EP3760387A1 - Locking box - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a lock box for enclosing objects comprising an upwardly open container, a lid which is pivotably attached to the container via a hinge between a closed position and an open position, the top of the lid having a handle for the lock box is provided, wherein a plurality of securing openings are provided in the lid and container for attaching a plurality of locking elements in order to fix the lid in the closed position on the container, and a lock is provided that a wearing of the lock box on the handle in the closed position also with not hooked locking elements allows. The cover is attached to the joint so that it can be linearly displaced between a retracted position and an extended position via an adjustment mechanism. The closure comprises that on the side opposite the hinge, the lid has a closure part with an engagement section which, in the closed position, engages in a closure receptacle of the container when the lid assumes the retracted position, the engagement being released when the lid the is in the extended position. The engagement section and the closure receptacle are designed in such a way that, in the closed position, they prevent the cover from being displaced from the retracted position into the extended position by positive locking when the cover is raised relative to the container.

Description

The invention relates to a lock box for locking objects, in particular keys, comprising an upwardly open, in particular cuboid-shaped, container for the objects, a lid which on one side via a hinge between a closed position and an open position by a Joint-defined pivot axis is pivotally attached to the container, the lid being provided on its upper side with a handle for the lock box, with several securing openings in the lid and the container for attaching several locking elements, in particular padlocks, to the lid in to fix the closed position on the container, and wherein a lock is provided which enables the lock box to be carried by the handle in the closed position of the lid even when the locking elements are not attached.

A lock box of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is also referred to as a "lockout box", is mainly used for a so-called group lockout in connection with maintenance, repair or cleaning of a machine or system if several people are involved in maintenance, Repair or cleaning employees involved must exclude one or more energy sources on the machine or system. In order to keep the time required for the exclusion and the number of necessary security locks as low as possible, the individual energy sources are only locked with one security lock in the case of a group exclusion. The keys of these locks are then locked in the lock box. On the outside, each employee hangs his or her personalized lock in the security openings provided and locks it so that the lock box can no longer be opened. Each employee does not have to hang their respective lock on each excluded energy source, but only once on the lock box, without the intention of "lockout" or the security achieved thereby being impaired. The energy sources can only be activated again when all employees have removed their locks from the lock box after completing their work, since the lock box can only then be opened again and the keys stored in it for unlocking the locks on the energy sources can be removed.

A lock box of the type mentioned is from the document EP 2 944 437 A1 known. In order to be able to carry the lock box in the closed position of the lid even when the padlocks are not hung, a lock is additionally provided which has a first locking part which is attached to the inside of the lid and which has a resilient second locking part which is located on the inside a side wall of the container is attached, in the closed position of the lid forms a snap connection for closing the lid on the container. The two closure parts are designed in the form of two interacting snap hooks. A push button is arranged on the outside of the side wall of the container and is supported on the second closure part via a bolt or the like. If the push button is pressed, the second closure part is pushed inward away from the side wall, whereby the snap connection with the first closure part is released so that the cover can be opened or opens by itself due to a pretension caused by springs. Such a closure is already constructed in a comparatively simple manner, but nevertheless requires several components that are attached and interacting in the manner described.

From the document US 7,360,380 B2 a lock box with a container and a lid is known, in which a lock is provided which is held displaceably on the inside of the lid. If the closure is moved into its locking position in the closed position of the cover, the cover can no longer be opened. The lock box can then be carried on a handle provided on the lock. However, such a closure is complex to produce.

The present invention is based on the object of providing a lock box of the type mentioned at the outset, which offers a simple and inexpensive way of making it possible to carry the lock box on the handle in the closed position of the lid even when the padlocks are not hung.

