GB2485545A

GB2485545A - Portable security case

Info

Publication number: GB2485545A
Application number: GB201019376A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dan Thompson
Original assignee: SECURITY EXPRESS WHOLESALE Ltd
Current assignee: SECURITY EXPRESS WHOLESALE Ltd
Priority date: 2010-11-16
Filing date: 2010-11-16
Publication date: 2012-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 2030-11-16
Also published as: GB2485545B; GB201019376D0

Abstract

A portable security case having a tether 150, a tether housing 152, and a first locking means 160. The tether 150 is retractable into and extendible from the tether housing 152, so that the distal end 155 of the tether can be extended from the housing, looped around a fixed object and then locked to the case using the first locking means 160. Alternatively, the locking means may be situated on a fixed object, and the tether 150 can be extended from the tether housing 152 and attached to the fixed object. The fixed object may include a vehicle.

Description

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Portable security case This invention relates to a portable security case.

Portable security cases for carrying items of value, e.g. a laptop, are known. To secure items of value within a portable security case, it is known to provide a portable security case with a lock for releasably locking the case to be closed. This prevents thieves from opening the case and removing the contents.

To prevent a thief from stealing a portable security case, it is known for a security case to be provided with a tether for securing the portable security case to a fixed object. Such a security case is shown for example in W02006/095138, which discloses a security case provided with a tether that has a closed loop at one end to enable the tether to be releasably secured to a vehicle. The case has a locking means for releasably securing the tether to the case.

However, the tethers which are provided with portable security cases can be unwieldy and inconvenient at those times when it is not needed to secure a portable security case to a fixed object. Also, when a portable security case has been attached to a fixed object, the attachment between the tether and the portable security case may not be strong enough to prevent the portable security case being pulled off the tether.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above mentioned problems. p

At its most general, there is provided a portable security case with a retractable tether for securing the case to a fixed object, the retractable tether being attached to the case.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a portable security case according to claim 1.

Accordingly, claim 1 provides a portable security case that can be secured to a fixed object by looping the tether around an anchor point of a fixed object (e.g. an anchor point in a car) and locking the distal end of the tether to the case using the first locking means.

Advantageously, the tether can be conveniently stored when it is not needed, by retracting the tether into the tether housing. This is a much more convenient arrangement than, for example, having a tether which is not anchored to the case, in which case it would be necessary to find somewhere to store the tether when it is not being used.

The first locking means may be any means for releasably locking the distal end of the tether to the case. Mechanisms suitable for releasably locking the end of a tether are well known. For example, the locking mechanism may include a combination lock or a key-operable lock.

For clarity, a "fixed object" could be any object that is sufficiently fixed so that when the case is secured to an anchor point of the object, a thief cannot simply remove the case from the fixed object for example.

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For example, the "fixed object" could be a vehicle such as a car.

For clarity, the proximal end of the tether can be anchored to the tether housing either directly or indirectly, e.g. via a reel as described below.

The proximal end of the tether is anchored to the tether housing and is therefore anchored to the case. The proximal end of the tether is preferably anchored to the interior of the tether housing (i.e. to some part within the interior of the tether housing) so that the proximal end of the tether remains inside the tether housing when the tether is extended (e.g. pulled) from the tether housing. This makes it easier to retract the tether into the tether housing.

For the avoidance of any doubt, the tether housing and/or first locking means may be mounted to the case directly, e.g. to a wall of the case, or may be mounted to the case indirectly, e.g. with the first locking means being mounted to the tether housing which in turn is mounted to the case, or with the tether housing and first locking means being mounted to a first and/or second plate which is mounted to a wall of the case e.g. as described below.

The case may include a first plate mounted to a wall of the case, the first locking means and/or tether housing being mounted to the first plate. The first plate can be mounted to a wall of the case in a manner that makes it difficult to pull off (e.g. using rivets). The first plate may be mounted on the inner side or outer side of the wall of the case (i.e. the side that is

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inwardly facing or the side that is outwardly facing with respect to the interior of the case) The case may include a second plate mounted on an opposite side of the wall of the case to which the first plate is mounted (e.g. if the first plate is mounted on an inner side of the wall then the first plate would be mounted on an outer side of the wall) . The second plate may be attached to the first plate such that the wall of the case is sandwiched between the first and second plates (e.g. using rivets), thereby mounting the first and second plates to the wall of the case. The first and second plates may be attached (e.g. using rivets) so as to press the plates together, e.g. so that the wall of the case is firmly held/gripped by the plates.

