Technical Field The present invention relates to a locking device which can be operated automatically by means of a communication device such as a mobile phone, a locking device which makes the objects in furniture such as cabinets or drawers in which one stores their belongings accessible only by the authorized persons. Background Art

Today, in such spaces as offices or gyms, pieces of furniture like cabinets or drawers in which one stores their belongings are used. People use said furniture to store the things that they do not want to be accessed by others. Thus, such furniture is generally equipped with lockers that can be unlocked by a key. By locking the furniture by a key once they put their belongings inside, people prevent others who do not have the key from accessing the things inside the furniture.

However, said locks in state of art lead to various problems due to the fact that they require keys, particularly the physical ones. The leading problem is that people may lose their keys, especially in cases where smaller keys are used, which result in the furniture’s remaining in the locked position if the furniture was already locked when the key was lost or in the unlocked position if the furniture was unlocked because the person would be unable to lock it. Resolving this problem requires changing the lock, which results in losing time and effort. In addition, locks in state of art can be easily switched from the locked to the unlocked position by those who do not have the key by means of such apparatus as spoon, pocketknife, etc., which can result in security weakness. Thus, there is a need in state of art for a locking device which can be run automatically by means of a communication device such as a mobile phone, a locking device which makes the objects in furniture such as cabinets or drawers in which one stores their belongings accessible only by the authorized persons.

The United States patent document no. US2016049024 in state of art discloses a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi bridging system having one or a plurality of connections in a specific closed area. In said system, one or a plurality of peripheral Bluetooth devices enable connection via bridging. In the invention, an intelligent door lock system is said to communicate with said bridge and Bluetooth devices. In the invention, the relevant bridge is said to track the signals from the Bluetooth device associated with the user, thus detecting the user. In the invention, the intelligent locking system that tracks the user’s device by Bluetooth signals is said to be configurable in a way to take other actions in addition to automatic unlocking.

Brief Description of Invention

The aim of the present invention is to develop a locking device that can be operated automatically by means of a communication device such as a mobile phone, a locking device that makes the objects in furniture such as cabinets or drawers in which one stores their belongings accessible only by the authorized persons.

Disclosure of Invention

“A Locking Device for Furniture” developed to attain the aim of the invention is illustrated in the figures attached, wherein; Figure- 1 is the perspective view of the locking device in invention.

Figure-2 is an exploded view of the locking device in invention.

Figure-3 is the schematic view of inside the chassis of the locking device in invention from above.

Figure-4 is the schematic perspective view of the furniture on which the locking device is placed in one embodiment of the invention.

Figure-5 is the schematic view of the locking device when it is placed on the furniture in one embodiment of the invention.

All the parts illustrated in figures are individually assigned a reference numeral. The numerals and the parts they correspond to are as follows:

1. Locking device

2. Chassis

3. Holder

4. Locking component

5. Actuator

6. Motion transfer component

7. Communication unit

8. Control unit

9. Position detector

F. Furniture

FP. Fixed part

MP. Moving part

The locking device (1) in invention which is operable by a communication device such as a mobile phone and allows only the authorized persons to access the things inside a furniture (F) such as a cabinet or a drawer in which belongings are stored and which has at least one fixed part (FP) and at least one moving part (MP) that moves relative to the fixed part (FP) comprises:

at least one chassis (2) that is placed on furniture (F), at least one holder (3) that is placed on furniture (F),

at least one locking component (4) to move between at least one locked position in which it is held by the holder (3) inside the chassis (2) so that the moving part (MP) is prevented from moving relative to the fixed part (FP) and at least one unlocked position in which it is released by the holder (3) so that the moving part (MP) is allowed to move relative to the fixed part (FP),

at least one actuator (5) that is located inside the chassis (2) and provides the required drive to help the locking component (4) switch between at least one locked position and at least one unlocked position,

at least one motion transfer component (6) that is connected to the locking component (4) and the actuator (5) and takes the drive generated by the actuator (5) and switches the locking component (4) between at least one locked position and at least one unlocked position,

at least one communication unit (7) that is located inside the chassis (2) and configured to receive command via a communication device for switching the locking component (4) to the locked position or to the unlocked position and at least one control unit (8) that is located inside the chassis (2); mechanically and/or electrically connected to the actuator (5) and the communication unit (7); and configured to operate the actuator (5) which helps move the locking component (4) to switch the locking component (4) to the locked position or to the unlocked position based on the command delivered to the communication unit (7) (Figure 2).