This object is achieved by a lock box with the features of claim 1 and in particular in that the cover is attached to the hinge, which includes the lock, so that it can be linearly displaced between a retracted position and an extended position in a direction perpendicular to the pivot axis via an adjustment mechanism that on the side opposite the hinge of the lid has a closure part with an engagement section which, in the closed position of the lid, engages in a closure receptacle of the container when the lid assumes the retracted position, the engagement being released when the lid is in the extended position Position, whereby pivoting of the cover into the open position is selectively blocked or enabled, and that the engagement portion and the lock receptacle are designed such that in the closed position, a displacement of the cover from the retracted position in d Allow the extended position when the lid rests on the container and prevent it by means of a form fit when the lid is lifted relative to the container.

According to the invention, it was therefore recognized that in order to enable the lock box to be carried by the handle in the closed position of the lid even when the padlocks are not attached, a secured lock, as known from the prior art mentioned at the beginning, and in which a push button is pressed is essential to release the lock, is not necessary, but rather that it is sufficient if the lock is secured against loosening in the state in which the lock box is carried on the handle. In the state in which the cover rests on the container, in particular as a result of gravity, it is not at all necessary to secure against such a loosening.

This is achieved in that the lid is arranged to be linearly displaceable, the lid and the container being in engagement with one another in the retracted position and being disengaged in the extended position. When the lid rests on the container, the lid can easily be moved from the retracted position to the extended position. The closure between the retracted cover and the container is therefore not secured in this state. If, on the other hand, the lock box is carried by the handle with the lid retracted, with the lid being raised in particular slightly relative to the container, a form fit between the engagement section of the closure part of the lid and the closure receptacle of the container is created in the direction of displacement of the cover, which prevents the Lid can move into the extended position. According to the invention, the lock is therefore secured against loosening only when the lock box is in the state of the lock box being carried on the handle.

The closure of the locking box according to the invention is, in particular due to the small number of components and the low complexity of the underlying mechanism, less complex than that from the prior art Technique known closure and therefore particularly inexpensive to manufacture. The required displaceability of the cover can be achieved without much additional effort. In addition, the lock box according to the invention can be operated particularly easily and intuitively.

It is preferred if the hinge comprises at least one, in particular rolled, hinge, in particular an inner hinge, with two wings, the container, in particular a side wall of the container, being fastened to one wing and the lid to the other wing of the particular respective hinge . Hinges are particularly simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

It is preferred here if the adjusting mechanism comprises an elongated hole arrangement, the cover being fastened to the other wing of the particular hinge in a linearly displaceable manner via the elongated hole arrangement. The displaceability of the lid relative to the container can be achieved in a particularly simple manner by means of an elongated hole arrangement.

It is again preferred if the slot arrangement comprises one or more slots which are formed in the other wing of the particular hinge and / or run parallel to one another. The formation of the elongated holes on the hinge side enables the elongated holes to be covered by the cover, so that the adjusting mechanism is arranged in a protected manner and is therefore less susceptible. The linear displaceability of the cover can be ensured in a simple manner by means of several elongated holes running parallel to one another.

The closure part is preferably attached to an inside of the lid, in particular a collar of the lid, which in the closed position engages over the container. This enables the engagement section to engage in the closure receptacle of the container in a particularly simple manner.

According to a preferred embodiment, the closure part is designed as a flat sheet metal part, in particular a flat sheet metal strip, with an angled end section, which in particular is horizontally aligned in the closed position of the cover and / or pointing in the sliding direction towards the retracted position, which forms the engagement section. A sheet metal part is particularly simple and inexpensive to manufacture and can be easily attached to the cover.

In addition, the closure receptacle can be designed as an engagement opening formed in a side wall of the container, in particular an, in particular horizontal, engagement slot through which the engagement section of the closure part can be passed when the cover is moved from the extended position to the retracted position. Such an engagement opening can be produced particularly easily and therefore particularly inexpensively. An engagement opening designed as an engagement slot can be provided in particular in the case of a closure part designed as a sheet metal part, as explained above.

The form fit between the engagement section and the closure receptacle can then be achieved in particular in that the engagement section, in particular on its upper side, comprises an elevation, ie an upwardly directed projection, which in the retracted position of the lid when the lid is raised relative to the container engages behind the side wall of the container on the inside.

