Secure document receptacle

Abstract

A secure document receptacle for use in file cabinets having slidable drawers with laterally spaced support rails for removable supporting file folders. The secure document receptacle has a single support brace along the top edge with downwardly opening channels for removable engagement with the drawer support rails. The receptacle has a closed top edge and openings to the interior of the receptacle on the side edge or the bottom edge of the receptacle. Documents can only be inserted and removed via the open side or bottom edges. The receptacle must be partially or completely removed from the drawer support rails before a document can be removed from the receptacle. This interrupts contact between the brace channels and the support rails, an event which can be detected by cabinet sensing circuitry.

Claims

1. A secure document receptacle for use in file cabinets having slidable drawers with laterally spaced folder support rails for providing removable storage for document receptacles, said secure document receptacle comprising a main body portion having a bottom, a front panel, and a rear panel, each of said front panel and said rear panel having a top edge and laterally spaced oppositely disposed side edges; a single support brace located at said top edge, said single support brace having laterally spaced downwardly opening channels engageable with support rails in a cabinet drawer; said top edges of said front panel and said rear panel of said main body portion being permanently secured together; and an opening in only one of said side edges and said bottom for providing access to the interior of said receptacle for insertion and removal of documents, said opening extending along the length of said one of said side edges and said bottom a distance sufficient to permit insertion and removal of documents, so that a document can only be removed from said interior of said receptacle via said opening when said receptacle is at least partially raised from said support rails a sufficient distance to disconnect said support brace from at least one of said support rails.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said opening is formed in one of said laterally spaced oppositely disposed side edges.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said opening is formed in said bottom.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein the open one of said side edges and said bottom is provided with an enclosure mechanism for enabling said open one of said side edges and said bottom to be opened and closed manually.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said open one of said edges is one of said side edges; and wherein said enclosure mechanism is provided on said open one of said side edges.

6. The invention of claim 4 wherein said open one of said side edges and said bottom is said bottom; and wherein said enclosure mechanism is provided on said bottom.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said support brace is positioned within a folded over portion of said top edge.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said support brace is secured to said folded over portion of said top edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art multiple drawer file cabinet for removably storing file folders for documents;

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a prior art file folder designed for use with the file cabinet of FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention; and

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(5) The invention is designed for use in a file cabinet of the type shown in FIG. 1 and is intended to be a replacement for the prior art type of file folder shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a perspective view, taken from the right front, of a first embodiment of the invention. As seen in this Fig., a secure document receptacle generally designated with reference numeral 40 has a main body portion 42 fabricated from a single sheet of suitable material such as the same type of durable paper stock used in the fabrication of the prior art file folder 30 of FIG. 2. Alternatively, main body portion 42 may be fabricated from a suitable sheet plastic material. Receptacle 40 is formed by folding the sheet stock about the longitudinal center and joining the upper and lower edges together. A single support brace 44 is secured to the upper edges of receptacle 40 by folding one edge of the sheet stock over the main body portion of support brace 44 and securing this one edge to the other edge of the sheet stock as shown in FIG. 3. The two edges of the sheet stock may be secured together using a suitable adhesive and pressure or heat bonding to create a secure bond between the two edges.

(6) Support brace 44 has a pair of downwardly opening channels 47, 48, adjacent the opposite ends thereof and designed to receive the drawer support rails 28, 29 of a cabinet drawer when the receptacle 40 is installed in a drawer. Thus, the lateral spacing of channels 47, 48 of brace 44 is chosen to match the lateral separation distance of drawer support rails 28, 29.

(7) The fabrication of receptacle 40 is completed by sealing one of the side edges of the partially formed receptacle 40, such as the left edge 49 shown in FIG. 3.

(8) The completed receptacle 40 is closed at the top, bottom and one side edge, which restricts access to the interior of the receptacle 40 to the open side edge 50. Consequently, a document can only be inserted into or removed from a receptacle 40 via the open edge 50.

(9) In use, with the receptacle 40 removed from a cabinet drawer, one or more documents are inserted into the interior of receptacle 40, after which the receptacle 40 can be installed in a cabinet drawer and positioned with the support brace channels 47, 48 engaged with the drawer support rails 28, 29. In this attitude, no document can be removed from the interior of the receptacle 40 unless the receptacle 40 is manipulated upwardly in the cabinet drawer a sufficient distance to allow access to the open side 50 of the receptacle 40. This guarantees that the support brace 44 will lose contact with the drawer support rails 28, 29, an event which can be detected by known sensing circuitry installed in the cabinet.

(10) FIG. 4 is a perspective view, taken from the right front, of a second embodiment of the invention. As seen in this Fig., a secure document receptacle generally designated with reference numeral 60 has a front panel 62 and a rear panel 63 joined at the side edges 64, 65 by integrally formed corrugated edge filler portions 65 to provide an expandable inner volume. The top edges of panels 62, 63 are joined together and envelope a support brace 44 with downwardly opening channels 47, 48. Receptacle 60 may be fabricated from the same material as that used in the fabrication of the embodiment of FIG. 3. The bottom edges of panels 62, 63 are provided with a zipper-like enclosure mechanism having a pull tab 69. Zipper like enclosure mechanism 68 is identical in construction to the closure mechanisms used in conventional sandwich bags which enable the receptacle edges to which they are secured to be manipulated between a closed position and an opened position. The completed receptacle 60 is permanently closed at the top and both side edges, which restricts access to the interior of the receptacle 60 to the bottom edge bearing the zipper-like enclosure mechanism 68. Consequently, a document can only be inserted into or removed from a receptacle 60 via the bottom edge.

(11) In use, with the receptacle 60 removed from a cabinet drawer, one or more documents are inserted into the interior of receptacle 60 via the bottom edge by first manipulating the enclosure mechanism 68 to the opened position, after which the documents can be inserted into the interior of receptacle 60. Receptacle 60 can then be installed in a cabinet drawer and positioned with the support brace channels 47, 48 engaged with the drawer support rails 28, 29. In this attitude, no document can be removed from the interior of the receptacle 60 unless the receptacle 60 is manipulated upwardly in the cabinet drawer a sufficient distance to allow access to the enclosure mechanism 68. This guarantees that the support brace 44 will lose contact with the drawer support rails 28, 29, an event which can be detected by the sensing circuitry installed in the cabinet.

(12) As will now be apparent, document receptacles fabricated according to the teachings of the invention provide significant security to the storage of documents in file cabinets having slidable drawers. Specifically, no document can be removed from a receptacle installed in a cabinet drawer without first removing the receptacle at least partially (in the case of the first embodiment) or completely (in the case of the second embodiment) from the cabinet drawer in which it resides. This ensures that contact between the support brace channels of the receptacle and the cabinet drawer support rails will be broken, an event which can be reliably detected by sensing circuitry in the cabinet. Thus, no document can be removed from a receptacle without this event being detected.

(13) Although the above provides a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications, alternate constructions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, while the invention has been described with reference to specific materials used in the fabrication of the main body portion of the receptacle, other suitable materials will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, if desired the FIG. 3 embodiment may be modified by fabricating the main body portion with an open left side edge. Moreover, different types of bottom edge enclosure mechanisms may be employed in the second embodiment, such as Velcro-type strips, mechanical snaps or the like. Also, if desired the enclosure mechanism on the bottom edge of the FIG. 4 embodiment can be used on the side edge of the FIG. 3 embodiment if deemed useful. Therefore, the above should not be construed as limiting the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.