The first locking means, tether housing, first plate and/or second plate may together form a tether apparatus.

Use of a first plate and/or second plate to mount the first locking means and/or tether housing to a wall of the case enables a much stronger attachment of the first locking means and/or tether housing to the case. In particular, if a thief were to try to pull off the first locking means and/or tether housing (e.g. by pulling on the tether), then the first and/or second plate would spread the load over the area of the wall to which the first and/or second plate is attached. Having both a first plate and a second plate enables a particularly secure attachment between the plates and the wall of the case.

The first plate and/or the second plate may be of

steel, for example. p

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The first and/or second plate may include a foam layer thereon. The foam layer is preferably located on the face of the first and/or second plate which faces the other of the plates. The foam may help to evenly distribute the pressure between the first and second plates on the wall of the case between the plates. The foam layer may be of ethylene vinyl acetatecopolymer

(EVA), for example.

The wall of the case to which the first plate and/or second plate is/are mounted may be a fabric wall. The first and/cr second plate would make the fabric wall less likely to rip in the event that a thief tried to pull off the first locking means and/or tether housing (e.g. by pulling on the tether) The first locking means may be provided as a single unit, e.g. a combination lock.

If the first locking means is mounted to a wall of the case, the wall to which the first locking means is mounted may define a hole in which the first locking means is seated, preferably with a portion of the first locking means extending through the hole. This arrangement can reduce the amount by which the first locking means sticks out from the wall of the case.

Similarly, the first and/or second plate (if present) may also define a hole in which the first locking means is seated, preferably with a portion of the first locking means extending through this hole also. The hole(s) defined by the first and/or second plate are preferably coincident with that defined by the wall of the case. e

The tether housing may include a biasing means for biasing the tether to be retracted in the tether housing.

Therefore, when the tether has been released from the first locking means, the biasing means is capable of retracting the tether back into the tether housing, without the user having to do so manually. The biasing means may include or be a spring.

The tether housing may include a reel arranged to have the tether wound thereon when the tether is retracted in the tether housing. The proximal end of the tether may be attached to the reel. By this arrangement, the tether can be tidily stored on the reel within the tether housing when it is retracted. Preferably, the tether reel includes the biasing means for biasing the tether to be retracted in the tether housing (e.g. a spring) so that the tether can be automatically retracted into the tether housing after it has been released from the first locking means.

Where the tether housing is mounted to a wall of the case (e.g. by the first and/or second plates) then it is preferable for the tether housing to be mounted to the wall such that a plane which is perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the reel is substantially parallel to the wall. In other words, so that the reel lies flat in relation to the wall of the case. This arrangement helps to minimise the amount by which the tether housing projects out from the wall of the case to which it is mounted, thus making the case more compact.

The case may have a second locking means for releasably locking the case shut when it is to be closed.

The second locking means may be a lockable zip closure.

it may be a combination lock. The second locking means may therefore help to prevent a thief from opening the case and removing the contents therefrom.

The case may include a pocket with the tether housing and/or the first locking means being located in the pocket. This arrangement helps to protect the tether housing and/or the first locking means from being damaged when they are not required. It also helps to conceal the fact that the case includes a tether. The pocket may include a means for closing the pocket, e.g. a zip closure.

Preferably, the distal end of the tether is arranged to protrude from the tether housing when it is retracted into the tether housing. This may be achieved by the distal end of the tether (the "head" of the tether) being larger than the opening in the tether housing from which it protrudes. This makes it easier for a user to pull the tether out from the tether housing when it is required.

The tether may include a cable. The cable may be a steel cable. The cable may be shielded, e.g. surrounded by a protective plastic shield.

The length of the tether may be 2 metres or less, more preferably 1.5 metres or less.

The thickness (e.g. diameter) of the tether may be 5 mm or less, more preferably 3 mm or less, more preferably 2 mm or less.

The first locking means may include a socket for receiving the distal end of the tether. The distal end of the tether (e.g. a "head" of the tether) may be arranged to releasably lock into the socket.

