Abstract:
The locking container is a selectively lockable container for the storage of used cooking oil and the like. The locking container includes a reservoir and both front and side locking mechanisms. The front and side locking mechanisms selectively retain a screen within the reservoir. The container is adapted for the disposal of oils, solvents, acids and various other liquid wastes. The pair of locking mechanisms allow access for storing the liquid waste in the container, but prevent unauthorized removal of the liquid waste. The container includes a lid to cover the screen, with the lid being secured by the front locking mechanism. The side locking mechanism locks the screen to the reservoir.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to locking storage receptacles. Particularly, the present invention relates to a locking container having a screen, the container being adapted for holding contaminated oils or other such liquids. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Over the past two decades, there has been growing concern with regard to the disposal of waste materials of various types. There has been particular concern raised with respect to the disposal of oils, solvents, acids and various other liquid wastes. Recent federal and state legislation has mandated the recycling of both solid and liquid wastes, and further imposing restrictions upon the types of wastes, which may be stored in landfills. 
     In the recent past, containers or drums of used French fry and other fast food-type grease were only of interest to a small network of bio-fuel brewers, who would use the oil to power diesel-fueled automobiles. However, the price of the cooking oil, which can be converted into bio-fuel and used to power the engines, has skyrocketed almost 400 percent since 2000. Restaurants that once paid to have the used grease disposed of are now being paid almost $200 for one tank of used grease. “Green” business owners, who are interested in the recycling of their used grease, however, are now experiencing the problem of theft of their grease, presumably for usage in the production of biodiesel fuel by outside parties. 
     Restaurants have begun reporting thefts of used cooking oil worth thousands of dollars. Losses at one site alone have cost a company $3,700 in lost oil revenues in the last year. The containers for storing the waste liquid typically have screens, allowing the restaurant owners or others disposing of the liquid to lift the container lid and pour the grease through the filtering screens to be stored in the containers. However, without additional deterrents, thieves often arrive with a pumping truck and hose and pump the oil out of the special dumpsters and containers. The lid of the container is lifted and the screen is simply moved aside. Although, conventional padlocks and the like are well known in the art of securing dumpster lids, such locks are typically not tamper-resistant and can be easily cut from the container. Thus, a locking container solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The locking container is a selectively lockable container for the storage of used cooking oil and the like. The locking container includes a reservoir having a lower wall and at least one sidewall having an upper edge. The reservoir defines an open interior region for receiving used cooking oil or the like. A raised, substantially C-shaped sidewall is mounted on the upper edge of the at least one sidewall of the reservoir. The raised, substantially C-shaped sidewall defines an open front aligned with a front, upper edge of the at least one sidewall of the reservoir. 
     A lid is pivotally attached to the C-shaped sidewall by hinges or the like in order to selectively cover an open upper end and the open front thereof. A screen is removably received within the reservoir, and a side locking mechanism is provided for locking the screen within the reservoir. 
     The side locking mechanism is attached to the C-shaped sidewall. The side locking mechanism includes a cover attached to an exterior face of the C-shaped sidewall. The cover defines an open interior region for receiving a side locking member. The cover preferably has an open front end. The side locking member has a side passage formed therethrough for slidably receiving a side hitch-pin. The side locking member further includes a side lock for selectively and releasably engaging the side hitch-pin when the side hitch-pin is received within the side passage. 
     A hasp is secured to the screen at one end thereof, and a free end of the hasp is selectively and releasably locked to the side locking mechanism. The side hitch-pin engages the side locking member and the free end of the hasp. A front locking mechanism is further provided. The front locking mechanism includes a cover portion attached to a front edge of the lid. The cover portion defines an open interior region for receiving a front hitch-pin. 
