Abstract:
Portable locker apparatus is disclosed comprising three parts or components which includes a locker body formed of plastic material a tray for holding beverage cans placed horizontally on wave form ridges in the tray, and a carrying bag fitting around the portable locker apparatus, and in this first embodiment a cable fitting in slots in the portable locker apparatus with a padlock connecting eyelets on the cable ends and to anchor the whole assembly as needed. The second embodiment excludes the cable and slots but includes all other components of the portable locker apparatus, beverage tray and carrying bag.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/817,162, filed Jun. 29, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Often it is desirable to carry or stow needed equipment, food, beverages or personal belongings in a lockable portable container and to be locked or unlocked by the owner, as needed or required 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention discloses and claims portable locker apparatus which may be further described as portable locker apparatus and is an assembly of three components which includes a lockable locker body, a slidable tray fitting inside of the lockable locker body for canned food or beverages loaded on to the slidable tray and the loaded slidable tray fitting inside of the lockable locker body and this whole assembly may be placed in a refrigerator and the door of the lockable locker body locked, and further the whole assembly of the loaded slidable tray fitting inside of the locked locker body placed in a refrigerator and locked onto a tray of the refrigerator as a first embodiment, by inserting a cable loop through a double slot at the rear floor of the locker and the ends of the cable loop locked together with a padlock, and the third component being a fabric carrying bag and placing the assembly of the locked portable locker body containing the loaded slidable tray fitting into the fabric carrying bag, and the carrying bag having an opening for the cable loop extending from the rear floor of the portable locker through the opening of the carrying bag and the cable loop extending further to lock the total three component portable locker assembly to a suitable anchor to prevent pilferage of the total assembly. The second embodiment to omit slots, cable and padlock, for locking the portable locker apparatus. 
   The portable locker body apparatus and slidable tray assembly have many vents to hasten the cooling of the contents of food or beverages when the assembly is placed in a refrigerator. There is room in this portable locker apparatus to include cold ice bags as needed, and as an alternate, this apparatus of a portable locker may be used for warm foods if so desired. 
   The fabric carrying bag may include insulation to keep the contents cool, or to keep the contents warm if so desired 
   BACKGROUND ART 
   Background art is listed below, and it is to be pointed out that none of the cited patents, individually would anticipate, or collectively make obvious this present invention. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,426 for TRAV-L-SAFE 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,828 for SECURITY LOCK BOX 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,041 for BEACH LOCKER 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,370 for VIDEOCASSETTE LOCK BOX 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,920 for SECURITY LOCK BOX 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,989 for HANDGUN SECURITY LOCK BOX 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,499 for LOCKER BOX 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,893 for PORTABLE LOCK BOX 
   
     
       
             
             
           
             
             
           
         
             
                 
             
             
               FIG. NO. 
               DESCRIPTION 
             
             
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
           
        
         
             
               1. 
               Front elevation view of portable locker apparatus 
             
             
               2. 
               Elevation view of left side of portable locker apparatus. 
             
             
               3. 
               Elevation view of rear side of portable locker, apparatus. 
             
             
               4. 
               Elevation view of right side of portable locker apparatus 
             
             
               5. 
               Plan view of bottom of portable locker apparatus 
             
             
               6. 
               Plan view of top of portable locker apparatus 
             
             
               7. 
               Enlarged elevation view of door flap extending 
             
             
                 
               over lock pin slot. 
             
             
               8. 
               Isometric view of portable locker apparatus 
             
             
               9. 
               Isometric view of locker with door open. 
             
             
               10. 
               Front end elevation view of removable tray fitting 
             
             
                 
               in portable locker. 
             
             
               11. 
               Cross section view of tray. 
             
             
               12. 
               Plan view of removable tray. 
             
             
               13. 
               Side elevation view of tray. 
             
             
               14. 
               Plan view of tray bottom outer surface. 
             
             
               15. 
               Isometric view of locker carry bag, showing lock 
             
             
                 
               and cable with front door flap open. 
             
             
               16. 
               Isometric view of locker carry bag with door flap 
             
             
                 
               open. 
             
             
               17. 
               Front elevation view of locker in carrying bag with 
             
             
                 
               front flap open. 
             
             
               18. 
               Front elevation view of locker in carrying bag with 
             
             
                 
               front flap zippered shut. 
             
             
               19. 
               Portable locker apparatus attached to shelf wires of 
             
             
                 
               refrigerator 
             
             
               20 
               Elevation view of rear side of locker apparatus. 
             
             
               21 
               Plan view of bottom of portable locker apparatus 
             
             
               22 
               Isometric view of portable locker apparatus carry bag. 
             
             
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   
     
       
             
             
           
         
             
                 
             
             
               LEGEND NO. 
               DESCRIPTION 
             
             
                 
             
           
           
             
               1. 
               Portable locker apparatus body. 
             
             
               2, 2′. 
               Vents in door of locker. 
             
             
               3. 
               Combination dial for door lock. 
             
             
               4. 
               Vents in door of locker. 
             
             
               5. 
               Vents in top edge of rear of locker. 
             
             
               6, 6′, 6′′, 6′′′ 
               Slots in edges of rear side of portable locker. 
             
