GB2164696A - Tamper-resistant enclosure - Google Patents

Abstract

A tamper-resistant enclosure, e.g. for vending equipment, wherein a plurality of metal loops (26) are welded to a hinged front panel (18) within the enclosure. A pair of housings (32, 40) are welded to the enclosure at the top and bottom respectively and these housings have slots aligned with the loops (26) for receiving a draw bar (28). The top housing (40) is enclosed in the enclosure, whereas the bottom housing (32) defines a recess open to the exterior. A padlock (34) engages with the draw bar and a locking member (31) in the recess defined by the bottom housing (32). The draw bar and padlock are thereby protected from easy access by vandals. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tamper-resistant enclosure The present invention relates to a tamper-resistant enclosure e.g. equipment housings for a service station or automotive related vending equipment, such as for the delivery of air, water, self-service vacuum cleaning or the like.

Historically, the service station industry has offered free of charge air, water and/or vacuum cleaning services to its customers.

These services were typically offered as an inducement to obtain customers and the cost was typically made up for in a higher mark-up for fuel and/or mechanic services. As the actual cost of fuel and mechanic services has risen, however, profit margins have shrunk to the point where individual station operators have been forced to elect to either continue doing business as a full service operation or to convert to a self service operation. With this change, then, each individual station operator has also been forced to elect whether or not to continue providing the foregoing services and also to decide as to how they best can be provided.

One solution to the foregoing problem has been to provide these services to the individual customer in a vending machine format.

Specifically, the station operator can now purchase vending equipment that can be independently accessed by the customer and wherefrom air, water or vacuum cleaning is made available at a fee. The operatore may thus now recover his cost for making available these services, without having to dedicate the time of his personnel, and also make these services available to his customers on a 24hour basis, even when the station is closed.

As always, though, with any vending equipment that remains unattended for any length of time, a risk of vandalism exists. Accordingly, it is desirable to surround the equipment with a suitable tamper-proof enclosure, or housing that discourages vandalism. While such housings can become extremely elaborate in their deterrent mechanisms, the cost for the equipment can become prohibitive and thus it is desirable to design the housing in a fashion that will delay any attempted vandalism sufficiently long to either discourage the prospective vandal or permit detection by a station attendant, police, etc. Alternatively, the enclosure may be made portable so as to permit the operator to make available the service only during business hours.

One example of such a portable device can be seen upon directing attention to U.S. Patent No. 4,452,371, entitled "Tamper-Resistant Equipment Housing". There, an equipment housing is disclosed that cooperatively interacts with a padlocked draw bar to prevent access to an internally contained coin box and dispensing apparatus. The enclosure is particu larly formed so as to contain a recess in its lower surface for receiving the draw bar and sheltering the padlock so as to prevent against access with bolt cutters, etc. It is with respect to this structure that the present invention is an improvement.

In spite of the deterrent mechanisms, of the foregoing enclosure, some more expert vandals have demonstrated an unanticipated flaw in the design of the locking assembly and, specifically, as to the non-padlocked end of the draw bar. Previously, it was thought that a case hardened draw bar would serve the needs of most operators, byt it has been discovered that the foregoing enclosure was deficient in that it exposed and permitted the bent or tanged end of the draw bar to be accessed by a variety of tools. While the draw bar configuration deters hacksaws and the like, it has not proved a sufficient deterrent to thieves having portable grinders and who are permitted access to the tanged end.

Accordingly, a need has arisen for redesigning the enclosure so as to protect not only the padlock, but also the draw bar and in which enclosure the door has also been made to flush mount.

It is in this regard that the present invention has been developed and which comprises the forming of a second inaccessible housing opposite to the recessed padlock receiving housing for receiving one end of the drawbar, while the other end is contained within the lower housing to a formed piece of angle stock via the padlock. Each recess, is also formed in the corner of the enclosure to obtain additional strength and, thus, the locking assembly is now completely sheltered from vandalism.

The present invention provides a tamper-resistant enclosure comprising a sheet metal body having a hinged portion on at least one side for permitting access to the interior, first and second housings mounted within the enclosure and displaced from the hinge, each of said housings having a slot formed in one surface thereof, said first housing defining a recess accessable to the exterior of the enclosure and including a locking member, and said second housing being enclosed within the body, a plurality of loops mounted on the hinged portion and aligned with the slots of the first and second housings with the hinged portion in closed position, and a draw bar insertable through the slot in the first housing, the loops and the slot in the second housing to secure the hinged portion in closed position, the locking member the draw bar being lockable together by a padlock, whereby the draw bar and padlock are protected from vandals by the housings.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 shows a partially cutaway perspective assembly view of a coin operated, porta ble air delivery vending unit in an enclosure according to the invention; Figure la shows a perspective view of the lower end of a draw bar relative to its locking member; Figure 2 shows a front view of the enclosure; and Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along section lines 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a tamper-resistant enclosure 2 housing a self-service air compressor 4. Associated with the enclosure 2 is a tubular support stand 6 having a pair of base-mounted wheels 8 and a handle 10 which together permit the service station operator to portably convey the equipment to any desired location during business hours and return the equipment to a locked building during nonbusiness hours.

Because the assembly depicted in Fig. 1 realtes to air vending equipment, it has associated with it an air hose 12 that couples to the compressor 4 within the enclosure 2. The air hose 12 passed through a lower lying opening surrounded by a protective bushing 14 mounted therein and is coiled about a support hanger 16 extending from the bottom of the enclosure 2. As mentioned, though, in lieu of an air compressor 4, it is to be recognized that the enclosure might in other instances contain vacuum cleaning equipment, water dispensing equipment or other equipment.

