Abstract:
A cash drawer comprises a casing, a drawer with a lock head and a connecting rod, a shift plate, a locking device, an opening device, a guiding device and a transmitting device, wherein the drawer is closed by being pushed rearward and opened by turning the lock head, so that the locking device becomes disengaged from a locked state, or by being pushed further rearward, so that, driven by the guiding device, the locking device is lifted and thus disengaged from the locked state, without any need for electric power.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a cash drawer, particularly to a cash drawer which is closed by a simple pushing movement and opened by turning a lock head or by an inward pushing movement, with an elastic force driving a drawer outward without any need for electric power, so that dependence on electric power supply of conventional cash drawers is avoided.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     As shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , a conventional cash drawer comprises a casing  10 ; a drawer  20 ; a shift plate  30 ; a bottom plate  38 ; a locking device  40 ; a spring  47 ; and an opening device  50 . The casing  10  has left and right sides carrying rails  11  and rolls  12 . The drawer  20  has left and right sides outside of which rails  21  and rolls  22  are mounted which glide on the casing  10 . The drawer  20  has a front side on which a lock head  24  is mounted performing opening and closing movements. A connecting rod  26  leads from the lock head  24  rearward and passes through a rear wall of the drawer  20 . The shift plate  30  is an elongated plate mounted on the rear wall of the drawer  20  and having a right end and a left end. The right end of the shift plate  30  accommodates a rear end of the connecting rod  26  to glide therein. A middle section of the shift plate  30  has positioning grooves  34  guiding the shift plate  30  to glide over positioning pins  36  and preventing the shift plate  30  from being displaced. The left end of the shift plate  30  is perpendicularly bent, forming an pushing end  37 , and is movable to the left and right. The bottom plate  38  is fastened to a lower side of the casing  10  close to a rear side thereof and at a middle position carries a holding knob  39 . The locking device  40 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , has an axis  41  mounted on the drawer  20  in front of the rear wall thereof, a catch plate  43 , which in a middle part thereof is set on the axis  41 , a hook  44 , leaning against the pushing end  37  of the shift plate  30 , and a catch opening  45  that in a locked state of the drawer  20  engages with the holding knob  39 . A spring  47  has an end connected with the catch plate  43  on the axis  41  and another end connected with the rear wall of the drawer  20 . The opening device  50  comprises a holding case  52 , mounted on the bottom plate  38 , an opening spring  54 , fastened to the holding case  52  at a front side thereof, and a magnet  60 , mounted on the bottom plate  38 . The magnet  60  has a push bar  61  to which a push rod  63  is fastened. When electric current passes through the magnet  60 , the push bar  61  thereof is longitudinally moved, taking the push rod  63  away from the catch plate  43 , so that an opening movement of the catch plate  43  is performed. Closing the drawer  20  causes the catch plate  43  to engage with the holding knob  39  and to be held there in the locked state. For opening the drawer  20 , the lock head  24  is manually or by electronic control turned into an open position, causing the connecting rod  26  to shift the shift plate  30  and to operate the magnet  60 , so that the push rod  63  and the shift plate  30  move away from the catch plate  43 , so that the catch opening  45  thereof becomes disengaged from the holding knob  39  on the bottom plate  38  and the opening spring  54  pushes the drawer  20  outward.  
         [0005]     Conventional cash drawers like those just described have a simple structure and are widely used, but have the following disadvantages. (1) Operation is dependent on supply of electricity, and (2) power consumption for repeated opening and closing of the drawer is high.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is the object of the present invention to provide a cash drawer which allows to be opened without electric power supply by turning a lock head or further rearward pushing, with a guiding device via a transmitting device unlocking a locking device.  
         [0007]     The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0008]     As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the cash drawer of the present invention comprises: a casing  10 ; a drawer  20 ; a shift plate  30 ; a locking device  40 ; an opening device  50 ; a guiding device  70 ; and a transmitting device  90 . The casing  10 , having rails  11 , rolls  12  and a bottom plate  13 , and the drawer  20 , having rails  21 , rolls  22 , a lock head  24  and a connecting rod  26 , the locking device  40  and the opening device  50  are designed like conventional art. A description thereof regarding structural parts, assembly and working of the present invention is brought in the following.  
