WO1993001953A1

WO1993001953A1 - Article retrieval system and vehicle surveillance system

Info

Publication number: WO1993001953A1
Application number: PCT/AU1992/000355
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gregory William Boland; Neville Lance Boland
Original assignee: Gregory William Boland; Neville Lance Boland
Priority date: 1991-07-16
Filing date: 1992-07-15
Publication date: 1993-02-04

Abstract

An automated article handling facility, which, in a particular form comprises security vehicle including a chassis supported on a wheel assembly and a lockable storage area supported by the chassis, the storage area comprising an article handling facility (11) including a plurality of selectable article storage sites (15) and an article collection site, and article retrieval carriage (21) moveable between a selected storage site and the collection site, article transfer means for transferring an article from a selected storage site onto the carriage and a carriage and transfer means controller for controlling and retrieval of articles by the carriage. Preferably, the security vehicle includes a vehicle surveillance system for indicating unauthorised use of the vehicle while the vehicle is in transit, the system comprising, data pick-up means for picking up transit data concerning use of the vehicle while in transit, detector means for analysing the transit data to detect a departure from authorised use and an indicator means for indicating unauthorised use of the vehicle in response to detection of departure from authorised use by said detector means.

Description

ARTΪC E RETRIEVAL SYSTEM AND VEHICLE SURVEILLANCE SYSTM

THIS INVENTION relates, in one aspect, to an article handling facility and in particular but not limited to an

'I article handling facility for retrieval and delivery of articles from a secure storage facility such as a vault, mobile security vehicle or the like; and in another aspect, to a vehicle surveillance system and in particular but not limited to a system for indicating unauthorised use of a security vehicle. BACKGROUND ART

Secure storage facilities such as vaults, mobile security vehicles or the like handle valuable articles including money, jewellery, and so forth and commonly articles are moved between secure storage locations and collection points. Conventionally, handling of the articles involves a person going to the storage location and manually retrieving the article and subsequently delivering it to the collection point.

While these facilities are generally secure against unauthorised entry, the person retrieving the article is prone to persuasion by criminals to co-operate, albeit usually under duress, to retrieve articles and pass them f_| over. By way of specific example, a security vehicle ϊ carrying large sums of money usually has a cab and a separate lockable storage area, a driver and guard usually travel in the cab and a third person travels in the locked, storage area along with the valuables being transported. For a delivery to take.place, the person inside the storage area must place the valuables in a special box which can be collected by the guard and/or driver and delivered as required. While these vehicles are very secure, the person inside the storage area is prone to threats against his workmates or members of the public and therefore can be persuaded to deliver up the valuables and moreover, the van can be hijacked and taken to an unknown location where the hijackers can gain access at their leisure.

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate at least to some degree the aforementioned problems associated with the prior art. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect therefore, the present invention resides in an automated article handling facility comprising a plurality of selectable article storage sites, an article collection site, an article retrieval carriage moveable between a selected storage site and the collection site, article transfer means for transferring an article from a selected site onto the carriage and a carriage and transfer means controller for controlling retrieval of articles by the carriage.

In another aspect, the invention resides in a security vehicle including a chassis supported on a wheel assembly and a lockable storage area supported by the chassis, the storage area comprising an article handling facility including a plurality of selectable article storage sites and an article collection site, an article retrieval carriage moveable between a selected storage site and the collection site, article transfer means for transferring an article from a selected storage site onto the carriage and a carriage and transfer means controller for controlling the retrieval of articles by the carriage.

In a further aspect, the invention resides in a method by which an article from a selected storage site inside a storage area can be delivered to a collection site where the article can be removed from the storage area, the method comprising providing an automated article handling facility having a moveable article retrieval carriage within the storage area, moving the carriage to the selected storage site, transferring the article from the storage site onto the carriage and subsequently moving the carriage to a position at or adjacent the collection site where the article can be manually removed from the carriage or automatically transferred from the carriage to the collection site.

