GB2150955A

GB2150955A - Floor safe

Info

Publication number: GB2150955A
Application number: GB08429589A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Edward Hodgson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-11-24
Filing date: 1984-11-23
Publication date: 1985-07-10
Also published as: GB2150955B; GB8331376D0; GB8429589D0

Abstract

This has a lid 13 hinged to a housing, the hinge 15 being within lid 13 but outside housing 15. The safe may be surrounded by a preformed concrete body 19. The base 11 of the safe may have an aperture through which an elongate member 21 extends, one end being held in the safe and the other end being fixed. A resilient mounting 22 may be provided beneath base 11. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved floor safe The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to floor safes.

Known floor safes are generally in the form of a housing having a base and sides, and a cover or lid therefor. The housing may be generally cylindrical or rectangular in shape and is formed of mild steel. The cover or lid is formed of strengthened steel and is hingedly connected to the safe housing.

For installation of such type of safe, a hole is dug in the ground to a depth corresponding to the height of the floor safe to be installed, the safe is then dropped into such hole and thereafter concrete is poured around the safe and allowed to set.

Such installation procedure can be both time consuming and messy. A large amount of wet concrete has to be prepared on site for securing the safe in the ground.

Such floor safes are capable of being broken into in one or more of three main ways. Firstly, the hinge connection between the lid and the housing can be broken; secondly, the lid can be broken by applying a heavy weight thereto; and thirdly, it is possible to drill through the concrete into the side of the housing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a floor safe which is substantially burglar-proof. In order to take into account the three main methods of illegal entry into a floor safe mentioned above, the present invention will be split into three different aspects. In order to provide maximum security, all three aspects of the invention would be included in the floor safe.

According to the present invention there is provided a floor safe comprising a housing having a base and sides, and a cover or lid hingedly connected to said housing, wherein said safe includes means for preventing unauthorised entry into the safe, comprising locating the hinged connection totally within the cover or lid but outside of the safe housing and/or providing an aperture in the base of the safe through which an elongate member extends, the end of the member extending into the safe being held therein and the other end of the member being fixedly located, a resilient mounting being provided beneath the base of the safe and/or providing the safe with a preformed concrete body on its outside.

In a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a floor safe comprising a housing having a base and sides, and a cover or lid hingedly connected to the housing, wherein the hinge connection is located within the cover or lid but outside of the safe housing. Preferably, means are also provided to prevent unauthorised removal of the cover or lid even if the hinge connection is broken.

Such means may comprise a projection or flange extending from the cover or lid which engages with a member provided on an annular member which surrounds the periphery of the cover or lid.

With existing floor safes, once the hinge connection has been broken then the burglar can usually break into the interior of the safe. If the preferred arrangement in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, even if the burglar were to be able to locate the hinge connection and was able to break same, the burglar would still not be able to enter into the safe since the hinges are located outside the safe housing and moreover it would not be possible for the burglar to lift up the cover or lid.

It can thus be seen that the arrangement in accordance with this aspect of the present invention provides a hinge means embedded in the cover or lid but outside the safe and attached to the side of the safe. By use of appropriate bolt arrangements the cover or lid can be firmly attached to the safe housing.

In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a floor safe comprising a housing having a base and sides, and a lid hingedly connected to said housing, wherein the base of the safe has an aperture therein through which an elongate member extends, the end of the member extending into the safe being held therein and the other end of the member being fixedly located, a resilient mounting being provided beneath the base of the safe. The elongate member may be in the form of a pillar.

In this aspect of the invention it is intended to prevent breakage into the safe by attempting to smash open the lid with a sledge hammer or the like. By the provision of the resilient mounting and the pillar member, if an effort is made to break open the safe by smashing the lid then any impact is absorbed and the safe in effect is allowed to move up and down. The provision of such impact absorbent means should effectively counteract any attempt to break into the safe by smashing the lid.

A spring is usually associated with the pillar member in its region which extends into the interior of the safe so as to prevent excessive recoil.

In an alternative embodiment, in the interest of ease of manufacture and installation and particularly suitable for the smaller sizes of safes, the end of the elongate member remote from the housing may be fixedly located by means of an anchor plate.

In the case where the safe is in the form of a cylindrical housing, an annular plate member will be used to close the bottom of the safe and a circular resilient mounting is located thereunder, such mounting preferably being formed of plastics material having air trapped therein to assist in the spring effect.

In a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a floor safe comprising a housing having a base and sides, and a lid hingedly connected to said housing, the safe having a preformed concrete body on its outside.

