Abstract:
A drop and slide escutcheon system where the escutcheon has rims with locking members that fit into locking grooves formed in the funnels on the safe body. The escutcheon is offset by a slight amount, allowing the locking members to slide down into openings that provide access to the locking grooves in the funnel as the escutcheon is inserted into position. The escutcheon is then moved laterally, sliding the locking members into the locking grooves provided.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     My invention relates generally to the field of insulated storage containers for protecting contents from damage from fire. More specifically, it relates to the design and construction of escutcheons for use in covering the funnels in a double-walled fire-resistant safe filled with insulating material. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fire-resistant storage containers, also referred to as fire-resistant safes, are generally constructed with internal and external shells that encapsulate spaces filled with insulation material. The internal shells form inner surfaces of each safe lid/door or body, and the external shells form outer surfaces of each safe lid/door or body. Together, the internal and external shells form a shuttering for molding the insulating material in place within the shells. The insulating material is generally made of a concrete mixture that solidifies in the mold but retains a large amount of water within the solidified mass of material. 
     Each of the double-walled shells of resin material is molded with a pair of funnels that are used to help fill the shells with the insulation material. One of the funnels in each of the double-walled shells (the larger of the two) guides insulation material into the shell. The other funnel allows air to escape from the shell while the shell is being filled. Air gaps between the insulation material and the resin shells are prevented by overfilling the shells so that the insulating material rises a considerable height (i.e., two centimeters or more) within each funnel. 
     Escutcheons can be mounted over the funnels immediately after the shells are filled. The escutcheons are made with stakes having “mushroomed” or other shaped ends or mechanical attachments (such as speed nuts, lock washers, and push nuts) which are inserted through the funnels and embedded in the insulation material before the insulation material has hardened in place. The stakes extend only part way through the insulation material and do not penetrate the internal shell. The escutcheons are also formed with a surrounding rim that is generally perpendicular to, and is intended to firmly abut, the face (or a raised portion of the face) of the safe lid/door or body to which the escutcheon is attached. 
     The escutcheon rims surround the funnels to provide a more complete vapor barrier against evaporation of water from the insulation material through the funnels. This permits the insulation material to be cured more quickly by reducing evaporative cooling and containing exothermic heat. In addition, opposite sides of the funnel have previously been designed so as to provide a “snap-fit” or similar interference engagement with mating “v” shaped detents along the outermost edge of the escutcheon rims. This, however, has not proved satisfactory in practice as there is often some shrinkage of the plastic making up the escutcheons after they are set in place in the insulating material. Since the escutcheons are anchored in the insulating material by the stakes previously described, shrinkage of the plastic making up the escutcheons can undo the snap-fit between the “v” shaped detents along the edges of the escutcheon rims and their respective funnels. This creates an undesirable and unattractive gap between the escutcheon rim and the face of the safe door/lid or body to which it is attached. This, in turn, often leads to the scrapping of the product with consequent expenses, loss of time, loss of material, and loss of revenues. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     My invention improves the design and construction of funnels and escutcheons by preventing gaps from opening between the escutcheon rims and the remainder of the safe body due to the shrinking of the plastic materials forming the escutcheon. To achieve this, I make an interlock between escutcheon and funnels that cannot separate, even if the plastic shrinks. Once the escutcheon is anchored in the concrete used as insulating material, its rim is held in position by virtue of a permanent unbreakable interlock that will not allow a gap to open between the edges of the escutcheon rim and the face of the safe door or lid. This interlock is created by forming the escutcheon rim edges with projections (“locking members”) that fit under overhangs (“locking grooves”) formed in the funnels. Because of the shape of the locking grooves and locking members, these parts cannot be snapped together. Instead, the escutcheon is offset by a slight amount, allowing the locking members to slide down into openings that provide access to the locking grooves in the funnel as the escutcheon (with its stakes) is inserted into position. The escutcheon, with its stakes and projections, is then moved laterally (which is possible only because the concrete insulating material is still soft), sliding the locking members into the locking grooves provided. Once the escutcheon stakes are set in the concrete insulating material, such lateral movement becomes impossible. The escutcheon rim edges will maintain a firm interlocked grip with the funnels, retaining the edges in their desired position abutting the face of the safe lid/door or the safe body to which the escutcheon is attached. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 provides a cross-sectional schematic side view of my prior art escutcheon with the “v” shaped detents on opposite rim edges snapped into place on a funnel. 
     FIG. 2 provides a first perspective view, slightly from above, of the inner surface and features of an escutcheon produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention. 
     FIG. 3 provides a second perspective view, slightly from below, of the inner surface and features of an escutcheon produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention. 
     FIG. 4 provides an expanded perspective view taken from the lower corner of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5 provides a frontal view of a safe body with funnels produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention. 
     FIG. 6 provides a perspective view of the safe body front and funnels illustrated in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 provides a view from above of an escutcheon produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention positioned for mating to the safe body and funnels of FIG.  6 . The escutcheon is illustrated in partial cross section. 
     FIG. 8 provides a view from above of an escutcheon produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention in the process of being mated to the safe body and funnels of FIG.  6 . The escutcheon is illustrated in partial cross section. 
