GB2294499A - A security container - Google Patents

Abstract

A security container having a body with an opening closeable by a hingedly mounted door 3. The door and the body having co-operating elements 13, 15 which are brought into interlocking engagement when said door in a closed position is moved laterally of the body. A lock 22 is operable to prevent lateral movement of the door when said co-operating elements are engaged. The container has wheels and a pair of handles and is particularly suited for shopkeepers who receive overnight deliveries. The goods delivered can be stored in the locked container outside the shop overnight and collected by the shopkeeper in the morning. The co-operating elements provide for a secure and vandal-resistant container. <IMAGE>

Description

A SECURITY CONTAINER The present invention relates to a security container.

Certain businesses have goods delivered to their premises outside of opening hours. One example is newsagents who have newspapers and magazines delivered daily to their retail outlets in the early hours of the morning. The newspapers etc. are left in or around a doorway of the premises for the proprietor to collect when opening and there is an increasing problem with the goods being stolen or vandalised before the proprietor arrives.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the aforesaid disadvantage.

According to the present invention there is provided a security container having a body with an opening closeable by a hingedly or pivotally mounted door, the door and the body having co-operating elements which are brought into interlocking engagement when said door is moved laterally of the body in a closed position, and a lock operable to prevent lateral movement of the door when said co-operating elements are engaged.

The co-operating elements preferably comprise at least one protrusion engageable with a corresponding recess and may be in the form of a lip which is engageable in a channel. The lip may be formed along or adjacent an edge of the opening and the channel defined along an edge of said door.

There may alternatively or additionally be provided co-operating elements which comprise at least one projecting tongue which is engageable in a recess.

The recess may be defined in the body with the tongue projecting from said door.

In a preferred embodiment the recess is a socket in a plinth extending from a base portion of the body.

The lock may comprise a moveable locking arm and a corresponding recess which are brought into co-operation when the door is closed, the arm being rotatable between a unlocked position in which it is moveable relative to said recess in said lateral direction and a locked position in which it bears against a wall of said recess to prevent lateral movement of the door. The arm may be on the door and the recess is a cut-out on the body.

The arm and recess may both be L-shaped.

Preferably the door is laterally moveable on a shaft which may be connected adjacent the opening in the body. The door preferably has at least one lug which receives the shaft and which is slidable with the door relative to the body.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the security container of the present invention shown with door closed; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the security container of figure 1 shown with the door open; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the security container of figure 1 shown in a reclined position; Figure 4 is a sectioned view along line X-X of figure 1; Figure 5 is a scrap view of a lock of the present invention; and Figure 6 is a scrap view of a slot of the security container.

Referring now to the drawings the security container shown in figs. 1 and 2 is of upright box-shape with a body 1 having a front opening 2 closeable by a door 3. The container is manufactured from, for example, moulded thermoplastics.

The body 1 of the container has horizontally ribbed side walls 4, a rear wall 5, a bottom wall 6 and a top wall 7 inclined upwardly from front to rear. At each rear corner 8 the top wall 7 is stepped and is inclined downwardly to the rear of the container. An L-shaped tubular handle 9 is provided in a space above each step.

The bottom rear corner 10 of each side wall 4 is arcuately recessed to accommodate a wheel 10a mounted on each end of an axle (not shown) which passes through the container above the bottom wall 6.

In the upright attitude shown in Figures 1 and 2 the container is supported on the grounds by wheels 10a and a plinth 10b formed at the bottom wall 6 of the container.

The container can be lain on its rear wall 5 with the door 3 horizontal and uppermost (as shown in figure 3) by using the handles 9 to pivot it about the wheels 10a.

Figure 2 shows the interior detail of the door 3 and the body 1. The opening 2 in the body 1 has a projecting perimeter frame 11 a top member 12 of which has an upwardly extending lip 13. The interior surface of the door 3 is inturned at its top, bottom and free side edges to form an inwardly projecting relief 14. The top edge 15 of the relief 14 has a downward turn so that it forms an inverted channel 16 with the top edge of the door 3. The relief 14 is designed so that when the door 3 is closed it receives the frame 11 of the opening 2.

The plinth 10b has two spaced plinth extensions 17 which project from under the opening 2 and each of which having an upwardly open socket 18. The bottom edge of the door 3 has two spaced downwardly projecting tongues 19 each designed to co-operate with a corresponding socket 18 in the plinth extensions 17.

Figure 2 shows the manner in which the door 3 is pivotally connected to the body 1 of the container. A hinge pin 20 of steel tubing extends vertically along one interior edge of the door 3 passing through a plurality of spaced lugs 21 on the door 3, the top member 12 of the frame 11 and bottom edge of the relief 14 of the door 3. The ends of the hinge pin 20 terminate in apertures in the top edge 15 of the door relief 14 and in one of the plinth extensions 17. The arrangement is so as to permit both pivotal and axial movement of the door 3 on the hinge pin 20 relative to the body 1.

