockwise rotational force by a spring, and when the dial is put into a non-matching state, the lock plate moves, creating a gap between the lid and the lock plate, so the lock plate is designed to slide in and automatically lock.

According to this invention, the structure for electrically moving the lock block in the unlocking direction comprises an operating wire, a motor, a worm gear and a worm wheel, which requires little space and a very small number of parts.

According to this invention, the gears are designed with a toothless section so that they spin freely after rotating a set amount, preventing overloading due to the motor locking and reducing power consumption.

According to this invention, the actuating wire mechanism makes it possible to unlock the dial-type key box using motor drive.

According to this invention, when using a four-digit dial, the lock can be unlocked by matching the dials 10,000 times. Therefore, a release lever is provided, and even if the dials are aligned, the lock plate will not move the lock block in the unlocking direction unless the release lever is pressed, preventing unauthorized unlocking.

According to this invention, the release lever prevents the lock plate from moving, so when checking the dial, there is no contact force between the lock plate and the dial, making it difficult to decode and providing double protection against unauthorized unlocking.

The diagram shows the appearance of the dial key box, a rear perspective view, and the B-B cross section. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of the back of the key box lid showing the arrow direction for pressing the latch push button. A perspective view of the back of the key box lid with the latch push button pressed in and a cross-sectional view are shown. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a key box lid provided with a BLE receiving unit of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a key box lid having a built-in BLE communication infrastructure being opened using a smartphone of the present invention. 1A-1D show front perspective and cross-sectional side views of a key box disclosing the motor-driven unlocking motion of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of a key box disclosing the motor-driven return to lock state aspect of the present invention. 7A and 7B are front and top views of a gearbox structure corresponding to the locked state of FIG. 6 of the present invention. 8A and 8B show front and top views of a gearbox structure corresponding to the unlocked state of FIG. 7 of the present invention. 1A and 1B are a front view and a cross-sectional side view of the key box of the present invention, showing a state in which the lock plate does not move even when the dial is matched by using the release lever. 1A and 1B are a front view and a cross-sectional side view of the key box of the present invention, showing a state in which the release lever has been disengaged from the lock plate and the lock plate has moved the lock block in the release direction. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gearbox of the present invention with the gear case B removed.

This invention provides an electric key box based on a dial-type key box (Key Keeper Neo) that uses Bluetooth (BLE communication) and can be unlocked with a smartphone to access the key. In addition, because it is equipped with a dial, it has the unique feature of being able to be unlocked with a PIN number even if the electric unlocking is not possible for some reason.

Figure 4 shows the image and appearance of the built-in BLE communications platform, and Figure 5 shows the lock being unlocked and the lid 1 being opened via communication via a smartphone or the like.

Next, we will explain the motor-driven unlocking mechanism as a method for unlocking an electric key box.

Figure 6 shows the unlocking movement (unlocks even when the dial is in a locked state), where the motor 10, worm gear 11, worm wheel 14 and operating wire 12 are housed in gear box 13 (described below and Figure 12) by gear case A 15 and gear case B 16. As the operating wire 12 moves in the direction of arrow a, it slides lock block 3 in the direction of arrow C, and latch 2 is ready to descend in the direction of arrow D (Figure 7). After that, by pressing latch push button 6 in the same way as in the conventional structure, latch 2 can be lowered and lid 1 can be opened.

Figure 7 shows the locking movement (setting to dial lock state), in which the motor 10 in the gear box 13 rotates in the reverse direction, causing the operating wire 12 to move in the direction of arrow d, which is the opposite direction to the direction of arrow a in Figure 6, sliding the lock block 3 in the direction of arrow E and preventing the latch 2 from descending, returning to the locked state (Figure 6).

