GB2323272A

GB2323272A - Secure key holder

Info

Publication number: GB2323272A
Application number: GB9705763A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernard John Viney
Original assignee: Surelock McGill Ltd
Current assignee: Surelock McGill Ltd
Priority date: 1997-03-20
Filing date: 1997-03-20
Publication date: 1998-09-23
Anticipated expiration: 2017-03-20
Also published as: GB2323272B; GB9705763D0

Abstract

A key holder for use in secure establishments such as prisons comprises a holding member 20 for holding at least one key and/or other ancillary items. The holding member 20 has an end 20A for receiving the at least one key to be held on the holding member 20. Closing means (22, figure 1b) is provided to enable the end 20A to be closed to prevent removal of the at least one key while the holding member 20 and the closing means 22 remain intact. The closing means 22 is adapted to allow the end 20A to be opened to permit removal of the at least one key while the holding member 20 remains intact. The closing means 22 is further characterised by at least one of the following: a) a tool (50, figure 4) is required to open the closing means which allows the end 20A to be opened to permit removal of the at least one key; b) the holding member 20 is not allowed to be closed after opening (i) unless a specific apparatus is used to close the closing means 22, or (ii) if the closing means 22 is deformed during an illicit attempt to acquire a key from the holding member 20. Preferably the holding member 20 has two ends 20A,20B which are held together and secured using the closing means 22. The closing means 22 preferably comprises a cup 24 with grooves 28 in which the holding member 20 can be located (as shown in figure 3), the cup being closed by a lid 26 and secured in place by folding over the upper edge 32.

Description

KEY HOLDER The present invention relates to a key holder for securely retaining at least one key and/or other ancilliary items, and to a method for changing the keys and/or ancilliary items on a key holder.

Key rings used in secure establishments such as prisons and secure hospitals have to fulfil a number of functions. The key rings have to securely hold a reasonable number of keys and/or ancilliary items, such as whistles or key fobs, with no fear of accidental loss. They must be tamper proof, and only permit authorised personnel to change the items upon the key ring. Additionally they should be lightweight, corrosion-resistant and user friendly.

In the past, secure establishments have been known to use key rings consisting of a stainless steel bar bent into the shape of a ring. The required keys are placed upon the bar, and the ends of the bar are then welded or brazed together in order to prevent the unauthorised addition to and/or removal of items from the key ring.

This prior art design, whilst being secure and difficult to tamper with, has the disadvantage that it is difficult for authorised personnel to add or remove keys from the key ring. In order to change the keys on the key ring, the steel ring must be cut and then cannot be re-used. Also, the process can have a brittling effect whereby the rings can actually break.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a key holder comprising a holding member for holding at least one key and/or other ancilliary items, the holding member having an end for receiving said at least one key to be held on the holding member and closing means for enabling said end to be closed to prevent removal of said at least one key while said holding member or said closing means remain intact, said closing means being adapted to allow said end to be opened to permit removal of said at least one key while said holding member remains intact said closing means being further adapted by at least one of the following: a) to require a tool to allow said end to be opened to permit removal of said at least one key; b) not to allow said end to be closed after opening except with a tool or if the key holder is caused to be marked.

As the holding member remains intact even when said end of the holding member is opened to permit removal (or addition) of keys or other items, the holding member can be re-used with consequent saving of costs. On the other hand, it can be determined if the key holder has been tampered with so as to add or remove keys or other items by personnel who do not have access to the necessary tools or closing means.

Advantageously, said closing means is adapted not to allow said end to be closed after opening except with a tool. The addition of keys or other items to the key holder or removal of keys or other items from the key holder is therefore limited to authorised personnel who have access to the tool.

For the same reason, said closing means is preferably adapted to allow said end to be opened using a tool.

Advantageously, said closing means is adapted not to allow said end to be closed by the same closing means after opening. The security of the system is therefore improved as the closing means cannot be re-used and so the key holder cannot be tampered with by someone not having access to further closing means.

Conveniently, the closing means is so adapted by being permanently marked by being deformed, or indeed broken, when said end is opened. It is envisaged that said closing means may simply be adapted to be marked by being permanently deformed when said end is opened to show that the key holder has been opened without the need for a tool to open or close the end.

However, the requirement for a tool, as set out above, improves the security of the system. In this respect, the closing means is preferably more easily deformed than the holding member.

Conveniently said holding member and/or said closing means is made of stainless steel.

Advantageously, said closing means comprises an enclosure for retaining said end of the holding member to protect said end of the holding member from being tampered with. Conveniently, the enclosure includes an opening, said end of the holding member being shaped, for example by being curved, so as not to pass through said opening. In this way, said end of the holding member is retained by the enclosure.

For convenience, said closing means may comprise first and second closure members for co-operating to define said enclosure, so enabling said end of the holding member to be conveniently located in said closing means before said first and second closure members are joined together.