             
               7, 7′ 
               Segments between slots 6, 6′ and 6′′, 6′′′ 
             
             
               8. 
               Door of portable locker body. 
             
             
               9. 
               Door flap over slot 10 in portable locker body. 
             
             
               10. 
               Slot for combination lock bolt. 
             
             
               11. 
               Hinge for door of portable lockerbody. 
             
             
               12. 
               Perforated vent area in bottom of beverage holding 
             
             
                 
               tray. 
             
             
               13, 13′ 
               Inner/outer ridge on door 8 of portable locker body. 
             
             
               14. 
               Wave form ridges on tray for holding beverage cans. 
             
             
               15. 
               Cable for locking or anchoring portable locker. 
             
             
               16. 
               Beverage cans loaded on tray for holding cans. 
             
             
               17. 
               Beverage holding tray. 
             
             
               18. 
               Padlock for locking cable eyes together. 
             
             
               19. 
               Runners on underside bottom of beverage tray 
             
             
               20. 
               Closure flap at rear panel of carrying bag. 
             
             
               21. 
               Velcro loops. 
             
             
               22. 
               Velcro hooks. 
             
             
               23. 
               Zipper on front panel of carrying bag. 
             
             
               24. 
               Rear panel of locker carrying bag. 
             
             
               25. 
               Carrying bag for locker. 
             
             
               26. 
               Handle straps attached to carrying bag. 
             
             
               27. 
               Carrying bag closing flap panel. 
             
             
               28, 28′ 
               Eyes in cable ends. 
             
