Anti-theft system for valuable transport

• US 4,352,097 A
• Filed: 08/14/1980
• Issued: 09/28/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Walter Hamann
• Original Assignee: Walter Hamann
• Inventors: Hamann, Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, III, Glen R.
• Application Number:
  US06/178,087
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 340/571, 340/572, 340/539
• US Class Current: 340/568.7
• CPC Class Codes: E05G 1/14 with means for masking or destroying the valuables, e.g. in case of theft
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/02 with smoke, gas, or coloured or odorous powder or liquid
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0263 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the direction in which child or item is located

Abstract

An anti-theft system for the protection of a bag of papermoney or the like being transported from a bank safe to a waiting valuables transport vehicle, having a security apparatus for marking or otherwise making useless the papermoney or for giving an alarm in the case of attempted theft. At least one stationary transmitting unit is used for radiating radio waves along the path of transport for being received by a receiving unit on the money bag. The security apparatus is put into operation when the receiving unit no longer receives an agreed information pattern from the transmitting unit, which undergoes comparison with information regenerated at the same data rate from a shift register at the container.

In one form of the system, the information to be transmitted and to undergo comparison is produced by the transmitting end and stored sequentially in solid-state memories at a high data rate at the transmitting and receiving ends of the system before each transport operation. Then, on transport, synchronized readout of the information from the memories takes place at a lower data rate for comparison, the security apparatus being put into operation if the transmitted signal is no longer received, this being sensed because of the effect on the comparison operation.

In a further form of the system the memories are read only memories which may be exchanged for security purposes.

Claims

1. In an anti-theft system for the transport of a container for valuables along a short path between a safe and a waiting valuables transport vehicle, said system having a transmitting unit, separate from said container, for transmitting signals able to be received by a receiving unit on said container, and having a security apparatus designed to be put into operation when said receiving unit receives no signal, the improvement comprising:

a first memory in said transmitting unit,

a second memory in said receiving unit, for cooperating with said first memory,

an information generator, whose information may be recorded by said first and second memories,

a comparison unit at said container for comparison of said information as sequentially read out from said two memories and for causing operation of said security apparatus when said information from one memory is not in agreement with said information from said other memory.

2. The structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said security apparatus is designed for effecting an operation selected from the group:

marking the valuables to make them useless, destruction of said valuables, giving an alarm signal.

3. The structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information generator is designed for producing random signals, said random signals being stored in said second memory of said receiving unit before each transport operation.

4. The structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein said recording of said random signals takes place at a data rate controlled by a clock frequency and said readout, by way of said transmitting unit from said second memory, takes place under the control of a clock frequency, the clock frequency on storing in said memories being higher than on readout.

5. The structure as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, further comprising at least one directional antenna, the radiation therefrom being generally limited to the transport path.

6. The structure as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, comprising mechanical locking parts placed at the two ends of the transport path for locking onto the container and so suppressing operation of said security apparatus.

7. The structure as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said transmitting unit and said receiving unit are designed for operation in the modes "transmission of information", "run", the mode being able to be changed from the transmitting unit.

8. The structure as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the signals transmitted from the transmitting to the receiving units are high-frequency radio signals.

9. The structure as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein one of the ends of said path is in said vehicle and wherein said vehicle has an outside antenna and its own receiver joined by wiring with said locking parts, said receiver on said vehicle getting signals from said stationary transmitter.

10. In an automatic anti-theft system for transport paths, on which valuables containers are transported which have a security apparatus for taking steps when the container gets into the hands of a person acting without authority, the improvement comprising:

at least one stationary transmitting unit, said unit producing an energy field for covering said transport path to be protected,

a receiving unit on said container and designed for receiving said energy field, produced by said transmitting unit, and

a unit stopping operation of said security apparatus as long as a given program is received,

said transmitting unit having a first information memory and modulation units, with which the radiated energy is modulated, said receiving unit having a second information memory and a checking system for checking the modulation of said received energy.

11. The structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a random signal generator in said transmitting unit and designed for producing stoichastic information for recording in said information memories before each such transport operation.

12. The structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising an encoding unit in said transmitting unit for encoding the information from said first memory on transmission of said information before a transport operation, and a decoding unit in said receiving unit for decoding the encoded information of said second information memory at the time of transport.

13. The structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a high speed clock for controlling the rate of transmission of the encoded information before a transport operation.

14. The structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising an instruction generator in said transmitting unit, and an instruction processor in said receiving unit for supply of mode instructions.

15. The structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a word clock in said transmitting unit, and a word memory in said receiving unit for the transmitting and storing of a part of given length of the information in said first and second memories, respectively.

16. The structure as claimed in claim 15, wherein said second information memory of said receiving unit has a parallel output and a comparison unit, which, on agreement between information offered by said first information memory and information taken from said word memory has the effect of stopping information cycling as produced by a high-speed clock so that the information output from the information memories is in step.

17. An anti-theft system for protection of paper money while being transported in a container along a short path between a container filling point, and a vehicle designed for money transport comprising,

a stationary transmitting unit having a limited transmitting range,

a first read-out memory wired to said transmitting unit,

a random signal generator wired to said transmitting unit, and providing information for charging said first read-out memory,

a receiving unit on said container for receiving signals transmitted by said transmitting unit, and originating in said random signal generator,

a demodulator for demodulation of signals received by said receiving unit,

a second read-out memory wired to said receiving unit for storing demodulated signals received from said demodulator,

a comparison unit for comparing the signals read out sequentially from said second memory, with signals coming from said transmitting unit,

a security apparatus on said container for marking and making said paper money useless for unauthorized persons, said security apparatus associated with said comparison unit for operation by the same,

a clock apparatus wired to said transmitting unit for cooperation with said receiving unit, and designed for producing two clock rates for operation of said two memories at two different data rates, that is to say, at a high data rate for storing random signal data in said two memories simultaneously, before the start of transport along said short path, and at a low data rate for read-out from said two memories during transport of said paper money along said path, and

a central control acting as a remote control apparatus by way of said receiving unit, for effecting operation of the anti-theft system in the modes:

(1) an information storing mode in which random signals from said random signal generator are stored at said high data rate in said two memories before transport along said short path of said paper money, and

(2) a run mode with read-out of information from said second memory at said container, and signals from said first memory wired to said transmitting unit, as transmitted to said container, for comparison with each other,

said comparison unit producing a signal for operation of said security apparatus, if said receiving unit is moved out of the transmitting range of said transmitting unit.