Mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps of the transponder strap dispenser

Abstract

The mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps of the transponder strap dispenser is characterized in that it consists of a transponder strap feeder (1) subassembly and a subassembly (2) detachably connected with it for dispensing these straps, wherein the feeder (1) subassembly is a profiled rail (3) with a weight (9) placed in it, and in its rectangular recess (12) a plate spring element (14) with a lower internal offset (15) is located, whereas the subassembly (2) is a two-piece profiled upper body (16) composed of the left part (16') and the right part (16") connected with each other by screws (25) and the two-piece profiled lower body (19) detachably connected to this body, the left part (19') and the right part (19") of which are connected with each other by two screws (65) screwed into two through holes (64) of the side walls of both these parts of the lower body (19), and in turn in the through holes (27' and 27") of the upper body (16) a rotating shaft (30) with a toothed gear (32) is seated, connected to the driving shaft of the brush motor (35), wherein a disc (41) is mounted on the other end of the rotating shaft (30) and, in addition, this mechanism is equipped with a sensor (50) board, a main control board (55), an electromagnetic lock (72) connected to an adapter (77), and an RFID proximity reader (80).

Description

[0001] The subject of the invention is a mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps, which is a component of the transponder strap dispenser used in recreational and sports facilities such as swimming pools, fitness clubs, gyms.

[0002] The mechanism known from the Polish patent specification No. 181852 , which dispenses flat objects such as tickets, cards, intended for use particularly in vending machines, is equipped with an element transmitting the movement of the reversing shaft of the electric motor to the axis on which, by means of a one-way clutch, a roller is mounted, which ejects flat items from the storage. The element transmitting the movement of the electric motor shaft to the ejecting roller and to the rollers receiving the items is a fixed toothed gear or a toothed belt. Moreover, this mechanism is equipped with a separator of dispensed items having an adjustment screw intended for the size adjustment of the gap between the rollers receiving the items, while the item storage is equipped with an element signalling the absence of items. Strap dispensers are also known from documents CN109147173A, CN208569667U, and CN111739267A.

[0003] Currently, before entering the swimming pool or other recreational and sports facility, a transponder strap entitling to pass through the turnstile gates is issued by an employee of such facility, which significantly extends the time of waiting for the collection of the strap.

[0004] The purpose of the invention is to develop a new, currently unknown structure of the mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps, used in devices intended for customer service automation at recreational and sports facilities.

[0005] The mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps of the transponder strap dispenser according to the invention consists of a transponder strap feeder subassembly and a transponder straps dispensing subassembly connected to it detachably, wherein the feeder subassembly is a profiled rail, the two side walls of which have internal bends at their ends, and in the symmetry axis of the bottom of the rail, a groove is made for the ball element of the pressure ball screw, screwed into the hole of the profiled weight placed on this rail. In the lower part of the rear wall, this rail has a rectangular recess for a detachably connected plate spring element with the lower internal offset, and in the lower side parts of both walls, the rail has transversely arranged blind channels for at least one pressure ball screw screwed into the through hole of the upper body of the subassembly for dispensing transponder straps. This subassembly is a two-piece profiled upper body comprised of left and right part connected with each other by four bolts with nuts screwed into four through holes made in the side walls of both these parts of the upper body, and a two-piece profiled lower body is detachably connected with this body, the left and right part of which are connected with each other by two bolts with nuts screwed into two through holes in the side walls of both these parts of the lower body. Both parts of the upper body have vertically arranged U-shaped recesses on their internal walls, creating a rectangular opening along the entire length of the body with a channel on its front surface, the extension of which is a profiled channel of the front surface of the lower body. In turn, in the lower both parts of the upper body, two through holes are coaxially made surrounded by annular seats for bearings, in which the rotating shaft is mounted, and on it a toothed gear is locked with a locking screw embedded in the recess of the central part of this shaft. One end of the rotating shaft is arranged in the through hole of the right part of the upper body and through the U-shaped recess it is connected to the driving shaft of the brush motor, which is detachably connected to this part of the upper body, and the other end of the rotating shaft is seated in the opening of the left part of the upper body, and a circular disc with offsets symmetrically spaced on its circumference is mounted on it and connected to it by means of a link placed in the bore of this shaft. In addition, in the outer side wall of the left part of the upper body there is a rectangular recess with a transverse through hole in its lower part, in which the sensor board is located, which is screwed with screws into the holes made in the corners of this plate and in the corners of the rectangular recess, whereas the main control board is screwed to the slanted profiled surfaces of the rear walls of both parts of the upper body, under which rectangular offsets and obliquely arranged cuboid offsets are made, with mounting through holes at their ends, and a plate with an optical sensor located in the recess of the annular seat is attached by means of screws to the inclined surface under the rectangular offset of the left part of the upper body. A profiled plate with a rectangular offset is attached to the outer side wall of the left part of the lower body, to which an electromagnetic lock with a locking bolt is detachably attached, the bolt being arranged in the opening of the middle part of the rear wall of the left part of the lower body. In turn, to the rear wall of the right part of this body an adapter is detachably attached, that is connected by means of cables to the electromagnetic lock, whereas to the lower oblique parts of the lower body walls a RFID proximity reader is attached, and in addition, each of the outer side walls of both upper body in its lower corner has a through hole made for the screws fixing the mechanism to the mounting bar of the transponder strap dispenser.

