Abstract:
A deposit system for storing delivered goods awaiting collection by the recipient comprising a storage container with access means having a wheel mounted for rotation to facilitate transport, securing means and locking means for attaching or detaching the storage container from the securing means.

Description:
[0001]    This invention relates to a deposit container system for receiving delivered goods or for storing goods prior to collection.  
         BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    With the dawn of Internet shopping it has become simple and convenient to order goods electronically. However, it is frequently difficult to make arrangements for secure delivery of goods, especially for domestic orders owing to the recipient often being away from the delivery address during normal working hours.  
           [0003]    It is known to provide lockable deposit boxes designed to located at a convenient position outside a building and to secure such containers to the building by a chain or the like. These systems suffer several disadvantages. They are generally not portable or if they are portable are small and so unable to accept delivery of substantial goods, such as delivery of weekly groceries. They are not well suited for storage of either perishable goods such as frozen food or for hot meals, such as provided by take-away restaurants and the like, Such devices often have complex and thus relatively expensive securing systems provided in order to deter theft of the container and its contents.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved container system for receiving delivered goods.  
           [0005]    In one aspect the invention provides a goods deposit system comprising a storage container with access means, securing means and locking means for attaching or detaching the storage container from the securing means. Preferably, the container has a wheel mounted for rotation to facilitate transport. Preferably, the access means comprise a hinged door, lid or the like with a lock. The lock may be a combination lock, preferably electronically operated.  
           [0006]    Preferably, the container has means for dividing its storage space into a plurality of individual storage volumes in order to facilitate storage of items at varying temperatures. This may be achieved by means of a removable shelf made of a thermally insulative material  
           [0007]    The system may include a heat-sink device and means of securing this within the container in order to provide cold and thereby refrigerate at least a portion of the storage volume. This is particularly beneficial when the container is being used to store perishable goods such as food. The heat sink may contain a eutectic mixture. Alternatively, the heat sink may be provided in order to provide heat to at least part of the storage volume in order to keep stored contents warm, for example delivered fast-food.  
           [0008]    The container may be secured to a static structure such as a floor, a wall of a building or the like by a bracket with an aperture or recess adapted to receive locking means. The bracket may have an upstanding male portion engageable within a corresponding female recess in the container. In another form the bracket may comprise a plurality of securing holes arranged outwardly from the central aperture. The locking means may comprise a headed peg with a radial arm adapted to lock the container to the bracket by inserting the peg through an aperture in a wall of the container and the aperture or recess of the bracket and then rotating the peg about its longitudinal axis.  
           [0009]    The container preferably has a wheel located proximal one bottom end of the container and a handle located proximal the opposite bottom end. More preferably, the container has a plurality of wheels. The handle may be adapted so that it co-operates with the wheel in such a way that either the bottom of the container or a side wall of the container in use is maintained in a stable state parallel with the floor. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    Embodiments of the invention will now be described by reference to the following diagramatic drawings in which,  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 1 a  to  1   d  show two end views, a side view and a plan view respectively of a container according to the invention,  
         [0012]    [0012]FIGS. 2 a  to  2   c  show, a plan view a bottom view and a side view respectively of the container shown in FIG. 1 without its lid,  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the main features of the container shown in FIG. 1,  
         [0014]    [0014]FIGS. 4 a - 4   d  show a plan view, a side view, an end view and an underside view respectively of a fixing bracket for use with the container shown in FIG. 1,  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 5 a - 5   d  show elevations of a locking peg for use with the system,  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 shows and a perspective view of the locking peg shown in FIG. 5,  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a part of locking mechanism for the container shown in FIG. 1,  
         [0018]    [0018]FIGS. 8 a  and  8   b  show further details of the locking mechanism shown in FIG. 7,  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the container shown in FIG. 1 in an upright position and the relative location of the fixing bracket prior to locking,  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 10 shows a partial view of the upper inside portion of the container with its lid opened,  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 11 a  and  11   b  show a plan view and a bottom view of a container for an alternative embodiment of the invention, and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 12 a - 12   c  show a plan view, a side view and an end view respectively of a fixing bracket for use with the container shown in FIG. 11. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]    The external features of the container as used in the invention are illustrated in FIGS. 1 a  to  1   e . Container  10  comprises a base portion  12  and a lid portion  14  hingedly attached  16  to the base. At the bottom rear end of the base portion  12  are a pair of wheels  18  mounted for rotation on an axle  20 . The base portion  12  comprises four comer elbow members  22  each extending upwardly to a rim  24  that extends around the upper open end of the base portion  12 . Recessed end panels  26   a  and  26   b  and side recessed panels  28  are located between the four comer elbows  22  and integrally formed with them. Handles  32  and  34  are provided at the front and rear top end of base portion  12 , preferably formed integrally with rim  24 . The floor  30  (see FIG. 2 b ) of the base portion  12  includes integrally formed bearings  52  that accept axle  20  and a handle/rest portion  36  that serves two functions. When the container is resting in its normal (flat) position on a floor (see FIG. 2 c ) handle  36  provides support for the front bottom end of the base portion thereby keeping the floor  30  of the base portion  12  approximately parallel to the floor (F). Alternatively, when the container  10  is to be moved the user can grip handle  36  and pull the container along the floor on its wheel or wheels like a trolley. Handle  32  can serve a similar function if the container is resting in its upright position with rear side panel  26   a  adjacent and approximately parallel to the floor. Thus, the container can be conveniently used in either a flat or upright position.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 a  shows internal features of the base portion  12  which provides two discrete storage volumes A and B separated by a removable shelf  40  that slidably engages the internal side of panels  28  by means of engaging means, these engaging means typically comprise of grooves  42  or the like. Thus, with the lid  14  open shelf  40  can easily be slid into place as shown in FIG. 2 a  or removed in order to create a single storage volume rather than the two individual volumes A and B. Alternatively, shelf  40  may be provided in a fixed form as an integral part of base portion  12 .  
