GB2265939A

GB2265939A - Security locking box

Info

Publication number: GB2265939A
Application number: GB9307370A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Trevor James Jeavons
Original assignee: GLYNWED CONSUMER PROD Ltd
Current assignee: GLYNWED CONSUMER PROD Ltd
Priority date: 1992-04-10
Filing date: 1993-04-08
Publication date: 1993-10-13
Also published as: GB9207874D0; GB9307370D0

Abstract

A security locking box comprises a body (1) housing a locking bolt (3) which can be projected to lock closed an access cover of a cover and frame assembly. The locking bolt (3) is operated by a rotatable operating member (38) acting through a lever (30) pivotally mounted at one end to the locking bolt (3) and at the other end to a fixed pivot axis. A barrier (48) may be provided which has to be removed or released to allow access to the operating member (38). The mouth of the box is closed by a releasable lid (2) resting on and secured to a support plate (9) by bolts (20), (24). The operating member (38), barrier (48) and bolts (20), (24) are rotated for operation by means of a security key or other suitable implement. The lid (2) is pivotally mounted to a pivot plate (14) and the bolts (20), (24) must be released to allow initial linear movement of the lid (2) from its closed position before it can be swung open. <IMAGE>

Description

SECURITY LOCKING BOX This invention relates to a security locking box of the kind adapted for use in combination with a cover and frame assembly, for example an access cover and frame assembly for providing access to sewer, drain or telecommunication services, the box being provided to enable the cover to be locked in a closed position and having a locking bolt which is housed in the box and can be projected from the box to engage with and lock the closed cover, and which bolt has associated retention means in the box operable to lock the bolt in its operative position. Such a security locking box is hereinafter referred to as "of the kind described".

At least in its application to an access cover and frame assembly a security locking box of the kind described is usually fixed for use to, or forms an integral part of, the frame. The box is positioned at one side of the frame and the projected bolt engages with an adjacent part of the cover to lock the cover in its closed position. If the cover is hinged, one box adjacent to the side of the cover opposite to the hinge may suffice to lock the cover securely. Where the cover lifts away from the frame to be opened, instead of being hinged, two or more of the boxes may be necessary at spaced positions around the cover to lock the cover securely in its closed position.

Known security locking boxes of the kind described have usually had a lid which is held in place by fixing bolts removably engaged with the lid and tightened into complementary threaded holes or sockets in the body of the box. The heads of the tightened fixing bolts are inset into the surface of the lid so that they do not protrude from the lid, but they are usually accessible for turning the bolts by means of a standard form of spanner, such as a box spanner. The lid has to be removed from the body of the box to gain access to the interior of the box to operate the locking bolt and its retention means. The fixing bolts may be mislaid or even lost whilst the lid is removed, and so may the lid.

It is also usual for the retention means of known security locking boxes of the kind described to comprise a padlock which attaches to the locking bolt to prevent it from being retracted from its projected position. Padlocks of good quality suitable for the purpose are expensive and even with a strong lock it is possible for a determined unauthorised person who does not have a key for the padlock to cut through the hasp of the padlock to release the locking bolt.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a security locking box of the kind described which has a pivoted lid and fastening means operative to secure the lid in a closed position, the pivot and fastening means being arranged such that upon release of the fastening means some initial linear movement of the lid away from the closed position is required before the lid can be swung to an open position.

The pivot may be so positioned that a part of the lid interferes with a part of the body of the box to prevent the lid from being swung about the axis of the pivot until the lid has been subjected to the initial linear movement away from the closed position. The pivot may be movable relative to the lid to allow the initial linear movement of the lid, or the lid may have limited movement with or relative to the pivot for the purpose.

The fastening means may comprise one or more fixing bolts or screws, preferably requiring the application of a key or specially designed implement in order to be tightened and released. The fixing bolt or screw, or at least one of the bolts or screws, may have means, such as a retaining ring or circlip, normally to prevent it from being detached from the lid.

Conveniently the lid is pivoted to be swung about an axis contained within or parallel to the thickness of the lid. Preferably the lid is set in the mouth of the body of the box which it closes when in the closed position.