The elevation is preferably produced by a sheet metal forming process of the engagement section made from sheet metal, in particular by means of a stamp. In particular, the elevation on the opposite side, in particular the underside, of the engagement section is then designed as an indentation. Such a survey is particularly simple and inexpensive to produce. It can be provided in particular that the elevation extends over only a part extends the width of the engagement portion, in particular is only provided centrally in the width direction of the engagement portion. When the cover is moved between the retracted position and the extended position, the engagement section can then rest with the undeformed area of the engagement section on the lower edge of the engagement opening designed as a horizontal engagement slot and can therefore be retracted or extended without hooking.

In particular, it is provided that the engagement section points in the sliding direction towards the retracted position and / or that the engagement section has a height which is smaller than the height of the engagement opening or is equal to the height of the engagement opening.

In addition, it can be provided that, in the closed position of the lid, the securing openings provided in the lid and the container only overlap in the retracted position of the lid. In the extended position, the securing openings of the container are then covered by the cover material at least to the extent that it is not possible for the shackles of padlocks to pass through. This indicates to a user of the lock box that the lid is not in the retracted position, i.e. the lock is released and the lid can pivot freely into the open position, so that the lock box should not be lifted by the handle in this state.

The lid is preferably attached pivotably to one of two lateral side walls of the container, the lateral side walls having a smaller width than a rear and a front side wall of the container. In particular, the rear and the front side walls can each have a width that is at least twice, in particular at least two and a half times, greater than the width of the lateral side walls. A cover that is moved along its larger extent can be guided particularly well on the container.

The securing openings can only be provided on the rear side wall and the front side wall of the container and the corresponding sides of the lid. The lock box then has no securing openings on the two sides on which the hinge and the lock are arranged. The lock can thus be designed regardless of any restrictions due to security openings or padlocks suspended therein. Securing openings are not required on the hinge side anyway.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Verschlusskastens mit geschlossenem Deckel,

Fig. 2

eine perspektivische Ansicht des Verschlusskastens aus Fig. 1 mit geöffnetem Deckel,

Fig. 3

einen mittigen Längsschnitt durch den Verschlusskasten aus Fig. 1 im Bereich eines Verschlusses für den Deckel,

Fig. 4

den Längsschnitt gemäß Fig. 3 in einer anderen Ansicht und im Bereich eines Verstellmechanismus für den Deckel,

Fig. 5

den Deckel gemäß Fig. 3 in einer ausgefahrenen Position,

Fig. 6

den Verschluss gemäß Fig. 3 bei ausgefahrenem Deckel,

Fig. 7

den Verschluss gemäß Fig. 3 bei eingefahrenem Deckel, wenn der Deckel auf dem Behälter aufliegt, und

Fig. 8

den Verschluss gemäß Fig. 3 bei eingefahrenem Deckel, wenn der Deckel gegenüber dem Behälter angehoben wird.

The invention is described below by way of example using an advantageous embodiment with reference to the drawings. Show it,

Fig. 1

a perspective view of an embodiment of a locking box according to the invention with a closed lid,

Fig. 2

a perspective view of the lock box from Fig. 1 with the lid open,

Fig. 3

a central longitudinal section through the lock box Fig. 1 in the area of a closure for the lid,

Fig. 4

the longitudinal section according to Fig. 3 in another view and in the area of an adjustment mechanism for the lid,

Fig. 5

the lid according to Fig. 3 in an extended position,

Fig. 6

the closure according to Fig. 3 with the cover extended,

Fig. 7

the closure according to Fig. 3 with the lid retracted, when the lid rests on the container, and

Fig. 8

the closure according to Fig. 3 with the lid retracted, when the lid is lifted in relation to the container.