         [0025]    Storage volume A has provision for housing a removable thermal heat-sink  44  near rear side wall  26   a , for example by means of sliding into slots or grooves or by means of a grid  46  retained between the inner surfaces of side panels  28 . Grid  46  may take the form of a mesh The beat sink  44  may be hollow and in plate form and may contain a eutectic mixture. In this case the heat sink  44  may be removed before use and cooled in a freezer so that upon insertion into container  10  it provides a supply of cold, especially for storage volume A of the container. Alternatively, the heat-sink  44  may be a plate having a high heat storage capacity. In this latter case a hot plate may be inserted into container  10  in order to supply heat, especially for storage volume A when it is desired to keep stored items such as food warm.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 shows the main features in a perspective view of container  10  with its lid open.  
         [0027]    Referring to FIGS. 4 a - 4   d , bracket  60  provides means for securing the container to a static structure such as a wall or floor. Bracket  60  has a docking portion  62  and a securing portion  64 . Docking portion  62  comprises a base section  66  and an upstanding male section  68  having semi-circular shaped ends. An aperture  92  extending from the front face to the rear face of the bracket  60  is provided to accommodate locking means, preferably in the form of a pin (see latter).  
         [0028]    A female docking recess  90  (see FIG. 7) corresponding in shape to male section  68  of bracket  60  is provided on the outside floor portion  30  of base portion  12 .  
         [0029]    A locking pin (see FIGS. 5 and 6 )  70  has a head  72  comprising a central portion  74  and dividing a pair of recessed portions  76  so as to facilitate the user gripping the head with one hand. A peg or shaft  78  extends longitudinally from head  74  and has locking means. These locking means preferably comprise at least one radial arm  84  and preferably at least two radial arms.  
         [0030]    The inside bottom surface of the base portion  12  has an aperture  38  (see FIG. 2 a ) adapted to allow the peg  78  of locking pin  70  , but not the head  72 , to pass therethrough. Hence in order to lock the container  10  to the bracket  60  aperture  38  in the container and aperture  92  in the bracket are axially aligned. In practice this may be achieved by mounting the bracket  60  (see FIG. 9) on a wall and pushing the container  10  in an upright position, on its wheels  18 , towards the bracket  60  or by fixing the bracket  60  to a floor and pushing the container in its normal position (as illustrated in FIG. 3) along the floor. In the latter case it is preferable to locate aperture  38  within the floor  30  of volume A near the end wall. This has the advantage of allowing the bracket  60  to be fixed on the floor but near a wall or the like and so away from walking areas. Peg  78  of locking pin  70  is then inserted through the apertures and rotated so that the radial arm or arms  84  lockingly engage recesses (not shown) within the male section  68  of the bracket  60 . A second pair of radial arms  82  may also lockingly engage the outside edge of aperture  38  (see FIG. 7). The container  10  can be detached by reversing this process, but of course this is not possible when the lid  14  of the container  10  is locked. Thus, the container can be first secured using locking pin  70  and the lid then locked so preventing a potential thief from stealing the container without first breaking the lid lock.  
         [0031]    A further embodiment of the invention employing a different type of bracket is shown in FIGS. 12 a - 12   c . A bracket  160  is again provided for securing the container  10  to the floor, the wall of a building or the like. Bracket  160  has a central aperture  192  adapted to accommodate the headed locking pin  70  and four outwardly spaced securing holes  72  provided to allow the bracket  160  to be secured by screws, bolts to, for example, a floor or a wall. The locking pin  70  of peg  78  is then inserted through the apertures and rotated so that the radial arm or arms  84  lockingly engage recesses (not shown) within aperture  192 .  
         [0032]    The container is preferably made of a thermally insulative material, for example moulded plastics and reinforced in appropriate regions (for example the handles) by embedded wire mesh. The base portion  12  and the lid  14  are preferably produced as single individual mouldings.