The case may be a soft-walled case. In other words, the outer walls of the case may be predominantly soft walls (i.e. the majority of the outer walls may be soft) By "soft" walls, it is meant walls which are non-rigid.

The soft walls may be of fabric. Soft materials tend to be light-weight, and would therefore make the case easier to carry. Suitable soft materials include fabric, and leather. The fabric may be a synthetic fabric, e.g. 1680D Nylon.

The case may be a fabric case. In other words, the outer walls of the case may be predominantly fabric walls (i.e. the majority of the outer walls may be fabric).

Fabrics tend to be light-weight, and would therefore make the case easier to carry. The fabric may be a synthetic fabric, e.g. 16800 Nylon.

The tether housing and/or first locking means may be attached to a soft/fabric wall of the case, either directly or indirectly, e.g. via the first and/or second plates described above. Although soft/fabric cases may be vulnerable to a thief opening the case by cutting the soft material/fabric, by tethering a soft-walled/fabric case according to this first aspect to a fixed object, a thief will at least be slowed down in an attempt to steal to contents of the fabric case.

The case may be a hard-walled case. In other words, the outer walls of the case may be predominantly hard walls. Hard walls are generally more secure than fabric walls. The hard walls may be substantially rigid (but could be flexible to some extent) . The hard walls may, for example, comprise aluminium or a mixture of aluminium and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, for

example.

The tether housing and/or first locking means may be attached directly to a hard (e.g. outer) wall of the case, since a hard wall may be strong enough to not require the extra strength provided by a first and/or second plate. However, the tether housing and/or first locking means may equally be attached indirectly to a hard wall of the fabric case, e.g. via the first and/or second plate described above.

The tether housing may be located on the inside of the case, with the distal end of the tether protruding from the case. This results in a case that is more compact. This is a particularly convenient arrangement for a hard-walled case, since the tether housing can be directly mounted to a hard-wall of the case.

The case may be a laptop case, i.e. a case sized to fit a laptop therein. Security is a particular issue for laptops. The case may be a briefcase.

The case may include wheels, e.g. at a base of the case, e.g. to improve portability of the case.

The case may be provided with light-weight features, such as light-weight outer walls, a light-weight tether, a light-weight first locking means and/or a light-weight tether housing. For example, the tether may have a diameter of 5 mm or less, more preferably 3 mm or less.

As another example, the tether may be 2 metres or less in length. As a further example, the case may be a fabric case, instead of a hard-walled case. Such light-weight features make the case easier to carry.

Although the above described light-weight features may make it easier for a thief to steal the contents of the case (because, for example, a fabric wall may be easier to penetrate), securing a case having some/all of these light-weight features to a fixed object would at least slow down a thief, and may even deter opportunistic thieves from even attempting to steal the contents of the case in the first place (for example, if the case was tethered to an unattended car) . In this regard, the case can be seen as being "snatch-proof", because the tether will prevent a thief from simply snatching it away.

In a second aspect of the invention, there may be provided a case as described above, but with the first locking means being mounted/mountable to a fixed object (e.g. a car), rather than being mounted to the case.

Accordingly, the case can be secured to the fixed object by pulling the tether from the housing and locking it to the first locking means on the fixed object. There may be provided a kit comprising the case and the first locking means, the first locking means including means for mounting the first locking means to a fixed object.

Embodiments of our proposals are discussed below, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a fabric laptop case.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a lock of the fabric laptop case of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a tether apparatus of the fabric laptop case of Fig. I. Fig. 4 is a drawing of the tether from the tether apparatus of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross section of the tether apparatus through the line I-I of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6. is an elevation of the tether apparatus of Fig. 3 from inside the fabric laptop case.

Figs. 7a and 7b are elevations of a tether housing.

Figs. 8a, Sb, Sc and Sd are front, side, top and bottom elevations respectively of a hard laptop case.

Fig. 9 is an exploded view of a tether lock.

Fig. 1 shows a fabric laptop case 100 for holding and transporting a laptop. The outer walls of the laptop case may be of a synthetic fabric, e.g. 1680D Nylon.

