US-12624569-B2 - Locking enclosure

Abstract

A lockable enclosure includes a housing, a locking mechanism, and an access door assembled with the housing and movable between a closed position and an open position. When the access door is in the closed position, at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with a staple portion at a location spaced apart from adjoining perimeter edges of the housing and the access door, and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position. The locking mechanism is operable between a locking condition in which the at least one latch member is secured in the interlocking position, and an unlocked condition in which the at least one latch member is movable to the releasing position.

Inventors

• Cornelius Robert O'Rourke
• Eric Douglas Sanford
• ANDREW DAVID BARTEL

Assignees

• MASTER LOCK COMPANY LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20221011

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A lockbox comprising: a lockbox housing; an access door assembled with the lockbox housing and movable between a closed position in which a perimeter edge portion of the access door adjoins a perimeter edge portion of the lockbox housing to block access to a cavity defined by the lockbox housing and the access door, and an open position permitting access to the cavity; a staple portion carried by one of the access door and the lockbox housing, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the one of the access door and the lockbox housing; at least one latch member assembled with the other of the access door and the lockbox housing, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the other of the access door and the lockbox housing, wherein when the access door is in the closed position, the at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with the staple portion and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position; and a locking mechanism including a blocking element and a lock interface operable to move the blocking element from a locking position in which the blocking element engages the at least one latch member to prevent movement of the at least one latch member to the releasing position, to an unlocked position in which the blocking element is disengaged from the at least one latch member to permit movement of the at least one latch member to the releasing position.
2. 2 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the at least one latch member comprises a pivotable latch member.
3. 3 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the staple portion comprises first and second staple elements and the at least one latch member comprises first and second latch members.
4. 4 . The lockbox of claim 3 , wherein when the blocking element is in the locking position, a portion of the blocking element is disposed between the first and second latch members to prevent inward lateral movement of the first and second latch members from the interlocking position to the releasing position.
5. 5 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the lock interface includes a plurality of dials configured to permit movement of the blocking element from the locking position to the unlocked position when each of the plurality of dials is rotated to an unlocking orientation.
6. 6 . The lockbox of claim 5 , wherein when each of the plurality of dials is rotated to the unlocking orientation, an outer peripheral recess on each of the dials aligns with a dial engaging portion of the blocking element, allowing the blocking element to move from the locking position to the unlocked position, with each of the dial engaging portions being received in a corresponding one of the recesses.
7. 7 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism is assembled with the access door.
8. 8 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the at least one latch member is assembled with the lockbox housing and the staple portion is carried by the access door.
9. 9 . The lockbox of claim 1 , further comprising a lock shroud affixed to the one of the access door and the lockbox housing and enclosing the staple portion, the lock shroud including an aperture receiving an end portion of the at least one latch member therethrough to enclose the interlocking engagement between the at least one latch member and the staple portion.
10. 10 . The lockbox of claim 9 , wherein the blocking element is disposed within the lock shroud, such that engagement between the blocking element and the at least one latch member is enclosed by the lock shroud.
11. 11 . The lockbox of claim 1 , further comprising a latch shroud affixed to the other of the access door and the lockbox housing and enclosing a base portion of the at least one latch member connected with the other of the access door and the lockbox housing, with an end portion of the at least one latch member extending through an aperture in the latch shroud for interlocking engagement with the staple portion.
12. 12 . The lockbox of claim 1 , further comprising a shackle including first and second end portions extending through first and second shackle holes in the lockbox housing, and a shackle latch mechanism disposed within the lockbox housing and releasably engaged with the first and second shackle end portions to secure the shackle with the lockbox housing.
13. 13 . The lockbox of claim 12 , wherein the shackle latch mechanism includes first and second shackle latches releasably engaged with the first and second shackle end portions.
14. 14 . The lockbox of claim 13 , wherein the shackle latch mechanism includes first and second release levers independently operable for independent disengagement of the first and second shackle latches from the first and second shackle end portions.
15. 15 . The lockbox of claim 13 , further comprising a latch shroud affixed to the lockbox housing and enclosing the first and second shackle latches.
16. 16 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the at least one latch member is spring biased toward the interlocking position.
17. 17 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein the blocking element is spring biased toward the unlocked position.
18. 18 . The lockbox of claim 1 , wherein when the blocking element is in the unlocked position, a pulling force applied to the access door causes the staple portion to force the at least one latch member into the releasing position and out of engagement with the staple portion, to permit movement of the access door to the open position.
