FR2583455A1 - Device for making banknotes useless to burglars in the event of theft - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for making it possible, in the event of an attack or a break-in, to make useless to the burglars the banknotes or securities contained in safes, retractable boxes or briefcases used for storing and handling these banknotes and securities. It consists of a tank 3 containing an indelibly coloured wetting product 4 which can be projected by way of a pipeline 2 into the container 1 of the article to be protected by means of the pressure of a compressed gas contained in a cartridge 5, by operating a valve 6 by means of a control device 7. The device according to the invention is invented especially for equipping cash transport vans, safes and retractable bank boxes.

Description

 The invention relates to a device for; in the event of attack, to render unusable by burglars the bank notes or valuables contained in the cases intended for the transport of funds, or in the cases and chests used for the storage and handling of these notes and valuables.

 Despite the various types of security with which vans, cash registers, retractable boxes and safes are fitted, as well as the premises containing them, assaults still occur with a view to appropriating their content.

It is likely that the imagination of attackers will always find the answer to the security, alert or alarm devices that can be installed. Under these conditions, the most effective and dissuasive solution appears to be to remove all value from the object of the attempted theft by rendering it unusable and non-negotiable in the event of fraudulent appropriation.

 The device according to the invention satisfies this radical and dissuasive design. It is more particularly intended for the equipment of armored vans specially fitted out for the transport of funds and valuables. In a simplified variant, it can also be used to protect cash registers, retractable boxes, safes, strong cupboards and other equipment and more generally in all cases where it is preferable that the content be destroyed or rendered unusable rather than see it appropriate by unauthorized third parties (confidential documents, various information carriers, etc.). The neutralization product used by the device must then be selected according to the nature of the objects to be protected, without having to modify the device in its essential elements.

 The device comprises a reservoir (3) containing a product (4), which can be projected by a pipe (2) into the container (1) of the object to be protected by the pressure of a compressed gas cartridge (5) , by operating a safety valve (6) by means of a control device (7).

 According to a preferred embodiment, intended mainly to equip armored vans for transporting funds, and exposed in Figures 1,2,3, the containers (1) are special manufacturing cases and stored in a tray (8) adapted exactly to these cases.

 Figure 1 shows an overview of the device and each of its elements suitable for armored vans.

 Figure 2 shows a section of the device in this particular use.

 Figure 3 gives an example of installation of the device inside an armored van.

 The cases (1) have a filling orifice (17) and an orifice for discharging the air which they contain (14). The filling orifice (17) communicates inside the case to a perforated tube (13) placed between the outer wall of the case and the inner wall made up of a grid, which ensures a homogeneous propagation of the product ( 4) all around the contents of the case.

 The bottom (150 of the tank (8) is compressed by springs (16) during the introduction of the case (1) into its compartment (18), in order to maintain, once the pressure on the case released, the injector (9) inside the orifice (17).

 An electrical pressure contact (11), connected to a power supply (12), and to a flashing lamp (10) to which a buzzer can be added, makes it possible to ensure that the case has been positioned correctly, the lamp (10 ) remaining on as long as the contact has not been interrupted by correct pressure of the case on the contactor (li).

 When the safety valve (6) is opened by means of the control device (7), the compressed gas contained in the cartridge (5) drives the product (4) through the network of tubes (2) inside the cases and distorts the content.

In the particular embodiment suitable for cash transport vans, and by way of example only, the gas may be CO 2, and the product produces an indelible tinted ink added to a liquid with high wetting power, such as a distillate. of oil. Banknotes are then irreparably tinted, which makes them unusable by burglars, but which allows their legitimate owner to obtain 11 exchange, for new banknotes, at the counters of the Issuing Institute.

 Figure 3 gives an example of installation of the device inside an armored van. The control device (7) is placed within reach of any of the three conveyors. The bins (8) also allow rational storage of the containers inside the van and therefore save time when carrying out transport missions. Labeling or numbering above each compartment (18), under the control lamp and the buzzer (10), allows rapid identification of the containers and their destination.

 FIG. 4 represents a simplified and miniaturized variant of the device, more particularly intended for the equipment of retractable boxes, safes, or other cases containing tickets, documents or securities.

This variant can also be installed in addition to the special cases (1) described in the previous variant. The advantage results in this case that the protection of the contents is ensured even when the container is taken out of the van. This second variant, described in Figure (4) is in the form and in the general design of a common aerosol. The cartridge (3 ', 5') contains both the compressed gas and the wetting tinted liquid (4 '). The pipes (2 ') have an internal diameter sufficient to. Almost instantaneous spread of the product on the objects to be denatured.

The nozzle (9 ') can optionally be connected to a fixed installation comprising or a watering orifice when the device according to this simplified variant is intended to protect the contents of a chest or cupboard
When the safety pin (7 ') is torn off, the spring (20) is released, which then exerts pressure on the plunger (22) which actuates the valve (21), thus allowing the liquid (4') to escape quickly, according to the principle of operation of a common aerosol. The size of this device naturally varies according to the dimensions of the container to be equipped.

 Upstream of the pin (7 ') can be installed various control devices which do not relate to the invention, such as a sheathed or unsheathed cable with a pull handle, or a set of electronic alarm equipment controlling the pulling out of the pin or by means of an electromagnetic device for example, a solution particularly suited to the protection of safes and retractable boxes.

Claims (4)

CLAIMS.  1, Device for rendering banknotes, valuables or documents unusable by burglars, characterized in that it comprises a compressed gas cartridge (5) projecting a tinted liquid (4) contained in a tank (3) by a network of pipes (2) in the containers (1) intended for the transport of funds and valuables, when the user, voluntary or involuntary, actuates a safety valve (6) by means of a control device (7).  2, Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it is intended for the equipment of vans for transporting funds, and comprising for this purpose a tray (8) adapted to the characteristics of special containers (1), a device for springs (15, 16) allowing exact attachment of the sprinklers (9) to the orifices of the cases (17), an electrical visual and sound control device for this attachment (10, 11), special cases (1), provided with an air exhaust port (14), a perforated interior double wall and a perforated dispersion tube (13).  3, Device according to claim 1, miniaturized for the protection of retractable boxes, cases and briefcases, characterized in that the cartridge (5), the reservoir (3), and the valve (6) are integrated, in an assembly (fig . 4), comprising a pin (7 '), releasing a spring (20) which exerts pressure on a pusher (22) actuating a valve (21) which allows the wetting liquid to escape instantly (4') in a pipe ( 2 ').  4, Device according to claim 1 or claim 3, characterized in that the control device (7) consists of a pin connected to an electromagnet (23) controlled by an electronic alarm system.