In a still further aspect, the present invention resides in a vehicle surveillance system for indicating unauthorised use of a vehicle while the vehicle is in transit, the system comprising, data pick-up means for picking up transit data concerning use of the vehicle while in transit, detector means for analysing the transit data to detect a departure from authorised use and an indicator means for indicating unauthorised use of the vehicle in response to detection of departure from authorised use by said detector means. The article handling facility preferably includes article coupling members which secure articles against inadvertent movement at various stages of retrieval.

Advantageously, the articles are always positively held as they are transferred onto the carriage, such that, for example, in the case of a mobile storage area, possibly in a vehicle, cornering of the vehicle would not inadvertently effect the retrieval process. For example, each storage site preferably includes a storage site article coupling member which must be disengaged before an article can be transferred onto the carriage. Likewise, the transfer means preferably comprises a transfer means, an article coupling member, engageable with the article prior to the storage site article coupling means being released. Likewise, the carriage preferably includes a carriage article coupling member engageable with the article prior to the transfer means coupling member being released.

The article storage sites can be arranged in any individually or sequentially accessible arrangement. Preferably however, the storage sites are arranged as opposed spaced arrays between which the carriage travels.

The article collection site can be a single site or multiple collection sites can be employed. For example, in the case of a security vehicle having a cab, collection sites can be provided adjacent lockable doors on each side of the vehicle or a collection site accessible only from the interior of the cab can be employed. The article retrieval carriage can be any carriage capable of being driven between co-ordinates set by the controller. Preferably, the transfer means is carried by the carriage although the transfer means can be in the form of separate transfer means for the respective sites. Advantageously, the transfer means is in the form of a retractable article engagement means which can extend from the carriage to engage an article and on retraction, draw the article onto the carriage. Advantageously, an article is transferred onto the carriage as a result of multiple passes of the retractable article engagement means. For instance, the retractable article engagement means can be a retractable arm having a latch such that the arm initially extends until the latch engages a catch on the article, the arm is then retracted along with the article until the article is partially or wholly moved onto the carriage. Where the article is partially moved onto the carriage, the latch is subsequently released and the arm extended once more where the same latch or another latch engages the same catch or another catch and the arm and article is again retracted until the article is in the desired position on the carriage. The process of extension and retraction can be repeated as desired until the article and arm are in a desired transport position. Typically, the arm moves from a "park" or neutral position to an initial catch alignment position where the latch and catch are engaged. Typically, after two strokes of the arm, the article is in the transport position whereupon the arm returns to the neutral position. The vehicle surveillance system can be employed in any environment where it may be desirable to constrain actual use of a vehicle should there be departure from authorised use, or at least when a departure from authorised use occurs to provide an indication to other than the user, for example, to a remote control station that there has been a departure from authorised use. For instance, it may be desirable to provide an indication to a flight controller that a plane has departed from its authorised flight path while for a security vehicle, it may be appropriate to shut down the vehicle or fuel to the engine of the vehicle where there has been a departure from a preset delivery route.

The data pick-up means can include sensors monitoring distance travelled and/or time between stops or any other data which relates to the predisposition of drop off points in say, a security vehicle delivery sequence. Typically, the detector means involves a pre-programmed computer into which distance and time data for the authorised journey has been stored. Thus, the pick-up means provides data which can be compared with the stored data. Should the data not match, or should the difference exceed preset limits, an indication means in the form of say, a local or remote alarm can sound. Depending upon requirements, other indicators of departure from authorised use can be initiated. For example, the vehicle can be shut down and so forth. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings and wherein:-

Figure IA is a rear view of a security vehicle incorporating a preferred automated article handling facility according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure IB is a diagrammatic view of a communication arrangement between the security vehicle of Fig. IA and a security monitoring complex.

Figures 2 to 5 are pictorial views illustrating various stages involved in transfer of an article from a selected storage location onto a carriage in an automated article handling facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 6A to 10B are schematic circuit diagrams illustrating a computer based controller for operating a vehicle based automated article handling facility according to the present invention; and

Figures 11 to 39 are portions of an overall flow chart illustrating a typical algorithm for a computer programme used to control a typical vehicle surveillance system according to the invention and an article handling facility of the type illustrated in relation to Figures 1 to 10B. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figs. IA and IB there is illustrated an embodiment of an automated article handling facility 11 comprising a security van 10 having an internal arrangement within a lockable storage area 91 whereby the storage and retrieval of articles within that area is automated and mechanised in a manner to be described below. In addition, with particular reference to Fig. IB, the status of both the van 10 and the lockable storage area 91 is logged and can be communicated to an external security monitoring complex 92 via means of radio link 93.

