Fireproof Container

Abstract

A fireproof container is used to store items and prevent fires from damaging the items stored within the fireproof container. If a fire originates from within the fireproof container, the fireproof container may be used to prevent the fire from escaping. The fireproof container includes a receptacle, a lid, and a lip. The receptacle is used for storing objects and includes a base panel and a lateral wall. The lateral wall extends from the base panel and the lid may be positioned onto the lateral wall to cover items stored in the receptacle. The lip extends from the lateral wall and is used to precisely guide the lid onto the receptacle. An intumescent material is incorporated into the receptacle, the lid, and the lip and is used to prevent flames and heat from passing between the inside of the fireproof container and the outside of the fireproof material.

Description

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 62/058,528 filed on Oct. 1, 2014.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a container that can protect items from fire or extreme heat. More specifically, the present invention is a fireproof container that uses an intumescent material which expands in the presence of fire or extreme heat. As a result, the expanding surfaces of the container are able to seal the container and prevent flames from entering or escaping the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

House fires affect hundreds of thousands of people each year and can cause considerable damage to personal belongings. Many safes are designed to provide protection from fires, but they are generally very heavy and expensive. Additionally, they must be locked and unlocked whenever the user wishes to put something into or take something out of it. As a result, a safe would not be an ideal choice for a user who wants a portable, inexpensive, or easily accessible container.

There are many materials that can withstand a fire and may provide insulation against their heat. Using such a material to create a container would be useful for protecting items from direct contact with flames. However, heat can easily be transferred through gaps between the lid and the receptacle. While items inside the container might be safe from direct contact with the flame, they may be susceptible to melting or spontaneous combustion if the heat inside the container becomes excessive.

Accordingly, there is a present need for a portable container that can protect items from a fire and the heat that it generates. The present invention is a fireproof container that uses an intumescent material which will expand in the presence of flames or excessive heat. This expansion is used to seal any gaps between the lid and to receptacle of the container such that the contents are stored at a safe temperature inside. Moreover, if a fire is started from within the container, the container will prevent the fire from spreading out of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention, wherein the lid is in an open position and the interface between the receptacle and the lid is delineated by a dashed line.

FIG. 3 is top view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view of the present invention taken about the line A-A in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view taken from the circle B in FIG. 4, wherein the intumescent material is impregnated into the receptacle, the lid, and the lip.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view taken from the circle B in FIG. 4, wherein the intumescent material is superimposed onto the receptacle, the lid, and the lip.

FIG. 7 is a front cross-sectional view of the present invention taken about the line A-A in FIG. 3, wherein the gap is sealed due to the expansion of the intumescent material in the presence of flames.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view taken from the circle C in FIG. 7, wherein the intumescent material is impregnated into the receptacle, the lid, and the lip.

FIG. 9 is a detailed view taken from the circle C in FIG. 7, wherein the intumescent material is superimposed onto the receptacle, the lid, and the lip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1-2, the present invention is a fireproof container which is used to prevent fires from damaging items held within the fireproof container. Alternatively, the present invention may be used to contain fires which are started within the fireproof container. This may happen if the receptacle 1 is used to store electronics, batteries, or flammable materials. The present invention comprises a receptacle 1, a lid 7, a lip 10, and an intumescent material 13. The receptacle 1 is used for storing one or more items. The receptacle 1 comprises a base panel 2 and a lateral wall 3. The lateral wall 3 is perimetrically and adjacently connected to the base panel 2. The lid 7 is used to cover the receptacle 1 such that items stored within the receptacle 1 may be protected. The lid 7 comprises a top panel 8 and a lid wall 9. The lid wall 9 is perimetrically and adjacently connected to the top panel 8. The receptacle 1 and the lid 7 are designed such that the lateral wall 3 and the lid wall 9 are coincident when the lid 7 is attached to the receptacle 1. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the receptacle 1 and the lid 7 are rectangular in shape; however, in alternative embodiments, the receptacle 1 and the lip 7 may be circular, triangular, trapezoidal, or any other shape. The lip 10 is perimetrically and adjacently connected to the lateral wall 3, opposite to the base panel 2. The lip 10 is used to guide the lid 7 into a proper position on the receptacle 1. The lid 7 is positioned adjacent to the lateral wall 3, opposite to the base panel 2 and the lid wall 9 is positioned about the lip 10. The intumescent material 13 is integrated into the receptacle 1, the lid 7, and the lip 10. The intumescent material 13 is used to prevent fire from damaging items within the receptacle 1 or from allowing fire to escape the receptacle 1, if the fire was started from within the receptacle 1. The properties of the intumescent material 13 allow the intumescent material 13 to expand in the presence of flames. A gap 14 is delineated in between the lip 10 and the lid 7. This gap 14 allows the lid 7 to be easily removed from the receptacle 1. The expanding property of the intumescent material 13 is useful because the intumescent material 13 is capable of sealing the gap 14 between the lid 7 and the lip 10, thereby preventing heat from entering or exiting the receptacle 1 through convection. Moreover, the intumescent material 13 is an excellent insulator. In the presence of flames, the intumescent material 13 prevents heat from being transferred through conduction.

