Patent ID: 7107803

Claim:
A combination locking tube comprising: a base end cap; a base tube connected to the base end cap, the base tube having a longitudinal base tube channel defined in a wall of the base tube and at least one notch contiguous with the base tube channel; at least one locking ring, each locking ring having a longitudinal ring channel defined in a wall of the ring, a notch contiguous with the ring channel, and an interlocking pin, each locking ring being rotatably mounted on the base tube and positioned so that when the ring channel is aligned with the base tube channel, the notch in the locking ring is positioned over one of the notches in the base tube; a number of indicia rings equal in number to the number of locking rings, each indicia ring being rotatably mounted on a respective locking ring, each indicia ring having an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface having a plurality of characters, the inner surface having a plurality of teeth for receiving the interlocking pin; a number of static rings equal in number to the number of locking rings, each static ring being statically mounted on the base tube adjacent to a respective pair of locking and indicia rings, each static ring having an interlocking pin receptacle, and an annular recess; an inner tube having at least one pin and an end cap, the inner tube being received within the base tube and each pin being received within the base tube channel when in alignment with the ring channel; wherein each indicia ring rotates together with the locking ring about the base tube when the interlocking pin is engaged by the teeth of the indicia ring and wherein the indicia ring rotates freely about the locking ring when the interlocking pin is positioned within the interlocking pin receptacle of the static ring; wherein the inner tube is insertable into and removeable from the base tube only when the ring channel is aligned with the base tube channel; and wherein each pin of the inner tube, when positioned within a notch in the base tube and the notch in a respective locking ring, can be manipulated to move the locking ring back and forth between a first position where the interlocking pin is engaged by the teeth of the indicia ring and a second position in which the interlocking pin is positioned within the interlocking pin receptacle of the static ring.