The rear of the van 10 includes a central panel 12 between lockable doors 13 and 14 which define a lockable storage area 91 behind and separate from the vehicle cab (not seen in Figure IA) . The article handling facility 11 comprises a plurality of article storage sites 15 defined by pairs of rails typically shown at 16 and 17 within respective le t and right slide-out racks 18 and 19. Each pair of rails 16 and 17 carries an article in the form of a tray 20 which can slide on the rails and be removed from the rack in each case. In order to load the trays, the racks can be slid out of the van and as can be seen, the rack 18 is shown partially removed from the van.

A tray retrieval carriage 21, located behind the rear panel and therefore shown in phantom, is moveable between a selected storage location and a collection site in order to retrieve a tray and deliver a tray to the collection site. Typically, the collection site is located adjacent the front of the van. Trays are transferred to the carriage from the racks using a tray transfer mechanism to be described below. The carriage 21 includes a main frame 22 which travels fore and aft (hereinafter referred to as the "X direction") in the van along rails 23, 24, 25 and 26 and a car 27 which travels vertically (hereinafter referred to as the "Y directipn") within the main frame on spaced roller assemblies 28. A motor 29 and threaded rod 30 are employed to control the position of the main frame in the X direction with the negative X direction being toward the rear of the van. A motor 31 and associated gearbox 32 drives threaded rods 33 and 34 and in turn, the car 27 up and down within the main frame with the negative Y direction being toward the floor 35 of the van 10. Thus, the car 27 can be positioned at any location between the left and right racks according to an "X, Y" co-ordinate system.

In the illustrated embodiment, the car 27 includes a tray transfer mechanism in the form of a retractable arm, to be described below, which can extend into the left or right racks to retrieve trays (the direction of travel of the arm being hereinafter referred to as the "Z direction") with the positive Z direction being in a direction from the left rack to the right rack. Thus, selection and retrieval of a tray can be referred to initially as an X, Y co-ordinate system with the transfer of trays being referred to in terms of a (X, Y, Z) co-ordinate system relative to the position of the retractable arm within the car 27.

Figs 2 to 5 illustrate in more detail the carriage 22 and the operation of the retractable arm. Where appropriate, like numerals have been used to illustrate like features. As can be seen from Fig 2, each tray 18 is normally secured in place against inadvertent movement by a biased pin 36 which normally engages with a hole 37 on a tray 18. In Fig 2, the pin 36 has been withdrawn by the operation of a solenoid driven slide (left release solenoid) 38 but not until a latch blade 39 has engaged with a catch 40 on the right hand edge of the tray 18.

The latch plate 39 can be extended or retracted by a left latch solenoid 41 and as can be seen, the latch plate 39 is part of a retractable arm assembly 42 which can move in the Z direction, that is, to the left or right.

In the illustrated embodiment, the car 27 is viewed from the left but it will be appreciated that left and right catch plates 39 are employed and are lifted or lowered, depending on the position of fingers 43 and 44. Thus, two latch solenoids, right and left latch solenoids are employed and latches 39 are on right and left hand ends of the retractable arm assembly 42. Similarly, a right release solenoid and associated slide is employed on the right hand side. In short, the right hand side is a mirror image of the left hand side, the operation of which will be described.

