GB2463720A - A retractable enclosure and barrier for use in securely transferring goods from a vehicle to a building - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for securely delivering goods and/or receiving goods, particularly valuable goods, to or from a destination wherein the apparatus comprises a retractable enclosure attachable to a vehicle and a building and an entrance barrier, the movement of the retractable enclosure and/or entrance barrier being activated by an electronic signal. The retractable enclosure may be extended or retracted manually, and a first end thereof may be secured to the vehicle using a galvanised pad. The electronic signal may be an encrypted RF signal or short range RFID signal, and the enclosure may further comprise a store safe (figure 2). The apparatus may allow cash to be transferred safe from attack by criminals.

Description

Secure Delivery System The present invention relates to an apparatus and method securely delivering anchor receiving goods to or from a destination. The apparatus and method are particularly applicable to the delivery and receiving of valuable goods.

It has been a long-standing problem for delivery personnel (such as cash in transit (CIT) crews) for security companies that due to the valuable nature of the goods they deliver, they are attractive potential targets for criminals intent on committing robbery or armed robbery, when they are transporting amounts of cash or other valuable goods from a vehicle to their intended destination. During the period the delivery personnel are outside the vehicle, they are exposed for a number of seconds at a time. This period of exposure between the vehicle and delivery destination when they are in personal possession of the valuable goods is when the delivery personnel are at their most vulnerable and also at their most attractive as potential targets. This, of course, puts the personnel in danger of being attacked which can result in extremely unpleasant situations for the delivery personnel, which can result in serious consequences such as injury, or even worse.

Measures have previously been taken to strengthen any identified areas of weakness to deter criminals from attacking delivery personnel during deliveries of valuable goods, such as a cash delivery exercise. These include reinforcing delivery vehicles with armoured protection and biometric identification systems, introducing secure cases encompassing indelible ink products to erode the value of cash when the delivery personnel are moving between the vehicle and the delivery destination, and implementing air locks within drop off areas which trigger alerts if any unauthorized entry has occurred.

However, despite these measures, criminals still find ways of compromising the deliveries and committing the crimes. The ramifications are twofold -firstly, there is the obvious loss of the valuable goods necessitating a criminal investigation, and secondly, there is the possibility of the delivery personnel being put through an extremely stressful and unpleasant ordeal, or even suffering a serious injury.

An issue which delivery personnel have to deal with is that the vehicles used in the delivery of such goods can vary greatly in size depending on the quantity of goods to be transported. As all delivery destinations are inevitably not the same, this can create problems. It is not always possible for the vehicle to park as close to the delivery door as would be ideal for a quick and easy access to the building. This means that the crews spend longer periods exposed when in possession of the goods, which increases the risk and opportunity for robbery. It also means that the procedures the crews need to follow are different at each destination due to the varying proximities and speed of access to the respective destinations. This creates instability and security problems if the crews are unsure of exactly what procedure they are following.

To minimise the instability and security problems, and hence the possibility of criminal intervention, there is a need for a means of securely delivering valuable goods quickly and efficiently while providing a greater element of protection for delivery personnel from potential criminal activity between the vehicle and the final delivery destination, and which allows the crews to be able to follow the same delivery procedure wherever they are. The present invention achieves one or more of these objectives.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention there is provided an apparatus for securely delivering andlor receiving goods to or from a destination, comprising a retractable enclosure having first and second ends, the first end being able to be attached to a building and the second end being able to be securely affixed to a vehicle and having an entrance barrier thereto, wherein movement of the retractable enclosure and/or entrance barrier thereto is activated by an electronic signal.

The apparatus of the invention provides a secure enclosure for the delivery personnel to deliver goods to, and/or retrieve goods from, the vehicle to the delivery destination within a totally secure and controlled environment, without exposing themselves to potential threats at any point while they are in possession of the goods.

According to one embodiment, in its inactive state, the enclosure is positioned in its retracted form against the delivery destination building and its entrance barrier, such as a shutter or folding door, is closed.

When the delivery vehicle arrives at the delivery destination, the enclosure can be situated in a position which allows the vehicle to park as close to the entrance of the enclosure with the side of the vehicle positioned closest to the enclosure. An electronic signal can be transmitted, or can automatically be transmitted, from inside the vehicle to activate the entrance barrier and cause it to open. The signal could also be transmitted from inside the delivery destination by personnel working there, if desired, if a satisfactory identification of the delivery personnel can be obtained within the vehicle via a unique identifier such as a code or via a biometric identification means.

The signal can also activate the movement of the enclosure itself towards the vehicle. Alternatively, the retractable enclosure may be at least partially extended or retracted manually.

The signal is typically an encrypted electronic signal, more typically an encrypted RF signal or short range RFID signal. Both the door to the enclosure and the extension of the enclosure towards the vehicle may be activated by the RF signal or short range RFID signal.

According to one embodiment of the invention, if the signal is only designed to activate and open/raise the entrance barrier to the enclosure, a member of the crew exits the vehicle and enters the retracted enclosure. In many security vans, this will be via a Personnel Transfer Unit (PTU)fAnti Hostage Door (AHD) located at the side of the vehicle. From inside the enclosure the crew member can manually extend the sides of the enclosure to meet the vehicle where a secure seal is created between the enclosure and the vehicle. This may be achieved within the scope of the invention by any method apparent to a person skilled in the art, but one such method employs a galvanised pad.

The galvanised pad creates the secure seal by means of an electronic lock or by a brush seal.

