CA2872351A1 - Cover for key storage lock box - Google Patents

Cover for key storage lock box Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CA2872351A1
CA2872351A1 CA2872351A CA2872351A CA2872351A1 CA 2872351 A1 CA2872351 A1 CA 2872351A1 CA 2872351 A CA2872351 A CA 2872351A CA 2872351 A CA2872351 A CA 2872351A CA 2872351 A1 CA2872351 A1 CA 2872351A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
lock box
cover
key storage
real estate
key
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA2872351A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Sean Arthur James Mcasey
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Turner Duane
Original Assignee
Turner Duane
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Turner Duane filed Critical Turner Duane
Priority to CA2872351A priority Critical patent/CA2872351A1/en
Publication of CA2872351A1 publication Critical patent/CA2872351A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05BLOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
    • E05B19/00Keys; Accessories therefor
    • E05B19/0005Key safes

Description

COVER FOR KEY STORAGE LOCK BOX
The present invention relates to a cover tor a key storage lock box.
BACKGROUND
Key storage lock boxes are now commonly available that can be used when a person is selling a property such as a house, condo, commercial building, etc. to securely store a key for the property inside. The key storage lock box is secured at a property that is tbr sale and someone, like a real estate agent, that is showing the property to potential customers can get access to the key inside the key storage lock box and use the key to gain access to the property to show the potential customers the property.
Typically, the key storage lock box is secured near a door of the property, usually to the door handle itself or a nearby railing. If the property is a house, the key storage lock box is usually secured to or near the front door. When a real estate agent brings potential buyers to the property to show the property to the prospective buyers, the real estate agent can open up the key storage lock box and take the key for the property stored inside and USC it to open the door to the property and gain access to the property to show it to the prospective buyers. When the real estate agent is done showing the property, he or she once again locks the key inside the key storage lock box and it then is ready to he accessed by the next real estate agent with the next potential buyer of the property.

These key storage lock boxes have become an essential part of the real estate industry because they make it much easier for a number of di fferent real estate agents to gain access to a single property that is for sale to show to prospective purchasers. Rather than each real estate agent that wants to show the property to a potential purchaser having to affange in advance to get a key for the property, the real estate agent simply has to meet his or her prospective buyers at the property and get the key or keys out of the key storage lock box. The key is secured in the key storage lock box when not being used and is only accessible using a master key, security code, swipe card, electronic signal, etc. that is only given to real estate agents. When the key is locked in the key storage lock box, it is secured away and inaccessible unless you have a master key, security code, swipe card, etc.
Typically, these key storage boxes consist of a main body where a key to the house is stored and a curved neck or shackle. The shackle is attached to the main body and is sized so that it is large enough to tit around the shaft of a door knob, hut small enough that it cannot be slipped over the door knob itself. The shackle typically contains a lock on one side so that the shackle can be opened and then locked around the shaft of the door knob to secure the key storage lock box in place. The main body has an internal compartment for storing a key. Typically, the internal compartment is accessible by a locked door or panel that is opened using a master key, security code, swipe card, electronic signal, etc. There are numerous different types of key storage lock boxes that use various ways of accessing the internal compartment and likely even more proposed ways of doing so in the prior art. Additionally, some of the key storage lock box systems are becoming quite sophisticated, with some now being able to track and log which real estate agents are accessing the key storage lock box and when.
These key storage lock boxes are usually quite durable and relatively large, however, they are also quite plan. A. real estate agent will typically purchase a.
number of key storage lock boxes so that they can be installed in the different properties that he or she is selling. However, because of their plain exterior they do not stand out and offer little in the way of promoting or even identifying the real estate agent that owns or uses the key storage lock box. Some real estate agents tape or attach his or her business card to the a key storage lock box to provide people with their contact .intbmiation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
F1G. I illustrates a conventional key storage lock box;
FIG. 2 illustrates the key storage lock box of FIG.1 with an internal compartment removed and a shackle in an Open position;
FIG. 3 illustrates a cover for a key storage lock box;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a cover for a key storage lock box on a backing sheet;
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a slightly different cover for a key storage lock box on a backing sheet;
FIG. 6 illustrates a .flow chart of the printing of a custom cover for a key storage lock box; and FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart for installing the cover on a key storage lock box.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. I and 2 illustrate a conventional key storage lock box 10. The lock box 10 can to have a main body 20 and a shackle 40. The main body 20 can have side walls 22, 24 each defining an outward facing side surface 23, 25, a front wall 26 defining a front surface 27 and a back wall 28 defining a back surface. The lock box 10 can have a shackle 40 removeably attached to the main body 20 so that the shackle 40 can be secured around a door handle, railing, etc,. to secure the lock box 10 at a property.
Referring to FIG. 2, the lock box 10 can have an interior compartment 50 accessible through a bottom 32 of the lock box 10 and sized to hold a key. When the lock box 10 is locked, the interior compartment 50 is held in place inside the main body 20 and secures the interior compartment 50 inside the main body 20 with a key inside the interior compartment 50.

