US 5,890,439 AGranted

Safe deposit box assembly

OwnerEdward T. McGunninventor

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Abstract

An improved safe deposit assembly including an outer housing, a removable inner container, and one or more lock devices which may be in signal communication with a time-delay device for securing valuables within. To unlock and remove the inner container from the outer housing, a separate cover is slid in to a slot on the outer housing. The cover locks a lock before releasing a latch, and neither the lock or latch are accessible until the container is removed from the housing. But a first lock must be unlocked before the cover may be slid in. The first lock may be in signal communication with a time delay to device to thwart robbery attempts. As the cover is slid in it first becomes trapped by a spring lock on the inner container and then it releases a second spring bolt lock that both seals the inner container and releases it from the outer housing. The sealed inner container may only be opened by unlocking the lock device. This may be used in conjunction with a safe enclosure and/or a cash drawer with a selectively openable bottom portion.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A safe deposit assembly, comprising:

an outer housing having an internal cavity and a front opening, and a valuables receiving port spaced from said front opening;
an inner container removably mounted in the internal cavity, the inner container having an outer end forming a closure for said front opening when said container is mounted in said cavity, a top, an aperture in the top in communication with the valuables receiving port, an inner end spaced from said outer end inside said housing, and a valuables receiving chamber in communication with said aperture;
the outer end of the inner container having an access port for a cover;
a cover slidably movable through said access port towards said inner end of said inner container into an extended position completely covering said inner container aperture and retractable through said access port out of said container to uncover said aperture;
a first lock member adjacent the inner end of said inner container and spaced a predetermined distance from said valuables receiving port whereby said first lock member is inaccessible when said inner container is positioned within the outer housing, said first lock member releasably locking said cover in said extended position covering said inner container aperture;
a second lock member adjacent the inner end of said inner container and spaced to a predetermined distance from said valuables receiving port whereby said second lock member is inaccessible when said inner container is positioned in said outer housing, said second lock member releasably locking said inner container in said outer housing when said inner container is inserted in said housing;
said cover further comprising means for automatically releasing said second lock member when moved into said extended position;
said first lock member comprising means for automatically locking said cover in said extended position on release of said second lock member by said cover;
and a third lock member for selectively blocking entry of the cover through the access port.

6 more elements

A safe deposit assembly, comprising:

an outer housing having an internal cavity and a front opening, and a valuables receiving port spaced from said front opening;
an inner container removably mounted in the internal cavity, the inner container having an outer end forming a closure for said front opening when said container is mounted in said cavity, a top, an aperture in the top in communication with the valuables receiving port, an inner end spaced from said outer end inside said housing, and a valuables receiving chamber in communication with said aperture;
the outer end of the inner container having an access port for a cover;
a cover slidably movable through said access port towards said inner end of said inner container into an extended position completely covering said inner container aperture and retractable through said access port out of said container to uncover said aperture;
a first lock member adjacent the inner end of said inner container and spaced a predetermined distance from said valuables receiving port whereby said first lock member is inaccessible when said inner container is positioned within the outer housing, said first lock member releasably locking said cover in said extended position covering said inner container aperture;
a second lock member adjacent the inner end of said inner container and spaced a predetermined distance from said valuables receiving port whereby said second lock member is inaccessible when said inner container is positioned in said outer housing, said second lock member releasably locking said inner container in said outer housing when said inner container is inserted in said housing;
said cover further comprising means for automatically releasing said second lock member when moved into said extended position;
said first lock member comprising means for automatically locking said cover in said extended position on release of said second lock member by said cover;
the inner container has a slide passage aligned with said cover access port and extending in a straight line along the top of said container over said aperture from said outer end towards said inner end, the first and second lock members being located along said straight line between said outer and inner ends and closer to said inner end, the second lock member being located closer to said inner end than said first lock member;
and
a third lock member located at the outer end of said container for selectively blocking entry of the cover through said access port.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.