According to a further embodiment, if the signal is also able to activate and extend the enclosure towards the vehicle, a member of the crew then only needs to exit the vehicle (optionally via the PTU/AHD) to secure the enclosure to the side of the vehicle.

Once the enclosure has been secured to the side of the vehicle, the delivery personnel are free to transport the goods from the vehicle to the delivery destination without worrying about crossing an exposed area and being at risk of being potential criminal targets.

The enclosure may be made from a sturdy material, such as but not limited to steel, laminate or a ballistic material.

At the delivery destination there will typically be a store safe mechanism where the goods can be deposited and collected. The store safe is able to work in conjunction with the enclosure, but each can be deployed independently should it be necessary. The store safe typically has two doors which are independent of each other but are interlocking.

The store safe is able to facilitate the secure transfer of large volumes of valuable goods such as cash and coin from the delivery to a secure internal location such as a store cash office or bunker. According to one embodiment, cash may also be transferred from a cash transfer unit in the vehicle into the delivery building.

The store safe typically comprises a half height enclosure (equivalent to CEN graded safe) and two shutter or folding doors which are constructed to be able to withstand attacks involving grinding/drilling, oxyacetylene and sledgehammers. One such door is external to the building and is intended for access by the delivery personnel to deposit the goods. The other door is internal to the building and is intended for access by the delivery destination personnel to retrieve the delivered goods.

Access to the store safe via both shutters is strictly controlled using key pad code entry technology and a combination of lock control mechanisms.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, there is also provided a method of securely delivering andlor receiving goods to or from a destination, comprising the steps of: i) providing a retractable enclosure having first and second ends, the first end being able to be attached to a building and the second end being able to be securely affixed to a vehicle and having an entrance barrier thereto; ii) causing movement of the enclosure andior the entrance barrier thereto by activation using an electronic signal; and iii) securing the enclosure to the vehicle.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, there is also provided the use of an apparatus according to the invention in the securely delivery andlor receiving of goods to or from a destination.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the following figures which are intended to be illustrative only and in no way limiting upon the scope of the invention. Although the invention is equally applicable to all personnel who deliver or are in receipt of valuable goods, the invention will be detailed with reference to CIT crews.

Figure 1 shows a representation of an enclosure of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a representation of a store safe used in conjunction with the present invention.

When the CIT crew arrives at its delivery destination 2, a vehicle 4 is parked side on to the destination 2 as close as possible to the entrance to the retractable enclosure 6 (Figure 1). For clarity, the vehicle 4 is not shown in its optimum parking position in front of the enclosure in order that the enclosure 6 may be shown more clearly.

A member of the CIT crew activates a switch within the vehicle 4 to send an encrypted RF or short range RFID signal to a receiver (not shown) located within the enclosure 6. This signal triggers the opening of the external shutter door (not shown) of the enclosure 6.

Once the shutter is fully retracted, the crew member exits the protected area via the PTU/AHD located to the side of the vehicle 4 before entering the enclosure 6.

From inside the enclosure 6 the crew member manually extends the sides of the enclosure 6 to meet the vehicle 4 where a galvanised pad (not shown) creates a secure seal between the enclosure 6 and the vehicle 4.

Once securely inside the enclosure 6, the crew member confirms his/her arrival and identity with the relevant personnel at the delivery destination 2 via an intercom located near the store safe 8. The store safe 8 is shown in Figure 2.

Once confirmation has been obtained and access to the store safe 8 has been approved, the crew member can access the store safe 8 via an interactive code system which generates one time only valid codes. Once the code has been entered and accepted, the external shutter of the store safe opens upwards.

The crew member then transfers the goods from the vehicle 4 and into the store safe 8 under the safety of the enclosure 6. When all of the goods have been transferred, the crew member closes and locks down the external store safe shutter.

The locking down of the external shutter and retraction of the extendable enclosure may either be carried out manually, or can be triggered by a one or more second electronic signals.

The delivery destination personnel can now open the internal store safe shutter. The shutter within the delivery destination does not retract until the external shutter has been locked down, providing complete continuity between the two points of access.

When leaving the delivery destination, the CIT crew disconnects the enclosure 6 from the vehicle 4 and retracts it back to its original position against the delivery destination 2.

It is of course to be understood that the present invention is not intended to be restricted to the foregoing examples which are described by way of example only.

Claims (8)

1. Claims 1. An apparatus for securely delivering and/or receiving goods to or from a destination, comprising a retractable enclosure having first and second ends, the first end being able to be attached to a building and the second end being able to be securely affixed to a vehicle and having an entrance barrier thereto, wherein movement of the retractable enclosure and/or entrance barrier thereto is activated by an electronic signal.
2. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the retractable enclosure may be at least partially extended or retracted manually.
3. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second end is securely fixed to the vehicle using a galvanised pad.
4. 4. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the electronic signal is an encrypted RF signal or short range RFID signal.
5. 5. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a store safe.
6. 6. A method of securely delivering and/or receiving goods to or from a destination, comprising the steps of: i) providing a retractable enclosure having first and second ends, the first end being able to be attached to a building and the second end being able to be securely affixed to a vehicle and having an entrance barrier thereto; ii) causing movement of the enclosure and/or the entrance barrier thereto by activation using an electronic signal; and iii) securing the enclosure to the vehicle.
7. 7. Use of an apparatus according to any of claims 1-5 in the secure delivery and/or receiving of goods to or from a destination.
8. 8. An apparatus or method substantially as described herein in the description and drawings.