GB2155099A - Double lock money box - Google Patents

Abstract

The box 1 has a first lockable closure 12 which, when open, provides access to the money box interior, a first releasable locking mechanism for said first closure, a second lockable closure 11 which, when open, provides access to said first locking mechanism to permit unlocking of said first closure, a second releasable locking mechanism 16 for said second closure and a key card 13 for releasing said second locking mechanism. Money is inserted into the box via a slot 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Money box This invention relates to money boxes, i.e.

containers for use in the storage of money on a relatively small scale, usually but not exclusively by children.

Such money boxes have of course been used for many years as an aid to saving money. They have a slot through which coins or folded notes may be inserted, such a slot also preventing easy removal of the money by that route. The money may be removed when desired by either unlocking the money box where appropriate or by removing a closure member, often in the form of a plug in the underside of the box.

To date the appearance and operation of such money boxes has not given any real impression or imitation of drawing money by any one of the real life routes available, for example, by the use of a bank automatic cashpoint.

According to the present invention there is provided a money box having first lockable closure means which, when open, provides access to the money box interior, a first releasable locking mechanism for said first closure means, second lockable closure means which, when open, provides access to said first locking mechanism to permit unlocking of said first closure means, a second releasable locking mechanism for said second closure means, and key means for releasing said second locking mechanism.

The opening of such a money box to gain access to the interior when money is to be removed involves releasing the said second locking mechanism by way of the key, to permit opening of the second closure means, followed by release of the first locking means to permit opening of the first closure means. This relatively complex procedure constitutes a substantial improvement compared with that of opening conventional money boxes, from the point of view of realism, particularly when, as is preferred, the key means takes the form of a key card insertable in a slot in an external wall of the money box to release said second unlocking mechanism by a push action.

Preferably said first and/or said second closure means is adapted to spring open automatically when its locking mechanism is released, for example by being biased to its open position by a rubber band.

Preferably said first locking mechanism is adapted to be released by manual displacement thereof, opening of said second closure means providing manual access to said locking mechanism.

Preferably each of said closure means comprises a sliding door in a wall of the money box, and each said locking mechanism comprises a movable stop for holding its associated door closed.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a front panel of a money box according to the invention, with a casing therof in ghost lines; Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the said front panel; Figure 3 is a front elevation, partly in section; Figure 4 is a plan view showing a card receiving means in partial section; Figure is another plan view in section showing the card receiving means and a top door in its closed position; Figure 6 is a similar view to that of Figure 5 but showing the top door in its open position; and Figure 7 is a plan view of a lower hatch door opening mechanism showing this door in its open position.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, the money box is shown generally designated 1. It comprises an open fronted container 2 (shown in ghost lines) the open front of the container being filled by a front panel gnerally designated 3 and shown in rear view perspective in Figure 2. This front panel 3 has an outer face designated 4 and an inner face designated 5, and carries an operating mechanism frame 6 which has an outer face 7 and an inner face 8 to which various other components are either fixedly or releasably secured.

Slot 9 is for insertion of a key card 13 for opening closure means in the form of a sliding door 11 (see Figure 1) and slot 10 is for inserting money into the money box.

The front panel 3 and the operating mechanism frame 6 are bonded together such that there is space between them. Ribs on the inner face 5 of the panel 3 ensure that neither slot 9 nor slot 10 (see Figure 1) opens into this space between the panel 3 and the frame 6. Further ribs are also provided on inner face 5 forthe running of sliding door 11 and further closure means in the form of a sliding door 12 (see Figure 1) in the space between inner face 5 and outer face 7, small stops being provided on this inner face 6 limit opening movement of the doors 11 and 12.The door 12 constitutes first lockable closure means which, when open, provides access to the money storage space in the money box interior, while the door 11 constitutes second lockable closure means which, when open, provides access to a mechanism (to be described hereinafter) for unlocking the door 12.

A key card receiver 14 (see Fig. 2 in particular) comprises firstly guide means having a lower wall 15 which is fixed at one side A to the inner face 8 of the frame 6, and an upper part 16 bonded to the lower wall 15 on sides B and C thereof and to the face 8 on side A. The upper part 16 has vertical sides such that a space is defined between it and the lower wall 15. This space is in direct communication with the exterior via slot 9. Further, side C of upper part 16 is longer than that of lower wall 15 and hence there is a gap 17, in the plane of lower wall 15, running along the length of side D. The upper wall 18 of the upper part 16 contains two rectangular holes 19 and 20, an upwardly extending hook 21 being provided adjacent hole 19 on the side further from side A. Also, stops 22 extend downwardly from the upper internal face of the upper part 16 (see Figures 3 and 4).A sliding frame 23 is positioned between the upper part 16 and the lower wall 15.

This frame 23 is rectangular and has raised continuous ribs on sides B, C and D thereof. A hook 24 is positioned on side C of sliding frame 23 and extends upwardly through hole 20 in the upper wall 18 of the upper part 16. The sliding frame 23 further has a stop 25 positioned on its side D at the end nearest side A. This stop 25 extends downwardly through gap 17 and moves forwards and backwards in this gap upon movements of the sliding frame 23.

An elastic band 26 is stretched between hooks 21 and 24 and thus keeps the sliding frame 23 abutting against face 8 when in its rest position. This elastic band thereby also keeps stop 25 engaged in a gap 27 in the said rest position-(see Figure 5), where the stop 25 acts to block off a channel 28 formed adjacent face 8 of the operating mechanism frame 6.

