CABINET

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a locking arrangement for a transport cart. In particular, the present invention relates to a locking arrangement for a food transport cart or a food cabinet and a food transport cart or food cabinet comprising such locking arrangement.

Background art

Food transport carts are commonly used for transporting trays or the like containing hot or cold food.

They are commonly equipped with a locking arrangement comprising a locking mechanism and a handle for opening and closing the cart. Most locking arrangements requires the person opening the cart to use one or both hands. Often, the person approaching the cart is holding a tray of food to be inserted, and in order to open the cart, the person must first set the tray aside to be able to handle the locking arrangement. This is cumbersome and time consuming. It is also known to provide the food transport cart with a foot pedal. Flowever, since most carts are opened by using the hands, it is desirable to achieve a versatile locking arrangement which allows a facilitated operation.

Summary of the invention

In view of that stated above, the object of the present invention is to at least partly overcome one or more of the above-identified limitations of the prior art. In particular, it is an object to have an improved locking arrangement that can be opened by a person without using her hands.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a locking arrangement. The locking arrangement comprises: a locking pin; a rotatable gripping member comprising a first and a second finger, said fingers defining an intermediate gap configured to selectively receive the locking pin; a rotatable actuator configured to move the gripping member between a closed position in which the locking pin is received in said gap, and an open position in which the locking pin is allowed to be moved out from said gap; a torsion spring connected to a pivot of the gripping member and to a pivot of the actuator and configured to bias the gripping member towards the closed position; and a safety locking member comprising a first protrusion, wherein the safety locking member may be longitudinally moveable between a locked position in which the first protrusion is longitudinally aligned with a stopping member of the actuator thereby restricting rotational movement of the actuator; and an unlocked position in which the first protrusion is longitudinally displaced relative the stopping member thereby allowing rotational movement of the actuator.

By the torsion spring extending between the pivot of the gripping member and the pivot of the actuator respectively, the gripping member is biased towards the closed position. The locking arrangement will thereby automatically close around the locking pin in a condition when the locking pin is pushed against the gripping member. The torsion spring further facilitates a force transfer from the actuator to the gripping member such that a movement of the actuator will move the gripping member to its open position, thereby allowing the locking pin to be released from the intermediate gap.

Furthermore, a locking arrangement according to this aspect enables locking of the locking arrangement in the closed position by ensuring that no external engagement can move the actuator and thereby set the gripping member to its open position. The locking arrangement may thereby be protected during for instance transportation, or in other circumstances where it is desirable to keep the arrangement locked.

The locking arrangement may be arranged in any suitable position on the cart, such as at waist level, at knee level or even at foot level.

According to embodiments, the actuator may further comprise a push pad suitable for being pushed by an object or by a body part, and the push pad may be connected to the actuator such that when the push pad is pushed, the actuator moves the gripping member from the closed position to the open position.

The push pad facilitates external engagement of the actuator. More specifically, the push pad allows a user carrying an object with both hands to engage with the locking arrangement without first having to set the object down to free her hands. Instead, the user can push the pushing pad with the object. The object may be a tray or other food related equipment. Alternatively, the push pad may be engaged with a body part of the user that is free to use while holding an object, such as a knee, foot, elbow, forearm, or dorsal part of a hand. Accordingly, the locking arrangement must not necessarily be arranged at waist height but may with remained function be arranged at or below knee level.

In addition to the examples mentioned above, the push pad could be engaged with many other objects or body parts.

According to embodiments, the gripping member in an end portion thereof facing the actuator may comprise a guiding surface and a stopping shoulder, and the actuator may comprise a projection, wherein the projection is configured to abut the stopping shoulder when the locking arrangement is set to its closed position and wherein the projection is configured to slidingly engage the guiding surface when the locking arrangement is moved from the closed position to the open position.

By the actuator comprising a guiding surface, the rotary movement of the gripping part is transformed to a linear force such that the locking pin is allowed to be released from the intermediate gap.

The guiding surface may in one embodiment be a cam surface.

