AU668635B2 - Security safe and vault - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Lk, i as Patents Act 1990 PELLA PTY LTD

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT t 94 Invention Title: o 4.9 a ii i Security safe and vault The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:- 16R.' iz 1 2 The present invention relates to security safes and vaults, particularly, but not exclusively, security safes and vaults for use in the home or small business.

Most currently available safes or vaults for use in the home or small business fall into two broad categories namely, freestandig safes and vaults or wall and floor safes and vaults.

With wall and floor safes, a cavity is formed in a wall or floor of a building and the safe inserted into the cavity so that the safe to some extent relies on the surrounding material of the cavity for its security.

Clearly there is no advantage in installing a wall or floor safe if the material surrounding the safe may be cut away and the safe removed as a whole.

The installation of such a wall or floor safe is both time consuming and expensive. An appropriate cavity must be excavated, the wall or floor safe then inserted and fixed in the cavity and usually, the exterior face of the wall or floor safe disguised. The formation of an S:0 20 appropriate cavity to house the wall or floor safe is also 0 quite messy. The furniture, carpet, clothing etc 0 surrounding the desired position of the wall or floor safe o~ 0 must be covered or removed to prevent soiling by the dust 0 and debris arising from the excavation of the wall or floor cavity.

Once installed the floor or wall safe cannot be easily relocated. Fuither, access to a floor safe for example, is sometimes difficult due to its low position.

Freestanding safes or vaults, on the other hand, do not require a wall or floor cavity for their *0 installation. Such freestanding safes or vaults usually have exposed walls constructed from heavy grade steel in order to provide adequate security.

Such freestanding safes or vaults are usually closed by a hinged door. Such a door requires a large clearance

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1 L i- t 'I 3 in front of the safe to allow easy opening of the door and access to the interior of the safe or vault.

Both floor and wall safes and free standing safes i i comprise a locking mechanism on the door of the safe or vault. The locking mechanism comprises appropriate boltwork operatively associated with locking and retention i assemblies to releasably engage the boltwork on the interior face of the safe door with the safe or vault housing.

The boltwork and locking and retention assemblies of the safe are usually mounted on the interior face of the safe door and are operated by an appropriate release mechanism eg. combination wheel or key on the exterior face of the door. Accordingly, once an intruder has breached the safe door it is a simple task to reach and i release the retention and locking assemblies and boltwork to open the door and gain access to the safe.

To increase the security of safes or vaults conventional wisdom dictates a larger thicker safe or

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vault is needed. Not only is such an increase in size o very expensive but it is totally unsuitable for use in the home or small businesses. There is a need for a security safe or vault which is s stable for domestic use and small businesses and which is at least as secure as conventional safes or vaults but which requires less time and space to install.

In order to ameliorate the disadvantages of the prior art it is proposed to provide a security safe and/or vault which offer a choice over the prior art and which, at least in the preferred embodiments may be cheaper and easier to install but equally as secure as previous conventional security safes or vaults.

SAccordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a security safe comprising a storage housing, a storage drawer receivable in said housing, a locking Il~s~_ I_ 4 assembly adapted to lock said drawer in said housing and an actuation asasebly operatively associated with said locking assembly to engage or release said locking assembly with said housing, said drawer including a front or anterior wall joined by at least one side wall and/or floor to a rearwardly spaced interior wall, wherein said locking assembly is disposed on or adjacent to said interior wall and said actuation assembly is disposed on or adjacent to said anterior wall.

In a first embodiment, the locking and/or actuation assemblies are connected to said drawer and removable from the housing with said drawer.

The safe housing may comprise an inner casing and an outer casing with a hardenable material filling a void between the inner and outer casings, or alternatively single skin of, preferably, stainless steel.

In another embodiment, the locking assembly comprises a locking bar or plate adapted to engage an aperture formed in either the safe housing or drawer.

The locking assembly may also comprise a retention a .a0*a assembly adapted to prevent disengagement of the locking assembly.

In yet another embodiment, the locking assembly comprises a rotatable cam plate, a locking tongue releasably engageable with said rotatable cam plate and a keeper adjacent one face of said plate to prevent axial movement of said plate such that following disengagement of said tongue, said cam plate may be rotated to clear said keeper and allow removal of said drawer from said housing.

In a further embodiment, the actuation assembly may comprise a combination or key lock positioned on the anterior wall of the drawer. The actuation assembly may be operatively associated with the locking assembly by means of a mechancial linkage such as rotatable shafts L extending along the storage drawer or an electrical connection.

In still a further embodiment said locking assembly and/or said actuation assembly is connected to said drawer and removable from said housing with said drawer.

