A secure transfer unit is a type of safe which allows items (e. g. money or other valables) to be transferred from a first location (e. g. a cash office) to a second location (e. g. a vehicle), without any direct communication between the two locations.

EP-B-0312179 discloses a safe which has a stationary section with aligned access openings at opposite sides thereof, and a section which is moveable upwardly and downwardly relative thereto between a closed position in which both access openings are blocked by the moveable section, and an open position in which a passage exists through the moveable section between the access openings. The access openings are each provided with a lockable door, the doors being coupled so that at least one door is always closed.

DE-B-2829532 discloses a safe in which moveable safe sections can rotate about a vertical axis to expose successive compartments to a first opening.

Further rotation exposes the compartments to a second opening.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved safe, capable of functioning as a secure transfer unit.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a safe comprising:- (i) first and second mutually spaced stationary portions; (ii) first and second openings provided through the first and second stationary portions respectively; (iii) a carousel disposed between said first and second stationary portions, said carousel being mounted for rotation in a vertical plane about its longitudinal axis; and (iv) a number of compartments provided in the carousel and arranged parallel to said axis, each compartment having first and second open ends at respective opposite axial ends of the carousel so as to define an axial tunnel through the carousel, the first and second open ends of each compartment being capable of alignment with the openings in the respective first and second stationary portions.

It will be understood that such a safe offers space saving advantages over a safe having a carousel rotatable in a horizontal plane (i. e. about a vertical axis).

One or both of the stationary portions may be a wall of a building. In both cases, the wall (s) in effect forms a part of the safe. Preferably, however, the stationary portions are opposite sidewalls of a safe body within which the carousel is enclose.

Preferably, at least one, and more preferably both, of the stationary portions are provided with a lockable closure by which access to the respective openings can be prevented.

Preferably, the first and second openings are mutually angularly spaced relative to the axis of the carousel, such that each compartment is incapable of being simultaneously aligned with both openings. It will be understood that such an arrangement prevents communication between opposite sides of the safe through the openings in the stationary portions, irrespective of the provision of lockable closures.

Preferably, the compartments are equi-angularly spaced. Preferably twelve compartments are provided.

Preferably, means are provided to move any contents in a compartment from one end region of that compartment to an opposite end region of that compartment.

Preferably, said content moving means is independently mounted with respect to the carousel and is arranged to move the contents of the compartment aligned with one of the first and second openings towards and/or away from that opening. Separate content-moving means may be provided such that the contents in the respective compartments aligned with the first and second openings may be moved independently towards and/or away from the respective opening.

In one embodiment, an axial sot is provided in a radially outer peripheral wall of each compartment and a portion of the content moving means is moveable in the slot between opposite open ends of the compartment.

Preferably, the safe includes indexing means to track which compartment is aligned with which opening.

The safe may also include identification means for identifying what items are placed/removed from the safe. Preferably, the identification means inclues means to notify a user that an item has been successfully (or unsuccessfully) identified. Such identification means preferably comprises a bar-code reader which scans a bar code provided on items placed in the safe.

Separate sensor means may be provided to monitor the placement or removal of items from the compartments.

One compartment may be provided with a blanking plate at one end thereof, which when aligned with the opening in the adjacent stationary portion, prevents access to the carousel. Preferably, a second compartment is provided with a blanking plate at an end adjacent the other stationary portion, said second compartment being angularly spaced by an angle corresponding to the angular spacing of the first and second openings. Thus, it will be understood that each blanking plate can simultaneously be aligned with the respective opening (for example when the safe is unattended) to prevent access to, and interference with, the carousel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a safe carousel for use in the safe of said first aspect, said carousel having a longitudinal axis and a number of compartments, said compartments each having first and second openings at respective opposite axial ends of the carousel so as to define an axial tunnel through the carousel.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a simplifie front perspective view of part of a safe in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the safe carousel shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a housing forming part of the safe of Figure 1; and.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a drawer mounted in the housing of Figure 3.

