Patent Application
20060191949
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lid (e.g., a lid for a secure document container), container, and system for storing documents and, in particular a lid, container and system for storing documents which includes at least a portion of a locking mechanism which is formed in a cup portion of the lid.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional lids for secure document storage containers typically include some portions of a locking mechanism attached thereto.
One such conventional lid 10 is illustrated, for example, in
The lock 50 also includes brackets 53 which are secured to the opposing sides of the lid 50. The brackets 53 may include an inner wall and an outer wall so that, when the lid 10 is closed on the container, the inner wall is disposed inside the top of the container wall and the outer wall of the bracket 53 is disposed outside of the top of the container wall. Further, the brackets 53 include a hole which is large enough to insert the horizontal bars 52 and which, when the lid is closed, should be aligned with a hole in the top of the container wall.
Thus, for example, to attempt to secure the lid 50 to the container, the user may rotate a key in the lock 50 which causes the rod 51 to rotate (e.g., counterclockwise from a direction looking up to a bottom side of the lid 10) such that the bars 52 may be extended into the inner wall of the brackets 53, the top of the container wall, and the outer wall of the brackets 53.
The conventional lid 10 also includes an anti-fish device 60 which is attached to the bottom of the lid 10 and which is near an opening in the lid 10 which may be used, for example, to deposit documents (e.g., documents which may be considered confidential by a governmental or business entity).
Such conventional lids, however, experience several problems. For example, the lock 50 (including the horizontal bars 52 and brackets 53) is relatively time consuming to install. Specifically, considerable time may be needed to arrange the bars 52 and brackets 53 to ensure that the bars 52 are properly aligned with the holes in the brackets 53 and the container, to ensure proper operation of the lock 50.
Further, the lock 50, including most of its moving parts (e.g., the rod 51, the horizontal bars 52, etc.), is almost entirely exposed. Thus, the lock 50 including the exposed parts may be easily damaged.
Further, the operation of the lock 50 depends on the bars 52 being aligned with the holes in the brackets 53 and the holes in the top of the container. Thus, operation of the lock 50 may be greatly and adversely affected by any damage to the bars 52.
Further, the size of the lock 50 depends on the size of the container. Thus, a large container (e.g., 64 gallon container) will require a large lock. The larger the lock 50, the larger the exposed moving parts (e.g., the longer the horizontal bars 52) and the more likely it is that the lock 50 may become damaged.
Further, the large lock 50 must occupy a large area on the bottom of the lid 10. As a result the lock 50 can only be formed, as a practical matter, on one end of the lid 10. Thus, it is difficult to secure the other end of the lid 10 (e.g., the end which is attached to the container by the hinge) by using such a lock 50.
Further, the anti-fish device 60 in the conventional lid is typically formed of a lightweight plastic which is attached by screws to the lid 10. This rather insecure construction makes it easy to thwart the anti-fish device 60 and therefore, jeopardizes the security of the container.
In view of the foregoing and other problems, disadvantages, and drawbacks of the aforementioned lids, containers and systems, it is a purpose of the exemplary aspects of the present invention to provide a lid (e.g., and container, system and method) which includes a robust, inexpensive and easily installable lock mechanism (e.g., a portion of a lock mechanism), and may be used to provide better security than conventional lids.
The exemplary aspects of the present invention include a lid for a container (e.g., a secure document storage container). The lid includes at least one cup portion, and a locking mechanism for securing the lid to a body of the container, at least a portion of the locking mechanism being formed in the cup portion.
The locking mechanism may include a main portion which is formed in the cup portion of the lid and attaches to a base portion formed on the container body, to secure the lid to the body. Further, the at least one cup portion of the lid may include an opening which is at least substantially aligned with an opening of the main portion of the locking mechanism, such that a projection on the base portion is insertable into the opening in the main portion of the locking mechanism through the opening in the at least one cup portion. Further, the cup portion may have a depth which is no greater than about 2 inches, and the main portion may have a height which is substantially equal to the depth of the cup portion. In addition, the at least one cup portion may be formed in a center region of a side of the lid.
The lid may also include a molded lid, such that the cup portion is integrally formed and molded with the lid. Further, the at least one cup portion may include a plurality of cup portions, one of the plurality of cup portions being formed in an end region of a side of the lid.
The exemplary aspects of the present invention also include a container (e.g., a secure document storage container) which includes a body including an opening, a lid for covering the opening, which is connected to the body and includes at least one cup portion, and a locking mechanism for securing the lid to the body, at least a portion of the locking mechanism being formed in the cup portion. The locking mechanism may include a main portion which is formed in the cup portion of the lid, and a base portion which is formed on the body and attaches to the main portion to secure the lid to the body.
