Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 03015920 2018-08-28
WO 2017/133839 Al
OPERATIONAL STORAGE MEANS WITH AT LEAST ONE DRAWER
The invention relates to an operational storage means, in
particular a drawer cabinet, which has a body or a frame
for receiving drawers, wherein guide means are provided, by
means of which drawers can be pulled out and retracted,
wherein at least one optical display means is provided, by
means of which signals relating to state information of the
drawer provided by a controller of the operational storage
means can be optically displayed.
In particular in the area of the industrial production,
objects, which represent a high value, have to often be
stored temporarily. These can be tools, measuring means,
components and the like, the value of which can easily
represent a four- or even five-digit Euro amount. However,
there is a trend that such objects are increasingly removed
from operational storage means, such as for example storage
cabinets, even from factories and workrooms, the entry of
which is limited to certain groups of people. The companies
suffer very significant financial damages through this.
This is one of the reasons why tool cabinets have already
been developed, the entry of which is controlled via an
entry or access authorization system, respectively. Entire
cabinets and individual drawers are to thereby be capable
of being blocked or released from a central location. Due
to the fact that the drawer are generally divided by means
of dividing means and different stored goods with different
access authorizations can be present in the individual
compartments of the drawers, frames for covering drawers
are also offered, the size of which corresponds exactly to
the respective drawer surface. The frame is to be attached
to the drawer from the top and is to be fastened thereto.
It has a matrix-shaped structure and has an opening, which
can be accessed from the top and which can be closed and
released by means of a pivotable flap, for each compartment
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of the respective drawer. A release request button, by
means of which a higher-ranking access release device can
request a release for opening the certain flap or a flap
can be opened, respectively, is assigned to each flap on
the frame. As a function of the regulation relating to the
right of individual users to access individual
compartments, which is stored in the access authorization
device, the closing device of the corresponding drawer and
of the corresponding flap of the drawer is then unlocked or
the lock is maintained.
Applicant's product range already includes drawer cabinets
and other operational storage means, which are based on
drawers, in the case of which state or status information
relating to individual drawers are displayed on the front
side. Such status information can in particular - but not
exclusively - be release information relating to the
corresponding drawer and compartments inside this drawer.
However, the current solution has the disadvantage of a
high technical complexity as a result of the required
wiring complexity, in the case of which cables and/or
sliding contacts have to be installed all the way into the
drawer, so that power and signals are available at the
drawers.
The invention is thus based on the object of providing a
capability for operational storage means of the above-
mentioned type, by means of which optically perceivable
state and/or status information can be displayed on drawers
with less technical complexity than before.
In the case of an operational means of the above-mentioned
type, this object is solved according to the invention by
means of at least one light-emitting means, which is
operatively connected to the controller of the operational
storage means in order to supply signals, and which is
arranged on the frame or body of the operational storage
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means, wherein the at least one light-emitting means of the
at least one drawer can be activated and deactivated by
means of signals provided by the controller, and wherein
drawer display means are provided, by means of which light
transmitted/sent in the direction of the at least one
drawer from the light-emitting means in a contactless
manner can be brought to the drawer in order to be
displayed.
Information can be displayed in an optically perceivable
manner on at least one drawer, which can be retracted and
pulled out, by means of such a solution with low technical
complexity and by means of a type of indirect illumination,
using at least one stationary light-emitting means. The at
least one light-emitting means should thus preferably be
oriented in such a way that at least one drawer display
means and/or at least one light guide means, as it is
described in claim 13, is arranged within an angle of
radiation of the light-emitting means in the retracted
state of the drawer.
A preferred embodiment of the invention can also be
characterized by a plurality of light-emitting means, which
are arranged on the frame or body of the operational
storage means and which are in each case assigned to only
one of a plurality of drawers. With this, it is also
possible with low technical complexity, to supply
information signals and/or status signals to be optically
perceived by people to each drawer, independent of other
drawer, without the light-emitting means having to be
arranged on one of the drawers.
It is also preferred when the at least one light-emitting
means, which is arranged on the frame or on the body, is
directed to at least one drawer display means, which is
arranged on one of the drawers, so that light emitted by
the light-emitting means can be displayed as optically
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perceivable signal on the drawer on the drawer display
means thereof.
A preferred further development of the invention can
provide that the light-emitting means are arranged at least
approximately vertically one behind the other. Such a
solution can be realized for example by means of a cost-
efficient LED strip, in the case of which individual LEDs
can be combined in a component and can be switched by the
controller, if possible independently of one another. In
the context of the present invention, however, LEDs are
also suitable as light-emitting means independently of
embodiments, in the case of which a plurality of light-
emitting means is combined as LED strip. The invention thus
also captures preferred embodiments with a plurality of
LEDs, which are arranged separately from one another,
however, or also other light-emitting means.