Mounted to the backside of a hinged, flush mounting from panel 18 of the enclosure 2 is a coin meter 20, which is contained within a separate enclosure 21, along with a coin box 22. In operation, a customer upon inserting an appropriate coin or coins into the coin meter 18, twists an associated thumb knob (not shown) on the front of the meter 18 so as to deposit the coin in the coin box 22 and thereby activate the compressor 4. The compressor is controlled to operate for a predetermined amount of time and is set for this to be sufficient to enable a customer to fill tyres for example. The panel is hinged along one side by a hinge 30.

Also mounted to one side of the backside of the front cover 18 are a pair of draw bar receiving loops 26 which are mounted so as to engage a draw bar 28, when the cover is in the closed position. In the enclosure is mounted a housing 32 located in a bottom corner of the enclosure 2. This housing 32 has a slot for receiving the draw bar. Thus, the front panel 18 is secured to the enclosure 2 by insertion of the draw bar 28 through the slotted housing and through the loops 26.

As mentioned in U.S. Patent No. 4,452,371 the housing 32 houses a padlock and is weldably secured to the enclosure 2 and defined a recessed opening in the bottom of the enclosure 2 and defined a recessed opening in the bottom of the enclosure 2 for receiving the lower end of the draw bar 28 and the padlock 34. The padlock can engage through an opening 36 in the lower end of the draw bar. In spite of the believed tamper-resistance of the assembly described in the above patent and the use of a case hardened metal for the draw bar 28, the draw bar 28 has, however, not proven impenetrable to vandals using portable grinders. Because a tang of the draw bar 28 was left exposed, it proved possible to cut through the tang with a portable grinder, release the draw bar 28 and expose the coin box 24 and its padlock (not shown).

A second slotted and recessed enclosed housing 40 has, accordingly, been secured within the enclosure 2 in the top corner above the padlock housing 32 and the tang has been eliminated. The draw bar 28 is inserted through the slot in the lower housing 32 and is received in the slotted upper housing 40, which is also welded to enclosure 2. The padlock 34 is secured through the draw bar 28 and a locking member 31 that is weldably secured within the housing 32.

The recessed housing 40, like the padlock housing 32, is formed from a separate piece of bent sheet metal that is welded to the inside of the enclosure 2 along its flanges 33 beneath the top of the enclosure 2. It thus forms an enclosed hollow cavity with a slot therein that aligns with the loops 26 for receiving the draw bar 28. In combination, the recessed housings 32 and 40 thus protect the draw bar 28. In passing, it should be noted that the recessed housings 32 and 40 are each mounted in a corner of the enclosure 2 so as to obtain additional rigidity. Also, it is to be noted that the enclosure is not intended to be impregnable, but only to delay or frustrate a prospective vandal for a sufficient amount of time to permit detection by a station attendant or another.

With further attention to Fig. 1a, the details of the internal components of the housing 32 are shown and these include the locking member 31 that is weldably mounted within the recessed housing 32. An opening is formed through the member 31 such that upon inserting the draw bar 28, the padlock 34 is insertable through the draw bar 28 and the locking member 31. Because, too, the locking member 31 is shielded by the recessed housing 32, the vandal is thwarted.

Directing attention now to Fig. 3, a crosssectioned side view taken along section lines 3-3 of Fig. 1 is shown and a number of formed air louvres 3 can be seen adjacent the housings 40 and 32 in a side wall of the housing. These prevent build-up of heat generated by the compressor. Directing attention also to Fig. 2, a front view is shown and the housings 32 and 40 can be seen, along with the compressor 4, shown in phantom.

From Figs. 2 and 3, it is to be noted that the enclosure 2 is formed in three sections that are stamped and bent to shape before being assembled and spot welded into the configuration shown. Specifically, the enclosure 2 comprises a first section which is bent to form the top and right and left sides. The bottom and back is then formed from a second section and the front panel 18 is formed from a third. For the presently preferred embodiment, a 14 sheet metal is used and this has proven sufficient against most forms of vandalism, while being readily adaptable to permit forming without thinning or stretching in the regions of various necessary bends. To lend additional structural support, a pair of stiffeners 42 are formed in the back of the enclosure 2 to which the compressor 4 is attached.

Claims (4)

1. A tamper-resistant enclosure comprising a sheet metal body having a hinged portion on at least one side for permitting access to the interior, first and second housings mounted within the enclosure and displaced from the hinge, each of said housings having a slot formed in one surface thereof, said first housing defining a recess accessable to the exterior of the enclosure and including a locking member, and said second housing being enclosed within the body, a plurality of loops mounted on the hinged portion and aligned with the slots of the first and second housings with the hinged portion in closed position, and a draw bar insertable through the slot in the first housing, the loops and the slot in the second housing to secure the hinged portion in closed position, the locking member and the draw bar being lockable together by a padlock, whereby the draw bar and padlock are protected from vandals by the housings.

2. An enclosure according to Claim 1 wherein each of said first and second housings comprises a formed sheet metal member weldably secured to the body.

3. An enclosure according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein each of said first and second housing is mounted in a corner of the body at opposed sides thereof.

4. An enclosure according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said locking member comprises a right angled member weldably secured within said first housing and having an opening alignable with an opening in the draw bar, the padlock having a locking element engageable through said openings to secure the draw bar to the locking member.

4. An enclosure according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said locking member comprises a right angled member weldably secured within said first housing.

5. A tamper-resistant enclosure constructed substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

CLAIMS New claims or amendments to claims filed on 12/3/85 Superseded claims 3 and 4 New or amended claims:

3. An enclosure according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein each of said first and second housings is formed in a corner of the body at opposed sides thereof.