US3319743A

US3319743A - Article-storing devices

Info

Publication number: US3319743A
Application number: US488855A
Authority: US
Inventors: Pelavin Joseph; Sheiman Julius
Original assignee: Lark Luggage Corp
Current assignee: Lark Luggage Corp
Priority date: 1965-09-21
Filing date: 1965-09-21
Publication date: 1967-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 1984-05-16

Description

May 16 i967 J PELAWN ETAL 3,319,743

ARTI CLE- STORING DEVICES Filed Sept. 21, 1965 INVENTORS. JOJ'EP/l PEZA V/IV 54am, awn;

ATIUIPIVEKS United States Patent 3,319,743 ARTICLE-STORING DEVICES Joseph Pelavin, Brooklyn, and Julius Sheiman, North Woodinere, N.Y., assignors to Lark Luggage Corp., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 488,855 12 (Claims. (Cl. 190-41) The present invention relates to article-storing devices,

such as pieces of luggage in which articles are stored to be carried about therein.

As is well known, certain problems are encountered in connection with the locking of such article-storing devices. .These problems are particularly difficult in connection with article-storing devices which are provided with slidefastener closures, and the present invention deals particularly with an assembly for releasably preventing the operation of a slide fastener, so that in this Way the slide fastener can be retained in its position fastening a lid of the article-storing device in a position closing a container thereof.

As is well known, slide fasteners conventionally include a pair of tapes situated in side-by-side relation and carrying scoops which are actuated by a slider so as to be moved into or out of interlocking engagement depending upon the direction of movement of the slider. In order to facilitate the movement of the slider, a pull-tab is conventionally' connected therewith, and the pull-tab is generally freely movable with respect to the slider so that the pull-tab can be oriented relative to the slider for pulling the latter in either one of a pair of opposed directions.

Because of the nature of this latter structure, it is difficult to releasably hold the slide fastener in a position where it will be locked against operation.

This problem is particularly aggravated .in the case of devices which include a pair of slide fasteners, because With such devices it is necessary to lock both of the slide fastenersagainst operation, so as to prevent access to the article-storing device, and so far therehasbeen no satisfactory solution to theproblem of locking a pair of slide fasteners against operation While the solution to the problem of locking a single slide fastener against operation has been solvedonl-y in an unsatisfactory cumbersome mannerr. 7 r; Itfis thereformaprimaryobject of the present invention to provide an assembly which is quite simple while at the sametime capable of being effectively operated to retain a slide fastener in its fastened position, without requiring such inconveniences as attaching of a lock 'to a hasp-like;assembly,- for example.

In particular it"is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly of this type which can incorporate into itself the locking" structure, so that theuser of the structure of the invention need only carry a key even when the slide fastener is released for operation.

3 In particular, the objects of theinvention includes the provision of an assembly capable of cooperating with a pair of slide fasteners for retaining the latter in their fastened positions.

' The objects of the present invention include the provision of a small compact assembly capable of being attached to an article such as a piece of luggage for cooperating with the slide fasteners thereof.

In particular, the objects of the present invention inpair of slide fasteners 16 and clude a device which can be placed in its position pre-' venting operation of slide fasteners through the simple manipulation of an element which forms a permanent part of the device, while only manipulation of a single key is required to release the slide fasteners for operation. The objects of the present invention also include the 3,3l fii3 Patented May 16, 196? provision of a structure of the above type which is particularly adapted for use with pieces of luggage.

In accordance with the invention, an article-storing device, such as a piece of luggage, has at least one slide fastener for cooperating with a container member and a lid member of the piece of luggage so as to releasably retain the lid member in its position closing the container member when the slide fastener is in its fastened position, while when the slide fastener is in its unfastened position the lid member is released for movement away from the container member to give access thereto. This slide fastener conventionally includes a slider element and a pull-tab element connected thereto, and the structure of the invention includes a retaining means cooperating with one of these latter elements of the slide fastener for releasably retaining the slide fastener in its fastened position. A cover means is provided for movement to and from a position covering the retaining means to prevent access thereto, and a releasable lock means cooperates with the cover means for releasably retaining the latter in its position preventing access to the retaining means.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of the application and in which:

