GB2409637A - A key holder withat least two key storage regions - Google Patents

Abstract

A key holder 7 comprises at least two key storage regions 11,13 with an obstruction 15 that prevents the free movement of a key from one region to the other. The key holder may be of the compressed coil type or may be a single band. The key holder may have a figure of eight or hourglass profile. The obstruction may be formed by two parts of the key holder being close to one another or overlapping or may comprise an S-shaped section of the holder (figure 3, not shown). The two key storage regions may be marked so as to differentiate one from the other, for example by being of different colours. In use, it may be possible to move a key from one storage region to another. In use, the key holder is particularly suited to individuals such as postal workers collecting mail from boxes or others who need to be able to regularly access a plurality of keys in a particular order.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO KEY HOLDERS

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to key holders.

Background to the Invention

In the United Kingdom an extensive network of post boxes is emptied, typically several times a day, by postal workers employed by the postal services. Each box has a slot through which postal items can be posted by users of the service, and access to posted items is provided by means of a door which is locked to prevent unauthorised persons from removing postal items posted in the box.

Postal boxes tend to be grouped together into "rounds" of neighbouring postal boxes, and a postal worker will typically be charged with emptying all of those boxes on his or her round.

Before leaving to complete his or her round the postal worker is provided with a key holder, typically a conventional circular collapsed coil (colloquially known as a key ring), carrying a number of keys each of which can be used to open a respective postal box. In an urban environment in particular it is not unusual for each round to include twenty or thirty (or more) postal boxes, and as such the key ring given to the postal worker tends to have a large number of keys stored on it. Fig. la illustrates one such previously proposed key holder, in this case a key ring 1, with (for illustration only) three keys 3 stored on it. Fig. lb is an elevation along the line A-A of Fig. la illustrating the collapsed coil structure of the ring. As is well known in the art, keys can be added to the ring by splitting the ring in the vicinity of one or other of the ends 5 of the coil, and threading the ring through the hole in the part of the key which is adapted to be held by the user. Keys can be removed from the ring by repeating this process in reverse.

To complete his or her round, the postal worker must go to each box in turn, unlock the box with the appropriate key on the key ring, empty the box and then lock the box once more. To facilitate marrying up keys and boxes, the keys on the ring are typically provided in a sequence which corresponds to that of the order in which the boxes of the round will be visited by the postal If the postal worker keeps hold of the key that they have just used to open and lock a box whist they move from that box to the next box on the round, it is relatively easy to identify which key is required to open the next box as the postal worker will know (given that the keys should have been put on the ring in sequence) that the key required is either the one to the left of the key he or she is holding, or the one to the right.

However, if the postal worker is completing the round by car or van, it is clearly not practical to keep hold of the key they have just used whilst driving to the next box in the round. In such a situation, the postal worker tends to put the keys down, and on arrival at the next box on the round is faced with having to sort through the keys on the ring to find the right key for the particular box they are visiting.

Similarly, if the postal worker should happen to drop the key ring at any point, they will lose their place in the sequence of keys, and once again be faced with having to sort through the keys to find the right one for the particular box they are currently visiting.

Clearly, if the postal worker has to sort through a large number of keys at each and every box they visit, the time taken to open each box, and hence the time taken to complete the round can be significantly increased.

One might think that a simple solution to this problem would be to number each of the keys, but such a solution would require the postal worker to remember which number key they used for the last box they visited whilst they travel to the next box on the round. In heavy traffic, for example, it is all too easy to forget the key number used for the last box visited.

Other problems with this apparently simple solution are that over time the numbers on the keys would wear off, that different numbers can easily be mistaken for one another (e.g. a six can easily be confused with a nine), that any changes to a round (such as the addition or removal of a box to or from the round) could require a large number of keys to be renumbered, and that it would require someone to be responsible for monitoring each of the key rings to see whether any numbering applied needs reapplication. In the light of the above, it is apparent, therefore, that merely opting to number the keys would not provide a practical long- term solution to this problem.

As an alternative, one might consider that another way to alleviate this problem would be use only a single key for all of the post boxes on a round.