The safety locking member may further comprise a major surface having a long hole, wherein the safety locking member may be suspended to the locking arrangement by a first pivot extending through said long hole, thereby allowing the safety locking member to be longitudinally moveable between the locked position and the unlocked position

According to embodiments, the first pivot may be a bolt forming a pivot of either the gripping member or the actuator. By the first pivot also acting as a pivot of the gripping member or the actuator, fewer mechanical parts are required to fabricate and assemble the arrangement, thereby saving cost and space.

According to embodiments, the major surface of the safety locking member may further comprise an additional long hole configured to receive an additional pivot.

Advantageously, an additional long hole increases mechanical stability of the safety locking member and the locking arrangement.

According to embodiments, the first pivot may be a bolt forming a pivot of the gripping member and the additional pivot may be a bolt forming the pivot of the actuator.

According to embodiments, the safety locking member may further comprise a second protrusion comprising an indicator visually representing the locked and the unlocked position of the safety locking member.

Advantageously, the indicator allows the user to determine the state of the locking arrangement without having to engage with it. The visual representation may be made by two different colours, each colour representing a state of the locking arrangement.

The indicator may comprise one field representing a locked position, and one field representing an unlocked position.

According to embodiments, the locking arrangement may further comprise a housing, said housing having a throughgoing opening configured to receive the first pivot such that the first pivot is allowed to engage a locking member from the outside of the housing, thereby allowing the safety locking member to be fixated in the locked or unlocked position.

By engagement from the outside of the housing being allowed, quick and easy adjustment of the state of the locking arrangement to circumstances is facilitated. The locking arrangement may for instance be locked by a user during transportation, and then unlocked upon arrival.

The housing may further comprise a window providing visual access to the indicator of the safety locking member such that the position of the safety locking member is visually represented outside the housing. The size of the window may be smaller than the size of the indicator such that only one part of the indicator is seen at a time. The indicator may be configured such that the part that is seen is representing the position of the safety locking member and thereby the state of the locking arrangement.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a food transport cart or a food cabinet. The food transport cart or food cabinet comprises a locking arrangement as described above. The food cart or food cabinet may be insulated or non-insulated. The food cart or food cabinet may comprise a thermal control system.

The locking arrangement with its design and advantages has been thoroughly discussed above. These arguments are equally applicable to a food transport cart using such locking arrangement. Thus, to avoid undue repetition, reference is made to the sections above.

By comprising a locking arrangement as described above, opening, and closing of the food cart is enabled for a person with one or two hands busy. This is because a person carrying an object may engage the locking arrangement with the object or a free body part.

Brief description of the drawings

The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the appended drawings, where the same reference numerals will be used for similar elements, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a locking arrangement according to some embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a locking arrangement according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of a locking arrangement according to some embodiments.

Figs. 4a and 4b are perspective views of a locking arrangement according to some embodiments. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a food transport cart comprising a locking arrangement according to some embodiments.

Detailed description

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred examples of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be exemplified in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these examples are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and fully convey the scope of the invention to the skilled person. The description will refer to a food transport cart. It is however to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to a stationary cabinet for food.

Starting with Fig. 1, the overall design of the locking arrangement 100 according to some embodiments is disclosed. The locking arrangement 100 comprises, starting from the back, a protective plate 210, a locking pin 200, a backplate 180 and a gripping member 120. The gripping member comprises a first finger 121 and a second finger 122, the fingers defining an intermediate gap 123 configured to selectively receive the locking pin 200. The locking arrangement 100 further comprises a rotatable actuator 110 comprising a push pad 140. The actuator 110 is configured to move the gripping member 120 between a closed position in which the locking pin 200 is received in said intermediate gap 123, and an open position (illustrated in Fig. 4b) in which the locking pin 200 is allowed to be moved out from said intermediate gap 123. A torsion spring is connected to a pivot 160 of the gripping member 120 and to a pivot 161 of the actuator 110. The torsion spring is configured to bias the gripping member 120 towards the closed position (illustrated in Fig. 4a). The locking arrangement 100 further comprises a safety locking member 400. The safety locking member 400 is configured to lock the locking arrangement 100, or to keep it in an unlocked state, by prohibiting or permitting engagement of the actuator 110. The locking arrangement 100 further comprises a spring washer 540 and a housing 500. The housing 500, the safety locking member 400, and the gripping member 120 are mounted to the backplate 180 by a locking member 520 configured to be fastened on the pivot 161 of the actuator 120.