     The front locking mechanism has a front locking member attached to the at least one sidewall adjacent the front, upper edge of the sidewall. The front locking member has a front passage formed therethrough for slidably receiving the front hitch-pin. The front locking member has a front lock for selectively and releasably engaging the front hitch-pin when the front hitch-pin is received within the front passage. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a locking container according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the locking container according to the present invention, broken away and partially in section. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a front lock mechanism of the locking container according to the present invention, shown with the front face of the mechanism facing downward in order to view the lock mechanism from the rear. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a side lock-mechanism for the locking container according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the locking container includes a pair of locking mechanisms  10 ,  12  for use with a reservoir or main container body  14 . A front locking mechanism  10  is used to lock the front of the reservoir  14 , and a side locking mechanism  12  is used for locking the side of the reservoir  14 . The locking mechanisms  10 ,  12  are adapted for locking a reservoir  14  having a covering screen  16  and a hinged lid  18 . 
     It should be understood that the size, shape and relative dimensions of reservoir  14  (and the screen  16  and lid  18  thereof) shown in the drawings are for exemplary purposes only. The overall locking container includes a reservoir  14 , which defines an open interior region for receiving used cooking oil or the like. Reservoir  14  includes a lower wall and at least one sidewall having an upper edge, as shown. 
     The hinged lid  18  has a portion of the front lock mechanism  10  attached thereto in the form of a cover  24 . The base of the reservoir  14 , in front of the screen  16 , receives the front lock mechanism  10 . The side lock mechanism  12  is used to secure the screen  16 . In conventional storage containers, such as reservoir  14 , screens, such as screen  16 , sit upon an internal shelf that allows truck drivers or other operators to push the screen  16  back and out of the way to retrieve the waste oil within using a hose and a pump. 
     The side lock mechanism  12  includes a box cover  26 , which is attached to an exterior face of a raised sidewall  28  of the reservoir  14 , through welding or the like. The raised sidewall  28  extends around the reservoir  14 , forming a three-sided, substantially C-shaped enclosure  30  around the screen  16 . The lid  18  includes a front portion  32 , a top portion  34 , and a rear portion. The laterally opposed sides of the lid  18  are open so that when the lid  18  is closed, lid  18  and the enclosure  30  completely cover the screen  16 . The C-shaped, raised sidewall  28  and lid  18  may only cover the front portion of the container. As will be described in detail below, the purpose of the C-shaped, raised sidewall  28  and lid  18  is to-prevent access to an internal locking mechanism for the screen  16 . The raised, substantially C-shaped sidewall  28  is mounted on the upper edge of the at least one sidewall of the reservoir  14 , or is formed laterally by extensions of the reservoir sidewall, which are joined by a rear wall that rises upward from a top wall of the container. The raised, substantially C-shaped sidewall  28  defines an open front aligned with a front, upper edge of the at least one sidewall of the reservoir  14 . The lid  18  is pivotally attached to the raised, substantially C-shaped sidewall  28  by hinges or the like in order to selectively cover the open top and front of the C-shaped sidewall. 
     A slot or opening  36  is formed through the raised sidewall  28 . A hasp  38  is welded to the screen  16 . The hasp  38  extends through the opening  36  to position an eye of the hasp  38  in the center area of the box cover  26 . When the hasp  38  extends through the slot  36 , the screen  16  cannot be raised far enough to quickly suction or siphon the contents of the reservoir through a large diameter hose. The bar of a lock may be selectively inserted through the eye of the hasp  38 , and the box cover  26  of side locking mechanism  12  prevents tampering with the hasp  38 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the front locking mechanism  10 . The front locking mechanism  10  includes both a front cover  24  and a locking member  40 . The front cover  24  releasably covers the locking member  40 . The front cover  24  includes a front face  42 , a pair of sidewalls  44 ,  46 , and an upper portion  48 . The front cover  24  has an open rear that extends from the upper portion  48  to the bottom edges of the sidewalls  44 ,  46 , and an open bottom for receiving the locking member  40 . The two sidewalls  44 ,  46  preferably have matching angled or sloping edges  50 ,  52 . The sloping edges  50 ,  52  extend the length of the front face  42 . 
     A locking pin holder  54  is disposed inside the front cover  24 . The locking pin holder  54  has two exposed faces  56 ,  58 . Face  56  is orthogonal to front face  42 , and face  58  is orthogonal to upper portion  48 . Face  56  has a hitch-pin hole  60  formed therethrough for receiving a hitch pin  62 . The hitch-pin  62  preferably has a substantially conically shaped head  64  which may either take the form of a full cone, or of the frustum of a cone, and a cylindrical body  66 . A rod  67  extends between the body  66  and the head  64 . The rod  67  is smaller in diameter than the body  66  and the base of the conically shaped head  64 , thus forming an annular groove or depression between the body  66  and the head  64 . 
