The present invention relates to a device for the temporary storage and management of valuables.

Nowadays machines exist on the market the purpose of which is to enable users to handle cash money of any denomination and nationality, while making it secure from theft or robbery.

Such machines are constituted by a supporting structure, which can be arranged directly in a shop, in an office or in a work environment, and which internally define a receptacle for accommodating a container or a bag, which contains bank notes and coins but also checks and more generally any ticket or token that can have a value.

Introduction of the valuables can take place in various ways, manually by simply dropping through a slot, or by way of special machinery, simple or complex, that verifies and counts the valuables and sometimes makes a digital copy of them.

In this case the machine is provided with an electronic processor and with a logic unit that checks the amounts introduced, registers them in a database, and sends the information to an external server, thus making the information available for various types of use, ranging from purely accounting purposes to security-related purposes.

In the use cycle, the valuables are deposited inside these machines and inserted in special containers; each individual deposit is digitalized and information about the amounts deposited is sent to a dedicated server.

Subsequently, when it is deemed necessary or appropriate, the machine is opened using a security combination, and the full containers are taken out and are replaced with empty containers in order to continue the use cycle.

The removed containers can be easily transported to the place where they will be opened and the contents checked and verified, with foreknowledge of the amounts present in the container by virtue of the information sent by the machine.

In order to protect the contents during transport from possible tampering, the containers are sealed using various different methods depending on the type of container.

At present there are machines on the market that use:

- reusable boxes, which are sealed before they are inserted, when they are empty;

- reusable bags, which are sealed when they are retrieved by way of a mechanical mechanism;

- disposable bags, which are sealed when they are retrieved by way of heat sealing or mechanical closing mechanisms such as clips.

The seals are normally marked by a unique code, and are affixed to the containers in the locations to which they will later return in order to be opened, and the code is stored so that it can be checked when the full containers are returned.

When the container is introduced into the machine, the unique code is registered in the database of the electronic processor using various methods, and it will later be associated with each individual deposit.

When the container is taken out of the machine in order to be transported to the place where it is to be opened, the physical integrity of the seal will guarantee the“unopened” status of the container during transport, and through the unique code it is possible to know what the value of the contents should be.

The use of disposable bags nowadays offers great logistical advantages, but unfortunately it also brings problems relating to security.

The disposable bag in fact cannot be sealed in advance, but it is closed by the machine, inside it, at the moment when it is retrieved. Furthermore, in order to make full use of the logistical advantages, it is necessary to make sure that there are always new bags available proximate to the machine. Nowadays machines that use disposable bags require that the unique code is stamped on the outside of the bag in order to be easily read, and that such code is stored at the moment of introducing the empty bag into the machine using a scanner, a video camera or, more simply, a keypad. In each one of these cases the reading occurs outside the machine, and therefore before the bag is introduced inside.

It is in this latter step that an evident problem arises relating to security: nowadays in fact there is no solution that guarantees that the unique code registered is actually the code of the disposable bag that is introduced inside.

Ill-intentioned individuals wishing to take advantage of this security flaw could easily, when the bags are changed, register bag“A”, put it aside, and instead introduce bag“B” into the machine.

During the entire deposit period, the machine would be under the impression that it is using bag“A”, while in reality the bag being used, into which the valuables are placed, is bag“B”.

At the time of retrieval, the machine seals bag“B”, during transport bag“B” can be opened and disposed of, some of its contents could be purloined and the remaining, smaller amount can be inserted into bag“A”, the bag that was put aside and recognized by the machine, which would then be closed with a heat-sealing device similar to the one used inside the machine.

The end result would be that bag“A” would arrive all present and correct at the destination in order to be opened, but the contents would not correspond to what was registered by the machine. The bag would be intact and the disappearance would be“unexplained”, leading to the conclusion that the machine made a counting error or another, unidentifiable error.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for the temporary storage and management of valuables which is capable of improving the known art in one or more of the above mentioned aspects. Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a device for the temporary storage and management of valuables that is extremely secure and which can prevent any attempt at tampering.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for the temporary storage and management of valuables that is highly reliable, easy to implement and of low cost.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for the temporary storage and management of valuables according to claim 1 , optionally provided with one or more of the characteristics of the dependent claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the device for the temporary storage and management of valuables according to the invention, which is illustrated for the purposes of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation view of the device for the temporary storage and management of valuables according to the invention in the open condition;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device for the temporary storage and management of valuables of Figure 1, taken along the plane of arrangement identified by the line II-II of Figure 1.

With reference to the figures, the device for the temporary storage and management of valuables according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a supporting body 2 which has at least one box-like portion 2a which defines a receptacle 3 for at least one container body 4.

For the purposes of example, the box-like portion 2a can be constituted by a substantially parallelepiped structure 12a which is provided with an access opening that can be closed by way of a hatch 12b. The container body 4 can be removably accommodated in the receptacle 3 and defines an access inlet 4a, through which the valuables can be introduced into the container body 4.