Once the retractable arm assembly 42 is located in the position illustrated in Fig 3, it can move in the positive Z direction (that is to the right) by virtue of 2-axis motor (not shown) to draw the tray 18 partially into the carriage 27, typically as depicted in Fig 4. Once the tray 18 is partially drawn into the carriage 27, a tray lock solenoid 45 is activated to slide a pin 46 into a flange 47 on the tray 18. Once the pin 46 is in place, the tray 18 is secured and the left latch 39 can be released. Once the latch 39 is released, the retractable arm assembly 42 can be retracted in the negative Z direction until the right latch (not shown) 39 is positioned behind the catch 40 whereafter the right latch is engaged with the catch 40, the tray lock solenoid 45 is deactivated and the pin 46 drawn out of the flange 47. The arm assembly 42 can then be retracted to draw the tray 18 completely inside the carriage 27.

The tray lock solenoid 45 can then be reactivated and the pin 46 can be moved into another flange 47 spaced from the first flange 47 such that the tray 18 is fully secured within the car 27. The retractable arm 42, if not already in a neutral position, can substantially be moved to its neutral position. The carriage 21 can then be driven about and the tray can be delivered to another storage location or a collection site by a reverse process when compared to that illustrated in Figs 2 to 5.

The aforementioned operation of the carriage is under the control of a controller and Figs 6A to 6D jointly depict a computer based controller for controlling retrieval of trays, return of trays to storage sites and shut down of the security vehicle in response to a departure from authorised use. Where appropriate, like numerals illustrate like features.

As can be seen, the controller employs a computer 48 which has its various inputs and outputs connected as shown. The position of the retractable arm relative to the storage racks is monitored via an X, Y, Z co-ordinate system by monitoring the respective X, Y and Z motor drive threaded rods 30, 33 and 49 by respective magnetic pick-ups 5.0, 51 and 52 which provide repetitive square pulse trains to respective counters 53, 54 and 55 (see Fig 9A and 9B) . The respective outputs of the counters are delivered to the computer 48 where relevant comparisons are made for position control purposes (see Fig 11 to 39).

Also depicted in Figs 6A and 6B and in more detail in Figs 7A and 7B is a typical circuit schematic for controlling transfer of trays onto or off the carriage. As mentioned above, the carriage is equipped with right and left latch solenoids 56 and 57, right and left tray release solenoids 58 and 59 and the tray lock solenoid 45. Respective voltage divider networks 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64 provide supply to the solenoids in response to operation of respective control relays depicted in Fig 10A. Solenoid overcurrents are monitored by the computer 48 via difference amplifiers 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69 in order to identify any major error in carriage position.

For the purpose of vehicle surveillance, Figs 6A to 6D also depict control of an emergency brake at 70, engine stop circuits at 71, a shut down buzzer at 72 and an alarm at 73. The emergency brake, engine stop, buzzer and alarm are activated when vehicle use departs from a pre-programmed usage sequence. In order to detect a departure from authorised use, the vehicle in this case is equipped with a distance travelled transducer depicted at 74 so that the actual distance travelled can be compared with pre-programmed values. Finally, Figs 6A to 6D also depict a keypad 75 for entry of reset codes which are required after a shut down sequence has been initiated, a display 76 and left and right rack code inputs 77 and 78 which upon comparison with stored values confirm that the racks match the vehicle and programmed delivery sequence.

Figs 8A and 8B illustrate voltage divider networks 79, 80 and 81 by which the respective X, Y and Z motors 29, 31 and 82 are controlled. As can be seen, the current direction through the motors is controlled in accordance with the control relays depicted in Fig 10A which are in turn controlled by the computer 48 (see Fig 6A) . The X, Y and Z motor operation is monitored by the computer via differential amplifiers 83, 84 and 85 which are coupled to respective A to D inputs of the computer 48 (see Fig 6A) .

The emergency brake 70, engine stop circuit 71 and alarm 73 are controlled by the bank of control relays 86 as depicted in Fig 10B which are in turn, under the control of the computer 48 (see Fig 6A) .

Figs 11 to 39 are portions of an overall flow chart illustrating a typical algorithm for a computer programme used to control the article handling facility illustrated in Figs 1 to 10B.

Fig 11 deals with checking rack codes against vehicle codes read from an input disk. The disk also contains data for the journey including anticipated distance and times between deliveries so that the vehicle surveillance system can detect any departure from the programme sequence. The final box in Fig 11 deals with retrieval of the co-ordinates in terms of counts for the first tray to be retrieved.

