GB2376872A

GB2376872A - Security holder for a waisted collecting box

Info

Publication number: GB2376872A
Application number: GB0105845A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan Paul Laker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-03-09
Filing date: 2001-03-09
Publication date: 2002-12-31
Also published as: GB0105845D0

Abstract

The device comprises a holder, C-shaped in cross section, having an upper horizontal region 13 with a U-shaped recess for receiving the waisted portion of a charity collecting box 30. Tabs 16,17 formed at the opening of the U have holes 18,19 through which an elongated padlock shackle may be passed. The base of the device can be screwed or adhered to a surface (eg a shop counter) and the front panel 33 is used to display interchangeable advertising media 33. A plurality of the holes 18,19 in each tab allow for differing sizes of box.

Description

TITLE : SECURITY AND ADVERTISING DEVICE The present invention relates to a security and advertising system that prevents the charity-collecting box being stolen and ensures that a charity-collecting box remains in close proximity with the general public. The front of the unit has a system that allows advertising to be fitted to the front of the unit and easily changed if required.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Charity collecting boxes are well known and are available in various designs and colours. The object of the box is to collect money and an ideal position for a charity box is situated next to a cash register where change may be given.

Although the money for charity boxes are destined for worthy causes there is increasingly becoming the problem of charity boxes being stolen by people who think that a charity box is an easy option. The theft of a collection box is often an opportunist crime where an unattended shop may present the chance to steal a charity box.

The placement of a charity box is normally a gesture of goodwill on behalf of the retailer that will allow the charity box to be placed accordingly. Often a shop may have more than one charity box situated on the counter and this can lead to problems in remembering how many charity boxes should be on the counter

As a result of this a charity collecting boxes may not be missed until some time after they have been stolen and once a charity-collecting box has been stolen the charity has lost all the money that was donated and will have to purchase and replace the charity-collecting box itself.

The Police may be contacted and this would involve a visit and subsequent paperwork. If the individual were not caught, the cost in resources to investigate the crime would soon exceed the value of the box and contents.

Because of the risk that a charity-collecting box can be easily stolen retailers are looking at a charity collection box as a liability and there is reluctance to placing the charity box next to the cash register and subsequently repositioning the box behind the counter where it cannot be seen and therefore collects minimal donations. In today's retail environment the counter is becoming the focal for"Point of sale advertising"and therefore this space is being filled with promotions to encourage last minute purchases, this has also reduced the retailer's attitude to place charity boxes on the counter reducing the collection potential and as a result the charities are loosing out on millions of pounds a year.

In an attempt to combat theft, the cord that is normally used to support the box when it is used for collections is wound around part of the cash register in an attempt to prevent someone removing the charity box. In reality the construction of the"carry cord is simply a piece of cord that has a"T"plastic

moulding at each end. By Appling light pressure to the cord the cord is allowed to slide through the "T'moulding and this results in the end of the cord becoming free, allowing the box to be easily removed irrelevant to what the cord is connected to.

Small chains have been offered as an option by some manufactures but these have to be secured to the counter in close proximity to the box and because of the stylish modern retail furniture, retailers are reluctant to drill their counters to accommodate the needs for a charity box.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION : The present invention relates to a new security and advertising system that is fabricated from a piece of plate steel that is punched to a template although it could be stamped, machined, laser cut or produced from other suitable forming technology. The template is then debured and formed using conventional folding techniques. Finally the unit is cleaned and finished using a powder coat, wet spray, electroplating or other suitable conventional finishing technique. The system can be produced in other metals for special locations, for example stainless steel for use in food environments.

Alternatively the unit could be produced by metal casting and/or plastic/metal injection moulding techniques.

The new security and advertising system is supplied with a installation kit and is secured to the counter with either a double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive pad or other suitable adhesive method. Alternatively two or more screws can be used to secure the security and advertising system to the counter by utilising the countersunk holes provided in the base plate or alternatively nuts and bolts or other mechanical fixing method could be used if desired. When the charitycollecting box is locked into position the heads of the screws are inaccessible and the security and advertising system cannot be removed.

Because the security and advertising system is secured to the counter this ensures that a charity box is always located in the same position in close proximity with the general public.

Once the security and advertising system is secured to the counter, the charity box is located within a"U"section on the top surface. The"U"section has two main arms that are designed so that the distance between the two arms is close to the narrowest portion (waist) of the charity box so that when the box is slid in between the arms that it IS prevented from being removed vertically. Each arm has a formed tab at approximately 110 degrees to the top plate area at the open end of the"U"section, which has one, or more perforated holes running trans axially through the tab. Once the waist of the charity collecting box is located between the two arms a long shackle padlock is located through one hole on either side of the"U"section and snapped shut preventing the charity collecting box being withdrawn from the"U"section. The tabs can have

one or more holes running trans axially through them to vary the distance between the bottom of the"U"and the lock shackle allowing the system to accommodate charity boxes with different diameter (waist) sections.

As an alternative to a long shackle padlock a cylindrical I rectangular bar having a increased section or bended portion at one end could be used to locate in a suitable aperture in the tab area or surface preventing the charity collecting box from being withdrawn from the"U"section. The cylindrical/ rectangular bar could have a hole drilled or punched transversely and once in position be secured into position by one or more standard padlocks.

