Patent Application
20150330105
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 14/248,605, entitled “Self-Locking Lockbox System and Method” filed on Apr. 9, 2014, the contents of the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention generally relates to lockboxes. More particularly, the invention relates to a lockbox which is designed to self-lock and reset a manual push button combination lock such that an additional locking action is not required by the user to lock the lockbox when closed.
Lockboxes are commonly used in the real estate sales industry to provide a means for a large number of salesmen to conveniently gain access to locked buildings. A typical lockbox includes an inner repository that can be used to store a key to a building. The inner repository of the lockbox can be accessed by opening a lockable door attached to the lockbox. A combination locking mechanism can be used to enable the door to be lockable and limit access to the inner repository. In this manner, individuals having the combination to the combination lock will have access to the key in the inner repository, thereby having access to the locked building.
A number of lockbox designs have been developed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,557 issued to Larson discloses a secure entry system that makes use of radio transmissions to communicate with locks, keys, and related components throughout the system. The radio transmissions can be made using a paging system, a cellular telephone system, or any other RF carrier. Some embodiments employ a cellular telephone in lieu of an electronic key. Others integrate a paging receiver within an electronic key to provide a unit with dual functionality. The system is illustrated with reference to exemplary application in the industrial site security, real estate lockbox, and transportation fields. A homeowner key allows the homeowner greater oversight and involvement. The key includes a privacy feature, enabling the homeowner to disable the lockbox for a predetermined period if privacy is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,368 issued to Larson, et al. describes real estate lockbox and key designs which provide a variety of operational features. Also disclosed is a comprehensive system that allows real estate boards and agencies to efficiently manage their lockbox operations. Features provided by the system include the ability to record all accesses to all lockboxes; transfer all or part of such records from the lockboxes to the real estate agency or board; organize and review such records at the agency or board offices; disable operation of various lockboxes during certain hours of the day; facilitate operation of lockboxes that are mounted in awkward or poorly lit locations; limit lockbox accesses to pre-selected agents, agencies or boards; and record diagnostic information with each operation of a lockbox or key.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,912 issued to Ng, et al. describes a secure lockbox that includes an interior key lock controlling access to the mechanism for setting and changing the combination for the lock controlling access to the interior storage compartment of the lockbox. A second key lock controls the attachment bail of the lockbox, preventing unauthorized removal of the lockbox. The two key locks may be identically keyed. In a variant of the invention, a second combination lock controls the attachment bail instead of a key lock. Resilient coverings are provided for the attachment bail and the sides of the lockbox body to prevent damage to buildings and fixtures. A chain is provided to secure the door of the lockbox to the body. A slide latch having non-slip features is controlled by the door's combination lock and engages an edge of the door opening to secure the door opening.
While various improvements have been made to these traditional lockboxes over the years, certain disadvantages still remain. For example, once the lockbox is open by way of entering a combination into the combination locking mechanism the lockbox will remain open until the user of the lockbox has reentered the combination into the combination lock to enable the door to lock. Moreover, it is desirable to be able to close the lockable door whereby when the lockable door is closed the lockbox is locked without reentry of a combination. Additionally, often times the user forgets their combination or forgets to reenter their combination to relock the door. When the combination is not reentered the door is not able to fully close and lock. This enables anyone to open the lockbox and retrieve the contents.
Additionally, the industry has driven lockboxes to incorporate microprocessors and advanced communication methods to enable remote connectivity. Although these have benefits they also add security issues as unauthorized users hack the software to enable unauthorized access.
Given the deficiencies described above, there exists an unfulfilled need for an improved lockbox system that addresses the various disadvantages inherent to lockboxes found in the prior art.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a mechanical lockbox system is provided that includes a smartly designed lockable door and when the lockable door of the lockbox is pushed closed the lockable door is locked such that an additional locking action or reentry of a combination is not required to lock the lockbox when closed.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the lockbox consists of a body and a lockable door whereby the lockable door includes a combination locking mechanism. When opened the lockable door exposes an inner repository within the body. Furthermore, the lockable door includes a latching system that enables the lockable door to open by applying pressure to the locking end of the lockable door.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the lockable door includes a locking latch securing mechanism that will temporarily hold the latching system such that when the latching system is operated to open, the locking latch securing mechanism temporarily holds the locking latch such that the lockable door clears the body and opens.
According to an additional embodiment of the present invention, the latching system of the lockable door can be interconnected with a mechanical push button combination locking mechanism such that the latching system resets the combination locking mechanism to lock when the lockable door is pushed closed thereby locking the lockable door and requiring a combination to be entered to open.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments, and together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles and implementation of the invention. Additionally when reviewing the drawings as a whole, phases of the self-locking lockbox are disclosed and such conditions include a closed and locked condition, unlocked condition and an open condition. The closed configuration is illustrated in
a represents an embodiment of a mechanical push button combination locking mechanism of the present invention.
b represents an embodiment of the mechanical push button combination locking mechanism in recessed mode.
Exemplary Embodiments are described herein in the context of a self-locking lockbox system. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of the disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to
In this embodiment of the invention, attachment bail 160 is U-shaped and extends away from the top surface 170 of the body 120. Attachment bail 160 is slidable from a first open position to a second closed position in which lockbox 100 can be secured to a building structure. As with other conventional combination padlocks, combination locking mechanism 141 and key locks can be used to secure attachment bail 160 to body 120 in the closed position.
Additionally, in the present embodiment where the combination lock mechanism 140 includes a mechanical keypad 141 a user may input a combination to initiate the unlocking process.
Referring now to
Another innovative aspect of the present invention is realized when referring to
As further represented in
The locking latch securing mechanism 204 is another particularly innovative aspect of the present invention as embodied in
Providing a driving latch 310 is another important aspect of the present invention as embodied and represented in
As further represented in
As represented in
The flowchart in
The first phase of the process as embodied in
The opening phase of the process is the next phase whereby the translated force drives the locking latch to slide towards the hinged end 631 thereby enabling it to clear the locking plate which is designed to restrict the door from opening and the rails slide releasing any pushbutton camshaft in recessed mode 633 thereby returning the pushbutton camshaft into non-recessed mode 634 and resetting the mechanical pushbutton combination locking mechanism such that a user must reenter the preset combination to open the lockbox when the lockable door is closed. The sliding of the locking latch causes the securing block to slide enabling the securing mechanism to restrict locking latch from sliding towards the locking end.
The next phase of the process includes the user ceasing to push the lockable door 661 and with the assistance of the opening pin the locking end of the lockable door travels away from the body. This travel causes the referencing end of the securing mechanism to uncompress as the lockable door egresses past the wall of the body 662. As the referencing end uncompresses it retracts the securing end securing mechanism thereby allowing the locking latch to travel back to the locking end of the lockable door once the locking latch clears the locking plate 663. The traveling of the locking plate back to the locking end of the lockable door places the locking latch back into locking condition.
As the user closes the lockable door the beveled edge of the locking plate drives the locking lever to slide down towards the hinged end of the lockable door such that the lockable lever clears the locking plate but does not clear enough to enable the securing end of the securing mechanism to extend. Once the locking latch clears the locking plate it returns back towards the locking end of the lockable door thereby causing the door to be closed and locked and additional locking action was not required by the user to lock the lockable self-locking lockbox.
The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive of to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modification that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention by defined by the claims and their equivalents.
