GB2157363A - A security enclosure - Google Patents

Abstract

The enclosure 2 comprises an inner compartment 4 fixed within an outer compartment 6, the inner and outer compartments each having their own doors 8,12, and each door has its own time lock mechanism whereby the time set on the inner door can be longer than the time set on the outer door so that opening of the outer door does not necessarily automatically provide access to the inner compartment. The doors may have separate timers or share a common timing circuit. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A security enclosure This invention relates to a security enclosure.

Security enclosures such as safes were originally just provided with a key or combination lock. With the advent of criminals prepared to kidnap persons such as bank and post office staff in order to acquire the key or combination of the security enclosure, the security enclosures have additionally been fitted with time locks. The time locks ensured that the security enclosure could not be opened for the duration of the period set on the time lock, irrespective of whether or not the key or combination of the security enclosure was available.

The time locks were normally arranged to operate throughout the night and the time set on the time locks would normally be arranged to elapse shortly prior to normal business hours. Thus, for example, bank staff could gain access to a safe just prior to bank opening. The provision of the time locks on the security enclosures thus led to the creation of more desparate measures by criminals.

More specifically, criminals were prepared to obtain the key or combination of a security enclosure and to force their way into a building containing the security enclosure shortly before the time set on the time lock elapsed.

The criminals were prepared to put up with the increased chance of getting caught in order to gain access to the contents of the security enclosure. The behaviour pattern of the criminals then led to the security enclosures being modified such that operation of the security enclosure key or combination caused a further short time delay to be initiated on a time delay lock. This further time delay has been able to forestall many criminals who are not prepared to wait the extra time set on a time lock caused by the act of operating the security enclosure key or combination.

There are however circumstances in which an alternative method of protecting the contents of a security enclosure are required. In particular, during certain times of the day and especially, but not necessarily just prior to the opening of premises such for example as banks and post offices, there can be a certain grey time area where sometimes the security enclosure is required to be open and sometimes the security enclosure is required to be shut. In this grey time area, it may be that the additional time set on the time lock by the operation of the security enclosure key or combination may be insufficient to deter a particularly adventurous criminal. Alternatively, it may just not be convenient to have a security enclosure such that operation of the key or combination causes the additional time to be set.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a security enclosure which is of especial use in the above mentioned grey time periods.

Accordingly, this invention provides a security enclosure comprising an inner compartment fixed within an outer compartment, the inner and outer compartments each having their own door, and each door having its own time lock mechanism whereby the time set on the inner door can be longer than the time set on the outer door so that opening of the outer door does not necessarily automatically provide access to the inner compartment.

It will thus be appreciated that the majority of the valuables for the security container can be provided in the inner compartment. The valuables immediately necessary for a relatively short time period can be left in the outer compartment. In other words, the outer compartment will only be used to contain valuables for substantially immediate use and the inner compartment will contain the bulk of the valuables. Periodically during a working day, relatively small amounts of the valuables in the inner compartment can be transferred to the outer compartment for more ready access.

Thus, a criminal managing to open the door of the outer compartment at any time during the day, for example, just prior to opening time, will only be able to steal the relatively small amount of valuables in the outer compartment. The criminal will not be able steal, at least easily, the valuables in the inner compartment because the time set for the inner compartment can now be quite substantial, for example, half an hour or considerably more, due to the fact that immediate access to the inner compartment will not be required since all the valuables required over a relatively immediate time scale will be stored in the outer compartment.Thus, with a very small amount of forward planning, security officials can ensure that the money they require for a working day is always available but never in such large amounts in the outer compartment as would represent a catastrophic loss in the event of a hold up.

In effect, the security enclosure of the present invention can be likened to two separate safes one within the other. Obviously, the security enclosure of the present invention is much cheaper to manufacture than two safes since the inner compartment is fixed within the outer compartment and forms part of the security enclosure. Usually, the security enclosure will be a safe.

Advantageously, the door of the inner compartment is hinged at its top so that the door closes under gravity. This provides an additional safety feature in ensuring that the door of the inner compartment will always be closed.

The door of the inner compartment may be provided with a handle that is frangible under the force required to try and wrench open the door of the inner compartment. The handle may be made of any desired frangible material such for example as a rubber material.

Advantageously, the door of the inner compartment and the door of the outer compartment are positioned so closely adjacent one another that the door of the outer compartment can only shut when the door of the inner compartment is shut. This helps to avoid the circumstance where a security official has put too large a quantity of valuables in the inner compartment so that the door of the inner compartment cannot properly close. Obviously it would be a considerable security risk if one could not be at least reasonably certain that the door of the inner compartment would always be shut.

Preferably, the door of the outer compartment pushes the door of the inner compartment shut as the door of the outer compartment shuts. Thus, for example, the door of the outer compartment may engage the handle of the door of the inner compartment to push the inner door shut.

If desired, the inner and the outer doors may each have their own separate time locks.

These time locks may be mechanical keyoperated time locks but usually they will be electrically operated time locks. Preferably, the inner and the outer doors share a single common timer circuit since this avoids the expense of having two separate circuits.

The door of the outer compartment will usually be provided with a key or combination lock.

The outer compartment may be provided with a slot for putting money into the outer compartment.

