GB2306447A - Portable safety box - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable safety box which may be used to store valuable items when on the beach thus allowing the user to leave the items for short periods in order to go in bathing is weighted with beach sand and locked so that the risk of the items being lost to a passing opportunist thief is minimised. The device comprises a box 1 with a lid 2 and lock, the box being provided with a divider 9 forming internal compartments 7,8 and having a side panel 4 which is removable to leave an opening in the box side. The lower compartment 8 may be filled with the beach sand to form a ballast compartment and when no longer required the sand may be easily emptied by opening lid 2, lifting side panel 4 and pouring out the sand.

Description

PORTABLE SAFETY BOX This invention relates to a portable safety box. It relates particularly to a receptacle for valuables which may be carried about by the user, be easily transported by car and can sometimes be left unattended by the user without the danger of the valuables being taken by an opportunist thief.

When a family goes out into the country or to the beach, the members will usually carry numerous valuable possessions such as a purse, wallet, video camera, jewellery and there is a constant need to watch over these items to ensure that they are not taken by an opportunist thief. Usually, if it is intended to go for a short walk or to go swimming, it is necessary to leave someone to stand guard over the possessions or to keep a constant watch to ensure that the items are not interfered with. In some countries there has arisen a class of professional criminals who will work along a beach looking out for unattended valuable items that can be easily grabbed and the thief will then run off with little chance of the goods ever being recovered later.On many popular tourist beaches there are considerable numbers of such thieves and the local police are quite unable to protect the legitimate users of the beach. Additionally, the foreign tourist may not be made fully aware of the danger of beach theft even though warning notices in the local language can be displayed. To lose a passport or credit cards is a very serious loss for the tourist and yet these items are easily capable of being misused by the experienced criminal.

The present invention was devised to provide a greater security of ones property when one goes on a trip to the beach or country whilst carrying valuable possessions.

According to tkt invention, there is provided a portable safety box comprising a box having a lid with lock means, the box being provided with a divider forming two internal compartments and having a side panel which is removable when the box lid has been opened, the said panel when removed allowing access to one of the compartments. Preferably, the divider is aligned to lie parallel with the box lid. The divider may be removable to allow access to both compartments of the box.

In one embodiment, the two compartments are arranged with a storage compartment located above a ballast compartment.

The side panel may be positioned at an end of the box. It may be arranged to be supported in side grooves such that it may be removed by a sliding action after the box lid has been opened. The lid may be attached to the box by hinges.

The box may have fixed carrying handles. In an alternative embodiment, the box is provided with lugs for supporting a detachable carrying handle.

By way of example, a particular embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of the portable safety box, Figure 2 is a side view taken from the right hand side of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III on Figure 2 but with the box lid in the open position, and, Figure 4 is a front view of a removable side panel of the box.

As shown particularly in Figure 1, the portable safety box comprises a hollow body 1 formed of a rigid plastics material with a hinged lid 2. The lid 2 may be secured to the body 1 by means of a locking eye 3 to which a suitable lock may be attached.

Figure 2 is a view from the right hand side of Figure 1 and it can be seen here that the lower part of the body 1 includes a separate panel 4 which, as will be described later, is capable of being moved when the lid 2 has been opened.

The cross-sectional view of Figure 3 shows the body 1 with the lid 2 in the open condition. The lid 2 is seen to be mounted on hinges 6. The construction of the body 1 is such that the upper part 7 is slightly wider and longer than that of the lower part so that a lower ballast compartment 8 is formed. Above the ballast compartment 8, a divider constituted by a floor panel 9 is supported on a ledge 11 which is built into the internal wall of the body 1.

At the right hand end of the ballast compartment 8, the body end wall is seen to have an opening which is closed by an end wall panel 12. The end wall panel is located in guides 13 which are carried on the internal surface of the body 1.

The guides 13 allow the end wall panel 12 to be slid upwards in a vertical direction when it is required for the opening in the body end wall to be used. The height of the end wall panel 12 is such that it extends upwards to just beneath the internal surface of the lid 2. This ensures that the wall panel 12 can only be slid in an upwards direction when the lid 2 has been moved into the open condition. The lower part of the end wall panel 12 is shaped with a raised outer surface so that it will blend in smoothly with the external surface of the body 1. The inner surface of the panel 12 includes a panel ledge 14 which is intended to provide additional support for the floor panel 9.