In an open position the door 3 is supported at its hinged edge by one of said tongues 19 resting on the corresponding plinth extension 17. As the door 3 is pivoted shut the tongues 19 move into positions directly above the sockets 18 in the plinth extensions 19. When the tongues 19 are accurately aligned over the sockets 18 the door 3 will drop automatically so that they engage in the sockets 18 when the container is in the upright position. Contemporaneously, the channel 16 drops over the lip 13 on the top member 12 of the opening frame 11 so as to receive it in engagement (see figure 4).

In the closed position the door 3 and body 1 are securely inter-engaged at three edges by means of the engaging features, namely: the tongue 18 and socket 19 engagement; the lip 13 and channel 16 engagement; and the hinge pin 20 connection. The door 3 can only be opened by moving it vertically on the hinge pin 20 to release the engaging tongue/socket and lip/channel arrangements.

Below the top edge of the door 3 there is centrally mounted a key-operated half turn barrel lock 22 (shown in detail in Figure 5) designed to co-operate with an L-shaped slot 23 (see Figure 6) in the lip 13. The lock 22 has an L-shaped locking arm 24 rotatable by turning a key in the lock 22, (key hole hidden in Figure 5), the shorter limb of the arm 24 being connected to the barrel. When the door 3 is closed and the lock 22 is in the unlocked configuration shown in full line in figure 5, the arm 24 may pass freely through a vertical limb of the slot 23 allowing the door 3 to move in a vertical direction. When the door 3 has dropped and the locking features are engaged it can be locked in position by turning the arm 24 so that it moves into a horizontal limb of the slot 23 (as indicated in dotted line in figure 5). Vertical movement of the door 3 is then prevented by virtue of the arm 24 abutting a horizontal wall of the slot 23.

In reclined attitude of the container the door 3 will obviously not drop automatically and it has to be moved manually when the tongues 19 and sockets 18 are aligned.

The security container is particularly suitable for shopkeepers who can wheel it outside and leave for overnight deliveries. The delivery driver is provided with a key to enable him to leave delivered items in the container and re-lock it. On arrival, the shopkeeper has the option either of unlocking the door of the container and removing the contents first, or wheeling it into the premises complete with contents for unloading. In the instance of magazines and newspapers this enables him to wheel the container to the appropriate display shelves in the shop. The container is designed to be narrow enough to pass through shop doorways.

When left overnight the container may be secured by means of a chain and padlock or the like to a part of the building or other nearby permanent structure.

The container can conveniently be secured by the chain at one or both of the handles and/or the axle and they may be provided with an eye for this purpose.

The locking arrangement provides for a secure, vandal-resistant container which can be quickly and easily opened at a single release point (i.e. the lock/slot combination 22,23) by an authorised key holder. The present invention has a plurality of locking features which are particularly desirable as thermoplastics are inherently flexible and can be deflected or distorted with moderate force when a standard single locking point is used.

It will be appreciated that numerous modifications to the above described embodiment may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims, for example, a push button type lock with plunger may be used as opposed to the barrel lock described above, additional lugs may be provided on the body in addition to those on the door for added security and engagement features may be provided along a fourth edge of the door.

Claims (18)

1. A security container having a body with an opening closeable by a hingedly mounted door, the door and the body having co-operating elements which are brought into interlocking engagement when said door in a closed position is moved laterally of the body, and a lock operable to prevent lateral movement of the door when said co-operating elements are engaged.

2. A security container according to claim 1, the co-operating elements comprising at least one protrusion engageable with a corresponding recess.

3. A security container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the co-operating elements comprise a lip which is engageable in a channel.

4. A security container according to claim 3, the lip being formed along or adjacent an edge of the opening and the channel being defined along a corresponding edge of said door.

5. A security container according to any preceding claim, wherein the co operating elements comprise at least one projecting tongue which is engageable in a corresponding recess.

6. A security container according to claim 5, the recess being defined in the body and the tongue projecting from said door.

7. A security container according to claim 6, wherein the recess is a socket in a plinth extending from a base portion of the body and when closed the door moves laterally so that said socket receives said tongue in engagement.

8. A security container according to claim 7, wherein said tongue rests on said plinth to support the door when in the open position.

9. A security container according to any preceding claim, the lock comprising a moveable locking arm and a corresponding slot which are brought into co-operation when the door is closed.

10. A security container according to claim 9, wherein the arm is rotatable between a unlocked position in which it is moveable relative to said slot in said lateral direction and a locked position in which it bears against a wall of said slot to prevent lateral movement of the door.

11. A security container according to claim 8 or 10, wherein the arm is on the door and the slot is a cut-out on the body.

12. A security container according to claim 11, wherein the arm and recess are both L-shaped.

13. A security container according to any preceding claim, wherein the door is laterally moveable on a hinge adjacent the opening in the body.

14. A security container according to any preceding claim, wherein the door is hingedly mounted on a shaft adjacent the opening in the body.

15. A security container according to claim 14, wherein the door has at least one lug which receives the shaft and which is slidable with the door relative to the body.

16. A security container according to any preceding claim, wherein the body is provided with wheels

17. A security container according to any preceding claim, wherein there is provided at least one handle.

18. A security container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.