Locks – Special application – For portable articles
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-06
2001-10-09
Barrett, Suzanne Dino (Department: 3627)
Locks
Special application
For portable articles
C070S019000, C248S551000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298695
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a security apparatus for the protection of equipment against theft and tampering. More specifically, the invention aims at providing a simple, aesthetical, adjustable, reliable and economical solution to the increasing problem of electronic equipment theft and/or tampering. The invention particularly addresses the even more actual problem of computer mutilation, that is theft of specific parts thereof, such as disk drives, expansion boards etc. from inside the equipment, leaving the most cumbersome pieces of hardware on the site.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Solutions to this kind of problem have been proposed in the past but these prior art solutions all suffer from major drawbacks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,451 (Glynn) issued on Aug. 26, 1997 discloses a type of solution providing a closed while vented housing, fastened to the work surface, in which the equipment is nested leaving access to the front panel only. Although it is true that such a solution generally provides an efficient remedy against tampering, its main drawback is its very low level of flexibility to match the different sizes and shapes of equipment on the market.
A certain level of adaptability to size and shape is provided by the type of solution disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,079 granted to Monoson et al., on Dec. 31, 1991 which squeezes the equipment between a pair of jaws, one of which can be moved to provide an adjustable width, while the other is removably assembled to the fastened base plate using a locking mechanism. That proposed solution however allows unlimited access to the inside of the equipment from the rear or front panel.
Other solutions such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,449 (Woo et al.) issued on Sep. 29, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,395 granted to Frater et al., on Feb. 4, 1992 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,197 granted to Kelley et al., on Aug. 4, 1992 provide a reasonable protection against theft and tampering since the equipment lies on a fastened base having fixed members limiting its movement in two axis and one or two U-shaped arms assembled to the base and retraining the movement of the equipment in the third axis. Those solutions still provide a very minimal restriction regarding the access to the rear panel and to the inside components of the equipment. Furthermore, they include no adjustment capability to receive equipments of various sizes and shapes.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the limitations and drawbacks of the above mentioned solutions of the prior art, and more specifically:
a first object of the instant invention is to provide restriction of the equipment displacement along three axes with respect to the base;
a second object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which prevents the integral theft of a protected equipment when the base is attached to a fixed element, for example through fastening to a work surface;
a third object of the present invention is to prevent access to the inside components of the equipment from any face thereof, while maintaining access to the functional elements of the front, rear and side panels;
a fourth object of the present invention is to provide a safety apparatus that is easily customer adaptable to a wide range of equipment sizes and shapes;
another object of the present invention is to provide easy access to size adjustment members and work surface fastening means when the equipment is not in place, while efficiently preventing access to said members when the equipment is placed in the apparatus;
a sixth object of the present invention is to provide a safety apparatus that permits to simultaneously lock and protect a video monitor placed on top of the equipment; and
a further object of the present invention is to provide a safety apparatus that comprises a minimum number of parts, is aesthetical and economical to produce.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the present invention as broadly claimed, there is provided a security apparatus for preventing theft and/or tampering of an equipment or a part of the equipment, comprising a base member having a peripheral portion, an equipment-restraining assembly and a locking member. The equipment-restraining assembly comprises: first spaced apart portions for securing the equipment-restraining assembly to corresponding spaced apart points of the peripheral portion of the base member; second, third and fourth portions for extending along first, second and third generally vertical faces of the equipment, respectively, the second face being substantially opposite to the third face; and a fifth portion for extending along a fourth top face of the equipment. The locking member extends along a fifth generally vertical face of the equipment generally opposite to the first face, the locking member comprising a lock mechanism for removably locking the locking member to the base member.
Therefore, the equipment is confined within a space delimited by the base member, the second, third, fourth and fifth portions, and the locking member to thereby prevent theft and tampering of the equipment.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a security apparatus for preventing theft and/or tampering of an equipment or a part of the equipment, comprising:
(a) a base member having a peripheral portion;
(b) first and second elongated bent members each including:
a first end section for securing the elongated bent member to a first point of the peripheral portion;
a second end section for securing the elongated bent member to a second point of the peripheral portion spaced apart from the first point;
a third section for extending along a rear face of the equipment;
a fourth section for extending along a top face of the equipment; and
the first and second elongated bent members further comprising respective fifth sections for extending along two opposite side faces of the equipment, respectively; and
(c) at least one movement-restraining member for extending along a front face of the equipment, this movement-restraining member comprising a lock mechanism for removably locking the movement-restraining member to the base member.
In this manner, the equipment is confined within a space delimited by the base member, the first and second elongated bent members, and the at least one movement-restraining member to thereby prevent theft and tampering of the equipment.
In accordance with preferred embodiments:
the security apparatus further comprises fasteners for securing the first and second end sections of each elongated bent member to the first and second points of the peripheral portion, these securing fasteners being inaccessible when the equipment is confined within the above-mentioned space;
the security apparatus comprises a mechanical position-adjusting system interposed between the base member and the first and second end sections of each elongated bent member for adjusting the position of the first and second elongated members along three orthogonal axes, for thereby adapting the dimensions of the security apparatus to equipments of different sizes and shapes;
the base member comprises means for firmly attaching the base member to a vertical or horizontal supporting surface, or any other non transportable structure;
the security apparatus further comprises a drawer structure sliding on the base member between extended and retracted positions, wherein:
the drawer structure comprises a top face on which the equipment is placed, and a front face on which the locking member, including the lock mechanism are mounted;
in the retracted position of the drawer structure, the locking member extends along the fifth generally vertical face of the equipment;
the peripheral portion of the base member comprises a lock-receiving structure for receiving the lock mechanism in order to removably lock both the drawer structure and the locking member to the base member in order to confine the equipment within the space delimited by the
Buissière Eric
Lafleur Andre
Patenaude Pierre
Vézina Donald
Barrett Suzanne Dino
Dubuc
Gage Goudreau
Vezina Donald
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