TITLE: DOOR FITTING FOR SAFE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns safes for valuables and guns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such safes may be of the type which have external hinges which allow door replacement in the event of damage or attack. Interference with external hinges does not assist entry

because the locking mechanism shoots bolts into the safe wall and these secure the door even if the external hinges are sawn off.

Some safes have internal hinges housed inside the safe and behind the door. This is more usual with gun safes which tend to be higher and narrower and not so cuboid as a cash safe, hi our co-pending application for Patent No. PCT/AU02/001321 , we describe such a safe. During manufacture of this type of safe, that is with hinges behind the door, the fabrication of the safe proceeds in steps which mount the door between the floor and the top wall. The safe then progresses to the finishing stages where it is sprayed or powder coated. The geometry of the safe presents a problem in that the door creates a spray shadow. This disadvantage is accepted because it would be unacceptable to compromise the security of the safe by changing the role of the door as the most important barrier to attack by a thief.

A further disadvantage is that when a safe is damaged or a door malfunctions and a repair on site is impossible, the whole safe must be removed and transported for repair. If the safe body is built into the structure of a building, the repair becomes expensive.

A still further disadvantage is that technological improvements may not be applicable to older safes as retrofitted components. Thus the safe cannot be upgraded when the modification affects the door as is commonly the circumstance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus aspect of this invention provides a security safe having a body and a hinged door, wherein the mounting means for the door are adjustable between a working position in which the door hinges are captured and a release position in which the door is separable from the body through release of the hinges.

The means may be a pair of retractable hinge pin sockets. The door may have hinge pins which are captured by the sockets when the door is manoeuvred into its working position when the pin axis registers with the common axis of the sockets. The sockets may be in the floor and the top wall. Alternatively, they may project from the side wall of the safe

body.

The means may instead be a pair of retractable pins which is capable of engaging a pair of sockets provided in the door.

The safe may have a retractable pin at one end of its door hinge axis and a socket at the opposite end but this arrangement is an equivalent.

Each retractable mount may have an associated stop for abutment by the door which indicates to the fitter when the door is in register and ready for capture.

The means may include a spring. A compression spring is convenient because it is easily incorporated into circular sockets and around hinge pins and tubes. The force of the spring may be overcome by manual pressure or foot pressure exerted by the fitter. The spring causes the pins or sockets to advance toward one another to capture the door. The operator is able to stand adjacent the open door and depress the lower spring at floor level with one foot and then depress the upper spring at the top of the door with one hand while steadying the door with the remaining hand. A second operator may move the door in or out of register with the mounts.

Alternatively the pins or sockets may rely on a face cam mount, rotation of which produces the necessary axial motion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a safe with the door removed showing the door mounts.

Figure 2 is a rear view of a door when removed from the safe of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side sectional view of a fragment of a safe shown in Figure 1.

- A - Figure 4 is a plan of the fragment shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a front sectional view of a fragment of the safe showing a variant door mount.

Figure 6 is a side sectional view of a conventional safe door with offset hinges utilising the working position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH RESPECT TO THE DRAWINGS

In this specification the drawing numbers are consistent with PCT/AU03/001321.

Referring now to Figure 1, the body 2 of the safe has a door opening defined by channel sectioned styles 4, 6. The safe is closed by a top plate 8 and a bottom plate 10 welded to the body. The door rails have a top upstand 18 and a bottom upstand 20. These both have slots 46 to receive hooks 48 (see Figure 2). There is a gap between the upstand 18 and the adjacent style 4. The door 16 (see Figure 4) enters this gap during manufacture to reach the door mounts 110.

In Figures 2, 3 and 4, the mount 110 is a sleeve secured to bottom plate 10 by weld 112. Vertical mount pin 24 sits on coil spring 116 and is free to rise and fall to the extent allowed by the movement of arm 118 sliding in slot 120. The sleeve is braced by gusset 122.

Arcuate sheet metal stop 124 welded to the mount obstructs the door as soon as the door reaches the capture position. Arm 118 is about 60mm long and projects into the interior of the safe so that a fitter standing with a foot inside the safe can depress the arm.

A corresponding mount is located on the top plate 8 and the arm 118 is displaceable upwards by pressing the palm of the hand against the arm.

Referring again to Figure 2, the door 16 has hooks 48 which enter the leave the slots 46 shown in Figure 1 when the door opens and closes. Between the upper and lower hook arrays is a series of vertical shelves 126 closed in by a cabinet door 128 with a lock 130.

This space houses boxes of ammunition.

Door hinges 28 are welded to the door and to steel tube 30 which has hollow ends to receive the hinge pins 22, 24 of the mounts. The ends of the tube 30 are conical.

When the door is to be added to the safe, the door is rested on the safe body so that the conical ends of tube 30 lie in the gaps adjacent the mounts. The mass of the door is supported on a trolley or skid and the door is slid laterally into the gaps until the conical ends abut the pins 22, 24. The pins are retracted by operating the arms 118 of both mounts.

The door is pushed further in the same direction until the conical ends abut the stops 124 signalling that the conical ends are in register with the pins 22, 24. When the arms 118 are released, the pins enter the conical ends and the door is captured and free to swing.

Removal of the door is possible by reversing this sequence.

If the safe is not of the swing and slide type but has conventional projecting hinge pockets 110, the pins 22, 24 are changed to offset pins 134 as shown in Figure 6. The mass of the door is supported on post 136.

We have found the advantages of the above embodiment to be:

1. The safes and doors may be manufactured in different locations.

2. A door can be separated from its safe for repair, servicing or upgrade.

It is to be understood that the word "comprising" as used throughout the specification is to be interpreted in its inclusive form, ie. use of the word "comprising" does not exclude the addition of other elements.

It is to be understood that various modifications of and/or additions to the invention can be made without departing from the basic nature of the invention. These modifications

and/or additions are therefore considered to fall within the scope of the invention.