Abstract
A locking system for a storage container provides a reliable and durable means of locking the lid in the closed position with a limited number of moving parts while providing resistance to tampering and theft.
Claims
1. A container, comprising: a container body having a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and opposed end walls interconnected to define a hollow interior, a lid connected to said container body and being movable between an open position and a closed position relative to said hollow interior; a locking system effective to lock said lid in said closed position, said locking system comprising: (i) a bracket mounted to said lid or to one of said front wall and opposed end walls, said bracket being formed with an opening; (ii) a housing mounted to said bracket, said housing having an interior and being formed with an opening; (iii) a padlock including a padlock body and a shackle having a free end, said shackle movable between a locked position in which said free end is inserted within said padlock body and an unlocked position in which said free end disengages said padlock body, said shackle being insertable through said opening in said housing and through said opening in said bracket so that said padlock body is located within said interior of said housing; (iv) a guard connected to said bracket in position to block access to at least a portion of said shackle when in said locked position; a latch mechanism mounted to the other of said lid or to said front wall or opposed end walls, at least a portion of said shackle of said padlock being effective when in said locked position to capture said latch mechanism upon movement of said lid to said closed position, said latch mechanism being released by said shackle allowing said lid to move to said open position after movement of said shackle to said unlocked position.
2. The container of claim 1 in which said guard comprises a first end wall, a second end wall and a side wall extending between said first and second end walls, said second end wall being formed with an upper tab and a lower tab defining a recess between them.
3. The container of claim 2 in which said opening in said bracket comprises a first slot which receives said shackle and at least one second slot which intersects said first slot, said lower tab of said guard being insertable within said at least one second slot to mount said guard to said bracket.
4. The container of claim 3 in which said guard is formed with a first locking portion between said lower tab and said second end wall, said at least one second slot being formed in a first plate of said bracket, said first locking portion of said guide engaging said first plate of said bracket when said lower tab is inserted within said at least one second slot.
5. The container of claim 4 in which said guide is formed with a second locking portion between said upper tab and said second end wall, said second locking portion of said guide engaging said first plate of said bracket when said lower tab is inserted within said at least one second slot.
6. The container of claim 3 in which said shackle is insertable through said first slot, said shackle being located within said recess between said upper and lower tabs when in said locked position to prevent disengagement of said padlock from said locking system.
7. The container of claim 3 in which said side wall of said guard is formed with an opening, said shackle being located within said opening when in said locked position to prevent disengagement of said padlock from said locking system.
8. The container of claim 2 in which said second end wall of said guard is formed with a top plate, said top plate being positioned when said guard is mounted to said bracket to assist in blocking access to said shackle in said locked position thereof
9. The container of claim 8 in which said top plate of said second end wall and said side wall of said guard substantially block access to said portion of said shackle which captures said latch mechanism upon movement of said lid to said closed position.
10. The container of claim 2 in which said bracket is mounted to one of said end walls of said container body, said first end wall of said guard being mounted to said front wall of said container body.
11. The container of claim 1 further including a first mounting arm and a second mounting arm, said first and second mounting aims being connected to whichever one of said lid, said front wall or said opposed end walls that said bracket is mounted to, said bracket and said housing being connected to each of said first and second mounting arms.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The structure, operation and advantages of the presently preferred embodiment of this invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a storage container with the locking system of this invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the locking system herein depicted the padlock, housing, bracket and latch mechanism;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 except showing the shackle of the padlock having been inserted through a slot in the housing, turned 90°, and then entering a slot in the bracket;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the housing and bracket assembled and the shackle in an unlocked position;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 except with the shackle in a locked position;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a view of the latch mechanism captured by the shackle after closing the container lid;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a plan view of the locking system mounted to an end wall of the container depicting the shackle in the locked position and the padlock body outside of a pocket in the housing interior;
[0023] FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 except with the shackle unlocked and the padlock body inside of the pocket;
[0024] FIG. 9 is an exploded, perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the locking system of this invention including a guard;
[0025] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 9 in which the housing is mounted to an end wall of the container and the bracket is depicted in a position prior to connection to the housing;
[0026] FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10 except with the bracket and housing connected to one another and the guard positioned to be assembled with the bracket;
[0027] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the fully assembled locking system of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-11;
[0028] FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of the locking assembly shown in FIG. 12 with the shackle of the padlock illustrated in a locked position; and
[0029] FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 except with the shackle in an unlocked position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] Referring initially to FIG. 1, a storage container 10 is illustrated which comprises a front wall 12, a back wall 14, a bottom wall 16 and opposed end walls 18, 20 interconnected to front a hollow interior 22. A lid 24 is mounted by a hinge (not shown) to the back wall 14 and movable between a closed position covering the hollow interior 22, and an open position where it is held in place by support legs 26, 28 connected between the lid 24 and respective end walls 18, 20. Each end wall 18, 20 may be formed with an elongated channel 30 extending between the front and back walls 12, 14 within which a handle 32 is mounted. Preferably, a foot plate 34 is mounted at each corner of the bottom wall 16. For purposes of the present discussion, the terms “top,” “bottom,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to the orientation of the container 10 as shown in the Figs.