Further, the base portion may include a projection which is insertable into an opening formed in the main portion of the locking mechanism. Further, the at least one cup portion of the lid may include an opening which is at least substantially aligned with the opening of the main portion of the locking mechanism, such that the projection is insertable into the opening formed in the main portion of the locking mechanism through the opening in the at least one cup portion.
In addition, the projection may include an upper portion and an engaging portion formed under the upper portion. Further, the main portion of the locking mechanism may further include a latch-pin which is spring-loaded and movably protrudes into the opening such that when the projection is inserted into the opening in the main portion, the latch-pin engages the engaging portion to restrict a movement of the projection in a direction out of the opening in the main portion.
The main portion of the locking mechanism may further include a spring which is operatively coupled to the latch-pin, such that the latch-pin is movable in a direction out of the opening in the main portion of the locking mechanism against a force of the spring. The latch-pin may protrude substantially perpendicularly into the opening of the main portion of the locking mechanism. The latch-pin may also include an angled end portion such that the latch-pin is displaceable by a force applied by the upper portion of the projection in a direction into the opening of the locking mechanism.
Further, when the lid is in a substantially closed position, a weight of the lid may provide sufficient force for the projection to cause the latch-pin to be displaced and the projection to be inserted into the opening in the main portion of the locking mechanism.
In addition, the locking mechanism may include a pin-and-tumbler type locking mechanism, the main portion of the locking mechanism comprising a key-hole formed on a key-entry side of the main portion which is opposite to the opening in the main portion of the locking mechanism. The key-entry side of the main portion of the locking mechanism may include a surface which is substantially co-planar with a surface of the lid.
The locking mechanism may further include a fastening member for fastening the main portion of the locking mechanism to the lid, the fastening member being inserted through a hole in the cup portion into another opening in the main portion of the lock mechanism.
The exemplary aspects of the present invention also include a system for storing documents (e.g., secure documents). The system includes a container having a body including an opening, a lid for covering the opening, which is connected to the body and comprises at least one cup portion, and a locking mechanism for securing the lid to the body. The locking mechanism includes a main portion which is formed in the cup portion of the lid, and a base portion which is formed on the body and attaches to the main portion to secure the lid to the body. The system further includes a securing member which is inserted in an opening formed in the base portion of the locking mechanism, for securing the container to a structure.
With its unique and novel features, the exemplary aspects of the present invention provide a lid (e.g., and container and system) which includes a robust, inexpensive and easily installable lock mechanism (e.g., a portion of a lock mechanism), and may be used to provide better security than conventional lids.
The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
Referring now to the drawings,
All of the features illustrated herein, even though only in relation to one size or style of container, may be equally applicable to all styles and sizes disclosed in this application, and to other containers not shown according to the principles described herein. That is, the principles of the invention are not limited to any particular size container.
In addition, the term “container” is used in this application in the broad sense to refer to a container, cart, receptacle, etc., which is useful for receiving documents (e.g., classified or secure documents) and other waste, refuse or items for recycling. The particular embodiments disclosed in this application are suitable for the above purposes.
Specifically,
As illustrated in
The container 100 may be fabricated (e.g., injection molded) of a plastic resin (e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene, high density polyethylene, etc.). The container 100 may be a light weight and strong container.
The container 100 may include a body 150 and a lid 20. The body 150 may include an integrally-formed body, and may include a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall, and a front wall. The upper portion of the walls may include a rim 160 that may be formed around the periphery (e.g. substantially around the periphery) of the opening 155 in the container body 150. A lip 151 may also be formed on the container body 150 between the opening 155 and the rim 160. The volume enclosed by the container 100 may vary.
The walls may terminate to form the container opening 155 (e.g., mouth) which is covered by the lid 20 (e.g., a pivotal, hinged lid). Further, the container 100 may also include a handle support 156 which may be molded into the container body 100 adjacent the upper ends of the walls. The handle support 156 may be, for example, integrally-formed with (e.g., injection molded with) the container body 150.
The handle support 156 may also support a bar 157 (e.g., laterally-extending and integrally-formed cylindrical handle bar) which may also be injection molded. The lid 20 may be attached to bar 157 by a hinge (e.g., first and second hinges) which may extend outwardly from the rear side of lid 20. The hinges may be integrally-molded with the lid 20, and may extend into the lid 20 and provide reenforcement to lid 20.
The bottom of the rear wall may also include an integrally-formed axle journal which receives an axle on which is mounted wheels 159.
The bottom of container 100 may include plastic feet which protect the bottom of the front end of the container 100 from abrasion and other wear-related damage. The plastic feet may be positioned by a snap fit in small holes which are molded in the bottom during the molding of the container 100.
