GB2294292A

GB2294292A - Locking device

Info

Publication number: GB2294292A
Application number: GB9521594A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Anthony Shaw Abram; David Watson; Bruce William Wishart
Original assignee: John W Hannay and Co Ltd
Current assignee: John W Hannay and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1994-10-20
Filing date: 1995-10-20
Publication date: 1996-04-24
Also published as: IES950822A2; IE950823A1; IES67535B2; GB9521594D0

Abstract

A locking device 1 for a container 3, the container 3 having a plurality of apertures 13 each closable by closure means 14, the locking device 1 comprising an elongate rod member 18 rotatable within guide means 9 mounted on the container 3 and stop members 21 extending from the rod 18 for engaging and retaining the closure means 14 of the container 3 when in the closed condition and locking means 12, 19 for locking the rod 18 when the stop members 21 are in their closure retaining position. In the embodiment shown, which is a bottle/paper bank, formations 12 and 20 are secured by a padlock. <IMAGE>

Description

LOCKING DEVICE This invention relates to a locking device and in particular to a locking device for use on bottle banks, paper banks and such like.

Since recycling of bottles and paper became popular "recycling banks have been commonly found outside supermarkets etc to encourage members of the public to deposit their old bottles, newspapers, cans etc. Once the banks are full they are replaced by an empty bank and the full one is removed to be emptied and the contents recycled.

Most banks have slots on either side for depositing the items. Some banks are designed to take only one type of item such as newspapers while others are designed to take a selection of items with a different chamber within the bank for each item and the slots being clearly marked as to which item is to be deposited in which slot.

Generally these paper banks have hinged flaps which close over the slots and can be secured by a padlock. This secures the internal chamber and prevents any more items from being put in the bank. One disadvantage of such banks is that a separate padlock is required to secure each flap.

Although banks for bottles and cans may need to be secured for one reason or another, paper banks usually need to be monitored closely and secured at night to prevent vandals setting alight to the contents of the bank by putting a lighted match through the open slot.

US-A-4 632 446 describes a storage box for a pick-up truck body having side panels with hinged outwardly swinging doors and also having lockable means for contacting said doors to retain them selectively in a closed position. The lockable means comprises a pivotable angled plate having an edge adapted to provide overlapping contact simultaneously with a portion of the side panel and a door in its closed position.

This plate has apertures in two positions which are intended to cooperate with a padlock so that the plate may be locked in either one of two selectable positions. A further aperture is optionally provided to receive a bolt of an alternative locking device in one position of the plate and that same bolt when released by a key may serve as a limit stop when the plate is moved about its hinge to its alternative position. A plurality of such plates can be ganged to cooperate against a plurality of doors in the same side panel by virtue of a connecting rod or pipe which may have resilient or yielding washers positioned along its length to prevent contact of the rod or pipe with the surface of the doors or side panel.

Whilst that locking mechanism addresses the problem of security for the storage box it includes a number of cooperating parts and a relatively complex locking system.

In the present invention the recycling banks under consideration are mass-produced containers and it is desirable to minimise the number of additional components required for security purposes so as to keep manufacturing cost to a minimum. However it is also imperative to provide the simplest yet effective mechanism possible. It is considered that the locking mechanism of US-A-4 632 446 does not adequately fulfil the requirements for a recycling bank.

Therefore the aim of this invention is to provide a locking device for use in securing such banks, but which obviates or mitigates the aforementioned disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a locking device for a container having a plurality of apertures each closable by closure means, the locking device comprising an elongate rod member rotatable within guide means to serve as a hinge pin mounted on the container and a plurality of stop members extending from the rod for engaging and retaining the closure means of the container when in the closed condition and locking means for locking the rod when the stop members are in their closure retaining position.

The invention achieves the objects mentioned above by virtue of the use of the rod member(s) which not only serve(s) primarily as hinge means but also as a means of ganging or synchronising the stop members during rotation. The centralised locking means uses the minimum of cooperating parts and is very easy to manufacture and maintain. A first locking member is provided on the rod e.g. an eye and a cooperating member is located on the container e.g. a further eye so that when in the locked position, fastening means such as a padlock may be used to connect the locking member on the rod directly to the locking member on the container.

In contrast, the device described in US-A-4 632 446 the connecting rod or pipe serves only to synchronise the motion of the stop members. Separate hinge pins are required at the remote ends of the locking plates which are attached to the rod or pipe to serve as levers upon which the stop member is carried in a curved path about the said hinge pins. The rod itself does not act as a hinge and the principal locking means is housed entirely within one of the hinges of the device.

Preferably the closure means of this invention comprises a plurality of closure members for selectively closing apertures of the container.

Preferably also the rod carries a discrete stop member to engage each of the selective closure members.

An embodiment of the invention is described below, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one specific design only but other variants will be apparent to those of appropriate skill and knowledge.

Figure 1 is a front view of a recycling bank; Figure 2 is an oblique view of the locking means mounted on the bank of Figure 1 in an unlocked condition; Figure 3 is an oblique view of the locking means mounted on the bank of Figure 1 in a locked condition; Referring now to the figures, a locking device 1 according to one aspect of the present invention is provided in the figures for use on a recycling bank 2. Figure 1 shows a recycling bank 2 made of any suitable material and having generally the form of a substantially closed rectangular container 3 with two short sides, two long sides, a top and a base. The upper portion 4 of the long sides of the container are inwardly tapered. At least one of the short sides has hinged doors (not shown) which can be selectively lockable.

The base of the container may be provided with means to allow transportation by a motor vehicle.

A plurality of equally spaced dormer type projections 5 are provided in the tapered portion 4 of the container 3 each with a substantially rectangular top surface 6 and front face 7. A recess 8 is formed between each projection. A plurality of hollow cylindrical members 9 are mounted on the top surface 6 of the projections 5 towards the front edge of the surface. One such member 9 is shown in the figures mounted on each of the projections, for example by welding or any other process.