The laptop case 100 has a main compartment for storing a laptop therein, the main compartment being accessible by a lockable zip closure 110. The laptop case has a handle 120 by which a user can carry the laptop case 100. The laptop case 100 has a front pocket/compartment 130 which is accessible by lifting a flap 132. The laptop case 100 also has a side pocket/compartment 140 which is closable by a zip closure 142. The side pocket 140 contains a tether apparatus 150 which is described in more detail below, with reference to Figs. 3 to 7.

Fig. 2 shows the lockable zip closure 110 by which the main compartment of the laptop case 100 can be accessed. The lockable zip closure 110 includes a zip 112 and two sliders 114a, ll4b for opening and closing the zip 112. The sliders 114a, ll4b each include a hoop for passing a shackle of a padlock therethrough. The lockable zip closure 110 also includes a combination padlock 116, which may be supplied with the laptop case 110. The combination padlock 116 is opened by rotating numbered wheels to form a pre-determined combination of numbers.

The zip 112 can be locked in a closed configuration (i.e. so that the main compartment cannot be accessed), by closing the sliders 114a, 114b together and passing the shackle of the combination padlock 116 through the hoops on the sliders 114a, ll4b before locking the shackle to the combination padlock 116.

Fig. 3 shows a tether apparatus 150 which is preferably located in the pocket 140 of the laptop case 100. The tether apparatus 150 includes a tether housing 152. The tether housing 152 includes an opening from which a distal end 155 of a tether 154 protrudes.

The tether 154 is extendible from and retractable into the tether housing 152. The tether housing 152 may contain a reel (not shown) on which the tether 154 is wound. The reel may be biased by a spring (not shown) such that the tether is biased to be retracted in the tether housing 152 (i.e. wound on the reel). Because the distal end 155 of the tether 154 protrudes from the tether housing 152, it is easy for a user to pull the tether 154 out from the tether housing 152.

The tether apparatus 150 further includes a tether lock 160 for releasably locking to the distal end 155 of the tether 154, 50 that the distal end 155 of the tether 154 can be releasably locked to the laptop case 100. The tether lock 160 may include three numbered wheels 162, a tether socket 164, a tether release button 166 and a lock button 168. The tether socket 164 is shaped so as to accept the distal end 155 of the tether 154.

For the tether apparatus 150 shown in Fig. 3, the distal end 155 of the tether 154 is releasably locked to the tether lock 160 by inserting the distal into the tether socket 164 and pressing the lock button 168 when the numbered wheels 162 form a predetermined combination.

The distal end 155 of the tether 154 can be released from the tether socket 164 by pressing the tether release button 166 when the numbered wheels 162 form the same predetermined combination. When the numbered wheels 162 do not form the predetermined combination, the mechanism of the tether lock 160 prevents the distal end 155 of the tether 154 from being locked in/released from the tether socket 164 (i.e. the tether release button 166 and the lock button 168 are disabled).

Mechanisms suitable for allowing the tether lock 160 to function/operate as described above are well known and shall not be described herein in any further detail. By way of example, a four wheel combination lock may be used in place of the three wheel combination lock shown in Fig. 3.

To secure the laptop case 100 to an anchor point of a fixed object (e.g. a fixed hoop in a car), first the tether 154 is pulled from the tether housing 152 and looped around the fixed object. The distal end 155 of the tether 154 is then plugged into the tether socket 164.

The lock button 168 is then pressed which causes the distal end 155 of the tether 154 to become locked to the laptop case 100. To disable the release button 166 (i.e. prevent the release button 166 from being operable to release the distal end 155 of the tether 154), the numbered wheels 162 may be rotated to a random combination. The laptop case 100 can thus be secured to the fixed object.

To release the laptop case 100 from the fixed object, the numbered wheels 162 are rotated to form the predetermined combination and the release button 168 is pressed. The distal end 155 of the tether 154 is thus released from the tether socket 164. The spring which biases the reel in the tether housing 152 then causes the tether 154 to become retracted into the tether housing 152, with the distal end 155 of the tether 154 protruding from the tether housing 152. Therefore, there is no need for a user to find somewhere to store the tether 154.

Fig. 4 shows the tether 154 in more detail. In a preferred embodiment, the tether includes a steel cable surrounded by a protective plastic shield, e.g. with the steel cable having a thickness of 1.5 mm and the plastic shield having a thickness of 0.25 mm such that the tether has an overall thickness of 2 mm (1.5 mm + 2 x 0.25 mm).