In this aspect of the present invention a safe is provided with a storage drawer therein. The drawer is completely removable from the safe housing. Most conventional safes comprise a door which releasably engages a safe housing, the contents of the safe being held in the safe housing. It is usual that the safe is positioned in an area whit-h is difficult to access eg.

close to the floor, in a cupboard etc. In such a position once the safe door is opened, it is sometimes difficult to examine the contents of the safe. The present inventive safe overcomes this difficulty by providing a drawer which is releasably engageable with the safe housing so that the drawer may be withdrawn to allow easy access to the contents of the safe.

0 0 20 Additionally, the locking assembly of the present oo 0 0. inventive safe extends from the rear wall of the drawer to oo oer releasably engage the drawer with the safe housing while eo being operable from a front wall of the drawer. In this .0 *way, even if the front wall of the drawer is breached eg.

by force, drilling etc., the locking assembly cannot be attached or released since it is positioned at the rear wall of the drawer. The safe remains secure.

The present inventive safe provides all the advantages of an above ground safe eg. easy installation, 30 easy access, while being as resistant to unauthorised entry as conventional wall or floor safes.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a filing cabinet comprising a cabinet housing adapted to receive a plurality of drawers therein, wherein at least one of said drawers is replaced by the inventive security ft c 6 safe.

In order that the nature of the present invention may be more clearly understood, preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figures 1A and 1B are front elevational and plan views respectively of a security safe according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a partial plan sectional view of a security safe according to a third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a security safe through Section AA of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view of a security safe through Section BB of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the security safe of Figure 2; 15 Figure 6 is a partial sectional view through Section DD of Figure 2; t Figure 7 is a side sectional view of a security safe according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; IH "Figure 8A and 8B are partial sectional view through sections GG and 20 I-IH respectively of Figure 7; S Figure 8C is front elevational view of a locking assembly for a security safe according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Turning firstly to Figures 1A and 113B, in a first aspect the present invention provides a security safe 100 comprising a storage housing 110 with a drawer 120 receivable therein, In this embodiment, the outer casing of the safe housing 110 is provided by an upstanding cylindrical wall 111 with circular top and bottom walls. It is envisaged that the safe housing may be any desired configuration, For example, the embodiment of the safe housing 100 shown in Figure 2 has a rectangular or square shaped outer casing 111.

Drawer 120 may also be any desired configuration eg. cylindrical, hexagonal.

In the embodiment of Figure 2 drawer 120 is rectangular and is defined by front or anterior wall 121 and rear or interior wall 122 connected by side walls 123 and bottom wall or floor 124 (see Fig 4).

As shown in Figures 3 and 4 to allow smooth and easy withdrawal and insertion, drawer 120 preferably slides on rollers 115 extending inwardly from the inner casing 112 of the safe housing 110. Ro assist in withdrawing

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7 drawer 120 from safe housing 110, handles 125 may be provided on the front wall 121 of drawer 120.

By providing the inventive security safe 100 with a slidable drawer 120, the contents of the safe may be easily examined by unlocking the drawer, as will be described later, and withdrawing the drawer 120 completely from the housing 110. Unlike conventional safes, it is not necessary for the user to reach into the safe or bend down to the safe opening to examine the contents of the safe. Even if the inventive safe 100 is placed on the floor, the user may examine the contents of the safe by simply unlocking and withdrawing dra'w!r 120 completely from housing 110.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the lock drawer 120 in safe 100, a locking assembly 130 is provided on or adjacent interior wall 122 of the drawer. If provided on the drawer, the locking assembly will extend to inner casing 112 to releasably engage the housing 110. Alternatively, the locking assembly may be provided on the housing itself to releasably the drawer 120.

Any desired locking assembly may be used with the present invention. In the embodiment shown locking assembly 130 comprises a locking plate 131 and retention assembly 132 both positioned on rear wall 0 "122 of drawer 120.

20 Locking plate 131 on rear wall 122 is connected via shaft 136 to locking wheel or knob 135 on front wall 121. This shaft 136 passes through an aperture 113 formed in safe housing 110 as shown in Figure 6. Aperture 0 113 only allows passage of locking plate 131 when it is appropriately aligned.

Alignment of locking plate 131 is accomplished by rotation of locking wheel 25 135. However, locking plate 131 and wheel 135 may not be rotated while retention assembly 132 engages shaft 136, as shown in Figure 3.

The locking assembly 130 is operatively associated with an actuation assembly 140 provided on or adjacent the anterior wall 121 of drawer 120.

