US-12624571-B2 - Electrified latch

US12624571B2US 12624571 B2US12624571 B2US 12624571B2US-12624571-B2

Abstract

A cabinet lock for securing a door panel to a cabinet housing comprising a latching component, an electromechanical component, and a communications module. The latching component has a latch housing and latch member reciprocally translatable between locked and unlocked orientations to selectively secure the door panel to the cabinet housing. The electromechanical component includes an actuator operably coupled to a drive member that is coupled to the latch member whereby powering of the actuator translates the latch member to at least one of the unlocked or locked orientations. The communications module is configured for communication with a remote device of a municipal traffic control agency and/or a utilities worker. The communications module is configured to receive a control signal from the remote device for moving the latch member to the at least one of the unlocked orientation or the locked orientation.

Inventors

Ryan M. Sims
Baruch Spence
Joshua T. Peabody
Ben Williams

Assignees

HANCHETT ENTRY SYSTEMS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220228

Claims (15)

1 . A cabinet lock for securing a door panel to a cabinet housing, the cabinet lock comprising: a) a latching component having a latch housing and a latch member reciprocally translatable between a locked orientation to secure said door panel to said cabinet housing and an unlocked orientation to free said door panel from said cabinet housing; and b) an electromechanical component including an actuator, a drive member position sensor, and a printed circuit board (PCB), wherein said actuator is operably coupled to a drive member, wherein said drive member is coupled to said latch member whereby powering of said actuator translates said latch member to said unlocked orientation, wherein said drive member position sensor emits a first signal when said latch member reaches said unlocked orientation, wherein said printed circuit board (PCB) receives and sends instructions and/or information regarding said locked and unlocked orientations of said latch member with one or more control boards within said cabinet housing, whereby said one or more control boards receive and send said instructions and/or said information to a remote municipal traffic control agency, wherein said PCB communicates a second signal directly to said remote municipal traffic control agency, via said one or more control boards within said cabinet housing, indicating that said latch member is being translated from said locked orientation to said unlocked orientation, and wherein when said second signal is indicative of an unauthorized access attempt to an interior compartment of said cabinet housing, collection of video and/or audio data is initiated.
2 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 1 wherein said PCB sends control signals to power said actuator to move said latch member to at least one of said locked orientation or said unlocked orientation, and sends information to said one or more control boards regarding a status of said latching member.
3 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 1 wherein said status is said latch member in said locked orientation or said unlocked orientation.
4 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 1 wherein said PCB receives said first signal and communicates a third signal to said remote municipal traffic control agency, via said one or more control boards within said cabinet housing, indicating that said latch member is in said unlocked orientation.
5 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 1 wherein printed circuit board (PCB) includes a communication module.
6 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 5 wherein said communications module is a wireless communication module.
7 . A cabinet lock for securing a door panel to a cabinet housing, the cabinet lock comprising: a) a latching component having a latch housing and a latch member reciprocally translatable between a locked orientation to secure said door panel to said cabinet housing and an unlocked orientation to free said door panel from said cabinet housing; and b) an electromechanical component including an actuator, a drive member position sensor, and a communications module, wherein said actuator is operably coupled to a drive member, wherein said drive member is coupled to said latch member whereby powering of said actuator translates said latch member to said unlocked orientation, wherein said drive member position sensor emits a first signal when said latch member reaches said unlocked orientation, wherein said communications module directly communicates instructions and/or information regarding said locked and unlocked orientations of said latch member with a remote municipal traffic control agency, wherein said communications module directly communicates a second signal to said remote municipal traffic control agency indicating that said latch member is being translated from said locked orientation to said unlocked orientation, and wherein when said second signal is indicative of an unauthorized access attempt to an interior compartment of said cabinet housing, collection of video and/or audio data is initiated.
8 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 7 wherein said communications module receives a control signal from said remote municipal traffic control agency for at least one of unlocking or locking the cabinet lock.
9 . The cabinet lock in accordance with claim 7 wherein said communications module communicates said first signal to said remote municipal traffic control agency to indicate that said latch member has reached said unlocked orientation.
10 . An electromechanical component for a locking mechanism used to secure a door to a cabinet housing, wherein said locking mechanism includes a latching component having a latch member reciprocally movable between a locked orientation and an unlocked orientation, said electromechanical component comprising: a) a drive member configured to be coupled to said latch member; b) an actuator operably coupled to said drive member; and c) a position sensor for sensing said locked orientation and said unlocked orientation of said latch member, wherein said drive member includes a first portion being opaque to said position sensor and a second portion being translucent to said position sensor, wherein said position sensor outputs a first signal for the first portion, wherein said position sensor outputs a second signal for the second portion which is different than said first signal for the first portion, wherein said second signal indicates that said latch member has moved from said locked orientation to an intermediate orientation between said locked orientation and said unlocked orientation, and said first signal indicates that said latch member has reached said unlocked orientation, wherein information regarding said intermediate and unlocked orientations of said latch member is communicated directly to a remote municipal traffic control agency, and wherein when said second signal is indicative of an unauthorized access attempt to an interior compartment of said cabinet housing, collection of video and/or audio data is initiated.
11 . An electromechanical component for a locking mechanism used to secure a door to a cabinet housing, wherein said locking mechanism includes a latching component having a latch member reciprocally movable between a locked orientation and an unlocked orientation, said electromechanical component comprising: a) a drive member configured to be coupled to said latch member; b) an actuator operably coupled to said drive member; and c) a position sensor for sensing said locked orientation and said unlocked orientation of said latch member, wherein said drive member includes a first portion being opaque to said position sensor and a second portion being translucent to said position sensor, wherein said position sensor outputs a first signal for the first portion, and wherein said position sensor outputs a second signal for the second portion which is different than said first signal for the first portion, and d) a printed circuit board (PCB) including a communications module, and wherein said communications module communicates said second signal directly to a remote municipal traffic control agency, wherein when said second signal is indicative of an unauthorized access attempt to an interior compartment of said cabinet housing, collection of video and/or audio data is initiated.
12 . The electromechanical component of claim 11 wherein the communications module is a wireless communications module.
13 . A method of retrofitting an electromechanical component to an existing cabinet lock, wherein the existing cabinet lock is used to selectively secure a door to a cabinet housing, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a cabinet lock inside the cabinet housing, wherein the cabinet lock only has a latching component that operates to selectively secure the door to the cabinet housing without an electromechanical component, wherein the latching component includes a latch member; b) providing an electromechanical component including an actuator connectable to a power source, wherein the electromechanical component further includes a drive member, a position sensor and a communication module, wherein the position sensor senses the position of the latch member, and wherein the communication module is in communication with a remote municipal traffic control agency; c) providing a connector feature; d) connecting the drive member to the latch member via the connector feature; e) triggering of a first signal by the position sensor that is indicative of the position of the latch member; and f) communicating, using the communication module, the first signal directly to the remote municipal traffic control agency indicating the position of said latch member.
14 . The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein when the first signal is indicative of an unauthorized access attempt to an interior compartment of the cabinet housing, collection of video and/or audio data is initiated.
15 . The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the communications module is a wireless communications module.

