Patent Application
20120247373
The present application concerns a track and trace application for protecting valuables inside a safe or other secured container for valuables during robbery or unauthorized opening of the safe or secured container.
It is known to use a device whereby smoke and/or tear gas is released inside the safe or secured container upon certain movements of said safe or secured container, such as tilting, rotation, translation or any combination thereof, or when specific drilling, grinding, hammering or other patterns are detected. The smoke colours the valuables and makes them useless. This is known from numerous patents/patent applications; see for example EP 0693902, EP 0914538, WO 92/07159.
In spite of the colouring of the valuables, many times the valuables are never retrieved and remain lost values for the owner.
There is therefore a need for retrieving the valuables. This may be achieved by a track and trace unit connected with the stolen items that informs the owner and/or the police as to where the valuables may be found.
As a result, the valuables can be retrieved, and other valuable information can be collected, such as the location of the robbers or a place they use for storage or other activities, thus increasing the chances of possible arrests.
However, the track and trace unit is often detected and removed by the robbers.
The aim of the present invention therefore is to improve the secured container by increasing the difficulty for the robbers to separate the track and trace unit from the stolen items.
According to one aspect of the invention, this aim can be achieved by means of a protection unit positioned inside the secured container, such as a safe, a so-called CIT container (cash-in-transit), a ATM cassette or ATM (automatic teller machine). The valuables may be stored inside this protection unit, together with a detection unit, a trace and track unit and a foam generating unit comprising a quick expanding foam, such as polyurethane foam or other foam which polymerizes or cross-links into a hard, tough and/or sticky mass, the detection by the detection unit of an event triggering the track and trace unit and the foam generating unit, thus trapping the operational track and trace unit and valuables into a block of hard, tough and/or sticky foam.
As of the moment an attack on the safe is detected by the “Protection Unit” inside the safe, the track and tracing will be initiated. Detection and activation may be achieved by various known means, including electronic means and sensors not part of the invention but known in the art and selected as appropriate for the relevant uses and applications. The detection unit may be a detection unit known in the art that allows for detection of certain manipulations or movements, like tilting, rotation, translation, shaking or others, or certain unauthorized actions, like hammering, drilling and/or sawing or others, and to trigger the track and trace unit and/or the foam spraying by the foam generating unit.
According to a preferred embodiment, the track and trace unit comprises a GPS/GPRS/RF system or other positioning system and possibly a secured web-based solution. This arrangement of a track and trace unit connected to the valuables by way of a hardened and/or sticky foam will allow the owner and/or the police to locate the stolen items and possibly the robber(s).
In parallel with the start of the tracking, the foam may be released thus preferably filling up the substantially complete inside volume, including the storage area of the valuables and the location of the track and trace unit, preferably also including the battery for prolonged operation. During foam expansion and after the drying and hardening period, the valuables and the track and trace unit are caught in a hard cocoon and/or sticky mass and thus kept together.
The foam may consist in a one or two component polyurethane foam, released from pressurized cans or containers as a one or two component foam precursor, respectively.
In principle, it is possible to access the valuables and/or the track and trace unit, for instance by cutting them out of the hardened foam, but it will take time for anybody to do that. This causes additional delay which may advantageously be used by the owner and/or the police to locate the stolen items and/or the robbers, to retrieve the valuables and possibly to make arrests. In any case, such additional hurdle discourages robbers to even take action.
The protection unit according to the invention may advantageously comprise a ink dye or smoke release unit. Same may be operated such as to release the ink dye and/or smoke in such a way as to affect the valuables, e.g. paper money, before the foam traps them into a hardened possibly sticky foam block.
Advantageously, a nucleic acid marker may be mixed into or linked to the foam precursor or may be released separately. The aim, of course, is to allow later allocation of retrieved valuables.
According to an alternative embodiment, suitable for transport of secret information stored on a digital data carrier, the protection unit may include a destruction module, such as high electrical and/or magnetic field generators or microwave generator that destroys the digital information stored in the data carrier.
According to the invention, the “Protection unit” advantageously is a cage that may be lodged or fixed inside a regular safe. The foam may then fill-up substantially the complete area inside the cage during its expansion and after the drying and hardening period, the valuables and the track and trace unit then are caught in a hard cocoon and/or sticky mass and thus kept together.