[0031] The container 10 is locked in the closed position by two locking assemblies 36, each located at a cavity 38 formed in respective ends walls 18, 20, in cooperation with two hawk-bill latches 40 mounted to the lid 24. One locking assembly 36 and one latch 40 are collectively referred to herein as a locking system, and there are two locking systems identical to one another located at each end wall 18, 20 of the container 10 only one of which is described below.
[0032] Referring now to FIGS. 2-8, each locking assembly 36 of this invention comprises a housing 42, a bracket 44 and a padlock 46 having a padlock body 48 and shackle 50. The housing 42 comprises a top wall 52, a bottom wall 54, opposed side walls 56, 58 and a back wall 60 defining an interior 62 having a open front end 63. See FIG. 8. The back wall 60 is formed with a first section 64 joined along one edge to the side wall 56, a second section 66 joined along one edge to the side wall 58 and a middle section 68 connected between the first and second sections 64, 66. As best seen in FIGS. 2, 7 and 8, the side wall 58 is longer than side wall 56, as measured in a direction from the front end 63 of the housing 42 toward the back wall 60, which, together with the second section 66 and middle section 68, forms a pocket 70 within the housing interior 62. Preferably, the second section 66 of the back wall 60 has a vertical slot 72 joined to a generally horizontally extending notch 74. The first section 64 is formed with a hole 76, and each of the side walls 56, 58 is formed with an opening 78.
[0033] As depicted in the Figs., the bracket 44 is generally C-shaped having a top plate 80, a bottom plate 82 and a vertical plate 84 connected between the top and bottom plates 80, 82. The top plate 80 has a flange 86 formed with spaced holes 88, 90, and the bottom plate 82 mounts opposed side tabs 92, 94 each formed with a hole 96. The vertical plate 84 is formed with a generally T-shaped opening 98 which includes a horizontal head section 100 and a vertical leg section 102. A pin tab 104 is mounted to the vertical plate 84 at the top of head section 100, and a second pin tab 106 is mounted to the vertical plate 84 at the bottom of leg section 102. These pin tabs 104, 106 receive a retaining pin 108 having a hole 110 for insertion of a cotter pin 112 as described below.
[0034] The hawk-bill latches 40 are commercially available and the details of same form no part of this invention. For purposes of the present discussion, each latch 40 includes latch arms 114, 116 which are movable between and open and closed positions, but are normally biased to the closed position by a spring. The lower end of each latch arm 114, 116 is formed with a notch 118, 120, respectively, which collectively define an opening 122 when the latch arms 114, 116 are in the closed position. See FIG. 6.
[0035] The housing 42, bracket 44 and padlock 46 are assembled together, and to the container 10, as follows. Initially, and with reference to the left-hand side of FIG. 1, the bracket 44 is connected by fasteners 124 inserted through the holes 88, 90 in flange 86 to the inside of the end wall 18 covering the cavity 38 therein. The shackle 50 of the padlock 46 is uncoupled from the padlock body 48 and placed in a vertical orientation as shown in FIG. 2. The padlock 46 is moved into the interior 62 of the housing 42 so that its shackle 50 extends into the vertical slot 72 in the back wall 60 of the housing 42. Once the padlock 46 is inside of the housing 42 its shackle 50 may then be turned 90° within the horizontally extending notch 74 to assume the position shown in FIG. 3.
[0036] The housing 42 and padlock 46, with the now horizontally oriented shackle 50, are moved in an inward direction toward the interior 24 of container 10 so that the bottom wall 54 of the housing 42 slides along the bottom plate 82 of bracket 44, its top wall 52 slides along the top plate 80 of bracket 44, and, the shackle 50 enters the head section 100 of the T-shaped opening 98 in the vertical plate 84 of bracket 44. See FIG. 3. Once the second section 66 of the back wall 60 of housing 42 contacts the vertical plate 84 of bracket 44, the shackle 50 assumes the position depicted in FIG. 4 and the holes 96 formed in tabs 92, 94 of bracket 44 align with the openings 78 formed in respective side walls 56, 58 of the housing 42. Fasteners 126 are insertable through the aligning holes 96 and openings 78 to secure the housing 42 and bracket 44 together. See FIGS. 7 and 8. Additionally, with the shackle 50 in the position shown in FIG. 4, the retaining pin 108 may be inserted into the pin tabs 104, 106 carried by the vertical plate 84 of bracket 44 and then secured in place by inserting the cotter pin 112 into the hole 110 in pin 108. This prevents the padlock 46 from being pulled in an outward direction and disengaging the bracket 44.