Description

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER APPLICATIONS AND PATENTS This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/804,720 filed Feb. 28, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/812,647, filed Mar. 1, 2019 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/831,923, filed Apr. 10, 2019, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cabinet lock for securing a door panel to a cabinet frame; and more particularly, to an electromechanical cabinet lock including an actuator; and still more particularly, to an electromechanical cabinet lock including a drive member such as a drive screw or a drive plate, wherein the actuator is a motor acting on the drive member, and wherein a position sensor is configured to trigger a signal when a latch member of the cabinet lock translates from a locked orientation to an unlocked orientation. The electromechanical component of the cabinet lock may be unitized so as to be adaptable to an existing mechanical latching component to electrify the cabinet lock. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cabinet locks, such as those used with traffic control signal boxes, typically include a mechanical key switch which is manually turned to withdraw a latch or deadbolt and thereby pivotally free the cabinet door from the cabinet frame and allow access to the interior of the cabinet. These traffic control signal boxes may include controllers and related circuitry to control and coordinate traffic lights and vehicular traffic through the associated intersection. However, the cabinet locks used on traffic control signal boxes are generally unmonitored, meaning any tampering or unauthorized access may go unnoticed for some period of time. With a focus on heightened homeland security, there is a need for improving the integrity and remote monitoring of traffic control signal boxes. It is a principal object of the present invention to address these, as well as other, needs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, a cabinet lock for securing a door panel to a cabinet frame includes a latching component and an electromechanical component. The latching component has a latch housing and a latch member reciprocally translatable between a locked orientation whereby the latch member extends outwardly of the latch housing to secure the door panel to the cabinet frame and an unlocked orientation whereby the latch member retracts within the latch housing to free the door panel from the cabinet frame. The electromechanical component includes an actuator operably coupled to a drive member. A first end of the drive member engages the latch member whereby powering of the actuator in a first direction translates the latch member to the unlocked orientation. The latch member may be a latch or dead bolt. The actuator may be a motor and the drive member may be a drive screw. The electromechanical component may further include a drive nut rotatably coupled to the actuator whereby powering of the actuator rotates the drive nut to translate the drive screw and latch member to the unlocked orientation. The latching component may further include a manual actuator coupled to the latch member. The manual actuator may include a cylinder having a cam located at a first end whereby manual actuation of the cylinder causes the cam to engage the latch member and drive the latch member to the unlocked orientation. The latching component may also further include a biasing member configured to bias the latch member to the locked orientation. Additionally or alternatively, powering of the actuator in a second direction may translate the latch member to the locked orientation. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the actuator may be a motor and the drive member may be a drive plate rotatable by the actuator. The electromechanical component may further include a latch pin coupled to the latch member whereby powering of the actuator rotates the drive plate. A guide channel formed in the drive plate receives the latch pin so that rotation of the drive plate translates the latch member to the unlocked orientation. The latching component may further include a manual actuator coupled to the latch member. The manual actuator may include a cylinder having a cam located at a first end whereby manual actuation of the cylinder causes the cam to engage the latch member and drive the latch member to the unlocked orientation. The latching component may also further include a biasing member configured to bias the latch member to the locked orientation. Additionally or alternatively, powering of the actuator in a second direction may translate the latch member to the locked orientation. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a traffic signal control box comprises a cabinet have a side wall framing an opening therein to permit access to an interior defined by the cabinet and a door panel is mounted to the side wall frame