Locking storage box with quick-access features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11548705-B1
Application number	US-202217574765-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jan 13, 2022
Priority date	Jan 13, 2022
Publication date	Jan 10, 2023
Grant date	Jan 10, 2023

Abstract

A storage box having a locking assembly with quick-access features and an optional passthrough charging port is shown and described.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An enclosure, the enclosure comprising:
a main body;
a lid; and
a locking assembly that is releasably engageable between the main body and the lid, the locking assembly having a locked configuration in which the lid and the main body are secured together and an unlocked configuration in which the lid is separable from the main body, the main body and the lid forming a storage compartment therebetween when the main body and the lid are mated together, the locking assembly comprising
a plurality of buttons, each of the plurality of buttons being individually depressible, each of the plurality of buttons being individually includable or excludable from an unlock combination of the locking assembly, wherein all of the buttons of the plurality of buttons which are included in the unlock combination must be simultaneously depressed without any of the buttons of the plurality of buttons which are excluded from the unlock combination being simultaneously depressed to place the locking assembly into the unlocked configuration.

2. The enclosure of claim 1 , the enclosure further comprising an electrical passthrough that extends from an exterior of the enclosure into the storage compartment.

3. The enclosure of claim 2 , wherein the electrical passthrough comprises a charging and/or data port.

4. The enclosure of claim 3 , wherein the charging and/or data port is a first port arranged on the exterior of the enclosure, and
wherein the electrical passthrough further comprises a second port located within the storage compartment, the second port being in electrical communication with the first port.

5. The enclosure of claim 1 , further comprising a gasket located between and in contact with both of the main body and the lid when the main body and the lid are mated together, the gasket surrounding a perimeter of the storage compartment and rendering the storage compartment liquidproof when the main body and the lid are mated together.

6. The enclosure of claim 5 , the storage compartment further comprising a liquid-impermeable but gas-permeable sealing vent provided through a surface thereof.

7. The enclosure of claim 5 , further comprising at least one lid release pin that is in contact with at least one lid release spring, the at least one lid release spring acting to bias the at least one lid release pin to bias the lid away from the main body.

8. The enclosure of claim 5 , wherein the gasket extends around the entirety of the perimeter of the storage compartment.

9. The enclosure of claim 1 , further comprising at least one locking hole that extends through each of the main body and the lid, the at least one locking hole being adapted to receive a secondary lock therethrough.

10. The enclosure of claim 1 , further comprising at least one light located within the storage compartment.

11. The enclosure of claim 1 , further comprising a wireless charger located inside the enclosure.

12. An enclosure, the enclosure comprising:
a main body;
a lid; and
a locking assembly that is releasably engageable between the main body and the lid, the locking assembly comprising
a plurality of buttons, each of the plurality of buttons having a first pin hole and a second pin hole, each of the plurality of buttons being individually depressible,
a plurality of locking pins, each of the plurality of locking pins being selectably installable in either of the first pin hole or the second pin hole of a respective one of the buttons of the plurality of buttons, wherein installation of a respective one of the locking pins into the respective first pin hole of a respective one of the buttons includes said button in an unlock combination of the locking assembly and wherein installation of said respective one of the locking pins into the respective second pin hole of said respective one of the buttons excludes said button from the unlock combination,
a pin plate comprising a plurality of upper pin slots and a plurality of lower pin slots, each of the upper pin slots corresponding with a location of a respective first pin hole of a button of the plurality of buttons and each of the lower pin slots corresponding with a location of a respective second pin hole of a button of the plurality of buttons,
wherein when all of the buttons of the plurality of buttons which are included in the unlock combination are simultaneously depressed without any of the buttons of the plurality of buttons which are excluded from the unlock combination being simultaneously depressed, the plurality of locking pins press on the pin plate and cause it to be temporarily relocated such that the lid is separable from the main body.

13. The enclosure of claim 12 , the pin plate further comprising at least one locking tab, the enclosure further comprising a locking plate attached to the lid, the locking plate comprising at least one locking tab that interacts with the at least one locking tab of the pin plate when the locking assembly is in a locked configuration to prevent separation of the lid from the main body.

14. The enclosure of claim 13 , wherein at least a portion of the at least one locking tab of the pin plate is positioned atop at least a portion of the at least one locking tab of the locking plate when the locking assembly is in its locked configuration.

15. The enclosure of claim 12 , wherein the pin plate is temporarily relocated in a first direction when all of the buttons of the plurality of buttons which are included in the unlock combination are simultaneously depressed without any of the buttons of the plurality of buttons which are excluded from the unlock combination being simultaneously depressed, the locking assembly further comprising a spring that biases the pin plate in a second direction when none of the buttons of the plurality of buttons are being depressed, the second direction being opposite the first direction.

16. The enclosure of claim 15 , wherein each of the buttons of the plurality of buttons is depressible in a third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to each of the first direction and the second direction.

17. The enclosure of claim 15 , wherein each of the plurality of upper pin slots comprises a lateral portion and a diagonal portion and each of the lower pin slots comprises a lateral portion and a diagonal portion, wherein each of the lateral portions is oriented parallel to the first and second directions and each of the diagonal portions is not oriented parallel to the first and second directions.

18. The enclosure of claim 12 , further comprising a gasket located between and in contact with both of the main body and the lid when the main body and the lid are mated together, the gasket providing a liquidproof seal.

19. The enclosure of claim 12 , wherein each of the locking pins of the plurality of locking pins is threadedly installable into and threadedly removable from the first pin hole and the second pin hole of a respective button of the plurality of buttons.

20. An enclosure, the enclosure comprising:
a main body;
a lid; and
a locking assembly that is releasably engageable between the main body and the lid, the locking assembly comprising
a pin plate comprising a plurality of slots,
a plurality of buttons, each of the plurality of buttons being individually depressible in a first direction, wherein a subgroup of one or more buttons of the plurality of buttons are included in an unlock combination,
a plurality of pins, each of the plurality of pins being extendable from each of the plural

Assignees

• Streamlight Inc

Inventors

• Sharrah Jonathan R
• Hawk Joshua D

Classifications

• B65D25/2885

  provided on the side wall · CPC title

• B65D53/02

  Collars or rings · CPC title

• H02J50/10

  using inductive coupling · CPC title

• B65D55/14 Primary

  Applications of locks, e.g. of permutation or key-controlled locks · CPC title

• F21V33/0004

  Personal or domestic articles · CPC title