Wall depository

A miniature wall depository is disclosed having a receptacle box mounted substantially behind a wall surface. A depository container for holding valuables is receivable within the receptacle box and means intermediate of the depository container and the receptacle box frictionally grip the depository container to hold it in place while permitting easy insertion and withdrawal. A concealing means is carried by the depository container to cover the container and the receptacle box to disguise and hide the wall depository.

The present invention is generally directed to wall depositories and is 
more specifically concerned with miniature concealed wall depositories or 
safes for the safekeeping of small valuables without locks or 
combinations. It is well known, for example, that small quantities of 
valuables may be hidden within a wall recess, which is disguised by a 
cover such as a simulated wall receptacle plate. However, a simple wall 
recess or recessed container that opens through the wall may be 
unsatisfactory, for the valuables must be stuffed into the recessed space 
and then a cover plate mounted thereover to hide the valuables. When the 
cover is removed, the valuables simply spill out of the recessed space. 
And in some wall safes the cover plate is mounted on a recessed container 
by a complicated hinge arrangement which may require a large hole in the 
wall for mounting the container. Also, some depositories that employed an 
electric receptacle cover for disguise, actually used a complete 
electrical receptacle, which was apparently functional, except for 
electrical connections. This, of course, results in a more expensive 
depository and reduces the space within the recess for containing 
valuables. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved wall depository which does not suffer from the disadvantages of 
"prior art" depositories. It is a further object of the present invention 
to provide a minature wall depository with a separate valuable holding 
container and which is easy to install and does not contain complicated or 
sophisticated concealing apparatus. Another object of the invention is to 
provide a miniature wall depository as described above which may be 
relatively inexpensively manufactured and easily installed. 
In meeting the above objects, the present invention provides a wall 
depository comprising a receptacle box that may be mounted behind a wall 
surface, a depository container for holding valuables which is slidably 
receivable within the receptacle box and a concealing plate which is 
carried by the depository container to cover and disguise the wall 
depository when the depository container is inserted into the receptacle 
box. The depository container is frictionally held within the receptacle 
box by means provided internally of the receptacle box to frictionally 
grip the walls of the depository container, permitting easy insertion and 
withdrawal of the container.