Such a solution would, however, pose a serious security risk as an individual would be able to gain access to all the boxes on a round if they should happen to gain access to that one key. Another consideration is, of course, that such a solution would require all of the locks on the boxes of a given round to be replaced with a common lock, and the capital expenditure associated with purchasing these locks (to say nothing of the time required to fit the locks) There is a need, therefore, for a key holder to be devised which would help alleviate the aforementioned problems, and it is a particular aim of the present invention to provide just such a holder.

Statement of Invention

In pursuit of the foregoing aim, a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention provides a key holder that comprises means for obstructing the free movement of keys about the holder, said obstructing means functioning to divide the holder into at least two key storage regions.

By virtue of this arrangement, a postal worker in the course of a round is able to move keys past the obstructing means from one storage region to another as each key is used to open and relock the box associated with it. On the assumption that the keys are provided on the holder in sequence a worker who drops the holder, for example, need only try a maximum of two keys per storage region (i.e. the first and last key of the keys stored in each region) to find the correct key for the box they are visiting.

Preferred features of this, and other, embodiments of the invention are set out in the accompanying dependent claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. Ia and lb are front and side views, respectively, of a prior art key holder, in this instance a key ring; Figs. 2a and 2b are schematic plan and perspective views, respectively, of a key holder in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; and Figs. 3a and 3b are plan and side views, respectively, of another key holder in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention;

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

As mentioned above, Figs. la and lb illustrate a well known key holder which is fashioned by collapsing a coil to form a ring. As has been explained above in connection with Fig. lb, the ends 5 of the coil provide a means for attaching keys to the key ring, and removing keys from the key ring.

The following description of preferred embodiments will also concentrate on key holder formed of a collapsed ring. It will be appreciated, and should be noted however, that the key holder need not be formed of a collapsed coil. The key holder could comprise, for example, a single band (formed in the manner to be described) which is provided with clasps or other fastening means to permit the ends of the band to be attached and detached for the addition and removal of keys. A variety of alternative mechanisms will be apparent to those persons skilled in the art, and as such the scope of the invention should not be read as being limited to the use of a collapsed coil.

Bearing the above proviso in mind, reference is now made to Figs. 2a and 2b which show plan and perspective views, respectively, of a key holder 7 in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

As shown, the key holder 7 is fashioned from a collapsed coil 9 which, following collapse, has been manipulated to form a figure-of-eight, and hence to provide first 11 and second 13 key storage regions, each of which is shown s in Fig. 2a as having five keys 3 stored therein (the keys having been omitted from Fig. 2b for clarity). As with the arrangement shown in Fig. lb, the ends of the coil 9 form a means for attaching keys to and detaching keys from the key holder 7.

As shown in Fig. 2b, the coil 9 crosses at a point 15 between the two key storage regions 11, 13. At this point 15, one part of the coil overlies the other and the distance between these two parts is of a magnitude which prevents keys 3 from freely moving from one key storage region 11 to the other 13. In this instance, the point at which the coil crosses provides the aforementioned "obstructing means" which is configured to obstruct the free, i.e. unhindered, movement of keys about the holder.

Absent human intervention, keys provided in either of the two storage regions cannot freely move from one region to another. However, as a consequence of the natural resilience of the ring structure, it is nevertheless possible for a postal worker to force the overlying sections of the coil apart to thereby enable a key to move past the "obstructing means", i.e. the point 15 at which the coil crosses, and hence from one storage region 11 to another 13.

After a key has been moved between storage regions, the coil returns to its initial state and the overlying coil sections once more obstruct the free movement of keys from one region to the other.

In one manner of operation, in the context of a postal worker setting out to complete his or her round using a key holder as shown in Figs. 2a & 2b, all the keys for that round would typically be provided in sequence in one storage region of the key holder.

When the postal worker visits the first box on his or her round, the key for that box will be either the first or last key in the one said storage region of the key holder.

Once the postal worker has finished emptying the box and has relocked it, he or she then moves the key that that they have just used past the "obstructing means" to the other storage region of the ring.

