FR2516281A1 - Display cabinet for valuables in shop window - has additional shutters at rear with rapid closing facility to protect front and rear from attack - Google Patents

Abstract

The display includes the window pane itself and a lintel extending up above it. The display cabinet is supported on a frame and has fixed walls, base and ceiling and panels. Above the ceiling panel there is a cover housing motors etc. The panels are made of steel making attack difficult. A grill encloses a light housing above it at the top of the cabinet. The front of the display cabinet is further protected by a pair of sliding metal shutters, one of which may be withdrawn above the window while the other may draw back into a space below the window. A stop determines the height to which this may be drawn. Similar metal shutters protect the back of the cabinet. The shutters are actuated either manually or automatically e.g. by detection of glass breakage.

Description

 The present invention relates to an anti-theft presentation device for shop windows or storefronts, usable in particular for the exhibition or presentation of articles of great value, for example of jewelry articles.

 Anti-theft protection for high-value items such as jewelry is currently most commonly provided at the end of the day by picking up and storing these items.

In some cases, the display cases can themselves be protected using storefront grilles or even using special laminated glass to make the display case. However; for high-value items, security is generally not considered sufficient and objects or articles are therefore placed in a safe at the end of the day, which not only takes time but also involves constant handling of the items. items with risk of loss, deterioration etc,
In addition, the articles are not protected during the day when they are exposed in the display case and that they are therefore accessible to attack either from the outside after breakage of the display case, or from the inside after neutralization. Staff.

 The invention proposes to remedy these drawbacks and to provide an anti-theft presentation device for doors and storefronts which, while being of simple and inexpensive design, makes it possible to avoid having to handle each evening and each morning items, especially high value items, while ensuring, if it is said, extremely effective protection even during the day when the items are exposed in front.

 The subject of the invention is an anti-theft presentation device, in particular for shop windows and storefronts, characterized in that it comprises, behind the glass of the shop window or storefront, a safety compartment having a front opening overlooking the glass, four walls , namely a lower wall, an upper wall and two side walls, a rear bottom provided with an opening capable of being closed by bottom closing means, and means for rapidly closing the front opening .

 The different walls and the shutter means are made so as to be able to resist, at least for a certain time, mechanical or thermal attack and can advantageously be made up of sheets or even shields. Preferably, the means for rapidly shutting off the anterior opening are particularly reinforced from this point of view since they risk being subjected to the majority of attacks.

 The rapid closing means of the front opening preferably comprise at least one sliding plate guided between a position in which it is spaced from said opening, and a closing position in which it is placed in front of said opening, the movement between the two positions being carried out ice with suitable motor means.

 Preferably, the plate is in fact made up of two half-plates capable of being arranged edge to edge in the closed position, each of said plates being capable of being moved laterally from the opening, for example and preferably ltne uffls the top and the other down.

 In a particularly advantageous manner, said means for rapidly closing the anterior opening are, in the open position, retracted to be made practically invisible.

When the opening has dimensional marks,
being the plate or the half-plates can / possibly consist in fact of two or more individual plates which are superimposed when the rapid shutter means are on.

are in the open position X which on the contrary come
arrange themselves one after the other in front of the opening when said means are in the closed position.

 Advantageously, when the closure means comprise two or more half-plates or else separate individual plates, means are provided on the neighboring edges of the adjacent plates in order to achieve continuity in the resistance to attack. Thus, for example, a half-plate can have a rabbet edge capable of being placed in a complementary rabbet presented by the edge of the complementary half-plate.

 In another embodiment, the shutter means may comprise one or more rolling and burglary-resistant curtains, for example a curtain composed of preferably steel blades or bars, hinged one after the other at the like a roller shutter. Such a curtain can, in the retracted position, be wound around an axis or drum located inside or outside the anti-theft presentation device proper. When such a curtain is rolled up outside, it can advantageously be contained, in the retracted position, in a volume or in a housing which is itself resistant to aggression. In its closed position, the curtain is deployed in front of the front and / or rear face of the device to prevent passage through this face.

 The device, like the aforementioned plates, can move either horizontally or vertically from bottom to top or from top to bottom.

 The front opening can, in a particular embodiment of the invention, be permanently closed by armored glazing which can be located either behind the shutter means, or possibly at the front thereof .

In other words, when the shutter means are in their shutter position masking the opening, said armored glazing can either be in front of or behind said shutter means such as armored plates or curtains .

 This makes it possible to avoid, for example in jewelry stores, the use of armored storefront windows which are extremely expensive, the shop window being able to consist of a much more economical unshielded single glazing, which can of course be easily fractured by a attacker, but the latter will then find it necessary to attack the armored glazing of the device, which will give the shutter means ample time to get into position closing the opening of the device.