When the chassis (2) in the locking device (1) in invention is placed on at least one of the fixed part (FP) or the moving part (MP) of the furniture (F), the holder (3) is placed on either the moving part (MP) or the fixed part (FP) of the furniture (F) so as to match with the chassis (2). In the preferred embodiment of the invention, when the chassis (2) is placed on the fixed part (FP) of the furniture (F), the holder (3) is placed on the moving part (MP) of the furniture (F) so as to match with the chassis (2). In the defined space inside the chassis (2), at least the locking component (4), the actuator (5), the motion transfer component (6), the communication unit (7) and the control unit (8) are stored. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the chassis (2) contains two cap-shaped components that are connected to one another in a way to allow disassembly so that a space is defined inside. By this means, in case of a malfunction of any parts that are stored inside the chassis (2), the relevant component may be accessed disassembling the two cap-shaped components, thus enabling the relevant part to be easily repaired or replaced by a new part, after of which cap-shaped components may be reassembled. The holder (3) is adapted to hold the locking component (4) in a way to prevent the moving part (MP) from moving relative to the fixed part (FP), in other words, to keep the locking component (4) at the locked position, so that any unauthorized access to the inside of the furniture (F) is prevented.

The locking component (4) inside the locking device (1) in invention is adopted in a way that it can be held by the holder (3) in order to prevent the moving part (MP) from moving relative to the fixed part (FP) so that any unauthorized access to the inside of the furniture (F) can be prevented. The locking component (4) is connected to the motion transfer component (6) on at least one end thereof. By this means, as a result of the movement of the motion transfer component (6) using the power it gets from the actuator (5), the locking component (4) can switch between one locked position in which it is held by the holder (3), in other words, a position in which the moving part (MP) is unable to move relative to the fixed part (FP) and a position in which it is not held by the holder (3), in other words, a position in which the moving part (MP) is allowed to move relative to the fixed part (FP).

The actuator (5) inside the locking device (1) in invention is mechanically in communication with the motion transfer component (6) inside the chassis (2) and, by operating according to the command received from the control unit (8), feeds the motion transfer component (6) with the power the motion transfer component (6) requires to move. In one embodiment of the invention, the actuator (5) is an electric motor. In an example of this embodiment of the invention, the actuator (5) is a DC electric motor. In another example of this embodiment of the invention, the actuator (5) is a step motor. In another example of this embodiment of the invention, the actuator (5) is a servo motor.

The motion transfer component (6) in the locking device (1) in invention is stored inside the chassis (2) in a way that it is connected to the actuator (5) from one end and to the locking component (4) from at least one portion thereof. Moving by the power that is fed by the actuator (5), the motion transfer component (6) is configured to ensure that the locking component (4) moves between the locked position in which it is held by the holder (3) and the unlocked position in which it is not held by the holder (3).

The communication unit (7) in the locking device (1) in invention is stored inside the chassis (2) and configured to receive command from a communication device via a short-range communication protocol. In one embodiment of the invention, the communication unit (7) is a Bluetooth transceiver. In alternative embodiments of the invention, said communication unit (7) can be RFID transceiver and / or a Wi Fi module.

The control unit (8) in the locking device (1) in invention is stored inside the chassis (2) and is mechanically and/or electrically connected to the actuator (5) and the communication unit (7). The control unit (8) is configured to operate the actuator (5) that allows the locking component (4) to be moved so that the locking component (4) can be switched to the locked position or unlocked position according to the command received from the communication unit (7). In one embodiment of the invention, the control unit (8) has the form of a printed circuit board with many circuits on it.

