GB2479895A

GB2479895A - A plinth for securing an object to a base

Info

Publication number: GB2479895A
Application number: GB1007040A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Keith Christopher Hardy; Paul Ferris
Original assignee: LOKTEC Ltd; Wincor Nixdorf Ltd
Current assignee: LOKTEC Ltd; Wincor Nixdorf Ltd
Priority date: 2010-04-28
Filing date: 2010-04-28
Publication date: 2011-11-02
Also published as: GB201007040D0

Abstract

A plinth 5 for securing an object 1, such as an automatic teller machine (ATM), to a base 32 has a foot plate 7 and a header plate 6. Both the foot and header plates have a plurality of attachment points 11, 13, 17 for fastenings, wherein the foot plate 7 and header plate 6 are joined together at a central joining region 14, in a spaced apart, parallel and overlapping relationship. In use, the foot plate 7 is arranged to be fastened to the base 32 in a region peripheral to the central region 14, preferably using fasteners 33a, and the header plate 6 is arranged to be fastened to the object 1 in a region peripheral to the central region 14 preferably using fasteners 9, 10. On the application of an excessive sideways force to the object, the header plate 6 may distort, flex or bend in regions between where it is fastened to the object 1 and where it is joined to the foot plate 7. The invention permits excessive forces exerted on an ATM to be absorbed by distortion of the header plate 6, making it less likely the mounting of the ATM to the base will fail.

Description

A Plinth The present invention relates to a plinth for securing an object to a base. It is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to the securing of an automated teller machine (ATM) to a base such as a concrete floor or timber floor. However, the invention may also be applicable to the securing of other objects, such as vending machines, particularly where these are located at relatively insecure or accessible locations.

ATMs may store a large quantity of bank notes and are therefore a target for thieves. When ATMs were first introduced they were located in relatively secure locations, such as within banking halls or recessed into or located behind walls of buildings.

However, as ATMs have become more prolific, they have been located in less secure and more accessible locations. This can be problematic, for although the ATM itself is relatively secure with the banknotes stored in a safe in the ATM, when located in a more exposed location, it can be vulnerable to attack by a thief who removes the complete ATM.

ATMs have therefore found themselves subject to attack by lassoing', where a strap is passed around them and attached to a vehicle which pulls the ATM from its mounting, by being rammed by a vehicle to dislodge it from its base, or by being hoisted from its base by an excavator or similar. ATMs have also been removed by barring', where large crowbars are used to initially prise the ATM from the floor, whereupon its own mass can then be used to dislodge it from its mounting by rocking the ATM.

In some of the above types of attack, an alarm may be triggered on commencement of the attack, often by an initial forced entry into the premises where the ATM is located.

For such attacks to be successful it is normally necessaiy for the ATM to be removed swiftly from its mounting and the premises.

To prevent such attacks, plinths have been developed for securing an ATM to the floor, one example for which is disclosed in European Patent Application 1 580 703. This mounting has a large base unit for embedding into a secure foundation below the ATM.

However a problem with this type of plinth is that it is not always possible to interfere excessively with the floor to which the ATM is to be mounted, for example the floor may be a suspended concrete floor, or it may not be possible make structural modifications because the building does not belong to the ATM operator. Also it is not desirable to incur the cost associated with structural modification to a floor or the disruption associated with this.

European Patent Application No 1184 819 discloses an alternative type of plinth arrangement, which is designed to be bolted to the floor and comprises a first beam mounted from but secured to the floor, under which first beam passes a second beam secured to the ATM. This arrangement permits the second beam to be moved relative to the first beam and thus permits the ATM to move to a limited extent relative to the floor. This may frustrate efforts to apply a sustained force with a crowbar or the like to separate the ATM from the floor.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved plinth suitable for securing an ATM, or similar object, to a base.