Referring to Figs 1 and 2, a safe comprises a safe body 2 having first and second mutually parallel sidewalls 4,6 which define first and second stationary portions, a carousel 8 disposed in a cavity between the sidewalls 4,6 and an electronic control system, first and second bar code readers and a compartment indexing system (not shown). In this embodiment the safe is located in a cash office 10 abutting a wall 12 which separates the cash office 10 from an outside loading bay 14. For convenience the first and second sidewalls 4,6 will be referred to as inner and outer sidewalls 4,6 respectively. The safe body 2 is of such a size that it can be transported through 800mm doorways (standard cash office doorway). It is envisaged that in practice, the safe body 2 will be mounted in position in the cash office 10 and the carousel 8 will then be mounted in the body.

The carousel 8 is mounted at each end of its longitudinal axis to a support frame (not shown) with clearance between the carousel 8 and the inner and outer sidewalls 4,6 to permit the carousel 8 to rotate in a vertical plane about its longitudinal axis. The carousel 8 is operably connected to a motor by a rack and pinion arrangement (not shown) under the control of the control system (a worm drive could also be used) so that the carousel 8 can be rotated about its longitudinal axis. The carousel 8 consists of twelve compartments 16 of rectangular cross-section and a pair of end plates 18. The compartments 16 are parallel to, and equi-angularly spaced around, the axis of the carousel 8, each compartment 16 abutting each neighbouring compartment 16 along a side edge 20 parallel to the axis of the carousel 8 to form a cylindrical cavity of dodecagonal cross- section. The cavity is closed at each end by the end plates 18, to which the respective radially inner end edges 22 of the compartments 16 are welded. Such a carousel 8 has sufficient rigidity and is of relatively lightweight construction. Each compartment 16 has first and second open ends 24 at respective opposite axial ends of the carousel 8. One compartment is provided with a blanking plate (not shown) at its first open end 24 and a second compartment is provided with a blanking plate (not shown) at its second open end 24. The compartments having the blanking plates are angularly spaced by 90°. A wall 26 of each compartment 16 disposed furthest from the axis of the carousel 8 has an axial slot 28 along its entire length (Figure 2). The end plate 18 at the axial end of the carousel 8 adjacent the inner sidewall 4 of the safe body 2 is provided with a hole 30 adjacent its periphery. In use, a bolt of a solenoid-operated latch is received in the hole 30 in order to lock the carousel 8 in a default position. In a modified embodiment, twelve equi-spaced holes are provided to allow the carousel to be locked into any one of twelve indexed positions.

The inner sidewall 4 of the safe body 2 is hinged at one side and can be opened to provide access to the cavity and the carousel 8, although in normal use, the sidewall 4 will remain locked in place and the interior of the safe inaccessible other than through first and second rectangular openings 32,34 respectively provided in the inner sidewall 4 and the outer sidewall 6 of the safe body 2. In the embodiment shown, the first opening 32 is aligned with the compartment 16 at the lowest position on the carousel 8 (position A). The second opening 34 is aligned with the compartment 16 angularly spaced by 90° relative to the axis of the carousel 8 from the lowest compartment 16 at position A (position B).

Thus, no continuous passage through the carousel 8 between the first and second openings 32,34 exists. It will be noted that the angular spacing of the compartments having the blanking plates is chosen so that the carousel 8 can be indexed with each blanking plate aligned with a respective opening 32,34 in the inner and outer sidewalls 4,6 of the safe body 2. Such alignment (which also corresponds to the default position in which the carousel 8 can be locked) restricts the possibility of tampering with the carousel 8 if the other security features are breached.