The embedding of the safe in a preformed concrete body has the advantage that it avoids the previous problems of installation with wet concrete referred to above. In addition, and advantageously, the outer concrete body can be reinforced with bars, etc. and therefore can be made far stronger than the concrete used in existing installations.

Furthermore, such arrangement means that there is no need for tie bars.

In a preferred embodiment, the concrete body has sloping sides to provide a "key" into the floor.

Such arrangement means that one only requires a fillet of wet concrete to firmly embed the safe in the floor.

The provision of such reinforced concrete body will make it virtually impossible for a burglar to drill through the concrete body into the side of the safe.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide means for inserting money or valuables into the safe without having to actually open the lid of the safe.

The present invention will be further illustrated, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partly sectional view of a floor safe in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a partly sectional view of a floor safe having a modified means for securing the elongate member; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the floor safe illustrated in Fig. 1.

The floor safe illustrated in Fig. 1 incorporates all three aspects of the present invention. The safe is generally referenced 10 and is in the form of a housing having a base 11 and sides 12. A cover or lid 13 is hingedly connected to the housing, it being noted that the hinge connection 15 is located within the cover 13 but outside of the safe housing. As illustrated, the hinge arrangement 15 is connected to the side of the housing by means of member 14. The dotted line arrangement shows the position of the cover or lid 13 when same is pivoted open.

In addition, the cover or lid 13 is provided with a member 16 which is used to prevent unauthorised removal of the cover or lid 13 if the hinge connection 15 were broken. Such unauthorised removal is prevented by the member 16 engaging against member 17a which is part of an annular plate or ring member 17 which surrounds the periphery of the cover or lid 13.

The cover or lid is approximately 4 inches (10.16 cms) thick and has a triple ram lock 18 associated therewith in order to firmly lock the cover or lid 13 to the housing. If desired, the top of the safe body and the ram housing may be lined with waterproof and fireproof material. Alternatively, it is possible to use a combination lock control instead of the triple ram lock arrangement.

Whilst the cover or lid 13 illustrated in Fig. 1 is in the form of a single door, it is possible to utilise a primary and secondary door arrangement, such doors being separated by a diaphragm plate.

The safe housing is generally formed of mild steel and the cover or lid of strengthened steel.

It can thus be seen that the aspect just described provides means for locating the hinge connection within the cover or lid but outside of the safe housing. Thus, a burglar would not be able to ascertain the location of the hinge but would have to attempt to guess where such hinge would be located. Moreover, even if the burglar were able to break the hinge connection 15, he would not be able to lift the cover or lid up due to the fact that the member 16 would then engage against member 17a.

In order to ensure that the floor safe 10 is secure from an attempt to drill into the side 12 of the safe, the present invention also includes the provision of a reinforced concrete body 19 around the outside of the safe. The safe 10 would be provided with the reinforcement 19 by the safe manufacturer and would be supplied to the user in a complete form.

In view thereof, it would be possible for substantial reinforcement to be incorporated into the concrete member 19. Furthermore, such arrangement would overcome the previous installation procedure which required a large amount of wet concrete.

Thus, in accordance with the invention, a hole would be made in the floor 20 of a room and the floor safe of the present invention fitted therein. In a preferred embodiment, the concrete body 19 has sloping slides so as to provide a "key" ino the floor 20. Such arrangement ensures that only a fillet of wet concrete is required to firmly embed the safe 10 in the floor 20.

Whilst for maximum security the reinforcement 19 is formed as a single structure, it is possible to build up such reinforcement in several stages, the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1 showing a twopart construction.

It is to be noted that the annular plate 17 and associated member 17a would be located in the reinforcement 19 as indicated.

In order to prevent an attempt being made to break into the safe 10 by attempting to smash open the cover or lid 13 with a sledge hammer or the like, the present invention also includes a provision of an elongate member in the form of a pillar 21 and associated resilient mounting 22. It is noted that the housing has an aperture in the base 11 thereof through which the concrete pillar 21 extends. A safe retaining bolt, not shown, is screwed into the concrete pillar 21 at its end remote from the housing and is firmly located in the reinforcement 19. The other end of the pillar 21 is held inside the housing by means of a suitable nut arrangement 23. A suitable spring arrangement 24 is provided beneath the nut 23 in order to prevent excessive recoil. The mounting 22 is located beneath the base of the safe 10 and is suitably in the form of plastics material having air trapped therewithin to effectively act as a spring. The top of the pillar 21 is usually covered by a conical plastics cover 25.

