CONTAINER WITH PADLOCK MOUNT

[0001] This invention relates to a container having a mount for a padlock, preferably incorporated into a stackable container and configured to accommodate padlocks of a variety of sizes.

[0002] Various types of containers are used to receive and support delicate cargo such as electronic, computer, optical and other types of equipment. Example containers for such purposes may take the form of transit containers, rack-mount containers, tote containers or others. In some instances, containers of this type are used in military and commercial environments in which handling by persons or equipment may subject the containers to external forces from a variety of directions. Likewise, because the cargo may be valuable it is often useful to incorporate a lock or a means for locking the container. In some cases, containers of this type are designed to be stackable, and thus they may include stacking elements or features arranged in a desired pattern in order to restrict lateral movement of containers stacked atop other containers.

[0003] Security for such containers can be an essential attribute and, in order to allow the containers to be locked for restricted access, a lock of some form is often provided on the container in order to lock the lid of the container securely atop the lower container body. In some instances, the lock is formed as a part of the container clasp system, with an integrated key-lock that requires use of a key to unlock the clasps in order to open the lid. In other instances (or together with locking clasps), a separate removable padlock may be attached at a location that will hold the lid firmly against the lower container body, preventing the lid from being opened without first removing the padlock. For example, the lid and lower container may each have laterally-extending flanges that abut one another when the lid is in the closed position, with one or more aligned holes being formed in each of the mating lid and container flanges. The shackle of the padlock can then be passed through the aligned holes in the lid and container flanges so that the shackle can then be inserted into the padlock case to lock the lid against the container.

[0004] Current containers that provide a location for mounting a padlock do so in a way in which the padlock itself is exposed to abuse and is able to move through a large range of motion, allowing for potential damage to the lock and the portion of the case where the lock is attached. Depending on the severity of an external force applied to the case in the vicinity of the lock, the configuration of current structures may cause catastrophic damage to the lock or the case, thereby compromising the security of the case.

[0005] The present invention provides for an improved mount for receiving a padlock to securely enclose a case. In accordance with preferred versions of a case having a padlock mount, the mount incorporates features that restrict the movement of the padlock and protect the padlock against damage by external forces acting against the case.

[0006] In one version of the invention, the padlock mount is formed to incorporate a saddle adjacent one or more holes configured to receive a shackle of a padlock. Preferably, the saddle is formed to define a surface corresponding to an inner surface of the shackle.

[0007] In some versions of the invention, the container external sidewall is formed with a cavity configured to receive the padlock and protect the padlock against damage caused by external forces. The cavity is further defined by sidewalls that may restrict the padlock against rotational movement, thereby limiting damage caused to the padlock and to the padlock mount.

[0008] In a further example of the invention, a single pair of mating holes is provided in the lid and upper container for receiving the shackle, and preferably the shackle toe can be passed through the single pair of mating holes. At the opposite end of the saddle, an indentation is formed in the rim of the lid and the base for receiving the shackle heel. Most preferably, the top of the saddle is bounded by opposing sidewalls or ridges that restrict the top of the shackle against rotational movement when the padlock is in place.

[0009] Optionally, the padlock mount is incorporated into a container having features for enabling multiple containers to be stacked atop one another. In one example, the stackable version of the containers may include a plurality projections and cavities formed on complementary surfaces of two or more containers. The projections and cavities are positioned in complementary locations such that the projections will be received within the cavities when the containers are stacked, thereby restricting lateral movement of an upper container stacked atop a lower container.

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred container 100 having a lid 10 and a lower container body 20. In the illustrated example, the lid is attached to the lower container body along an interface 22 shown as a seam between the lid and the container body. Thus, in the illustrated example the lid and container body terminate at an interface defining a seam 22 that lies in a common horizontal plane. Each of the lid 10 and the container body 20 may define an interior space 60 (see FIG. 4, for example) for receiving and retaining articles to be stored and contained within the container. In the illustrated example the container body 20 is deeper than the lid 10, and therefore defines a larger interior volume in the container body than the interior volume of the lid. In other examples, each of the container body and the lid may be deeper or shallower than the illustrated version.