The underlying principle of the locking arrangement 100 may shortly be described as follows: With the safety locking member 400 in an unlocked position, a user is enabled to push the push pad 140. By a pushing the push pad 140, the actuator 110 moves the gripping member 120 from the closed position to the open position, thereby allowing the locking pin 200 to be released from the intermediate gap 123 and thereby opening the locking arrangement 100. The user may then close the locking arrangement 100 by pushing the locking pin 200 against the gripping member 110 until positioned in the intermediate gap 123 where the torsion spring 130 is configured to bias the gripping member 120 towards the closed position. The user may then lock the locking arrangement 100 by moving the safety locking member 400 to a locked position. The actions by the user can be made selectively and in any order.

Now turning to Fig. 2, the locking arrangement 100 according to some embodiments is disclosed. The locking arrangement 100 comprises the locking pin 200 and the rotatable gripping member 120. As previously discussed, the gripping member 120 comprises a first finger 121 and a second finger 122 which together define an intermediate gap 123 which is configured to selectively receive the locking pin 200. The second finger 122 may comprise a tapered surface 124 such that when the locking pin 200 is pushed against the gripping member 120, the gripping member 120 is rotationally moved with the locking pin 200 such that the locking pin 200 is received in the intermediate gap 123.

The locking pin 200 may be arranged on a protective plate 210, and the locking pin 200 and/or the protective plate 210 may be mounted to a first surface 610. The gripping member 120 may be arranged on the backplate 180, and the gripping member 120 and/or the backplate 180 may be mounted to a second surface 620 to be discussed below.

By the locking pin 200 being received in the intermediate gap 123 of the gripping member 120, the second surface 620 is brought in contact with the first surface 610. As an example, the first surface 610 may be a door of for instance a food transport cart 600, and the second surface 620 may be a door frame on said food transport cart 600. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a food transport cart 600 comprising a locking arrangement 100 according to some embodiments. In this example, when the locking pin 200 is received in the intermediate gap 123, the door 610 is closed against the door frame 620 as illustrated in Figs. 4a and 4b. Alternatively and with remained function, the first surface 610 may be a door frame and the second surface 620 may be a door.

Now turning back to Fig. 2, the locking arrangement 100 further comprises a rotatable actuator 110. The rotatable actuator 110 is configured to move the gripping member 120 between a closed position in which the locking pin 200 is received in said intermediate gap 123, and an open position (illustrated in Fig. 4a) in which the locking pin 200 is allowed to be moved out from said intermediate gap 123. A torsion spring 130 is connected to a pivot 160 of the gripping member 120 and to a pivot 161 of the actuator 110. The torsion spring 130 is configured to bias the gripping member 120 towards the closed position.

By the gripping member 120 being biased towards the closed position, it ensures that after the receiving of the locking pin 200 into the intermediate gap, the gripping member 120 is moved to the closed position. Thus, the locking pin 200 is forced to remain in the intermediate gap 123 until the actuator 110 is caused to move the gripping member 120 to the open position. In the example of the gripping member 120 being arranged on a second surface 620 and the locking pin 200 being arranged on a first surface 610, it means that the surfaces 610, 620 are forced to remain in contact after the receiving of the locking pin 200 into the intermediate gap 123. Flence, in the case of the first and second surfaces 610, 620 representing a door and a doorframe, the door 610 may be forced to remain in a closed state until the actuator 110 is caused to move the gripping member 120 to the open position, allowing for instance food stored in a food transport cart 600 to be safely kept until needed.

The actuator 110 may further comprise a push pad 140. The push pad 140 is suitable for being pushed by an object or by a body part. The push pad 140 is connected to the actuator 110 such that when the push pad 140 is pushed, the actuator 110 acts as a lever and moves the gripping member 120 from the closed position to the open position. The push pad 140 may consist of rubbery or plastic material. It may alternatively and with remained function consist of a metal or any other material.

By the push pad 140 being connected to the actuator 110, it facilitates external engagement to the actuator 110 and thereby the gripping member 120, such that a person is allowed to shift the gripping member 120 from the closed to the open position. In the example of the gripping member 120 being arranged on a second surface 620 and the locking pin 200 being arranged on a first surface 610, and the first and second surfaces 610, 620 being a door and a door frame respectively, the person is allowed to open the door.

