EP2205812A1

EP2205812A1 - Break-resistant security door, particularly for home safes or the like

Info

Publication number: EP2205812A1
Application number: EP07857109A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Antinoro; Ferdinando Giusti
Original assignee: Stark Srl
Current assignee: Stark Srl
Priority date: 2007-09-19
Filing date: 2007-12-21
Publication date: 2010-07-14
Also published as: WO2009036794A1; RU2010133435A; CN101802337A; WO2009036794A8; ITMI20071811A1

Abstract

A break-resistant security door (1), particularly for home safes or the like, comprising a front panel (2) which is pivoted at an end portion (2a) thereof to a box-like body (3) and can engage by abutment the inner side walls (5a, 5b) of an opening (6) of the box-like body (3), at least one first outer side wall (7a) which is substantially oblique and can engage by abutment a corresponding oblique inner side wall (5 a) of the opening (6) of the box-like body (3) being provided.

Description

BREAK-RESISTANT SECURITY DOOR, PARTICULARLY FOR HOME SAFES OR THE LIKE Technical Field

The present invention relates to a break-resistant security door, particularly for home safes or the like.

When one wishes to protect valuables against possible theft, it is known to use wall-mounted safes or the like. Background Art

As is known, a wall-mounted safe is a box-like body which has a security door, which by being armor-plated and provided with a closure device should prevent any safecracker from opening the safe and therefore stealing its content.

Regardless of the closure device that is used, commercially available security doors generally comprise a substantially flat front panel with lateral faces which are substantially perpendicular to the front face of the panel.

Such known security doors are not devoid of drawbacks, which include the fact that the effectiveness of the closure device that is used, in combination with the material used to provide the front panel and the box- like body, may be insufficient to prevent theft of the valuables contained in the safe.

One of the techniques used by home safecrackers consists in using levers of different kinds or break-in tools, for example the classic "jemmy", which are inserted in the gaps formed between the front panel and the box- like body in order to act as a lever so as to open the safe. Another technique used by home safecrackers consists in smashing the front panel of the safe by striking it with smashing means, such as for example a mace used as a ram or the like.

Under the action of the smash-in means used, the welds of the hinges of the security door may yield under the stress caused by the impact and may break, thus smashing the front panel toward the inside of the box-like body and allowing the safecracker to complete the theft.

Another drawback is constituted by the fact that as a consequence of the smashing of the front panel of the safe, one suffers not only the economical damage linked to the theft of the valuables contained in the safe but also the damage linked to the need to replace the security door of the safe, or even the entire safe, consequently entailing an additional economical damage.

Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks cited above by providing a break-resistant security door which prevents any safecracker from smashing the front panel of a safe and therefore from stealing the content of the safe.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a break-resistant security door which, after being subjected to the impact, is capable of transferring the smash-in stress not to the welds of the hinges but to the supporting structure of the box-like body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a break-resistant security door which, during production, uses technologies which limit the formation of gaps, between the front panel and the box-like body in the closed configuration of the safe, which are useful for any safecracker for using levers or break-in instruments to try to open the safe.

This aim and these and other objects, which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a break-resistant security door, particularly for home safes or the like, comprising a front panel which is pivoted at an end portion thereof to a box-like body and can engage by abutment the inner side walls of an opening of said box-like body, characterized in that said front panel comprises at least one first outer side wall which is substantially oblique and can engage by abutment a corresponding oblique inner side wall of said opening, said inner side wall being substantially parallel to said outer side wall in the closed configuration of said safe. Brief Description of the Drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a break-resistant security door, particularly for home safes or the like according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partially sectional perspective view of a break-resistant security door according to the present invention, in the configuration in which the safe is open; Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of a break-resistant security door according to the present invention, in the configuration in which the safe is open;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of a break-resistant security door according to the present invention, in the configuration in which the safe is closed;

Figure 4 is a partially sectional perspective view of another embodiment of a break-resistant security door according to the present invention, in the configuration in which the safe is open.

Ways of carrying out the Invention With reference to the figures, the break-resistant security door according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1 , comprises a front panel 2, shaped substantially like a parallelepiped and pivoted at one of its end portions 2a to a box-like body 3 by means of a hinge 4. The front panel 2 can engage by abutment the inner side walls 5a, 5b,

5c and 5d of an opening 6, which is also substantially shaped like a parallelepiped, of the box-like body 3.

The front panel 2 comprises a plurality of outer side walls, all of which are substantially inclined. The opening 6 of the box-like body 3 comprises respectively corresponding substantially oblique outer side walls.

The oblique cut of the inner side walls of the opening 6 of the box- like body 3 and of the outer side walls of the front panel 2 is achieved by using high-precision technological processes in order to ensure correct mating of the components. For example, it is possible to use a three- dimensional laser cutting machine such as the TRUMPF CCELL 1500 or the like.

The front panel 2 comprises at least one first outer side wall 7a which is substantially oblique and can engage by abutment a corresponding first oblique inner side wall 5a of the opening 6.