According to the present invention there is provided a plinth for securing an object to a base, the plinth comprising a foot plate arranged to be attached by a plurality of fastenings to the base and a header plate arranged to be attached by a plurality of fastenings to the object, both the foot plate and header plate having a plurality of attachment points for the respective fastenings, wherein in use the foot plate and header plate are parallel to and overlap each other and are joined together at a central joining region, wherein the foot plate is arranged to be fastened to the base in a region peripheral to the central joining region and the header plate is arranged to be fastened to the object in a region peripheral to the central joining region so that on application of an excessive sideways force to the object the header plate may distort in regions between where it is fastened to the object and where it is joined to the foot plate in the central joining region.

By employing the present invention, an excessive force applied to the object is dissipated as it distorts the header plate and/or foot plate. The plinth will typically have a footprint that substantially conesponds to the footprint of the ATM and with appropriate selection of the material of the plates and thickness of the plates this can be arranged to absorb a large amount of energy. Thus if the object is snatched or rammed by a vehicle then the initial force of the impact can be absorbed by the distortion of the plates of the plinth, instead of being transferred directly to the fastenings, typically bolts, securing the foot plate to the base. Furthermore, any movement in a direction opposite to the initial displacement, for example on removal of the vehicle prior to another run or, in the case where the object is rocked from side to side, this may tend to distort the plate to some extent in an opposite manner to the initial distortion, such that the plate can continue to absorb energy on successive impacts.

Sustained attack may cause the plinth of the present invention to eventually fail.

However, it is likely that in a large number of cases the attack will fail either because the assailant is not willing to remain on the scene for a sufficient period of time to cause the plinth to fail, or because tools used in the initial attack may fail, for example a rope or a vehicle used in the attack may no longer be serviceable after the initial attempt.

In the case of a baring attack, because the plates are only joined in the central joining region, a relatively large gap may be forced open at the peripheral edges of the plates without significantly reducing the integrity of the anchorage provided by the plinth.

However not only will this action consume a large amount of both energy and time, it may also make it difficult to subsequently optimise the leverage initially exerted by the tools.

Preferably the foot plate and header plate have a plurality of holes in register in the central joining region, through which holes both the foot plate and header plate can be fastened to the base by common fastenings, which fastenings join the foot plate and header plate together. The central location of the fastenings can be difficult to attack and these act to secure both plates of the plinth to the base.

Preferably, the plates are separated by bosses between the holes in the respective plates in the central joining region, such that interaction between the plates on attack is minimised and restricted to those regions immediately surround each fastening in the central region. This thereby maximises the amount the plates can be distorted relative to each other without affecting the integrity of the fastening to the base in the central region.

Preferably, the plinth has a square or rectangular footprint and each plate has five holes in register in the central joining region, the pairs of holes being in the pattern of a cross with one pair of holes at the centre of the cross, each row of holes forming the cross pattern being aligned parallel to respective edges of the plinth.

Because ATMs normally have a square or rectangular footprint they will normally be attacked by pushing or pulling them from side to side or from front to back, but not diagonally from corner to corner. By having the fastenings arranged as described above, if a side of the header plate is raised during attack, it may start to withdraw the first fastening, which withdrawal will absorb a lot of energy. Once the first fastening is withdrawn however, it will then be necessary for the applied force to simultaneously withdraw or dislodge the line of three fastenings. These may then hold as a significant amount of energy will have already been expended dislodging the first fastening. Because of the symmetrical geometry of the five fastenings this applies irrespective of the side from which an attack is initiated.

Advantageously, the header plate has a plurality of slots through it, which slots lie between the holes in the central joining region and respective adjacent edges of the header plate, so as to partition a respective hole from an adjacent edge of the header plate. Because there is a slot separating each hole in the header plate from the adjacent edge of the header plate, any force exerted between that edge of the header plate and the object secured to the header plate will not be transferred directly to that portion of the header plate surrounding the fastening. This will thus avoid any force being exerted directly on the fastening and instead energy will be dissipated throughout a large region of the header plate,which will absorb the energy by distorting.

Preferably the header plate has a plurality of slots through it, which slots lie between the attachment points and respective adjacent edges of the header plate, so as to partition a respective attachment point from an adjacent edge of the header plate. Thus, for the same reasoning as explained above, these slots also prevent any force applied between the edge of the plate and the object from being applied directly to the attachment points and associated fastenings between the header plate and the object.

