GB2339840A - Security boxes - Google Patents

Description

2339840 SECURITY BOXES DESCRIMON The invention relates to security boxes.

Many forms of security box have been proposed which enable cash or other valuable items be safely stored.

For example uses for such security boxes are in casinos where they allow for the safe placement of cash etc. whilst gaming is taking place and for the secure transport from the gaming table to a teller; garages or other retail outlets where a person serving at a till may desire to keep a minimum float within the till as a precaution against theft; and mobile sales units - milk floats and the like.

The arrangements know to me provides a shroud or outer casing into which a security box is placed. In most of the arrangements known to me the shroud is I provided with means (e.g. a set of pins) which act upon a mechanism within the security box to open an aperture in the box which, when the box is correctly positioned in the shroud, is in register with an aperture in the shroud. Items of value (e.g. cash) may then be passed to the box via the apertures in the shroud and box itself. When the box is removed from the shroud the actuating means carried by the shroud disengages the mechanism in the box and the aperture in the box closes. Access to the security box is generally via a second aperture (e.g. a door) normally locked with a key normally held separately from the box.

The difficulties I have noted with the described arrangements include that of getting the box into the shroud (the actuating pins often prevent the easy placement of a box in the shroud), damage to the actuating means (in use the pins get bent) with the result the shroud is no longer usable and in a casino that might mean that a gaming table is out of action, and damage to the security box itself caused by the pins and/or inadequate placement correctly in the shroud in which it is to be held.

An object of the present invention is to provide a security box arrangement which alleviates and/or overcomes these disadvantages.

In a first aspect the invention provides a security box one wall of which is provided with an aperture via which items may be passed to the box, access means movable from a first position opening said aperture to a second position closing said aperture, access control means carried by the box and operable to prevent or allow movement of the access means, and lock means located within the box and operable to prevent further movement of the access means once the access means have moved from its said first to its said second position.

2 Desirably, a lockable door is provided in the box which, inter alia, enables access to be made to the lock means allowing the lock means to be manually reset to permit movement of the access means to said first position.

With advantage the access means is spring biased towards said first position.

In a particularly advantageous arrangement the access means comprises a plate constrained to move generally parallel to the apertured wall of the box, such that when the access means plate is in said first position the apertures in the box wall and the plate are in register one with the other.

The access means plate desirably has at one end thereof a first member extending generally normally thereof and engageable via a tongue part of the access control means to hold the access means in said second position.

With advantage a handle is provided extending from the first member of the access means, the handle comprising a generally flat plate part passing through a slot in a wall of the box and enabling the access means to be moved from between said first and second positions.

The access control means tongue part is preferably moveable through a slot in a wall of the box to pass into, in use, a slot in a shroud receiving the box and in so moving permits movement of the access means to said first position.

Desirably, the access means, the tongue part of the access control means, the box and the shroud are sized and adapted such that the access control means prevents movement of the access means until the tongue part of the access control means is in the shroud slot.

Advantageously, the lock means comprises an L shaped plate member supported on the apertured wall of the box and spring biased such that one arm 3 thereof contacts that wall and obstructs movement of the access means from said second to said first position.

The other arm of the lock means is manually manoeuvrable to allow the said one arm to be moved against said spring bias to a position in which it bears upon the access means plate permitting movement thereof.

Desirably the access means plate is constrained to follow a path adjacent the apertured wall of the box by a guide plate carried on the inner surface of the apertured wall of the box and spaced therefrom by an amount permitting movement of the access mean plate therealong.

The spring acting to bias the access means to said first position is preferably a spring acting under tension.

The means acting to spring bias the lock means preferably comprises one or more springs acting under compression.

The one arm of the lock means is preferably located on the apertured wall of the box by a pair of posts each of which carries a spring acting between the one arm lock means and stop means located at the free ends of the posts.

With advantage the material of the box, the access means and the lock means of the is a tough plastics material, for example ABS.

The security box may be formed in two parts, an upper part carrying the access means, lock means and access control means and the lower part the lockable door; the two box parts being riveted together.