The retention means may comprise a lever within the body of the box which is connected to the locking bolt and to an operating member rotatably mounted in the body whereby the lever is caused to be operated to move the bolt to and from the projected position and to be held to retain the bolt in the projected position.

Preferably the operating member is adapted to be rotated by means of a key or other detachable implement, the operating member and implement having complementary formations which must co-operate for the implement to be able to rotate the operating member.

Alternatively or in addition a barrier may be provided in the body of the box which has to be removed or released before access can be gained to the operating member, and that barrier may require the application of a key or other specially designed implement to enable it to be removed or released. If the barrier is provided and the operating member is adapted to be rotated by means of an implement, it is desirable, for enhanced security, to have different implements for operating the barrier and the operating member.

The barrier may comprise a plug which is screw-threadedly engaged in an opening behind which the operating member is located in the body.

The lever may be angularly movable about a fixed pivot, or at least a pivot providing a fixed pivoted axis, in the body of the box, be pivotally connected to the locking bolt, and have the operating member operatively connected to it intermediate those pivots.

The operating member may carry a pin, or have a formation or part, offset from its rotational axis which co-operates with the lever to cause the lever to pivot about the fixed pivot for operating the locking bolt as the operating member is rotated. The pin, formation or part may engage slidably in a slot in the lever.

The first and second aspects of the invention set forth may be combined in one security locking box. It will be appreciated that when the fastening means for securing the lid and the operating member for operating the bolt require keys or other specially designed implements to operate them, it is difficult for an unauthorised person, not having the appropriate keys or implements, to gain access to and operate the locking bolt. The security against unauthorised operation of the locking bolt is further increased if the barrier is provided as well to prevent access to the operating member without the necessary key or other implement for removing or releasing the barrier.

The security locking box may be made as a separate unit which is secured to a frame of a cover and frame assembly for use, it may be provided as an integral part of a frame of such an assembly.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only in which, Figure 1 is a plan view of a security locking box in accordance with the two aspects of the invention set forth, Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tool for use with the security locking box.

In this embodiment of the invention a security locking box is provided which is intended to be used in conjunction with an access cover and frame assembly, particularly though not exclusively for telecommunication services, for locking the cover in its closed position on the frame. The security locking box is of rectangular shape comprising a body 1 and a lid 2 with a locking bolt 3 slidably mounted in the body to be projected through one longer side wall 4 of the body. That side wall 4 has drilled and tapped holes 5 in it by which the box is able to be secured by fixing bolts, not shown, to a member of the frame of the assembly for the locking bolt 3 to be engaged with a socket or hole in a side part of the cover to lock the cover to the frame.

The body 1 is made up of a rectangular hollow metal fabrication 6 which forms the four sides of the body, and a bottom plate 7, Figure 2, which is welded to and closes off the bottom of the hollow fabrication. The upper end of the hollow fabrication 6 is open and defines a mouth 8 of the body which the lid 2 closes. Lid 2 is formed from a substantially rectangular plate which fits into and is of complementary shape to the mouth 8. When closed the lid 2 is disposed flat on a support plate 9 which in turn seats on, and is secured by countersunk socket-headed screws 10 to, a fixing band 11 welded to and extending round the interior of the hollow fabrication 6 of the body, parallel to the mouth 8.

The support plate 9 has a rubber sealing gasket 12 for the lid to lie on.

Instead of the fabrication 6 a casting of comparable form may be provided. The bottom plate 7 may be formed as an integral part of the casting, as may the fixing band, or its equivalent. The body 1 may be made, by fabrication or casting, as an integral part of the frame of an access cover and frame assembly.

At one end the lid 2 has a rectangular recess 13, Figure 1, formed centrally in it in which is accommodated a complementary lifting pivot plate 14 similar in thickness to the lid. The lid is pivoted to the pivot plate 14 by pivot pins 15 parallel to the adjacent end of the lid, freely anchored in opposite ends of the pivot plate and entered rotatably in locating bores 16 in the adjacent end portions 19 of the lid at opposite sides of the pivot plate. Thus the lid 2 can be pivoted relative to the pivot plate 14 but that is not possible when the pivot plate is lying on the support plate 9. This is because its end portions 19 are longer from the pivot pins 16 to the adjacent end of the lid than the thickness of the lid, so that they will foul the support plate if it is attempted to pivot the lid relative to the pivot plate about the pivot pins 15.A security screw 20 passed through a complementary plain bore, countersunk hole 21 in the pivot plate 14 and engaged in a threaded hole 22 in the support plate 9, can be tightened to secure the pivot plate flat on the support plate, so as to prevent the lid from being opened. In order to be able to open the lid the security screw 20 must first be slackened off to enable the pivot plate 14 to be lifted away from the support plate 10 sufficiently at least to enable the end portions 19 of the lid to clear the support plate. A circlip 23, or other suitable retainer, is fitted to the security screw to prevent it from being removed from the support plate altogether.

At the opposite, free end of the lid from the pivot plate is a further security screw 24. Screw 24 is located in a plain bore, countersunk hole 25 in the lid and tightens into a complementary screw-threaded bore 26 drilled and tapped axially into an upper end of a cylindrical metal post 27 fixed to and depending from the support plate 9. A circlip 28, or other suitable retainer, is fitted to this further security screw 24 to retain it to the lid.

When the two security screws 20, 24 are fully tightened to secure the lid closed in the body the lid and pivot plate 14 are held flat on the support plate 9 within the mouth 8 of the body. Their upper surfaces are flush with the rim of the body around the mouth.

In order to open the lid the security screw 24 at the free end of the lid must be disengaged from the screw-threaded bore 26 of the post 27. The security screw 20 must also be slackened in the threaded hole 22 of the support plate 9 to enable the pivot plate 14 to be lifted away from the support plate sufficiently to allow the lid to pivot relative to the pivot plate about the pivot pins 15. A bladed implement or screw-driver may be used to prize the free-end of the lid out of the body.

As shown in Figure 2, the upper end of the post 27 is welded in a hole 29 in the support plate 9. One end of a lever 30 is pivoted to the lower end of the post by means of a fixed pivot pin 31 driven as an interference fit into an axial socket 32 drilled into the post and fitted with a circlip 33 to retain the lever to the pin. The opposite end of the lever 30 is connected to the locking bolt 3 by an upstanding pivot pin 34 screwed to the locking bolt, the bolt extending below the lever. A channelled guide block 35 welded to the bottom plate 7 of the body 1 supports and guides the locking bolt for linear movement transversely of the body, through a hole 36 in side wall 4, between operative and inoperative positions.A slot 37 in the lever 30 is engaged by the upstanding pivot pin 33 and allows the lever to turn about the fixed pivot pin 31 with the necessary relative movement between the lever and the locking bolt for the latter to be moved linearly by the lever.

The lever 30 is turned about the fixed pivot pin 31 to move the locking bolt by means of an operating member 38 which is rotatably located in the lower end of a cylindrical sleeve 39 fixed to and depending centrally from the support plate 9, the operating member rotating about the longitudinal axis of the sleeve. An upper end of the sleeve 39 is welded in a central hole 40 in the support plate. Secured eccentrically to the operating member is a drive pin 41 which depends from the operating member and engages in a slot 42 at a medial part of, and extending longitudinally of, the lever. The drive pin 41 is an interference fit in a bore 43 in the operating member and has a circlip 44 fitted to it below the lever to retain the lever to the pin and operating member.On an upper surface within the sleeve 39 the operating member has a diametral rib 45 by which the member can be turned by a specially designed implement.

At its upper end the sleeve 39 has a counterbore 46, Figure 2. Below the counterbore 46 the bore of the sleeve is screw-threaded 47, for the greater part of the bore of the sleeve above the operating member 38.

A headed security plug 48 threadedly engaged with the screw-thread 47 of the sleeve is screwed into the bore of the sleeve from the upper end and when fully tightened its head 49 is fully received into the counterbore 46, as shown in Figure 2. When in place in the sleeve the plug 48 serves as a barrier at the support plate to prevent access to the operating member. Formations, not shown, such as spaced recesses or holes are provided in the top of the head 49 of the security plug 48 and have to be engaged by complementary mating formations of a specially designed implement to enable the plug to be screwed into the sleeve and to be removed for access to the operating member.

