APPARATUS FOR DESTROYING THE CONTENTS OF A CLOSED AND PREFERABLY PORTABLE SAFETY CONTAINER UPON ANY ABUSIVE HANDLING THEREOF

Abstract: An apparatus for destroying the contents of a closed and preferably portable safety container upon any abusive handling thereof is comprised by an envelope (1) including a detonator and a destructive material (5), the envelope (1) consisting of a material which can burst and discharge said destructive material (5) upon explosion of the detonator. The safety container can be a personal check safe and/or personal card safe, e.g. a plastic box with a drawer to secure a number of personal checks and/or cards (check cards, credit cards, chip cards and the like) or other valuables and is only accessible by the owner or an authorized person knowing the code to open said box. The apparatus is to be incorporated into the container which is powered by means of one or more batteries and may include an electric circuit with a microprocessor controlling the function of the container and initiating explosion of the apparatus upon said abusive handling. Functional condition as well as the battery condition can be shown by means of a LED. A standard keyboard is used for entering the code.

Description: APPARATUS FOR DESTROYING THE CONTENTS OF A CLOSED AND PREFERABLY PORTABLE SAFETY CONTAINER UPON ANY ABUSIVE HANDLING THEREOF. The invention relates to an apparatus for destroying the contents of a closed and preferably portable safety container upon any abusive handling thereof. Specific examples for safety containers of this kind are personal check safes and/or personal card safes. Such a safe can be a plastic box with a drawer to secure a number of personal checks and/or cards (check cards, credit cards, chip cards and the like) or other valuables and is only accessable by the owner or an authorized person knowing the code to open said box. Personal check safes have been manufactured to hold up to thirty checks. Each safe or safety box of this kind is powered by means of one or more batteries and can be regularly used for a period of one year without changing said battery( -ies ) . Functional condition as well as the battery condition can be shown by means of a LED. A standard keyboard is used for entering the code. It can be easily understood that such safes or safety boxes should fully protect their contents against undue manipulation or any abusive handling thereof, respectively, inclusive of sabotage. So abuse of checks and/or all kinds of cards or their magnetic content or other personal documents must be prevented. All these items should be protected whenever the danger arises that same could become accessable for or revealed to others which are not authorized. One possibility to protect such items from becoming accessable to unauthorized parties is to destroy the contents of safes or boxes, respectively, of the kind described above to an extent which makes such contents and/or the information provided by it by means of letters or magnetic information unusable for such unauthorized parties. So it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus serving this purpose, more specifically, an apparatus for destroying the contents of any container including same. The apparatus in accordance with the invention is characterized by an envelope including a detonator and a destructive material, the envelope consisting of a material which can burst and discharge said destructive material upon explosion of the detonator. The apparatus in accordance with the invention is to be incorporated into a container or safe or safety box as described above by means of example and connected to batteries therein or a different power source, if convenient, via a suitable switch or switches, respectively. Any abusive handling or sabotage will cause the detonator to explode and to break the envelope so that the destructive material can destroy the contents to make it unusable for the unauthorized who tries to get access. The detonator can consist of an electric circuitry including a filament connected to two lead-wires sealed into the respective end of the capsule, of a primer placed around the filament and of an explosive placed around filament with primer and lead- wires. The electric circuitry may further include a capacitor and a microprocessor integrated in the container, whereby the capacitor is loaded after the switch means is activated by the microprocessor. TE SKE^T The explosive and the destructive material can form one and the same matter, more specifically, can be a material which serves both purposes, to explode on ignition and display its destructive properties a second possibility is to have the explosive and the destructive material as two different matters, whether distinct from each other or mixed with each other. In accordance with a preferred embodiment the two matters or materials are arranged distinct from each other within the envelope. To give an example, the explosive can be plastic filling one end of the envelope, whereas the destructive material can be a liquid filling the remaining space within the envelope. In accordance with an actually manufactured embodiment the