[0006] It is also advantageous, if the lower flat surfaces of both parts of the upper body are connected to the upper surfaces of the lower body by means of four screws screwed into the two through holes of both parts of this body and into four threaded holes of the lower flat surfaces of these two parts of the upper body.

[0007] It is also advantageous, if the lower part of the rail of the transponder strap feeder subassembly is situated in the rectangular opening of the upper body above the toothed gear and is locked with a pressure ball screw screwed into the through hole of the right part of the upper body.

[0008] It is also advantageous, if the through hole of the left part of the upper body is surrounded by annular seats made on the inner and outer surface of this body part, whereas the through hole of the right part of this body is surrounded by an annular seat made on the inner surface of this right part of the body.

[0009] It is also advantageous, if the rectangular offsets of the rear walls of the upper body have mounting holes made for the bolts fastening the subassembly dispensing the transponder straps to the mounting bar of the dispenser for these straps.

[0010] It is also advantageous, if spacers are provided on the bolts between the rectangular offset of the profiled plate and the electromagnetic lock.

[0011] It is also advantageous, if the rail of the feeder subassembly and the lower body are made of plastic and the upper body of aluminium.

[0012] The design of the mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps, used in the transponder strap dispenser, allows for maintenance-free passage of users of these recreational and sports facilities through turnstile gates, which also increases the throughput of these gates and at the same time reduces service costs, shortens the service time and settling the time spent within the facility.

[0013] The subject of the invention has been shown in an embodiment on the drawing, in which fig. 1 shows the mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps, in a perspective view from the front and from the side, in which one surface of the upper body is equipped with a disc stopping the rotation of the rotating shaft, fig. 2 - the same mechanism in perspective view from the rear and from the side, the other surface of the upper body is equipped with a brush motor, fig. 3 - the same mechanism in the front view, fig. 4 - the same mechanism shown in fig. 1 in a side view, fig. 5 - the same mechanism in cross-section along the line A-A, fig. 6 - enlarged detail "B" of the connection of the bottom end of the body with the RFID reader, fig. 7 - enlarged detail "C" in a vertical cross-section of the connection of the upper body, fig. 8 - enlarged detail "D" of the connection by means of a pressure ball screw of one upper body part with the side part of the rail of the transponder strap feeder subassembly in vertical cross-section, fig. 9 - enlarged detail "E" of the weight of this subassembly with a pressure ball screw placed in it, the ball element of which is placed inside the rail of this subassembly in a horizontal cross-section, fig. 10 - the rail of the transponder strap feeder subassembly in a cross-section along the line F-F in fig. 3, fig. 11 - the same mechanism in an exploded state of its components in a front view and from one side wall, fig. 12 shows the same mechanism in an exploded state of its components in a rear view and from its other side wall, and fig. 13 - the same mechanism shown in fig. 1 with five transponder straps loaded to its transponder strap feeder subassembly.

[0014] The subject of the invention, as shown in figs. 1-13, consists of a vertically arranged transponder strap feeder 1 subassembly and a transponder strap dispenser subassembly 2 connected to its lower end.

[0015] The transponder strap feeder 1 subassembly consists of a plastic rail 3, both side walls 4 and 5 of which have internal bends 6 at their ends, whereas a groove 8 is made in the symmetry axis of the bottom 7 of this rail, and a weight 9 with a T-profile in its cross-section is placed inside this rail, with a through hole 10 threaded in it, into which a pressure ball screw 11 is screwed, the ball element of which is placed in the groove 8 of this rail. Moreover, in the lower part of the rear wall of the rail 3, a rectangular recess 12 is made with two threaded holes 13 at its upper end, in which a metal plate spring element 14 with a lower internal offset 15 is mounted, connected to the recess 12 by means of two screws not shown in the drawing and screwed into its threaded holes 13, and in the lower parts of the side walls 4 and 5 of the rail 3, transversely positioned blind channels 12' are provided.

[0016] In turn, the transponder strap dispensing subassembly 2 consists of an aluminium two-piece profiled upper body 16, with the lower flat surfaces of its left part 16' and right part 16" connected by means of four screws 17 to the upper surfaces 18' and 18" of the plastic two-piece lower profiled body 19 screwed into two through holes 20 of the left 19' and right 19" parts of the body 19 and into the not shown on the drawing four threaded holes of the lower flat surfaces of both parts of the upper body 16. Furthermore, the left part 16 'and the right part 16" of the upper body 16 have vertically arranged recesses 21 with a U-profile on their inner walls, facing each other and adjacent to each other, forming a rectangular opening 22 with a channel 23 on its front surface along the entire length of the upper body 16. In each of both parts of the upper body 16 four through holes 24 are made, in which screws 25 are mounted, and nuts 26 are screwed on their ends that connect to each other both parts 16' and 16" of this body. Moreover, in the upper portion of the right part 16" of the upper body 16 a through hole 24' is made into which the pressure ball screw 11' is screwed, and its ball element is placed in the channel 12' of the rail 3 of the transponder strap feeder 1 subassembly. In turn, in the lower parts of both left part 16' and right part 16" of the upper body 16, coaxially arranged through holes 27' and 27" are made, whereas through hole 27' is surrounded by annular seats 28 made on the inner and outer surfaces of the left part 16' of this body, and a through hole 27" is surrounded by an annular seat 28 made on the inner surface of the right part 16" of the upper body. In annular seats 28 located on the inner surfaces of both parts of the upper body 16 the bearings 29 are mounted, in which the rotating shaft 30 is seated, which in its central part has a recess 31 for a nimbus screw locking the toothed gear 32 mounted on this shaft, which is not shown in the drawing.

[0017] One end of the rotating shaft 30 is located in an opening 27" and in a U-shaped recess 33 made in the lower part of the lateral outer wall of the right part 16" of the upper body 16, and through the bore 34 made in this shaft, it is connected to a driving shaft, not shown in the drawing, of the typical brush motor 35 with deceleration gear. The motor 35 is connected to the right part 16" of the upper body 16 by two screws 36 screwed into the holes 37 of the rectangular plate 38 attached to it, that covers the U-shaped recess 33 and into the holes 39 made in this part of the upper body 16.

[0018] On the other hand, at the other end of the rotating shaft 30 embedded in the left part 16' of the upper body 16, a circular disk 41 is attached to its front wall with a profiled opening 40 by means of a link 43 seated in its profiled opening 42 with a pressure washer 44 also seated in its profiled opening 40 of the rotating shaft 30, wherein this disc, on its circular circumference, has eight symmetrically spaced (every 45°) trapezoidal recessions 45 forming eight offsets 46 and is seated in an annular seat 28 surrounding the opening 27' of the outer wall 47 of the left part 16' of the upper body 16, wherein the seat 28 has a rectangular recess 48.

[0019] In the outer side wall 47 of the left part 16' of the upper body 16 above the annular seat 28 there is also a rectangular recess 49 with a transverse through hole 49' in the lower part of this recess, in which a sensor 50 board is located, continuously collecting information about the presence of transponder straps located in the rail 3. This plate is screwed with four screws 51 screwed into holes 52 made in the corners of this plate and in the corners of the rectangular recess 49, whereas to the inclined profiled surfaces of the rear walls 53' and 53" of the left 16' and right 16" part of the upper body 16 the main control board 55 is screwed with the screws 54, which collects signals from the remaining electronic components and communicates with the external control panel-computer (not shown in the drawing). The main control board 55 is partially covered from above by the rectangular offsets 56 of the upper walls of both parts of the upper body 16, whereas under this control board 55 there are rectangular offsets 57 that smoothly go into the successive obliquely disposed rectangular offsets 58 with mounting through holes 59 made at their ends for the screws, not shown in the drawing, fastening the mechanism to the mounting bar of the transponder strap dispenser (not shown), whereas a plate with an optical sensor 61 for the position of the rotating shaft 30 is attached to the inclined surface located under the offset 58 of the left part 16' of the upper body 16 by means of screws 60, with its sensor placed in the recess 48 of the annular seat 28 of the outer side wall 47 of the left part 16' of the upper body 16, and when one of the offsets 46 of the disc 41 is at the height of the sensor 61, this sensor sends a signal to the control panel-computer about the rotation of the rotating shaft 30 by one sequence and the motor 43 is stopped. Moreover, each of the outer side walls of the left part 16' and the right part 16" of the upper body 16 in its lower corner is provided with a through hole 59' also for bolts, not shown in the drawing, that attach the mechanism to the mounting bar, not shown in the drawing, fastened in the transponder strap dispenser.

