GB2461600A - Lockable container and ground engaging anchor - Google Patents

Abstract

A security device comprising a lockable container, at least one ground engaging anchor to be embedded into the ground and a releasable mechanism which connects the anchor to the container so that the container can be held in place on the ground, the releasable mechanism for the anchor being operable or accessible to disconnect the anchor only when the container is open. The ground engaging anchor may be an auger and there may be two augers for screwing into the ground. The container may be a dome shape having a flat bottom, to prevent it from being levered up, and consist of base 5 with hinged lid 2 with hinge pin being located within the container such that in the closed position it is concealed to prevent tampering. The base may have slotted apertures for the one or more anchors to allow for tolerance in the positional alignment of multiple anchors. The release mechanism for retaining the anchor in connection with the container may be a locking plate (6, 9, fig.5) for slidingly engaging a qroove on the shaft of the anchor.

Description

SECURITY DEVICES

This invention has to do with security devices, and particularly but not exclusively devices providing a lockable container in which valuables can be kept at outdoor locations.

BACKGROUND

There is known to be a problem in taking care of small personal belongings (keys, cash, jewellery, identity documents etc.) when away from home at an outdoor location, e.g. when camping or on the beach. For example, at an outdoor music festival there may be no secure fixed personal enclosures: people sleep in tents which cannot effectively be locked. With many people present and moving around there is an ongoing opportunity for theft and corresponding anxiety for those with valuables. Some venues provide a central installation with security lockers, but this may be too far away for convenience.

My new proposals relate to security devices for addressing the above issue, and with potential uses in other areas.

In general terms, the proposal is a security device comprising a lockable container, at least one ground anchor element adapted to be embedded in the ground as a means of securement, and a releasable mechanism by which the anchor element connects to the lockable container so that the container is held in place on the ground, the release mechanism for the anchor element being operable or accessible to release the element only when the container is unlocked.

In the context of this general proposal, I have invented a number of subsidiary advantageous proposals, which may be used independently of one another or in cornbinat ion.

As regards the ground-penetrating anchor element, I prefer to use screw elements since these strongly resist withdrawal irrespective of their orientation. Typically the screw element has a shaft, with one or more screw formations at least at its lower end. The screw formation can be provided as an open helix (i.e. a helical shaft portion), or as one or more helical blade formations projecting radially from a central shaft, as in an auger. An auger blade construction is preferred because of its strong resistance to withdrawal relative to the number of screw turns. Preferably it has a leading point on the shaft, and/or a leading edge or taper on the auger helix (which may be downwardly tapered in radial diameter).

An upper shaft portion of the anchor element, e.g. auger, can project up into/through a corresponding socket of the container, where the mentioned release mechanism is operable to engage both anchor shaft and container to hold them together.

In the secured and locked position, the closed container typically lies on the ground on a base surface thereof, with the anchor element(s) concealed beneath, i.e. covered in plan by the shape envelope of the container. The anchor is driven into the ground -by turning, in the case of a screw anchor -while in the released condition, and typically when separate from the container. The container, desirably the base thereof, has a socket through which the top shaft of the anchor element can be inserted.

To maximise security, it is desired -to make it difficult to remove the ground anchor(s) from the ground; -to make it difficult to separate the container from the ground anchor(s); -to make it difficult to open the container.

In a typical scenario, a nefarious person e.g. in a tent, might be expected to use a stick or bar to lever the container away from the ground, perhaps off its anchor(s), and/or to lever a lid of the container away from its base. It is preferred that the container has a base container portion and a relatively-movable lid on it, movable between open and closed conditions (the closed condition being lockable as mentioned), the lid desirably being pivoted to the base.

The following features are proposed to resist the kinds of attack mentioned above.

The base desirably has a generally flat undersurface which, in the secured condition of the anchor element(s), lies against the ground so that the anchor element is fully masked.

The external shape of the container in its closed condition (which may be a shape comprising or essentially consisting of a shape of a lid of the container) is formed generally convexly rounded, i.e. in a dome form.