Figs 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B deal with movement of the car in the X and Y directions until the car is adjacent the correct tray. The options available include X or Y movement or a combination of X and Y movement.

Prior to operation of a motor or a solenoid, current is checked in case of a major jamming problem and, if so, an indication is provided on the driver's display. In each case, an overcurrent condition is checked three times before an error indication is given.

Figs 14A, 14B, 15a, 15B and 16 deal with extension and retraction of the retractable arm into the right hand racks along with operation of the tray release solenoid, the latch solenoids and the tray lock solenoid. Thus, this sequence deals with transfer of a tray from the right racks onto the carriage. If a tray is to be transferred from the left hand racks, the algorithm bypasses this portion of the programme and executes the required sequence set out in Figs 17A, 17B, 18A, 18B and 19.

Once a tray has been transferred onto the carriage, the carriage moves so that the car travels to a point adjacent a collection site. The tray is then transferred to the collection site. This procedure is essentially a reversal of the above loading process. Figs 20, 21A and 21B deal with movement of the carriage to a point adjacent a delivery door. Figs 22A, 22B, 23A and 23B deal with extension and retraction of the retractable arm and operation of the various solenoids to transfer the tray from the carriage to the collection site adjacent the delivery door.

Thus, the flow chart from Fig 11 to Fig 23B deals with retrieval of a tray from a particular storage site and delivery of the tray to the collection site.

The flow chart portions of Figs 24A, 24B, 25A and 25B deal primarily with surveillance of vehicle usage and as can be seen, checks are made of the expected distance travelled as well as the expected delivery time. If the checks fail, a vehicle shut down sequence is initiated.

As can be seen, once the sequence is initiated, vehicle shut down can only be averted by entry of a required reset code. On the other hand, if the surveillance criteria are satisfied, access to the collection site is enabled and the tray can be collected through the delivery door in the side of the vehicle.

A return tray can be located at the collection site once the door has been closed, the programme sequence continues with a repetition of the typical loading and unloading sequences similar to those given above in order to return the tray to its storage site.

Figs 26A, 26B, 27A and 27B deal with reloading of the tray onto the carriage from the collection site while Figs 28A, 28B, 29A and 29B deal with X and Y axis movement of the carriage as the tray is returned.

Figs 30A, 30B, 31A, 31B and 32 deal with transfer of the empty tray from the carriage into the right hand racks while Figs 33A, 33B, 34A, 34B and 35 deal with transfer of the tray into the left hand racks if the storage site for that tray is in those racks.

Once the empty tray has been replaced, the carriage moves to a park position adjacent the delivery door. The flow chart sequence for this is illustrated in Figs 36A, 36B, 37A and 37B. Once the carriage has returned to the park position, another delivery sequence can be initiated as depicted in Figs 38A and 38B by retrieval of the time and distance to the next delivery and the co-ordinates for the next tray to be retrieved. The programme sequence then returns to Fig 11 for the whole process of tray retrieval and delivery to be commenced as before.

If the final delivery for the day has been completed, a distance and time check is made and as long as the distance criteria is satisfied and the driver has switched a manual reset switch, the vehicle shut down is avoided. The flow chart moves onto the final stage at Fig 39 where basic audit data is retrieved and written to disk. If the time and distance check fails, a vehicle shut down procedure is initiated and it can only be averted by insertion of the appropriate reset codes.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that while one example of the present invention has been given in relation to a security van, many other applications of the applicant's technology will be envisaged by those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set forth.

Claims

CLAIMS '

1. An automated article handling facility comprising a plurality of selectable article storage sites, an article collection site, an article retrieval carriage moveable between a selected storage site and the collection site, article transfer means for transferring an article from a selected site onto the carriage and a carriage and transfer means controller for controlling retrieval of articles by the carriage.

2. The article handling facility of claim 1 further including article coupling members which secure articles against inadvertent movement at various stages of retrieval.

3. The article handling facility of claim 1 wherein the articles are always positively held.

4. The article handling facility of claim 3 wherein each storage site includes a storage site article coupling member which must be disengaged before an article can be transferred onto the carriage.