The opening 155 of the container 100 may be surrounded by (e.g., defined by) an upwardly-extending lip 151 which may help to correctly position the lid 20 onto the top of container body 150. The lip 151 may be a part of and lie in the plane of the respective walls of the container body 150.
The rim 160 (e.g., a reinforcing rim) may extend laterally outwardly from a position just below the lip 151. This rim 160 may be integrally formed with the container body 150. The rim 160 may extend around the periphery of container body 150. The rim 160 on the front wall may also be offset downwardly away from the opening 155 of the container body 150 to form a hand access area 159, so that a hand can be easily inserted up under rim 160.
The lid 20 may also include a slot 25 for depositing documents (e.g., secure documents) into the container body 150. In this case, the lid 20 may include an anti-fish device for inhibiting an individual from reaching into the container through the slot to access the documents stored inside the container.
However, unlike conventional lids, the lid 20 of the present invention may include an anti-fish device 29 (e.g., at least a portion of an anti-fish device) that is integrally-formed with the remainder of the lid (e.g., see
Referring now to
Further, the cup portion 21 may be only to be deep enough to contain the main portion 51 of the locking mechanism 50. For example, the cup portion 21 may have a depth which is no greater than about 2 inches. Further, the main portion 51 of the locking mechanism 50 may have a height of less than about 2 inches. In addition, the height of the main portion 51 may be substantially equal to the depth of the cup portion to help provide the upper surface of the lid 20 with a relatively smooth and level profile.
Further, as illustrated in
The lid 20 may also include a molded lid, such that the cup portion 21 is integrally formed and molded (e.g., injection molded) with the lid 21. Further, although the drawings may illustrate a particular number of cup portions 21, the present invention should not be limited to the number of cup portions illustrated in the drawings. That is, the at least one cup portion 21 may include a plurality of cup portions 21.
Further, as illustrated, for example, in
Specifically, the container 100 (e.g., a secure document storage container) may include the body 150 including an opening 155, the lid 20 for covering the opening, which is connected to the body 150 and includes the at least one cup portion 21, and a locking mechanism 50 for securing the lid 20 to the body 150, at least a portion of the locking mechanism 50 being formed in the at least one cup portion 21.
The locking mechanism 50 may have a function which is similar to that of a padlock. Specifically, as illustrated in
The base portion 52 may be secured to the container (e.g., the rim 160 of the container) using a fastener 61 (e.g., see
Further, as illustrated in
Further, the locking mechanism may be designed so that the projection 53 does not have to be perfectly aligned with the opening 59 in the locking mechanism 50 to be able to insert the projection 53 into the opening 59. For example, the base portion 52 may be design so that the projection 53 may be slightly movable (e.g., movable a maximum of about 1/16th of an inch in any horizontal direction). For example, the opening 64 in the base portion 52 may be slightly larger than the projection 53 which may allow the projection to move slightly.
In addition, the projection 53 may include an upper portion 54 and an engaging portion 55 formed under the upper portion 54. The upper portion 54 may include a rounded end portion 54a to allow the projection 53 to easily slide into the opening 59 in the main portion 51 of the locking mechanism 50.
The main portion 51 of the locking mechanism 50 may further include a cylinder 68 (e.g., a pin-and tumbler cylinder), a spring 57, a latch-pin 58, and a cam 69 which connects the cylinder 68 to the latch-pin 58. The latch-pin 58 is spring-loaded by the spring 57 and movably protrudes into the opening 59 such that when the projection 53 is inserted into the opening 59, the latch-pin 58 may engage the engaging portion 55 to restrict a movement of the projection 53 in a direction out of the opening 59.
The spring 57 may be operatively coupled to the latch-pin 58, such that the latch-pin 58 is movable in a direction out of the opening 59 against a force of the spring 57. The latch-pin 58 may protrude substantially perpendicularly into the opening 59. The latch-pin 58 may also include an angled end portion 58a such that the latch-pin 58 is displaceable by a force applied by the upper portion 54 of the projection 53 in a direction into the opening 59. Further, when the lid 20 is in a substantially closed position, a weight of the lid 20 may provide sufficient force for the projection 53 to cause the latch-pin 58 to be displaced and the projection 53 to be inserted into the opening 59. These features may help to ensure that the lid 20 is properly closed and latched and secured to the container body 150 with little effort.
