Abstract:
An application for a safe or strong box attaches to a larger, heavy object and provides improved security to its contents from unwanted removal. The safe or strong box has a revolving door that, when a proper code/combination/biometric is provided, rotatably opens to expose the contents. In one embodiment, the safe/strong box interfaces to, for example, a bedding system using a barbed plate that readily inserts between a box spring and a mattress, but due to the barbs, is difficult to remove without lifting the mattress from the box spring making it at least difficult to remove by, for example, children in the home. In some embodiments, sound dampening devices are provided to provide a quiet retraction of the revolving door, so as to not alert an intruder when the occupant is retrieving a weapon such as a pistol.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/652,453, filed Jan. 5, 2010, the disclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    This invention relates to the field of security and more particularly to a system, method and apparatus for securing valuables such as guns. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    It is well known in the art to provide secure storage for valuables such as jewelry, guns, currency and the like. Lock boxes, safes, gun safes, etc, are well known for such purposes. Often, these safes or lock boxes or locked cabinets have key locks, combination locks and/or biometric locks (e.g. fingerprint readers). Depending upon the security level required, such devices are sometimes made out of very heavy, thick steel, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to the contents while, due to the weight, reducing the risk of the entire device being removed. Also, or in addition, sometimes these devices are hidden and/or secured in place. For example, it is well known to screw a safe into a wall, and then hide the safe behind a painting or other ornament. 
         [0004]    In general, these devices have several features in common. They have a box-like construction, sealed on five sides; they have a door that is connected to the box-like portion by hinges and they have a locking device that prevents the door from opening without the proper access key (physical key, password, biometric match, combination, etc). 
         [0005]    Several problems exist in the prior art. Depending upon the thickness of the safe/box and door and the gap between the door and the box, it is possible to pry open some such devices by inserting a lever between the box and the door, Another problem in some installations is that there isn&#39;t enough room for a door to swing open such as when the safe is attached to a bed frame between the bed and furniture or bed and wall. In some situations, quick and ready access to the contents of the safe are required such as when an intruder alarm sounds when the occupant sleeps. In some situations, due to the size and low weight of the safe, it is desired to attach the safe to a larger, heavier object. Many of these problems are not addressed in the prior art as well as other limitations that will be obvious in the following description. 
         [0006]    What is needed is a system, method and apparatus for safely storing objects that will open in tight confinements. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    A safe or strong box is disclosed that, in some embodiments, attaches to a larger, heavy object such as a bed system, and provides improved security to its contents from unwanted removal. The safe or strong box has a revolving door that, when a proper code/combination/biometric is provided, rotatably opens to expose the contents. In some embodiments, the safe/strong box interfaces to a bedding system, for example, by a barbed plate that readily inserts between a box spring and a mattress, but due to the barbs, is difficult to remove without lifting the mattress from the box spring making it at least difficult to remove by, for example, children in the home. In some embodiments, sound dampening devices are provided to provide a quiet retraction of the revolving door, so as to not alert an intruder when the occupant is retrieving a weapon such as a pistol. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, a safe is disclosed including a body that has an opening, a door rotatably interfaced to the body by a pivot that is substantially centrally located on the door such that the door closes the opening in a first position of rotation and provides access to the safe through the opening in a second position of rotation. The safe includes a locking mechanism and an energy storage mechanism (e.g., a spring, magnets, etc.). The locking mechanism engages between the door and the body portion when the door is in the first position of rotation and force is applied and stored in the energy storing mechanism when the door is rotated into the first position of rotation (closed). Upon enabling access (e.g. key provided, combination entered, etc.) by the locking mechanism, the locking mechanism disengages with the door and the energy storing mechanism releases the stored energy causing the door to move into the second position of rotation (open). 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, a method of providing quick access to a protected weapon is disclosed including providing a safe having a body portion with an opening and a door that is rotatably interfaced to the body portion by a pivot that is approximately central to the door&#39;s rotation. The door closes the opening in a first position of rotation and the door provides access to the safe through the opening in a second position of rotation. The safe has a locking system that has a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism engages between the door and the body portion when the door is in the first position of rotation and, upon enabling access by the locking mechanism, the locking mechanism disengages between the door and the body portion, allowing the door to move into the second position of rotation, the door is substantially contained within the body portion in the second position of rotation. An energy storing mechanism is interfaced between the door and the body portion. The method includes placing a weapon within the body portion of the safe and closing and locking the door, thereby storing energy in the energy storing mechanism. Next, a key is provided to the locking system, the locking system releases the locking mechanism responsive to the key and the energy storing mechanism opens the door responsive to the locking system releasing the locking mechanism, thereby providing access to the weapon. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, a safe is disclosed including a body that is fully enclosed except for an opening and a door that is rotatably interfaced to the body by a pivot that is approximately central to the rotation of the door. The door closes the opening in a first position of rotation and the door provides access to the body of the safe through the opening when the door is in a second position of rotation. The door is substantially contained within the enclosure of the body in the second position of rotation. The safe includes a locking mechanism and an energy storing mechanism. The energy storing mechanism stores energy (e.g., a spring is loaded) when the door is moved from the second position to the first position. The locking mechanism engages between the door and the body when the door is moved to the first position of rotation thereby holding the door in the first position of rotation until the key a provided and, upon providing the key to the locking mechanism, the locking mechanism disengages the door from the body and the energy storing mechanism moves the door into the second position of rotation. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a system of a first embodiment in a closed/locked position. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the first embodiment in an open position. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a system of a first embodiment interfaced to a bed system in a closed/locked position. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of a system of a second embodiment interfaced to a detachable/adjustable bed interface system. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5A  illustrates a sectional view of all embodiments in a closed/locked position. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5B  illustrates a sectional view of all embodiments in an open position. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures. Throughout the description, the term safe is used to represent any such device such as a vault, safe, strong box, gun safe, locked cabinet, locked drawer, etc that is used to store items and reduce the possibility of loss of the items to theft, fire, etc. The possibility of loss is reduced by making the safe difficult to remove, heavy, sturdy, tamper resistant, affixed to a larger item, affixed to a structure, fire resistant, etc. 
         [0019]    Safes, vaults, strong boxes, gun safes, etc. of the prior art generally have a hinged door that swings outwardly and locks when in the closed position. Generally, the door is often almost as wide and high as the actual storage portion of the, e.g., safe. The size of the door requires sufficient space in front of the safe for the door to open wide enough as to access its contents. Furthermore, for some safe systems, the gap between the door and the body or box portion of the safe provides an opening in which a thief is able to pry open some safe doors, reducing security of the safe. In some circumstances, it is imperative to readily and quickly access a content of the safe, for example, to access a ready hand gun when an intruder is present in an individual&#39;s home. With conventional safes, once the door is opened, the contents have to be reached for within the safe body. Speed of access, ease of finding the weapon and silence are several important features helpful the survival of the individual under such exemplary circumstances. 
         [0020]    To overcome the limitations of existing technology as cited above and others, the safe  10  of  FIG. 1  has a rotating door  14  that, after entering the proper code on a combination lock  16  or presenting a known biometric parameter (e.g. fingerprint, voice print) on a biometric sensor  18 , the rotating door  14  rotates into an open position as shown in  FIG. 2 . By operating the rotating door  14 , the contents (e.g. gun  20  as in  FIG. 2 , pepper spray or other weapon) are readily and immediately accessible without undue searching (as required within a cavity of prior safes). As discussed previously, the operation of the rotating door  14  requires minimal clearance with other objects such as headboards, night stands, etc. and, in some embodiments, is noise dampened so as to not alert an intruder of its operation. Furthermore, the sides of the rotating door  14 , in some embodiments, extend into the base  12  when the rotating door  14  is closed, thereby reducing risk of a theft or access from prying open the rotating door  14 . 
         [0021]    The safe  10  has a base  12  that contains the items to be protected such as a gun  20  and an insertion place  30  as will be described later. 
         [0022]    Any known locking system is anticipated including a combination lock  16  with a grid or linear set of keys  17 , a biometric device  18  such as a finger print scanner  18  with finger print detection pad  19 , a key access (not shown), electronic security card (not shown), smart card (not shown), electronic key fob (not shown), etc. All such devices are known in the art and included here within. For example, in one embodiment, the locking system has a sensor that senses the proximity of a key fob (as used with some newer vehicles), and when the key fob is proximal (e.g. on the nightstand, near the safe  10 ), the lock is energized to open, quickly, with the operation of a simple button or latch, etc. 
