Technical Field

The invention relates to a transport system for transporting items of value and particularly relates to a system for restocking supplies of banknotes in automated teller machines (ATMs) or for delivering gold, jewels or coins, as well as collecting daily cash money from shops.

Background to the Invention

The transport of money and other valuable items requires special security measures. This often involves the use of an armoured car which is operated to only load or unload in secure zones. However, this is not always possible where items must be collected from or delivered to destinations outside secure zones such as shops or ATMs. The same situation also arises when transporting secret documents or electronic data media with secret information, as well as the distribution of drugs which are very expensive or contain substances like morphine.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect the present invention a transport system for transporting items of value including: a number of containers for containing items of value; at least one container transporting device; the containers are arranged to be attached to the transporting device; and a security controlled locking mechanism controls the release of containers from the transporting device.

Optionally, the at least one container transporting device is in the form of a trolley with wheels.

Optionally, the trolley includes a wheel locking mechanism which is arranged to lock at least one wheel of the trolley in the event of an alarm condition.

Optionally, the containers can only be attached to or removed from the transporting device by authorised persons.

Optionally, the transporting device includes a position detection device for detecting the geographic position of the transporting device.

Optionally, the transporting device includes a transmitting device for transmitting data. Optionally, the system is arranged to monitor the proximity of security personnel to the transporting device.

Optionally, permissions for controlling the locking mechanism are

programmable.

Optionally, the containers each have unique identifying codes and a record is maintained of the attachment and release of different containers to a transporting device.

Optionally, the system further includes a base station to which the transporting device can be attached when not in use, and the transporting device may include an on board power supply which is recharged by the base station.

Optionally, the transporting device is lockable to the base station.

Optionally, the transporting device can be issued with commands from a remote location.

Optionally, a container attached to the transporting device can be issued with commands from a remote location via the transporting device.

Optionally, the transporting device can communicate wirelessly with an attached container.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a trolley used in a system according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the trolley of figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the trolley of figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front view of the trolley of figure 1;

Figure 5 shows the trolley of figure 4 with upper and lower front covers removed;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a container for use with the trolley of figure 1; Figure 7 is a rear perspective view of the container of figure 6;

Figure 8 is a side view of the container of figure 6;

Figure 9 is a rear view of the container of figure 6;

Figure 10 is a top view of the container of figure 6 with lid open; Figure 11 shows the container of figure 6 attached to the trolley of figure 1;

Figure 12 shows a base station for use with the trolley of figure 1;

Figure 13 shows the trolley of figure 1 attached to the base station of figure 12;

Figure 14 is a rear side view of an alternative embodiment of a trolley shown in conjunction with two containers;

Figure 15 is a front side view of the trolley of figure 14 with the top container removed;

Figure 16 is a close up rear side partially disassembled view of a container attached to the trolley of figure 14;

Figure 17 is a side view of the trolley of figure 14 attached to a base station; and

Figure 18 shows the trolley and base station of figure 17 separated.

Detailed Description of an Embodiment

The transport system of this embodiment of the invention comprises a number of containers 50 of the type shown in figures 6 to 10 or other sizes and a container transporting device in the form of a trolley 10 shown in figures 1 to 5.

Referring to figures 1 to 4, trolley 10 includes a chassis 12 to which are mounted wheels 14, 16. Handles 15 are pivotally mounted to the chassis and can be retracted by rotating them between a deployed position as shown in the figures and a stowed position wherein they lie alongside the chassis to provide a more compact configuration for storage of trolley 10.

Trolley 10 includes formations which are provided to attach one of containers 50 to the trolley in the form of elongate holes 20, ribs 22 and 22a, stops 24 and locking handle 26.

Referring to figure 3, a security controlled locking mechanism includes a SECOLO electronic roller lock 30 which are produced by FMTec (www.fmtec.eu). The internal mechanism of the lock is described in published Australian patent application 2010214668A1, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The lock includes an RFID control and datalogging function. Communication can be made with the lock with a management software application and communication device to configure the lock with various permissions, and to transfer historical details from the lock relating to the operations of the lock. Roller lock 30 controls the attachment and release of containers from trolley 10 as will be described.