The centremost recessed container wall surface 8a is provided with a pivotally mounted or spring-biased claw hook 10 or latch which is optionally movable for adjustment and alignment purposes and attached to the container by suitable fixing means 11. The pivotal motion of the claw or hook in this embodiment is in a vertical plane aligned with the motion of the locking means to be more fully described below. An aperture 12 is provided in the centre of the hook for receiving a shackle.

The container is usually divided internally to form a number of separate chambers (not shown), the chambers each being accessible by apertures 13 which are each in this case substantially rectangular in shape and are positioned in the front face 7 of the aforementioned projections 5.

Furthermore the apertures 13 are equispaced apart thus allowing each aperture 13 to correspond to at least one of the internal chambers in a position providing for optimum distribution of articles placed in the container.

A substantially rectangular closure means 14 is provided for each of the apertures 13, the closure means 14 being of similar dimensions to the front face 7 of the projections 5 in order to completely cover an aperture 13 when required.

The closure means 14 may be formed of any suitable material and is in the form of a flat plate-like member which is hingedly connected by one of its long sides to the lower edge of the front face 7 of the projection 5. The free top edge of the closure means is profiled to form an outwardly projecting lip 15.

A substantially circular aperture 16 is provided in the centre of the closure member 14 adjacent the free top edge and slightly below the outwardly projecting lip 15. A retaining member 17 is mounted on the front face 7 of the projection 5 above the aperture 13. The retaining member 17 comprises a projecting central boss to which a locking pin is hingedly connected. The locking pin is of suitable dimensions to pass through the aperture 16 in the closure means 14 when the closure means 14 is raised towards the front face 7 of the projection 5. Rotation of the locking pin around the hinge within the boss retains the closure member 14 in the operative condition.

A locking device 1 for the closure members 14 comprises an elongate rod 18 of substantially circular cross section which is formed of a suitable rigid material. The diameter of the rod 18 is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the cylindrical members 9 mounted on the top surface 6 of the projections 5. Projecting from the centre of the rod 18 is an L-shaped handle 19 with an aperture 20 located substantially at the apex of said handle 19. The rod 18 is rotatably mounted within the cylindrical members 9 mounted on the top surface 6 of the projections 5 and serves both as a hinge pin and a common mounting for ganging together means for holding the closure means in the closed position.

Thus the rod 18 has L-shaped stop members 21 attached at selected intervals along its length which members each engage with a central point on the lip 15 of the closure means 14 when the closure means 14 is in the closed position. The stop members 21 engage the lip 15 by extending over the lip 15 when the locking device 1 is in the closed position.

When the bank 2 is open for use the locking device 1 is in the rest position with the handle 19 and stop members 21 rotated out of contact with the top surface 6 of the projections 5. With the locking means 1 in this position and the closure means 14 hinged away from the apertures 13 materials such as paper, bottles etc are pushed through the apertures 13 into the respective chambers whilst the locking device 1 is in the rest position.

When it is necessary for the bank 2 to be closed up the closure means 14 are hinged over the apertures 13 and the locking pins (not shown) of the retaining means 17 are each inserted through the apertures 13 in the closure means 14 and rotated to hold each of the closure means 14 in the closed position prior to locking. The rod 18 is then rotated towards the locking position by rotating the handle 19 forwards towards the base of the container thus engaging the stop members 21 with the outwardly projecting lip 15 of the closure means 14.

The handle 19 itself then engages the claw-shaped hook 10 in the central recess 8a. The claw-shaped hook 10 is drawn forwards to securely hold the L-shaped handle 19 in position. The aperture 20 in the handle 19 and the aperture 12 in the hook 10 correspond when the handle 19 is in the locking position so that a padlock can be placed through both apertures 12, 20 thus securely locking the closure means 14 in place.

One advantage of this invention is that the closure means 14 can be selectively closed but still in a single operation.

If all but one of the apertures 13 is to be locked then the closure means 14 are each secured by the locking pin except for the one to be left open. The rod 18 is rotated in the same way as previously described and is locked when the stop members 21 are in place. All those closure means 14 which were shut are therefore securely locked but the ones which were to remain open are not hindered in any way and free access remains to the appropriate aperture.

In another embodiment projections may be provided on all four sides of the container, a rod is mounted above the projections on each side and universal joints are provided at the corners of the container to connect the rods for rotation in a simultaneous synchronized or ganged operation.

In a yet further embodiment the universal joints may be replaced by flexi-drive connectors enabling simultaneous operation thereof.

Claims

1. A locking device for a container, the container having a plurality of apertures each closable by closure means, the locking device comprising an elongate rod member rotatable within guide means to serve as a hinge pin mounted on the container and a plurality of stop members extending from the rod for engaging and retaining the closure means of the container when in the closed condition and locking means for locking the rod when the stop members are in their closure retaining position.

2. A locking device according to claim 1 wherein the locking device comprises at least two elongate members.

3. A locking device according to claims 2 wherein the elongate members are connected via universal joints mounted on the sides of the container.

4. A locking device according to claim 1 wherein the guide means are hollow cylindrical members.

5. A locking device according to claim 1 wherein the stop members are L-shaped in plan view.

6. A locking device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rod member is provided with a handle projecting from the centre of the rod for actuation thereby.

7. A locking device according to claim 6 wherein the handle is L-shaped.

8. A locking device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking means is adapted to prevent unauthorised opening of the locking device.

9. A locking device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking means comprises a pivotally mounted clawshaped hook.

10. A locking device according to any one of claims 1-8 wherein the locking means comprises a spring-biased claw-shaped hook.

11. A locking device for a container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.