[0020] The profiled lower body 19 of the transponder strap dispensing subassembly 2 also is provided with a profiled channel 62 on its outer front surface, making an extension of the channel 23 of the profiled upper body 16, whereas each of the both outer side walls 63 of this body is provided with two through holes 64, into which bolts 65 with nuts 66 are bolted, connecting the left 19' and right 19" part of the lower body 19 to each other, whereas a trapezoidal plate 67 with a rectangular offset 68 and mounting holes 69 is also attached to the outer side wall 63 of the left part 19" of this body by means of bolts 65, and to this offset the electromagnetic lock 72 with a locking bolt 73 located in the hole 74 made in the middle part of the rear wall 75 of the left part 19" of the lower body 19 is fastened by two bolts 70 screwed into the holes 71 through the spacers 70". In turn, to the rear wall 75 of the right part 19' of the lower body 19 an adapter-socket 77 is attached by means of two screws 76, which is connected by means of a cable with an electromagnetic lock 72, not shown in the drawing, while in the lower inclined parts of the rear walls 75 of the lower body 19 two mounting holes 78 are provided, into which the screws 79 are screwed fastening the RFID proximity reader 80 covered with a plastic cover 80', which respectively reads and encodes the transponder of the straps.

[0021] To load the transponder straps into the feeder 1 subassembly (as shown in fig. 13) plastic buckles of these straps in the amount of about 50 pieces are placed loosely between the bends 6 of the side walls 4 and 5 of the rail 3, whereas the metal plate spring element 14 with an internal offset 15 is fixed at the end of this rail in the recess 12, that prevents the transponder straps from falling out. After the required number of straps has been embedded in the rail 3, the weight 9 with the pressure ball screw 11 is placed in it in the same way so that its ball element is located in the groove 8 of the rail 3, then the subassembly 2 of this mechanism is attached to the bar of the transponder strap dispenser, not shown in the drawing, by means of bolts (not shown in the drawing) screwed into the mounting holes 59 of the offsets 58 of the rear walls 53' and 53" of the upper body 16, and then the lower part of the feeder 1 subassembly is placed in the rectangular hole 22 of the upper body 16 above the toothed gear 32 and it is fastened in this body by screwing the pressure ball screw 11' into the through hole 24' of this body so that its ball element is placed in the blind channel 12' of the rail 3 of the feeder 1 subassembly. After connecting the distribution device to a power supply (not shown in the drawing), its control panel-computer (not shown in the drawing) controlling the operation of the mechanism according to the invention receives a signal from the sensor 50 board about the presence of the transponder straps in the feeder 1 subassembly and about readiness to issue them, and then after receiving information about the need to deliver the transponder strap to the user, the control panel, through the main control board 55, activates the motor 35, which turns the toothed gear 32 by one sequence and releases one transponder strap from the rail 3 and its transponder moves over the RFID proximity reader 80, which verifies the data, saves it to the sales system and sends a signal through its relay to the adapter 77, and the current flowing through it during 1 second causes the locking bolt 73 of the electromagnetic lock 72 to slide in, as a result of which the transponder strap falls into the receiving chamber of the device, not shown in the drawing, from where the user takes it. After emptying the feeder 1 subassembly from the transponder straps, the loading cycle is repeated in a similar manner.

[0022] In another embodiment, not shown in the drawing, the lower part of the rail 3 of the transponder straps feeder 1 subassembly, located in the rectangular hole 22 of the upper body, was locked by two pressure ball screws 11 screwed into the through holes 24' of both parts of the upper body (16).