         [0023]    The locking system  16 / 18  mechanically operates a locking mechanism such as one or more locking pins  8 . When locked, the rotating door  14  is in the closed position and the locking mechanism (e.g. locking pins  8 ) are extended into mating receptacles  5  of the locking end  6  of the rotating door  14 , thereby preventing access to the contents of the safe  10 . After the correct code, combination, key, biometric object, etc, is presented to the locking system  16 / 18 , the locking mechanism (e.g. locking pins  8 ) retract and permit opening of the rotating door  14 . In some embodiments, after the locking mechanism (e.g. locking pins  8 ) retracts, the user pushes on the rotating door  14  to turn it and obtain access to the contents. In a preferred embodiment, the rotating door  14  is spring loaded (see FIG.  5 / 5 A) and, upon retraction of the locking mechanism (e.g. locking pins  8 ), the loaded spring  52  (see FIG.  5 / 5 A) unloads, automatically opening the rotating door  14 . 
         [0024]    It is anticipated that the safe  10  be made of any sturdy material such as steel, heavy plastic, wood, aluminum, etc, depending upon the level of security needed. For example, some existing gun racks are made of wood with glass windows. In as such, these gun racks lock to reduce access by youngsters, but a thief with a hammer is able to easily break the glass and takes the guns. It is also anticipated that the safe  10  be made to any size as needed for the weapon, valuables, etc that are to be protected. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the safe  10  is anticipated to be just large enough to hold a hand gun  20 . Since this embodiment and others are relatively small, it is difficult to prevent removal of such a safe  10  since it is not to large nor heavy to carry by most people, including some youngsters. To make it more difficult to remove such embodiments of the safe  10 , the safe  10  is coupled to a plate  30  that has barbs  32  on one or both sides. The barbs  32  point in towards the base  12  of the safe  10  such that when inserted between two objects such as a mattress  62  and box spring  64  (see  FIG. 3 ), it is difficult to pull the plate  30  out from between the objects. This provides resistance to being removed by a person who is not capable of lifting the top object (e.g. mattress  62 ) while disengaging the barbs  32 . Performance of such a removal would be impossible for a young child and difficult for some older children and even difficult for many adults. This deters many family members from removing the safe  10  from, for example, between the mattress  62  and bed spring  64 , especially since after removal that family member would still be unable to open the rotating door  14 . It is even more difficult to remove the safe  10  that is coupled to the plate  30  when located between a bed  60  (see  FIG. 3 ) and a wall (not shown). 
         [0026]    Although the plate  30  is shown interfaced/connected to the safe  10 , it is anticipated that the plate  30  is used with any other type/style of safe/strong-box such as a safe or strong-box with a typical linear hinge opening arrangement. The plate  30  provides additional security to such devices. In such, the plate  30  is attached, screwed, glued, welded to, or is part of the safe/strong-box. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a perspective view of a system of the safe  10  interfaced to, for example, a bed system  60  in a closed/locked position is shown. It is anticipated that the safe  10  be interfaced to any suitable object such as the bed system  60  as shown, for example, a night stand, dresser, wall, etc. In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , the insertion plate  30  (not visible) has been pushed in between the mattress  62  and the box spring  64 . Once the plate  30  is inserted between the mattress  62  and the box spring  64 , it is difficult to remove by way of the barbs  32  that point towards the safe  10 . If one tries to pull the plate  30  out from between the mattress  62  and the box spring  64 , the barbs  32  dig into the mattress  62  and/or the box spring  64 , making it difficult or impossible to remove by the ordinary person. Remove is accomplished by lifting the mattress  62  and disengaging the barbs  32  from the mattress  62  and/or the box spring  64 . Most mattresses  62  are heavy and difficult for many single adults to lift, let alone hold suspended above the box spring  64  while working to disengage the barbs  32 . The plate  30 /barb  32  holding mechanism as shown is anticipated to deter most younger members of a household from removing the safe  10 , even though once they removed the safe  10  from the bed system  60 , it is difficult to gain access to the safe  10  without the key, combination, code, biometric match, etc. Of course, a seasoned thief will be able to remove the safe  10  from the bed system  60 , but most conceivable mounting mechanisms of any safe to a bed system  60  are able to be defeated by a thief having the appropriate tools. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a perspective view of a system of a second embodiment interfaced to a detachable/adjustable plate is shown. It is anticipated that the safe  10  of the present invention be used with or without the plate  30  and barbs  32 . For example, in some uses, the safe  10 , without the plate  30  and barbs  32 , is screwed into a heavy, large object such as a bed frame (not shown) a dresser (not shown), etc. 