     FIG. 9 provides a view from above of an escutcheon produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention in an intermediate position with its side rims flush against the safe body and its locking members aligned for insertion into the locking grooves provided in the funnels. The escutcheon and funnel are illustrated in partial cross section. 
     FIG. 10 provides a view from above of an escutcheon produced in accordance with the teachings of this invention in final position with its locking members inserted into the locking grooves provided in the funnels. The escutcheon and funnel are illustrated in partial cross section. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A prior art design for a top lidded fire-resistant safe is illustrated in FIG.  1 . Its base (denoted generally by arrow  1 ) features a prior art funnel  2  adapted for placement of prior art escutcheon  3 . Base  1  is a blow-molded resin body formed from an internal shell  10  and an external shell  11 . The internal shell  10  encloses an interior space for storing contents of the case; and the external shell  11  forms the exterior of base  1 , including prior art funnel  2 . The internal shell  10  and external shell  11  also form respective interior and exterior walls that encapsulate a space (denoted generally by arrow  12 ) to be filled with insulating material (generally concrete). 
     As will be noted upon review of the drawing figure, the escutcheon rims  31  of this design are intended to firmly abut the face surfaces denoted generally by arrow  13 . They are, ideally, enabled to maintain this position by virtue of the “v” shaped detents  32  on the interior edges of the opposed escutcheon rims  31 . The materials forming the sides of prior art funnel  2  and escutcheon rims  31  are only semi-rigid, allowing them to deform sufficiently for detents  32  to slide/snap into undercuts  21 . Unfortunately, as previously discussed, the somewhat flexible nature of the materials utilized also allows detents  32  to slide back out of undercut  21  as the materials comprising prior art escutcheon  3  shrink. This opens gaps between escutcheon rims  31  and face surfaces  13 . 
     My new design illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 10 shares many features in common with the prior art design illustrated in FIG.  1 . It also has funnels that project from the external shell  11  for filling the space  12  between the two shells with insulation. A large funnel  41  is used to guide insulating material in a liquid state into the space  12  between the internal shell  10  and the external shell  11 . A small funnel  42  allows air to escape from the space  12  while the shells are filled. After filling, an escutcheon (denoted generally by arrow  50 ) sized to fit over both large funnel  41  and small funnel  42  is placed over and covers the funnels. In the process, stakes  30  are embedded in the insulating material filling space  12 , which then hardens around stakes  30 , locking the escutcheon  50  in place. The stakes  30  are typically positioned so that two fit within the large funnel  41  and the other two within small funnel  42 . Each of the stakes  30  is fitted with an enlarged or “mushroomed” end that is designed to anchor the stakes  30  within the hardened insulation material in space  12 . Similar parts (and the same basic process) are used in producing both the base  1  and the lid (not shown) of the fire-resistant safes that are the subject of this invention. 
     The manner in which the escutcheon rims  31  and face surfaces  13  are held rigidly in abutting relationship in my current invention is, however, quite different. In FIGS. 2 through 10, the escutcheon rims  31  on opposite sides of escutcheon  50  are provided with rigid locking members  51 . These locking members  51  are designed to slide laterally into locking grooves (denoted by arrows  52 ) located on opposite sides of large funnel  41  and small funnel  42 . The rigid nature of locking members  51  and locking grooves  52  does not allow them to become “unsnapped” once they have become interlocked. Thus, escutcheon  50  can no longer be pressed directly into position with detents that “snap” into position. Conversely, it can no longer be pulled directly away from large funnel  41  and small funnel  42  once locking members  51  and locking grooves  52  have become interlocked. Instead, escutcheon  50  must be moved laterally in order to “lock” or “unlock” locking members  51  and locking grooves  52 . 
     The changes discussed above have been facilitated by other changes in the design of escutcheon  50 , large funnel  41 , and small funnel  42 . As previously noted, escutcheon  50  cannot be inserted directly into position. It must now be offset to the side slightly (as illustrated in FIG.  7 ), pushed down into position abutting face surfaces  13  (as illustrated sequentially in FIGS.  8  and  9 ), and then moved laterally to insert locking members  51  into locking grooves  52  (as illustrated in FIG.  10 ). This offset, which is approximately 0.25 inches in the embodiments illustrated, requires that the length of escutcheon  50  along an axis parallel to locking grooves  52  be at least 0.25 inches more than the distance between the outside edges of large funnel  41  and small funnel  42 . Finally, it is advantageous to have a plurality of locking members  51  along opposing rims  31  of escutcheon  50 . This makes it necessary to create matching insertion grooves  53  in large funnel  41  and small funnel  42 . Insertion grooves  53  intersect locking grooves  52  to allow the alignment of locking members  51  with locking grooves  52  prior to the lateral movement and insertion of locking members  51  into locking grooves  52 . 
     Parts list 
       1  base of top lidded fire-resistant safe 
       2  prior art funnel 
       3  prior art escutcheon 
       10  internal shell 
       11  external shell 
       12  space filled with insulating material 
       13  face surfaces 
       21  undercuts 
       30  stakes 
       31  escutcheon rims 
       32  “v” shaped detents 
       41  large funnel 
       42  small funnel 
       50  escutcheon 
       51  rigid locking members 
       52  locking grooves 
       53  matching insertion grooves/locking members