Access to the first opening 32 from the cash office 10 is prevented by an inner lockable closure in the form of a sideways sliding door panel (hereinafter referred to as the"user access door") 36 and an outer lockable closure in the form of a side-hinged safe door 38. When opened, the safe door 38 reveals the user access door 36, a keypad 40, display 42 and card key slot 44 which form part of the control system. A fixed undertray 46 extends horizontally from the base of the first opening 32 towards the compartment 16 at position A. In use, the undertray provides a platform on which objects can be slid through the opening into the compartment 16. The safe door 38 is unlocked using a conventional key. Unlocking of the user access door 36 requires insertion of a card key into the slot 44 and entry of a PIN into the keypad 40. It will be appreciated that the choice of release mechanism for the user access door 36 and safe door 38 is arbitrary and may vary from one application to another depending on the required level of security. One advantage of a card/PIN combination is that loss, theft or forgery of the card is in itself insufficient to gain access to the safe.

The second opening 34 is aligned with a passage 52 through the cash office wall 12, the passage 52 being of larger cross-section than the second opening 34. Mounted in the passage 52 is a housing 60 which is now described with reference to Figure 3. The housing 60 has a pair of mutually parallel sidewalls 62 and perpendicular thereto a top 64 and a base 66. The base 66 is elevated from the bottom edges of the sidewalls 62 so that there is a gap 68 between the cash office wall 12 and the base 66. Mutually parallel slots 70 are provided in the top 64 and the sidewalls 62 of the housing 60 to allow adjustment in the mounting of the housing 60 in the passage 52. A first partition 72 extends upwardly from the base 66 of the housing 60 and separates the housing 60 into a parcel-slider housing region 74 and a parcel-slider drive-mechanism housing region 76.

A second partition 78 extends horizontal inwardly from one sidewall 62 and then vertically downwardly in the same plane as the first partition 72.

A slot 80 of constant width is defined between the two partitions 72,78 and extends the full depth of the base 66 of the housing 60. The slot 80 in the housing 60 is aligned with the slot 28 of the compartment 16 in position B. A mounting plate 82 with a card-key slot 83 is provided above the second partition 78 to receive operating buttons and a card key reader (not shown).

Referring to Figure 4, access to the second opening 34 from the loading bay 14 is prevented by an inner lockable closure in the form of a drop- down door panel (hereinafter referred to as the"exterior drawbridge") 90 and an outer lockable closure in the form of a guillotine plate 92. The guillotine plate 92 opens downwardly into a slot 94 provided in the cash office wall 12 adjacent the loading bay side of the housing 60 (as shown in Figure 4). The exterior drawbridge 90 is hinged at mounting points 96 on the sidewalls 62 of the housing 60. The mounting points 96 are marginally below and forward of the base 66 of the housing 60 so that a lower part of the exterior drawbridge 90 can pivot in the gap 68 below the base 66, thereby allowing the exterior drawbridge 90 to pivot to a horizontal position (as shown in Figure 4). A card key slot 98 is provided in the exterior drawbridge 90 which is aligned with the card reader slot 83 of the housing 60 when the exterior drawbridge 90 is in its raised position. The guillotine plate 92 is released by reception of a remotely transmitted signal by a receiver which is operably connected to the guillotine plate 92. The exterior drawbridge 90 is released by insertion of a card key into a reader mounted behind the mounting plate 82.

Slideable within the housing 60 is a parcel slider 100. The parcel slider 100 has a paddle member 102 spaced from a front piece 104 of rectangular cross section, the paddle member 102 and front piece 104 being connected to an elongate side bar 106 via a pair of connecting rods 108 orientated perpendicularly to the side bar 106 at respective opposite end regions of the side bar 106. The connecting rods 108 are carried in the slot 80 between the first and second partitions 72,78 of the housing 60 and the aligned slot 28 of the compartment 16 in position B (Figure 1) with the front piece 104 and paddle member 102 being on the parcel- slider housing-region side of the partitions 72,78 and the side bar 106 being on the opposite side of the partitions 72,78.