Claims

1. Mechanism for loading and dispensing transponder straps of the transponder strap dispenser, integrated with the external main controller (computer) and connected to the external power source said mechanism being composed of a transponder strap feeder (1) subassembly and a subassembly (2) dispensing these straps detachably connected to it, wherein said mechanism is characterised in that the feeder (1) subassembly is a profiled rail (3), both side walls (4 and 5) of which have internal bends (6) on their ends, and on the symmetry axis of its bottom (7) a groove (8) is made for the ball element of a pressure ball screw (11), screwed into a hole (10) of a profiled weight (9) located in the rail (3), that has a rectangular recess (12) in the bottom part of the rear wall for detachably connected with it plate spring element (14) with a lower internal offset (15), whereas in the lower parts of the side walls (4 and 5) the rail (3) is provided with transversely arranged blind channels (12') for at least one pressure ball screw (11') screwed into the through hole (24') of the upper body (16) of the subassembly (2), wherein the subassembly (2) is made of two-piece profiled upper body (16) comprised of the left part (16') and the right part (16") connected with each other by four bolts (25) and nuts (26) bolted into the four through holes (24) made in the side walls of both parts of the upper body (16) and the two-piece profiled lower body (19) detachably connected with this body, the left part (19') and the right part (19") of which are connected with each other by two bolts (65) with nuts (66) bolted into the two through holes (64) in the side walls of both parts of the lower body (19), wherein the left part (16') and the right part (16") of the upper body (16) are provided with vertically arranged U-shaped recesses (21) in their internal walls, that form a rectangular opening (22) with a channel (23) on its front surface on the whole length of the upper body (16), the extension of which is the profiled channel (62) of the front surface of the lower body (19), and in turn in the lower left (16') and right (16") part of the upper body (16) the coaxial through holes (27', and 27") are made, surrounded with annular seats (28) for bearings (29), in which a rotating shaft (30) is seated and a toothed gear (32) is locked on it with locking screw seated in the recess (31) of the middle part of this shaft, wherein one end of the rotating shaft (30) is located in the through hole (27") and it is connected through the U-shaped recess (33) of the right part (16") of the upper body (16) with the driving shaft of a brush motor (35), that is detachably connected with the right part (16") of the upper body (16), whereas the other end of the rotating shaft (30) is seated in the opening (27') of the left part (16') of the upper body (16), and a circular disc (41) with symmetrically spaced offsets (46) on its circumference is seated on it and connected to it by means of a link (43) arranged in the hole (40) of this shaft, and, in addition, in the external side wall (47) of the left part (16') of the upper body (16) a rectangular recess (49) is made with a lateral through hole (49') in the lower part of this recess, in which a sensor (50) board is placed, screwed with screws (51) in the holes (52) made in the corners of this plate and in the corners of the rectangular recess (49), whereas the main control board (55) is screwed to the inclined surfaces of the profiled back walls (53' and 53") of both parts of the upper body (16) by means of screws (54), for which rectangular offsets (57) and obliquely situated rectangular offsets (58) with mounting through holes (59) on their ends are made, and a board with an optical sensor (61) located in the recess (48) of the annular seat (28) is fastened to the inclined surface for the offset (58) of the left part (16') of the upper body (16) by means of screws (60), whereas to the external side wall (63) of the left part (19") of the lower body (19) a profiled plate (67) with a rectangular offset (68) is fastened, to which a electromagnetic lock (72) with a locking bolt (73) is detachably connected, located in the hole (74) of the middle part of the rear wall (75) of the left part (19") of the lower body (19), and in turn to the rear wall (75) of the right part (19') of this body an adapter (77) is detachably connected, connected with cables to the electromagnetic lock (72), whereas to the lower oblique parts of the walls (75) of the lower body (19) a RFID proximity reader (80) is connected, and, in addition, each of the external side walls of the left part (16') and the right part (16") of the upper body (16), in its lower corner, is provided with a through hole (59') for the screws fastening the mechanism to the mounting bar of the transponder strap dispenser.

2. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower flat surfaces of both parts of the upper body (16) are connected to the upper surfaces (18' and 18") of the lower body (19) by means of four screws (17) screwed into the two through holes (20) of the left part (19') and the right part (19") of this body and into the four threaded holes of the lower flat surfaces of both parts of the upper body (16).

3. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower part of the rail (3) of the transponder strap feeder (1) subassembly is arranged in the rectangular hole (22) of the upper body (16) above the toothed gear (32) and it is locked by the pressure ball screw (11') screwed into the through hole (24') of the right part (16") of the upper body (16).

4. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the through hole (27') is surrounded by annular seats (28) made on the inner and outer surfaces of the left part (16') of the upper body (16), and the through hole (27") is surrounded by an annular seat (28) made on the inner surface of the right part (16") of this upper body.

5. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the offsets (58) of the rear walls (53' and 53") of the upper body (16) are provided with mounting holes (59) for screws fastening the subassembly (2) to the mounting bar of the transponder strap dispenser.

6. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that between the rectangular offset (68) of the profiled plate (67) and the electromagnetic lock (72), there are spacers (70") located on the screws (71).

7. Mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail (3) of the feeder (1) subassembly and the lower body (19) are made of plastic, and the upper body (16) of aluminium.

Images