An embodiment on the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing,there is shown a security enclosure in the form of a safe 2. The safe 2 comprises an inner compartment 4 fixed within an outer compartment 6. More specifically, the inner compartment 4 is positioned at the top left hand side of the inner compartment 6. The inner compartment 4 is provided with a door 8 and the door 8 is hinged at its top by means of hinges 1 0. The door will thus close under gravity. The outer compartment 6 is provided with a door 1 2 and in fact the door 1 2 is a normal safe door and the inner compartment 6 may be regarded as the normal inside of a safe.

The door 1 2 is provided with a time lock mechanism and a keyhole 1 4. The door 1 2 is normally opened by a key (not shown). When the key is operated and the time set for the door 1 2 has elapsed, a handle 1 6 can be rotated to withdraw the door bolts 18 from their holes 20. The time lock mechanism may be as described in our earlier patent applications and it may be operated from a time lock circuit 22.

The door 4 is also provided with a time lock mechanism and this time lock mechanism can also be operated from the time lock circuit 22.

The time set on the inner door 4 can be longer than the time set on the outer door 1 2 so that the opening of the outer door 1 2 does not necessarily automatically provide access to the inner compartment 4.

The door 8 is opened by means of a rubber handle 24. If an attempt is made to wrench the door 8 open, then the rubber is a sufficiently frangible material that the handle 24 will break and so thwart the attempt to wrench open the door 8.

The timer mechanism for the door 8 can be set by pressing a button (not shown). This button may be located on the outside of the door 1 2 if desired or it may be located in any other position. Depression of the button causes the desired time to be set on the time lock mechanism and the button is advantageously arranged to automatically return to its operative position ready for another depression. The time lock for the door 1 2 can be arranged to be activated by closing of the safe 2 by the act of turning the key in the keyhole 14.

The doors 8 and 1 2 are arranged to be so closely adjacent each other that the door 12 will not shut unless the door 8 is shut. This stops the inner compartment 4 from being over filled with valuables so that it is inadvertently left open. As a further safety feature, the door 1 2 is arranged to push on the handle 24 as the door 1 2 is closed so that this automatically pushes the door 8 to the closed position. This feature is particularly advantageous if the hinges are mounted in a different position so that the door 8 is not gravity closeable.

The front of the door 1 2 may be provided with three lights (not shown). A red light can indicate that it is not possible to open the safe 2. A green light can indicate that the door 12 can be opened, and an amber light can indicate that the door 8 can be opened.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiment of the invention described above has been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the security enclosure can be other than the safe 2. For example, the security enclosure could be a safe such as a wall safe or a free standing safe in a bank, post office, building society, supermarket or other installation where money is regularly posted. Thus, the money could periodically be taken out of the outer compartment where it would be posted into, and then the money could be positioned in the inner compartment for greater safety.

The security enclosure will obviously be provided with a slot to allow the posting of the money. The posting slot may be in the form of a letter box slot and the slot may be provided with a closure flap as is common with letter box slots. With banks, post offices and building societies, the money will usually be pushed through the postinq slot by customers outside the bank, post office or building society when the bank, post office or building society is shut. The safe will then usually be a wall safe. The posting slot may advantageously be positioned in a rear wall of the outer compartment, opposite the front wall containing the door. With supermarkets and the like, a cashier could push the money through the posting slot from inside the building. More specifically, if the posting slot is located directly adjacent the cashier, for example in a floor mounted safe, the cashier can continually unload his or her till money to ensure that large sums of money are not kept in the till. In supermarkets and similar buildings, the posting slot for the cashier or other person may conveniently be situated in a front or a side wall of the outer compartment.

If desired, the inner compartment 4 can be positioned other than as shown in the drawings. Also, two separate time locks can be employed instead of employing a single time lock circuit 22. The time lock for the door 1 2 and the time lock for the door 8 can be such that any desired length of time can be set on either lock.

Claims (9)

1. A security enclosure comprising an inner compartment fixed within an outer compartment, the inner and outer compartments each having their own door, and each door having its own time lock mechanism whereby the time set on the inner door can be longer than the time set on the outer door so that opening of the outer door does not necessarily automatically provide access to the inner compartment.

2. A security enclosure according to claim 1 in which the door of the inner compartment is hinqed at its top so that the door closes under gravity.

3. A security enclosure according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the door of the inner compartment is provided with a handle that is frangible under the force required to try and wrench open the door of the inner compartment.

4. A security enclosure according to any one of the preceding claims in which the door of the inner compartment and the door of the outer compartment are positioned so closely adjacent one another that the door of the outer compartment can only be shut when the door of the inner compartment is shut.

5. A security enclosure according to claim 4 in which the door of the outer compartment pushes the door of the inner compartment shut as the door of the outer compartment shuts.

6. A security enclosure according to any one of the preceding claims in which the inner and the outer doors each have their own separate time locks.

7. A security enclosure according to any one of the preceding claims in which the time lock mechanisms share a single common timer circuit.

8. A security enclosure according to any one of the preceding claims in which the door of the outer compartment is provided with a key lock or a combination lock.

9. A security enclosure according to any one of the preceding claims in which the outer compartment is provided with a slot for posting money into the outer compartment.

1 0. A security enclosure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.