US3798937A

US3798937A - Time lock case

Info

Publication number: US3798937A
Application number: US00341568A
Authority: US
Inventors: G Sysk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-03-15
Filing date: 1973-03-15
Publication date: 1974-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 1991-03-26

Abstract

A time lock is disclosed comprising a container and lid and means for locking the lid in a position closing the container for a predetermined period of time. The locking means includes a source of electric current and a solenoid connected across the current source through a manually operable switch and through an electronically controlled switch. Means are further provided for triggering the electronically controlled switch closed upon the elapse of the predetermined period of time.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Sysk Mar. 26, 1974 [54] TIME LOCK CASE Primary ExaminerAlbert G. Craig, Jr. [76] Inventor: Gerald R. Sysk, 1070 Stoneybrook gi z Agent or Firm-Newton Hopkms &

Rd., Forrest Park, Ga. 30050 y 'l 15 1973 [22] ed Mar 57 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 341,568

A time lock is disclosed comprising a container and lid and means for locking the lid in a position closing the [52] US. Cl 70/269, 317/134 container f a predetermined period of time The [51] Int. Cl E05b 43/00 locking means includes a Source of electric current [58] Fleld of Search 70/267 and a solenoid connected across the current source 70/271 through a manually operable switch and through an electronically controlled switch. Means are further References Clted provided for triggering the electronically controlled UNITED STATES PATENTS switch closed upon the elapse of the predetermined 2,145,314 1/1939 Murtaugh 70/85 Period oftime- 2,508.l59 5/1950 Haas 312/67 11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 47,902 11/1920 Sweden 70/271 I/II/I/I/I/I/I PMENIEDmzs m4 SHEET 1 OF 2 FIG 2 TIME LOCK CASE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to time lock cases.

Heretofore, cases adapted to house articles such as cigarettes, medications and valuables have been provided with time controlled means for permitting access to the interiors thereof only after the elapse of a predetermined period of time. The present invention relates to improvements in such time lock cases. In the interest of brevity the cases hereinafter referred to are of the type adapted to house cigarettes. However, it should remain borne in mind that the principles of the invention may readily be utilized in time lock cases adapted to house other type articles.

Time locks for cigarette cases have heretofore been generally of the mechanical operated type employing clockwork mechanisms comprising various gear trains, springs and spring winding controls, rotatable drums, rollers, cams, actuators and the like. Such mechanisms are relatively complex and require substantial skill and time to assemble rendering them costly to manufacture. Substitution of certain components such, for example, as electric motive means for spring motive means has on balance failed to simplify the overall mechanisms significantly. Without simplification the cases have also tended to remain relatively bulky and heavy.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved time lock case.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a time lock case of relatively simple and economic construction.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a light weight, portable case having means for locking the case for a predetermined period of time each time the case is closed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a case having means for locking the case for a predetermined period of time each time the case is closed, and means accessible only when the case is in an open position for readily altering the predetermined period of time.-

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In one form of the invention a time lock case is provided comprising a container having an opening through which access to the container interior may be had, a movable lid adapted to cover at least a portion of the container opening when disposed in a closed position, and means for locking the lid in the closed position for a predeterminable period of time. The locking means includes a source of electric current and a solenoid connected across the current source through a manually operable switch and through an electronically controlled switch. Means are further provided for triggering the electronically controlled switch closed upon the elapse of the predetermined period of time whereby current may flow from the current source through the electronically controlled switch and the solenoid upon closure of the manually operable switch.

In another form of the invention a time lock case is provided comprising a container having an opening through which access to the container interior may be had, and a movable lid adapted to cover at least a portion of the container opening when disposed in a closed position. A latch is provided for holding the lid in the means further includes a resistor and capacitor connected in series circuit across the current source, and means coupling the capacitor with the thyristor gate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of a time lock case embodying principles ofthe invention in one form with the case lid shown in an open position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the time lock case shown in FIG. 1 with the case lid in a closed, locked position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lid portion of the time lock case shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a portion of the lid shown broken away to reveal internal components therewithin.