[0037] FIGS. 4 and 7 depict the padlock 46 in an unlocked condition wherein the free end 128 of its shackle 50 is spaced from and aligns with the hole 76 in the first section 64 of the back wall 60 of housing 42. The padlock 46 is locked by inserting the free end 128 through hole 76 into the padlock body 48. See FIG. 5. As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the padlock 46 is locked its padlock body 48 is oriented substantially horizontally and located outside of the pocket 70 in the interior 62 of housing 42.
[0038] With reference to FIG. 6, with the padlock 46 in the locked position the lid 24 of the container 10 may be moved to the closed position carrying with it latch 40. As the lid 24 moves downwardly, the latch arms 114, 116 contact the shackle 50 and are spread apart against the bias of the spring that normally urges them together. Further downward movement of the lid 24 positions the latch arms 114, 116 so that their respective notches 118, 120 each extend around the shackle 50 causing it to become encircled by the opening 122 collectively formed by such notches 118, 120. In this position, the shackle 50 prevents the lid 24 from being opened.
[0039] In order to unlock the container 10, and allow lid 24 to be opened, the padlock 46 is unlocked by a key (not shown) inserted into the padlock body 48 within the cavity 38 in the end wall 18 (and end wall 20) of housing 42. Unlocking the padlock 46 causes the shackle 50 to disengage the padlock body 48 allowing it to be turned about 90° to the orientation shown in FIG. 8. When in this position, the padlock body 48 may be pushed in an inward direction, toward the container interior 24, and into the pocket 70 in the housing 42. The shackle 50 moves in the same direction with the padlock body 48 as it is pushed inwardly so that the portion of the shackle 50 which had been encircled by the latch arms 114, 116 passes through the opening 122 between them. Once the shackle 50 clears the latch arms 114, 116, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the lid 24 may be opened. The shackle 50 and padlock body 48 may remain in the position shown in FIG. 8 with the lid 24 opened or closed in order to permit use of the container 10 without having to unlock it. In order to lock the container 10, one may push the shackle 50 in an outward direction, away from the container interior 24, by reaching inside of the container 10 and grasping the shackle 50. After the padlock body 48 is outside of pocket 70, it may be rotated back to the position shown in FIG. 7 and the free end 128 of shackle 50 may be inserted through the hole 76 in back wall 60 of housing 42 into the padlock body 48. See FIGS. 5 and 7. The padlock 46 is then ready to receive the latch 40 as discussed above.
[0040] Referring now to FIGS. 9-14 an alternative embodiment of a locking system 140 according to this invention is illustrated. The locking system 140 includes the same padlock 46 and housing 42 described above in connection with a discussion of Figs, 1-8, except housing 42 is modified to include a flange 43. The locking system 140 cooperates with a latch 40 as depicted in FIGS. 1-8, and described below. Elements of locking system 140 which are common to those shown in FIGS. 1-8 and described above are given the same reference numbers in FIGS. 9-11.
[0041] The bracket 142 employed in locking system 140 is somewhat different from bracket 44 in FIGS. 1-8. Bracket 142 comprises a top plate 144, a bottom plate 146 and a vertical plate 148 connected between the top and bottom plates 144, 146. The top plate 144 has a top flange 150 formed with spaced holes 152, 154, and the bottom plate 146 mounts opposed bottom flanges 156 each formed with a hole 160. Only one of the bottom flanges 156 is shown in the Figs. for ease of illustration. The vertical plate 148 is formed with a generally horizontally extending slot 162 which is intersected by two vertically oriented locking slots 164 and 166 which are spaced from one another along the slot 162.
[0042] The locking system 140 further comprises a guide 168 which comprises a first end wall 170, a second end wall 172 and a side wall 174 connected between the first and second end walls 170, 172. As best seen in FIG. 9, the second end wall 172 has an upper tab 176 and a lower tab 178 which are spaced from one another to form recess 180 between them. An upper end of the recess 180 defines a notch 181 in between the upper tab 176 and the second end wall 172, and a second notch 183 is formed between the lower tab 178 and second end wall 172. Additionally, the second end wall 172 is formed with an angled cover plate 182 extending outwardly therefrom. The front wall 170 is formed with a bore 175. As best seen in FIGS. 11, 13 and 14, the side wall 174 is formed with an opening 177 to receive shackle 50, as described below.