Referring to figure 4, an RFID enabled transponder 27 communicates with containers 50 when they are attached to trolley 10. Alternatively, in some embodiments there can be an optional active RFID-Antenna , which sends commands to the lock in the container.

Referring to figure 5, trolley 10 is shown with its two front upper and lower covers removed for improved understanding. Locking handle 26 is fixed at the upper end of two locking rods 28 which are of circular cross section. Each locking rod 28 is fitted with a bush 31 and a spring 32 which is compressed between bush 31 and crossbar 33 to bias locking rods 28 to their raised unlocked position shown in figure 5. Each locking rod has a narrowed portion 28a which aligns with its associated elongate hole 20 when the locking rod 28 is in the raised position.

Roller lock 30 is comprised of a lock body 35 which is affixed to crossbar 33 and a roller latch 36 which is affixed to yoke 37 which is fixed to both locking rods 28. In this way, the latch 36 moves along with the locking rods 28. When locking handle 26 is depressed this causes downward movement of the locking rods 28. At the same time, latch 36 enters lock body 35 and can be retained by the mechanism in the lock body to thereby lock the locking rods in their lowered locked position. In the lowered position the narrowed region of each locking rod moves below the elongate hole 20 which causes attachment of a container as will be described.

Referring to figures 6 to 10, a container 50 is shown including a lid 51, a body 52 and carry handles 53 on each side. Lid 51 is hingedly affixed to body 52 and is lockable by way of an electronic roller lock 60 of the same type as described above for the trolley and as described in Australian patent application 2010214668A1. Lid 51 and body 52 are formed from durable double skinned sheet metal and are stackable for storage. Lid 51 and body 52 are formed from different kind of sheet metal and other security materials and are stackable for storage.

At figure 10, container 50 is shown with the lid 51 open to demonstrate that container 50 is dimensioned to hold four standard sized ATM bank note cartridges 70. Containers of other sizes can also be used. The container 50 may monitor the state of the lid 51. If the lid 51 is open for a long time then this triggers alarm functions of lock 60.

Formations including lugs 55 and ledge 57 cooperate with associated formations in the trolley 10 to attach the container 50 to the trolley 10. Importantly, as shown in figure 8, each of lugs 55 has a circumferential groove 56.

To attach container 50 to trolley 10, the container 50 is rested on the floor. Trolley 10 is then brought up to container 50 so that rib 22 of trolley 10 hooks under recessed ledge 57 and the lugs 55 enter the elongate holes 20 of the trolley 10 and the stops 24 of trolley bear against the outer surface of container 50. The locking handle 26 of the trolley is then depressed. This causes downward movement of the locking rods 28 which become engaged with the circumferential grooves 66 of lugs 55 to prevent withdrawal of lugs 55 from the elongate holes 20. At the same time, latch 36 becomes engaged with lock body 35 to retain the locking rods 38 in their lowered locked position.

The container 50 is now attached to trolley 10 as depicted in figure 11 and can only be released by persons who are authorised to operate roller lock 30 by RFID card and/or PIN or via commands received from a remote location.

The elongate holes 20 allow for a large tolerance in the relative vertical position of the trolley 10 and the container 50 to accommodate variations in the evenness of the floor surface. Similarly, the combination of the locking rods 28 and grooves 56 allows for a large tolerance in the depth of insertion of the lugs 55 into the elongate holes. As each rod 28 begins to enter its associated groove, it will draw the lug 55 and thus the container 50 into proper alignment with the trolley 10. By provision of these large tolerances meaning that the trolley and container do not have to be precisely aligned the operation of attaching the container 50 to the trolley 10 is made easier for security guards.

Trolley 10 includes various electronic systems which are powered by a rechargeable battery housed in the trolley. Trolley includes a GPS module which allows the trolley to determine its own geographic location. Trolley 10 includes a GSM module with which it can communicate information such as its location or emergency signals back to a base station or to receive commands.