A feature of convexly rounded surfaces and edges is that it is difficult to push on them hard or lever against them with a stick or bar, because the implement used will tend to slip away from the engagement point when force is applied. In addition to being domed in shape seen in elevation, the container is desirably also convexly rounded in plan shape e.g. round or oval.

Desirably the lowermost periphery of the container base, such as the edge surrounding the above-mentioned flat base surface, is outwardly convex (in vertical section) so that if the tip of some implement is attempted to be inserted beneath it to lever it upwards, that tip tends to slip out upwardly when upward force is applied.

In the preferred conformation having a lid displaceable relative to a container base, it is desirable that the container base has an upstanding peripheral side wall, to contain or restrain objects in the container even when the lid is open. The side wall -or at least the outer surface thereof -therefore preferably converges upwardly and inwardly from the base for the above-mentioned reasons. it is important that a gap or slit between lid and body is not susceptible to insertion of some implement to force the two apart. Thus firstly it is desirable that the lower periphery of the lid overlaps the side wall vertically and fits closely to it. The above-mentioned domed or convex construction is favourable for this, since the upwardly-convergent shape can guide the lid towards a snug closed position without difficulty in aligning the lid and body when closing them together. To help protect the lid from being levered upwardly, its lower peripheral edge may be provided with regions which are downwardly convex -so that an implement attempting to lever the lid up off the body will tend to slip away sideways -and/or positioned laterally (radially) inwardly, i.e. towards the centre of the container, relative to a part of the container body beneath, so that this relatively protruding part of the container body obstructs insertion of an implement beneath the lid edge. An alternative is for the edge of the lid to nest inside the wall of the base container.

Where the lid is hinged to the body, the hinge is desirably formed with the pin interengagement or axle at the container interior, so that it cannot be displaced from the outside.

It is strongly preferred to have more than one ground anchor element, engaging the container at horizontally-spaced positions. By comparison with a single anchor point, this greatly inhibits lifting or tilting of the container using the container's own dimensions for leverage, which might be a means of attempting access to the top of the anchor, or breaking the container away from the top of the anchor by rocking or twisting it back and forth. While in principle there is no limit to the number of anchors which may be used, in practice the minimum number greater than one is preferable, taking into account the desire for the device to be portable and the time taken to embed the anchors in the ground and take them out again after use. Typically two or three anchor elements are provided, spaced preferably along any longest horizontal dimension of the container body to maximise the resistance to tilting thereof.

Thus, one preferred embodiment has a longitudinally elongate container body with a socket for an anchor element shaft adjacent each longitudinal end. In practice precise positioning of the anchors is difficult and this is a further incentive for minimising their number (in view of the need to align base sockets of the container with the projecting top shafts of the anchors).

A preferred embodiment has two anchors with respective socket holes, at least one of which has a slot shape (or other means for longitudinal position tolerance) in the direction of the other, so that the base can be fitted on over a range of distances between the two anchor shafts.

To increase the integrity of the closed and locked condition, in the case where the container has a discrete lid, there is may be engagement between a structural element incorporating a socket for the top of an anchor element shaft (which may be made more sturdily than the shell of the container) and a component holding the lid in place, f or example a lid hinge component, or an operating component of the lock mechanism of the lid.

Thus, in one embodiment, the container or a container base portion may comprise a reinforcing chassis or frame defining one or more sockets for one or more corresponding anchor element top ends, and a container shell, e.g. of thinner sheet metal or reinforced plastics fixed to the chassis or frame.

In general, as regards materials, the container and any lid thereof may be made from any suitable material of sufficient toughness, strength and rigidity. Steel, aluminium, fibre--reinforced plastics or any combination of these may be used in. accordance with normal design and engineering practice.

A lock for the container may comprise a movable locking element which is operable, e.g. via a key-freed or combination-freed mechanism, into or out of engagement with a component on the container body (or lid) to hold the lid shut. It may also engage directly or indirectly with the top of a said anchor element, e.g. via a socket part as mentioned above.