19. 19 . A lockbox comprising: a lockbox housing; an access door assembled with the lockbox housing and movable between a closed position in which a perimeter edge portion of the access door adjoins a perimeter edge portion of the lockbox housing to block access to a cavity defined by the lockbox housing and the access door, and an open position permitting access to the cavity; a staple portion carried by the access door, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the access door; at least one latch member assembled with the lockbox housing, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the lockbox housing, wherein when the access door is in the closed position, the at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with the staple portion and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position; a locking mechanism operable between a locking condition in which the at least one latch member is secured in the interlocking position, and an unlocked condition in which the at least one latch member is movable to the releasing position; and a lock shroud affixed to the access door and enclosing the staple portion, the lock shroud including an aperture receiving an end portion of the at least one latch member therethrough to enclose the interlocking engagement between the at least one latch member and the staple portion.
20. 20 . A lockbox comprising: a lockbox housing; an access door assembled with the lockbox housing and movable between a closed position in which a perimeter edge portion of the access door adjoins a perimeter edge portion of the lockbox housing to block access to a cavity defined by the lockbox housing and the access door, and an open position permitting access to the cavity; a staple portion carried by one of the access door and the lockbox housing; at least one latch member assembled with the other of the access door and the lockbox housing, wherein when the access door is in the closed position, the at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with the staple portion and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position; a locking mechanism operable between a locking condition in which the at least one latch member is secured in the interlocking position, and an unlocked condition in which the at least one latch member is movable to the releasing position; a shackle including first and second end portions extending through first and second shackle holes in the lockbox housing; and a shackle latch mechanism disposed within the lockbox housing and releasably engaged with the first and second shackle end portions to secure the shackle with the lockbox housing; wherein the shackle latch mechanism includes first and second shackle latches releasably engaged with the first and second shackle end portions, and first and second release levers independently operable for independent disengagement of the first and second shackle latches from the first and second shackle end portions.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to and all benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/255,675, filed on Oct. 14, 2021, entitled LOCKING ENCLOSURE, the entire disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Mountable locking enclosures are used in commercial, residential, and institutional environments to provide lockable access to personal items and/or enclosures. The locking enclosure may include any of a variety of integrated locking mechanisms, including mechanical (e.g., combination dial, pushbutton, key cylinder operated) or electronic (keypad, wireless transceiver, biometric operated) locking arrangements SUMMARY In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a lockable enclosure includes a housing, a locking mechanism, and an access door assembled with the housing and movable between a closed position in which a perimeter edge portion of the access door adjoins a perimeter edge portion of the housing to block access to a cavity defined by the housing and the access door, and an open position permitting access to the cavity. A staple portion is carried by one of the access door and the housing, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the one of the access door and the housing, and at least one latch member is assembled with the other of the access door and the housing, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the other of the access door and the housing. When the access door is in the closed position, the at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with the staple portion and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position. The locking mechanism includes a blocking element and a lock interface operable to move the blocking element from a locking position in which the blocking element engages the at least one latch member to prevent movement of the at least one latch member to the releasing position, to an unlocked position in which the blocking element is disengaged from the at least one latch member to permit movement of the at least one latch member to the releasing position. In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a lockable enclosure includes a housing, a locking mechanism, and an access door assembled with the housing and movable between a closed position in which a perimeter edge portion of the access door adjoins a perimeter edge portion of the housing to block access to a cavity defined by the housing and the access door, and an open position permitting access to the cavity. A staple portion is carried by the access door, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the access door, and at least one latch member is assembled with the housing, spaced apart from the perimeter edge portion of the housing. When the access door is in the closed position, the at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with the staple portion and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position. The locking mechanism is operable between a locking condition in which the at least one latch member is secured in the interlocking position, and an unlocked condition in which the at least one latch member is movable to the releasing position. A lock shroud is affixed to the access door and encloses the staple portion. The lock shroud includes an aperture receiving an end portion of the at least one latch member therethrough to enclose the interlocking engagement between the at least one latch member and the staple portion. In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a lockable enclosure includes a housing, a locking mechanism, and an access door assembled with the housing and movable between a closed position in which a perimeter edge portion of the access door adjoins a perimeter edge portion of the housing to block access to a cavity defined by the housing and the access door, and an open position permitting access to the cavity. A staple portion is carried by one of the access door and the housing, and at least one latch member is assembled with the other of the access door and the housing. When the access door is in the closed position, the at least one latch member is movable between an interlocking position in interlocking engagement with the staple portion and a releasing position disengaged from the staple portion to permit movement of the access door from the closed position to the open position. The locking mechanism is operable between a locking condition in which the at least one latch member is secured in the interlocking position, and an unlocked condition in which the at least one latch member is movable to the releasing position. The lockable enclosure further includes a shackle having firs