The tether 154 may be of length 1140 mm, for example.

As can be seen from Fig. 5, the tether apparatus 150 includes a first mounting plate 170 mounted to the outer side (i.e. the same side as the pocket 140) of a fabric wall 102 of the laptop case 100. The tether apparatus 150 also includes a second mounting plate 172 which is mounted to the inner side of the fabric wall 102 (i.e. on the inside of the laptop case 100). The second mounting plate 172 includes a foam layer 180 on the side of the second mounting plate 172 which faces the first mounting plate 170. The two mounting plates 170, 172 are attached to one another by four rivets 156a, 156b, which pass through holes in the fabric wall 102 and the mounting plates 170, 172. The rivets 156a, 156b press the mounting plates 170, 172 together so that the fabric wall 102 is sandwiched therebetween and the mounting plates 170, 172 are firmly secured to the fabric wall 102. The foam layer on the second mounting plate 172 ensures that pressure between the mounting plates 170, 172 is evenly distributed on the fabric wall 102.

The tether housing 152 and the tether lock 160 are mounted on the first and second mounting plates 170, 172.

Two of the rivets 156a that secure the mounting plates together, also secure the tether housing 152 to the mounting plates 170, 172. Although Fig. 5 illustrates the tether lock 160 as being in two parts l6Oa, 160b, this is just for the purposes of illustration as the tether lock is preferably provided as a single unit, which is mounted to the first and second mounting plates (and therefore the fabric wall 102) by four screws 161 (see Fig. 6) . The four screws 161 also serve to attach the mounting plates 170, 172 to one another.

The single unit tether lock 160 is preferably seated in a hole defined by the fabric wall 102. The first mounting plate 170 and the second mounting plate 172 each also define a respective hole, coincident with the hole in the fabric wall 102 in which the single unit tether lock 160 is seated. The portion of the tether lock 160 illustrated in Fig. 5 as a separate part 16Db extends through these holes.

As can be seen from the above description, the

mounting plates 170, 172 are attached to one another at eight points (by the four rivets 156a, 15Gb and by the four screws 161) . The pressure generated at these eight points press the plates 170, 172 together so as to sandwich the fabric wall 102 therebetween and firmly secure the plates 170 172 to the fabric wall 102. The pressure between the mounting plates 170, 172 on the fabric wall 102 is spread over the whole area of the mounting plates 170, 172. This provides an attachment between the mounting plates 170, 172 and the fabric wall 102 which is particularly strong.

Figs. 7a and 7b show the tether housing 152 in more detail. As can be seen from these views, the tether housing includes two rivet holes 153, through which the rivets 156a secure the tether housing 152 to the mounting plates 170, 172.

Figs. 8a, Sb, Sc, Sd show a hard-walled briefcase 200. The outer walls of the briefcase 200 are preferably aluminium walls.

The briefcase 200 has a base 204 and a lid 206 which are hinged together by a hinge 208. The base 204 of the briefcase 200 preferably has two combination locks 210 for releasably locking the lid 206 to the base 204. The lid 206 includes a respective clip 212 for each of the two combination locks 210, each clip 212 being lockable to its respective combination lock 210 through use of numbered wheels. The briefcase 200 also includes a handle 220 by which a user can carry the briefcase 200.

A tether housing (not shown) is mounted to the inside of the briefcase 200. A distal end 255 of a tether 254 from the tether housing 252 protrudes through a hole 203 in the top outer wall 202 of the briefcase 200. The tether housing 252 and the tether 254 are preferably the same as the tether housing 152 and the tether 154 shown in Figs. 3 to 7 and have been given corresponding reference numerals. The tether housing 252 is preferably mounted to the inside of the briefcase 200 by' two rivets passing through rivet holes in the tether housing 252 and corresponding rivet holes 205 in a top outer wall 202 of the briefcase 200.

A tether lock 260is seated in a hole defined by an outer wall 202 of the base 204 at a handle-end of the briefcase 200, with a portion of the tether lock extending through the hole. The tether lock 260 is preferably the same as the tether lock 160 shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6 and has been given corresponding reference numerals. The tether lock 260 is preferably secured to the top outer wall 202 of the briefcase, e.g. by screws.