The nut arrangement 23 is generally in the form of a castle nut fitted with a split-pin and washers are usually located at either end of the spring 24.

It can thus be seen that any attempt to break into the safe 10 by attempting to smash the cover or lid 13 open with a sledge hammer or the like, will be unsuccessful due to the provision of the resilient mounting and pillar member. Any impact is absorbed and the safe, in effect, is allowed to move up and down. The provision of the impact absorp tion means in the form of the resilient mounting and associated pillar should effectively counteract any attempt to break into the safe by smashing the cover or lid 13.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, an alternative arrangement is provided for fixedly locating the end of the elongate member remote from the housing. Such embodiment is particularly suitable for smaller sizes of safe. In such embodiment, an anchor plate 26 is utilised which may be either embedded in the concrete reinforcement 19 when cast or alternatively it may form part of the housing as illustrated in Fig. 2. The plate has an aperture in the central portion thereof within which the head 27 of a bolt, which constitutes the end of the elongate member remote from the housing, may be located in a fixed manner. The mounting plate 22 and the nut 23 and spring arrangement 24 are as described in relation to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

The view illustrated in Fig. 3 more clearly shows the safe 10 in accordance with the invention located in the floor 20 of a building. The reinforcement 19 is shown with reinforcing bars 19a and the annular plate member 17 and associated member 17a are firmly embedded in the reinforcement 19.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 also shows the space available for the pivoting of the cover 13 from a closed to an open position by pivoting about hinged connection 15. Fig. 3 also shows the elongate member arrangement 21, 23, 24 and 25 and associated resilient mounting 22.

Thus, as illustrated, it can be seen that the safe 10 generally comprises a box-shape housing having a base 11 and side walls 12, a portion of one of the side walls being cut away to provide means to enable the hinge connection 15 to pivot so as to enable the cover 13 to open.

It is also possible to include in the floor safe of the present invention, cash injection means which enable the user to insert cash or other important papers into the interior of the safe without opening the cover or lid.

It can thus be seen that the floor safe in accordance with the present invention has substantially increased resistance to any attempt to open same as compared with existing floor safes.

It is to be understood that the present invention is suitable for use with square, rectangular or circular type safes. Moreover, the thickness and materials of the walls and floor and cover or lid of the safe may be varied as required. In this connection, the void in the cover or lid of the safe may be filled with fibre-reinforced resin, concrete or plate laminations depending upon the cost and/or degree of protection required.

Additionally, it is possible for any or all of the existing security facilities to be incorporated into the floor space of the present invention. For example, the safe may include anti-explosion devices, fire-proofing and alarms incorporated therein or associated therewith.

Whilst the present invention has been described in relation to locating the safe in a floor, it would also be possible to locate such safe in the wall of a building.

Claims

A floor safe comprising a housing having a base and sides, and a cover or lid hingedly connected to said housing, wherein said safe includes means for preventing unauthorised entry into the safe, comprising locating the hinged connection totaily within the cover or lid but outside of the safe housing and/or providing an aperture in the base of the safe through which an elongate member extends, the end of the member extending into the safe being held therein and the other end of the member being fixedly located, a resilient mouting being provided beneath the base of the safe and/or providing the safe with a preformed concrete body on its outside.
2. A floor safe as claimed in claim 1, wherein means are provided to prevent unauthorised removal of the cover or lid even if the hinged connection is broken.
3. A floor safe as claimed in claim 2, in which said means for preventing removal of the cover comprises a projection or flange extending from the cover or lid which engages with a member provided on an annular member which surrounds the periphery of the cover or lid.
4. A floor safe as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the elongate member is in the form of a pillar.
5. A floor safe as claimed in claim 4, in which the pillar is made of concrete, a safe retaining bolt is screwed into such pillar at its end remote from the housing, the other end of the pillar at its end remote from the housing, the other end of the pillar being held inside the safe housing by means of a nut arrangement.
6. A floor safe as claimed in claim 5, in which a spring arrangement is provided beneath such nut arrangement in order to prevent excessive recoil.
7. A floor safe as claimed in claim 4, in which the end of the elongate member which is remote from the housing is fixedly located by means of an anchor plate.
8. A floor safe as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the outer concrete body is reinforced with bars.
9. A floor safe as claimed in claim 8, in which the concrete body has sloping sides.
10. A floor safe as claimed in any preceding claim, in which means are provided for inserting money or valuables into the safe without having to open the cover or lid of the safe.
11. A floor safe, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.