             
               29 
               Refrigerator wire shelf. 
             
             
               30 
               Door lock bolt. 
             
             
               31 
               Portable locker apparatus. 
             
             
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Portable locker apparatus is useful for carrying hot or cold food. cold beverages or other items to job sites, work sites or fun sites and the locker to be locked to prevent pilferage, and further the locker to be locked on to the site to prevent theft of the portable locker. 
   The portable locker apparatus body  1 , shown in  FIG. 8  in isometric view, and  FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of the portable locker apparatus body  1 , showing the door  8  of the portable locker body  1 , and the door  8  hung on hinge  11  and combination dial  3  for door lock, vents  2 ,  2 ′ in top edge and bottom edge door of locker. Vents  4  are shown adjacent to the combination dial  3  for the door lock  FIG. 2  is elevation view of left side of the portable locker body  1 , showing hinge  11  for mounting of door  8  of the portable locker body  1 .  FIG. 3  is an elevation view of rear or back side of portable locker apparatus body  1 , and vent slots  5  in door  1  on front of the portable locker apparatus body  1 , and slots  6 ,  6 ′ in bottom of rear wall of the portable locker  1 , with a segment  7  between the slots  6 ,  6 ′ for threading cable  15  through slots  6 ,  6 ′ and around segment  7  between the slots  6 ,  6 ′ with a padlock  18  attached to the eyes  28 ,  28 ′ in the cable ends. (see  FIG. 19 ). Further reference is made to  FIG. 19 , to show alternate location for locking the portable locker apparatus  31  showing slots  6 ″,  6 ′″ slots in top rim of the rear of the portable locker, and segment  7 ′ between slots  6 ″ and  6 ′″. 
     FIG. 4  is an elevation view of right side of portable locker apparatus body  1 , showing door edge  9  over slot  10  which receives the locking bolt of the door lock activated by combination dial  3 . The door edge  9  is perpendicular to door  8  of the portable locker apparatus body  1 . Also shown in this  FIG. 4  is inner door edge  13  extending inside the edges of the portable locker  1  opening. This is to reinforce the edges of the opening of the portable locker apparatus  1 , and work in conjunction with the edge of the door  8  of the portable locker apparatus body  1 , which edge overlaps the outside edges of the front opening of the portable locker apparatus  1 . 
     FIG. 3  is an elevation view of the back or rear side of the portable locker apparatus body body  1 , showing slots  6 ,  6 ′ for threading cable  15  for locking the portable locker apparatus  1 , and these slots extend over into the bottom of the portable locker as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the portable locker apparatus  1 , showing the door  8 , hinge  11  for door of the portable locker  1  and rim  13  extending around the inner periphery of the door edge and the edge of the opening of the portable locker apparatus  1 , edge. 
     FIG. 7  is an enlarged section of  FIG. 4 , showing combination dial  3  for the door lock and door edge ear  9  extending over slot  10  in portable locker apparatus body  31 . The slot  10  is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 7  by phantom lines with legend  13  showing edge of the door  8  extending over the outer edge of the open end of the portable locker, and inner ridge  13  of door  8  extending over the inner edges of the open end edges of the portable locker apparatus body  31 . Door lock bolt  30 , is shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     FIG. 8  is isometric view of portable locker apparatus  31 , with the door  8  of locker in closed position.  FIG. 9  is isometric view of portable locker apparatus body  31 , and portable locker apparatus  1  with door  8  of locker in open position. 
   The whole assembly of the portable locker apparatus  1  is to include portable locker apparatus body  31 , a tray, or beverage holding tray  17  shown in  FIG. 10 , which is a front elevation view thereof and showing phantom wave form ridges in the tray  17 , and extending the length of the tray as shown in  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 11  is a cross section view of  FIG. 10  showing wave form ridges  14  in the beverage tray  17 , and runners  19  on the under side bottom of the beverage tray  17 , and perforated area  12 , extending the length of tray  17 . 
   The wave form may be further described as a crest and trough. 
     FIG. 12  is a plan view of the tray  17 , showing the wave form ridges  14  extending length wise in the tray  17  and a beverage can  16  loaded on a trough, and perforations  12  on the bottom of and extending the length of tray  17 . 
     FIG. 13  is a side elevation view of tray  17 , showing wave form ridges  14  in the tray  17  for holding beverage cans  16 , shown loaded in a double layer. 
     FIG. 14  is a bottom plan view showing runners  19  on underside bottom of beverage tray  17  and perforated vent area  12  in the bottom of tray  17 . 
     FIG. 15  is a flexible cloth insulating carrying bag  25  for portable locker apparatus  31 , and having handle straps  26  on the bag, a carrying bag closing flap  27 , with zippers  23  on the closing flap  27  and the zipper  23  meshing with zipper  23 ′ on the opening of the carrying bag. At the rear of the carrying bag  25  is panel  24 , of portable locker carrying bag  25  having a carrying bag closing flap  20 , there is a lock opening flap  20 , having a Velcro hooks  22 , to mesh with Velcro loops  21  mounted on the rear panel bottom of the carrying bag  25 . This opening and closing flap  20  allows attaching the cable  15  for locking the portable locker  1  in the carrying bag  25  and a padlock  18  attached to the eyes  28 ,  28 ′ in the cable ends. 
     FIG. 16  shows the carrying bag  25 , and rear panel  24 , of carrying bag  25 , with rear lock opening/closing flap  20  in closed position. 
     FIG. 17  is a front perspective view showing in particular the portable locker apparatus  31  in carrying bag  25 , and carrying bag opening/closing flap  27  in open position 
     FIG. 18  is a perspective view of the portable locker apparatus  31  in the closed carrying bag  25 . 
     FIG. 19  is a pictorial of portable locker  31 , in a refrigerator, and the locker locked onto the wire shelf  29  of the refrigerator via the cable  15 , and the eyes  28 ,  28 ′ of the cable connected by a padlock  18 . 
   The second embodiment of this invention is shown in  FIGS. 20 ,  21 , and  22 , wherein  FIG. 20  is an elevation view of the rear side of portable locker apparatus showing an alternate to  FIG. 3 , wherein slots  6 ,  6 ′ as shown in  FIG. 3  are deleted.  FIG. 21  is a plan view of bottom of portable locker apparatus  31 , derived from  FIG. 5 , but slots  6 ,  6 ′ are omitted from the plan view of bottom of portable locker apparatus and is an alternate to  FIG. 5 , and is a second embodiment.  FIG. 22  is an isometric view of portable locker apparatus carrying bag, derived from  FIG. 16 , but deleting closure flap  20  at the rear of carrying bag  25 , for portable locker apparatus  31 . The first embodiment of this invention discloses and claims provisions for locking the portable locker apparatus by having slots  6 ,  6 ′,  6 ″,  6 ′″ in the portable locker apparatus, and closure flap  20  at the rear of carrying bag  25 . On referring to the above  FIG. 21 , this is a compressed version of  FIG. 5 , to show deletion of slots  6 ,  6 ′,  6 ″ and  6 ′″ in edges of rear side of portable locker apparatus body  1 , as the second embodiment of this invention. 
   The portable locker apparatus body  1 , door  8  of portable locker apparatus  31 , and beverage holder tray  17  of this invention, apart from the carrying bag, are formed of plastic, selected from polyethylene, polystyrene, nylon, polyvinyl, polycarbonate or ABS, and preferably including reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers for added rigidity. 
   The carrying bag  25  is of fabric, and may include insulation to be an insulated carrying bag to help maintain either cold or heat in the portable locker apparatus  31 , enclosed in the carrying bag  25 . 
   The first embodiment of this invention includes  FIGS. 3 ,  5 ,  15 ,  16 , and  19 , and includes legends  6 ,  6 ′,  7 ,  15 ,  18 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  28 , and  28 ′, while the second embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 20 ,  21 , and  22 .  FIG. 3 , the, first embodiment, shows legends  6 ,  6 ′,  7  and  FIG. 20 , the second embodiment, without the legends  6 ,  6 ′, and  7  is derived from  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 5 , the first embodiment, shows legends  6 ,  6 ′, and  7 , and  FIG. 21 , the second embodiment, without the legends, is derived from first embodiment  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 15 , the first embodiment, shows legends  15 ,  18   20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  28 , and  28 ′ and  FIG. 22 , the second embodiment, is derived from  FIG. 15 .