In one embodiment of the invention, the communication unit (7) and the control unit (8) are integrated with each other. In one embodiment of the invention, said locking device (1) contains at least one position detector (9) that is stored inside the chassis (2), in communication with the control unit (8) and adapted to detect whether the locking component (4) is at locked position in which it is held by the holder (3) or at unlocked position in which it is not held by the holder (3). The position detector (9) in this embodiment is configured to detect the locked or unlocked position the locking component (4) is at and inform the control unit (8) of the detected position of the locking component (4) via the wired and / or wireless connection established with the control unit (8). By this means, it is ensured that the control unit (8) operates the actuator (5) in a way to help the locking component (4) move sensitively between the locked and the unlocked positions.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the holder (3) is at least partially ring- shaped.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the motion transfer component (6) comprises at least one gearwheel that is mechanically connected to the actuator (5) directly or via power transfer components and rotates with the power received from the actuator (5) and at least one toothed rack that has teeth on it suitable to match with the teeth on the gearwheel and moves linearly according to the gearwheel’ s rotational motion. Once the actuator (5) in this embodiment starts operating upon the command received from the control unit (8), the gearwheel starts to rotate with the power received from the actuator (5) and the toothed rack moves linearly in accordance with the rotational motion of the gearwheel, helping switch the locking component (4) to the locked position or to the unlocked position depending on the direction of the movement, in other words, the gearwheel’s direction of rotation. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking component (4) has the form of an extension, which is located at one end of the toothed rack and is suitable for going in and out of the ring-shaped holder (3).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the position detector (9) contains at least one extension located on the toothed rack and two limit switches, each of which communicates with the control unit (8) with one contacting with the extension at a location where the locking component (4) was determined earlier to be held by the holder (3) and the other contacting with the extension at a location where the locking component (4) was determined earlier to be not held by the holder (3). In this embodiment of the invention, when the extension on the toothed rack contacts with either of the limit switches as a result of the linear motion of the toothed rack, the relevant limit switch informs the control unit (8) via the wired and / or wireless communication established with the control unit (8) and the control unit (8) stops the actuator (5) in order to prevent the toothed rack from keeping on moving and thus causing a malfunction.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the communication unit (7) is configured to communicate with a communication device such as a mobile phone via Bluetooth; receive by means of this communication data containing a definite identity information from an application running on the communication device, and convey the obtained data to the control unit (8).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, data related to a predetermined distinctive identity information are stored in the control unit (8) and the control unit (8) is configured to compare the identity information that is available in the data obtained from the communication unit (7) and the identity information available in the data stored therein and run the actuator (5) should the compared pieces of identity information match with each other. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to prevent the moving part (MP) from moving relative to the fixed part (FP) of the furniture (F), where the moving part (MP) thereof is allowed to move relative to the fixed part (FP) thereof; in other words, in order to switch the locking device (1) to the locked position from the state in which it is unlocked, the authorized person sends to the communication unit (7) via Bluetooth the data regarding an identity information that has been preferably determined earlier by preferably an application run on a communication device such as a mobile phone and is stored in the control unit (8). The communication unit (7) conveys the data received from the communication device to the control unit (8). The control unit (8) compares the identity information that is obtained preferably based on the data received from the communication unit (7) and the identity information that is stored and does not take any action by interpreting the situation as an unauthorized access attempt should the compared pieces of identity information do not match with each other. Should the control unit (8) determines based on the result of such comparison that the compared pieces of identity information match, it helps the actuator (5) start operating. Once the actuator (5) starts to operate, the gearwheel that is mechanically connected to the actuator (5) either directly or by means of power transfer components starts to rotate in the direction that is to move the toothed rack towards where the holder is (3) and, based on this rotational motion, the toothed rack moves linearly towards the direction where the holder (3) is to ensure that the extension-shaped locking component (4) goes in the ring-shaped holder (3) and is held by the holder (3). Following the extension-shaped locking component’s (4) going in the ring-shaped holder (3) as a result of the linear motion of the toothed rack, the control unit (8) is informed via a wired or wireless communication established with the limit switch control unit (8) when the extension on the toothed rack contacts with the limit switch. In response, the control unit (8) terminates the actuator’s (5) operation. By this means, owing to the data transfer between the communication device and the communication unit (7) carried out by means of a near-field communication protocol, preferably Bluetooth, an authorized user, in other words, a user who provides genuine identity information to the control unit (8) by means of the application run on a communication device preferably such as a mobile phone, is able to switch the locking device (1) from the unlocked to the locked position without using a key.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to allow the moving part (MP) to move relative to the fixed part (FP) of the furniture (F), where the moving part (MP) thereof is prevented from moving relative to the fixed part (FP) thereof; in other words, in order to switch the locking device (1) to the unlocked position from the state in which it is locked, the authorized person sends to the communication unit (7) via Bluetooth the data regarding an identity information that has been preferably determined earlier by preferably an application run on a communication device such as a mobile phone and is stored in the control unit (8). The communication unit (7) conveys the data received from the communication device to the control unit (8). The control unit (8) compares the identity information that is obtained preferably based on the data received from the communication unit

(7) and the identity information that is stored and does not take any action by interpreting the situation as an unauthorized access attempt should the compared pieces of identity information do not match with each other. Should the control unit

(8) determines based on the result of such comparison that the compared pieces of identity information match, it helps the actuator (5) start operating. Once the actuator (5) starts to operate, the gearwheel that is mechanically connected to the actuator (5) either directly or by means of power transfer components starts to rotate in the direction that is to move the toothed rack in the direction opposite to the direction where the holder is (3), in other words, in the direction opposite to that when the locking device (1) rotates in to switch from the unlocked position to the locked position, and, based on this rotational motion, the toothed rack moves linearly in the direction opposite to the direction where the holder (3) is to ensure that the extension-shaped locking component (4) completely goes out of the ring- shaped holder (3). Following the extension-shaped locking component’s (4) going out of the ring-shaped holder (3) as a result of the linear motion of the toothed rack, the control unit (8) is informed via a wired or wireless communication established with the limit switch control unit (8) when the extension on the toothed rack contacts with the limit switch that is not match with where the holder (3) is. In response, the control unit (8) terminates the actuator’ s (5) operation. By this means, owing to the data transfer between the communication device and the communication unit (7) carried out by means of a near-field communication protocol, preferably Bluetooth, an authorized user, in other words, a user who provides genuine identity information to the control unit (8) by means of the application run on a communication device preferably such as a mobile phone, is able to switch the locking device (1) from the locked to the unlocked position without using a key.

It is possible to develop a wide range of embodiments of the locking device (1) in invention, and the device cannot be limited to the examples disclosed herein and is basically as specified in the claims.