     The body  66  has a pin locking hole  68  formed transversely through the body  66  adjacent the end opposite the head  64 . The hitch pin  62  is inserted in the hitch pin hole  60  in the locking pin holder  54 , and the pin locking hole  68  of body  66  is aligned with a locking hole  70  formed through face  58  of the locking pin holder  54 . A lock pin  71  is fed through the two holes  70 ,  68  to secure the hitch pin  62  in the locking pin holder  54 . 
     The locking member  40  fits inside lock cover  24  when the lid  18  is closed on the reservoir  14 . The locking member  40  has a pair of sidewalls  72 ,  74  having sloping edges  76 ,  78  corresponding to the edges  50 ,  52  of cover  24 . The locking member  40  has a bore  82  defined therein that opens at the bottom face  80  of the locking member  40 . A cylindrical tumbler lock  84  extends into the bore  82 . The tumbler lock  84  has a key end  86  that is exposed for inserting a key to unlock the tumbler lock  84 . It should be understood that the cylindrical tumbler lock  84  shown in  FIG. 3  is shown for exemplary purposes only. Further, it should be understood that the orientation of locking member  40  and cover  24  may be reversed; i.e., that the locking member  40  may be mounted on wall  32  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ), and cover  24  may be mounted on wall  14 . 
     The tumbler lock  84  has a tumbler locking hole  88  extending transversely into its shell opposite the key end  86 . The tumbler locking hole  88  of the tumbler lock  84  aligns with a locking hole  90  formed through the inside face of the locking member  40 . A pin  92  is inserted through the two aligned holes  90 ,  88  to secure the tumbler lock  84  in the locking member  40 . The locking member  40  has a second bore  94  defined therein parallel to the bore  82  that opens at the upper face of the locking member  40 . The two bores  82  and  84  are connected by a hole or slot. The tumbler lock  84  has a spring-biased latch pin extending therefrom through the hole of slot extending between the two bores  82 ,  94 . When the locking member  40  is inserted into the cover  24 , the head  64  of hitch pin  62  depresses the latch pin until the groove  67  is aligned with the latch pin, which extends into the groove  67  because of the spring bias, locking the locking member  40  to the cover  24 , and hence the lid  18  to the reservoir. The key may be used to retract the latch pin from the groove  67 , thereby permitting the lid  18  to be raised. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the front box cover edges  50 ,  52  and the locking member edges  76 ,  78  are preferably formed with an angle so that the front locking mechanism  10  can be used on the reservoir  14 . The container lid  18  has hinges above and behind the front of the reservoir  14 . The angle of the front box cover edges  50 ,  52  and the locking member edges  76 ,  78  abut the reservoir  14  and the lid  18 , allowing the locking member  40  and the hitch pin  62  to connect correctly and properly align. Without the slope of the front box cover edges  50 ,  52  and the locking member edges  76 ,  78  of the front lock mechanism  10 , the cover  24  and the locking member  40  would not align properly. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the side lock mechanism  12 . The side lock mechanism  12  includes a substantially rectangular, box-shaped body  96  having a first bore  98  formed therethrough for receiving a side hitch-pin  100 . The side hitch-pin  100  has a substantially conically shaped head  102  and a cylindrical body  104 , with a side rod  106  mounted therebetween, similar to that described above with regard to hitch-pin  62 . Formed opposite the head  102 , the cylindrical body  104  curves or slightly bends to form an elbow bend  108 . A chain  110  is preferably attached to the opposite end of elbow bend  108 . The elbow bend  108  allows the side hitch-pin  100  to extend outwardly from the reservoir  14 , for ease in handling and use. The chain  110  is secured to the reservoir  14  through welding or the like. 
