LOCKING REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER BOX
A storage system allows secured attachment in a device, such as a refrigerator, a freezer, a medical cart or the like, having a shelf comprising spaced-apart wire rack ribs. The storage system has a body with top and bottom walls, side walls, a rear wall, and an open front face opposite the rear wall, the top wall having a pair of spaced-apart apertures. A front door, hingedly attached to the body, is sized to fully close the front face when attached thereto. The body is attached to the shelf using a screw and a screw-retaining member, with the screw-retaining member operating to secure the ribs of the shelf between itself and the body. A screw, with its head located inside the body, passes through one of the apertures and is threadingly secured to the screw-retaining member.
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This application is a nonprovisional of, and claims the benefit of priority to, U.S. 61/018,591, filed on 2 Jan. 2008, which is incorporated by reference as if fully recited herein.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to a locking box for removable placement in a refrigerator or freezer.
BACKGROUND OF THE ARTIn any medical or pharmaceutical setting, it is important that proper controls be established and maintained for certain medications. The controls require that the medications be kept under either single or double lock. This is complicated in situations where the particular medication also is required to be under temperature control in a refrigerator or a freezer.
While locking refrigerators and freezers are known and routinely used, it is not practical to dedicate the entire volume of such a device to the storage of materials that require the controlled temperature. While lockable chests currently exist, they are typically constructed of numerous pieces of machined acrylic and are joined together using a solvent adhesive. This results in numerous joints that can provide problems in integrity as well as achieving a poor aesthetic quality. Another important point is that the locking chests are usually attached to the wire shelf using metal plates on top of the wire shelf with nuts and bolts joining the metal plates to the locking chest while trapping the wire shelf. These nuts and bolts require the use of tools to mount the locking box. The metal plates block the visibility of the contents when looking into the box from above.
It is therefore an unmet advantage of the prior art to provide a locking container or box that may be secured in a refrigerator or a freezer that provides an improvement in the construction method achieving better integrity and aesthetics. It is also an unmet advantage of the prior art to provide a locking box that can be mounted to a wire shelf without the use of tools and to provide a more open sight of the contents when viewing from above.
SUMMARYThis and other unmet advantages are provided by a storage system for secured attachment in a device having a shelf comprising spaced-apart wire rack ribs, the storage box comprising: a body having top and bottom walls, side walls, a rear wall, and an open front face opposite the rear wall, the top wall having a pair of spaced-apart apertures; a front door, sized to fully close the front face when attached thereto, the front door having an aperture therethrough; a means for hingedly attaching the front door to the body; a means for locking the front door in a closed position on the body; and a means for attaching the body to the shelf, such that attachment of the body to the shelf, or removal therefrom, is effected through access to an interior of the body.
In some embodiments, the attaching means comprises a screw, and a screw-retaining member, sized and adapted to secure the body to the shelf.
In a first set of these embodiments, the screw-retaining member comprises a flat disc portion having a diameter larger than a space between adjacent ribs in the shelf; and a diametric rib provided on a bottom surface of the disc portion, wherein an aperture, provided with female threading corresponding to male threading on the screw, passes axially through the rib and the disc portion.
In a further set of these embodiments, the screw-retaining member comprises a top portion, a rib formed on a bottom surface of the top portion, the rib extending across the bottom portion, a first and a second protrusion formed along the rib, the respective protrusions positioned near opposite ends of the rib and extending from opposite sides thereof; and an aperture, provided with female threading corresponding to male threading on the screw, passing axially through the rib and the top portion, such that the top portion, the protrusions and the ribs coact to form a groove adapted to capture one rib of the shelf.
In many of the embodiments, the screw is a thumb screw.
In some of the embodiments, the screw and the screw-retaining member are each formed from a polyamide material.
A better understanding of the disclosed embodiments will be obtained from a reading of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer to identical parts and in which:
In the embodiment shown, the body 12 is provided with a plurality of elongate slots 30 through the top wall 14. As will be understood, similar slots could be provided on the bottom wall 16, either or both of the side walls 18, and/or the rear wall 20. The primary function of the slots is to allow attachment, although a secondary function that is provided is to allow limited circulation of the air in the refrigerator or freezer into the interior of the storage box 10, thereby equilibrating the temperatures of the interior and exterior of the box.
Certain features of the door 22 are readily observed in the figures. The door 22 is depicted as having being connected by a pair of hinges 40 to the bottom section of the front face of the body 12. In the embodiment illustrated, the hinges are arranged with the gudgeons and pintles of the hinges positioned outside of the storage box 10. In an alternate embodiment, the hinges could be placed so that the pintles and gudgeons are inside the storage box, making unauthorized entry into the storage box 10 more difficult. Door 22 is provided with an opening 24 for receiving a lock, as best seen in
Attention is now directed to
An alternate screw retaining member 162 is shown in
Although the depicted embodiment shows the attachment means passing through the top wall 14, the attachment can be through another wall, especially the bottom wall 16, although hanging the box 10 from the bottom of the rack may have some advantage, because the thumb screws 60 do not interfere with the floor space of the box in that case.