The tongue part of the access control means may comprise a metal plate carried in rotation with a barrel of a key operated lock carried on a wall of the box.

4 The access means plate may be provided with a lug preventing rotational movement of the tongue part of the access control means within the box to a position permitting movement of the access means.

In a second aspect the invention provides a security box having the features 5 set fourth above in combination with a shroud in which, in use, the box is placed.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing statements that the invention provides an arrangement of security box a (upper) wall of which is apertured. The aperture is normally closed by the access means - a plate immediately beneath the upper wall of the box. The plate of the access means is, however, moveable once the box has been placed in a shroud and the lock operated such that the tongue part of the access means is moved from a position engaging the access means to a position in which it enters into and engages the slot in the shroud in which the box is placed.

When it is desired to remove the security box from the shroud a user must pull on the handle to move the access means to a position in which the access means plate closes the aperture in the upper wall of the box. At this time the lock means will be spring biassed a position preventing further movement of the access means.

Once this position has been reached the user must rotate the key moving the tongue part of the access control means out of the shroud and into a position holding the access means plate closing the aperture in the box. The box and its content can then be carried to a position at which the content is to be withdrawn from the box.

Withdrawal of the content of the box is made via the door normally secured by a lock the key to which is held at the remote location at which the security box is to be emptied.

Once the box has been emptied, for example in a telling room of a casino, the teller may insert his hand through the now open door and reset the lock means - that is to say raise the one arm lock means such that its leading edge lies and bears upon the access means plate. In this position the access means plate can (once it has been placed in the shroud) be moved to a position in which the apertures in the access means and the upper wall of the box are in register - allowing cash or valuable items to be passed to the box.

It will be appreciated that the arrangement now proposed provides that actuation of the means enabling the items to be passed to the box is held wholly within the box. Once the box has been placed within the shroud, and the lock operated to move the tongue part of the access control means into the shroud slot, items may be passed to the box. Movement of the access control means to enable the box to be removed from the shroud (by reverse rotation of the tongue part of the access control means) means that the lock means will thereafter hold the access means in a position closing the aperture in the box.

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment thereof now made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the box in an associated shroud, Figure 2 is a sectional view of the box looking toward its front wall, and Figure 3, 4 and 5 are sectional side views of the box showing parts thereof in different operational positions.

With reference now to the drawings which show a security box 10 mounted within a shroud 12. Shroud 12 has an aperture 14 which when the box is correctly 6 positioned in the shroud is in register with an aperture 16 in the box 10. When in this position a key may be introduced to a lock 20 causing the barrel of the lock to rotate. The barrel of the lock has attached to it a tongue 22 and in rotation the lock barrel carries the tongue with it.

Once the box 10 has been placed in the shroud the tongue 22 may be moved (by inserting the key 18 in lock 20) from a position in which it lies wholly within the box, via a slot 24 in the wall of the box and into a slot 26 in the shroud 12.

Thus movement of the tongue 22 in this way will effectively "lock" the box in the shroud.

Looking at box 10 in more detail. It will be seen there is provided an access means 28 having a plate 30 moveable close to and parallel with the wall 32 of the box pierced by the aperture 16. The plate 30 is apertured at 34 and when in a first position (shown in Figure 4) the aperture 34 is in register with the aperture 16 in the box. If a box is located within the shroud then it will be appreciated that the apertures 14, 16 and 34 are all in register and access may be made by an individual to the box 10 - he may pass cash or other precious items through the apertures and into a box.

The access means 28 is completed by two members a first 36 of which extends generally normally of the plate 30 and the second 38 of which extends generally normally of the member 36 and parallel to the plane of the plate 30 but in a direction away from the plate 30. The portion 38 extends through a slot 40 in the front wall 42 of the box. The outermost end of the portion 38 may be lipped or tamed as shown at 44 to enable a user to pull the access means 30 from the position shown in Figure 4 to the position shown in Figure 5.