FIG. 4 is a side view in cross-section of the time lock case shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS is a schematic diagram of the electronic circuit portion of the time lock case illustrated in FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an alternative electronic circuit which may form a portion of the time lock case shown in FIGS. 1-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Referring now in more detail to the drawing there is shown a time lock case embodying principles of the present invention. The case comprises a container 14 into which a pack of cigarettes 12 may be inserted and stored, and a lid 16 pivotably secured to the top of the container by two pins 18. With this arrangement the lid may be manually moved between the lid open position shown in FIG. 1, which position permits access to the interior of the container, and lid closed position shown in FIG.'2 in which closed position the lid restricts access to the container interior by covering the open upper end of the container. Both the container and lid are preferably formed of a light weight dielectric material such as a moldable phenolic resin.

A latch is provided for holding the lid in the lid closed position. The latch includes a bolt 20 mounted for sliding movement within lid 16 along a path extending through aligned apertures in lid front wall 25 and lid interior wall 26. Bolt 20 includes an extension 22 and a button 24 formed integrally therewith. The terminal end of button 24 projects through an opening in front wall 25 providing manual access thereto from the exterior of the case. A terminal end of the bolt normally projects also to the exterior of lid 16. When the lid is closed however the bolt end resides within a recess in container embossment 28 as shown in FIG. 2. Bolt 20 thus serves to hold lid 16 in its closed position until slid inwardly by depression of button 24.

Means are also provided for temporarilly restricting movement of bolt 20 to lock lid 16 in its closed position. The restricting means includes a stop 30 having one end residing against a step in the surface of bolt 20 to prevent inward movement of the bolt. A tension spring 32 is secured to the opposite end of stop 30 thereby biasing a mid portion of the stop against fulcrum 34 and the other stop end firmly against the bolt step, as shown.

It thus will be appreciated that stop 30, when occupying the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, prevents bolt 20 from sliding inwardly were force applied to button 24. Leaf spring 36, secured to the interior top of lid 16 in pressure contact with bolt extension 22, continuously biases the bolt in an outwardly direction. Thus, should bolt 20 be slid inwardly by depression of button 24, which action would be permitted by rotation of stop 30 out of engagement with the bolt step, leaf spring 36 would force the bolt back outwardly to the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 once the force of the leaf spring overcame the depression force being applied to button 24.

Referring next to FIG. 5 the electronic circuit component of the time lock case is seen to comprise a battery 40 and a capacitor 42 and resistor 44 connected in series circuit across the battery. A solenoid coil 45 is also connected across the battery in parallel with the resistor and capacitor through a push button switch 46 and through a thyristor in the form of a silicon controlled rectifier 48. The gate of the SCR is coupled to the resistor and capacitor by means of line 49. A low resistance path is connected across capacitor 42 through switch 50.

In operation a pack of cigarettes 12 may be inserted into container 14 with the lid in an open position as shown in FIG. 1, and the lid then manually closed. During closure bolt is momentarilly forced inwardly by contact with embossment 28 and then sprung outwardly into the embossment recess when so aligned by the force of leaf spring 36. In momentarily forcing the bolt inwardly bolt extension 22 forces the lower end of leaf spring 36 also inwardly and into contact with leaf 52 held pendant from the top of the interior of lid 16. As leaf spring 36 and leaf 52 provide the contacts for switch 50 shown schematically in FIG. 5, the momentary engagement of leaf spring 36 with leaf 52 causes switch 50 to close briefly and to discharge any charge possessed by capacitor 42. Once button 24 is manually released and bolt 20 lodged within embossment 28 stop 34 prevents the bolt from sliding inwardly. Thus, for the time being depression of the bolt is prevented by the stop thereby locking the case closed.

The values of capacitor 42 and resistor 44 are selected to provide a large time constant whereby the time required for battery 40 to charge fully capacitor 42 is relatively long. Thus, for a substantial period of time the charge on the capacitor is insufficient to gate SCR 48 which, until so gated, provides a break in the circuitry coupling solenoid 45 across the battery. Accordingly, were one to depress button 58, which projects to the exterior of lid 16 and which is mechanically coupled to switch 46, solenoid 45 would still not be coupled to the battery due to the open condition of the SCR. However, with the passage of time the charge on capacitor 42 increases and arrives at a sufficient magnitude to gate the SCR. With SCR 48 now gated into a conductive mode depression of button 58 to close switch 46 acts to couple solenoid 45 to battery 40. The magnetic field generated by the resulting flow of current through the solenoid coil raises the end of stop 30 out of engagement with the bolt stepthereby unlocking the latch. With button 58 remaining depressed the bolt may be slid inwardly by depression of bolt button 24 and lid 16 then rotated to the open position. When the lid is again reclosed switch 50 is reopened enabling capacitor 42 to commence recharging slowly.