Where the or each anchor is embedded by screwing into the ground, means should be provided for driving it in rotation. Laterally-projecting handles are possible but not preferred, because they may use up space inside the container. In any event, it is important that no drivable formation is exposed when the container is closed and locked. It is also desirable that even when the container is open, an unauthorised person cannot readily remove the anchor(s) e.g. to steal the security device itself.

To this end, it is desired that the top of an anchor shaft has a driver-engageable portion shaped with a non-circular section, e.g. a generally elongate or polygonal cross-section, engaged by a correspondingly-shaped recess in a separate purpose-built driver tool. A hexagonal, star, bar or "slot" head are possibilities. Preferably also the driver-engageable head formation includes some downwardly-directed abutment surface so that the driver can be used to apply a lifting as well as a turning force. The corresponding driver element (spanner) may be stored inside the container.

The mechanism for locking the container base down onto the anchor shaft desirably comprises, as mentioned, a locking element which is slid laterally onto the shaft -typically a head portion immediately above the floor of the container base -to engage beneath a downwardly-directed abutment surface of the shaft to prevent its withdrawal. This locking element may be a sliding plate with an elongate slot sized to pass either side of the anchor shaft beneath the abutment surface. To avoid undesirable rotational alignment selectivity, the preferred conformation on the anchor shaft is an annular flange with a downward surface. This may be the same surface engageable by the driving tool, mentioned above.

The above-mentjoned head formations (recess, drivable head etc.) are desirably provided within the shape envelope of a cylindrical shaft i.e. without radial enlargement relative to the main shaft diameter.

The locking element must engage down against an abutment surface of the container body to prevent withdrawal of the anchor shaft. To prevent its becoming dislodged accidentally or by continued shaking or vibration, desirably it engages a guide slot or other lateral alignment means to one or both sides of the shaft; in general it is desired that it should be a snug fit.

The anchor shaft may be provided with a height indicator closely adjacent its head, to show the depth of embedding of the anchor that will lead to a secured position with the container held closely down onto the ground surface. This depth index may be a marking on the shaft, or a small radial projection flange thereon.

A further possible refinement is a formation on the container body or lid on which the anchor(s) can be held in a relatively compact position while not in use, e.g. by a snap engagement, so that the components of the device can be conveniently kept together.

A further option is a tamper alert system to indicate if the device has been subject to violent disturbance. A movement sensor may serve this purpose, connected so as to actuate an indicator light if movement is sensed with the sensor in an activated condition.

A further possibility is to provide a battery-powered light inside the shell, which can be switched on (by a manual switch, or automatically on opening) to see the contents in dark conditions.

A further possibility is to provide rigid body shell and/or lid components with a liner of flexible impermeable material, such as sheet rubber. A completely water-impermeable container structure is hard to create, because of the need to engage the head(s) of the anchor(s) removably and perhaps to have a hinge engagement. A removable liner for the container base can improve this. Additionally or alternatively, a deformable seal element may be provided around the periphery of the lid and/or the container base where they meet one another, so that when the lid is closed the element is compressed and a seal is formed.

As regards the material of the ground anchors, these must be strong enough to withstand being embedded in the ground and to provide the necessary security of anchoring and engagement to the container. However they may comprise portions of biodegradable material, such as wood or biodegradable polymer, or even consist entirely of such material, where appropriate.

It will be appreciated that a device of the kind described may have uses independent of the use for holding valuable goods in the container. It may for example be used to secure other objects down to the ground, by clamping them beneath the container. For example, a rucksack or other similar object may be provided with eyeholes in its front wall through which the top(s) of the anchor shaft(s) can pass, so that the rucksack can be clamped down Onto the ground by securing the container, inside the rucksack, down onto the anchor(s).

Additionally, a container as proposed may have an independent security use, secured by releasable elements other than the mentioned ground anchor(s). For example, a wire or cable tie e.g. in the form of a ioop may be provided with a head formation corresponding to that described for the ground anchor, and which can be passed up into a base socket of the container and secured in the same way. Such alternative anchoring fasteners lend themselves to being secured to other formations, e.g. above ground or indoors.