     Chain  110  acts as a tether for the side hitch-pin  100 . When the hitch-pin  100  is not engaged with body  96 , the chain  110  prevents hitch-pin  100  from being lost or misplaced. As shown, body  96  of the side lock mechanism  12  has a rectangular front face  112  that extends outward from the body  96 , allowing body  96  to be mounted or welded to the raised sidewall  28  of reservoir  14  to cover the front opening in the side lock box  26 . The front face  112  and body  96  have a second bore  114  defined therein that extends parallel to first bore  98  and communicates therewith through a slot, the second bore  114  receiving a side tubular tumbler lock  116 . The lock  116  includes a key end  118  that is exposed for receiving a key, similar to that described above with reference to tumbler lock  84 . 
     The opposed end  120  of side tumbler lock  116  has a side tumbler locking hole  122  formed transversely therein. The side tumbler lock  116  is received in the tubular aperture  114  formed in the body  96 . The side tumbler locking hole  122  aligns with a body locking hole formed through a wall  126  of the body  96 . Once the side tumbler lock  116  mates with tumbler aperture  114 , and the tumbler locking hole  122  is aligned with the body locking hole, a body securing pin  128  is fed through the aligned holes to secure the side tumbler lock  116  in the body  96 . 
     Similar to that described above with regard to  FIG. 3 , lock  116  has a spring-biased latch pin that extends through the slot from second bore  114  into first bore  98 . When hitch pin  100  is inserted through hasp  38 , which extends through slit  36  in raised sidewall  28 , and into first bore  98 , the conical head  102  depresses the latch pin of lock  116  back into the body of the lock  116  until the latch pin is aligned with the groove defined by rod  106  behind head  102 , when the spring bias pushes the latch pin into the groove to prevent forward or rearward movement of hitch pin  100 . The lock  116  is released using the key, which retracts the latch pin so that hitch pin  100  may be withdrawn. Side lock box  26  prevents tampering with the side lock mechanism  12 , thus locking the screen  16 . 
     It should be noted that the front lock mechanism  10  can be alternatively formed so that the angled edges  50 ,  52 ,  76 ,  78  have ears or tabs extending therefrom, with respective bolt holes formed therethrough. The angled edges  50 ,  52 ,  76 ,  78  can then be attached with stove bolts or other types of fasteners. Once, the front lock mechanism  10  is attached to the reservoir  14  and the lid  18  is closed, the front lock mechanism  10  will lock automatically. The two lock mechanisms  10 ,  12  remain under the protective covers and are tamper-resistant. The hitch-pins  62 ,  100  are not externally accessible once the lock mechanisms  10 ,  12  are engaged. Thus, the hitch-pins  62 ,  100  cannot be sawed off, and they lock automatically upon closing of the lid. 
     Additionally, it should be understood that the front and side lock mechanisms  10 ,  12  can be used with any swinging or pivoting doors or lids of tanks, containers, or boxes, and that those shown in the Figures are shown for exemplary purposes only. The front and side lock mechanisms  10 ,  12  may be cast from pig iron or similar materials and used in any type of swinging door system that must have considerable tamperproof capability. Further, the front lock mechanism  10  can be manufactured and cast with any angle built into the base of the unit. This allows the locks to be used on containers that have hinge points that are of different distances from the lock mechanism. Additionally, the key lock tumblers  84 ,  116  can be keyed alike or differently with a master key, dependent upon the needs of the user. 
     In use, the customer may have access to the front lock mechanism  10 , but is not able to access what is in the tank after the oil is stored therein, because only the personnel from the company will have access to both locks to remove the oil. Access to the reservoir  14  is performed by unlocking the front lock mechanism  10  with a master key and then unlocking the side lock mechanism  12  with a master key. The screen  16  is then pushed back or lifted, which allows the company personnel to remove the oil with the vacuum truck. 
     The front lock mechanism  10  will automatically lock when the lid  18  is closed in order to prevent tampering. The locking mechanisms  10 ,  12  can be welded into a box, pre-welded onto the side of a tank to prevent removal of the oil if the restaurant leaves the lid  18  open. The side lock mechanism  12  securing the screen  16  is unlocked with a master key and the hitch-pin  100  is removed manually through a hole in the rear of the security box. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.