Preferably, the slots are arranged in parallel pairs with the slot closest to the attachment point, or holes, being shorter than the other respective slot of each pair of slots.

This arrangement has been found to be particularly advantageous because, when the header plate distorts, that portion of the plate between the slots can distort in an opposite direction to the rest of the plate in that area. This can then form a barrier between the outside of the plinth and the fastenings within the central region, preventing access to those fastenings.

Preferably, the header plate is thinner than the foot plate such that the header plate will tend to distort in preference to the foot plate. This is advantageous because the header plate will normally be fixed to a substantially thick steel carcass of the object to be secured, for example the base of the safe of the ATM to which the header plate can be very securely attached. Therefore, it is preferable that the header plate distorts in preference to the foot plate which is secured to the base, typically concrete in which the fastenings may be more likely to fail.

Preferably, the header plate is larger in area than the foot plate and the both plates are arranged such that all edges of the header plate extend beyond the edge of the foot plate.

This ensures that if a bar is inserted below the object, ATM, purchase is more likely to be gained on the larger header plate than it is on the base plate and thus any force exerted will act to distort the header plate rather than act directly on the foot plate.

Advantageously, the plinth has a depth of less than 25 mm so that it may be used in conjunction with standard ATM machines without significantly raising the height of these machines, which have been optimised for the benefit of customers including disabled customers. This is advantageous because it may be desirable to use a standard ATM with or without a plinth, depending on where the ATM is to be installed.

The invention is particularly applicable to ATM installations and according to one aspect of the invention there is provided a plinth as described above and an ATM having a carcass, wherein the carcass has a first set of apertures through which the ATM is bolted to the attachment points in the header plate of the plinth, only at locations outside of the central joining region.

By joining the ATM to the header plate at the attachment points outside the central joining region, significant distortion of the header plate may occur without substantially affecting the anchorage of the ATM to the base.

Advantageously, the foot plate and header plate are both bolted to the base in the central joining area, by fastenings extending through the base plate and header plate, wherein the carcass has holes in register with the fastenings extending through the base plate and the header plate, which holes accommodate the heads of said fastening but which fastening are not connected to the carcass.

This arrangement enables the relatively substantial heads associated with the central fastenings to be accommodated in the base of the ATM, such that the carcass of the ATM can be mounted flush with the top surface of the header plate. This minimises the depth of the plinth.

One example of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, of which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the base portion of an ATM installation in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section through the line I-I of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of a foot plate of the plinth of the present invention; Figure 4 is a side elevation of the foot plate of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a plan view of a header plate of a plinth in accordance with the present invention; Figure 6 is a side elevation of the header plate of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a plan view a clamping plate seen in Figure 1; and Figures 9 to 16 illustrate the successive steps of installing the ATM installation of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the base portion of an ATM installation in accordance with the present invention comprises an ATM carcass, indicated generally as 1, the side walls 2 of which are shown in section. The side walls 2 extend around three sides with the fourth side 3 being open. This fourth side will be closed by a door, not shown. The carcass 1 is formed of thick steel plate and will not normally be distorted to any significant degree during the initial stages of an attack. The bank notes are stored in the carcass which is in effect a safe. These are ejected through an aperture in the top of the carcass to the dispenser mechanism, not shown, mounted on top of the carcass 1.

As can be seen from Figure 2, the base 4 of the carcass sits upon a plinth 5 comprising a header plate 6 and foot plate 7, separated by bosses 8.The carcass 1 is fixed to the plinth 5 by clamping plate 11 and fastenings in the form of bolts 9 andlO. This is described in more detail later.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the foot plate 7 of the plinth 5 is made from 6 mm thick mild steel and has six fastening holes 11 and four larger clearance holes 12, located as shown. In addition, there are five centrally located joining holes 13, each having a boss 8 inserted and extending therefrom, as more clearly shown in Figure 4. The five joining holes 13 define what is hereinafter referred to a central joining region 14.