[0017] The lid is mountable to the container body to define an enclosed space for the container when the lid is mounted to the container body in a closed position (as illustrated in FIG. 1). In alternate versions of the invention, the lid may be fully separable from the container body, or it may be pivotally attached (for example, through the use of hinges) to enable the lid to pivot through open and closed positions. One or more clasps, for example, 32, 34, 36 may also be provided to retain the lid in a closed position tightly against the container body. In some versions the clasps may hold the lid against the container body, while in other versions the clasps may also incorporate a lockable feature that requires a key or other tool to unlock the clasp.

[0018] The container may optionally include one or more features to facilitate stacking of multiple containers. For example, as show in the illustrated version, the lid may include a plurality of recessed or raised features 12, 14 that interact with complementary recessed or raised features (not shown) formed on an outer surface of another container body. When two or more containers are stacked, the raised or recessed features abut one another to hinder lateral movement of the stacked containers with respect to one another.

[0019] The recessed or raised features to aid in stacking are preferably incorporated through either direct molding of the substrate material forming the case or by molding a secondary material (e.g. aluminum or steel) in the desired shape and then bonding or otherwise attaching or adhering the features to the substrate material.

[0020] The preferred container further includes a padlock mount having features for protecting a padlock and limiting movement of the padlock. Most preferably, the padlock mount extends across the seam 22 between the lid and the container body. In the illustrated example, the padlock mount includes a saddle 40 configured to receive a shackle of the padlock. Most preferably, the saddle 40 is incorporated into the lid 10, as shown. The padlock mount further includes a receptacle 50 for receiving a body of the padlock, and as illustrated the preferred receptacle is bounded by a pair of opposing sidewalls 52, 54. The padlock receptacle is preferably formed in the container body. In various examples of the invention, the container is divided into a first container portion and a second container portion that are separable from one another, with the saddle being incorporated into the first portion of the container and the receptacle being incorporated into the second container portion. As such, the padlock mount extends across the first and second container portions.

[0021] As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, in a preferred version of the invention the saddle 40 is incorporated into the lid of the container and is positioned adjacent a lower surface or rim 16 (see FIG. 3) of the lid 10, which abuts a mating upper surface or rim 24 (see FIG. 4) of the container body when the lid is closed against the container body. As noted above, most preferably, the upper and lower surfaces 16, 24 each terminate along a common plane, thereby defining a planar interface along the seam 22. In some versions, the upper and lower surfaces in the vicinity of the padlock mount may be formed as lateral flanges that abut or are otherwise adjacent one another.

[0022] At one side of the saddle 40, a hole 44 is provided along a peripheral edge of the lid, slightly inward from a portion of a sidewall of the lid. The hole 44 extends through the edge of the lid, and is configured to enable the toe of a padlock shackle to extend through the hole 44. At an opposite side of the saddle 44, a channel or indentation 42 is formed. The indentation extends from a peripheral surface of a sidewall of the lid in a direction inward toward an interior of the lid. The indentation is configured to receive the heel of the padlock shackle so that the shackle can be attached to the lid inwardly from the outermost vertical surfaces of the lid sidewall in versions in which the lid is defined by a top and downwardly extending sidewalls. The saddle is formed to follow a generally raised, arcuate path between the indentation 42 and the hole 44, to provide further support for the shackle and to reduce stress on the area surrounding the hole 44 and indentation 42. The raised nature of the saddle forms an upper surface of the saddle which is raised to a highest point (in a direction toward the top of the lid) at a location centrally between the hole 44 and the indentation 42, curving downward from the central location toward both the hole 44 and the indentation 42.