Referring again to FIGS. I and 2, the shackle 40 can be secured into the main body 20 so that the shackle 40 can be unlocked and attached around a door handle, etc.
Positioned directly below where the shackle 40 attaches to the main body 20 is a collar surface 36.
The collar surface 36 is positioned above the front surface 27 of the front wall 26 and is typically angled backwards relative to the front surface 27.
The front surtlice 27 and side surfaces 23, 25 define generally flat surfaces.
Especially on the front surface 27, exterior features 29 such as key holes, sensors, etc.
may be positioned on the front surface 27 that are needed to access the key in the interior compartment 50.
lc) FIG. 3 illustrates a cover 100 for a key storage lock box. The cover 100 can comprise a front portion 110 that is sized to substantially cover the front surface 27 and the side surfaces 23,25 of a key storage lock box 10. The front portion 110 of the cover 100 can be a single piece. The front portion 110 can have apertures 112 to leave any necessary exterior features 29 on the front surface 27 of the lock box 10 uncovered.
IS The cover 100 can also have a collar portion 120 that is sized to fit the collar surface 36 on the lock box 10.
Optionally, a shackle portion 130 can be provided to cover a front surface of the shackle 40 so that a design and/or color scheme used on the front portion 110 and the collar portion 120 can be carried over to the shackle 40 of the lock box. 1.0 to provide a more unified design.
'fhe front portion 110, collar portion 120 and shackle portion 130 can he a vinyl material, such as the vinyl materials now commonly used to wrap vehicles and that allows colors, designs, works, etc. to be printed directly onto the vinyl material. In one aspect, the front portion 110, collar portion 120 and shackle portion 130 can be laminated after the ink is applied to the vinyl material to improve the resiliency of the cover 100 since it will likely spend a lot of time outdoors.
The vinyl material will have an adhesive on the opposite side from the side that the ink is applied to. This adhesive is typically tacky enough to adhere the cover 100 to the lock box 10 so that the cover 100 remains on the lock box 10, but not so tacky that the cover 100 cannot be easily removed and repositioned without leaving substantial adhesive residue on the lock box 10. In one aspect, the tackiness of the adhesive used could be N/25mm:17 for unlaminated covers and .N/25mm:18 for laminated covers.
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrates examples of covers 152, 156 that are designed to fit different sized key storage lock boxes. By slightly varying the shapes of the covers 152, 156 they can be used on different lock boxes. Because there are a number of different types and shapes of key storage lock boxes, the covers might have to have varying shapes to be used with the different commercially available key storage lock boxes.

Tim covers 152, 156 are both attached to backings 154, 158 until the covers 152, 156 are peeled off and applied to a lock box 10.
FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method for ordering and installing a customized cover 100 for a key storage lock box 10. Because a real estate agent may have only have a few (or even only a single lock box 10), the lock box 10 will typically be unadorned and plain (usually just formed of a high-strength dark-colored plastic).
However, to help differentiate his or her lock boxes 10 from the lock boxes 10 of other real estate agents as well as provide some marketing for the real estate agent, a person can order a custom cover 100 tor use on his or her own lock boxes 10. The use of the customized covers 100 () allows a single person to customize as few as one or as many covers 100 as they would like so that wherever his or her lock boxes 10 are placed, that real estate agent's specific information is provided to help promote that specific real estate agent.
At step 202 the agent can provide his or her personal information. This could be the information that the real estate agent would provide on his or her business card, e.g.
is telephone number, email address, fax number, website, social media URLs, etc. At step 204 the agent could provide his or her photograph. This would typically be a head shot of the real estate agent. At step 206 the agent could indicate or provide a logo of the real estate brokerage that he or she is affiliated with.
At step 208 the agent could provide information and/or an image to be applied to the 20 collar portion 120 of the cover 100. This could be a sentence, slogan, name, logo, etc. or just about anything the real estate agent desires to have placed on the collar portion 120 of the cover LOU.
At step 210, a cover 100 on a backing sheet can be printed. The cover can have a cutout portion for the front portion 110, collar portion 120 and shackle portion 130.
The front portion 110 can have a design printed on it that incorporates the information provided at step 202, the photograph provided at step 204 and the brokerage logo indicated or provided at step 206. The information and/or image provided at step 208 can be incorporated into the design of the collar portion 120. The shackle portion 130 can be printed with a color and/or design that matches the design on the front portion 110.
This customized cover 100 will then display a design and information specific to the real estate agent that has ordered the cover 100.
Once the real estate agent has received the cover 100, he or she can apply it to a lock box 10. FIG. 7 illustrates a method of applying the cover 100 to the lock box 10.
At step 302, the real estate agent can begin to apply the cover 100 to his or her lock box 5 10 by removing the front portion 110 from the backing sheet and affixing it to the front face 27 and side faces 23, 25 of the lock box 10, being careful to align the edges of the front portion 110 with the edges of the front face 27 and side faces 23, 25 of the lock box 10 and any apertures 112 in the front portion 110 with the exterior features 29 on the lock box 10.