In the preferred configuration of the receptacle 1 and the lid 7, the user may simply slide the lid 7 along the lip 10 in the direction opposite to the receptacle 1 to access items stored within the receptacle 1. However, in an alternative configuration of the receptacle 1 and the lid 7, the lateral wall 3 is hingedly connected to the lid wall 9 as shown in FIG. 3. In some circumstances, this configuration may be preferred by the user. In another configuration of the receptacle 1 and the lid 7, a locking mechanism is diametrically opposed to the hinged connection between the lateral wall 3 and the lid wall 9. The locking mechanism may resemble a simple latch or may alternatively be a pin and tumbler lock or a combination lock. The locking mechanism is used to prevent items from inadvertently falling out of the receptacle 1 if the present invention is dropped. Moreover, the locking mechanism may be used to prevent unauthorized access to the contents of the receptacle 1.

In reference to FIG. 2, the lip 10 comprises a proximal surface 11 and a distal surface 12. As previously mentioned, the lip 10 is used to ensure a proper alignment between the receptacle 1 and the lip 10. An inner surface 4 of the receptacle 1 is internally delineated by the base panel 2 and the lateral wall 3, while an outer surface 5 of the receptacle 1 is externally delineated by the base panel 2 and the lateral wall 3. The proximal surface 11 is positioned coincident to the inner surface 4 and the outer surface 5 is perimetrically offset from the distal surface 12. This arrangement allows portions of the lid wall 9 to be positioned adjacent to the lateral wall 3 of the receptacle 1 and the lip 10. Though there is a gap 14 between the lid 7 and the lip 10, the gap 14 may be closed through the expansion of the intumescent material 13 when the present invention is in the presence of flames.

In reference to FIGS. 4-5 and 7-8, the receptacle 1, the lid 7, and the lip 10 are structurally made of a base material 6. In the preferred embodiment, the base material 6 is polyvinyl chloride (PVC); however, in alternative embodiments, other plastics, wood, or metal may be used as the base material 6. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 5, the intumescent material 13 is impregnated throughout the base material 6. In the example of using PVC as the base material 6, PVC and the intumescent material 13 may be mixed and molded into the receptacle 1, the lip 10, and the lid 7. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6, the intumescent material 13 is externally superimposed upon the base material 6. In this embodiment, the intumescent material 13 may be painted or sprayed onto the base material 6, creating a thin layer that surrounds the receptacle 1, the lid 7, and the lip 10.

As previously mentioned, a small gap 14 exists between the lip 10 and the lid 7. The gap is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. A volume of the gap 14 is inversely proportional to a volume of the intumescent material 13. Under normal circumstances, the volume of the intumescent material 13 is constant; however, in the presence of flames, the intumescent material 13 expands. As the intumescent material 13 expands, the volume of the gap 14 between the lip 10 and the lid 7 decreases until the gap 14 is effectively sealed by the intumescent material 13. This is shown in FIGS. 8-9. Because the intumescent material 13 is an effective insulator, sealing the gap 14 between the lip 10 and the lid 7 restrict virtually all heat transfer between objects stored within receptacle 1 and the environment outside of the receptacle 1. This both prevents fire from entering the receptacle 1 and from escaping the receptacle 1. Moreover, because the volume of the gap 14 is effectively eliminated, flames that are present within the receptacle 1 will eventually burn out due to a lack of oxygen.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A fireproof container comprises:

a receptacle;

a lid;

a lip;

an intumescent material;

the receptacle comprises a base panel and a lateral wall;

the lid comprises a top panel and a lid wall;

the intumescent material being integrated into the receptacle, the lid, and the lip;

the lateral wall being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the base panel;

the lip being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the lateral wall, opposite to the base panel;

the lid being positioned adjacent to the lateral wall, opposite the base panel;

the lid wall being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the top panel; and

the lid wall being positioned about the lip.

2. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lateral wall is hingedly connected to the lid wall.

3. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the lip comprises a proximal surface and a distal surface;

an inner surface of the receptacle being internally delineated by the base panel and the lateral wall;

an outer surface of the receptacle being externally delineated by the base panel and the lateral wall;

the proximal surface being positioned coincident to the inner surface; and

the outer surface being perimetrically offset from the distal surface.

4. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the receptacle, the lid, and the lip being structurally made of a base material; and

the intumescent material being impregnated throughout the base material.

5. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 4, wherein the base material is polyvinyl chloride.

6. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

the receptacle, the lid, and the lip being structurally made of a base material; and

the intumescent material being externally superimposed upon the base material.

7. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base material is polyvinyl chloride.

8. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 1 comprises:

a gap being delineated in between the lip and the lid; and

a volume of the gap being inversely proportional to a volume of the intumescent material.

9. A fireproof container comprises:

a receptacle;

a lid;

a lip;

an intumescent material;

the receptacle comprises a base panel and a lateral wall;

the lid comprises a top panel and a lid wall;

the intumescent material being integrated into the receptacle, the lid, and the lip;

the lateral wall being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the base panel;

the lip being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the lateral wall, opposite to the base panel;

the lid being positioned adjacent to the lateral wall, opposite the base panel;

the lid wall being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the top panel;

the lid wall being positioned about the lip;

the receptacle, the lid, and the lip being structurally made of a base material; and

the intumescent material being impregnated throughout the base material.

10. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 9, wherein the lateral wall is hingedly connected to the lid wall.

11. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 9 comprises:

the lip comprises a proximal surface and a distal surface;

an inner surface of the receptacle being internally delineated by the base panel and the lateral wall;

an outer surface of the receptacle being externally delineated by the base panel and the lateral wall;

the proximal surface being positioned coincident to the inner surface; and

the outer surface being perimetrically offset from the distal surface.

12. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 9, wherein the base material is polyvinyl chloride.

13. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 9 comprises:

a gap being delineated in between the lip and the lid; and

a volume of the gap being inversely proportional to a volume of the intumescent material.

14. A fireproof container comprises:

a receptacle;

a lid;

a lip;

an intumescent material;

the receptacle comprises a base panel and a lateral wall;

the lid comprises a top panel and a lid wall;

the intumescent material being integrated into the receptacle, the lid, and the lip;

the lateral wall being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the base panel;

the lip being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the lateral wall, opposite to the base panel;

the lid being positioned adjacent to the lateral wall, opposite the base panel;

the lid wall being perimetrically and adjacently connected to the top panel;

the lid wall being positioned about the lip;

the receptacle, the lid, and the lip being structurally made of a base material; and

the intumescent material being impregnated throughout the base material.

15. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 14, wherein the lateral wall is hingedly connected to the lid wall.

16. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 14 comprises:

the lip comprises a proximal surface and a distal surface;

an inner surface of the receptacle being internally delineated by the base panel and the lateral wall;

an outer surface of the receptacle being externally delineated by the base panel and the lateral wall;

the proximal surface being positioned coincident to the inner surface; and

the outer surface being perimetrically offset from the distal surface.

17. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 14, wherein the base material is polyvinyl chloride.

18. The fireproof container as claimed in claim 14 comprises:

a gap being delineated in between the lip and the lid; and

a volume of the gap being inversely proportional to a volume of the intumescent material.