Most advantageously, the holding member has another end, said closing means being adapted to close said end by coupling said end with said another end to form a closed loop. The provision of the key holder as a closed loop or ring provides all of the advantages provided by the configuration of existing key rings.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of changing the keys and/or other ancilliary items on a key holder comprising a holding member for holding at least one key and/or other ancilliary items, the holding member having an end for receiving said at least one key to be held on the holding member and closing means for enabling said end to be closed to prevent removal of said at least one key while said holding member or said closing means remain intact, the method comprising the steps of: opening said closing means to permit removal of said at least one key while said holding member remains intact; changing said keys on said holding member; and closing said end to prevent removal of said keys on said holding member, at least one of said opening and closing steps requiring a tool or resulting in said closing means not being re-usable or resulting in said key holder being marked.

The second aspect of the present invention provides a method of changing the keys and/or other ancilliary items on a key holder which permits the holding member to be re-used with consequent saving of costs while restricting the method to authorised personnel having access to further closing means or to the tool required to open or close said end.

Advantageously, said step of opening said closing means may result in said closing means not being re-usable so that said step of closing said end requires another closing means with the consequent increase in security. Said closing means may be rendered unusable by said step of opening if said step of opening said closing means results in permanent deformation, or breakage, of said closing means.

As set out above, said closing means may conveniently comprise first and second closure members for co-operating to define an enclosure to retain said end of the holding member. Said step of closing said end may therefore comprise the step of swaging said first and second closure members together, preferably using a hand press.

Furthermore, said step of opening said closing means may comprise the step of applying a force to a surface of said first closure member.

Advantageously, the holding member has another end and said step of closing said end comprises coupling said end with said another end.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure la shows a plan view of a holding member for use in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure lb shows a plan view of the components of a closing device for use with the holding member of Figure la; Figure 2a is a cross-section of the closing device along the line II-II of Figure lb; Figure 2b is a cross-section of the closing device of Figure 2a as assembled but without the holding member in position; Figure 3 is a plan view of the holding member of Figure la located in the closing device of Figure lb prior to final assembly; and Figure 4 shows a method of opening the closing device.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 in combination show an embodiment of a key holder provided in accordance with the present invention. A member 20 is formed as an open loop having first and second open ends 20a, 20b.

As shown in Figure la, the member 20 may be formed approximately in the shape of a horseshoe. The open ends 20a, 20b enable one or more keys and/or other ancilliary items to be received onto the member 20.

To prevent the keys being removed from the member 20, the first and second ends 20a, 20b are closed by being coupled together using a closing device 22, shown in Figures Ib, 2a and 2b, to form a closed loop as shown in Figure 3.

The holding member 20 is preferably made of stainless steel of thickness 3 mm so as to be easy to produce yet robust. The closing device 22 may also be made of stainless steel for ease of construction.

The closing device 22 comprises a cup part 24 and a cap part 26. Two holes 28 are formed in the side wall of the cup 24 to permit the curved ends 20A, 20B to be located in the closing device 22. Preferably a shoulder 30 is formed around the circumference of the cup part 24, with the upper edge 32 of the cup part side wall being thinner than the rest of the side wall.

The desired keys and/or other ancilliary items are placed over one end 20A, 20B of the member 20 prior to the closing device 22 being attached. The closing device 22 is then engaged with the member 20 in order to secure the items to the member. Prior to the cap 26 being engaged with the cup 24, the member 20 is locked in the holes 28 as illustrated in Figure 3 with the curved ends 20A, 20B within the closing device 22. In use, the ends 20A, 20B are retained within the closing device 22 due to their curvature.

The cap 26 is then fixed into position on the cup 24 by resting the cap 26 on the shoulder 30 of the cup 24, and swaging the upper edge of the cup side wall 32 over the cap, thus closing the closing device as shown in Figure 2b. For convenience, the swaging operation may be done using a press, and more particularly an easily operated hand press.

The open ends 20A, 20B of the member 20 are therefore entrapped within the confines of the sealed closing device 22 to form a closed loop, such that the items may not be removed from the member 20 except by disassembling or damaging either the member 20 or the closing device 22.

Taking the closing device apart would be difficult for anyone without the use of special tooling, and any tampering would be obvious and difficult to disguise.

When the key holder is required to be disassembled (e.g. for the removal or addition of keys), the closing device 22 is easily removed from the member 20 by using the press previously utilised for swaging the closing device, although with a different tool and base in the press. As shown in Figure 4, the cap part 26 can be removed from the cup part 24 by placing the closing device 22 upon a press base 40, and impacting a tool such as a die upon the closing device 22. The die acts so as to deform and damage the closing device 22, and permit its removal from the undamaged and intact member 20. Location and mounting of the cup part 24 on the press base 40 is assisted by a recess 42 in the base 40 for holding the cup part 24.

The damaged cap and cup parts 24, 26 of the closing device 22 cannot be re-used and so are discarded. New closing device components are used in combination with the original member 20 to re-form a key holder.

Other methods of separating the cup part and the cap part to disassemble the key holder are envisaged.

The tool 50 may be shaped to provide pressure at more than one location on the cap part, e.g. by being circular or having two or more prongs.

