Patent Application
20210312775
This invention relates to a bait pack for locating stolen currency, and a method for using the same.
In the event a bank or other establishment is robbed, the standard protocol for safety of the employees is to place currency bricks (wrapped paper currency) in the robber's bag to avoid violence on the thief's part. Often, the employee will add an explosive dye pack, and/or, as a more recent development, a fake brick having a GPS (global positioning system) transmitter so that the currency can be tracked.
A problem with GPS-based bait pack (a fake brick) is that the battery powering the GPS must remain charged for extended periods. Further, a bait pack should be present in each teller's drawer, and so the batteries for multiple bait packs must be charged.
This invention overcomes various deficiencies in existing bait packs by providing a GPS-based bait pack having a switch energizing the GPS unit only when the bait pack is removed from a predefined location. The device can include a system for conserving battery power, or can be rechargeable. This invention also provides a charger for the bait pack, as well as a charger for simultaneously charging the batteries of multiple bait packs.
This invention provides a bait pack for tracking stolen currency, comprising, a laminated hollow frame simulating a stack of currency, a cover for sealing the one opening of the hollow and comprising actual or simulated currency, a base for sealing the other opening of the hollow, and disposed within the frame a power source, a sensor including a switch activated by movement of the bait pack from a particular physical location, and a power switch, switched by sensor activation, connecting the power source to a GPS tracking device transmitting information on the location of the bait pack upon activation of the sensor.
This invention also provides a bait pack for tracking stolen currency, comprising a laminated hollow frame simulating a stack of currency, a board disposed in the hollow having attached thereto, a rechargeable battery having an electrical connection to a radio transmitter, a normally closed switch in series with the electrical connection and being magnetically activated to interrupt the electrical connection, a cover for sealing the one opening of the hollow and comprising actual or simulated currency, and an electrically insulating base for sealing the other opening of the hollow and having openings with contacts electrically connected to the battery disposed in the openings.
A brick of uncirculated (“paper”) currency is about ⅜″ (˜0.95 cm) in height when laid upon a surface, and a brick of circulated currency is about 1″ (2.5 cm) in height at its highest point, about ¾″ (˜1.9 cm) at the wrapping strap, and both weigh about 3.5 oz. (˜100 g). The bait pack of this invention is preferably about ¾″ in height and about 4.5 oz (˜128 g) in weight. It is a realistic facsimile of a brick of 100 $1 bills (or other denomination or total dollar amount as may be desired), and can use one or more facsimile bills and/or one or more real bills of genuine currency for the simulation.
Referring to
The pack shown in
A system for conserving the battery power is shown in
Where the sensor circuit 403 includes a magnetic switch, it requires magnetic activation to engage the system and provide true operation. A drawer, such as a teller's drawer 501, is shown in
In the event of a robbery, while removing currency bricks from the drawer and filling the robber's bag, the teller takes the bait pack as if it were valid currency along with the other bricks. Removing the bait pack from the base activates the switch and thereby the GPS Tracking Device is activated. Computer software associated with a receiver for the transmitter in the GPS Tracking Device can determine the location of any particular bait pack once activated. The software can be programmed to send out an alarm signal to the police if the bait pack is removed a certain distance from the bank, and to avoid an alarm signal when the bait pack is removed for charging if the bait pack is rechargeable. In cash drawers having multiple compartments, a compartment may be reserved for a bait pack, or a cash drawer may include two bait packs.
While the invention has been described particularly with respect to banks, it should be appreciated that it can be used with any cash drawer. A department store or supermarket typically would use multiple drawers with multiple compartments as banks typically do and so would use multiple bait packs (one for the drawer in each cash register), while a convenience store or corner market may only have a single register with a single drawer (and maybe with a single compartment) and thus would need only a single bait pack. Further, the device is not limited to paper money, but is applicable to any token or device representing money so long as the GPS tracking signal can be sent out from the device. For example, a stack of casino chips (which can be non-metallic and thus not RF-shielding) can substituted for the stack of bills in the exemplar described above to make a bait pack, and could use a minimal number of chips to store the battery and transmitter. Alternatively, such a bait pack could be a bottom chip connected to a charging device with leads imbedded in the felt of the gambling table (and clearly not used for gambling, but able to be removed from the felt and so appearing to be a bona fide chip). Thus, as used in the claims, “currency” is intended to include gambling chips and other representations or tokens for actual currency.
The foregoing description is meant to be illustrative and not limiting. For example, the present system can be incorporated into a valuable or vehicle. Various changes, modifications, and additions may become apparent to the skilled artisan upon a perusal of this specification, and such are meant to be within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.
