A security container

FIELD OF INVENION

THIS INVENTION relates to a safe for valuables and particularly to a security container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Inventor is aware of an existing drop safe in which money (or other valuables) may be deposited or "dropped" into a safe storage cavity of the safe via a drop slot without using a key. The money, however, can only be retrieved using a key matched to the safe. In this way, money can be deposited easily and safely by anyone, but can only be retrieved by opening the safe with the key.

The Inventor is further aware of an escrow feature in some drop safes.

When money is dropped into the safe via the drop slot, the money is received in an intermediate cavity of an escrow money holder from where it can selectively be rejected from the safe or deposited into the safe storage cavity. To this end, the money holder is displaceable from a home position in which dropped money is receivable, a reject position in which dropped money is ejected without first being received in the storage cavity and a deposit position in which the money is deposited into the storage cavity for safe storage.

The Inventor desires an improved drop safe having an escrow feature.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a security container having an escrow feature, the security container including: a body which houses or defines therein at least one secure storage cavity and a corresponding deposit opening to the storage cavity; a displaceable escrow holder which defines an intermediate cavity and which is adjacent the body, the escrow holder being displaceable between: a home position in which the intermediate cavity is in register with an input opening through which items can be inserted into the intermediate cavity; a reject position in which the intermediate cavity is in register with a reject opening through which items can be rejected from the intermediate cavity; and a deposit position in which the intermediate cavity is in register with the deposit opening through which items from the intermediate cavity can be deposited into the secure storage cavity; and a displacement arrangement operable to displace the escrow holder between its respective positions.

In the context of this specification, "in register with" may be understood to include "in communication with".

The displacement arrangement may include a rack and pinion arrangement. The rack and pinion arrangement may include two rack and pinion pairs arranged orthogonally relative to each other thereby to displace the escrow holder in two orthogonal directions.

The security container may include an electric motor operable to actuate the displacement arrangement.

The body of the security container may include a plurality of separate secure storage cavities, each having an associated deposit opening. The deposit openings may be aligned linearly and the reject opening may be spaced transversely from the deposit openings. The displacement arrangement may be operable to displace the escrow holder to bring into register or align the intermediate cavity with one of the

respective deposit openings thereby to deposit items in the intermediate cavity into one of the respective storage cavities.

The input opening may be in the form of a drop slot in an upper surface of the body.

The reject opening may be in the form of a reject chute.

The displacement arrangement may be operable to displace the escrow holder (or at least a portion thereof) to align the intermediate cavity with the reject opening thereby to reject items in the intermediate cavity from the escrow holder.

The security container may be in the form of a drop safe and may be operable to receive any valuables, for example money. The security container may be configured to receive money in the form of a wad of stacked banknotes. Thus, the input, deposit and reject openings may be shaped and dimensioned to accommodate, or allow through passage of, a wad of banknotes.

The body may house at least one individual canister which defines the at least one secure storage cavity. Optionally, the body may house a plurality of canisters respectively defining a plurality of secure storage cavities. The or each canister may be selectively removable from the body. Alternatively, the or each canister may be non- removably mounted within the body.

The secure container may include a money handling arrangement, for example in the form of a banknote counter, upstream of the input opening.

The security container may include an input arrangement operable to receive a user input directing the operation of the displacement arrangement.

The security container may include a lockable door selectively to permit or deny access to the or each secure storage cavity and, accordingly, to the items within the or each secure storage cavity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a security container in the form of a drop safe, in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional view of a portion of the drop safe of Figure 1 , with an escrow holder in a home position;

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional view of the drop safe of Figure 2 with the escrow holder in a deposit position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to Figure 1 , reference numeral 10 generally indicates a security container (further referred to as a drop safe) having an escrow feature in accordance with the invention. The drop safe 10 includes a safe body 12 which houses or defines therein at least one secure storage cavity (not illustrated). In this example, two independent secure storage cavities are defined. The body 12 includes a lockable door 14 selectively to permit or deny access to the storage cavities for removal of items therein. The door 14 may only be opened with a matched key.

The safe 10 includes a money handling arrangement 16 which is in communication with, and upstream of, an input opening (in the form of a drop slot 18). The money handling arrangement 16 can be detachable from the body 12 and need not necessarily form part of the safe 10. The money handling arrangement 16 in this example is in the form of a banknote counter which is operable to count a number of banknotes in a wad. The money handling arrangements 16 is operable thereafter automatically to drop the wad of banknotes through the drop slot 18 or to make the wad of banknotes available for a user manually to drop the banknotes through the drop slot 18.

The drop safe 10 has a displaceable escrow holder 20 and reference is now also made to Figures 2 and 3. The escrow holder (further referred to as a money holder 20) includes a frame member 22 and a container member 24 which defines therein an intermediate cavity 24.1.