This actuation assembly 140 comprises combination wheel 133 and locking wheel or knob 135 mechanically connected, via rotatable shafts 134 and 136 respectively, to locking assembly 130.

By dialling the correct combination on combination wheel 133, retention assembly 132 disengages from locking shaft 136 to allow rotation of the locking plate 131 by locking wheel or knob 135. Locking plate 131 may then pass through aperture 113 as the drawer 120 is slid out from the safe housing 110.

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8 To return and lock drawer 120 in safe 100, the drawer is slid into the housing 110 and locking plate 131 rotated until it aligns and passes through aperture 113 to allow the drawer 120 to be seated correctly in inner casing 112 of housing 110. Once the drawer 120 is correctly seated, locking wheel or knob 135 is rotated so that locking plate 131 is in a locking position (see Fig. 6) and retention assembly 132 is re-engaged to prevent rotation of locking plate 131.

By providing the locking assembly at the rear or interior wall 122 of the drawer '120, an attack on the front or anterior wall 121 of the drawer 120 will not open the safe, Even if front wall 121 is breached and shafts 134 and 136 destroyed, locking plate 131 may not be rotated since it is held in position by retention assembly 132, Further to reach the rear wall 122 and locking assembly 130 from the front of the safe, the intruder must pass through the contents of the drawer. Such an attack would most likely lead to destruction of the safe's contents making unauthorised entry of the safe pointless.

Shafts 134, 136 may be positioned below bottom wall 124 as shown Figures 3 and 4 for added security.

An intruder may of course attack the locking assembly from the rear wall of the safe housing 110 however, this requires the intruder to pass through the entire safe housing before gaining access to the locking assembly. For added security, the void between the inner casing 112 and outer casing '111 may be filled by an appropriate burglar resistant barrier 4 such as high strength reinf-orced concrete (iIvIOPA).

When the drawer 120 is removed from safe housing 110, the combination of retention assembly 132 may be easily changed since the retention assembly is fully accessible on the rear wall of the drawer 120.

Of course, it is not necessary that a mechanical linkage exists between the actuation assembly, ini this case combination wheel 133, on the f ,romit face '121 of the drawer and the retention assem-bly '132, The actuation assambly may be provided by a digital code pad placed on or adjacent the front wall 121 of the drawer with wires providing an electrical connection to the locking assembly 130.

Another example of the inventive safe is showp in Figures 7, 8A and 8B in which the locking assembly 130 comprises rotatable locking camn plate

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9 310 mounted on the inside face of the rear wall of safe housing 120, and a keeper 320, mounted on the floor of the housing 120.

The drawer 120 releasably engages this locking plate 310 via drive cam plate 330 provided on rear wall 122, This drive cam plate 330 is rotatable by means of shaft or spindle 336 connected to locking wheel or knob 335 of the actuation assembly mounted on the front wall 121 of the drawer 120. As shown in Figure 8B drive cam plate 330 comprises a pair of pins 332 and has a cut-out segment 331 sized to clear keeper 320 as will be explained below.

The locking cam plate 310 more clearly shown in Figure 8A is provided with a recess 311 adapted to receive a locking tongue 301 from electronic lock 300 to prevent rotation of the locking cam plate. Apertures 312 formed in locking cam plate 310 are adapted to receive pins 322 from drive cam plate 330, This locking assembly 130 operates as follows, Firstly, the locking tongue 301 is withdrawn from recess 311 by an appropriate signal sent to electronic lock 300 from, say, an electronic keypad. In a particularly preferred embodiment such a keypad may be positioned on the front facing wall of the safe housing 110. With tongue 301 20 disengaged, locking cam plate 310 is free to rotate with drive cam plate 330 by means of wheel 335 and shaft 336 of the actuation assembly.

The wheel 335 on the anterior wall of the drawer 120 is rotated in order to align the cut-out segment 331 with keeper plate 320. In this case segment 331 would be rotated to face the bottom or floor of the housing. In this position the drive cam plate 330 clears keeper plate 320 and allows the drawer 120 to be withdrawn from the housing 110.

On returning to drawer to the housing, the drive cam 330 must be realigned so that cut-out segment 331 clears keeper plate 320. The locking cam plate 310 preferably remains in its previous position due to frictional contact with the anterior face of the rear wall of housing 110 ready to be reengaged by pins 332. Once engaged, locking cam plate 310 may be rotated with drive cam plate 330 until tongue 301 of retention assembly lock 300 enters recess 311 thereby preventing further rotation of the locking cam plate 310.

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LPnar~LLI~;ii~xr i II'- As mentioned above, the locking assembly 130 may be positioned on the safe housing 110 to extend toward the drawer 120, or alternatively, on drawer 120 to extend toward housing 110.