7 It is to be noted from Figures 3, 4 and 5 that lock means indicated generally at 46 comprises an L shaped plate member with first and second arms 48 and 50 respectively. The lock means 46 is carried by a spacer 51 on the inner surface of wall 32 and is located by a pair of posts 52 extending through apertures in the arm 48 and which have springs 54 surrounding the posts on the side of the arm 48 spaced from,the wall 32. The springs 54act between the arm 48 and stops 56 at the free ends of the posts 52. It will be appreciated that the springs 54 act to bias the lock means such that the arm 48 thereof contacts the wall 32 (Figure 5).

It will further be appreciated gaining access to the interior of the box in a way to be described below, may urge the second arm 50 in a manner such that the arm 48 is lifted against the bias of the springs 52 until the free end of arm 48 bears on the leading edge of the plate 30 of the access means (Figures 3 and 4).

A spring 58 is attached to the member 36 of the access means 30 and to a side wall 60 of the box. Spring 58 is under tension and acts to urge the access means to the position shown in Figure 4.

It will be appreciated that the box cannot be removed from the shroud 12 once the tongue 22 attached to the lock barrel 20 engages the slot 26 in the side of the shroud 12. The tongue 22 is sufficiently wide to engage in slot 26 in shroud 12 at all times that the part 38 of the access means is in the position shown in Figure 3 To remove the box from the shroud the user must grasp the lipped part 44 of the access means 30 and pull the access means leftwardly as viewed in the Figures until the tongue 22 is clear of the members 36, 38 and can rotate out of the slot 26 in the shroud and via the slot 24 in the box to a position in which it abuts the portion 36 of the access means. In moving the access means to this extent the 8 aperture 34 in plate 30 is moved out of register with the aperture 16 in the box 10 and the box is thus closed. At the same time the leading end of the plate 30 is pulled clear of the arm 48 of the lock means 46. The arm 48 of the lock means is then biased, by the springs 54, such that its lies against the wall 32. It is held in this position by the springs 54 preventing movement of the access means 30 rightwardly as viewed in, the Figures from a position shown in the Figure 5.

Once the box has been sealed in this way a user may remove the box from the shroud - the tongue 22 is no longer engaging in the slot 26 - and the box may be carried away from the shroud to a room where its content is to be accessed.

Access is made to the content of the box at the location remote from the shroud via a door 62 provided in the base part of the box. The door 62 is of a standard configuration and provided with a lock 64 which is normally held at the remote location.

Making use of a key held at the remote location a user may unlock the door 62 to access the content of the box 10. Once the content of the box 10 has been removed the user may then insert his hand through the door 62 and manipulate the lock means 46 by pushing against the second arm 50 to raise the first arm 48 against the action of the springs 54 and allow the access means 30 to move slightly forward - to a position in which it is held in place by the tongue 22 bearing on the parts 36 of the access means. The door 62 is then closed and locked using the lock 64 and the box may be reinserted in the shroud 12, the key is inserted in lock 20 and the tongue 22 rotated to pass through the slot 24 in the side of the box and into the slot 26 in the side of the shroud 12. The access means 30 will then be urged by the spring 58 to the position shown in Figure 4.

9 Rotation of the tongue 22 within box 10 to a position at which the access - means 30 is released is prevented by means of a lug 66 provided on the member 36 of the access means.

To ensure the plate 30 of the access means 28 is constrained to move parallel to the wall 32 it, is held in position by a further apertured fixed plate 68 mounted on pillars 70 at either side of the plate 30 and connected to the wall 32. A pair of spacers 72 mounted on wall 32 act, with plate 68, to guide plate 30 of the access means 28 as it moves freely across the wall 32.

As shown in the drawings the box is provided in two parts - an upper part which incorporates the lock means, the access means and the access control means (the lock 20 and tongue 22) and a lower part which incorporates the door 62 with its lock 64. The two halves of the box are produced separately and then joined together by riveting.