Turning now to a detailed description of the present invention, it is 
generally embodied in a miniature wall depository 10 which may be used to 
conceal and hide small quantities of valuables. In accordance with the 
present invention a receptacle box 12 is mounted substantially behind a 
wall 14. A depository container 16 is slidably receivable within the 
receptacle box and means intermediate of the receptacle box and the 
depository container frictionally grip the side walls of the container, as 
best seen in FIG. 3, in and around the point designated 18, to hold it in 
place within the receptacle box. The frictional gripping also serves to 
permit easy insertion and withdrawal of the depository box for access to 
the valuables contained therein. A cover plate 20 for concealing the wall 
depository is carried by the depository container and covers the container 
and the receptacle box when the container is inserted into the box. 
For receiving and holding the depository container, the wall receptacle box 
12 is preferably of a type and construction often used in routine 
electrical installations. The receptacle box is usually stamped from 
galvanized steel or aluminum sheet metal and, as shown in an upright 
configuration in FIG. 1, includes a back wall 22, top and bottom walls 24 
and 26, respectively, and side walls 28 and 30. The back wall 22 is 
generally rectangular and is of one piece construction with the top and 
bottom and side walls which are bent at substantially a right angle with 
the back wall to form a hollow receptacle box with a frontal opening for 
receiving the depository container 16. To hold the walls together, the top 
and bottom walls 22 and 24 include tabs 32 extending from their side edges 
which are press-fit into slotted nubs 34 on the top and bottom edges of 
the side walls. 
The wall 14 behind which the receptacle box will be mounted may be of any 
construction, although wallboard, plaster or plaster and lathe are typical 
types of walls in which it may be mounted. To prevent the receptacle box 
from being pushed completely behind the wall when it is being installed, 
the top and bottom sides 24 and 26 of the box each includes a laterally 
extending flange 36 to abut an outer surface 38 of the wall 14. 
The receptacle box 12 is actually held in place behind the wall 14 by a 
pair of retaining ears 40 which extend through the side walls 28 and 30 of 
the receptacle box and are drawn against a backside 42 of the wall 14, 
firmly sandwiching the wall between the retaining ears and the flanges 36. 
As may be more easily seen in FIG. 4, the retaining ears 40 are preferably 
formed by bending a sheet metal strip of uniform width into a generally 
U-shaped configuration and by further bending both ends of the strip 
outwardly to form a pair of opposed feet or wings 46. As noted before, the 
U-shaped portion of the ears 40 extend through the sides of the receptacle 
box 12 to abut the backside of the wall 14. The feet or wings 46 of each 
ear remain inside the receptacle box and are generally parallel to and may 
be spaced slightly from the inner surface of the side wall through which 
the ear extends. 
To permit the ear 40 to be drawn tightly against the backside 42 of the 
wall 14, a horizontal slot is provided in each side walls 28 and 30 of the 
receptacle box 12 within which the ear 40 slides. Except for a pair of 
niches 48 in the rear portion of the slot, through which the U-shaped ear 
is inserted, the slot is narrower than the width of the ear 40. At the 
junction of the U-shaped portion and the wings, the ear is grooved, as 
designated at 50, to slide along the horizontal slot in the receptacle 
box. The clip may then be drawn against the back side 42 of the wall 14, 
the edges of the horizontal slot in the receptacle box residing in the 
grooves 50 provided at the junction of the U-shaped portion and wing 
portions of ear 40. 
To pull or draw the ear 40 against the back side 42 of the wall 14, 
openings 52 and 54 are provided in the ear 40 for insertion of a screw 56. 
The screw extends through a flange 58 on each side of the receptacle box 
and against which the head of the screw may abut. By turning the screw the 
ear may be pulled forward, toward the back side 42 of the wall 14. The 
screw 56 actually engages the rearward opening 52 of the ear. The front 
opening 54 is elongated, as may be seen in FIG. 4, to allow for shifting 
and additional bending of the ear as it is tightened against the back side 
of the wall. The elongation may also provide an allowance for the wing 
portions 46 of the ear to shift slightly inwardly of the receptacle box 
wall upon tightening of the screw 56, thereby providing a small gap 
between at least one of the wings and the interior surface of the 
sidewalls 28 and 30 so as to provide a spring-like frictional engagement 
with the depository container 16 when it is inserted into the receptacle 
box. 
It can thus be seen from the description above that the receptacle box 12 
is of very simple construction - it is equally simple to install. After 
choosing the particular wall in which to install the wall depoitory, the 
wall is then sounded or test drilled to assure that there are no wall 
studs or other obstructions behind the wall that might interfere with 
installation of the safe. A hole of approximately the same size as the 
receptacle box 12 is then cut into the wall and the box is then inserted 
until the flanges 36 abut the wall surface 38. The retaining ears 40 are 
next pushed from the inside of the receptacle box through the niches 48 in 
the horizontal slots in the sides 28 and 30 of the box, and the grooves 50 
in the ears are aligned with the edges of the slot. The screws 56 may then 
be inserted through the flanges 58 and the elongated holes 54 of the ears 
until they engage the rearward holes 52 in the retaining ears. The screws 
may then be turned, drawing the ears 40 forward until each abuts the back 
side 42 of the wall 14, and thereby snugly secures the receptacle box in 
place, ready to receive the depository container 16. 
The depository container 16 is preferably of one-piece, stamped 
construction from sheet steel or aluminum. If steel, it may be galvanized 
to prevent rusting. More specifically, the depository container includes 
four vertical sidewalls 60, 62, 64 and 66 and a bottom wall 68. The top of 
the container is preferably open for adding or removing valuables from the 
container. 
To hold the depository container in place within the receptacle box 12 
while also permitting simple and easy insertion and withdrawal, the 
depository container is appropriately sized for the vertical sidewalls 62 
and 66 to frictionally engage the wing or feet portions 46 of the ears 40, 
preferably in the area on each side of the point earlier indicated by the 
numeral 18 in FIG. 3. The engagement between the depository container and 
the wings 46 may be without give or compensation in the wings or as 
described earlier, the wings may be spaced from the inner surface of the 
sidewall of the receptacle box due to tightening of the screw 56, to form 
a butterfly-type spring which compresses and gives as the depository 
container is inserted. This is better seen in FIG. 3. This construction 
retains the depository container within the receptacle box by frictional 
engagement and thereby permits relatively simple insertion and withdrawal. 
The concealing means 20 shown in a preferred embodiment is a simulated 
duplex electrical receptacle cover. The cover 20 is attached to the 
vertical sidewall 64 of the depository container 16 by a screw 70 and nut 
72. The cover includes a plate portion 74 and a simulated receptacle 
portion 76 secured within a pair of spaced holes within the plate. The 
plate serves to overlap the flanges 36 and 58 of the receptacle box 12 and 
to abut the wall surface 38 to conceal the wall depository and to disguise 
it as a typical electrical wall outlet when the depository container is 
positioned within the receptacle box. The simulated electrical receptacle 
76 are preferably of plastic construction and, as can best be seen in 
FIGS. 2 and 3, are not the complete receptacle but simply the plastic 
portion which one would see looking at a typical wall outlet - there are 
no electrical connections or contact members to receive an electrical 
charge to make the outlet functional. To better disguise the wall 
depository while also providing a means for withdrawing the depository 
container, portions of the vertical sidewall 64 of the depository 
container which are behind the openings in the simulated receptacle 76 are 
removed to provide four openings substantially corresponding to the slots 
in the simulated receptacles. This has several advantages, it removes any 
metallic reflection which may call attention to the fact that the wall 
receptacle is merely a simulation, it permits electrical plug to be 
inserted into the receptacle to further simulate a working electrical 
receptacle (Phantom in FIG. 2) and it also permits the depository 
container to be easily withdrawn, by inserting an ordinary household or 
automobile key into one of the slots of the simulated receptacle, turning 
the key slightly to engage the slot in the receptacle or the slot in 
depository container and pulling outward to remove the depository 
container which is held in the receptacle box by frictional engagement 
with the wing portions 46 of the ears 40. 
It can therefore be seen that the present invention provides a convenient 
and simple wall depository for containing small quantities of valuables in 
a concealed and hidden position. The receptacle box 12 is of typical 
construction for electrical installation, and the ears 40 which function 
to hold the receptacle box firmly behind the wall also include wing 
portions 46 interior of the sidewalls of the receptacle box which may form 
butterfly-type springs to frictionally engage the sidewalls of the 
depository container 16 when it is inserted within the receptacle box. The 
depository container is enclosed except for a top opening and into which 
small quantities of valuables may be deposited. The depository container 
is also attached to a concealing cover, a simulated wall receptacle, in 
the preferred embodiment which overlies the receptacle box, including the 
flanges 36 and 58, and the depository container 16 to conceal and hide the 
wall depository. As is best seen in FIG. 3, the wing portions of the ear 
40 engage the sidewalls of the depository container to hold it in place 
yet also allow the depository container to be simply removed by either 
gripping the edge of the receptacle cover and pulling, or by inserting a 
key or other rigid instrument into the receptacle slot and pulling. 
Although the present invention has been described in terms of a preferred 
embodiment, various modifications, some immediately apparent and others 
apparent only after some study, may be made without departing from the 
present invention. 
Various features of the present invention are set forth in the following 
claims.