envelope has a first and a second chamber being separate from each other, the first chamber including the detonator and the second chamber including the destructive material. The apparatus in accordance with the invention and its advantageous developments are described by means of a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing. Envelope 1 provides a first chamber 7 and a second chamber 8 which are separated from each other. The first chamber 7 includes a detonator and the second chamber 8 includes a destructive material 5. The envelope 1 consists of a material which can burst and discharge said destructive material 5 upon explosion of the detonator. In accordance with the embodiment shown the envelope 1 is a capsule and made of a piece 9 of tubing glass sealed at both ends 10 and 11 and containing a wall 4 separating the two chambers 7 and 8. The tubing glass is of the soda lime type of an outer diameter of 7,6 mm and a length of 58 mm in accordance —U i-r-E e ->H π E-ET with an actually manufactured embodiment. Different dimensions and types of glass can be used as well as a different material for the envelope as long as same can burst upon the explosion of the detonator. The detonator consists of an electric circuitry made from a filament 12 connected to two lead-wires 2, 2' sealed into the respective end 10 of the capsule, of a primer placed around the filament 12 and of an explosive 3 placed around filament 12 with primer and lead-wires 2, 2' . In accordance with an example actually manufactured, filament 12 is a 0,013 mm diameter tungsten wire as manufactured by GTE Sylvania, Towanda, U.S.A., by Philips, the Netherlands, and others. Same had a length of 0,3 mm and a resistance of 750 milliohms. The lead wires 2, 2' have been made from a 51% nickel/49% iron alloy known under the tradename NIRON 52 and manufactured by V.D.M., Germany, Wiggins U.K, Carpenter U.S.A. and others. It is preferred to use a primer, not shown, which consists of a base component and an activator. The base component consists of a mixture made from phosphorus and titanium, preferably about two parts of phosphorus and about one part titanium by weight, and the activating component consists of sodium chlorate. Phosphorus can be up to about three parts by weight. Both components are applied to the filament by way of slurries wherein preferably the suspension means is water, so that the filament will be first dipped into the base component slurry and then dried, and afterwards dipped into the activating component slurry and then dried again. As an explosive a 50/50-powder- mixture of sodium chlorate and sugar has been proved successful, different explosives might be used also. UEia U i U i -=- -o &. A wide array of different destructive materials can be used. Preferably same is selected from a) ink with fast absorbing properties, e.g. of the alcohol type, b) expanding foam, c) glue d) organic solvent and e) a combination of materials listed under a) to c) . This list is, however, not exclusive. The foam should be fast expanding, e.g. polyurethane. If an organic solvent is used, dimethylformamide or tetrahydrofuran are preferred. The glue can be cyano acrylate. Separation between the first and the second chamber 7, 8 and/or the sealing of the second chamber 8 at its end 11 can be made by means of rubber pieces 4 having a shore hardness of 60 degrees. Different shapes of rubber piece 4 are possible, same can be e.g. a gasket or a sheath. Sealing is important in order to prevent access of the destructive material 5 towards the explosive. Also hermetic sealing at end 11 of the second chamber is important to prevent undue access of the destructive material 5 to the interior of the safety container as long as envelope 1 is not broken. The security of maintaining a hermetic seal can be enhanced by applying an epoxy onto end 11 of second chamber 8 with rubber piece 4 inserted. After curing of the epoxy such seal will be reinforced. The epoxy can be of the two component type. The apparatus in accordance with the invention can be integrated in a safety container and connected to a power source together with switch means, all of them within the container to be activated upon any abusive handling of the container. In a preferred embodiment the power source consisted of two 3-volt- batteries to load a capacitor after a switch is activated by a microprocessor integrated in the circuitry of the safety container or box, respectively. Once the apparatus has been activated upon such abusive handling a current will flow heating SUBSTITUTESHEET up filament 12. The primer will be ignited at 250° C approx. filament temperature. Such ignition will in turn activate the explosive which will detonate and break envelope 1 so that the destructive material 5 will distribute within the interior of the container and adversely effect the contents thereof so that same becomes unusable. An actually used ink as the destructive material was very quickly absorbed by the contents of the safety box even under extreme conditions, e.g. under water. An expanding foam, glue and similar materials, will adhere to the contents and make it unreadable by sticking