The parcel slider 100 is moveable by means of a motor and gear mechanism (not shown) contained in the housing region 76 which engages with the side bar 106. In its fully retracted position, the paddle member 102 lies between the inner sidewall 4 of the safe body 2 and the carousel 8 and the front piece 104 lies at the opposite axial end of the carousel 8, thereby allowing unimpeded rotation of the carousel 8. In its fully extended position (as shown in Figure 4), the front piece 104 extends beyond the front of the housing 60. In use, the paddle member 102 of the slider 100 pulls the contents of the compartment 16 in position B onto the lowered exterior drawbridge 90 (parcel retrieval) and the front piece 104 pushes a parcel on the exterior drawbridge 90 into the compartment 16 (parcel deposit). The structure of the front piece 104 makes it strong and rigid and provides an additional physical barrier between the compartment 16 at position B and the loading bay 14. A locking mechanism (eg. solenoid or hydraulic) locks the slider 100 at its fully extended and retracted positions.

The electronic control system is operably connected to the carousel motor, the bar-code readers, the indexing system, all card key readers, all the safe closures 36,38,90,92 and the parcel slider 100. As well as controlling the operation of the safe, the control system tracks the status of the safe (i. e. position of compartments, which closures are open/closed etc) and is provided with a memory to record specified data relating to safe activity (see below). The first bar code reader is disposed within the first opening 32 in the inner sidewall 4 of the safe body 2. The second bar code reader is mounted within the housing 60.

In the following Example, use of the safe to transfer a cash parcel from the cash office 10 to a security vehicle (not shown) in the loading bay 14 is described. However, it will be understood that the transfer could equally take place in the opposite direction.

A staff member in the cash office 10 manually unlocks the safe door 38 to reveal the keypad 40 and display 42. After inserting a card key in the card reader slot 44, a PIN number is entered into the keypad 40 to activate the display 42. In high security applications, the control system may require insertion of two different cards and entry of the appropriate PINs, for example if the transaction is to be executed by a staff member and a supervisor. The user identity and time of access is logged by the control system. The user selects the required transaction ("deposit") from a menu on the display 42 and the carousel 8 is rotated until the compartment 16 at position A is an empty compartment. The user access door 36 is then unlocked The first bar-code reader is activated and the control system registers which compartment 16 is at position A. The cash parcel is placed on the undertray 46 and slid into the empty compartment 16. The first bar-code reader reads a bar code label or the like affixed to the parcel and registers the identity of the parcel as it enters the compartment 16 at position A and transfers the data to the control system (or to a separate auditing system).

The user is warned by an audible signal if the bar code has not been successfully read, and the control system prevents further action until the error has been corrected. Any visual and/or aural warning could be used, or a mechanism could be employed to prevent closure of the user access door 36 so that the operator must repeat the passage of the parcel past the bar-code reader. In the present embodiment, if the bar code is not successfully read after three attempts, the control system is programmed to accept a bar code manually input on the keypad 40. If no code is entered, the parcel is refused. When the user access door 36 is closed following successful reading of the bar code, it is automatically locked to prevent subsequent access to the parcel. Further transactions may be executed by selecting another option from the menu. When no further transactions are required, the user removes the card key. The safe door 38 is then closed and locked.

As an additional security measure a photoelectric sensor (not shown) is provided below the compartment 16 at position A and directed upwardly through the slot 28 in the compartment wall 26 to detect the presence of a parcel (as an alternative, the sensor may be adjacent the outer side wall of the safe body 2 and directed axially through the compartment 16 at position A towards the first opening 32 in the inner sidewall 4 of the safe).

The provision of such a sensor prevents illicit removal of parcels from the compartment 16 after the bar code has been read. The safe may be maintained in this locked state until the security vehicle arrives to collect the parcel. Alternatively, the carousel 8 may be rotated so that the compartment 16 containing the parcel is not accessible through either of the first or second openings 32,34. In the present embodiment, the control system is programmed to return the carousel 8 to the default position.