It will be appreciated from the forgoing description that the invention provides an arrangement in which the security box 10 is mountable in the shroud and locked in position in that shroud 12 whilst access can be made to the security box. Whenever it is desired to remove box 10 from shroud 12 the aperture 16 is closed, by movement of the plate 30 to a position enabling release of the box 10 from the shroud 12 by rotation of the tongue 22 to a position in which it lies wholly within the box 10. The plate 30 is then held in this position by the lock means 46 until the content of the box has been removed and the lock means 46 reset by the person removing the content of the box reaching into the box and manually manipulating the lock means 46 to a position allowing the plate 30 to move again.

It is preferred that the security box 10, when used in casinos, be made of as resilient tough plastics material such as ABS It will be seen by the skilled reader of the specification that many variations, in terms of materials used and the specific arrangements of parts, may be made 5 without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (1)

1. A security box one wall of which is provided with an aperture through which items may be passed to the box, access means movable from a first position opening said aperture to a second position closing said aperture, access control means carried by the box and operable to prevent or allow movement of the access means, and lock means located within the box and operable to prevent further movement of the access means once the access means has moved from said first to said second position. 2. A security box as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a lockable door is provided in the box which, inter alia, permits access to be made to the lock means allowing the lock means to be manually reset to permit movement of the access means to said first position. 3. A security box as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said access means is spring biased towards said first position.

4. A security box as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said access means comprises a plate constrained to move generally parallel to the apertured wall of the box, when the access means plate is in said first position the apertures in the box wall and the plate are in register one with the other. 5. A box as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said access means plate member has at one end thereof a first member extending generally normally thereof and engageable by a tongue part of the access control means to hold the access means in said second position. - 6. A box as claimed in Claim 5, wherein a handle is provided extending from the first member of the access means, the handle comprising a generally flat plate 12 passing through a slot in a wall of the box, the handle enabling the access means to be moved between said first to said second positions. 7. A box as claimed in Claims 5 or Claim 6, wherein the access control means tongue part is moveable through a slot in a wall of the box to pass into, in use, a slot in a shroud receiving the box and in so moving permits movement of the access means to said first position. 8. A security box as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the access means, the tongue part of the access control means, the box and the shroud are sized and adapted such that the access control means prevents movement of the access means until the tongue part of the access control means is within the shroud slot. 9. A security box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lock means comprises an L shaped plate member supported on the apertured wall of the box and spring biased such that one arm thereof contacts that wall and obstructs movement of the access means from said second to said first position.

10. A security box as claimed on Claim 9, wherein the other arm of the lock means is accessible via said door and manually manoeuvrable to allow said one arm to be moved against said spring bias to a position in which it bears on the access means plate permitting movement thereof. 11. A security box as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the access means plate is constrained to follow a path by a guide plate carried on the inner surface of the apertured wall of the box and spaced therefrom by an amount permitting movement of the access means plate therealong.

13 12. A security box as claimed in Claim 3 and any of claims 4 to 11, wherein the spring acting to bias the access means to said first position is a spring acting under tension. 13. A security box as claimed in Claim 9 and any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the spring bias lock means comprises one or more springs acting under compression 14. A security box as claimed Claim 13, wherein the lock means is located on the apertured wall of the box by two posts each of which carries a spring acting between the one arm of the lock means and stop means located at the free ends of the posts.

15. A security box as claimed in any preceding claims wherein, the material of the box, the access means and the lock means is of a tough plastics material. 16. A security box as claimed in Claim 15, wherein the material of the box, the access means and the lock access is ABS. 17. A security box as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 16, wherein the box is formed of two parts, an upper part carrying the access means, lock means and access control means and the lower part said locakable door, the two parts being riveted together. 18. A security box as claimed in Claim 5 and any one of claims 6 to 17, wherein the access control means tongue comprises a metal plate carried in rotation with the barrel of a key operated lock carried on a wall of the box. 19. A security box as claimed in Claim 5 and any one of claims 6 to 18, wherein the access means member is provided with a lug preventing rotational movement of the tongue part of the access control means within the box to a position permitting movement of the access means.

14 20. A security box as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in combination with a shroud in which the box is, in use, placed.

21. A security box as claimed in Claim 1, and substantially as hereinbefore 5 described with a reference to the accompanying drawings