5. The article handling facility of claim 4 wherein the transfer means includes an article coupling member engageable with the article prior to the storage site article coupling means being released.

6. The article handling facility of claim 5 wherein the carriage includes a carriage article coupling member engageable with the article prior to the transfer means coupling member being released.

7. The article handling facility of claim 1 wherein article storage sites are arranged either individually or in sequentially accessible arrangement.

8. The article handling facility of claim 7 wherein the storage sites are arranged as opposed spaced arrays between which the carriage travels.

9. The article handling facility of claim 1 wherein the article collection sites are either single site or multiple collection sites.

10. The article handling facility of claim 9 wherein in the case of a security vehicle having a cab, collection sites are provided adjacent lockable doors on each side of the vehicle or a collection site is provided which is accessible only from the interior of the cab.

11. The article handling facility of claim 1 wherein the article retrieval carriage is any carriage capable of being driven between co-ordinates set by the controller.

12. The article handling facility of claim 1 wherein the transfer means is carried by the carriage.

13. The article handling facility of claim 12 wherein the transfer means is in the form of a retractable article engagement means which can extend from the carriage to engage an article and on retraction, draw the article onto the carriage.

14. The article handling facility of claim 13 wherein an article is transferred onto the carriage as a result of multiple passes of the retractable article engagement means.

15. The article handling facility of claim 14 wherein the retractable article engagement means is a retractable arm having a latch such that the arm initially extends until the latch engages a catch on the article, and wherein the arm is then retracted along with the article until the article is partially or wholly moved onto the carriage.

16. The article handling facility of claim 15 wherein when the article is partially moved onto the carriage, the latch is subsequently released and the arm extended once more where the same latch or another latch engages the same catch or another catch and the arm and article is again retracted until the article is in the desired position on the carriage.

17. The article handling facility of claim 16 wherein the process of extension and retraction is repeated as desired until the article and arm are in a desired transport position.

18. The article handling facility of claim 16 or 17 wherein the arm moves from a "park" or neutral position to an initial catch alignment position where the latch and catch are engaged.

19. The article handling facility of claim 18 wherein after two strokes of the arm, the article is in the transport position whereupon the arm returns to the neutral position.

20. The article handling facility of claim 1 wherein the data pick-up means includes sensors monitoring distance travelled and/or time between stops or any other data which relates to the predisposition of drop off points in say, a security vehicle delivery sequence.

21. The article handling facility of claim 20 wherein the detector means includes a pre-programmed computer into which distance and time data for the authorised journey has been stored whereby the pick-up means provides data which can be compared with the stored data.

22. The article handling facility of claim 21 wherein should the data not match, or should the difference exceed preset limits, an indication means in the form of a local or remote alarm will sound.

23. The article handling facility of claim 22 wherein other indicators of departure from authorised use can be initiated including wherein the vehicle is shut down.

24. A security vehicle including a chassis supported on a wheel assembly and a lockable storage area supported by the chassis, the storage area comprising an article handling facility including a plurality of selectable article storage sites and an article collection site, an article retrieval carriage moveable between a selected storage site and the collection site, article transfer means for transferring an article from a selected storage site onto the carriage and a carriage and transfer means controller for controlling the retrieval of articles by the carriage.

25. A method by which an article from a selected storage site inside a storage area can be delivered to a collection site where the article can be removed from the storage area, the method comprising providing an automated article handling facility having a moveable article retrieval carriage within the storage area, moving the carriage to the selected storage site, transferring the article from the storage site onto the carriage and subsequently moving the carriage to a position at or adjacent the collection site where the article can be manually removed from the carriage or automatically transferred from the carriage to the collection site.- 26. A vehicle surveillance system for indicating unauthorised use of a vehicle while the vehicle is in transit, the system comprising, data pick-up means for picking up transit data concerning use of the vehicle while in transit, detector means for analysing the transit data to detect a departure from authorised use and an indicator means for indicating unauthorised use of the vehicle in response to detection of departure from authorised use by said detector means.