The briefcase 200 can be secured to a fixed object in a similar way to the laptop case 100, i.e. by first pulling the tether 254 from the briefcase 200, looping the tether 254 around an anchor point of the fixed object, plugging the distal end of the tether 255 into the tether socket 264, pressing the lock button 268, and rotating the numbered wheels of the tether lock 260 to a random combination.

The briefcase 200 can also be released from the fixed object in the similar way to the laptop case 100, i.e. by rotating the numbered wheels of the tether lock 260 to a predetermined combination and the pressing the release button 268. Similarly to the laptop case 100, the spring which biases the reel in the tether housing 252 then causes the tether 254 to become retracted into the tether housing 252, with the distal end 255 of the tether 254 protruding from the hole 203 in the briefcase.

Fig. 9 is an exploded view of a tether lock, e.g. as might be used in the laptop case 100 or the briefcase 200 described above. Since combination locks for tethers are known, the mechanism of this lock need not be described in further detail.

By locking/securing either the laptop case 100 or the briefcase 200 to an anchor point in a fixed object (e.g. a car), a thief is prevented from simply snatching the laptop case 100 or briefcase 200 away. On seeing that the laptop case 100 or briefcase is tethered to the fixed object, the thief may be deterred from attempting to steal the laptop case 100 or briefcase 200 in the first place.

One of ordinary skill after reading the foregoing description will be able to affect various changes, alterations, and subtractions of equivalents without departing from the broad concepts disclosed. It is therefore intended that the scope of the patent granted hereon be limited only by the appended claims, as

interpreted with reference to the description and

drawings, and not by limitation of the embodiments described herein.

Claims

Claims: 1. A portable security case having: a tether for securing the case to a fixed object, the tether having a proximal end and a distal end; a tether housing which is mounted to the case, the proximal end of the tether being anchored to the tether housing; and a first locking means mounted to the case for releasably locking to the distal end of the tether; wherein the tether is retractable into and extendible from the tether housing, so that the distal end of the tether can be extended from the housing and locked to the case using the first locking means.
2. A portable security case according to claim 1 wherein the case includes a first plate mounted to a wall of the case, the first locking means and/or tether housing being mounted to the first plate.
3. A portable security case according to claim 2 wherein the case includes a second plate mounted to an opposite side of the wall of the case to which the first plate is mounted, the second plate being attached to the first plate such that the wall of the case is sandwiched between the first and second plates.
4. A portable security case according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the first and/or second plate includes a foam layer thereon.
5. A portable security case according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the wall of the case to which the first and/or second plate is mounted is a fabric wall.
6. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the first locking means is provided as a single unit.
7. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the tether housing includes a biasing means for biasing the tether to be retracted in the tether housing.
8. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the tether housing includes a reel arranged to have the tether wound thereon when the tether is retracted in the tether housing.
9. A portable security case according to claim 8 wherein the tether housing is mounted to a wall of the case such that a plane which is perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the reel is substantially parallel to the wall of the case.
10. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the case has a second locking means for releasably locking the case shut when it is to be closed.
11. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the case includes a pocket with the tether housing and/or first locking means being located in the pocket.
12. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the distal end of the tether is arranged to protrude from the tether housing when it is retracted into the tether housing.
13. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the tether includes a cable.
14. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the thickness of the tether is 5 mm or less.
15. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the first locking means includes a socket for receiving the distal end of the tether.
16. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the case is a soft-walled case.
17. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the case is a fabric case.
18. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the case is a hard-walled case.
19. A portable security case according to claim 18 wherein the tether housing, the first locking means and/or the second locking means is directly attached to a hard wall of the case.
20. A portable security case according to any one of the previous claims wherein the tether housing is located on the inside of the case.
21. A portable security case having: a tether for securing the case to a fixed object, the tether having a proximal end and a distal end; a tether housing which is mounted to the case, the proximal end of the tether being anchored to the tether housing; and a first locking means mountable to a fixed object for releasably locking to the distal end of the tether; wherein the tether is retractable into and extendible from the tether housing, so that the distal end of the tether can be extended from the housing and locked to the fixed object using the first locking means.
22. A portable security case as substantially herein described with reference to and as shown in Figs. 1 to 9.