If desired, the circuit just described may be provided with means for selecting one of several different durations of time locks. Such a circuit is shown in FIG. 6 in which resistors 55 and 56 are connected in parallel across resistor 44 with each of the three resistors being of different resistive value. Selector switch 60 couples capacitor 42 across battery 40 through any selected one of the three resistors. The selector switch is adapted for manual positioning by means of actuator 61 which projects from the bottom of lid 16. This mounting renders the selector switch accessible only when the lid is in its open position thereby prohibiting the user from reducing the time delay provided by the lock while the case is locked. In the case of cigarette smokers this feature provides an added measure of enforced discipline while permitting preset timing adjustments. The presence of the time lock feature itself serves, of course, as an aid in limiting the frequency of smoking by the case user.

One set of values for components of the circuits just described are listed below in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Component Valuc Battery 40 3 volts Resistor 44 22 mcgohms Resistor 55 16.5 mcgnhms Resistor 56 44 mcgohms Capacitor 42 250 mfd at 3 volts SCR 48 50 piv at 1 amp An example of commercially available SCRs meeting the above listed value is Model No. C6F sold by the General Electric Company. 16

With the value selections listed in Table l resistor 55 provides a time lock of some 45 minutes, selection of resistor 44 a time lock approximately of one hour, and selection of resistor 56 a time lock of about two hours. The use of a 3-volt battery enables the time lock case to be compact and light in weight. That current is supplied to the solenoid only while switch 46 is manually depressed results in a very low rate of battery dissipation. Larger batteries could, of course, be used as well as other forms of electronically controlled switches therewith instead of the SCR. Examples of such include other types of thyristors, various electron tubes such as ignitrons, and even triggered spark gaps.

It should be understood that the just described embodiments merely illustrate principles of the invention in one form. Many modifications other than those specifically mentioned may, of course, be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A time lock case comprising a container having an opening through which access to the container interior may be had; a movable lid adapted to cover at least a portion of said container opening when disposed in a closed position; and means for locking said lid in said closed position for a predeterminable period of time with said locking means including a source of electric current, a solenoid connected across said current source through a manually operable switch and through an electronically controlled switch, and means for triggering said electronically controlled switch closed upon the elapse of said predetermined period of time whereby current may flow from the current source through the electronically controlled switch and the solenoid upon closure of the manually operable switch.

2. A time lock case in accordance with claim 1 wherein said locking means includes a bolt mounted for movement along a predetermined path, and a stop mounted for movement out of and into said predetermined path in response to energization and deenergization of said solenoid, respectively.

3. A time lock case in accordance with claim 2 comprising means for discharging said capacitor upon movement of said bolt along said predetermined path.

4. A time lock case in accordance with claim 3 wherein said discharge means comprises switch means mounted within said predetermined path and electrically coupled across said capacitor.

5. A time lock case in accordance with claim 1 wherein said triggering means comprises a capacitor, a first resistor of first resistive magnitude, a second resistor of second resistive magnitude, and second switch means for coupling said capacitor across said current source alternatively through said first resistor and said second resistor.

6. A time lock case in accordance with claim 5 wherein said second switch means includes a manually operable switch actuator, said switch actuator being manually accessible only when said lid is disposed in an open position uncovering said container opening.

7. A time lock case comprising a container having an opening through which access to the container interior may be had; a movable lid adapted to cover at least a portion of said container opening when disposed in a closed position; a latch for holding said lid in said closed position; and means for restricting movement of said latch for a predeterminable period of time to lock said lid temporarilly in said closed position with said restricting means including a source of electric current, a solenoid connected across said current source through a manually operable switch and a thyristor having a gate, a resistor and capacitor connected in series circuit across said current source, and means coupling said thyristor gate with said capacitor.

8. A time lock case in accordance with claim 7 wherein said thyristor is a silicon controlled rectifier.

9. A time lock case in accordance with claim 7 wherein said latch comprises a bolt mounted for movement along a predetermined path, and wherein said restricting means further comprises a spring biased stop mounted for movement out of and into said predetermined path in response to energization and deenergization of said solenoid, respectively.

10. A time lock case in accordance with claim 7 comprising means for discharging said capacitor in response to movement of said latch to an open position.

11. A time lock case in accordance with claim 10 wherein said discharge means comprises a switch connected across said capacitor and actuatable by movement of said latch.