On arrival at the next box on the round, the postal worker has a choice of three keys for opening the box - the single key that they have just used to open the preceding box on the round, or the first or last key of the sequence of keys stored in the other storage region of the key holder. Once the postal worker has selected the appropriate key, has finished emptying the box and has relocked it, he or she then moves the key that that they have just used past the "obstructing means" to the other storage region of the ring. At this stage of the round, two keys will be stored in one storage region of the key holder, and the remainder will be stored in the other storage region of the key holder.

At the next box on the round, the postal worker has a choice of four keys for opening the box, one or other of the two keys stored in one region of the key holder, or the first or last key of the sequence of keys stored in the other storage region of the key holder.

This process continues as the postal worker continues with their round, until - at the end of the round - all of the keys have been moved from the initial storage region of the holder to the other storage region.

If, at any point in the round, the postal worker should drop the key holder, they will only have to try a maximum of two keys per storage region (i.e. the first or last key of each storage region) to find the appropriate key for the particular box they are visiting. This helps to reduce the time taken to unlock and empty a given box, and hence the time taken to complete the round.

As a means to yet further decrease the time taken to complete a round, it is possible to colour (or otherwise mark) one or more of the storage regions of the ring so that the postal worker can readily differentiate between storage regions, and hence readily identify those keys that they have already used and those which are still to be used. For example, for an embodiment with two storage regions, one region of the holder may be coloured red, and the other coloured blue.

If, at the start of their round, all the keys for that round are - for example - stored in the red storage region, the postal worker knows that once a key has been moved from the red region to the blue region it can effectively be ignored as it has already been used, and hence cannot be reused in the course of that round. With this arrangement, the number of possible keys for opening a given box on the round is reduced to two namely the first or last key in the sequence of keys stored in the particular coloured storage region of the key holder in which all of the keys were originally stored at the beginning of the round.

Whilst in the preferred embodiment, the "obstructing means" is formed by the overlapping segments of the coil 9, it will be appreciated that many different forms of "obstructing means" may alternatively be provided.

Figs. 3a and 3b illustrate schematically another key holder in accordance with an embodiment of the invention that is provided with a different form of"obstructing means".

As shown in Fig. 3a, the key holder of this embodiment is very similar to that shown in Fig. la, in that in plan view at least it comprises a generally circular structure 17 formed of a collapsed coil.

The principal difference between the key holder of Fig. 3a and that of Fig. la, is that the key holder of Fig. 3a is provided with - in this particular example - a pair of obstructing formations 19 which serve to divide the key holder into first 21 and second 23 storage regions.

Fig. 3b is an elevation of the holder depicted in Fig. 3a along the line B--B showing the particular shape of one such obstructing formation 19 in accordance with this embodiment of the invention.

As shown in Fig. 3b, the obstructing formation 19 comprises a section of the coil 17 which instead of being generally planar, is formed to be generally S-shaped - i.e. to extend above and below a longitudinal axis (marked C--C) of the coil. As will readily be appreciated, the S-shaped section of the coil functions to obstruct the free movement of keys about the key holder, whilst still permitting the postal worker to move a key past the S shaped obstruction from one storage region to the other.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of yet another key holder 24 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to that shown in Figs. 2a and 2b, the major difference being that the coil 9 does not overlap, but is instead waisted in a region 25 between first and second key storage regions 27, 29. By the term "waisted" we mean that opposite sides of the coil are drawn together to form a relatively narrow passageway 31 from the area bounded by one storage region 27 to the area bounded by the other 29. In effect, the embodiment depicted in Fig. 4 could be described as having a shape which is similar to that of an hourglass.

As will be appreciated by those persons skilled in the art, the passageway 31 is formed to be small enough to prevent keys from moving unhindered around the periphery of the key holder, but can be enlarged by virtue of the inherent resilience of the coil to permit keys to be moved past the obstruction by a postal worker from one storage region to the other.

As with the embodiment depicted in Figs. 2a and 2b, one or both of the storage regions of the holder depicted in Figs. 3a, 3b or 4 may be coloured or otherwise marked so that the postal worker can readily differentiate between storage regions, and hence identify those keys that they have already used, and those which are still to be used.

It will be apparent from the above that the teachings of the present invention, as exemplified by the various embodiments described, provide an effective means to avoid some or all of the problems afflicting the prior art.