When assembling the components of the security locking box, the operating member 38 is located in the sleeve 39, the lever 30 is attached to the fixed pivot pin 31 and drive pin 41, and the lid 2 and pivot plate 14 are mounted on the support plate 9 before the support plate is fitted into the body 1 of the box and secured by the screws 10.

Different implements are required for turning the security plug 48 and for turning the operating member to operate the locking bolt. An Allen key or comparable device is also needed to turn the two security screws 20, 24 for the lid 2 to be opened.

Thus in this embodiment of the invention the security locking box has three different security provisions to deter unauthorised access to the locking bolt. As a further security precaution the countersunk socket-headed screws 10 which secure the support plate 9 to the fixing band 11 are selected so as to require a different size of Allen key or other device to turn them than is needed for the security screws of the lid and pivot plate.

The implements and keys or devices necessary to operate the different items of the security locking box may be incorporated into a composite tool 50, as shown for example in Figure 3. That tool comprises a key 51 for turning the security screws 20, 24 of the pivot plate and lid; a driver 52 with lugs 53 to locate with the formations in the head 49 of the security plug 48, and a forked implement 54 to engage with the rib 45 of the operating member 38. Such a tool would only be issued to personnel authorised to use the access cover normally locked by the security locking box.

Claims

1. A security locking box of the kind described which has a pivoted lid and fastening means operative to secure the lid in a closed position, the pivot and fastening means being arranged such that upon release of the fastening means some initial linear movement of the lid away from the closed position is required before the lid can be swung to an open position.

2. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 1 in which the pivot is positioned so that a part of the lid interferes with a part of the body of the box to prevent the lid from being swung about the axis of the pivot until the lid has been subjected to the initial linear movement away from the closed position.

3. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the pivot is movable relative to the lid two allow the initial linear movement of the lid.

4. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding claim in which the lid has limited movement with or relative to the pivot to allow the initial linear movement of the lid.

5. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding claim in which the fastening means comprise at least one fixing bolt or screw requiring the application of a key or specially designed implement in order to be tightened and released.

6. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding claim in which the fastening means comprises at least one fixing bolt or screw having means to prevent it from being detached from the lid.

7. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 6 in which the means to prevent the fixing bolt or screw from being detached from the lid comprises a retaining ring or circlip.

8. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding claim in which the lid is pivoted to be swung about an axis contained within or parallel to the thickness of the lid.

9. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding claim in which the lid is set in the mouth of the body of the box which it closes when in the closed position.

10. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding in which the retention means comprises a lever within the body of the box which is connected to the locking bolt and to an operating member rotatably mounted in the body whereby the lever is caused to be operated to move the bolt to and from the projected position and to be held to retain the bolt in the projected position.

11. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 10 in which the operating member is adapted to be rotated by means of a key or other detachable implement, the operating member and the implement having complementary formations which must co-operate for the implement to be able to rotate the operating member.

12. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 10 or Claim 11 in which a barrier is provided in the body of the box which has to be removed or released before access can be gained to the operating member.

13. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 12 in which the barrier requires the application of a key or other specially designed implement to enable it to be removed or released.

14. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 12 or Claim 13 in which the barrier comprises a plug which is screw-threadedly engaged in an opening behind which the operating member is located in the body.

15. A security locking box in accordance with any of Claims 10 to 14 in which the lever is angularly movable about a pivot providing a fixed pivot axis in the body of the box, is pivotally connected to the locking bolt and is operatively connected to the operating member intermediate those pivots.

16. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 15 in which the operating member carries a pin or has a formation or part offset from its rotational axis which co-operates with the lever to cause the lever to pivot about the fixed pivot axis for operating the locking bolt as the operating member is rotated.

17. A security locking box in accordance with Claim 16 in which the pin, formation or part engages slidably in a slot in the lever.

18. A security locking box in accordance with any preceding claim which is provided as a separate unit adapted to be secured to a frame of a cover and frame assembly for use.

19. A cover and frame assembly in which a security locking box as claimed in any preceding claim is provided as an integral part of the frame.

20. A security locking device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.