An embodiment of my proposals is now described with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a device embodying the invention with anchors fitted and lid open; Fig. 2 shows the device with the lid closed; Fig. 3 shows the device from beneath, with the anchors detached and stored; Fig. 4 is a perspective view from above with the anchors detached and stored; Fig. 5 is an exploded view, in perspective from above; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the top of an anchor shaft; Fig. 7 is a partial median section along the container base of the device.

The device illustrated consists essentially of a container, consisting of a container base 5 and a lid 2 hinged to the base at a pivot 4, and a pair of augers 7 for securing the container to the ground.

The illustrated augers are made from steel, although other materials are possible. Desirably their length is sufficient to go through into firm soil, e.g. the embedded length is at least 250mm. The screw action is by segments of two (i.e. 2-start) auger blades 71 at a lower portion of each plain auger shaft 72, with a penetrating point 73 at the tip. This gives sufficient resistance to withdrawal by pulling, without excessive friction for screwed insertion. The top of each auger shaft has a locating flange 74 to indicate, when it meets the ground, that a standard length is left projecting.

The head portion 75 is discussed in detail later.

Two augers are provided, one at the rear (pivot) end and one at the front (lock) end. The container base is made of reinforced plastics e.g. glass-reinforced nylon and has a base wall 51 with a generally flat undersurface 510 formed integrally with an upstanding side wall 52.

At the front end the side wall thickens into an integral locating block 53 (Fig. 7) and at the rear there are further thickened formations for locating and supporting the pivot hinge. In shape, the container base is oval, for example between 200 and 250mm in length although the size is not critical. The width is e.g. between 150 and 200mm. The outline is all outwardly convex. The rear end of the container floor 51 has a moulded longitudinal slot 57 to receive the head 75 of the rear auger 7. A rear metal insert element 10 includes a reinforcing plate 16 with a corresponding slot, which fits up against the undersurface of the base 51 and is recessed flush. Wings 12 of the insert 10 provide upstanding hinge pivot mountings which project up through openings in the container base 51, and mount the lid by means of internal hinge pins 14, as seen also in Fig. 1.

The lid 2 is generally upwardly convex, and has two hinge brackets 24 on its rear interior which form the hinge with the insert wings 12 and pins 14. It may be made of reinforced plastics, aluminium, steel or other suitable material. Its outer surface may be decoratively formed or patterned, e.g. with the tortoise pattern indicated. In the closed position (Fig. 2) the lower edge 21,22 of the lid extends down as a close fit around the outside of the Container wall 52, nearly to the base level. The lower edge is shaped to minimise the possibility of levering it up. Thus, it has lowermost parts 21 at the front and sides which are smoothly curved, so that a lever will tend to slide off, whereas slightly raised parts 22 at the front sides are, because of the convergent shape of the body wall 52, recessed inwardly above a projecting portion of body and therefore inaccessible to the tip of a lever bearing on the ground.

The outward edge 55 around the bottom of the body, with its own slight upward curve, is shown in Fig. 7.

Two longitudinal downwardly-opening moulded slots 56 extend along either side of the underside of the container base 51, and these are to store the augers 7 when not in use, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Small moulded bump projections 561 retain the auger shafts by snap engagement.

At the front of the body, the solid front block 53 defines a cylindrical socket 58 to receive the top of the front auger 7. It also provides a first rearwardly and upwardly-opening slot 531 and a second, rearwardly and horizontally-opening, slot 59 which intersects the socket cavity 58.

A lock 1 is fitted into the front of the lid 2 and operates -by a conventional mechanism not shown -a swinging lock element 11 when turned by a key. When turned by the key to its lowermost position, the lock element 11 swings sideways into the first slot 531 in the front body block 53, giving a secure closure.