FIG. '1 is a perspective illustration of a piece of luggage provided with the structure of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of that part of the article of FIG. 1 which is provided with the structure of the invention, the structure being shown in FIG. 2 in its position preventing operation of slide fasteners;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section, on an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 2, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows and showing further details of the assembly of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows and also showing details of the structure at an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective illustration of that part of the article of FIG. 1 which is provided with the structure of the invention, FIG. 5 showing the structure in the position it takes when the slide fastener-s are released for operation.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown therein an articlestoring device in the form of a suitcase 10 which forms the particular piece of luggage used to illustrate the invention. This piece of luggage 10 includes a container member 12, and a lid member 14 movable to and from the position illustrated in FIG. 1 closing the container member 12 so that the stored articles will be retained therein. A 18 are operatively connected with the container member 12 and the lid member 14 for releasably fastening the latter in its closed position shown in FIG. 1. The lid 14 is permanently connected with the container 12 at an intermediate portion of the longitudinal edge of the lid 14 which is at the bottom of the luggage 10, as viewed in FIG. 1. The pair of slide fasteners are connected with the opposed ends of the portion of the lid 14 which is permanently connected with the container 12, and from these opposed ends the pair of

slide fasteners

16 and 18 respectively extend in opposite directions away from each other to the ends of the device 10, then upwardly along the opposed ends to the top thereof which is visible in FIG. 1, and then toward each other where the pair of slide fasteners are acted upon by the assembly 20 of the present invention so as to be releasably retained in their fastened positions fastening the lid 14 in its position closing the container 12, as indicated in FIG. 1. The details of the assembly 20 of the invention are shown in FIGS. 2-5 and described below.

As is apparent from FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the container member 12 has a wall portion 22 to which the assembly 20 of the invention is connected. The pair of slide fasteners respectively include tapes which carry scoops, and a pair of these

tapes

24 and 26 are visible in FIG. 3. The tape 24 is fixed in any suitable way to the free edge of the container 12, while the tape 26 is fixed in any suitable way to the free edge of the did 14. The scoops are adapted to be moved to and from their interlocking positions by displacement of the slider elements 28a and 28b of the pair of

slide fasteners

16 and 18. The slider 28a has a pull-tab element 30a conventionally connected therewith, and in the same way the slider element 28b has a pull-tab element 30b conventionally connected therewith. These pull-tab elements are shown in FIG. oriented with respect to the slider elements so as to displace them apart from each other to open the articlestoring device 10. However, when the pair of slide fasteners I16 and 18 are in their fastened positions shown in FIG. 1 retaining the lid member 14 in its position closing the container member 12, the pair of pull-

tab elements

30a and 30b can be turned to positions where they overlie each other. In this latter condition, the pull-tab elements respectively have

openings

32a and 32b which are aligned with each other, and a post 34 is received in these aligned openings. This post 34 forms a retaining means for releasably retaining the pair of slide fasteners in their fastened positions, and by extending through the aligned

openings

32a and 32b the post 34 prevents movement of the pull-

tabs

30a and 30b away from each other so that in this way the pair of slide fasteners cannot be operated and will be retained in their fully fastened positions.

A support means is provided to support the post 34 of the releasable retaining means of the invention, and this support means includes a bracket made up of a lower bracket element 36 and an upper bracket element 38. The lower bracket element 36 directly engages the wall 22 of the container 12 and has a forwardly projecting end 40 which extends over the slide fasteners and fixedly carries the post 34 which can be fastened in any suitable way to the forwardly projecting wall of the lower bracket element 36 as by being riveted thereto.

The upper bracket element 38 has a depending substantially endless side wall whose free edge directly engages the upper surface of the lower element 36, and a pair of rivets 42 are respectively arranged at the opposed sides of the bracket and pass through both of the

bracket elements

36 and 38 as well as the wall 22 for fixing the

bracket

36, 38 to the wall 22.