A variety of modifications to the key holder are also envisaged.

Preferably, the cup part is rounded, so that the key holder is smooth and hence user friendly.

The cup part may be hollow, so as to minimise the weight of the closing device. This feature also has the advantage of ensuring that the closing device is more easily deformed than the holding member so that the holding member is retained intact when the closing device is opened.

Alternatively, the cup part could have either a removable insert or be of substantially solid construction, with only hollowed out portions to accommodate the end or ends of the member. This would make the closing device more robust, but heavier.

Alternatively, the closing device might be composed of tough but substantially resilient material, the entrapment of the member being by means of a snap-fit type arrangement with an arrow-shaped end of the member engaging an aperture in the closing device. Such a device would allow the arrow-shaped end of the member to be closed by the closing device without the need for a tool but the closing device could not be opened except by being deformed or using a tool.

The holding member may be provided in a number of configurations. The open ends 20A, 20B of the member 20 may be of any shape which allows the ends 20A, 20B to be located and retained in the closing device. For example, to entrap the ends of the member within the confines of the sealed closing device, the ends of the member 20 might be of bulbous formation. The holding member itself may be shaped other than as a horseshoe, the separation of the open ends 20A, 20B of the holding member determining the size and configuration of a corresponding closing device. Furthermore, the holding member may be provided with a closing device which closes only one end of the holding member, the other end of the holding member either being shaped so as to retain the keys upon the member or being closed by a second closing device.

Further, the member need not be of completely rigid construction, for example the substantial part of the member might be of a flexible, jointed steel cable type construction, having only rigid end parts to be trapped by the closing device so as to form a secure unit. This would have the advantage that the key holder would be more comfortable for the user to retain on their person.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A key holder comprising a holding member for holding at least one key and/or other ancilliary items, the holding member having an end for receiving said at least one key to be held on the holding member and closing means for enabling said end to be closed to prevent removal of said at least one key while said holding member or said closing means remain intact, said closing means being adapted to allow said end to be opened to permit removal of said at least one key while said holding member remains intact said closing means being further adapted by at least one of the following: a) to require a tool to allow said end to be opened to permit removal of said at least one key; b) not to allow said end to be closed after opening except with a tool or if the key holder is caused to be marked.

2. A key holder according to claim 1 in which said closing means is adapted not to allow said end to be closed after opening except with a tool.

3. A key holder according to claims 1 or 2 in which said closing means is adapted not to allow said end to be closed by the same closing means after opening.

4. A key holder according to claim 3 in which said closing means is adapted to be permanently deformed when said end is opened.

5. A key holder according to claim 4 in which said closing means is more easily deformed than the holding member.

6. A key holder according to any one of the preceding claims in which said closing means is adapted to allow said end to be opened using a tool.

7. A key holder according to any one of the preceding claims in which said holding member is made of stainless steel.

8. A key holder according to any one of the preceding claims in which said closing means is made of stainless steel.

9. A key holder according to any one of the preceding claims in which said closing means comprises an enclosure for retaining said end of the holding member.

10. A key holder according to claim 9 in which the enclosure includes an opening, said end being shaped so as not to pass through said opening.

11. A key holder according to claim 10 in which said end is curved.

12. A key holder according to any one of claims 9 to 11 in which said closing means comprises first and second closure members for co-operating to define said enclosure.

13. A method of changing the keys and/or other ancilliary items on a key holder comprising a holding member for holding at least one key and/or other anciliary items, the holding member having an end for receiving said at least one key to be held on the holding member and a closing means for enabling said end to be closed to prevent removal of said at least one key while said holding member or said closing means remain intact, the method comprising the steps of: opening said closing means to permit removal of said at least one key while said holding member remains intact; changing said keys on said holding member; and closing said end to prevent removal of said keys on said holding member, at least one of said opening and closing steps requiring a tool or resulting in said closing means not being re-usable or resulting in said key holder being marked.

14. A method according to claim 13 in which said step of closing said closing means requires a tool.

15. A method according to claims 13 or 14 in which said step of opening said closing means results in said closing means not being reusable so that said step of closing said end requires another closing means.

16. A method according to claim 15 in which said step of opening said closing means results in permanent deformation of said closing means.

17. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 18 in which said step of opening said closing means requires a tool.

18. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 17 in which said closing means comprises first and second closure members for co-operating to define an enclosure to retain said end of the holding member.

19. A method according to claim 18 in which said step of closing said end comprising the step of swaging said first and second closure members together.

20. A method according to claim 19 in which said step of swaging said first and second closure members together uses a hand press.

21. A method according to any one of claims 18 to 20 in which said step of opening said closing means comprises the step of applying a force to a surface of said first closure member to force said first and second closure members apart.

22. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 21 in which the holding member has another end and said step of closing said end comprises coupling said end with said another end.

23. A key holder substantially as hereinbefore described with respect to any one of the accompanying drawings.

24. A method of changing the keys on a key holder substantially as hereinbefore described with respect to any one of the accompanying drawings.