thereto, compacting and chemically attacking all cards or checks together, leaving them unusable individually. An organic solvent can erase and/or dilute and/or extract dyes from the contents so to leave it unreadable including the magnetic strip which will be destroyed by said solvent, too. It is clear that the seal at the end 11 of second chamber 8 should be hermetic so that it will not only prevent access of air, moisture and dust from the outside but also any leakage. SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Claims: 1- C L A I M S ■ 1. Apparatus for destroying the contents of a closed and preferably portable safety container upon any abusive handling thereof, characterized by an envelope (1) including a detonator and a destructive material (5), the envelope (1) consisting of a material which can burst and discharge said destructive material (5) upon explosion of the detonator. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the detonator consists of an electric circuitry including a filament (12) connected to two lead-wires (2,2' )sealed into the respective end (10) of the capsule, of a primer placed around the filament (12) and of an explosive (3) placed around filament (12) with primer and lead-wires (2,2' ). 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the explosive and the destructive material form one and the same matter. 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the explosive and the destructive material form two different matters. 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the two matters are arranged distinct from each other within the envelope ( 1 ) . SH£^ -&- 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the envelope (1) has a first and a second chamber (7,8) being separated from each other, the first chamber (7) including the detonator and the second chamber including the destructive material. 7. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that the envelope (1) is a glass capsule. 8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the capsule is made of a piece (9) of tubing glass sealed at both ends (10,11) and containing a wall (4) separating the two chambers (7,8). 9. Apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the tubing glass is of the soda lime type with an outer diameter of 7,6 mm and a length of 58 mm. 10. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the filament (12) is a 0,013 mm diameter tungsten wire with a length of 0,3 mm and a resistance of 750 milliohms , and that the lead-wires (2,2') are made from a 51% nickel/49% iron alloy. 11. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the primer consists of a base component and an activating component. 12. Apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the base component consists of a mixture made from about two to about three parts by weight of phosphorus and about one part by weight of titanium, and that the activating component consists of sodium chlorate. SU 3TITUT t~ - • - 13. Apparatus according to claims2, 10 or 11, characterized in that the explosive consists of a 50/50-powder-mixture of sodium chlorate and sugar. 14. Apparatus according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the destructive material is selected from the following: a) ink with fast absorbing properties; b) expanding foam c) glue d) organic solvent e) a combination of materials listed under a) to d). 15. Apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that the fast expanding foam is polyurethane. 16. Apparatus according to claim 14 , characterized in that the glue is cyano aerylate. 17. Apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that the organic solvent is dimethylformamide or tetrahydrofuran. 18. Apparatus according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that separation between the first and the second chamber (7,8) and/or the sealing of the second chamber (8) at its end (11) is made by means of a rubber piece (4) having a shore hardness of 60 degrees. 19. Apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that onto the end (11) of the second chamber (8) with rubber piece (4) inserted an epoxy is applied. SUBSTITUTESHEET /o 20. Apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that the epoxy is of the two component type. 21. Safety container for storing valuable contents such as bank cards, credit cards, chip cards, cheques, personal documents and the like, characterized in that an apparatus in accordance with one or more of the preceding claims is integrated therein and connected to a power source together with switch means, all of them within the container, to be activated upon any abusive handling of the container. 22. Safety container according to claims 2 and 21, characterized in that the circuitry further includes a capacitor and a microprocessor integrated in the container, whereby the capacitor is loaded after the switch means is activated by the microprocessor. SUBSTITUTESHEET

Inventors: HOEBEN LOUIS J M, VAN LAER GILBERT L, HOEBEN, LOUIS, J., M., VAN LAER, GILBERT, L.
Applicants: GTE SYLVANIA NV, GTE SYLVANIA N.V.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A45C13
IPC codes: A45C13, E05G1