According to a preferred embodiment the protection unit may be covered by a detection film or skin known in the art intended to trigger the foam generating unit and the track and trace unit. Unauthorized opening of the preferred embodiment may also trigger the foam generating unit and the track and trace unit.
According to another embodiment, the cage may be arranged inside a so-called CIT (cash-in-transit)container. Unauthorized manipulation or unauthorized opening or possibly remote control may initiate the foam generating unit which may release a quickly hardening foam in the valuable storage area as well as the track and trace unit.
Both, the track and trace unit and the valuables are then embedded into a block of hardened foam or sticky mass. The separation of valuables from the track and trace unit will delay the robbers and may possibly lead to their arrest.
According to yet another embodiment, the cage may be arranged inside or consist in an ATM (automatic teller machine) cassette. Such cassettes are used to store, collect and distribute money in an ATM and are transported, containing money, from cash centers to ATMs and vice versa. As mentioned above, unauthorized use or unauthorized opening or remote control may trigger the track and trace system and the foam generating system.
Automatic teller machines are more and more the object of burglary. They are sometimes pulled out of their seat by heavy weight equipment. The protection unit of the invention may thus alternatively be arranged inside an automatic teller machine and be triggered by unauthorized manipulation of same.
The invention will be described in more details herein below with reference to drawings:
According to the embodiment of
The door may be opened by means of a physical key 3. One may obviously also provide for electronic locks or electronic data keys or similar means. This key locks the door 7 and arms the “Protection Unit”. Unlocking the door 7 will disarm the “Protection Unit”.
The opening and closing of the door 7 may be detected by a door switch or sensor 4. Opening the door without disarming the unit may create an immediate activation of the track and trace unit and the foam generating unit 2 releasing preferably polyurethane foam through exits 5.
All surfaces from the “Protection Unit” may be protected by means of a protection skin 6. Creating openings in this protection skin 6 allowing access to the valuables may be detected by such skin 6 and result in an immediate activation of the track and trace unit and the spraying of a foam, such as a one component polyurethane foam 2, by the foam generating unit.
The polyurethane is released in the valuable storage area 1 through the PU exit 5.
In the alternative, a sticky expanded mass may be used to fill up the inner volume of the secured container. Such sticky mass may further be used to expand through ports practiced in the external walls of the secured container and thus stick same onto or into its support or casing, as the case may be, or have it adhere to the robbers' hands or clothing.
The electronics 2 may be equipped with a processor containing all logical functioning and a motion sensor to detect tilting or other movements of the safe. The processor may include a logs event history and log the events that happen with the “Protection Unit”. An event has to be understood as a status change of the unit or any sensor status change. Each event may be logged together with a time stamp containing date and time.
A battery is preferably part of the electronics and takes care of the autonomous working of the “Protection Unit”. Obviously, the protection unit and/or the container containing it may be equipped with a communication port. Such communication port may be used to charge the battery, either by a direct wired connection or by means of an unwired connection, such as via Radio frequency.
LED indication on the outside of the “Protection unit” may take care of the visual communication towards the user. A buzzer integrated in the electronics 2 may take care of the acoustic communication towards the user.
The “Protection unit” may be adapted to use the track and trace unit also in combination with ink dye technology or in combination with smoke dye technology or possibly nucleic acid markers.
The hardened foam may in fact envelop and engulf not only the valuables but the entire content of the inside cage, possibly including the battery, electronics and telecommunication means so that these means will be trapped, while still operating, and difficultly accessible to the robbers after activation of the security system. The delay in separating the valuables from the track and trace unit is intended to discourage the robbers from taking the valuables or even attacking such secured containers. The electronics may optionally be coated or cast in a polymeric resin, such as an epoxy-resin, thus protecting the circuitry from undesirable effects due to the foam expansion.
Secured containers as described above or similar thereto may be placed into so-called CIT containers for transport of valuables. One may thus also equip such CIT containers with a foam generating unit and a track and trace unit, such that both are locked into a foam block when misused or when the CIT container is unlocked in an authorized fashion.
According to another embodiment of the invention shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09178334.0 | Dec 2009 | EP | regional |
This application is the national phase filing of international patent application No. PCT/EP2010/069164, filed 8 Dec. 2010, and claims priority of European patent application number 09178334.0, filed 8 Dec. 2009, the entireties of which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2010/069164 | 12/8/2010 | WO | 00 | 6/7/2012 |