The upper bracket element 38 fixedly carries a conventional lock means 44. This lock means can be purchased as a separate unit and attached to the bracket as by having lugs which pass through openings of the upper bracket element 38 into the space between the latter and the lower bracket element 36, and these lugs can be bent so as to fix the lock 44 to the bracket. This lock can be actuated through a suitable key and includes a pair of locking wings 46 which are conventional and which can be cammed inwardly toward each other, these locking wings 46 being urged by a spring of the lock 44 apart from each other to predetermine locking positions as will be apparent from the description which follows.

The assembly of the invention further includes a cover means 48 in the form of a plate 50 hinged to the

bracket

36, 38 for turning movement to and from a position covering the retaining means 34 so as to prevent access thereto. This plate 50 is provided at one end with the curved portions 52 surrounding a hinge pin 54 fixed to a lug 56 which is an integral extension of the upper bracket element 38 and which extends around and is fixed to the hinge pin 54 in the manner shown most clearly in FIG. 3. In this way, the cover plate 50 is hinged to the bracket for turning movement to and from the position shown in FIG. 3. This cover plate 50 is formed with an opening 58 (FIG. 5) which receives the lock means 54 when the cover means is turned from the position of FIG. 5 to the position of FIG. 3. At the opposed edges of the opening 58 the plate 50 carries downwardly directed ca-mming projections 60 which respectively engage the wings 46 of the lock 44 and cam these wings inwardly toward each other until the cover 50 has the position shown in FIG. 3. At this position the upper surface of the cover plate 50 in the region of the wings 46 is at an elevation just below these wings which now snap out under the action of the spring of the lock means 44 so that the front ends of the wings overlap and extend in part over the top surface of the plate 50, in the manner shown in FIG. 2, and in this way the cover is releasalbly locked in the position shown in FIG. 3 where it will prevent access to the post 34.

It is to be noted that the cover plate 50 is provided along its opposed side edges with depending flanges 62 and at its front end with a depending flange 64. When the top end of the post 34 engages the undersurface of the cover 50 to maintain the latter at the position shown in FIG. 3 where the lock wings 46 can snap over the top surface of the cover 50, the depending side flanges 62 have their lower edges situated at an elevation sufficiently high to prevent any engagement with the overlapping

pull tabs

30a and 30b. The front depending flange 64, however, extends over the entire depth of the retaining post 34 and the overlapping pull tabs, so that the cover means 48 in this way prevents access to the releasable retaining means 34 when the cover means 48 is releasably locked by the lock means 44 in its position shown in FIG. 3 preventing access to the post 34.

In this way, the structure of the invention by a simple turning of the cover means 48 will releasably prevent operation of the slide fasteners.

Assuming that the piece of luggage 10 has been filled with the articles which are to be stored therein, the operator will simply turn the lid 14 to its closed position and the

slide fasteners

16 and 18 will be manipulated so as to be placed in their fully fastened positions fastening the lid 14 to the container 12. When in their fully fastened positions, the sliders of the slide fasteners will be situated adjacent each other, and the operator can very easily turn the pull-tabs so as to place them in overlapping relation with the post 34 extending through the

aligned openings

32a and 32b. The pull-tabs of the pair of slide fasteners can be placed one above the other in any sequence, and it is not essential that a particular one of the pull-tabs be turned first to its position receiving the post 34 before the other pull-tab is pulled to its position receiving the post 34. Therefore the operator can turn either pull-tab before the other one. Once both of the pull-tabs have been placed in' their positions where their

openings

32a and 32b are aligned and receive the post 34, the operator need only flip the cover 50 to the position shown in FIG. 3. The camming projections 60 will cam the wings 46 inwardly toward each other and when the cover 50 engages the top end of the post 34 the wings 46 will have snapped apart from each other to a position overlapping the top surface of the cover 50 so as to maintain the latter in its position illustrated in FIG. 3. In order to have access to the slide fasteners so as to displace them to their unfastened positions, the operator need only insert a key into the lock means 44 and upon turning of the key will draw, in a well-known manner, the wings 46 toward each other so that the cover 50 can now be turned into the position shown in FIG. 5, and ofcourse, the operator will now remove the keyfrom the lock 44. In this position the pair of pull-tabs can be turned to the positions illustrated in FIG. 5 and both slide fasteners can be displaced to their unfastened positions.