A displacement arrangement includes a pair of transversely spaced apart track members 26 which are mounted on an upper face of the body 12. The displacement arrangement further includes a pair of complementary racks 27 having downwardly projecting teeth which are mounted on an underside of the frame member 22 for guided linear displacement within the tracks 26. Matching pinions (not illustrated, and also formed part of the displacement arrangement) rotatably mounted to the body 12 project upwardly into respective tracks 26 for meshing with the teeth of the rack 27. The frame member 22, and accordingly the container member 24, is thus displaceable across the upper face of the body 12 along a longitudinal axis 20.1 .

The money holder 20 includes another rack 28, having downwardly projecting teeth, mounted on an inner face of the frame member 22. A matching pinion (not illustrated) is rotatably mounted to the container member 24 for meshing with the teeth of the rack 28. The container 24, and thus the intermediate cavity 24.1 , is displaceable relative to the frame 22 by means of the rack 28 and pinion along a transverse axis 20.2. Therefore the container 24 is displaceable along two orthogonal axes 20.1 , 20.2.

It is to be appreciated that the specific configuration of the rack and pinion arrangements could be varied (e.g. by swapping a rack and a pinion around) and the same effect may still be achieved. Although not illustrated, the safe 10 includes two small electric motors to rotate the pinions thereby to displace the money holder 20 along the respective axes 20.1 , 20.2. The safe 10 also has a keypad or like input arrangement (not illustrated) via which the user can selectively actuate the electric motors thereby to displace the money holder 20.

The body 12 of the safe 10 defines a reject opening in the form of a reject chute 29. The body 12 also has two longitudinally spaced apart deposit openings or slots 30.1 , 30.2 leading to the respective storage cavities. In this example, the storage

cavities are defined by separate canisters (not shown) which are removable from the safe 10 via the door 14.

The frame member 22 defines two slots (only one slot 25 can be seen in the Figures). The first slot is longitudinally aligned with the deposit slots 30.1 , 30.2 and the second slot 25 is longitudinally aligned with the reject chute 28.

In use, a user or operator (e.g. a bank teller) of the safe 10 who wishes to deposit valuables, which could, for example, be in the form of a stacked wad of banknotes, into the safe 10 feeds the notes into the note handling arrangement 16 first or directly into the drop slot 18.

The container member 24 is initially in its home position (as illustrated in Figure 2) in which it is vertically aligned or in register with the drop slot 18. Thus, the banknotes fall through the drop slot 18 under gravity into the intermediate cavity 24.1 . While there is the first slot beneath the banknotes in the floor of the frame member 22, a solid wall of the safe body 12 supports the banknotes within the intermediate cavity 24.1 . The banknotes, in this position, are thus held in escrow with the user having the option of completing the deposit or cancelling the deposit and rejecting (or ejecting) the banknotes from the intermediate cavity 24.1 .

On the one hand, if the user wishes to deposit the banknotes into one of the storage cavities of the canisters, he/she presses an appropriate button on the keypad to displace the money holder 20 along the longitudinal axis 20.1 . Accordingly, the pinions displace the racks 27 along the tracks 26 to displace the money holder 20 into a deposit position (illustrated in Figure 3). The cavity 24.1 is in register or vertically aligned with the deposit slot 30.1 beneath it. The banknotes in the cavity 24.1 fall through the first slot of the money holder 20 and then through the deposit slot 30.1 for secure storage in the canister. The deposit slot 30.1 may include a flap or other form of non-return arrangement. The banknotes are then only accessible through the door 14 which may only be opened with a matched key.

Similarly, if desired, the banknotes could have been deposited through the other deposit slot 30.2 into the storage cavity of a different canister. The multiple

canisters can be useful for keeping monies separate or, for example, for storing banknotes in one storage cavity and other valuables in a different storage cavity.

On the other hand, if the user wishes to cancel the deposit while the banknotes are still in the intermediate cavity 24.1 , he/she may do so by pressing the appropriate button on the keypad. From the home position (Figure 2), the pinion which is meshed with the track 28 is rotated to displace the container member 24 along the transverse axis 20.2. In the reject position (not illustrated), the intermediate cavity 24.1 is in register or vertically aligned with the slot 25 in the floor of the frame member 22 so that the banknotes within the intermediate cavity 24.1 fall through the slot 25 into the reject chute 28 from where they can manually be retrieved by the user.

The Inventor believes that the invention as exemplified is advantageous as it provides a convenient and effective arrangement for displacing an intermediate money holder. The multiple storage cavities make the drop safe more versatile than a drop safe with only one storage cavity.

An example instance in which the escrow feature may be useful is when the number or value of the banknotes, as counted by the money handling arrangement, does not match and expected value. The user may then wish to reject the banknotes so that he/she may determine where the fault occurs. If the number or value of banknotes as counted by the money handling arrangement is as expected, the user can transfer the banknotes to a secure storage cavity without an opportunity for intermediate interference or tampering.