When the security vehicle is correctly positioned to receive the parcel and a unique transponder signal generated from the vehicle has been received by the control system, the guillotine plate 92 on the loading-bay side of the safe is automatically unlocked and retracted, exposing the exterior drawbridge 90. Access to the control buttons requires the vehicle personnel to unlock the exterior drawbridge 90 using a card key. When the correct card key has been presented, the exterior drawbridge 90 is manually lowered to reveal the control buttons which are now activated.

The control buttons are marked"colject"and"deposit". In the present Example, the"collect"button is illuminated to indicate that a parcel is to be collected. The"deposit"button is also illuminated to indicate that empty compartments 16 are available for deposit. Pressing the"collect" button activates the carousel motor and the carousel 8 is rotated so that the compartment 16 containing the cash parcel is now aligned with the second opening 34 (position B). The parcel slider 100 slides outwardly and the paddle member 102 urges the parcel onto the exterior drawbridge 90. During this time, the"collect"button flashes to indicate that the system is in operation. The parcel is then easily retrieved by the vehicle personnel.

The exterior drawbridge 90 forms a horizontal platform between the housing 60 and the security vehicle, reducing the likelihood of mishandled parcels dropping between the wall 12 and the vehicle and allowing the personnel to remain in the security of the vehicle. The parcel slider 100 is retracted into the housing 60 by pressing the flashing "collect"button. In this embodiment, the vehicle personnel know that there are no further parcels to collect when the"collect'button is no longer illuminated. The exterior drawbridge 90 is manually raised and the card key removed. The guillotine plate 92 automatically closes when the vehicle transponder moves out of range.

The safe will accept deposits from the vehicle personnel unless all the compartments 16 are occupied ("deposit"button not illuminated). The deposit procedure is the reverse of that for collection and is effected by pressing the"deposit"button. As the deposited parcel is drawn into the safe by the parcel slider 100 its bar code is read by the second bar code reader. After a third failure to read the bar code, the unidentified parcel will be accepted and allocated a default code for tracking purposes.

From the above, it will be apparent that the control system is capable of logging a complete audit trail including by which user and when each identifiable parcel is placed in the safe, and by which user and when each identifiable parcel is removed from the safe. The bar code is unique to each parcel and can be used to identify the type of parcel (eg. cash bag or ATM cassette). The control system is provided with an external data port which can be connected via an RS232 connector to a printer which can produce a hard copy record of safe activity.

It will be understood that other features can readily be incorporated into the above embodiment, either for enhanced security, parcel tracking or convenience of operation. Examples of such modifications include the following, one or more of which may be incorporated into the above- described embodiment:- /. Requiring the vehicle personnel to present a card key for each transaction, in which case the card key may conveniently be a swipe card or a proximity card, making the slot 83 in the housing 60 unnecessary.

Reading the bar code on removal from a compartment as well as entry so that there is absoute confirmation that the parcel placed in the safe on one side is the same parcel withdrawn on the other side.

III. Providing a solid disc (or square plate) fixed to the carousel support frame at each axial end of the carousel, each disc (or square plate) having a single opening therein aligned with the adjacent opening in the respective adjacent safe sidewall. Thus, even if access is gained to the carousel cavity, only compartments at positions A and B are accessible without removing the discs (square plates).

IV. Providing alarm and/or locking mechanisms in the event that a card key is prematurely removed from its slot.

V. Allowing the carousel to be indexed so that the compartments are not properly aligned with the first and second openings when the safe is not actively in use. This is particularly useful when the safe contains large inflexible items such as ATM cassettes, which cannot be removed from the safe unless the open end of the compartment is fully aligned with the opening in the inner or outer sidewall of the safe body. VI. Providing a canopy around the housing which is extendible so as to be able to form an enclose tunnel between the security vehicle and the housing, thereby preventing external access to the parcel as it is collecte.

Vll. Providing a parcel guide (such as a cam surface) on the outer wall of the safe body (or solid disc/plate if fitted) to ensure that parcels placed on the exterior drawbridge by the vehicle personnel are fully inserted in the carousel and do not jam in the gap between the carousel and outer wall of the safe body (or disc/plate).