The first inner side wall 5a is substantially parallel to the first outer side wall 7a in the closed configuration of the safe.

The first outer side wall 7a is inclined at an angle α ranging from 5° to 50° and preferably equal to 25°. The angle α is defined with respect to an outer front wall 2b of the front panel 2 and is oriented toward a central portion 2c of the front panel 2. The front panel 2 comprises, proximate to the end portion 2a, the substantially oblique first outer side wall 7a and, at the opposite side, a second outer side wall 7c which is substantially oblique. The second outer side wall 7c is inclined at an angle β which can be equal or different with respect to the angle α of the first outer side wall 7a; in particular, the second outer side wall 7c is inclined at an angle β which is preferably smaller than the angle α of the first outer side wall 7a.

The opening 6 of the box-like body 3 comprises a first inner side wall 5a, which is arranged proximate to the point where the front panel 2 is pivoted to the box-like body 3, and a second inner side wall 5 c, which is arranged on the opposite side with respect to the first one.

The first inner side wall 5a and the second inner side wall 5c are substantially parallel respectively to the first outer side wall 7a and to the second outer side wall 7c. With reference to Figure 4, in another embodiment of the front panel 2, which is shaped substantially like a parallelepiped, the break-resistant security door 1 can comprise a front panel 8 which is substantially frustum- shaped. The frustum-shaped front panel 8 has a single side wall 8a which is inclined by an angle Y ranging from 5° to 50° and preferably equal to 25°. The angle Y is defined in the same manner as the angle α cited above. Of course, if the shape of the front panel 2 varies, so does the shape of the opening 6 of the box-like body. Operation of the break-resistant security door according to the invention is evident from what has been described and illustrated, and in particular it is evident that if a smash-in attempt is made, the front panel 2 rests against the inner side walls 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d of the opening 6 of the box-like body 3. As a consequence of this fact, if a smash-in attempt occurs, the break- resistant security door 1 is not smashed-in, avoiding the breakage of the welds of the hinge and most of all avoiding the provision of access to the content of the safe for any safecracker.

It should be noted that in conditions of normal use, between the outer side walls 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d and the inner side walls 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d there is a minimal clearance, ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 mm, which does not allow to insert any lever or break-in tool in order to attempt to open the safe, thereby constituting an effective fire barrier.

This result can be achieved in particular thanks to the use of the previously cited three-dimensional laser cutting technologies, which allow to perform even oblique cutting of plates made of a special steel or similar materials commonly used for safes of great thickness, ensuring extremely high precision.

In practice it has been found that the break-resistant security door, particularly for safes or the like, according to the present invention fully achieves the intended aim, since it prevents any safecracker from smashing- in the front panel of a safe and therefore from stealing the content of the safe.

Another advantage achieved by the break-resistant security door according to the present invention consists in that once it has been struck, the break-resistant security door does not transfer the smash-in stress to the welds of the hinges but transfers it to the supporting structure of the box- like body.

Another advantage achieved by the break-resistant security door according to the present invention consists in that between the front panel and the box-like body, in the closed configuration of the safe, there is limited clearance, which prevents any safecracker from using levers to open the safe.

The break-resistant security door thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2007A00181 1 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A break-resistant security door, particularly for home safes or the like, comprising a front panel which is pivoted at an end portion thereof to a box-like body and can engage by abutment the inner side walls of an opening of said box-like body, characterized in that said front panel comprises at least one first outer side wall which is substantially oblique and can engage by abutment a corresponding oblique inner side wall of said opening, said inner side wall being substantially parallel to said outer side wall in the closed configuration of said safe.

2. The break-resistant security door according to claim 1, characterized in that said outer side wall has an inclination at an angle ranging from 5° to 50°, said angle being defined with respect to an outer front wall of said front panel and being oriented toward a central portion of said front panel.

3. The break-resistant security door according to claim 2, characterized in that said angle has a breadth of 25°.

4. The break-resistant security door according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said front panel is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped.

5. The break-resistant security door according to claim 4, characterized in that said front panel comprises, proximate to said end portion, a first substantially oblique outer side wall and, on the opposite side, a second substantially oblique outer side wall.

6. The break-resistant security door according to claim 4, characterized in that said second outer side wall is inclined at a different angle with respect to the angle of said first outer side wall.

7. The break-resistant security door according to claim 5, characterized in that said second outer side wall is inclined by a smaller angle than the angle of said first outer side wall.

8. The break-resistant security door according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said opening of said box-like body comprises a first inner side wall, which is arranged proximate to the pivoting point of said front panel with respect to said box-like body, and a second inner side wall, which is arranged on the opposite side with respect to the first one, said walls being substantially parallel respectively to said first outer side wall and to said second outer side wall.

9. The break-resistant security door according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said front panel comprises a plurality of outer side walls, all of which are substantially inclined, and in that said opening of said box-like body comprises respectively corresponding substantially inclined inner side walls.