[0023] The saddle 40 is further bounded by an outer peripheral sidewall 46 and an inner sidewall 47. The inner and outer sidewalls 46, 47 are raised above the saddle 40 (that is in a direction away from the lower surface 16 of the lid and toward the top of the lid). Most preferably, the inner and outer sidewalls 46, 47 are substantially linear between the hole 44 and indentation 42. Accordingly, the combination of inner and outer sidewalls serves to impede rotational movement of the padlock and shackle when the padlock is in place, joining the lid to the container body.

[0024] The lower container body 20 is further illustrated in FIG. 4, shown with a lid detached. As shown, the lower container body includes a floor and upwardly extending sidewalls to define an interior space. The preferred version of the lower container body 20 includes a laterally extending ledge 24, which may be formed as a peripheral flange or a seat on an upper rim of the container body, for example. The ledge is configured to abut at least a portion of the lower edge 16 of the lid 10 when the lid is closed against the container body. In the illustrated example, the ledge 24 may be atop raised support columns 53, 55 which extend laterally outward from adjacent portions of the sidewall of the container body 20, and which have a width along a portion of the circumference of the container body 20 such that the support columns are wider than a mere flange or fin.

[0025] The container body 20 includes a second hole 26, in which the second hole 26 is sized and positioned to be aligned with the first hole 44 formed in the lid 10 when the lid is in a closed position atop the container body 20. As with the lid, the container body includes an indentation 28 formed in the ledge 24. The indentation 28 of the container body is configured to be aligned with the indentation 42 of the lid when the lid is in position to enclose the container body, thereby allowing a portion of the shackle to extend through both the lid indentation 42 and the container indentation 28.

[0026] Beneath the ledge 24, a padlock receptacle 50 is provided. The padlock receptacle 50 is defined by a pair of opposing sidewalls 52, 54 formed on an outer surface of the container body below the ledge. In the illustrated example, the vertical sidewalls 52, 54 are formed along adjacent support columns 53, 55. The receptacle 50 is sized and shaped to receive a padlock between the sidewalls, and is preferably formed with a depth (toward the interior of the container body) such that the padlock is recessed to form a cavity in a direction toward the interior of the container body. Most preferably, the sidewalls 52, 54 provide a depth to the receptacle 50 such that the padlock is retained fully within the area defined by the lateral outermost surfaces of the opposing sidewalls. In this fashion, the padlock will be protected within the receptacle against external forces that may be imparted by foreign objects.

[0027] In use, the lid 10 is positioned atop the container body 20 such that the rim of the lid abuts the rim of the container body. As described above, the holes in the lid and the container body are aligned with one another when the lid is closed atop the container body, and likewise the indentations in the lid and container body are aligned. A padlock is opened and unlocked so that the heel end of the shackle can be pushed into the aligned indentations and the toe end of the shackle positioned above the aligned holes. The toe end of the shackle is then pushed downward through the aligned holes and into the padlock body, which is positioned in the padlock receptacle 50. Accordingly, the padlock locks the lid against the container body. In addition, the shackle is supported by the saddle formed in the lid.

[0028] In some versions of the invention, the saddle as described above may be incorporated in to the container body rather than the lid. In one such example, the orientation of the features of the padlock mount may be essentially inverted in order to attach a padlock to the container with the shackle beneath the padlock body. Likewise, in some instances the containers may be invertible, with no true lid or container body. Thus, in general the saddle and padlock receptacle portions may be equally incorporated into either of a first portion of a container and a second portion of a container that combine to form an enclosed space, with either the first portion or the second portion serving as the lid and the other serving as the container body.

[0029] In some versions of the invention, the saddle and receptacle features may be rotated to a position other than a substantially orthogonal orientation with respect to the plane of the rims of the lid and container body as shown in the illustrated examples. Thus, for example, the saddle may be rotated in a particular example to an angle such as 30 degrees or 45 degrees with respect to a vertical axis extending centrally from a bottom of the container to a top of the container.

[0030] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.