Lockable bag

Nov. 4, 1952 j. rifkin 2,616,470

LOCKABLE BAG

Filed July 23, 1948

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Patented Nov. 4, 1952

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,616,470

LOCKABLE BAG

Jacob Rifkin, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Application July 23, 1948, Serial No. 40,260

Claims.

The invention relates to a bag, the mouth of which ig securely locked against unauthorized access to. the. contents, thereof. This type. of. bag is customarily used for the transmission of money, stock certificates and other valuables so that the only means of access to the contents is either by one having a. proper key or cutting of the bag which tampering, reveals itself immediately.

It is an object of the invention to construct a bag the opening of which can be opened widely for easy insertion or removal of the contents and the entire opening of which bag is locked so that unauthorized entry cannot be made thereinto without revealing such entry.

Another object of the invention is to construct a locked bag having side bars for sealing the. mouth or opening of the bag which, mouth or opening has at least one fold, each fold being firmly anchored against, unauthorized movement so that the fold cannot be pulled out and thereby give access to the contents, of the bag.

Other objects of the invention will be more apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the bag.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the bag showing the locking bars in spaced position and the mouth of the bag partially opened.

Figure 3 is a cross section through the locking mechanism of the bag taken on line 3—3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a partial horizontal section through a modified form of riveted fold for the bag with an external seam and rivet.

The bag is made of suitable material 10 such as heavy canvas and is shown as having a seam 11 at each side thereof which is sewn inwardly; that is, the fabric is sewn together with the. inside of the bag on the outside after which it is then turned so that the seam is on the inside. The stitching therefore cannot be cut and resewn to obliterate the fact that it has been tampered with. The seam may be anywhere in the bag and need not be at the fold. Also a seamless bag could be used; however, it would be more expensive than a sewn bag. A strip f2 of reinforcing leather or the like may be provided at the edge of the mouth or opening, if desired. A locking rivet or button 13 is firmly secured at the top of the bag at each seam or at the center of each fold which rivet or button extends a sufficient distance beyond the inner face of the seam. The rivet is shown as being (CL 150---5) secured to the fold when the latter is folded inwardly although this particular construction is not necessary so iong as the rivet extends beyond the fold when the latter is inwardly directed. ® The rivet strengthens the bag at the opening and seam and also, serves a locking function for the fold as will appear more fully hereinafter. The mechanism for locking the mouth of the bag includes bars ί 6 and 17 such as of metal and 1° preferably of channel cross section which bars are firmly secured such as by rivets IS to opposite sides of the bag. A reinforcing bar 19 may be used on the inner edge of the opening into the bag. The channel ί 6 may have a tongue 15 20 extending along the longitudinal edge of its upper flange. The' cooperating bar 17 is somewhat similar and is preferably of channel cross section. It is likewise secured to the edge of the bag such as by rivets IS, which bar or chan20 nel receives the tongue of the first channel. The channel may, if desired, have a recess to receive the same, or the construction may be defined as interengaging means or interengaging tongues 20 and 21 along each flange of both channel bars. 25 The tongue and recess or interengaging means is provided so that there is no open seam between the bars or channels which might afford some access to the bag when locked or permit tampering with the contents of the bag.

The locking bars or channels are shorter than the width of the bag or shorter than half of the periphery of the opening into the bag so that at least one fold 24 is provided at the opening. In the construction particularly illustrated there is a fold 24 and 25 at each end so that ⁰ the bars may be spread apart a distance comparable to the fold and the bag can be opened to a rectangular opening which provides the maximum accessibility to the interior of the bag.

One end of each channel or bar is provided with means to secure them together. With a bag having a fold at each end or edge thereof the securing means is of the type which is releasable or separable; that is, the securing means ₄₅ at this end is separable so that the bars may be completely separated from each other and this end of the bag may be fully opened to the extent allowed by the fold 25. The releasable securing means may take any suitable form, that illus₅₀ trated including a hooked member 28 secured to one bar IS preferably at the end thereof which member rests in a recess 29 carried by the other bar 11 and shown on the inside of the end wall of the other channel or bar. Relative longitudi55 nal movement between the bars 16 and 17 posi2,616,470 tions the tongue in the recess or releases the same therefrom. When the hooked member is in the recess, the bars cannot be laterally separated at this end. The securing means is within the closed ends of the channels so that it cannot be tampered with or is protected thereby.

The other end of the two locking channels or bars carries locking means of any desirable form; that illustrated includes a key operated lock 32 carried by one bar such as 17 and a suitable cooperating catch 33 such as a notched pin carried by the other bar 16. The catch when inserted into the lock, locks the ends of the channels or bars together so that an unauthorized person cannot open the same without breaking the lock, having a key K therefor, or cutting the bag.

Each fold 24 and 25 of the bag 10 folds inwardly and when the two channel bars 16 and 17 are locked together, the projecting head or ends of the rivets or buttons 13 at each fold or seam, fits within the channel of each channel bar. The channel, or the flanges thereof, forms a recess in at least one or each bar for the buttons or rivets and the latter are large enough so that when the bars are locked together, as shown in Figure 3, the inner end of the fold is securely anchored between or within the bars and it is impossible to remove the fold from between the bars or to slide it laterally therein. The fold, therefore, cannot be pulled away from the bars for unauthorized access to the bag in this way.

A modified form of construction is shown in Figure 4. The locking mechanism is the same as that shown in Figures 1 to 3 and hence need not be described. The bag 10 has one or a pair of external folds when the bag is open but which is reversely folded when the bag is closed, and an external rivet 13 at the fold adjacent to or at the mouth or opening of the bag. The edge of the bag at the opening has a hole on each side of the fold such as holes 34 and 35 and spaced from the rivet 13 so that when the fold is turned inwardly the holes receive the rivet and hence anchor within the bars an intermediate part of the fold as well as the end of the fold with the rivet 13. The holes may be reinforced by a grommet or other suitable means.

It is clear that it is not essential that one end of the bars be separable from each other or separably secured together. Any form of hinge may be used at this end in which case a fold line may be dispensed with. However, the bag may be opened to its maximum extent if a double fold is provided in the bag and one end of the bars is separably fastened together in the manner illustrated.

The invention is presented to fill a need for improvements in a lockable bag. It is understood that various modifications in structure, as well as changes in mode of operation, assembly, and manner of use, may and often do occur to those skilled in the art, especially after benefitting from the teachings of an invention. Hence it will be understood that this disclosure is illustrative of preferred means of embodying the invention in useful form by explaining the construction, operation and advantages thereof.