The structure and manner of operation of sliding doors 11 and 12 will now be described. In fact both doors are substantially identical and operate in the same manner. Each door is made of a planar, rectangular piece of clear plastic material having a handle 29 (see Figure 1), a hook 30 (see Figure 3) extending inwardly from its inner surface near the top, and a ledge 31 extending inwardly from the top side of the door at right-angles to the plane of the door. An elastic band 32 is stretched between hook 30 of door 11 and a stop 33, while an elastic band 36 is stretched between hook 30 of door 12 and a stop 34. Stops 33 and 34 are integral with the inner face 5 of panel 3 and they extend at right-angles from that face into respective channels 28 (for door 11) and 35 (for door 12), which channels are both formed in face 8 of the operating mechanism frame 6.The elastic band 32 thus always pulls the door 11 in the opening direction. However, when stop 25 extends into gap 27 to block off channel 28 the stop abuts with the ledge 31 of the door 11 and thus keeps this door in the closed position. The stop 25 carried by sliding frame 23 thus constitutes a releasable locking mechanism for the second closure means in the form of the door 11.

The operation of the components so far described in the process of opening sliding door 11 will now be described. Key card 13 is inserted into slot 9 and engages with the sliding frame 23 of the card receiver 14. The card 13 pushes the sliding frame 23 back against the resisting force of elastic band 26, thereby withdrawing stop 25 out of gap 27 and out of abutment with ledge 31 of door 11, so that door 11 is now free to move to the open position under the action of elastic band 32. The door having spring open, the card 13 may be removed from slot 9. This causes stop 25 to move back into gap 27 as far as the open door will allow (open door 11 now preventing stop 25 from blocking off the whole of channel 28).

To once again close door 11 it must be manually pushed by means of its handle 29 to the closed position, thus unblocking gap 27 and allowing stop 25 once again to block channel 28 and thereby keep the door closed.

It should be noted at this point that stops 2, which extend downwards from the internal face wall 18, prevent any key card 13 which does not have the correct arrangement of gaps at its forward end from operating the sliding frame 23 and hence opening door 11. Key card 13 with the correct gap configuration will not interfere will with stops 22 and will be able to operate the sliding frame 23. The spacing of the stops 22 may of course be varied so that each money box may only be opened by its own key card 13.

The components associated with the opening of the second sliding door 12 will now be described. It will be understood that when door 12 is to be opened, door 11 has already been opened as part of a two-step process of gaining access to the interior of the money box. Elastic band 36 stretched between stop 34 and hook 30 on the door 12 pulls the door continuously towards the open position (see Figure 3). The door 12 is kept closed initially by a stop 37 (see Figs 3 and 7) which projects into a gap 38 and blocks off a channel 35 formed in the face 8 of the operating mechanism frame 6. The stop 37 is integral with a horizontal sliding member 39 which becomes accessible once door 11 is open. The arrangement of the sliding member 39 and stop 37 are shown in front elevation in Figure 3 and in partial plan view in Figure 7.The sliding member 39 is biased to keep the stop 37 in gap 38, in its rest position, to thereby block off channel 35. This biasing is effecting by means of an elastic band 40 stretched along channel 41 of the operating mechanism frame between hook 42 on the frame and hook 43 extending downwardly from the underside of sliding member 39. The stop 37 carried by the sliding member 39 thus constitutes a manually releasable locking mechanism for the first closure means in the form of the door 12.

Referring now to the operation of opening door 12, at this stage door 11 must already have been opened, thus providing access to sliding member 39. Sliding member 39 is pushed inwardly from its rest position to remove stop 37 from engagement with ledge 31 of door 12 thereby allowing elastic band 36 to open the door. Once this has occurred, the stop 37, upon release of sliding member 39, is unable to completely re-enter gap 38 as door 13 is now in the way, and cannot therefore block channel 35. To re-close the door 12 it must be manually pushed back into the position so that slot 38 is no longer blocked by the door itself, thereby allowing stop 37 to once again block off channel 35 and prevent the door from re-opening.

Claims (9)

1. A money box having first lockable closure means which, when open, provides access to the money box interior, a first releasable locking mechanism for said first closure means, second lockable closure means which, when open, provides access to said first locking mechanism to permit unlocking of said first closure means, a second releasable locking mechanism for said second closure means, and key means for releasing said second locking mechanism.

2. A money box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said key means is a key card insertable in a slot in an external wall of the money box to release said second locking mechanism by a push action.

3. A money box as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said first and/or said second closure means is adapted to spring open automatically when its locking mechanism is released.

4. A money box as claimed in claim 3, wherein said first and/or said second closure means is biased to its open position by a rubber band.

5 A money box as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein first locking mechanism is adapted to be released by manual displacement thereof, opening of said second closure means providing manual access to said locking mechanism.

6. A money box as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein each of said closure means comprises a sliding door in a wall of the money box, and each said locking mechanism comprises a movable stop for holding its associated door closed.

7. A money box as claimed in claim 6, wherein said movable stops are provided on respective slidable plate members resiliently biased to their door locking positions.

8. A money box as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the resilient biasing means are rubber bands.

9. A money box substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.