         [0009]     The rails  11  and rolls  12  are placed on left and right sides of the casing  10 .  
         [0010]     The drawer  20  has left and right surfaces outside of which the rails  21  and rolls  22  are mounted, allowing the drawer  20  to glide forward and rearward in the casing  10  in opening and closing movements, respectively. The lock head  24  is mounted on a front plate of the drawer  20  and is operated to move between an open state and a close state. The connecting rod  26  has a front end connected with the lock head  24  and a rear end passing through a rear wall of the drawer  20 .  
         [0011]     The shift plate  30  is a horizontally oriented elongated plate mounted behind the rear wall of the drawer  20  and having a right end with a guiding hole  32  through which the rear end of the connecting rod  26  passes and a left end that is perpendicularly bent rearward to form an pushing end  37 . A middle section of the shift plate  30  has positioning grooves  34  guiding the shift plate  30  to glide over positioning pins  36  and preventing the shift plate  30  from being displaced. The shift plate  30  is movable to the left and to the right.  
         [0012]     The bottom plate  13  is mounted on a lower side of the casing  10 , close to a rear side thereof and carries a holding knob  39 .  
         [0013]     The locking device  40  has an axis  41 , placed before the rear wall of the drawer  20 , and a catch plate  43 , at a middle section thereof set on the axis  41  and being able to perform a turning movement around the axis  41 . The catch plate  43  has a rearward extending end passing through the rear wall of the drawer  20  with a catch opening  45 . The catch opening  45  has a front wall and a rear wall and in a locked state engages with the holding knob  39  on the bottom plate  13 . A spring  47  has two ends that are respectively connected with the catch plate  43  behind the axis and with the rear wall of the drawer  20 .  
         [0014]     The opening device  50  has a holding case  52 , mounted on the bottom plate  13 , and an opening spring  54 , fastened to the holding case  52  at a front side thereof.  
         [0015]     The guiding device  70  is glidingly set on the bottom plate  13  of the casing  10  and comprises: a guiding plate  71  having a front elongated hole  72  and a rear elongated hole  73 ; a front positioning element  74  placed inside the front elongated hole  72 ; a rear positioning element  75  placed inside the rear elongated hole  73 ; a spring  76 , placed between the front positioning element  74  and a fastening element  77  and pushing the guiding plate  71  forward; a front ridge  78 , extending upward from the guiding plate  71  at a left edge thereof and having a rear end with an inclined part  82 ; a blocking plate  79 , placed on the guiding plate  71  behind the front ridge  78 ; and a rear ridge  81 , placed on the guiding plate  71  behind the blocking plate  79  and having a top extending forward in an extension  83  with an inclined part  85  at a far end thereof. A gap  84  is left between the blocking plate  79  and the rear ridge  81 . A vertical plate  86  is attached to the guiding plate  71  at a front end thereof, preventing damaging of the guiding device  70  if the drawer  20  is exposed to excessive force.  
         [0016]     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 8  and  9 , the transmitting device  90  comprises: a transmitting plate  91 ; an L-shaped positioning plate  98 ; an axis  92 ; a turning plate  93 ; a torsional spring  94 ; a helical spring  95 ; and a lifting plate  96 . The transmitting plate  91  has a rear end that carries the positioning plate  98 , which rotates around the axis  92  on the bottom plate  13 , a middle section supported by the holding case  52  of the opening device  50 , and a front end carrying a perpendicularly upward bent vertical end  91   a . The turning plate  93  is set on the axis  92 , having an inner end close to the positioning plate  98  and a free outer end. The torsional spring  94  is placed above the turning plate  93 , having a lower end  941  attached to the turning plate  93  and an upper end  942  attached to the positioning plate  98 , pushing the turning plate  93  to be oriented perpendicular to the transmitting plate  91 . The helical spring  95  is inserted between the vertical end  91   a  of the transmitting plate  91  and the bottom plate  13 . The lifting plate  96  has an inner end mounted on the transmitting plate  91  and a free outer end into which an opening  97  with inclined walls is cut. A spring  99  presses down on the lifting plate  96 . In the embodiment described here, the transmitting plate  91  ia placed below the catch plate  43 .  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , when the drawer  20  is open, with the guiding plate  71  of the guiding device  70  and the opening spring  54  of the opening device  50  not being exposed to external forces, the guiding plate  71  is pressed forward by the spring  76 , and the opening spring  54  extends forward. In this state, the outer end of the turning plate  93  lies behind the rear ridge  81 .  