 In addition, we can then remove the alarm devices sensitive to the stresses suffered by the shop window itself, which avoids false alarms due to shocks caused on the windows without the intention of destruction or theft.

 The device according to the invention may also include a rear opening normally closed by a simple opening window.

 The device may also include locking means for the front opening and, if necessary, the rear opening. These locking means may be automatic, for example of the click type, so as to block the closing means, such as for example plates or curtains, in their closed position to prevent the withdrawal of the closing means. , even when one succeeds in acting on the control and drive means which normally cause the return to the non-shutter position, and this until an unlocking has not been carried out positively and independently of the control of the motor means themselves, for example using a key or combination, or any other means known per se.

 Finally, to avoid accidents during closing or opening, provision may be made for a device stopping the movement by interposition of the hand.

 The bottom closure means can advantageously be produced in the same way as the rapid closure means of the anterior opening, which then makes it possible, when the various closure means are in the open position, to leave no wall visible, neither at the front opening, nor in the rear part of the compartment, which thus appears to be fully integrated into a storefront, which also facilitates access from the rear for personnel.

 However, it would also be possible to provide a fixed bottom provided with bottom opening means making it possible to discover only an opening of limited size, these opening means being able for example to include a door or a shutter.

 Preferably, the lower, upper and side walls are fixed and do not participate in the movement of the closure means.

 However, in another embodiment of the invention, one of the walls, for example the upper wall, can itself be movable between an open position remote from the fixed wall opposite it and a position of close closing of the latter, the wall such as the upper wall being for example integral with part or all of said rapid shutter means of the anterior opening.

 Thus this movable wall, for example the upper wall, when it approaches the wall which is opposite to it, decreases the interior volume of the compartment.

 In this case, one can even provide one or more movable intermediate walls, capable for example of serving as a shelving element of the presentation device, said intermediate walls, as well as the upper movable wall, being of course provided with means limiting their reconciliation in order to avoid canceling the internal space of the compartment.

 The operating speed of the rapid closing means of the anterior opening can be varied as required, but preferably the driving means used are such that the compartment can be in the closed position in an extremely short time, taking speed an aggressor.

 The drive means can be of any type, for example pneumatic, electric or spring or counterweight. The movement of the shutter means and / or of the movable walls can be obtained from said drive means by any transmission, for example with screw, cable or chain or by direct attachment, for example in the case of the use of 'a cylinder.

 Said drive means are advantageously controlled by control means making it possible to control, voluntarily or even involuntarily, the closing of the shutter means, these control means possibly comprising control buttons, pedals or any other known means, such as by example of light beams cooperating with a photselectric cell. These control means can be located remotely or on the contrary on or near the compartment.

 They may include detectors or sensors making it possible to obtain closure of the device in the event of an attack, such as infrared, volumetric or other sensors. Advantageously, means can be incorporated into the showcase so that in case of breakage of the showcase, the closure takes place automatically.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on reading the following description, given by way of nonlimiting example and referring to the attached drawing in which
Figure 1 shows a schematic view in vertical cross section of a device according to the invention, in the closed position.

 Figure 2 shows this view of the device with the device in the open position.

 FIG. 3 represents a schematic view in horizontal section of this device.

 Figure 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a device according to a variant of the invention.

 Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a device according to another variant of the invention.

 FIG. 6 represents a schematic view of a device according to another variant of the invention, in the open position.

 Figure 7 shows a view of the device of the previous figure, in the closed position.

 The device shown is arranged at the rear of the display case 1 with a front, extended as a fanlight 2. The device rests on a support 3 and has four fixed walls, namely a lower wall 4, an upper wall 5 and two walls side 6 and 7. The upper wall 5 is surmounted by a removable armored cover 8, intended to contain motor means (not shown).

 As can be seen in the drawing, the walls 4, 5, 6 and 7 are made of steel and have a large thickness, making them very difficult to attack.

 The side walls 6 and 7 support, in suitable small blind holes, tabs 9 allowing the fixing of shelves or shelving 10, capable of supporting the exposed articles 11 such as jewelry.

 Finally, a removable rear display case 12 closes the main part of the rear face of the compartment which has in its upper part, at the bottom of the transom 2, a luminous scrolling grid 13 delimiting between it and the upper wall 5 a volume 14 capable of receiving lighting means not shown.

 The front opening of the display case can be closed off by shutter means which comprise two metal half-plates, namely a lower metal half-plate 15 and an upper metal half-plate 16.

As can be seen, the half-plate 15 comprises a lower abutment heel 17 which comes to be disposed in a recess 18 of the lower plate 4. On their lateral edges, the plates 15 and 16 themselves include recesses 19 in which protrude from the lateral extensions 20 of the walls 6 and 7.