Figure 8 shows the movement to unlock the latch 2. From the locked state of Figure 6, the worm gear 11 of the motor 10 rotates the worm wheel 14 counterclockwise (arrow f in Figure 8), causing the left tip G of the operating wire 12 to move in the direction of arrow H along the side groove (which is spiral-shaped) of the worm wheel 14. Since the operating wire 12 is supported by a fulcrum I of the gear case A15, the tip J of the operating wire 12 moves in the direction of arrow K (changing from Figure 8 to Figure 9). Thereafter, the lock block 3 moves to unlock the latch 2, and the latch 2 is unlocked.

Figure 9 shows the unlocked state of Figure 7, and from this state, the motor 10 rotates the worm wheel 14 clockwise (arrow m in Figure 9) in the opposite direction, causing the left tip L of the operating wire 12 to move in the direction of arrow M along the side groove (which is spiral-shaped) of the worm wheel 14. Since the operating wire 12 is supported by a fulcrum I of the gear case A15, the tip P of the operating wire 12 moves in the direction of arrow N (changing from Figure 9 to Figure 8). Thereafter, the lock block 3 moves to lock the latch 2, and the latch 2 enters a locked state.

This invention aims to prevent unauthorized unlocking by setting the release lever 18. When unlocking with a four-digit dial, the lock can be unlocked by matching the dial 5 10,000 times, so the release lever 18 is provided and the lock plate 4 will not move the lock block 3 in the unlocking direction unless the release lever 18 is pressed, even if the dials are aligned. In addition, because the release lever 18 prevents the movement of the lock plate 4, there is no contact force between the lock plate 4 and the dial 5 when matching the dial 5, making it difficult to decode, thus preventing unauthorized unlocking twice.

In Figure 10, the tip S of the release lever 18 before release is set so that it fits between the lid 1 and the lock plate 4, so that the lock plate 4 does not move even if the groove of the dial 5 matches up with the lock plate 4.

In Figure 11, the release lever 18 is released by pushing the opposite (lower) end Q with the release pin 19, which rotates the release lever 18 in the direction of the arrow R (clockwise) with U as the fulcrum, causing the upper end S to come out from between the cover 1 and the lock plate 4, and the reaction force of the lock plate return spring 9 causes the lock plate 4 to move the lock block 3 in the unlocking direction. After that, the unlocking operation is the same as that of the conventional structure.
The release lever 18 is constantly subjected to a rotational force by a spring in the direction of rotation of the arrow T (counterclockwise) with U as the fulcrum, and when the lock plate 4 is pressed by the dial 5 when the lock is engaged, the release lever 18 is structured to move in when a gap is formed between the lid 1 and the lock plate 4, and automatically locks when the lock is engaged.

Figure 12 shows an oblique view of the gear box 13, with the upper part showing the external structure of the gear box 13 and the lower part showing the state with the gear case B16 removed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Lid 2 Latch 3 Lock block 4 Lock plate 5 Dial 6 Latch push button 7 Latch operating lever 8 Latch spring 9 Lock plate return spring 10 Motor 11 Worm gear 12 Operating wire 13 Gear box 14 Worm wheel 15 Gear case A
16 Gear case B
17 Return bar 18 Release lever 19 Release pin 20 Motor power harness 21 BLE receiver 22 Smartphone 23 Case body 24 Dial protection cover 25 Worm wheel side groove

Claims (2)

This electric dial key box has a communications base with a BLE receiver built into the lid, and a motor is driven by BLE communication. A worm gear integrated with the motor shaft rotates a worm wheel, which moves an operating wire fitted into the side groove of the worm wheel, electrically moving the lock block in the unlocking direction so that the latch can be lowered. When the latch push button is pressed, the lid can be opened. This electric dial key box has a structure in which, when the key is released by dial matching, the lid cannot be opened even if the dial is matched. In this case, by pushing the lower end of the release lever with the release pin, the release lever rotates clockwise and the upper end comes out from between the lid and the lock plate, and the lock plate forcibly moves the lock block in the unlocking direction due to the reaction force of the lock plate return spring. 2. The electric dial key box according to claim 1, wherein the structure for electrically moving the lock block in the unlocking direction consists only of an operating wire, a worm wheel, a worm gear and a motor.

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