[0043] One feature of the locking system 140 shown in FIGS. 9-14 is the provision of more robust structure to secure the housing 42 and bracket 142 to the end wall 18 of container 10, Referring again to FIG. 9, a pair of spaced mounting arms 184 and 186 each formed with an opening 188 are fixed to the end wall 18 on either side of a cut-out 190 formed therein. The cut-out 190 may be covered by a face plate 192 when the locking system 140 is mounted to end wall 18. Preferably, the face plate 192 has a side plate 194 formed with a hole 196 which aligns with a hole 198 formed in end wall 18 when the face plate 192 is positioned over cut-out 190. The face plate 192 may be secured to the end wall 18 by a rivet 200 inserted through the aligning holes 196, 198 and connected to end wall 18.
[0044] In order to assemble the locking system 140, the housing 42 is initially placed against the end wall 18 over the cut-out 190 so that the mounting arm 186 contacts the side wall 58 of the housing 42. See FIG. 10. Although not shown in the Figs., the mounting arm 184 contacts side wall 56 of housing 42. In this position, the opening 78 in each of the side walls 56, 58 aligns with the opening 188 in respective mounting arms 184, 186. As shown in FIG. 11, the bracket 142 may then be slid into engagement with housing 42 such that the top plate 144 of bracket 142 contacts the top wall 52 of housing 42, and the bottom plate 146 of bracket 142 slides underneath the bottom wall 54 of housing 42 and rests atop a shelf 19 affixed to the end wall 18. With the bracket 142 in an assembled position, its bottom flanges 156, 158 straddle respective first and second mounting arms 184, 186. The hole 160 in each bottom flange 156, 158 aligns with an opening 188 in respective first and second mounting arms 184, 186 and an opening 78 in respective side walls 56, 58 of housing 42. A fastener such as a bolt 202 may be inserted through the aligning openings 160, 188 and 78, with a nut 204 tightened down along each protruding end, to secure the bracket 142 and housing 42 to the end wall 18 of the container 10. Additionally, bolts 202 may be inserted through holes 206 in the end wall 18 and into the bores 152, 154 of top flange 150, each receiving a nut 204 at a protruding end, to further secure the bracket 142 and housing 42 to the container 10.
[0045] With reference to FIG. 11, the guide 168 is illustrated in the process of being assembled to the bracket 142. For ease of illustration, the shackle 50 of padlock 46 is not shown, but shackle 50 would be positioned in its unlocked or extended position within the slot 162 prior to assembly of the guide 168. Initially, the guide 168 is located alongside the bracket 142 and then rotated such that its second end wall 172 contacts the side edge of the top plate 144 of bracket 142 and the first end wall 170 engages the front wall 12 of container 10. In the course of movement to this position, the upper edge of the vertical plate 148 of bracket 142 is captured within the notch 181 of guide 168 and its lower tab 178 extends through the locking slot 184 in bracket 142 so that the part of the vertical plate 148 at the base of locking slot 184 is captured within the second notch 183 of guide 168. As viewed FIG. 12, when the guide 168 and bracket 142 are connected to one another, both of the upper and lower tabs 176, 178 rest against the outside of vertical plate 148 and the angled cover plate 182 blocks access to the interior of the bracket 142 and housing 42 from either the front wall 12 or end wall 18 of container 10. The guide 168 is secured in this position by inserting a bolt 202 through a bore 208 formed in the front wall 12 of container 10 and through the bore 175 in the first end wall 170 of guide 168. A nut 204 is tightened down along the protruding end of bolt 202.
[0046] Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 14, the shackle 50 of padlock 46 is movable between a locked and unlocked position in the same manner as described above in connection with a discussion of FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8. In the locked position illustrated in
[0047] FIG. 13, the latch arms 114, 116 of latch 40 may encircle a portion of the shackle 50 to lock the lid 24 of container 10 in a closed position in the same manner shown in FIG. 6 and described above. As noted above, the guide 168 is connected to the bracket 142 with the shackle 50 in the extended, unlocked position such that the free end of the shackle 50 is spaced from the side wall 174 of guide 168. See FIG. 14. In the course of moving the shackle 50 to a locked position, in order to receive the latch arms 114, 116, the shackle 50 passes through the opening 177 in the side wall 174 of guide 168 and then into the padlock body 48. The upper and lower tabs 176, 178, together with the side wall 174, collectively prevent the padlock 46 from being disengaged from the locking assembly 140. When the shackle 50 is moved to the unlocked position shown in FIG. 14, so that it is removed from opening 177 and spaced from the side wall 174 of guide 168, the latch arms 114, 116 are no longer captured by the shackle 50 thus allowing the lid 24 to be opened.
[0048] While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