By the push pad 140 being suitable for being pushed by an object or by a body part, it allows the person to open the door by other means than using her hands. This may be beneficial when the person is carrying an object as she may use the object to engage the actuator, or use a free body part. In environments around food transport carts, it is common for persons to be carrying trays of food. In the case of the locking arrangement 100 of the present invention being arranged on a food transport cart 600, persons carrying trays of food are enabled to open the door of such a food transport cart 600 without setting the tray down first, minimizing the risk of unsafe handling of the food and saving time.

According to some embodiments, the gripping member 120 may in an end portion thereof facing the actuator 110 comprise a guiding surface 171 and a stopping shoulder 172. Further, the actuator 110 may comprise a projection 111. The projection 111 is configured to abut the stopping shoulder 172 in a position when the locking arrangement 100 is set to its closed position. The projection 111 may be configured to slidingly engage the guiding surface 171 when the locking arrangement 100 is moved from the closed position to the open position.

Now turning to Fig. 3, the locking arrangement 100 according to some embodiments is disclosed. The locking arrangement 100 further comprises a safety locking member 400 comprising a first protrusion 410. The safety locking member 400 is longitudinally moveable between a locked position in which the first protrusion 410 is longitudinally aligned with a stopping member 150 of the actuator 110 thereby restricting rotational movement of the actuator 110; and an unlocked position in which the first protrusion 410 is longitudinally displaced relative the stopping member 150 thereby allowing rotational movement of the actuator 110.

In other words, the safety locking member 400 is configured to lock the locking arrangement 100, or to keep it in an unlocked state, by prohibiting or permitting engagement of the actuator 110. This may be beneficial in circumstances where there is a risk of mechanical impact on the locking arrangement 100 such as during transport of a food transport cart 600. A locking arrangement 100 arranged on a food transport cart 600 may be locked in the locked position by the safety locking member 400 to thereby prevent undesired external engagement of the actuator 110. The safety locking member 400 will accordingly keep the gripping member 120 in the closed position. When the locking arrangement 100 is in an environment where engagement should be allowed, the safety locking member 400 is conveniently moved to the unlocked position, enabling flexibility and eliminating the need for a second locking mechanism.

The safety locking member 400 may according to some embodiments comprise a major surface 430 having a long hole 431. The safety locking member 400 is suspended to the locking arrangement 100 by a first pivot 160 extending through said long hole 431. The safety locking member 400 is thereby allowed to be longitudinally moveable between the locked position and the unlocked position.

The first pivot 160 may be a bolt forming the pivot 160, 161 of either the gripping member 120 or the actuator 110.

The major surface 430 of the safety locking member 400 may further comprise an additional long hole 432 configured to receive an additional pivot 161.

The first and additional pivots 160, 161 may in one embodiment be bolts, and act as the pivot 160 of the gripping member and the additional pivot 161 respectively. The major surface 430 may further comprise a first locking hole and the actuator 110 may comprise a second locking hole, the first and second locking holes being configured to be aligned while the safety locking member 400 is in locked position (not illustrated). By the first and second locking holes being aligned, it is facilitated to provide the locking arrangement with for instance a padlock in order to prevent unauthorized movement of the safety locking member 400 to the unlocked position.

The safety locking member 400 may further comprise a second protrusion 420 which comprises an indicator 421. The indicator 421 is configured to visually represent the locked and the unlocked position of the safety locking member 400. This may be beneficial as it allows a user to see the state of the locking

The indicator 421 may comprise one field representing a locked position, and one field representing an unlocked position. The fields representing respective position may by way of example be of different colours.

Alternatively or additionally, the locking arrangement may in a non- disclosed embodiment comprise a fixed pointer. In such embodiment the corresponding field will be aligned with the pointer when the safety locking member 400 is at a certain position. There the state of the locking arrangement will be visually indicated.

