[lettercarrier]

Great Read. I see a ton of the GE Supra iBox Lockboxes. I hear they cost realtors a lot and they have no alternative. Perhaps for the VRBO or non-Realtor properties too.

This is a really stupid question, but will there be hybrid locks not for door/access but stuff we never thought could be locked in the old mechanical days? a pack of cigarettes? pill bottle? sleeve to a jacket? briefcase? mouse? baby child-proofing? an envelope?

[emhart]

Not a stupid question at all. A dive through the patent record reveals a ton of amazing ideas for locking random objects up. in my conversations with Bob Swartz he has been fond of saying that locks are essentially latches, which is a great way to think of them. Here is a quick rundown of locks that have been patented that cover your examples:

Time Lock for Cigarettes: https://www.google.com/patents/US2681560

Combination lock for Pill Bottles: https://www.google.com/patents/US3405828

Ok, not a sleeve, but a mechanical lock for jacket pockets: https://www.google.com/patents/US1138507

and, of course, briefcases take a lot of locks, including very high security ones: http://bagstogo.com.au/Secura-Case-15cm-Security-Briefcase-w...

And thanks for the kind words!