It will also be understood, and should be noted, that modifications may be made to the embodiments herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention claimed. For example, persons skilled in the art will readily be able to devise alternative "obstructing means" which will also function to prevent free passage of a key about the periphery of the holder, and it should be noted that any such alternatives fall within the scope of the present invention.

It will also be readily apparent to those persons skilled in the art that the teachings of the present invention are not necessarily limited to the provision of a key holder with two storage regions. Rather, the teachings of the present invention extend to a key holder formed with two or more key storage regions.

As regards the structure of the holder, it should be noted - as mentioned above - that the holder of the invention is not limited to being formed of a collapsed coil. The holder may instead comprise a single band which is provided with appropriate fastening means to permit the band to be coupled and uncoupled for the addition and/or removal of keys. Such a band would of course need to be made from a suitably stiff material and could be fashioned as a so-called mobius band (a band with one continuous surface).

As a further alternative, the key holder could be provided with one (or more) obstructing means and a barrier through which keys cannot pass. As an example, the key holder could comprise one of the aforementioned Sshaped structures, and - on the opposite side of the holder - a clip which affixes over the ring; the S-shaped obstructing structure and clip together defining two storage regions on the holder. In this arrangement, the clip would function to prevent keys that have been moved past the Sshaped obstructing means (i.e. from the first storage region to the second storage region) from being returned to the first storage region until the clip has been removed.

Of course, the clip could be permanently bonded to the key holder once the keys have been stored thereon, but such an arrangement could make it difficult to add keys to or remove keys from the holder if the holder is configured as a collapsed coil. A further problem is that the order of the keys would end up being reversed (front to back) when the entire set has been moved from one region to the other.

A last point to note is that whilst particular combinations of features herein described have been specifically enumerated in the accompanying claims, the scope of the invention is not so limited and instead extends to any combination or permutation of features described herein.

Claims (19)

1. A key holder comprising means for obstructing the free movement of keys about the holder, said obstructing means functioning to divide the holder into at least two key storage regions

2. A key holder according to Claim 1, wherein the holder comprises a collapsed coil.

3. A key holder according to Claim l, wherein the holder is formed of a single band.

4. A key holder according to Claim 3, wherein the holder is fashioned as a mobius band.

5. A key holder according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said holder is formed as a figure-of-eight, the point at which one part of the holder crosses the other forming said obstructing means.

6. A key holder according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said obstructing means comprises at least a pair of obstructing formations.

7. A key holder according to Claim 6, wherein said obstructing formations each comprise a generally S-shaped section of said holder.

8. A key holder according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said holder is shaped to provide a waisted region, the waisted region forming a passageway through which a key provided on the holder cannot freely pass.

9. A key holder according to Claim 8, wherein the holder has a shape which is similar to that of an hourglass.

10. A key holder according to any preceding claim, wherein said obstructing means is operable to divide said holder into first and second key storage regions.

11. A key holder according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said obstructing means comprises a single obstructing formation, and said holder additionally comprises barrier means, the single obstructing formation and barrier means together defining first and second storage regions on said key holder.

12. A key holder according to Claim 11, wherein said barrier means is removable.

13. A key holder according to Claim 11 or 12, wherein said barrier means comprises a clip that when attached to said holder prevents the passage of keys between said first and second storage regions.

14. A key holder according to any preceding claim, comprising means permitting the addition or removal of a key to or from the holder.

15. A key holder according to any preceding claim, wherein said storage regions are marked to differentiate one region from another.

16. A key holder according to Claim 15, wherein said regions are differently coloured.

17. A key holder comprising a collapsed coil shaped or otherwise provided as a figure-of-eight, wherein: one lobe of said figure-of-eight forms a first key storage region and the other lobe of said figure-of-eight forms a second key storage region, and first and second sections of said coil in between said first and second storage regions overlie one another to form an obstruction that prevents the free passage of a key from one storage region to the other.

18. A key holder according to Claim 17, wherein said first and second sections can be manipulated to temporarily remove the obstruction thereby permitting the free passage of a key from one storage region to the other.

19. A key holder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.