When transporting the box 10, the same attaching means can be used to attach the box to a medical cart, other storage boxes, etc.
Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention and still be within the scope of the claimed invention. Thus, many of the elements indicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements which will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention.
Claims
1. A storage system for secured attachment in a device having a shelf comprising spaced-apart wire rack ribs, the storage system comprising:
- a body having top and bottom walls, side walls, a rear wall, and an open front face opposite the rear wall, the top wall having a pair of spaced-apart apertures;
- a front door, sized to fully close the front face when attached thereto, the front door having an aperture therethrough;
- means for hingedly attaching the front door to the body;
- means for locking the front door in a closed position on the body; and
- means for attaching the body to the shelf, such that attachment of the body to the shelf, or removal therefrom, is effected through access to an interior of the body.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein:
- the attaching means comprises: a screw, and a screw-retaining member, sized and adapted to secure the body to the shelf.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein:
- the screw-retaining member comprises: a flat disc portion having a diameter larger than a space between adjacent ribs in the shelf; and a diametric rib provided on a bottom surface of the disc portion; wherein an aperture, provided with female threading corresponding to male threading on the screw, passes axially through the rib and the disc portion.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein:
- the screw-retaining member comprises: a top portion; a rib formed on a bottom surface of the top portion, the rib extending across the bottom portion; a first and a second protrusion formed along the rib, the respective protrusions positioned near opposite ends of the rib and extending from opposite sides thereof; and an aperture, provided with female threading corresponding to male threading on the screw, passing axially through the rib and the top portion; such that the top portion, the protrusions and the rib coact to form a groove adapted to capture one rib of the shelf.
5. The system of claim 3, wherein:
- the body is formed in a unitary manner by molding.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein:
- the body is formed in a unitary manner by molding.
7. The system of claim 3, wherein:
- the body and front face are formed from a polymeric material.
8. The system of claim 4, wherein:
- the body and front face are formed from a polymeric material.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein:
- the polymer is a glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (“PETG”) co-polyester.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein:
- the polymer is a glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (“PETG”) co-polyester.
11. The system of claim 3, wherein:
- the screw and the screw-retaining member are each formed from a polyamide material.
12. The system of claim 3, wherein:
- the screw and the screw-retaining member are each formed from a polyamide material.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein:
- The spaced-apart apertures are a pair of elongate slots.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein:
- the elongate slots are axially aligned.
15. The system of claim 3, wherein:
- the screw is a thumb screw.
16. The system of claim 4, wherein:
- the screw is a thumb screw.
17. A storage system for secured attachment in a device having a shelf comprising spaced-apart wire rack ribs, the storage box comprising:
- a body having top and bottom walls, side walls, a rear wall, and an open front face opposite the rear wall, the top wall having a pair of spaced-apart apertures, the body being formed in a unitary manner by molding a glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (“PETG”) co-polyester;
- a front door, sized to fully close the front face when attached thereto, the front door having an aperture therethrough;
- means for hingedly attaching the front door to the body;
- means for locking the front door in a closed position on the body; and
- means for attaching the body to the shelf, such that attachment of the body to the shelf, or removal therefrom, is effected through access to an interior of the body, the attaching means comprising a thumb screw and a member for retaining the thumb screw, sized and adapted to secure the body to the shelf, the thumb screw and thumb-screw-retaining member formed from polyamide.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein:
- the thumb-screw-retaining member comprises: a flat disc portion having a diameter larger than a space between adjacent ribs in the shelf; and a diametric rib provided on a bottom surface of the disc portion; wherein an aperture, provided with female threading corresponding to male threading on the thumb screw, passes axially through the rib and the disc portion.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein:
- the thumb-screw-retaining member comprises: a top portion; a rib formed on a bottom surface of the top portion, the rib extending across the bottom portion; and a first and a second protrusion formed along the rib, the respective protrusions positioned near opposite ends of the rib and extending from opposite sides thereof; and an aperture, provided with female threading corresponding to male threading on the thumb screw, passing axially through the rib and the top portion; such that the top portion, the protrusions and the ribs coact to form a groove adapted to capture one rib of the shelf.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 2, 2009
Publication Date: Jul 30, 2009
Applicant: HEALTH CARE LOGISTICS, INC. (Circleville, OH)
Inventors: Dan Meiser (Circleville, OH), David J. Brown (Brownsville, TX), Jay Baker (Mayville, NY), Scott Freyn (Westfield, NY)
Application Number: 12/348,146
International Classification: A47B 96/00 (20060101); E01B 9/10 (20060101);