At step 304, the real estate agent can remove the collar portion 120 of the cover 100 from the backing sheet and apply it to the collar surface 36 of the lock box 10. At step 306, the shackle portion 130 can be removed from the backing sheet and applied to the shackle 40 of the lock box 10.
The lock box 10 can then have a custom look identifying the specific real estate agent that owns the lock box 10. When the lock box 10 is secured outside a property, the lock box 10 and its cover 100 will display to people the real estate agent's contact information, picture, etc. as well as being able to provide a colorful and eye-catching design that attracts people's attention to the lock box. This is especially true when installed at a i 0 building where there are numerous other lock boxes provided, such as a large apartment or condominium building.
When the real estate agent is done with the lock box, there is usually a pretty good re-sale market for used lock boxes since they are relatively durable and can last a long time. The lock box can usually easily be sold or given to someone else and the cover 100 simply removed from the lock box 10. The new owner can either leave the lock box 10 in its standard color or apply a cover 100 of his or her own to the lock box 10.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention.
Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the _invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
CA2872351A 2014-11-27 2014-11-27 Cover for key storage lock box Abandoned CA2872351A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA2872351A CA2872351A1 (en) 2014-11-27 2014-11-27 Cover for key storage lock box

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA2872351A CA2872351A1 (en) 2014-11-27 2014-11-27 Cover for key storage lock box

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2872351A1 true CA2872351A1 (en) 2016-05-27

Family

ID=56069458

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA2872351A Abandoned CA2872351A1 (en) 2014-11-27 2014-11-27 Cover for key storage lock box

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA2872351A1 (en)

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20060193109A1 (en) Impression creating device and method for a laptop computer
US20130099926A1 (en) Sign system
US8833553B2 (en) Durable packaging assembly for media devices
US20050227051A1 (en) Flooring display panel with durable label
US5916650A (en) Removable display cover and method
AU2001259780A1 (en) Method and apparatus for authenticating unique items such as sports memorabilia
US4897945A (en) Lock box door protector
US20170212051A1 (en) Glass Screen Protector with Adhered Print, Process for Authenticating a Maker of Glass Screen Protector with Ultraviolet Ink, and Screen Protector for Decorating a Powered-off Display
US20070107287A1 (en) Information display folder
US20060260162A1 (en) Multiple static cling sign method
US8601606B2 (en) Computer recovery or return
US7228652B2 (en) Labeled key tags
CA2872351A1 (en) Cover for key storage lock box
US5526597A (en) Self authenticating pictorial work presentation system
US20070234621A1 (en) Display apparatus
US20140262852A1 (en) Credit Card Security Cover
US20120257336A1 (en) Anti-theft deterrent protection kit and a method of assembling and using said kit
US7930868B1 (en) Optical disc advertising label and method
CN206163003U (en) Anti -counterfeit labels
JP2005088261A (en) Postcard for preventing personal information from leaking
Denton et al. Theft: A Real Threat to Religious Heritage
Gioconda Can intellectual property laws stem the rising tide of art forgeries
JP2002063398A (en) Method for providing dealing and mediation information using internet
CN207440810U (en) A kind of antifalsification label in logistics progress
US6139184A (en) Security storage container

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FZDE Dead

Effective date: 20170622