In addition, the locking mechanism 50 may include a pin-and-tumbler type locking mechanism. Further, the main portion 50 of the locking mechanism may include a key-hole which is formed on a key-entry side of the main portion 50 which is a side opposite to the opening 59. As illustrated, for example, the key-entry side of the main portion 51 of the locking mechanism 50 may include a surface (e.g., an upper surface) which is substantially co-planar with a surface of the lid 20. Further, as illustrated in
Further, the same key may be used open each of the lock-mechanisms 50 on the container 100. Alternatively, for additional security, the lock mechanisms 50 on the container 100 may require different keys. Thus, for example, if the container 100 includes three lock mechanisms, three different keys may be required to open lock mechanisms 50 and thus, access the contents of the container 100.
Referring again to
Another advantage of the present invention is that the lid 20 may be easily used on other similarly-sized container bodies without a significant cost to retrofit the container bodies. For example, a manufacturer, distributor or retailer having containers with other lids in inventory, or an owner (e.g., a secure document shredding company) which may own many containers having other lids, can easily retrofit the container bodies to include the lid 20 of the present invention. This may be accomplished, for example, by replacing the old lid with the lid 20 according to the present invention, and installing the base portion 52 of the lock mechanism 50 on the container body (e.g., on a rim of the container body). Thus, the security of containers having other lids to be easily improved at a low cost.
Further, the invention also includes an insert (e.g., a plastic insert such as a plastic cap) that has a shape similar to a shape of said main portion 51 of the locking mechanism 50. This insert may fit snugly into the cup portion 21 or alternatively, may be fixed in the cup portion 21 by the friction between the insert and walls of the cup portion, or by a fastener such as a screw, rivet, glue, etc.
The insert may be inserted into the cup portion for example, when a customer wants less locks than there are cup portions on the lid. For example, if the lid has three cup portions formed therein, but the customer only wants one locking mechanism, the inserts may be inserted into two of the cup portions. Thus, the inserts may be used to “hide” the two cup portions and provide the lid with a relatively uniform upper surface.
Further, one of the most vunerable portions of conventional security containers is the interface between the lid and the container. Typically, in such conventional containers the lock mechanism is formed on an end opposite to the hinge which rotatably secures the lid to the body of the container.
However, in the claimed invention, a locking mechanism 50 may be easily formed anywhere on the lid 20. Thus, for example, the lid 20 in the claimed invention may include a cup portion 21 formed near the hinge portion 27 of the lid 20 (e.g., see
Further, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Thus, for example, the lid 20 and container 100 of the present invention can be designed to easily accommodate no lock mechanisms, one lock mechanism or many lock mechanisms (e.g., one on every corner and in the middle of each side of the lid for a total of eight lock mechanisms). That is, the lid 20 may include, for example, cup portions 21 located at all of the positions indicated in
Moreover, this will allow owner of the container to easily improve the security of a container by purchasing more lock mechanisms 50 and replacing the inserts in the lid 20 with the purchased lock mechanisms. Thus, for example, if a purchaser purchases a container having a lid 20 with only one lock mechanism in the center of the front side of the lid 20, but later wants to improve the security of the container 100, the purchaser may, for example, purchase three more lock mechanisms (including three projections), replace the plastic inserts in the cup holders 21 (e.g., located at the center of the other three sides of the lid 20), and install the three projections 53 in the corresponding locations on the peripheral plate-shaped base portion (e.g., by screwing the projections onto the base portion) in order to inexpensively improve the security of the container 100.
It should be noted that although,
Thus, as illustrated in
Thus, the present invention not only may be used to increase the security of container 100 from the aspect of making it more difficult for a thief to enter the container body 150 by removing the lid 20, but also by making it more difficult for a thief to take the container 100 from its intended location.
Therefore, referring again to the Figures (e.g.,
It should be noted that although
In addition, the present invention includes a method of fabricating a lid 20 including at least one cup portion 21 according to the exemplary aspects of the present invention. Specifically, the method may include providing a mold for forming the lid, injecting a plastic resin (e.g., high density polyethylene) into the mold, and curing the plastic resin to form the lid 20 including at least one cup portion 21 therein. That is, the lid 20 including the at least one cup portions 21 may be formed from a same mold, in a same injection step.
With its unique and novel features, the exemplary aspects of the present invention provide a lid (e.g., and container and system) which includes a robust, inexpensive and easily installable lock mechanism (e.g., a portion of a lock mechanism), and may be used to provide better security than conventional lids.
While the invention has been described in terms of one or more embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Specifically, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the drawings herein are meant to be illustrative, and the design of the inventive assembly is not limited to that disclosed herein but may be modified within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, Applicant's intent is to encompass the equivalents of all claim elements, and no amendment to any claim in the present application should be construed as a disclaimer of any interest in or right to an equivalent of any element or feature of the amended claim.