 The upper edge of the lower half-plate 15 has a rebate 21 which cooperates with a complementary rebate 22 presented by the lower edge of the upper half-plate 16. When the two half-plates are in the closed position shown in the Figure 1, they thus form a whole practically in one piece.

 The guiding of the half-plates 15, 16 is ensured by the cooperation of the recesses 19 with the extensions 20 which may possibly be coated with a layer of self-lubricating material.

 Inside the walls 6, 7 and in suitable vertical passages, is mounted each time an endless screw 23, capable of being driven in rotation from the drive means contained in the compartment 8. These endless screws 23 are screwed through nuts 24 guided in said passages of the walls and integral with the half-plates 15, respectively 16, by brackets. 25, presented by the said half-plates and penetrating by suitable slots inside the walls 6, 7.

 In fact, each of the endless screws 23 extends over the entire height of the compartment while being driven at its upper end by said motor means and by being pivoted on a suitable bearing at its lower end, at the level of the lower plate 4. Each of said screws is subdivided into two halves, namely a threaded lower half cooperating with the lower half-plate 15 and a second threaded upper half in opposite direction and cooperating with the upper half-plate 16 so that the same rotational movement of the endless screw causes the displacement in opposite directions either towards the closed position, or on the contrary the open position, of the two half-plates 15 and 16.

 Of course, said screws 23, instead of being available in vertical passages inside the walls 6 and 7, could be arranged outside or even better inside the compartment by simply being made invisible by to suitable covers.

 It is therefore understood that by actuating the motor means thanks to suitable control means, it is possible to move the half-plates 15, 16 between the closed position shown in Figure 1 and the open position shown in FIG. 2 in which the upper half-plate 16 has disappeared behind the transom 2 while the lower half-plate 15 has come to face the support 3 so that the entire opening of the compartment located behind the display case 1 is released.

 The movement of the two half-plates 15, 16 in the closed position is preferably ensured in less than 2 seconds.

 The bottom closure means are, in the context of this particular embodiment, strictly ana loguesww anterior closure means and comprise two half-plates, namely a lower half-plate 26 and an upper half-plate 27, driven like the front plates by endless screws, the movement of the half-plates 26, 27 being identical and synchronous with the movement of the front half-plates 15, 16.

 Referring to FIG. +, We can see, schematically, a device similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 3, and also comprising lower half-plates 15 and upper 1G not comprising rear movable half-plates. Instead there is a fixed rear wall 23 provided with a central door 29 allowing access to the compartment from the rear, this door being capable of being closed thanks to a security lock.

 Referring more particularly to FIG. 5, a compartment similar to that of FIG. 4 has been shown but in which the two quick-closing half-plates of the anterior opening are in fact each made up of two individual plates 30, 31, respectively 32, 33.

 Such an arrangement makes it possible to use compartments of very high height even if there is little space below and above the compartment since the different individual plates can be superimposed in the open position. In addition, the individual plates can advantageously be animated with different speed movements such that those of the individual plates which must close the central part of the opening move faster than those of the individual plates intended to close the lower and upper parts of the opening respectively. . It is thus possible to obtain a rapid closure of a very large opening without requiring an overly powerful motor.

 Referring to Figures 6 and 7, there is shown a variant of the device according to the invention, comprising a fixed bottom wall 34 similar to the wall 4 and resting on a suitable support.

 As can be seen in FIG. 6, the device comprises a movable upper wall 35 having the general shape of a rectangular parallelepiped open at its lower face and therefore having, at its lower part, a portion of anterior wall 3, a rear wall portion 37 and, at each end, a lateral portion 38.

The device also comprises an intermediate wall 39 serving as shelving and supporting, for example, articles n0, The intermediate movable wall 39 has, in the same way as the upper wall 35, portions of the front wall 41, rear 42 and side 43.

 The movable walls 35 and 39 are suitably guided by vertical guide means (not shown). They can move quickly between the open position shown in Figure 6 and the closed position shown in Figure 7 in which the lower edges of the vertical wall portions of the plate 39 have come into contact with the upper face of the lower wall 34 while the lower edges of the vertical wall portions of the upper wall 35 have come into contact with the upper face of the intermediate wall 39. Thus, the closure of the front opening is ensured by the front vertical wall portions 36 , 41 which have come to be arranged in alignment and it is the same for the lateral and posterior faces of the device.

 The aoteurSr? Used means for example for the rotary drive of the transmission means such as the worms, can advantageously be electric motors. As a variant, these motet7n means can be made in any other suitable way, for example by using hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, counterweights or springs.

 Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, it can be seen that the front opening can advantageously be closed off permanently by an armored window or glass 44. This is preferably located at the rear of the plates 15, 16, but we could obviously, in a variant, place it at the front. A shock detector can advantageously be associated with the armored window 44 to cause, for example, the closing movement of the plates 15, 16 in the event of an impact on the glass 44.

 The invention has been shown by showing, to ensure the closure of the anterior and posterior openings, plates sliding in the vertical direction. Of course, as a variant, this plate could slide in the horizontal directions.

According to another variant of the invention, the two plates 15, 16 could be replaced by a single rolling shutter with steel blades hinged one after the other, the winding drum of the shutter being substantially arranged, for example, at the inside of the shielded part 8, the shutter being able to unwind vertically on the bottom to close and close the anterior opening of the device
The edges of the shutter could then be guided in suitable grooves in the fixed plates 6 and 7. A curtain or a similar armored articulated shutter could / used to close the rear opening.

 The control means of the motor means of the device can be any. They may include opening and shutter control means arranged either nearby or remotely. When the control means are arranged in proximity, either on the compartment or in the room which contains them, it is preferable to make them inviolable so that an attacker cannot use them.

This can be achieved by using codes or locks.

 The control means can also include sensors or detectors ensuring automatic and rapid shuttering. These detection means can for example be arranged on the display case or in the vicinity thereof so as to be sensitive to breakage of the display case and trigger the shutting off of the means for closing the front opening. All other types of presence sensors or detectors can be used.

 These sensors could also be used to ensure smoke, light or other triggers in the event of an abnormal operation.

 The material constituting a device according to the invention, in particular at the level of the fixed and mobile plates, can be metallic and also made of steel or otherwise made of ceramic material, concrete or any combination of these different materials. Advantageously, the device can be designed to be fire resistant.

 It is understood that the device according to the invention further forms a kind of non-transportable trunk not only because it can be fixed to the structures of the building but also because of its weight which can be significant depending on the thickness of the walls . It is advantageously possible, as can be seen in FIG. 1, to provide a force distribution plate 45 to take account of the weight of the device on the floor of the room which it contains.

Claims (15)

 1 - Anti-theft presentation device, in particular for a showcase and storefront, characterized in that it comprises, behind the glass of the showcase or storefront, a safety compartment having a front opening overlooking the glass (1), four walls, namely a lower wall (4, 34), an upper wall (5, 35) and two side walls (6, 7, 38, 43), a rear bottom provided with an opening comprising closure means (26, 27, 29, 37, 42), and rapid closure means (15, 16, 32, 33, 36, 41) of the anterior opening.  2 Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said rapid shutter means comprise at least one sliding plate moving in guide means.  3 - Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said means comprise two half-plates (15, 16) capable of moving towards and away from one another.  4 - Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjacent edges of said half-plates (15, 16) have complementary shapes (21, 22) cooperating with each other.  5 - Device according to any one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the end remote from a half-plate (15) is provided with a heel (17) capable of being arranged in a recess (18 ) from the bottom wall (4).  6 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that said half-plates (15, 16) are guided by the edges (20) of the fixed walls (6, 7) of the compartment.  7 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the plate comprises at least two individual plates (30, 31, 32, 33), capable of overlapping in the open position and being arranged one after the other in the closed position.  8 - Device according to claim 7, characterized in that those of the individual plates intended to occupy the central part of the opening move at a speed greater than that of the individual plates intended to close the remainder of the opening.  9 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that the closing means of the bottom are identical to the closing means of the opening, the bottom having, in the open state, an opening of the same dimensions than the previous opening.  10 - Device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that it comprises a fixed bottom wall with a door (29).  ll - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a wall, note: nrnent lower (34), fixed, a wall, especially upper (35), mobile capable of approaching and deviating from the fixed wall, said movable wall having, on the side of the opening, at least one portion of vertical wall (36) capable of approaching said fixed wall to close off said opening.  12 - Device according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises at least one movable intermediate wall (39), capable of moving away from and approaching said fixed wall (34) and having at least one portion of wall vertical (41) closing off part of said opening.  13 - Device according to any one of claims ll and 12, characterized in that said movable wall has on the ctés.d rear, at least a portion of wall (38,37) capable of coming to close the open - underlying ture.  14 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it comprises at least one endless screw (23), driven by a motor means, and cooperating with nuts (24) of the moving parts of the device for driving said parts.  15 - Device according to claim 1, ca characterized in that it comprises at least one resistant curtain or roller shutter, composed of articulated elements and capable of rapidly closing said opening.  16 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it comprises, to drive the moving parts of the device, cables or chains driven by a motor means.  17 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that it comprises, in addition to control means actuated manually, means for detecting aggression causing automatic closure of said opening.