The front of the security and advertising system has one or more holes that allows a advertising display to be retained by one or more plastic snap rivets, alternatively the advertising display could be retained by threading the plate and using machine screws, standard nuts and bolts, pop rivets or other suitable fixing methods. The system is designed to allow maximum flexibility to change the advertising display quickly and easily whenever it is required. The front of the security and advertising system could alternatively be fitted with business card holder attached via the existing or additional rivet holes in the plate or additional metal fabrication, for the distribution of business cards, vouchers or other distribuable media. Depending on the application the advertising display could be retained via a self-adhesive label using a low tack or permanent adhesive if required.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS : The invention will now be described by way of illustration only with respect to a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of two styles of standard cylindrical charity collection boxes Figure 2 is a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device Figure 3 is a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device that has a standard"Angal"box secured in position Figure 4 is a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device that has a standard"GMB"box secured in position Figure 5 is a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device that has been secured to the counter with a double sided pad Figure 6 is a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device that has been secured to the counter with two screws DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In figure 1 we can see two of the most common styles of cylindrical charity collecting boxes used for sited locations in retail outlets and street collections. The box on the left hand side [1] is a one piece blown moulded construction

and is effectively a parallel cylinder that has been placed on two a oval based cones in opposition to each other and this design forms a convenient reduced oval section (waist) [2] that is designed to provide a hand grip when the box is to be offered out to collect money. A one piece injection moulded coin trap is then snapped into the top and is protected with a security seal The box on the right hand side [5] has a two piece injection moulded construction and is effectively a parallel cylinder that has a reduced parallel portion which is radiused to the upper and lower cylinders and this design forms a convenient reduced round section (waist) [6] that is designed to provide a hand grip when the box is to be offered out to collect money Figure 2 shows a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device detailing the main clamp consisting of the front plate [10] top plate [12] and base plate [11] areas. The top plate area [12] has a"U"section removed [13] leaving the two main arms [14] and [15] extending away from the front plate [10]. The two main arms [14] and [15] have a portion that is folded at an angle that will allow the tapered cylindrical charity collecting box to slide in the clamp and this approximately 110 degrees from the top plate [12]. The two folded portions form the two tabs [16] and [17] respectively. The two tabs [16] and [17] have two holes [18] and [19] running transversely through them.

The base plate area has two holes [20] running transversely through the plate and it is preferable for these holes to be countersunk [21] so that when the unit

is mechanically secured, the top of the base plate area [11] doesn't have any obstructions to interfere with the base of the charity-collecting box. The front plate area [10] has four holes [22] running transversely through it and this provided the source of location and anchorage for the advertising media.

Figure 3 shows a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device securing a blow moulded style of charity collecting box [30] retained in the"U"section [13] by a padlock shackle [32] a padlock [31] running through the outer set of holes [18] and [19] in the tabs [16] and [17] respectively When the padlock [31] is in the locked position the main body extends past the edge of the bracket and this provides a visual indication that the charitycollecting box is locked and secure.

The advertising media [33] can be seen located and secured by the four plastic snap rivets [34] located into the four holes on the front area of the unit. To simply and quickly change the advertising, the rivets [34] are withdrawn and this allows the existing advert [33] to be removed and the new advert [33] to be located and secured by replacing the rivets [34] and pushing home.

Figure 4 shows a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising device securing a injection moulded style of charity collecting box [36] retained in the"U"section [13] by a padlock shackle [32] a padlock [31]

running through the inner set of holes [18] and [19] in the tabs [16] and [17] respectively When the padlock [31] is in the locked position the main body extends past the edge of the bracket and this provides a visual indication that the charitycollecting box is locked and secure.

Figure 5 shows a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising secured to a counter or other suitable surface [41] with a doublesided pressure sensitive adhesive pad [40].

Figure 6 shows a front, top, side and rear elevation of the new security and advertising secured to a counter or other suitable surface [41] with two conventional screws [42].

Figure 7 shows an alternative design on which the charity collecting box [30] is located within a cylindrical tube [50] and prevented from being withdrawn by a rod [51] that is passed through two holes [53] in the cylindrical tube [50].

The rod [51] is secured by a padlock that is passed through a trans axial hole in the rod [51] and secured The construction of the tube can be of fabricated from a tube with a base section welded in position, manufactured from a plastic/metal injection moulding process or any other suitable process. The device can be secured to the counter via an adhesive pad, screws, nuts and bolts or any other suitable securing system The system could be manufactured to fit a variety of shaped boxes where a retaining bar and padlock, clamp and padlock or padlock own its own prevents the charity collecting box from being withdrawn from the security device End

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A security member comprising a first, a second and a third region, the first region being connected to the second region such that the second region is substantially perpendicular to the first region, the second region being connected to the third region such that the third region is substantially perpendicular to the second region, the security member being substantially C-shaped, wherein the first region is substantially U-shaped and is configured such that the security member can receive a waisted container.
2. A security member according to claim 1, wherein the first region further comprises means configured to receive restraining means such that, in use, a waisted container can be restrained within the security member.
3. A security member according to claim 2, wherein the means comprises a plurality of flanges, each flange being substantially parallel to the first region and the second region of the member and comprising one or more apertures within which a restraining means might be received.
4. A security member according to claim 3, wherein each flange is at an angle of substantially 1100 to the first region.
5. A security member according to any preceding claim wherein the second region comprises a substantially planar

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surface.
6. A security member according any preceding claim, wherein the second region further comprises one or more apertures through which, in use, a panel can be attached to the second region.
7. A security member according any preceding claim, wherein the third region comprises one or more apertures through which, in use, the third region may be attached to an adjacent surface.
8. A security member substantially as described herein and with reference to Figures 2 to 6.