Referring again to figure 5, trolley 40 includes a wheel locking mechanism including actuator 40 and two plungers 42, 44. Actuator 40 can drive plungers 42, 44 outwardly to jam against the tyres of wheels 14, 16 to prevent the wheels from rotating.

The system includes various security identifying measures whereby elements of the system can be identified to one another by way of RFID transmissions. Trolley 10 and each of containers 50 are fitted with RFID transponders and are assigned unique identifying codes. Trolley 10 maintains a record of the identifying codes of each container that is attached to the trolley along with the date and time of each operation of attachment and release.

Security guards carry their own RFID devices, which may be in the form of passive RFID tags or active RFID tags or handheld communicating devices. Each security guard is associated their own unique identifier. This can be employed to implement various security measures in the system. For instance, prior to a use of the system, trolley 10 can be configured with permissions to allow only certain persons to perform operations with the trolley; the person is identified by way of their RFID identifier. So, it may be configured that the roller lock 30 will only lock or unlock if an authorised RFID signal is detected by trolley 10 to prevent unauthorised persons from attaching or releasing containers to or from the trolley.

Similarly, trolley 10 could be configured so that it will only accept certain containers 50, or will only operate if it detects that it is within a predetermined geographic location. In this way, trolley 10 can be programmed ahead of a series of deliveries or collections. This makes it difficult for unauthorised persons to take control of the trolley or to carry out unauthorised deviations from a predetermined

transportation schedule.

Trolley 10 monitors the proximity of an associated security guard by way of continuously monitoring for the presence of their RFID signal. If a guard is away from the trolley 10 for a pre-determined period of time then the trolley can commence various stages of alarm conditions. The trolley is able to emit an audible tone to indicate a first level of alarm. If the guard does not return within a further period of time then the trolley 10 activates the wheel blocking actuator 40 to prevent further movement of the trolley. Trolley 10 can also communicate back to a control centre using its GSM module to report an alarm condition and to report its own location.

Trolley may also be issued commands from the control centre such as to operate the wheel blocking mechanism, or prevent release of lock 30.

Trolley 10 further includes a silent alarm button which a security guard can depress to send a silent alarm to the control centre.

Referring to figure 12, a base station for use with trolley 10 is shown comprised of an upper bracket 90 and a lower bracket 92 which are adapted to be securely mounted to a generally vertical surface 80 such as the side wall of a security vehicle. The brackets 90, 92 may be mounted either at the inside or on the outside of the vehicle. Upper bracket includes formations which engage with complementary formations provided on trolley 10. Lower bracket 92 includes a pair of lugs 93 which are of the same type as the lugs 55 which are provided on the containers 50.

Referring to figure 13, the trolley 10 is lifted up to engage with the upper bracket 90 and swung down so that lugs 93 enter the elongate holes 20 of trolley 10. The locking handle 26 is then depressed to lock the trolley 10 to the lugs 93. When the trolley is in place the mounting screws for the upper 90 and lower brackets 92 are inaccessible. The trolley 10 can only be released by person authorised to operate the roller lock 30 of the trolley.

Upper bracket 90 includes built in contact pins which connect to contacts 65, 66 (see figure 4) of trolley 10 to charge the rechargeable battery of the trolley. This arrangement ensures that the power supply of the trolley is always maintained in a charged condition and also allows for presence detection of the trolley by a control system of the vehicle which can alert guards to removal of the trolley. In some embodiments the trolley may be charged by a wireless or contactless charging system. Trolley 10 includes a battery status indicator display.

To make a delivery at a series of locations, such as restocking a number of ATMs, an armoured car is loaded with a number of containers, each container intended for use with a particular ATM. Each ATM may have an RFID identifying device and the lock of each container is configured to only operate if it can detect the relevant ATM nearby. When the location of an ATM is reached the appropriate container 50 for that location is attached to trolley 10 inside an armoured security vehicle. The trolley is then used to wheel the container into the delivery premises and the container 50 can be opened to enable restocking of the ATM by swapping bank note cartridges in the usual fashion. The cartridges removed from the ATM are placed in the container which is closed and locked. The trolley 10 is then wheeled back to the security vehicle. When inside the vehicle, the container is released and secured inside the vehicle and the vehicle proceeds to the next destination where the next container in the sequence of ATMs is used.