In Figures 5 and 6, the header plate 6 of the plinth 5 is shown in greater detail. This is made from 4 mm thick mild steel plate, it is slightly wider and longer than the foot plate 7 and has five joining holes 15 through it, which holes correspond in position to the joining holes 13 of the foot plate 7. A further four holes 16 are located towards the corners of the header plate 6 and these each have a respective boss 17 inserted therein for receiving respective ones of the bolts 9 and 10 shown in Figure 1.

To the side of each hole 15, 16, which side is closest to the edge 18 of the header plate 6, there is located a pair of slots. Tn the case of holes 16, the slots 19a to 23a are L-shaped and partition the holes 16 from the corners of the header plate 6. Joining holes 15 are partitioned from the edges 18 of the header plate 6 by slots 24a, 24b to 27a, 27b. Tn addition the central hole has additional pairs of slots 28a, 28b and 29a, 29b. In all cases, the outer slot 19a to 29a of each pair is longer than the corresponding inner slot 19b to 29b.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, clamping plate 11 comprises steel plate at least 6 mm thick and had two small holes 30 and a single larger hole 31 formed in it.

Figures 9 to 16, illustrate how the above described components are assembled. First the foot plate 7 of the plinth 5 is fixed to a base 32 by fastenings 33a passing through fastening holes 11 to be secured in the base 32, as shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Next, the header plate 6 is positioned on top of the foot plate 7 as shown in Figures 11 and 12 and is supported a distance therefrom by bosses 8. Five fastenings 33b are inserted through joining holes 13 and 15, securing both the header plate 6 and foot plate 7 to the base 32. Note that the bosses 17 of Figure 5 now protrude downwardly from the lower surface of the header plate 6.

In Figure 13, the base section of the carcass 1 of the ATM is shown, which is lowered into position on the plinth 5 of Figure 12, so that the head of four of the fastenings 33b are accommodate through apertures 34 in the carcass. These apertures 34 do not contact the fastenings 33b. At one end of the carcass base there is a rectangular opening 35 which accommodates the head of the last of the fastenings 33b.

Referring to Figure 15, clamping plate 11 is inserted over the opening 15 and is secured in place by fastenings 10 passing through holes 16 in the header plate 6 to engage with the two respective bosses 17 (see Figure 5) on the lower surface of the header plate 6. The clamping plate 11 thus clamps one end of the carcass to the header plate 6, with the larger hole 31 in the clamping plate providing clearance for the head of the last one of the fastenings 33b.

As shown in Figure 15, the other end of the carcass 1 of the ATM is secured in place by fastenings 9 passing through holes 37 to engage with the remaining bosses 17 on the lower surface of the header plate 6.

For the purposes of the present invention the clamping plate 11 and opening 35 could both be omitted, with additional holes made in the carcass 1 instead. The four fastenings 9, 10 would then pass through the four holes in respective corners of the carcass 1 to clamp the carcass at the four corners to the header plate 6. However the provision of clamping plate ills a standard feature of some ATMs to assist in installation.

Referring again now to Figure 2, the foot plate 7 of the plinth 5 is secured to the base 32 by both fastenings 33a, located in a peripheral region of the foot plate 7, and fastenings 33b located in the central joining region 14. The fastening of foot plate 7 both in its central region and around its periphery, together with the relative thickness of foot plate to that of the header plate, results in the foot plate 7 being less likely to distort than the header plate 6, if the carcass 1 is displaced. Unless it is distorted, the foot plate 7 is unlikely to cause the fastenings 33a and 33b to be dislodged or fail.

In contrast the header plate 6 is only connected to the base by fastenings 33b and the carcass 1 is in turn only connected to the header plate 6 by means of fastenings 36 secured to the bosses 17 of the header plate 6. As can be seen most clearly from Figure 1, there is a significant separation between the points on the header plate 6 connected to the carcass 1 (fastenings 9 and 10) and those points on the header plate 6 connected to the foot plate 7 and base 32 (fastenings 33b). This permits the header plate 6, which is thinner than base plate 7 to be more easily distorted and in the process of distortion to absorb the energy imparted on the carcass of the ATM, in trying to dislodge it. In addition it has been found that the slots 1 9a to 29a and 1 9b to 29b of the header plate ensure that forces applied are dissipated more evenly throughout the header plate 6, making the plinth less likely to fail.