What is claimed is:

1. An article-storing device, such as a piece of luggage, comprising a container member and a lid member movable to and from a closed position closing said container member, a slide fastener operatively connected with said members and having an unfastened position releasing said lid member for movement from its closed position and a fastened position at least partly fastening said lid member in said closed position thereof, said slide fastener including a slider element and a pull-tab element connected thereto, releasable retaining means operatively connected with one of said elements of said slide fastener for releasably retaining said one element in the location it has when said slide fastener is in said fastened position thereof, cover means movable to and from a position covering said releasable retaining means for preventing access thereto, and releasable lock means operatively engaging said cover means for releasably locking the latter in said position covering said retaining means.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 and wherein said releasable retaining means is operatively connected with said pull-tab element.

3. A device as recited in claim 2 and wherein said pull-tab element is formed with an opening and said retaining means includes a post extending through said opening to releasably retain said pull-tab element at said location.

4. A device as recited in claim 3 and wherein a pair of said slide fasteners are operatively connected with said container member and lid member, said pair of slide fasteners being identical and symmetrically arranged with respect to each other and said pull-tabs of said slide fasteners being situated one against the other with their openings aligned and said post extending through both of said openings for releasably retaining both pull tabs at said locations, so that both slide fasteners will be releasably retained in their fastened positions.

5. A device as recited in claim 1 and wherein a support means is mounted on one of said members and carries said retaining means, said cover means, and said lock means.

6. A device as recited in claim 5 and wherein said support means is fixedly mounted on said container member.

7. A device as recited in claim 5 and wherein said support means includes a bracket fixed to said one memher and carrying said retaining means, said cover means being in the form of an elongated member hinged to said bracket for turning movement to and from a position covering said retaining means to prevent access thereto and said lock means being automatically actuated by said cover means to releasably lock the latter in its position preventing access to said retaining means.

8. A device as recited in claim 7 and wherein said lock means includes an element capable of being cammed to and from a locking position and said cover means camming said element of said lock means to to a position where the latter element can snap over said cover means to releasably retain the latter in its position preventing access to said retaining means.

9. An assembly for preventing operation of a slide fastener, so as to retain the slide fastener in a given position, said assembly comprising a bracket, a post fixed to said bracket and adapted to extend through an opening of a pull-tab of a slide fastener, a cover hinged to said bracket for turning movement to and from a covering position covering said post to prevent access thereto, and lock means carried by said bracket and releasably locking said cover in its position preventing access to said post.

10. An assembly as recited in claim 9 and wherein said cover has depending flanges which define between themselves a space in which said post is situated when said cover is in its position preventing access to said post.

11. An assembly as recited in claim 9 and wherein said cover is formed with an opening receiving said lock means when said cover is turned to its position prevent ing access to said post, said cover carrying in the region of its opening a camming member which cams a movable element of said lock means to cam said movable element to a position where it will snap over part of said cover to retain the latter in its position preventing access to said post.

12. An article-storing device, such as a piece of luggage, comprising a container member and a lid member movable to and from a closed position closing said container member, a pair of identical, symmetrically arranged slide fasteners operatively connected with said members for movement relative thereto between unfastened positions releasing said lid member for movement from its position closing said container member and fastened positions fastening said lid member in its position closing said container member, said slide members when respectively in their fastened positions respectively having a pair of pull-tabs situated one over the other, and said pull-tabs respectively having openings which are aligned with each other when said pull-tabs are situated one over the other in the fastened positions of said slide fasteners, a post extending through said aligned openings, a bracket carrying said post and fixed to one of said members, a cover hinged to said bracket and turnable relative thereto to a position covering said post to prevent access thereto, so that said pull-tabs will be retained by said post until said cover is turned away from said post to give access thereto for removing said tabs from said post, and releasable lock means carried by said bracket and releasably retaining said cover in its position preventing access to said post.

No references cited.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.