With reference to Fig. 6, the head 75 of each auger shaft has a uniform circumferential slot 753 with a full- diameter cylindrical flange above, and at the top a flat-sided diametrical bar formation 751. This can all be formed from cylindrical bar stock. In use, the respective augers 7 are screwed into the ground at a spacing corresponding to the spacing of the socket and slot 58,57, the slot allowing for imprecision in their positioning. They are screwed into the ground using a handle or spanner 3 having a central driving recess formation 31 with wing levers 33 to either side. The driving recess has a wider slot 32 at half height, and narrower slots above and below. This formation can slide onto the auger head 75 in the radial direction (arrow A in Fig. 6) with the wider slot 32 accommodating the flange 752, and the narrower engagement around the flat-sided top bar 751 enabling torque to be applied. The narrow engagement in the channel 753 below the flange 752 enables lifting force to be applied when unscrewing the augers.

With the augers screwed in to the required extent (their flanges at surface level), the container base is fitted down onto their heads 75. Inside the container a front metal locking plate 6 is dimensioned to fit closely into the slot 59 in the front block 53, and itself has a slot 61 in its leading edge dimensioned to fit into the channel 753 at the head of the auger in the socket 58.

Thus, the locking plate 6 securely prevents withdrawal of the auger.

At the rear of the container, a rear locking plate 9 is mounted slidably above the slot 57 by means of fixed securing pins 8 running in longitudinal mounting slots 92 of the locking plate 9. A central operating slot 91 of the rear locking plate 9 can be slid rearwardly onto the circumferential recess 753 of the head of the rear auger in the same way as the front one.

Small items may then be put in the container and the lid lowered and locked. In this position all parts of the augers, and particularly their locking plates 6,9, are entirely covered and there is no access to the augers beneath the body.

Claims (14)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A security device comprising a lockable container, at least one ground anchor element adapted to be embedded in the ground as a means of securement, and a releasable mechanism by which the anchor element connects to the lockable container so that the container can be held in place on the ground, the release mechanism for the anchor element being operable or accessible to disconnect the anchor element only when the container is open.
2. 2. A security device according to claim 1 having more than one said anchor element, the anchor elements engaging the container at respective positions which are horizontally spaced from one another.
3. 3. A security device according to claim 1 or 2 in which the or each anchor element has an auger blade for * screwing into the ground.
4. 4. A security device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in which an upper shaft portion of the anchor element projects up through a corresponding socket in a base of the container, where the release mechanism is operable to engage both the anchor shaft portion and the container to hold them together.
5. 5. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lockable container has a dome form with a generally flat undersurface.
6. 6. A security device of any one of the preceding claims in which a lowermost peripheral edge of the container base is outwardly convex in vertical section.
7. 7. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lockable container has a container base and a lid displaceable relative to it, the container base having an upstanding peripheral side wall, and the lid having a lower peripheral region which in the closed position overlaps the upstanding side wall S...vertically and fits closely to it. *. * S..
8. 8. A security device according to claim 7 in which the lid has a lower peripheral edge having portions with a S..* downwardly convex contour.
9. 9. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lockable container has a lid hinged to a container base, and the hinge has a pin engagement or axle at the container interior so that it cannot be displaced from the outside.
10. 10. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which a structural element incorporating a socket for the top of a said anchor element engages a component holding a lid of the container in place, such as a lid hinge component or an operating component of a lock mechanism of the lid.
11. 11. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the container or a container base portion thereof comprises a reinforcing chassis defining one or more sockets for one or more corresponding top ends of one or more said anchor elements, and a container shell fixed to the chassis.
12. 12. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the or each anchor element is aSSscrew element having a shaft with a top having a driver-engageable portion with a non-circular section for engagement by a correspondingly-shaped driver tool. * ** * * S **.S

    *
13. 13. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the releasable mechanism by which the anchor element connects to the lockable container comprises a locking element which is slidable laterally onto a shaft or head portion of the anchor element to engage beneath a downwardly-directed abutment surface thereof to prevent its withdrawal.
14. 14. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims having two said anchor elements with respective socket holes in a container base of the lockable container, at least one of the socket holes having a slot shape extending in the direction towards the other, to give a positional tolerance for the two anchor elements. *..* * * S ** S S... * S * S.. S. * S * S.. * S. * S * *