The one in the Figs. 1 to 8 The locking box 11 shown has a cuboid container 13 with an upwardly open receiving space 15. The container 13 is formed by a container bottom 17, a rear side wall 19, a front side wall 21, a left side wall 23 and a right side wall 25. The container bottom 17 and the side walls 19, 21, 23 and 25 define or surround the receiving space 15. In the case of the illustrated lock box 11, a lid 27 is pivotable on the left side wall 23 of the device via a hinge, namely a hinge 29, in particular an inner hinge Container 13 attached.

As the Fig. 1 and 2 show, the cover 27 is from a closed position (cf. Fig. 1 ), in which the receiving space 15 is closed, into an open position (cf. Fig. 2 ), in which the receiving space 15 is open, adjustable. In addition, a handle 31 is arranged on the outside of the cover 27, which is firmly attached to the outside of the cover 27 in order to be able to transport the lock box 11 conveniently.

The lock box 11 is a group lock box, which is also referred to as a group lockout box. The lock box 11 is used in a so-called group lockout, in which several employees involved in a maintenance, repair or cleaning of a machine or system or other facility have to secure or exclude one or a plurality of energy sources. In order to keep the time required to exclude such energy sources and the number of locks required to exclude the energy sources as small as possible, the individual energy sources are only identified with one Security lock locked. The keys of these locks are then enclosed in the lock box 11. In particular, the lock box 11 has two intersecting insertion slots 33 on the cover 27 in order to insert keys into an already or still locked lock box 11.

The lock box 11 has a plurality of safety openings 35 in the cover 27 and in the container 13, into which padlocks can be hung. In the case of a group exclusion, each employee involved hangs his personalized padlock with the lid 27 closed in a set of three corresponding security openings 35 and thus closes the lid 27 in the closed position on the container 13. Thus, not every employee has to hang his lock on every excluded energy source , but only once on the lock box 11, without the intention of the exclusion and the security achieved by the exclusion being impaired.

The energy sources can only be activated again when all employees have removed their padlocks from the lock box 11 after completing their work and thus released the cover 27 again. The cover 27 can then be brought back into the open position in order to remove the enclosed keys of the security locks attached to the energy sources.

Like the one in particular Fig. 1 and 2 can be removed, the rear or front side wall 19, 21 is the longer side compared to the left or right side wall 23, 25. The rear or front side wall 19, 21 thus has a greater width than the side walls 23, 25 on. The cover 27 is therefore attached to a short side of the container 13. When the lid 27 is opened, its long sides thus pivot upwards.

If a padlock is hung in a set of safety openings 35, there is normally a slight play between the bracket of the padlock and the three safety openings 35. In order to avoid that the play causes an air gap between the cover 27 and the side walls 19, 21, 25 through which a key could fall to the outside, the cover 27 has a collar 37 on the right edge and on the front and rear edge of the cover 27 is pulled down and covers an upper region of the side walls 19, 21 and 25 when the cover 27 is closed.

In the case of the lock box 11, no securing openings 35 for hanging padlocks are provided on the left side wall 23, which has the hinge 29, on the right side wall 25 and on the corresponding adjacent cover sections. On the other hand, safety openings 35 are formed in the rear side wall 19 and on the front side wall 21 and on the corresponding adjoining cover sections in order to be able to attach a total of twelve padlocks to the lock box 11.

In order to enable the lock box 11 to be carried by the handle 31 in the closed position of the cover 27 even when the padlocks are not hung, a lock 39 (cf. Fig. 3 ) intended. The closure 39 comprises a closure part 41 with an engagement section 43 which, in the closed position of the lid 27, can selectively engage in an engagement opening in the form of a horizontal engagement slot 45 formed in the right side wall 25 of the container 13 and forming a closure receptacle. In order to enable the optional engagement, the cover 27 can be adjusted by means of an adjusting mechanism 47 (cf. Fig. 4 ) mounted on the hinge 29 so as to be linearly displaceable in a direction perpendicular to its pivot axis of the cover 27, ie the cover 27 can be moved between a retracted position, as shown in FIG Fig. 1 and an extended position as shown in Fig. 5 is shown, adjusted.

