GB2274486A - Security container - Google Patents

Abstract

A security container comprising a box structure (12) having securing means (17, 18) for securing it firmly to a gaming table or the like, an open topped drawer (20) having a base (21) defining compartments (22) for receiving gaming chips or the like, the drawer being slidable into and out of the box, locking means (15) for locking the box to prevent access to the drawer when therewith in, a transparent cover plate dimensionsed to cover the top of the drawer to prevent access to the drawer, and the cover plate and drawer having inter-engaging means adapted to be secured to prevent or indicate unauthorised access to the drawer when covered. <IMAGE>

Description

SECURITY CONTAINER This invention relates to a security container and more particularly to a container designed to hold gaming chips in a casino or the like.

Conventionally, in a casino, the gaming chips for use at any gaming table are sorted at a central secure area into trays having a moulded base designed to receive the chips in shaped compartments. Before a gaming session, a tray is handed to the croupier or other person in charge of the gaming table and carried to the gaming table. At the end of the day the chips are returned to the secure area.

The present invention aims to provide a container for holding gaming chips so that they can be securely held at the gaming table in advance of being required for play. This allows the chips to be sorted and checked and conveyed to a required position, ready for use, at a more convenient time.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a box structure having securing means for securing it firmly to a gaming table or the like, an opened topped drawer having a base defining compartments for receiving gaming chips or the like, the drawer being slidable into and out of the box, locking means for locking the box to prevent access to the drawer when within, a cover plate dimensioned to cover the top of the drawer to prevent access to the drawer, and the cover plate and drawer having inter-engaging means adapted to be secured to prevent or indicate unauthorised access to the drawer.

The cover plate is preferably transparent and is preferably arranged to be secured to the drawer by a sealed tag which can be broken when access to the drawer is required but which will indicate if access has been obtained in an unauthorised manner.

The box is first securely fastened, e.g. by bolts, to the base of the gaming table and preferably has a hinged door which can be locked to secure a drawer therein. The drawer is filled with the required chips for a particular table and checked by a responsible person. The cover is then attached to the drawer and sealed thereto with a security tag. The drawer can then be placed in the box and locked therein ready for use at any time. At the end of a gaming session the chips are replaced in the drawer and if required the cover replaced and a different security tag, belonging to the person in charge of the table, applied and the chips returned for checking in the security area.

One embodiment of security container will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagramatic drawings of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a drawer for insertion in the box, and Figure 3 is a cover for location over the drawer.

As seen in Figure 1, an elongate box 12, made of metal sheet material, has one end in the form of a door 13 hinged at 14 along its bottom edge so that it can be opened to obtain access to the box. The door has a lock 15 to engage with a keep 16 so that the box can be locked securely closed. The top of the box is provided with two metal fixing bars 17 having holes 18 for receiving fastening means by which the box can be fastened securely to the bottom of a gaming table.

As seen in Figure 2, an open topped metal drawer 20 has a base which is provided with a moulded tray 21 defining rows of compartments 22 shaped to receive gaming chips of different denominations. The drawer is dimensioned to be a sliding fit within the box 12. The side and rear edges of the box are turned inwardly at 23 and support means, indicated diagramatically at 24, are provided below the turned in upper edges to define, between those edges and the support means, a channel 25 for slidably receiving and supporting a cover 26, such as seen in Figure 3. The front wall 27 of the drawer stops below the top edge and is turned forwardly onto 28 to provide a guide across the front of the drawer for receiving the top of the cover. The front wall 27 of the drawer is provided with a forwardly projecting metal rod 30 formed near its free end with a bore 31.

The cover 26 is made of transparent material, such as perspex, and is L-shaped having a flat top 32, dimensioned to be a sliding fit in the channel 25 of the drawer so as to cover the top of the drawer, and having a downwardly turned front 33 formed with an aperture 34 dimensioned to just accommodate the rod 30.

When the cover is slid onto over the top of the drawer, it engages with the turned over top edges and prevents any access to the drawer. The aperture 34 fitting over the rod 30 provides additional inter-engaging means between the cover and drawer. When a security tag is passed through the bore 31 and sealed it prevents removal of the cover plate unless the seal is broken, thus indicating tampering. Locking means could be provided to secure the cover to the drawer.

Claims (11)

1. A security container comprising a box structure having securing means for securing it firmly to a gaming table or the like, an open topped drawer having a base defining compartments for receiving gaming chips or the like, the drawer being slidable into and out of the box, locking means for locking the box to prevent access to the drawer when therewithin, a cover plate dimensioned to cover the top of the drawer to prevent access to the drawer, and the cover plate and drawer having inter-engaging means adapted to be secured to prevent or indicate unauthorised access to the drawer when covered.

2. A container according to claim 1 in which the cover plate is transparent.

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the cover plate is secured to or adapted to be secured to the drawer by a sealed tag.

4. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the cover plate is lockable to the drawer.

5. A container according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which the top of the drawer is formed with a horizontal channel adapted to receive the cover plate as a sliding fit and to inter-engage with the cover plate to prevent upward movement of the cover plate from the drawer.

6. A container according to any of claims 1 to 5 in which the cover plate is L-shaped having a top designed to close the top of the drawer and a front formed with an opening designed to receive as a close fit a projection extending from the drawer front.

7. A container according to any of claims 1 to 6 in which the drawer front is formed with a forwardly extending projection, the projection including an aperture for receiving a tag or other securing device.

8. A container according to any of claims 1 to 7 in which the box is formed of metal and includes a lockable hinged door.

9. A container according to any of claims 1 to 8 in which the securing means on the box comprises one or more metal fixing bars formed with apertures for receiving further securing means.

10. A container according to any of claims 1 to 9 secured to a gaming table.

11. A security container substantially as described herein with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.