Typically, such valuables comprise bank notes, coins, checks, tickets etc..

The device 1 is further provided with sealing means 5 for sealing the access inlet 4a, which can be activated on command in order to carry out the sealing of the access inlet 4a prior to the removal of the container body 4 from the receptacle 3.

For the purposes of example, the sealing can be by heat, mechanical, etc..

According to the present invention, at least one respective marker 10 is stably associated with the at least one container body 4; at least one reader 20 of the marker 10 is consequently provided on the supporting body 2 and is functionally connected to a control unit 30.

In particular, the reader 20 is adapted to functionally interact with the marker 10 in order to check when the respective container body 4 is accommodated in the respective receptacle 3.

In this manner, any possible attempt at substitution of or tampering with the container body is detected by the reader 20.

According to a preferred practical embodiment, the container body 4 comprises a bag, which is provided, at its access inlet, with an edge that can be sealed by way of, for example, heat sealing or mechanical sealing.

Preferably, the marker 10 comprises an RFID tag and, consequently, the reader 20 comprises an RFID reader.

The marker 10 is stably associated with the respective container body 4.

Between the container body 4 and the respective marker 10 there are security means, which are adapted to allow checking for any tampering with the marker 10. For the purposes of example, it is possible for the security means to comprise a sealed receptacle, defined on the container body 4, inside which the marker 10 is positioned, or adhesive means interposed between a portion of the container body 4 and the marker 10.

According to a possible practical embodiment, the control unit 30 is adapted to activate the reader 20 at preset time intervals, or following operations performed by such device 1.

Conveniently, the device 1 comprises an electronic processor for checking the valuables inserted through the access inlet 4a: preferably, the electronic processor is functionally connected to the control device 30.

The marker 10 can be associated with the container body 4 at the bottom of the container body 4 (as shown in the figures, incidentally).

According to this embodiment, the reader 20 is arranged at the base of the supporting body 2, so that the marker 10, when the container body 4 is accommodated in the respective receptacle 3, faces the reader 20 and is arranged proximate thereto.

This choice makes it possible, among other things, to orient the access inlet 4a at will with respect to the receptacle 3.

Obviously, there is no reason why the marker 10 cannot be arranged at different zones of the container body 4, such as for example the access inlet 4a or the side surface.

In any case, the reader 20 is advantageously positioned on the supporting body 2, so as to be able to read the presence of the marker 10 when the container body 4 is correctly accommodated in the receptacle 3.

Use of the device 1 for the temporary storage and management of valuables according to the invention is the following.

The container bodies 4, which are preferably constituted by bags provided with an RFID tag, are accommodated in the receptacle 3 and the RFID reader is supported inside the machine.

Each marker 10 is associated with a respective unique code, and is rendered integral with the container body 4 in such a way that it is not possible to remove it and substitute it without compromising the integrity of the container body 4.

When a new container body 4, preferably of the disposable type, is introduced into the receptacle 3, the marker 10 is read by the reader 20 and the respective unique code contained in it is sent to the control device 30 and associated with the subsequent deposit and retrieval activities of the device 1.

The reader 20 effectively checks the internal volume of the supporting structure 2 of the device 1 and is therefore capable of detecting any kind of activity relating to the handling of the container bodies 4: the introduction of a new container body, its removal, the presence of more than one container body in the detection area, or the approach of multiple container bodies before the procedure is concluded.

The marker 10 is secure and protected from undesired reading and especially from modifications and tampering by way of software.

Conveniently, it is possible for the reader 20 to be capable of operating in read mode but also in write mode on a marker 10 of suitable type.

This makes it possible to store, inside the marker 10, in a protected manner, additional information that is not strictly associated with security but which is useful for logistics and for managing the contents of the respective container body 4.

The marker 10 can furthermore interact, in order to exchange the information stored in it, with devices external to the machine, including mobile devices, with objectives linked to the traceability of movements or in any case with logistics objectives.

In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects by providing a device for the temporary storage and management of valuables that is extremely secure and which can prevent any attempt at tampering.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

Thus, for example, it is possible for the device 1 to be associated with an automatic or semiautomatic element for feeding container bodies 4, provided with respective markers 10, to the respective receptacle 3.

The markers 10 can, among other things, be stably associated with the respective container body 4 in advance, or an in-line apparatus can be provided that is capable of progressively associating a marker 10 with the container body 4 during feeding.

If the container bodies 4 are provided by flexible bags, it is possible for these, advantageously associated with the respective marker, to be connected to each other and stored inside the device 1 or inside a storage body associated with the device 1.

Before introducing the container body 4 into the receptacle 3, separation means act to detach the bag and feed it, manually or automatically, into the receptacle.

In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102019000012975 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.