In an alternative embodiment, shown in Figure 8C, the locking assembly 130 may comprise a single locking plate 410 adapted to be engaged by locking tongue 301. This locking plate 410 comprises a recess 411 to receive tongue 301 as well as two cut-out segments 412 and 413 to clear ij keeper plate 320. Preferably this locking plate 410 is fitted to the rear wall j' 122 of the drawer 120 with keeper 320 positioned on the floor of housing 110. This locking assembly operates in much the same manner as the locking assembly of Figure 7 however plate 410 performs the dual role of the locking and drive cam plates 310 and 330 i.e. engaging tongue 301 and contacting/clearing keeper 320, i The drawer 120 or housing 110 may also include an over-ride i 15 mechanism to allow an operator to over-ride the locking assembly 130. The shaft 336 which rotates locking plate 410 may be mounted such that it has limited longitudinal axial movement relative to the drawer. A bar or rod may then be provided transverse to this shaft to releasably engage the circumference of the shaft such that it allows rotation of the shaft but not axial or longitudinal movement.

By disengaging this bar or rod, the shaft may be pushed or pulled in S. the drawer in order to move locking plate 410 in the axial direction. For example, by disengaging the abovementioned transverse bar or rod one may push shaft 336 inwardly thereby moving locking plate 410 rearwardly until it no longer contacts locking tongue 301. In such a position, locking plate 410 is free to rotate until it clears keeper plate 320 and the drawer may be removed.

Actuation of such an over-ride mechanism may be by any appropriate means such as key lock, electronic keypad etc.

The inventive security safe may be manufactured from conventional materials. The inner and outer casings may be fabricated from 5mm-10mm steel plate with all joins preferably arc welded. The drawer itself may be made from 5mm steel plate continuously arc welded with the front wall comprising a 30mm thick steel plate which offers substantial resistance to oxygen gas cutting, drilling and forced entry.

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From the foregoing it should be apparent that the invention encompasses an advantageous advance in the art. Further, it should be clear that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope or the essential characteristics thereof.

The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

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Claims (10)

1. A security safe comprising a storage housing, a storage drawer receivable in said housing, a locking assembly adapted to lock said drawer in said housing and an actuation assembly operatively associated with said locking assembly to engage or release said locking assembly with said housing, said drawer including a front or anterior wall joined by at least one side wall and/or floor to a rearwardly spaced interior wall, wherein said locking assembly is disposed on or adjacent to said interior wall and said actuation assembly is disposed on or adjacent to said anterior wall.

2. A security safe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking assembly and/or actuation assembly is connected to said drawer and removable from said housing with said drawer.

3. A security safe as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said housing comprises an inner casing and an outer casing with a hardenable material filling a void between the inner and outer casings.

4. A security safe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said housing is constructed from a single skin of stainless steel. A security safe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said locking assembly comprises a locking bar or plate adapted to engage an aperture formed either said safe housing or said drawer. A security safe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims S. wherein said locking assembly comprises a rotatable cam plate, a locking tongue releasably engageable with said rotatable cam plate and a keeper adjacent one face of said plate to prevent axial movement of said plate such that following disengagement of said tongue said cam plate may be rotated to clear said keeper and allow removal of said drawer from said housing.

7. A security safe as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein said locking assembly comprises a retention assembly adapted to prevent disengagement of said locking assembly.

8. A security safe as claimed in claim 7 wherein said retention assembly comprises an electronic lock mounted on the drawer or housing, said electronic lock being operable by an electronic actuation means positioned remotely from said electronic lock.

9. A security safe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein saL, actuation assembly comprises a combination or key lock positicned on said anterior wall of said storage drawer. 13 A security safe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said actuation assembly is operatively associated with said locking assembly by means of rotatable shafts extending along said storage drawer.

11. A security safe as claimed in any one of the previous claims wherein said actuation assembly comprises an electronic keypad positioned on or adjacent a front wall of said housing said keypad being electrically connected to said lockirg assembly.

12. A filing cabinet comprising a cabinet housing adapted to receive a plurality of drawers therein, wherein at least one of said drawers is replaced by a security safe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

13. A security safe substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of figures 1A-8C. DATED this 23 day of February 1996 PELA PTY LTD Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: It itsF.B. RICE CO. I I I iif i ABSTRACT A security safe (100) or vault (200) which include a locking assembly (130) on a rear portion and an actuation assembly (140) on a front portion thereby providing increased security from front on attack. The actuation assembly (140) may be connected to the locking assembly (130) by an appropriate mechanical or electrical jI connection. t I I e a 0 t i L