Also the slots 19a to 29a and 19b to 29b of the header plate, during any barring of the edge of the header plate 6, restrict the amount of force that can be directly applied to the fastenings. Any force can only be applied to the fastenings via a contorted path across the header plate 6, which will cause more of the steel of the header plate to be distorted in the -10 -process, thereby absorbing more energy and thus protecting the fastenings from the applied force. Furthermore, the provision of the parallel slots can cause the strip of metal between each pair of parallel slot to distort in an opposite direction to the metal on opposite sides of the slots and thus hinder side access to the fastenings.

It will appreciated that one embodiment of the present invention has been described above by way of example only and that various alternatives exist within the scope of the appended claims. Particularly the invention is not restricted to use with ATM's.

Claims

Claims 1. A plinth for securing an object to a base, the plinth comprising a foot plate arranged to be attached by a plurality of fastenings to the base and a header plate arranged to be attached by a plurality of fastenings to the object, both the foot plate and header plate having a plurality of attachment points for the respective fastenings wherein, in use, the foot plate and header plate are parallel to and overlap each other and are joined together at a central joining region, the foot plate is arranged to be fastened to the base in a region peripheral to the central joining region and the header plate is arranged to be fastened to the object in a region peripheral to the central joining region, such that on application of an excessive sideways force to the object the header plate may distort in regions between where it is fastened to the object and where it is joined to the foot plate in the central joining region.
2. A plinth as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the foot plate and header plate have a plurality of holes in register in the central joining region through which holes both the foot plate and header plate can be fastened to the base by common fastenings, which fastenings join the foot plate and header plate together.
3. A plinth has claimed in Claim 1, wherein the plates are separated by bosses extending between the respective pairs of holes of the plates in the central joining region.
4. A plinth as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the plinth has a square or rectangular footprint and wherein each plate has five holes in register in the central joining region, the pairs of holes being in the pattern of a cross with one pair of holes at the centre of the cross, each row of holes forming the cross pattern being aligned parallel to respective edges of the plinth.
5. A plinth as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the attachment points on both the foot plate and header plate comprise holes located peripherally to the central joining region.

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6. A plinth as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the header plate has a plurality of slots through it, which slots lie between the holes in the central joining region and respective adjacent edges of the header plate, so as to partition a respective hole from an adjacent edge of the header plate.
7. A plinth as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the header plate has a plurality of slots through it, which slots lie between the attachment points and respective adjacent edges of the header plate, so as to partition a respective hole from an adjacent edge of the header plate.
8. A plinth as claimed in Claims 6 or 7, comprising pairs of slots arranged in parallel, with the slot closest to each attachment points or hole being shorter than the other slot of each pair of slots.
9. A plinth as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the header plate is thinner than the foot plate.
10. A plinth as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the header plate is larger in area than the foot plate and the plates are arranged such that all edges of the header plate extend beyond the edge of the foot plate.
11. A plinth as claimed in any preceding claim which is less than 25 mm in depth.
12. An automated teller machine installation comprising an automated teller machine (ATM) having a rigid carcass and a plinth as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carcass has a first set of apertures through which the ATM is fastened to the attachment points in the header plate of the plinth at locations outside of the central joining region only.
13. An installation as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the foot plate and header plate are both fastened to the base in the cenfral joining region by fastenings extending through the base plate and header plate and wherein the carcass has holes in register with the fastenings -13 -extending through the base plate and the header plate, which holes accommodate heads of said fastenings but which fastenings are not connected to the carcass.
14. A plinth substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and/or as illustrated in one or more of the accompanying drawings.
15. An automated teller machine installation substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and/or as illustrated in one or more of the accompanying drawings.