The closure part 41 is attached to the inside of the collar 37 of the cover 27 (cf. also in this regard Fig. 2 ) and designed as a flat sheet metal strip with an angled end section, the end section forming the engagement section 43, which is horizontally aligned in the closed position of the cover 27 and which engages in the engagement slot 45 when the cover 27 is closed and the cover 27 is in the retracted position, so that pivoting of the cover 27 into the open position is blocked. On the other hand, if the closed cover 27 assumes the extended position, the engagement between the engagement section 43 and the engagement slot 45 is released, so that the cover 27 is released for pivoting into the open position.

In order to secure the cover 27 in the retracted position when the padlocks are not hung when the lock box 39 is being carried on the handle 31, the engagement section 43 and the engagement slot 45 are designed in such a way that, in the closed position, the cover 27 can be displaced from the retracted position into the The extended position is prevented by a form-fit between the engagement section 43 and the engagement slot 45 that occurs only when the cover 27 is raised relative to the container 13.

For this purpose, the engagement section 43 has an upwardly directed elevation 49 (cf. Fig. 6 ), which is produced by reshaping, in particular pressing in, the engagement section 43 made of sheet metal from below with a punch. The elevation 49 is therefore associated with a corresponding indentation on the underside of the engagement section 43. In the retracted position of the cover 27, the elevation 49 engages behind the right side wall 25 of the container 27 on the inside when the cover 27 is lifted relative to the container 13, so that a displacement of the cover 27 from the retracted position into the extended position is positively prevented (cf. Fig. 8 ). When the cover 27 opposite on the other hand, the container 13 is not lifted but merely rests on the container 13, this form fit does not exist (cf. Fig. 7 ).

The elevation 49 is in particular only provided centrally in the horizontal width direction of the engagement section 43, i.e. on both sides of the elevation 49 there is in each case an area of the engagement section 43 that is not deformed in relation to the strip-shaped configuration of the closure part 41. The engagement section 43 can then rest on the lower edge of the engagement slot 45 when the cover 27 is moved between the retracted position and the extended position with the non-deformed areas of the engagement section 43 and can be moved there without catching.

Like in particular from Fig. 4 As can be seen, the hinge 29 has two wings 53, 55, the hinge 29 being fastened with one wing 53 on the left side wall 23 of the container 13 and with the other wing 55 on the collar 37 of the lid 27. The adjustment mechanism 47, in order to equip the cover 27 with the displaceability explained above, consists in that the cover 27 is fastened to the other wing 55 of the hinge 29 in a linearly displaceable manner via an elongated hole arrangement 57. The slot arrangement 57 has two slots 59 (of which in FIG Fig. 4 due to the selected longitudinal section only one elongated hole 59 is shown), which run parallel to one another and are formed in the other wing 55 of the hinge 29. The cover 27 is in this case via two pins 61 (of which in Fig. 4 due to the selected longitudinal section, only one pin 61 is also shown), each of which is fixedly attached to the cover 27 on the one hand and is guided longitudinally displaceably in one of the two elongated holes 59 on the other, attached to the hinge 29.

When the cover 27 is closed, the securing openings 35 provided in the cover 27 and the container 13 only overlap in the retracted position of the cover 27 (cf. Fig. 1 ), but not in the extended position of the Cover (cf. Fig. 6 ), so that padlocks can only be hooked into the safety openings 35 when the cover 27 is in the retracted position. As a result, it is immediately apparent to an operator when the cover 27 is not in its retracted position and that lifting the lock box 11 on the handle 31 would result in the locking box 11 opening, under certain circumstances.

List of reference symbols

11

Lock box

13

container

15th

Recording room

17th

Container bottom

19th

rear sidewall

21st

front sidewall

23

left side wall

25th

right side wall

27

cover

29

hinge

31

Carrying handle

33

Slot

35

Safety opening

37

collar

39

Clasp

41

Closure part

43

Engaging portion

45

Engagement slot

47

Adjustment mechanism

49

Elevation

53

wing

55

wing

57

Slot arrangement

59

Long hole

61

pen

Claims (12)

Lock box (11) for locking objects, in particular keys, comprising
an upwardly open container (13) for the objects,
a cover (27) which is attached to one side of the container (13) via a hinge (29) between a closed position and an open position about a pivot axis defined by the hinge (29),
the top of the lid (27) being provided with a handle (31) for the lock box (11),
wherein several securing openings (35) are provided in the lid (27) and the container (13) for attaching several locking elements, in particular padlocks, in order to fix the lid (27) in the closed position on the container (13), and
wherein a lock (39) is provided which enables the lock box (11) to be carried on the handle (31) in the closed position of the lid (27) even when the locking elements are not attached, characterized in that,
that the cover (27) is attached to the joint (29) so as to be linearly displaceable in a direction perpendicular to the pivot axis via an adjusting mechanism (47) between a retracted position and an extended position,
that the closure (39) comprises that on the side opposite the hinge (29) the cover (27) has a closure part (41) with an engagement section (43) which, in the closed position of the cover (27), into a closure receptacle ( 45) of the container (13) engages when the Lid (27) assumes the retracted position, the engagement being released when the lid (27) assumes the extended position, whereby pivoting of the lid (27) into the open position is selectively blocked or enabled, and
that the engagement section (43) and the closure receptacle (45) are designed in such a way that, in the closed position, they allow the cover (27) to be displaced from the retracted position into the extended position when the cover (27) is on the container (13 ) rests, and prevent by form fit when the cover (27) is lifted relative to the container (13). Lock box according to claim 1,
characterized,
that the joint (29) comprises at least one hinge (29), in particular an inner hinge, with two wings (53, 55), the container (13), in particular a side wall (23) of the container (13), on the one wing ( 53) and the cover (27) is attached to the other wing (55) of the particular respective hinge (29). Lock box according to claim 2,
characterized,
that the adjusting mechanism (47) comprises an elongated hole arrangement (57), the cover (27) being attached to the other wing (55) of the particular hinge (29) in a linearly displaceable manner via the elongated hole arrangement (57). Lock box according to claim 3,
characterized,
that the slot arrangement (57) comprises one or more slots (59) in the other wing (55) of the particular hinge (29) are formed and / or run parallel to one another. Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the closure part (41) is attached to an inner side of the lid (27), in particular a collar (37) of the lid (27), which in the closed position engages over the container (13). Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the closure part (41) is designed as a flat sheet metal part, in particular a flat sheet metal strip, with an angled end section, which is particularly oriented horizontally in the closed position of the cover (27) and which forms the engagement section (43). Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the closure receptacle (45) is designed as an engagement opening formed in a side wall (25) of the container (13), in particular an, in particular horizontal, engagement slot, through which the engagement section (43) of the closure part (41) when the cover is moved ( 27) can be passed through from the extended position into the retracted position. Lock box according to claim 7,
characterized,
that the form fit between the engagement section (43) and the closure receptacle (45) is achieved in that the engagement section (43) comprises an elevation (49) which, in the retracted position of the lid (27) engages behind the inside of the side wall (25) of the container (13) when the cover (27) is raised relative to the container (13). Lock box according to claims 6 and 8,
characterized,
that the elevation (49) is produced by a sheet metal forming process of the engagement section (43) made of sheet metal, it being provided in particular that the elevation (49) extends only over part of the width of the engagement section (43). Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that in the closed position of the lid (27) the securing openings (35) provided in the lid (27) and the container (13) only overlap in the retracted position of the lid (27). Lock box according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized,
that the lid (27) is pivotally attached to one of two side walls (23, 25) of the container (13), the side walls (23, 25) having a smaller width than a rear and a front side wall (19, 21) of the container (13). Lock box according to claim 11,
characterized,
that the securing openings (35) are only provided on the rear side wall (19) and the front side wall (21) of the container (13) and the corresponding sides of the lid (27).

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