Now turning back to Fig.1. The locking arrangement 100 comprises a protective housing 500. The housing 500 has a throughgoing opening 510 configured to receive the first pivot 160 such that the first pivot 160 is allowed to engage a locking member 520 from the outside the housing 500. Thereby the safety locking member 400 will be fixed in the locked or unlocked position. The locking member 520 fixates the safety locking member 400 by pressing the housing 500 with the spring washer 540 against the safety locking member 400. The locking member 520 may be a nut. It is understood that other types of locking members may be used with remained function.

The housing 500 comprises side walls 560, 570 and a front wall 550 which together define a space configured to encapsulate the locking arrangement 100. The front wall 550 defines the throughgoing opening 510. The first side wall defines an opening 561 corresponding to the gripping member 120 such that while in open position, the second finger 122 is allowed to rotationally move through the opening 561 , and the locking pin 200 is allowed to be received through the opening 561. The first side wall comprises a window 530 providing visual access to the indicator 421 of the safety locking member 400. The position of the safety locking member 400 may thereby be is visually represented outside the housing 500.

The second side wall 570 comprises an opening 571 corresponding to the actuator 120, allowing parts of the actuator 120 and the push pad 140 to extend through the opening 571 and facilitating external engagement of the actuator 120 from outside the housing 500. Through said opening 571, parts of the safety locking member 400 are allowed to extend thereby facilitating external engagement of the safety locking member 400 from outside the housing 500.

The housing 500 protects mechanical parts of the locking arrangement 100, expands the lifetime of the arrangement, and increases safety for the user.

The locking pin 200 may be shielded by a protective plate 210. The protective plate 210 increases safety for the user by preventing access of objects or body parts into the mechanism of the locking arrangement 100.

The housing 500 and/or the protective plate 210 may consist of a plastic material. It/they may alternatively and with remained function consist of a metal or any other material. Preferably, the housing 500 and/or the protective plate 210 consists of a sheet material such as a plastic sheet or a sheet metal.

Now turning to Figs. 4a-b and 5 which disclose the overall design of a food transport cart 600 comprising the locking arrangement 100 according to some embodiments. The food transport cart 600 comprises a first surface 610 of a door and a second surface 620 of a door frame. The locking pin 200, and in some embodiments the protective plate 210, is arranged on the first surface 610. The gripping member 120, the actuator 110, their pivots 160,

161 , the torsion spring 130, the safety locking member 400, the spring washer 540, the housing 500 and the locking member 520 are supported by the second surface 620.

According to some embodiments, the gripping member 120, the actuator 110, their pivots 160, 161, the torsion spring 130, the safety locking member 400, the spring washer 540, the housing 500 and the locking member 520 are supported by the backplate 180, the backplate 180 being arranged on the second surface 620.

The underlying principle of the food transport cart 600 may shortly be described as follows. As a user is approaching the food transport cart 600 with a tray of foods in her hands, she is able to push the push pad 140 with the tray, thereby opening the locking member 100 and the door 610 of the food transport cart 600. The user may then insert the tray of foods into the food transport cart 600 and close the door 610 against the door frame 620 such that the locking pin 200 is received in the intermediate gap 123 and the locking arrangement 100 is closed. The user may then, by using her hands to engage the parts of the safety locking member 400 extending through the housing, move the safety locking member 400 to the locked position, and fixate the safety locking member 400 by engaging the locking member 520. The locking arrangement 100 and the food transport cart 600 will thereby be locked. The actions by the user can be made selectively and in any order.

The food transport cart 600 may comprise two or more locking arrangements 100. The locking arrangements 100 may be arranged on two or more doors and corresponding door frames.

The skilled person realises that a number of modifications of the embodiments described herein are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure, which is defined in the appended claims.

The locking arrangement 100 may for instance be arranged on the food transport cart 600 with the gripping member 120 vertically positioned over the actuator 110 and parts of the actuator 120 with the push pad 140 extending through the housing 500 in a downwards direction. Alternatively, locking arrangement 100 may be arranged on the food transport cart oppositely oriented such that the gripping member 120 is vertically positioned under the actuator 110 and parts of the actuator 120 with the push pad 140 extending through the housing 500 in an upwards direction.

The food transport cart 600 has been disclosed as having two doors, each associated with a respective compartment. It is to be understood that the cart or cabinet may comprise one or more compartments. The compartments may be arranged side by side or be arranged on top of the other.