         [0018]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the drawer  20  has been manually pushed into the casing  10 , external forces act on the opening spring  54  and the guiding plate  71 , causing the guiding plate  71  to move backward, guided by the front and rear elongated holes  72 ,  73 . At the same time, the inclined part  82  of the front ridge  78  glides over the outer end of the lifting plate  96  of the transmitting device  90 , which subsequently rises gradually. Furthermore, the inclined part  85  of the rear ridge  81  glides over the outer end of the turning plate  93 , which subsequently rises gradually and is stopped by the blocking plate  79  as soon as the gap  84  has been reached. Since the extension  83  and the blocking plate  79  have a mutual distance that is smaller than the width of the turning plate  93 , the outer end of the turning plate  93  enters the gap  84 . At the same time, the catch opening  45  of the locking device  40  becomes engaged with the holding knob  39 , with the holding knob  39  leaning against the front wall of the catch opening  45 .  
         [0019]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , when the drawer  20  is released, the opening spring  54  causes the drawer to open, with the guiding plate  71  being pushed forward by the spring  76 . Then the outer end of the turning plate  93  is held in the gap  84  between the blocking plate  79  and the rear ridge  81 , and the holding knob  39  leans against the rear wall of the catch opening  45 .  
         [0020]     Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , when the drawer  20  is further pushed rearward, the blocking plate  79  on the guiding plate  71  moves rearward, taking along the outer end of the turning plate  93 , so that the transmitting plate  91  turns on the axis  92 , with the opening  97  on the lifting plate  96  straddling the front ridge  78 . This causes the transmitting plate  91  to rise, so that the catch opening  45  in the catch plate  43  disengages from the holding knob  39 .  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , when external applied forces gradually decrease, the guiding device  70  moves forward, and the lifting plate  96  gradually shifts rearward and to the right until the opening  97  thereof engages with the front ridge  78  and glides along the front ridge  78 . Thereby the transmitting plate  91  pushes for a short time against the catch plate  43 , causing the catch plate  43  to remain engaged with the holding knob  39 . Only when the opening  97  no longer is in contact with the front ridge  78 , the catch opening  45  of the catch plate disengages from the holding knob  39 . At this time, the spring  94  pushes the turning plate  93  towards the rear of the gap  84 , so that the outer end of the turning plate  93  disengages from the rear ridge  81 .  
         [0022]     The present invention allows, using the catch plate  43  of the locking device  40 , to close the drawer  20  in a well-defined manner. Turning the lock head  24  to the open state thereof moves the shift plate  30  to have the catch plate  43  disengage from the holding knob  39 . Further rearward pressing of the drawer  20  causes the guiding device  70  to take along the transmitting device  90 , with the transmitting plate  91  pushing the catch plate  43  to disengage from the holding knob  39 .  
         [0023]     While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention which is defined by the appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the cash drawer of the present invention, with the left side and the top side of the casing removed.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the cash drawer of the present invention, with the drawer opened and the opening device removed.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the locking device, the guiding device and the transmitting device of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the locking device, the opening device, the guiding device and the transmitting device of the present invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of part A of  FIG. 2 , with the drawer not yet being released.  
         [0029]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of part A of  FIG. 2 , with the drawer being pressed rearward a first time.  
         [0030]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of part A of  FIG. 2 , with the drawer being released after having been pressed rearward a first time.  
         [0031]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view of part A of  FIG. 2 , with the drawer being pressed rearward a second time.  
         [0032]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged perspective view of part B of  FIG. 8 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged perspective view of part A of  FIG. 2 , with the drawer being released after having been pressed rearward a second time.  
         [0034]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a conventional cash drawer, with the left side and the top side of the casing removed.  
         [0035]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a conventional cash drawer, with the drawer opened, the spring of the opening device removed and the holding case of the opening device partly removed. 
     
    
       [0036]