Each of the containers 50 contains only a small power supply which is embedded in roller lock 60 and lasts for the life of the lock. No recharging of the containers is required. The security measures of the system and power consumption requirements are concentrated in trolley 10. This lowers the initial and ongoing cost of purchasing and maintaining the containers 50 as a large number of containers can be serviced using a single trolley, lowering the overall cost of the system.

Containers of various sizes and internal configurations can be used with trolley

10. Containers of smaller size to the container shown in the figures may be configured to engage with ridge 22a instead of ridge 22. Although the system has been described above in an implementation for servicing ATMs it can be used for transporting gold, jewels, coins or other items of value.

The locks used on the container or the trolley may be configured to require two persons for locking or unlocking for enhanced security. Also it can be the combination of a signal from remote location and a person near the trolley/container.

Referring to figures 14 to 16, an alternative embodiment of trolley 100 is shown. Trolley 100 principally differs from trolley 10 in the attachment mechanism for attaching containers, and in that it has provision for attaching two containers. In other respects, trolley 100 includes the same functionality as trolley 10.

Trolley 100 includes eight lugs 155 (four per container) which are similar to lugs 55 described above, except that are provided on the trolley 100 instead of on a container. Container 155 is fitted with two bars 152, 154 which include recesses to engage with and hang on lugs 155. Two containers 150 can be placed on the trolley 100 by placing them in position on the lugs 155.

Two locking tongues 200 (one for each container) are mounted on locking rods 128 which are in turn connected to locking handle 126. As best seen in figure 16, the containers 150 are locked to the trolley 100 by depressing locking handle 126 in a similar manner as described for trolley 10 above. This causes downward movement of the locking rods 128 and the locking tongues 200 which moves into close proximity to the upper surface of the bar 154 mounted on the container. The locking tongues 200 prevents upwards movement of the containers 150 which are therefore locked in place on the lugs 155. The engagement of the lugs 155 with the recesses in bars 152, 154 prevents sideways movement of the containers. It is impossible to remove the containers 150 from trolley 100. (It is to be noted that the lugs 155 shown in figure 16 are in fact attached to the trolley).

As was the case for trolley 10, locking bar 126 is retained in the depressed position until an authorised unlocking instruction is received. When the locking handle 126 returns to the raised position, the containers 150 may be removed from the trolley 100.

Referring to figures 17 and 18, trolley 100 may be used with a modified form of base station 190. Base station 190 includes two box sections 192, 191 which each include two keyhole openings 194. The keyhole openings correspond to the position of the lugs 155 of trolley 100. To attach the trolley to the base station the trolley is lifted up to the base station so that the lugs enter the upper regions of keyhole openings 194. The trolley is allowed to drop down and the enlarged heads of the lugs 155 become surrounded by the lower narrower region of the keyhole slots 194 to resist the trolley being pulled away from the base station. The locking mechanism of trolley 100 is moved to the locked position which causes locking tongues 200 to be lowered to come into close proximity to the upper surface of the box sections 192, 191 as best seen in figure 17. The locking tongues prevent the trolley from being lifted up to disengage the lugs fro the keyhole openings 194. To remove the trolley 100 from base station 190 the locking mechanism of the trolley must be unlocked to raise the locking tongues 200, and the trolley can then be lifted up and outwards to disengage the lugs 155 from the openings 194.

In the embodiments described above, the locking arrangement used to lock containers to the trolley had an active part (locking rod and locking tongues etc) mounted on the trolley and a passive part (lugs etc) mounted on the containers. In other embodiments the active part of the locking mechanism may be mounted on the containers which lock with passive parts on the trolley, or both the trolley and containers may include a combination of active and passive parts of the locking arrangement.

Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated.

Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.