Figure 4 shows a front view of the end wall panel 12 and it will be seen that this embodies the shaped outer surface 16 which ensures a smooth join with the external surface of the body 1. The upper part of the panel 12 includes a cut-out area 17 which acts as a handle when it is required to move the panel 12 in a vertical direction for opening the side wall of the ballast compartment 8.

The floor panel 9 can be readily removed from the body 1 when the box lid 2 has been lifted. The floor panel 9 also includes its own cut-out area (not shown) to facilitate its removal from the box 1.

In operation of the portable safety box, its use in being taken with a family party to the beach will be described. The box can be used initially for taking articles such as beach towels, play equipment and a video camera to the chosen beach spot. The equipment can then be removed from the box and the floor panel 9 is taken out. The ballast compartment 8 is next filled with the local sand or shingle from the surrounding beach area and the floor panel 9 replaced. The box upper part 7 then becomes a large clean compartment for storing the family valuables such as the video camera, money, watches and credit cards. When the lid 2 has been closed and secured with a lock through the locking eye 3, the box may be left for periods of time in an unattended state with the family members going in for a bathe or for a walk knowing that their possessions will be safe from attack by an opportunist thief. Since the safety box with a loaded ballast compartment may weigh fifty kilograms or more there is not much risk that the conventional beach pilfering crime can be successfully carried out.

As the lid 2 of the box is provided with a flat top this makes a convenient beach table which can be used for a snack meal or as a games surface throughout the day. At the end of the day, the box may be opened, the floor panel 9 removed, the end wall panel 12 lifted and the ballast material may be pushed out of the side wall opening of the box. The family valuables and beach towels can then be replaced in the box and the lid 2 secured again for the journey home.

In a particular example of the safety box that was constructed, the overall length was 76 cm and the dimensions of the ballast compartment were 70cm long, 38cm wide and 18cm deep. When filled with dry sand, this space was found to accommodate a sixty kilogram mass of the sand. For wet sand, at least another ten kilograms of weight could be added. There would be little chance of an opportunist thief on the beach making away with such a heavy container and this kind of thief will not be expected to carry a suitable tool for breaking into the safety box.

In the example that was constructed, the safety box end walls carried mountings (not shown) for detachable carrying handles. The handles are intended to be detached after the box has been taken to the required beach spot so that there would be no easy way for a thief to try to move the box with full ballast compartment. The handles are able to be easily stored within the box before the lid is secured. The means for securing the lid of the box may be by means of a padlock which is coupled to the locking eye 3. This lock is preferably a combination padlock so there will be no neec for a separate key to be carried.

In use of the safety box of the invention, this has been found to give considerable peace of mind since since the family members are able to move some distance away from their chosen beach spot without the need to look over their shoulders continually to make sure that their possessions are not stolen.

A further use for the safety box is in the packing of ones holiday clothes as the box has much greater strength against crushing than the usual suitcase. Accordingly, clothes packed in the box are unlikely to suffer from creasing due to pressure from other luggage in a stacked pile of cases.

The foregoing description of an embodiment of the invention has been given by way of example only and a number of modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, it is not essential that the lid fastening arrangement should rely on the locking eye 3 and a padlock. In an alternative embodiment, the lock could be built into the box wall and it could operate by a key or be a combination lock. A built-in lock could be arranged to operate a sliding bar so that the lid could be secured simultaneously at a point in the middle of the lid as well as at both ends. The lid could include reinforcement ribs so that it would be strong enough to resist any attempt to prise open the lid ends. Alternatively, of course, the lid could be made to open by t sliding action instead of a hinge.

Where the fastening is effected by means of the locking eyes 3, each eye may be protected by its own reinforcement means to prevent the eye from being cut away from the box wall by use of a thin saw blade.

Claims (8)

1 A portable safety box, comprising a box having a lid with lock means, the box being provided with a divider forming two internal compartments and having a side panel which can be removed to allow access to one of the compartments.

2 A box as claimed in Claim 1, in which the side panel is arranged such that it can only be removed when the box lid has been lifted.

3 A box as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the divider is aligned to lie parallel with the lid.

4 A box as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the divider may be removed to allow access to both compartments of the box.

5 A box as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the two compartments are arranged with a storage compartment located above a ballast compartment.

6 A box as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, in which the said removable side panel is located at an end of the box.

7 A box as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, in which the side panel is supported in grooves such that it may be removed by a sliding action within the grooves.

8 A portable safety box, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.