         [0029]    Furthermore, because some mattresses  62  (see  FIG. 3 ) are thicker than other mattresses  62  and it is desired to have the safe  10  open with ready access to the handle of the gun  20  or other weapon, for thicker mattresses  62 , the safe  10  is desired to be higher with respect to the bottom of the mattress  62 . To this means, the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  includes a plate  30  with barbs  32  on one side or both sides of the plate  30 . The plate  30  has mounting brackets  40  on one or both sides for affixing the plate  30  to the safe  10  in any way known in the industry such as using screws  38  that pass through the brackets  40 , through walls of the safe  10  and are bolted from within the safe  10 , preferably with tamper resistant screws/bolts (e.g., locked with a cotter pin or the like). In this way, the safe  10  is capable of being positioned higher with respect to the plate  30  by using only the top two holes in the brackets  40  and the lower two holes in the wall of the safe  10 , etc. It is anticipated that any number of holes, slots, screws, fasteners etc are used for various mounting configurations. Furthermore, other mechanisms are known in the industry for mounting objects to each other, all of which are included here within. 
         [0030]    In some embodiments, the safe  10  is affixed to the plate  30  and is removable from the plate  30  or other device after the door  14  is opened or by an external lock, for example, a pad lock. In such, the safe  10  is secured to an object such as the bed system  60  and, when traveling, is removed from the object or plate  30  and taken by the owner, for example, into a vehicle. In such, it is anticipated that the safe  10  be carried in the vehicle and optionally, mounted/locked to the vehicle for added theft deterrence. 
         [0031]    Referring to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a sectional view of all embodiments in a closed/locked position ( FIG. 5A ) and in an open position ( FIG. 5B ) are shown. In this view it is shown how the rotating door  14  rotates into the open position providing access to the contents of the safe  10 , in this example, providing access to the handle end of a gun  20 . 
         [0032]    In  FIG. 5A , the safe  10  is in the closed position and access to the gun  20  is denied. In  FIG. 5B , an authorized user  55  has, for example, pressed the correct sequence of buttons  17  on the combination lock  16  and the door  14  has automatically rotated to the open position. 
         [0033]    In a preferred embodiment, the gun  20  or other weapon is supported in a form fitted material  22  such as foam rubber, Styrofoam, etc. In this way, the gun  20  or other weapon is held in a ready-to-use position for fast access during an emergency such as a home intrusion. This position provides additional safety from inadvertent firing of some weapons being that the gun  20  faces down when the, possibly frantic, owner reaches for the gun  20 . 
         [0034]    In some embodiments, replaceable/interchangeable form fitted material  22  is provided with different opening formations to hold different sizes of guns  20  or other weapons. For example, in one embodiment, the form fitted material  22  has a cylindrical cavity sized to hold a can of pepper spray (not shown) while in other embodiments, the form fitted material  22  is cut to the shape of the gun  20  or other weapon and/or has sections that are easily removed to increase the size of the form opening, thereby holding larger guns  20  or other weapons. 
         [0035]    In a preferred embodiment, the rotating door  14  is supported by a bearing  50  and the bearing is affixed to a surface of the side walls  13  of the base  12 . Many arrangements of axles, partial axles, side stubs, etc. are known, all of which are included here within. In other embodiments, the rotating door  14  is rotatably interfaced to the base  12  in any of many known ways including various types of bearings and rotating interfaces. Still in other embodiments, the rotating door  14  is supported by (held within) a sleeve (not shown) on one side or both sides of the rotating door  14  within the base  12 . 
         [0036]    In some embodiments, the rotating door  14  is spring loaded by, for example, a coil spring  52 . In this example, one end of the coil spring  52  is interfaced to the base  12  and the other end of the coil spring  52  is interfaced to the rotating door  14  so that when the rotating door  14  is closed (locked) as in  FIG. 5A , the coil spring  52  is tensioned and when the rotating door  14  is later released (unlocked), the coil spring  52  uncoils and pushes the rotating door  14  to the open position as in  FIG. 5B . 
         [0037]    Because the safe  10  is often used in a situation where it is important that little or no audible noise is made during access, in some embodiments, dampers  54  softly stop the rotation of the rotating door  14 . The dampers  54  are designed to slowly stop the rotating door  14  when it approaches the full open position. In some embodiments, the dampers  54  are soft; cushion material such as rubber, resilient foam, etc. In some embodiments, the dampers  54  include springs or spring assemblies. In some embodiments, the dampers  54  are combinations of resilient material, springs or any other known damping mechanism. 
         [0038]    Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially the same way for achieving substantially the same result. 
         [0039]    It is believed that the system and method of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.