A short distance between the at least one light-emitting
means and a suitable location of the respective drawer for
the at least one display means on the drawer, which is
particularly favorable for a contactless transmission of
the light, can be realized for example in that the at least
one light-emitting means is arranged in the area of a front
opening of the frame or body, from which the drawers can be
pulled out of the frame or body and can be retracted. The
same advantage results in the case of an advantageous
further development of the invention, in the case of which
light-emitting means are located directly opposite front
faces of handle strips of the drawers when the drawers are
retracted.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention,
it can be provided that light-emitting means are arranged
on at least one inner side of the opening of the frame or
of the body. With this measure, it is possible with small
technical complexity to direct light-emitting means with
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their emission direction to the respective drawer and to
thereby indirectly illuminate the respective drawer. It can
also contribute to this when light-emitting means are
preferably arranged on the at least one inner side at a
distance to an opening-side front face of the body or of
the frame.
The at least one light-emitting means can be arranged in
the area of an undercut or of a recess of an inner surface
of the opening of the body or of the frame - with regard to
a retracting direction of the at least one drawer. This
undercut or such a recess, respectively, can preferably be
located at a location, which is located opposite at least
one drawer front or a handle of this drawer in the
retracted state of the drawer. With such an embodiment, it
is possible to realize that the at least one light-emitting
means itself cannot be perceived by a user or can barely be
perceived. In the case of such preferred embodiments of the
invention, a user perceives only, or mainly the light
emitted by the light-emitting means onto the drawer front
or the handle strip thereof and the light, which is then
reflected therefrom then or which is displayed otherwise,
and the information associated therewith, when the light-
emitting means is activated.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, it
can be provided that the at least one light-emitting means
either guides the light directly to the drawer front or
indirectly to the drawer front via light-guiding means. A
handle element, for example a handle strip, which is
provided for handling the drawer by a user in response to
pulling the drawer out of the cabinet body and in response
to retracting the drawer into the cabinet body, is to also
be considered to be a part of the drawer front in this
context, even if the handle element is a separate component
or a separate assembly. The information relating to or with
regard to the corresponding drawer, respectively, which is
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thus displayed by the respective light-emitting means by
means of contactless transmission of the light or of the
light signals, respectively, can be read as optically
perceivable information on the respective drawer front.
At least a doubling of the optical information and signals,
which can be transferred to the drawers, can be attained in
the case of a further preferred embodiment of the invention
according to the invention, in the case of which the light-
emitting means are arranged on two different, in particular
opposite sides of the opening on the frame or body of the
operational storage means.
In the alternative or in addition, an increase of the
number of different pieces of optical information, which
can in each case be displayed on a drawer, can also be
attained in that light-emitting means are used, which can
emit light in different colors. In a further embodiment
according to the invention - as an alternative or in
addition to the above-described options - different pieces
of optical information can also be attained in particular
with the same light-emitting means by means of different
flashing patterns, which are generated by this light-
emitting means.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention,
means can be provided on at least one of the drawers, by
means of which optical signals transmitted in a contactless
manner to the drawer can be transferred from a receiving
location of the optical signal on the drawer to another
location of the drawer, in particular by means of at least
one light guide element arranged on the drawer or its
handle strip. Such a preferred embodiment of the invention
can in particular have a transparent handle strip, to the
at least one front face of which - in the retracted state
of the drawer and in the activated state of the light-
emitting means - the light of the light-emitting means is
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directed and the light is introduced into the handle strip,
in particular in a contactless manner. The light can hereby
be displayed at any point of the handle strip and the
corresponding information can thus be displayed. It goes
without saying that partially transparent or non-
transparent handle strips can also be provided instead of
transparent ones.
Further preferred embodiments of the invention follow from
the claims, the description, and the drawing.
The invention will be described in more detail by means of
the exemplary embodiments, which are illustrated in a
purely schematic manner in the Figures.
Fig. 1 shows a perspective illustration of a drawer
cabinet according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a sectional illustration of the drawer
cabinet from Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 shows a partially cut sectional illustration of a
corner area of the drawer cabinet from Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 shows a drawer cabinet 1, as it is mostly common for
the storage of operating and production means, as well as
for tools in the area of the production or of the trade.
The drawer cabinet 1 has a body 2, which is made of
metallic sheets. Each of the drawers 3 is provided with
drawer pullouts 4, for example so-called full pullouts,
which are constructed like a telescope. Individual drawers
3 can be pulled out of the body 2 and can be retracted back
into the body 2 again by means of the drawer pullouts,
which are known per se.
The drawer cabinet 1 can be provided with an access
authorization device as well as with an individual pull-out
,
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protection. A simultaneous pull-out of more than one drawer
- and thus also a risk of tilting as a result of too many
pull-out drawers 3 - can be prevented by means of the
individual pull-out protection. It can be determined,
preferably in a changeable manner, by means of the access
authorization device, which drawers 3 are released for a
pull-out from the body 2, and which drawers 3 are blocked
for a pull-out. Different access authorizations can be
present and can preferably be set so as to be capable of
being changed for different users and/or groups of users.
The respective data relating to access authorizations are
stored in a controller of the drawer cabinet 1 and/or a
joint controller of a plurality of drawer cabinets 1 so as
to be capable of being changed. Both the access
authorization device and the individual pull-out protection
can access the same locking mechanism, by means of which a
drawer 3 and/or a group of drawers 3 of the drawer cabinet
1 can be blocked separately from other drawer 3 against
being pulled out. For this purpose, a tab arranged in the
area of the rear side of the respective drawer can for
example cooperate with a locking profile arranged in the
area of the rear-side wall of the body (not illustrated in
the Figures). A drawer 3, which is retracted into the body
2, hereby engages with the locking profile and, depending
on the position of the locking profile, the latter can
seize or engage behind, respectively, or release the tab in
a positive manner, so that the tab and thus the drawer,
which belongs to the respective tab, is blocked against
being pulled out. The present invention is not limited to
this type of a mechanical locking or release by an
individual pull-out protection as described here. On
principle, the invention can be used with any individual
pull-out protection and any access authorization device. In
addition, it is also possible to use the invention without
an individual pull-out protection.
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As is illustrated in Figs. 1-3, a vertically oriented row 8
of light-emitting diodes 9 is in each case arranged on the
body 2 in the area of the front ends of the two side walls
6, 7. In the exemplary embodiment, the light-emitting
diodes 9, which are each arranged on one side of the
drawers 3, are each embodied as one-piece LED strip 10 or
LED band, which is preferably located in a protective tube
or a protective cover for protection against damages.
Instead of light-emitting diodes 9 as light-emitting means,
any other type of light-emitting means can also be
provided, for example light bulbs and/or luminous foils.
The light-emitting diodes 9 are located on inner sides of
the edges 14 of the opening of the body 2, with which the
body 2 edges the front sides 3a of the retracted drawers 3.
In each of the two rows 8 of the light-emitting diodes,
which are oriented substantially parallel to one another
and vertically, each light-emitting diode 9 can be
activated and deactivated, independently of the other
light-emitting diodes 9 of this row 8 by a controller of
the drawer cabinet 1 by means of corresponding signals.
Each light-emitting diode 9 of each of the two LED rows 8
is hereby only assigned to one drawer 3 and is thus in each
case located directly opposite a front face of the drawer
3, which is in each case assigned thereto. The total of at
least two light-emitting diodes 9 for each drawer 3 (one
light-emitting diode each on each front face 20 of the
handle strip 21) can also be operated independently of one
another. It is thus in particular possible to
simultaneously signal two different pieces of information
relating to or with regard to the drawer, respectively, by
means of the LEDs for each drawer 3, for example "no access
possible" or "outside of the operating hours". In addition,
it is also possible to use the invention without an
individual pull-out protection. In other exemplary
embodiments, only a total of one row 8 of light-emitting
means or also a plurality of rows 8 of light-emitting means
can in each case be provided on one or on both sides.
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In other embodiments of the invention, a different number
of light-emitting means can likewise also be provided per
drawer, in particular at least two light-emitting means on
at least one or both of the front faces of the drawers.
In embodiments of the invention, it can likewise also be
provided that at least one light-emitting means is in each
case provided only on one front face of the drawers. In
each of the conceivable embodiments of the invention
according to the invention, light-emitting means other than
LEDs can also be provided, different types of light-
emitting means, for example light bulbs and/or luminous
foils can likewise also be used in another embodiment.
According to the preferred embodiment of Fig. 3, the LED
strip 10 is arranged in an undercut 22 of the front-side
frame of the body 2, so that the LED strip 10 is largely
covered from the outside and is not or barely visible,
respectively. As is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the LEDs
9 of the LED strip are in each case located directly
opposite the front faces 20 of the handle strips 21 of the
drawers. A handle strip cover 23 is attached to every front
face 20 of the handle strip 21. The handle strip cover 23
can have a surface 24, which points to the respective LED
and which is arranged at a slight distance to the LED, so
that the LED, which is assigned to the handle strip cover
23, releases and emits its light emission in the direction
of the surface 24 of the handle strip cover 23, at least
among others. The surface 24 of the handle strip cover 23,
which is irradiated by the respective LED is thus
illuminated and can be perceived as such by a user of the
drawer cabinet. In this exemplary embodiment, handle strip
covers 23 of the drawers have the function of drawer
display means, which display the emitted light on the
respective drawer. Due to the fact that the respective LED
signals certain information, such as, for example, an
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existing access authorization for this drawer, or
"interference", or "expiration of the access time", a user
can read this optically perceivable information on the
corresponding front face 20 of the handle strip 21 or can
gather it therefrom, respectively. To improve the
detectability of the optical signal on the front face 20 of
the respective handle strip 21, the front face 20 can be
provided with (particularly strongly) reflective material.
An inclination or a curvature of the surface 24 front face
20 could likewise be provided, so that the light sent by
the respective LED to the front face does not hit along an
optical axis, which is oriented orthogonally to the surface
of the front face, and the incoming light is reflected
forward in front of the drawer 3 - with respect to front
side 3a of the drawer 3.
In a further, non-illustrated embodiment of the invention,
LEDs or other light-emitting means are in turn arranged in
the area of the opening of the body. Here, the LEDs also
emit light in the direction of the front faces of handle
strips of the drawers, which are in each case assigned
thereto, wherein the light-emitting means are operated by
the respective controller, thus activated and deactivated.
In contrast to the above-described embodiment of the
invention, however, the light hitting the front face of the
respective handle strip is not reflected from there, but is
guided into the handle strip from the front face of the
handle strip. At least a partial area of the handle strip
can be designed to be transparent by it, so that the light
introduced into the handle strip can be recognized or can
be optically perceived, respectively, from the outside. In
addition, it can be provided that light guide means are
present in or on the handle strip, by means of which light
can be guided into an area in the direction towards the
center or the opposite other front face of the respective
drawer, so as to be displayed on any, yet predetermined
location of the handle strip or of the drawer front. The
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light generated by the light-emitting means can be
transmitted in a contactless manner hereby and can also be
displayed at locations, which are located far away from the
respective light-emitting element, on the drawer or the
handle strip thereof, respectively. The handle strip can
hereby likewise also be illuminated across its entire
length, if applicable.
In other embodiments according to the invention, a
different element of the drawer, in particular of the
drawer front, instead of a front face of a handle strip,
can also be illuminated by at least one light-emitting
means, which is arranged laterally on the body frame.
Instead of an introduction of light into a handle strip,
light can likewise be introduced into a different element
arranged on the drawer, through which the respective light
can be identified from the outside as belonging to the
respective drawer. A light guide element, by means of which
light from the light-emitting means, which is not arranged
on the drawer, is received and this light is transferred to
any location of the drawer front, so as to be displayed at
that location, can additionally also be arranged on the
front face, instead of in or on the handle strip. Finally,
the light originating from one or plurality of light-
emitting elements can also be emitted to the front side of
the respective drawer itself, in order to provide optically
perceivable signals there for transmitting information
relating to the respective drawer.
In each of the embodiments according to the invention, in
particular in the case of the above-described embodiments,
more than only one light-emitting element can also be
provided, if necessary. At least two or more light guide
elements can in each case be assigned to one drawer in
particular on at least one or more or all drawers. The
display of different information can hereby be assigned to
each light guide element, such as, for example, "outside of
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the operating hours". To better differentiate the different
information, different light guide elements of one drawer
can emit light in different colors. In addition or in the
alternative, it can be provided that a light guide element
displays different light signals in order to display
different information, for example flashing patterns with
different activation and/or deactivation times and/or
different brightness, changeable brightness, color change,
in particular continuous and/or hard color changes.
In further exemplary embodiments according to the
invention, only a frame can be provided instead of a body,
for example a frame, which belongs to a shelf. All of the
above-described features and characteristics of the above-
described preferred embodiments of the invention can also
be provided in the case of such embodiments, either in part
or completely.
List of Reference Numerals
1 drawer cabinet 21 handle strip
2 body 22 undercut
3 drawers 23 handle strip cover
3a front side 24 surface
4 drawer pullout
6 side wall
7 side wall
8 row
9 light-emitting diodes (LED)
LED strips
14 edge
front face
