GB2060755A - Improvements relating to portable containers - Google Patents

Abstract

In a portable container, such as a suitcase, having retaining means (2) for securing a lid in a closed position on a body portion, a member (25) is slidable under the force of gravity to prevent the retaining means (2) being released and the container opened when the container is in an inverted position i.e. with its body portion uppermost and its lid lowermost. Ordinarily, the fastening is released by pressure on the left-hand end of channel-shaped actuator 9 to lift bolts 15, 17 out of the plane of strike-pin 4, thus allowing it to be withdrawn from aperture 23. When the case is inverted pin 25 slides into aligned holes in the housing 13 and hole 32 in actuator 9 to prevent this depression. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements relating to portable containers The invention relates to portable containers and has particular though not exclusive application to suitcases and similar articles of hand luggage.

According to the invention there is provided a portable container which can be opened by pivoting a lid thereof about at least one hinge with respect to a body portion thereof and having retaining means, provided on an opposite side of the container to the side at which the hinge or hinges is or are provided, to prevent undesired opening of the container, the retaining means cooperating with a member slidable under the force of gravity to prevent release of the retaining means when the container is so orientated that the lid is lowermost and the body portion is uppermost.

The container may be a suitcase and a joint line between the lid and the body portion may extend around the container at a position approximately midway in the height thereof when the suitcase is lying flat on its body portion or its lid. The member slidable under the force of gravity prevents the suitcase being opened if it is lying flat on its lid rather than flat on its body portion. Spillage of the contents due to the suitcase being opened when lying flat on its lid under the mistaken impression that it is lying flat on its body portion, can thus be avoided.

Preferably the member slidably under the force of gravity is a pin slidable in aligned apertures in flanges of a bracket secured on the inner wall of the container. When the container is so orientated that its lid is lowermost, the pin slides through an aperture in a wall of the container and engages in a further aperture in a portion of a housing of the retaining means, which portion of the housing must move away from the container to allow release of the retaining means.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a elevation of part of a body portion of a portable container according to the invention in the form of a suitcase; Figure 2 is a view in the direction of arrow II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view in the direction of arrow Ill of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a view in the direction of arrow IV of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but with retaining means of the suitcase in a released position.

Referring to the drawing, a suitcase has an upper part of a body portion thereof formed by a closed ring of an aluminium extrusion 1, only a short length of which is shown and the section of which can be seen from Figure 1. Retaining means 2 are provided in the form of catches 2, only one of which is shown, lockable by a key inserted in an aperture 3 and to cooperate with an inverted Tshaped tongue 4 provided on a lid (not shown) ot the suitcase.

The extrusion 1 has a vertical web 5, a horizontal web 6 and a further vertical web 7 having fixing means 8 whereby it can be secured to the remainder of the body portion of the suitcase. The catch 2 is mounted in the angle formed between the vertical web 5 and the horizontal web 6 of the extrusion 1 and comprises a box-shaped housing 9 which is open on the side which faces towards the vertical web 5 and which is cut-away at one end, the lefthand end as shown in the drawing, to form an angled edge 10.

Within the box-shaped housing 9, a mounting member of the catch comprises a backplate 11 secured to the vertical web 5 of the extrusion 1 by screws 1 2 and a channel-shaped member 1 3 secured to the backplate 11 by bent-over tabs 14, Figure 5. The box-shaped housing 9 and the channel-shaped member 13 are shown broken away in Figure 1 so that internal details can be seen.

A latch member 1 5 of a plastics material is slidable within the channel-shaped member 13 and is pivoted on the box-shaped housing 9 by a pin 16. A further latch member 1 7 of a plastics material is slidable within the channel-shaped member 1 3 and is pivoted to a link 18 by a pin 19, the other end of the link 18 being pivoted on the box-shaped housing 9 by a pin 20.

A compression spring 21 is laterally located by flanges 22 pressed out of the base plate 11 and extends between the latch member 1 5 and the further latch member 17 pressing them apart.

A cut-out 23 is provided in the upper wall of the box-shaped housing 9 to receive the stem of the T-shaped tongue 4 of the lid and a wider cut-out 24 is provided in the upper side wall of the channel-shaped member 13 to receive the bar of the T-shaped tongue 4 of the lid. In fact a cut-out 23 and a cut-out 24 are also provided in the lower walls of the box-shaped housing 9 and the channel-shaped member 13 so that the catch 2 can be mounted either at the lefthand side or the righthand side simply by turning it end-over-end.

To release the catch 2 from the position of Figure 4, the lefthand end of the box-shaped housing 9 is pressed towards the vertical web 5 and the spring 21 causes the righthand end of the box-shaped housing 9 to flip out to the position shown in Figure 5, thereby removing the cut-out 23 in the upper wall of the box-shaped housing 9 from the proximity of the stem of the T-shaped tongue 4 and allowing the bar of the T-shaped tongue 4 to be removed from the cut-out 24 in the upper wall of the channel-shaped member 14.

