Patent Application
20080149009
The present invention relates to a reversible safe door. It is particularly related to, but in no way limited to, a reversible safe door for an Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) store a relatively large sum of money for dispensing to customers, or that has been deposited by customers for collection by a financial institution. A safe is provided as part of ATMs to store the currency in a secure manner. The safe has an access mechanism which allows removal and deposit of currency by the ATM, but prevents access by unauthorized persons, for example people attempting to steal the currency.
The safe must also provide access for security personnel to replenish the stock of currency and remove deposited currency. That access is conventionally provided via a standard safe-door design, incorporating a suitable locking mechanism. The purpose of the safe is to prevent access to the content of it by unauthorized persons and therefore safes are constructed of very strong and consequently heavy material. In particular, the door and associated locking and hinge mechanisms are sufficiently strong to withstand attack making them very heavy.
Currency is stored in the safe in cassettes which are of a substantial size, and relatively unobstructed access is therefore required to the safe in order to replenish it. ATMs must therefore be positioned such that sufficient access is provided for replenishment. However, a consideration in ATM location is that the position is suitable for customer use and it is undesirable to compromise that position to allow sufficient access to the safe for replenishment. Another factor which may affect placement of an ATM is security considerations. Some financial institutions have security policies which require an ATM to be placed in close proximity to 2 walls, as this offers improved protection to an attack on the ATM. A particular problem arises due to the fact that safe doors are relatively thick, and therefore to provide sufficient access to the safe the door must open by more than 90°. If a safe is mounted close to a wall, the door can therefore only open sufficiently if it opens away from the wall. Furthermore, there may be other obstacles in the area of the safe door that requires it to open in a particular direction to permit replenishment. A safe whose door opens in the correct direction must therefore be ordered for each installation, thus requiring prior consideration of the location of the ATM and the correct ordering and delivery of the equipment.
The requirement to select and order a specific variety of safe is inconvenient as it adds cost and complexity to the installation process and furthermore requires two designs of safe to be manufactured.
There is therefore a requirement for a safe for use with an ATM which allows sufficient access to the safe, while not imparting any particular requirements on the positioning of the safe.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
There is provided a safe, comprising a safe body having a door opening and hinge parts located on two opposite sides of that door opening, a safe door having hinge parts on two opposite sides of the door, the hinge parts of the safe body being pivotably connectable to respective hinge parts of the safe door, wherein the safe door can be configured to pivot open in two different directions by appropriate connection of the hinge parts.
The safe may further comprise a mechanism to retain the safe door in a closed position. The mechanism may be a locking mechanism.
The safe may further comprise hinge pins to connect respective hinge parts on one side of the safe door and body. The hinge pins may be removable. The hinge pins may be secured in the hinge parts.
The safe may be configured for use in conjunction with an Automated Teller Machine.
There is also provided a method of reconfiguring the direction of opening of a safe door, comprising the steps of securing the safe door in a closed position, connecting hinge parts on a first side of the door to form a hinge, and disconnecting hinge parts on a second side of the door.
The hinge parts may be connected by inserting a hinge pin.
The hinge pins may be secured in the hinge parts.
The method may further comprise the step of unsecuring the safe door.
Prior to application of the method the safe door may pivot open in a first direction, and after application of the method, the safe door may pivot open in a second direction.
The method may further comprise the step of disconnecting an alarm harness prior to securing the door in the closed position.
The method may further comprise the step of connecting an alarm harness after unsecuring the safe door.
Many of the attendant features will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. The preferred features may be combined as appropriate, as would be apparent to a skilled person, and may be combined with any of the aspects of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example, with reference to the following drawing, in which:
Embodiments of the present invention are described below by way of example only. These examples represent the best ways of putting the invention into practice that are currently known to the Applicant although they are not the only ways in which this could be achieved.
Safe 20 has a body part 21 and a door part 22. The body 21 has hinge parts at the right 23, 24 and the left 25, 26 (not visible in
To convert the side of opening, the safe door is closed and secured in that position (
The safe allows conversion of the direction of opening of the door without the need to support the weight of the door, as must be done with prior art designs. Such support is not possible in the present application of the safe since there are insufficient people and equipment present during ATM installation to support the door.
The safe may be equipped with an alarm system having cabling connecting the door and the safe body. Connections for the cabling may be provided at both the left and right sides and the appropriate connections utilized depending upon the selected door opening direction. The cabling may be disconnected prior to changing the direction of opening and reconnected at the other side after the change has been completed.
As will be apparent to the person skilled in the art, the number of hinges on each side of the safe may be selected dependent upon the size or other characteristics of the safe.
The hinge parts have been described herein as being configured as hinges by the insertion of hinge pins to connect those parts. As will be apparent to the person skilled in the art other methods of forming hinges between parts may be employed. For example moveable parts may be provided as part of the hinge parts to pivotably connect respective hinge parts to form a hinge.
Any range or device value given herein may be extended or altered without losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilled person.
It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. It will further be understood that reference to ‘an’ item refer to one or more of those items.
It will be understood that the above description of a preferred embodiment is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although various embodiments of the invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.
