Method for securely transporting value documents and objects and a box for carrying out said method

Abstract

A method for securely transporting value documents and objects from a departure site to a destination site, such as, banknotes, checks or bankcards locked in a container which causes the degradation thereof by appropriate elements in case of breaking or attempted of breaking. The method makes it possible to send the value documents or objects from a sender to a consignee via at least one security guard. The value documents and objects before being taken over by the security guard are disposed by the sender inside of one or several boxes including first security elements for disclosing any breaking or attempt of breaking by a person other than the sender or the consignee by self-destruction or self-deterioration of the boxes, afterwards the boxes are positioned in the container for transferring it to the consignee by the security guard.

1 . A method for the secure transportation, from a departure site to a destination site, of documents or objects of value ( 2 ), in particular of payment resources, banknotes, cheques or bankcards, enclosed in a container ( 4 ) which, in the event of break-in or attempted break-in, causes them to be damaged by appropriate resources, the said method being capable of carrying the said documents or objects of value ( 2 ) between a sender ( 10 ) and a recipient ( 30 ) by means of at least one carrier company ( 20 ), characterised in that, before their acceptance by the carrier company ( 20 ), the documents or objects of value ( 2 ) are placed, by the sender ( 10 ), into one or more chests ( 3 ) that include first securing resources ( 9 ,  9 ′,  9 ″) that are capable, by destroying or damaging themselves, of revealing any break-in or attempted break-in to the said chests ( 3 ) by a person other than the sender ( 10 ) or the recipient ( 30 ), with the said chests ( 3 ) then being placed into the container ( 4 ) which is thereafter transferred to the premises of the recipient by the carrier company ( 20 ). 
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the first securing resources ( 9 ,  9 ′,  9 ″) constitute closure resources for the chest or chests ( 3 ). 
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 2 , characterised in that the first securing resources ( 9 ,  9 ′,  9 ″) include frangible pins that lock a lid ( 7 ) to the remainder of a chest ( 6 ). 
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 1 , characterised in that, in order to allow opening of the said chests ( 3 ) without destroying or damaging the first securing resources ( 9 ,  9 ′,  9 ″), use is made of a special opening device that is held only by the recipient ( 30 ) and/or only by the sender ( 10 ). 
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 4 , characterised in that the opening device is a key to fit a lock placed on the periphery of the chests or chests ( 3 ). 
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 4 , characterised in that the opening device is a numerical or alphanumerical code that is entered by means of a keypad included on or connected to the chest or chests ( 3 ). 
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 1 , characterised in that, in the event of a break-in or of an attempted break-in, second securing resources incorporated into the container ( 4 ) cause the destruction and/or the marking of the documents or objects of value ( 2 ) contained in the chest or chests ( 3 ), in order to render the said documents or objects of value ( 2 ) unusable or legally unidentifiable. 
   
   
       8 . A method according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the second securing resources are composed of a pyrotechnic chain incorporated into the lid of the container ( 4 ), the said chain being composed of a detonator, triggered by a detection resource during the break-in or the attempted break-in to the said container ( 4 ), and a charge and ignition device. 
   
   
       9 . A method according to  claim 8 , characterised in that, during the break-in or attempted break-in to the container ( 4 ), a reservoir built into the lid of the container ( 4 ) and containing a chemical substance in the form of a non-inflammable and non-explosive liquid, is capable of being pierced under the action of the second securing resources, with the liquid contained in the said reservoir then running into the chests ( 3 ), thus rendering unusable the documents or objects of value ( 2 ) contained in the said chests ( 3 ). 
   
   
       10 . A chest ( 3 ) that is designed to contain documents or objects of value ( 2 ), in particular payment resources, banknotes, cheques or bankcards, usable in particular in a method for the secure transportation of documents or objects of value ( 2 ) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that it includes:
 a body ( 6 ), preferably of parallelepiped form, with an opening that allows the insertion of the documents or objects of value ( 2 ) into the chest ( 3 ),   a lid ( 7 ) that is hinged on one of the edges forming the opening of the body ( 6 ), and capable of closing off the said opening, the said lid ( 7 ) being formed at least partially from a panel ( 8 ) that is burnable, tearable, permeable and/or vanishing,   additional closure resources ( 9 ,  9 ′,  9 ″) placed respectively on the lid ( 7 ) and on one of the edges forming the opening in the body ( 6 ), the said closure resources ( 9 ,  9 ′,  9 ″) being capable of destroying or damaging themselves in the event of a break-in or of an attempted break-in to the chest ( 3 ).   
   
   
       11 . A chest ( 3 ) according to  claim 10 , characterised in that the closure resources ( 9 ″) are formed of frangible pins. 
   
   
       12 . A chest ( 3 ) according to  claim 11 , characterised in that each frangible pin ( 9 ″) bears a marking that allows it to be distinguished from others.