To close the catch 2, the tongue 4 is engaged in the cut-outs 23 and 24 and the righthand end of the box-shaped housing 9 is pressed. At the start of the closing movement the box-shaped housing 9 will move rightwardly with respect to the channel-shaped member 13 causing the pin 1 6 to move the latch member 1 5 rightwardly with respect to the channel-shaped member 1 3 that is to say advancing it across the cut-out 24 to engage the tongue 4.As the closing movement continues the link 18 will cause the further latch member 1 7 to move leftwardly with respect to the channel-shaped member 13 against the action of the spring 21 to advance the further latch member, 17 across the cut-out 24 to engage the other side of the tongue 24 to that engaged by the latch member 1 5. Thus the box-shaped housing will move to the position of Figure 4 and the latch members 1 5 and 17 will secure the T-shaped member 4 in the cut-outs 23 and 24. Stops (not shown) are prqvided on the channel-shaped member 1 3 and the backplate 11 to limit movement of the latch members 15 and 17.

A face cam (not shown) is provided on the inner face of the front wall of the lefthand end of the box-shaped housing 9, which face cam if rotated into a locking position by a key inserted in the key hole 3 prevents the lefthand end of the boxshaped housing being depressed and thus locks the box-shaped housing 9 against movement to the position of Figure 5 thereby preventing the suitcase being opened by a person not having a key.

To prevent the suitcase being opened when it is in a laid flat position but inverted from the required position, that is to say with the lid lowermost and the body portion of the suitcase uppermost, a pin 25 of rectangular section is mounted to slide in aligned apertures in two parallel flanges 26 and 27 of a bracket 28 secured on the inner face of the vertical web 7 of the extrusion 1 by means of rivets 29. At its lower end the rectangular section pin 25 has a projecting foot 30 to prevent the lower end moving beyond the flange 27. An aperture 31 is provided in the horizontal web 6 of the extrusion 1 aligned with the pin 25 and a further aperture 32 is provided in the lower wall of the box-shaped housing 9 in a position such that when the box-shaped housing 9 is in the closed position shown in Figure 4 the apertures 31 and 32 are in aligment.If the suitcase is placed on a surface in an inverted position, that is to say with its lid lowermost and its body portion uppermost, in the mistaken impression that the lid is uppermost, the pin 25 slides downwardly through the flanges 26 and 27 of the bracket 28 and extends into the aligned apertures 31 and 32 in the web 6 of the extrusion 1 and the adjacent wall of the box-shaped housing 9 thereby preventing the box-shaped housing 9 from being moved from the position of Figure 4 to the position of Figure 5 and thereby preventing the suitcase from being opened and spilling the contents thereof undesirably from the suitcase.The owner will thus become aware that the suitcase is in an inverted position and can move the suitcase from such inverted position to the proper position before again pressing the end portions of the catches 2 to release the catches and allow the suitcase to be opened since, as the suitcase is inverted to its correct position, the pin 25 will slide back down again to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Preferably the upper end of the pin 25 is angled so that it will be cammed downwardly to the position of Figures 2 and 3 if it is projecting above the web 6, through the aperture 31, when the box-shaped housing 9 is moved from the position of Figure 5 to the position of Figure 4. An aperture 32 is provided in each of the upper and lower walls of the box-shaped housing 9 so that the catch 2 can be mounted at either the lefthand side or the righthand side.

Although particularly described with reference to suit-cases, the invention is applicable to other portable containers, for example cases for housing scientific instruments, which instruments might fall out and be damaged if the case was opened when in an inverted position.

Claims (5)

1. A portable container which can be opened by pivoting a lid thereof about at least one hinge with respect to a body portion thereof and having retaining means, provided on an opposite side of the container to the side at which the hinge or hinges is or are provided, to prevent undesired opening of the container, the retaining means cooperating with a member slidable under the force of gravity to prevent release of the retaining means when the container is so orientated that the lid is lowermost and the body portion is uppermost.

2. A portable container according to claim 1, in which the member slidable under the force of gravity is a pin slidable in aligned apertures in flanges of a bracket secured on the inner wall of the container.

3. A portable container according to claim 2, in which, when the container is so orientated that its lid is lowermost, the pin slides through an aperture in a wall of the container and engages in a further aperture in a portion of a housing of the retaining means, which portion of the housing must move away from the container to allow release of the retaining means.

4. A portable container according to claim 2 or claim 3, in which the pin has a stop thereon to limit the extent of its sliding movement.

5. A portable container substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawing.