Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CASHBOX SECURITY AND
MONITORING
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for
cashbox security.
More particularly, the present invention relates to tracking and monitoring
cashboxes that are
removably located in transit vehicles.
Background of the Invention
[0002] Cashboxes are used on transit vehicles to collect fares from riders
paying using cash.
Cashboxes must be removed from vehicles and deposited, for example in vaults.
The safety,
monitoring and resetting (to indicate the cash has been removed from the
cashbox such that it now
contains no cash) of such cashboxes is thus important.
[0003] Existing approaches to cashbox safety and security may involve
mechanical keys for
removing the cashbox, mechanical restraints to tether cashboxes, probes that
people handling the
cashboxes ("Handlers") may keep that store information about the cashbox and
allow removal of
the cashbox, depositing, resetting, and the like.
[0004] Such systems, however, do not provide adequate flexibility,
automation, redundancy,
and advanced notice of rogue actions.
100051 There thus remains a need for systems and methods to safely and
securely remove
cashboxes from transit vehicles and monitor them effectively until their
contents are deposited in
vaults.
Summary of the Invention
[0006] There is a for secure cashbox removal from a transit vehicle and
emptying in a vault at a
transit site, the system comprising: a cashbox, removably attached to a
transit vehicle driven by a
transit operator, that receives cash from one or more riders during operation
of the transit vehicle
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and can be removed from the transit vehicle and taken to a vault to deposit
the cash located in the
cash box, the cashbox comprising a cash box tag configured to: broadcast a
cashbox tag present
signal; one or more secure zones inside the transit site, created and defined
by one or more cashbox
signal transceivers, the one or more cashbox signal transceivers defining the
secure zones
configured to: receive a cashbox tag present signal if the cashbox is within
communicable range of
the secure zone; and communicate one or more secure zone signals, representing
the presence of the
cashbox in the secure zone, to the monitoring system if the cashbox tag
present signal is received;
one or more alarm zones inside the transit site, created and defined by one or
more cashbox signal
transceivers, the one or more cashbox signal transceivers defining the alarm
zones configured to:
obtain a cashbox tag present signal if the cashbox is within communicable
range of the alarm zone;
and provide one or more alarm zone signals, representing the presence of the
cashbox in the alarm
zone, to the monitoring system if the cashbox tag present signal is obtained;
a monitoring system for
a transit site, the monitoring system configured to: accept the one or more
alarm zone signals and
the one or more secure zone signals; determine, using the one or more alarm
zone signals and the
one or more secure zone signals, whether any cashbox rules have been violated;
and trigger a
cashbox alarm if any cashbox rules have been violated; and a vault, located at
the site, for
accepting a deposit of the cash from the cashbox.
[0007] The cashbox rules may comprise cashbox tracking rules and cashbox
monitoring rules
and the cashbox alarms comprise cashbox tracking alarms and cashbox monitoring
alarms.
[0008] The secure zone signal may include a cashbox signal transceiver
identifier and a
timestamp of when the cashbox tag present signal was received by the cashbox
signal transceiver.
[0009] The first secure zone may be a secure pathway and the monitoring
system may receive a
first set of secure zone signals from the cashbox signal transceivers in the
secure pathway as the
cashbox is moved towards the vault, and may determine whether any cashbox
tracking rules have
been violated based on the cashbox signal transceiver identifiers and
timestamps of the first set of
secure zone signals.
[0010] The cashbox tag may further comprise a cash present flag that
indicates whether there is
cash in the cashbox.
2
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[0011] The cash present flag may set to true when cash is received by the
cashbox and set to
false when a deposit from the cashbox is received by the vault.
[0012] The cashbox alarms are deactivated when the cash present flag is set
to false.
[0013] The cashbox may be removable when one or more cashbox removal
conditions are met.
100141 The one or more cashbox removal conditions may comprise: the
presence of one or
more mechanical keys or one or more electronic keys; the presence of an
authorized handler, the
cashbox tag does not receive any alarm zone present signal; and the cashbox
tag receives at least
one secure zone present signal.
[0015] The monitoring system may further be configured to: receive the one
or more handler
signals; determine, using the one or more handler signals, the one or more
alarm zone signals, and
the one or more secure zone signals, whether any handler rules have been
violated; and trigger a
handler alarm if any handler rules have been violated.
[0016] There is further a method for securely removing a cashbox from a
transit vehicle and
emptying in a vault at a transit site, the method comprising: removing the
cashbox from the transit
vehicle; broadcasting a cashbox tag present signal; receiving a cashbox tag
present signal if the
cashbox is within communicable range of a secure zone; and communicating one
or more secure
zone signals, representing the presence of the cashbox in the secure zone, to
a monitoring system if
the cashbox tag present signal is received; obtaining a cashbox tag present
signal if the cashbox is
within communicable range of an alarm zone; providing one or more alarm zone
signals,
representing the presence of the cashbox in the alarm zone, to the monitoring
system if the cashbox
tag present signal is obtained; accepting the one or more alarm zone signals
and the one or more
secure zone signals; determining, using the one or more alarm zone signals and
the one or more
secure zone signals, whether any cashbox rules have been violated; and
triggering a cashbox alarm
if any cashbox rules have been violated.
[0017] The cashbox rules may comprise cashbox tracking rules and cashbox
monitoring rules
and the cashbox alarms comprise cashbox tracking alarms and cashbox monitoring
alarms.
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[0018] The secure zone signal may include a cashbox signal transceiver
identifier of a cashbox
signal transceiver that received the cashbox tag present signal and a
timestamp of when the cashbox
tag present signal was received by the cashbox signal transceiver.
[0019] The secure zone may be a secure pathway and the one or more secure
zone signals may
comprise a first set of secure zone signals from the cashbox signal
transceivers in the secure
pathway as the cashbox is moved towards the vault.
[0020] The method may further comprise setting a cash present flag to true
when cash is
received by the cashbox and to false when a deposit from the cashbox is
received by the vault.
[0021] The method may further comprise deactivating the cashbox alarms when
the cash
present flag is set to false.
[0022] The removing may further comprise checking that one or more cashbox
removal
conditions are met. The one or more cashbox removal conditions may comprise:
the presence of
one or more mechanical keys or one or more electronic keys; the presence of an
authorized
handler; the cashbox tag does not receive any alarm zone present signal; and
the cashbox tag
receives at least one secure zone present signal.
[0023] The method may further comprise: getting one or more handler
signals; deciding, using
the one or more handler signals, the one or more alarm zone signals, and the
one or more secure
zone signals, whether any handler rules have been violated; and raising a
handler alarm if any
handler rules have been violated.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0024] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with
reference to the
attached Figures, wherein:
Figures 1 a and lb show high-level architectures of systems for secure cashbox
tracking according to
an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 shows a number of components of aspects of a system for secure
cashbox tracking
according to an embodiment of the invention;
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Figure 3 shows a method for operating a secure cashbox, while a transit
vehicle is operating a run,
according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 shows a method for operating a secure cashbox, when emptying a
cashbox into a vault,
according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 5 shows a method for removing a cashbox from a transit vehicle
according to an
embodiment of the invention; and
Figure 6 shows a method for implementing cashbox alarms for monitoring and/or
emptying a
cashbox into a vault according to an embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description of the Embodiments
100251 Figure la shows a high-level architecture of a system for vehicle
locating and
sequencing according to an embodiment of the invention comprising system 10
further comprising
one or more vehicles (moveable assets) 30, each further comprising mobile data
terminal (MDT) 40,
tag 32, and farebox 34 comprising cashbox 36, site 12 (having an entrance 26
and an exit 28),
further comprising bay 14, one or more driving lanes 16, one or more parking
spots 18, one or more
secure paths 20 (which may be a particular type of secure zone 22), one or
more secure zones 22,
one or more reference tags 38a or gateways 38b, gateways 46, and monitoring
system 44, asset 30
further comprising asset tag 32, boundary/parking zone 48, and communication
network 42.
[00261 System 10 uses one or more gateways 38b and reference tags 38a to
implement various
alarms and tracking rules to allow cashbox 36 to be removed from farebox 34 on
vehicle 30 and
emptied at vault 22 without being stolen. Gateways 38b and reference tags 38a
(each a cashbox
signal transceiver or CST) may communicate via RFID with tag 32 that may be
part of cashbox 36
to carry out the implementation of cashbox alarms. RFID communication between
tag 32, gateways
38b and reference tags 38a may eventually reach a gateway 38b and may be
communicated to
monitoring system 44, such as via communication network 42. Thus monitoring
system 44 may
implement the logic of the various cashbox alarms, as described herein ¨
though it is to be
understood that such logic, or portions thereof, may be implemented by
gateways 38b, MDTs 40, or
even tags 32 if need be (for example alarm zones may be configured to provide
alerts, such as
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audible alarms, independent of any communication beyond the CST that has
identified the cashbox
alarm triggering or non-adherence.
[0027] Vehicles may enter site 12 via entrance 26 on driving lane 16 and
may be destined for
one or more of bay 14 or parking spots 18 before being sent back out to
perform more work, exiting
site 12 via exit 28. Upon entry tag 32 may be registered by a CST so that tag
32 may be triggered to
be monitored (though other cashbox monitoring triggers are possible, such as
when cashbox 36 is
removed from farebox 34). Cashbox 36 may only be removable from farebox 34 if
certain cashbox
removal conditions are met, as described herein, such as one or more of via a
mechanical key, when
tag 32 is within one or more secure zones, or the presence of a Handler is
detected (such as via a
CST on the Handler's person, such as on their mobile phone, badge or MDT 34).
Once removed
from farebox 34 cashbox 36 may need to i) adhere to one or more cashbox
tracking rules to avoid
triggering one or more cashbox tracking alarms, ii) adhere to one or more
cashbox location rules to
avoid triggering one or more cashbox location alarms (such cashbox tracking
alarms and cashbox
monitoring alarms being referred to herein as cashbox alarms), and handler may
need to adhere to
one or more handler rules to avoid triggering one or more handler alarms (such
as handler may not
leave site until cashbox 36 is fully processed and the cash present flag is
reset, handler must always
be in communicable range of cashbox tag 32, and the like) as described herein.
Such cashbox
alarms may be initiated or activated whenever cashbox 36 is being monitored or
whenever it is
removed from farebox 34 or vehicle 30, possibly in conjunction with system 10
knowing that
cashbox 36 is not empty (ie it contains cash, such as via a cash present flag
being set to true on tag
32, monitoring system 44 or MDT 40). When cashbox 36 is removed from farebox
34 or otherwise
prepared to be emptied, it may be taken to a vault for emptying or other
processing may occur.
During such time it must not set off cashbox alarms; if it (or its handler
more accurately) does it
may be given time to take corrective action, as described herein, such that
the required processing
(emptying in vault 22, fixing farebox 34 in bay 14, etc) may be performed.
100281 At a high level, and as further described herein, cashbox 36 may not
set off or trigger
cashbox alarms if it is located within at least one secure zone 22, is moving
through any secure
zones that are secure paths (such as secure zone 22c) appropriately, not in
any alarm zones 24, and
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following farebox removal rules, cashbox removal rules, handler rules, and
cashbox processing
rules. Secure zones and alarm zones may be configured (both their number,
location and size) in
each implementation of system 10. Exemplary secure zones may include: a
portion of bay 14,
parking spots 18, wash bays, maintenance areas and fueling areas (not shown)
and secure pathways
to vault (such as secure zone 22c demarcated by dashed lines in Figure la).
Exemplary alarm zones
may include: areas near entrances and exits of site 10 (being either vehicle
30 entrances or exits or
other entrances and exits), driver change rooms or lunchrooms, areas where
cash might fall and be
lost, etc.
[0029] Cashbox alarms may be deactivated upon one or more deactivation
triggers, such as
reattaching to farebox 34, emptying its cash at vault 22, and the like.
Different cashbox alarms may
then be activated for its return to farebox 34 or vehicle 30 returning to
perform another run and
exiting site 12 via exit 28.
[0030] Site 12 may be any location where transit vehicles stop to empty
cashboxes 36.
Examples may include bus depots, banks, vehicle storage sites, shipping
container storage areas
(including on ships or on land), and the like. Site 12 may comprise outdoor
areas and/or indoor
areas in which moveable assets may be placed or kept. In a transit
application, for example and as
shown in Fig. 1, site 12 may be or include a transit bay 14 where assets 30,
potentially transit
vehicles, go for maintenance and storage when they are not being used, driving
lanes 16, parking
lanes 18 (which may be in bay 14, site 12 and may be areas as opposed to
spots).
[0031] Moveable assets 30 (or simply 'assets' or vehicles) may be vehicles
(such as buses,
trains, streetcars or fleet vehicles) or other moveable assets. Assets 30 may
enter site 12 via
entrance 26 and may then be parked in a parking spot 18 or in bay 14 until
they exit via exit 28 to
perform another run.
[0032] Vehicle 30 may comprise mobile data terminal (MDT) 34 thereon or
therein, though
possibly being removable therefrom. MDT 40 may be computing devices that may
take user input
(such as keystrokes, clicks, touch inputs, and the like) and provides the user
interface to
functionality relating to, for example, the provision of transit services,
driver or vehicle evaluation,
and acceleration monitoring, and interacting with monitoring system 44 and the
software located
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thereon. MDT 40 may have software running thereon to accept inputs as
described herein, provide
outputs as described herein, and communicate with other elements of system 10
as described herein.
MDT 40 may have features of many tablets, smartphones, rugged PCs, and the
like, such as one or
more screens, memory, processors, cameras, communication modules (Bluetooth,
RFID, cellular.
WiFi, NFC, etc), and user inputs (touchscreens, buttons, etc). Vehicle 30 may
comprise other
components and systems (not shown) including, but not limited to, electrical,
mechanical and
computer systems and sensors, various of such systems requiring or being
capable of monitoring.
100331 MDT 34 may be able to communicate with other elements of system 10
to implement
aspects of the invention described herein (such as farebox 34, cashbox 36,
tags 32, RTs 38a,
gateways 38b, monitoring system 44 and the like), for example by communication
network 42, or
directly such as may be the case with other systems of vehicle 30. One
exemplary MDT 32 may be
Ranger 4TM, made by Trapeze SoftwareTM.
100341 Vehicle 30 may further comprise one or more RFID asset tag 32
(referred to herein
interchangeably as "tag 32", "asset tag 32" or "AT 32"), including one or more
tags 32a located
in/on cashbox 36. Tag 32 may communicate via RFID (or similar communication
that allows local
communication, including in various frequency bands as required) with other
assets 30, RTs 38a,
gateways 38b, and monitoring system 44 (that may have or be RT 38a).
100351 Tags 32, or cashbox tag 32, may be located thereon or therein, and
may be removably
attached. Tags 32 may operate in one or more "states" that govern their
functioning. Tags 32 may
transmit or broadcast a beacon signal (a cashbox tag present signal) for a
particular duration
(transmission duration) every few seconds (or other transmission interval) and
may listen for other
signals (such as alarm zone present signal, that may cause local processing on
the tag 32 such as
enabling a lockout for opening cashbox 32 or removing cashbox 32, or a secure
zone present signal)
for a particular duration (reception duration) every few seconds (reception
interval). The location of
asset tag 32 on asset 30 may be used to optimize communication ranges, reduce
power
consumption, and increase the ease of locating and sequencing (for example,
placing tag 32 at the
front of asset 30 may be more helpful than placing it somewhere between the
front and back; and
placing tags 32 at the same general location on each asset may also be
assistive). Each asset 30 may
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have one or more tag 32 (such as the front of asset 30 and at the back of
asset 30, on farebox 34 and
cashbox 36).
[0036] Cashbox tag 32 on a farebox 34 may be able to retrieve and/or
determine information
relevant to asset 30 (status information), for example its cash holdings (via
a cash present flag for
example), location or information from other components (not shown) of assets
30, site 12, or
gateways 38, for example from one or more sensors, and transmit that
information to other assets
30, gateways 38, CSTs, or monitoring system 44 when they are within
communicable range,
allowing asset 30 to communicate with system 10 (for example providing status
information to
monitoring system 44) to provide the functionality described herein. ATs 32
(and RTs 38) may
comprise a processor, memory or storage, and other features typical of RFID
tags and gateways,
that may allow accomplishing of functionality described herein.
[0037] Parking spots 18 may substantially be any parking spot in site 12.
Parking spots 18 may
be pre-determined or ad-hoc (for example just being where asset 30 stops), may
be part of a parking
lane 24 or separate, may be in a bay 14 or anywhere else in site 12. Each
parking spot 18 may be
uniquely identified or identifiable in monitoring system 44.
[0038] Driving lanes 16 may allow assets 30 to be driven through site 12 in
order to arrive at a
parking spot 20 or exit 28. Driving lanes 16 may have one or more
configurations that may be set
up, for example, in monitoring system 44.
[0039] Reference tag 38 (referred to herein interchangeably as "reference
tag 38" or "RT 38")
communicates via RFID with other gateways 46 and tags 32. RTs 38 may be
similar to ATs 32 but
may have permanent power sources and be located in a fixed position in site
12. RT 38 may initiate
communication or tag 32 may initiate communication. RTs 38 may be placed
throughout site 12 so
that they can communicate information with assets 30, and provide/gather
information assisting in
the processes described herein.
[0040] Gateways 46 may be similar to RTs 38 and further able to bridge the
communication
between RTs 38 and tags 32 into other networks (such as communication network
42) ¨ essentially
acting as a gateway between two modes of communication that otherwise may not
inter-
communicate.
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[00411 All CSTs (as defined herein) may have identifiers that may be unique
to them. Such
identifiers may be communicated in various signals and for various purposes,
as described herein.
100421 Secure zones 22 may be an area within which cashbox 36 may be
allowed to be
removed from farebox 34. This area may be defined geographically though
practically it may be
defined by the communicable ranges of the various CSTs (RTs/gateways 38a13 8b)
that create secure
zone 22. Once cashbox 36 is within a secure zone 22 it must remain within
communicable range of
at least one of the secure zone's CSTs for cashbox to be considered in the
secure zone. Secure
zones may include vaults, pathways, rooms within site 12 (such as a supervisor
room), maintenance
areas, wash areas, etc. Each CST in a secure zone 22 (or in an alarm zone 24)
may receive a
cashbox present signal and forward the cashbox present signal, optionally with
a timestamp of
when such cashbox present signal was received by the particular CST from
cashbox 36 (as a secure
zone signal or alarm zone signal as applicable) and transmit a CST present
signal that may include a
CST identifier and may be an alarm zone present signal or a secure zone
present signal depending
on what zone or area the CST is to define or demark (such signals may be
received by cashbox tag
32 and acted upon locally, for example by enabling a mechanical lock if an
alarm zone signal
present signal is received by cashbox tag 32).
[0043] Alarm zones 24 may be an area within which cashbox 36 may not be
allowed to be
removed from farebox 34. This area may be defined geographically though
practically it may be
defined by the communicable ranges of the various CSTs (RTs/gateways 38a/38b)
that create alarm
zone 24. Once cashbox 36 is within an alarm zone 24 if it remains within
communicable range of at
least one of the alarm zone's CSTs it remains in the alarm zone. It is to be
understood that any
elements of system 10 that are called "tags" (such as tag 32, RT 38, and the
like) may be tags in the
sense that they may generally be able to receive and transmit via RFID. Of
course all such elements
may simply be readers. Hence tags (such as RT 38 and AT 32) may generically be
referred to as
nodes, where nodes may be either tags or readers. Also, all of such elements
may comprise
components as known to those of skill in the art of RFID systems.
[0044] Monitoring system 44 may be a component of system 10 that provides
functionality
described herein, using information obtained from various components in system
10. Monitoring
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system 44 may compile information from one or more gateways 38b, RTs 38a, or
assets 30, via
communication network 42 or RFID, with other information, for use in providing
functionality of
system 10 and monitoring system 44. Monitoring system 44 may be implemented
via one or more
pieces of software and may be operated by one or more users. Though it is
shown in the figure as
one computer, it can be composed of one or more computing and data storage
devices and its
functionality can be split up across these devices as appropriate. Of course
monitoring system 44
may provide functionality not related to monitoring and tracking of cashbox
deposits. Monitoring
system 44 is shown as within site 10, but may be located anywhere, including
remote from site 10
(though possibly still accessible from within site 10). Monitoring system 44
may comprise
components as described herein, and may include storage (for example to store
data communicated
with and between RTs 38 and ATs32).
[00451 Communication network 42 may enable communication of information
between various
components of system 10 including, but not limited to, RT 38 and monitoring
system 44.
Communication network 42 allows for a plurality of signals or information to
be sent through its
network simultaneously. Communication network 42 may be any public or private
network, wired
or wireless, and may be substantially comprised of one or more networks that
may be able to
communicate with each other. Communication network 42 may use a variety of
mediums, such as
cellular and WiFi networks. Communication networks 42 may not be required, for
example, if
components of system 10, such as RT 38 and monitoring system 44 are able to
communicate
directly, such as via RFID communications.
[0046] Components that communicate wirelessly in system 10, for example tag
32a, RT 38a
and gateway 38b, have both a transmission range and a reception range. The
transmission range
denotes the distance which a component can transmit a signal to any other
components within
system 100, while the reception range of a component denotes the distance
within which the
component can hear signals. Components of system 10 are said to be in
communicable range of
each other when the reception range of a first component overlaps with the
transmission range of a
second, or the transmission range of the first component overlaps with the
reception range of the
second. When this is not true, the components are said to be out of
communicable range of each
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other. If the reception ranges of both components overlap with the other
component's transmission
range, the components are said to be in hi-directional communicable range.
Generally, the further
two components are from each other, the weaker the signals exchanged may be ¨
allowing gateways
38 and tags 32 to estimate the distance from, and importance, of signals being
received. Each of RT
38 and AT 32 can configure their settings and components to adjust the
strength of receiving and
transmitting abilities, as required by the particular implementation. As such
cashbox 36 may be
within communicable range of particular tags 32, RTs 38a and gateways 38b at
particular times as it
continues to vault 22 and when it moves out of such range (for example if it
does not enter within
range of the next required zone demarker) then an alarm may be triggered, as
described herein.
[0047] In one embodiment, as shown in Fig la, RTs 38 may be used to create
secure zone 22a
in bay 14 (such that maintenance may be performed, for example0, to create a
secure zone 22b
around parking spots 18 (such that cashboxes 36 may be moved between parked
vehicles and
removed and carried out of parking spots 18), to create secure zone 22c (such
as a secure pathway,
such that a handler can walk cashbox 36 to vault 22), to create alarm zones 24
around exit 28 and
entrance 26, and to create checkpoints at exit 28 and entrance 26.
100481 In a further embodiment, as shown in Figure lb, various prohibited
or alarm zones 28
may be created (as shown via the triangles) using various CSTs and geographic
features of the area
or site 12, various secure zones may be created (such as fare vault zone,
which may be akin to vault
22, and fare collection zone 22d which may be a location that has parking
spots 18 for vehicle 30 to
pull into for depositing cash, and maintenance or bay 14). Various CSTs may be
used to create the
triangular areas in Figure lb (and it is to be understood that various shapes
are possible, not just
triangles, based on the geography and configuration of such CSTs).
100491 Of course there may be overlap between secure zones, alarm zones and
secure pathways
(for example in that there may be overlap of the communicable ranges between
such zones and
cashbox tag 32). The correct interpretation (ie whether the presence of tag 32
in a particular overlap
will cause an alarm or not) may be performed by the logic processors, such as
monitoring system
44, as described herein.
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[0050] FIG. 2 shows a number of hardware components of various portions of
system 10.
Portions of the components shown in Figure 2 may be part of tag 32, other
CSTs, MDT 34 and
monitoring system 44. Various CSTs may have some of these components as well,
as would be
known to those of skill in the art. As shown, monitoring system 44 has a
number of components,
including a central processing unit ("CPU") 244 (also referred to simply as a
"processor), random
access memory ("RAM") 248, an input/output interface 252, a network interface
256, non-volatile
storage 260, and a local bus 264 enabling the CPU 244 to communicate with the
other components.
CPU 244 executes an operating system and programs that provide the desired
functionality. RAM
248 provides relatively-responsive volatile storage to CPU 244. The
input/output interface 252
allows for input to be received or provided from one or more devices, such as
a keyboard, a mouse,
a touchscreen, etc., and enables CPU 244 to present output to a user via a
monitor, a speaker, a
screen, etc. Network interface 256 permits communication with other systems
for receiving
itinerary planning requests and for providing itinerary responses, in the form
of web pages. Non-
volatile storage 260 stores the operating system and programs, including
computer-executable
instructions for itinerary planning. During operation of monitoring system 44,
the operating system,
the programs and the data may be retrieved from the non-volatile storage 260
and placed in RAM
248 to facilitate execution.
100511 FIG. 3 shows a method 300 for operating a secure cashbox, while a
transit vehicle is
operating a run, according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0052] Method 300 may be implemented whenever a transit vehicle 30 begins a
run (a run
beginning when transit vehicle 30 is pulled out of a bay or site and ending
when transit vehicle 30 is
pulled back into a bay or site, generally having completed part or all of one
or more routes).
Method 300 may allow a cashbox to properly be assigned to a particular vehicle
driver that may
perform end of run operations, as described in method 400. Of course it is to
be understood that
method 400 may be performed by users other than the driver/operator of transit
vehicle 30 and may
thus be considered a separate method from method 300, or a combined method
with method 400.
100531 Method 300 begins at 302 where transit vehicle 30 is to start a run.
At 302 transit
vehicle 30 may be in site 12 or other parking or storage facility.
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[00541 At 304 cashbox 36 is serialized or assoeicated to the vehicle
operator of transit vehicle
30. This may involve, for example, the vehicle operator logging into MDT 32,
which may already
be associated with farebox 34 and hence cashbox 36. In particular, serializing
may involve storing
an operator ID, which may be unique for each authorized operator, With a
farebox 34 or cashbox 36
or transit vehicle 30 ID (all of which may be unique for the
farebox/cashbox/vehicle).. Such pairing
(of operator ID with another ID) may be stored in memory of one or more of non-
volatile storage
260, RAM 248 of vehicle 30, cashbox 36, tags, and/or other components of
system 10.
[0055] At 306 transit vehicle 30 may be in operation, driving routes,
picking up passengers, and
the like.
[0056] Each time a new passenger boards, they may pay their fare. At 308 a
query is made
whether any cash fare is received. This query may be made by farebox 34 and/or
MDT 32, alone or
in combination. If no cash fare is received then for the purpose of method 300
the method returns to
306 (for example if no cash enters into cashbox 36 then method 300 may simply
return to normal
'vehicle in operation' status at 306). If cash is received at 308 then the
cash will enter cashbox 36,
via entry into farebox 34 (as is known in the art of fareboxes) and method 300
will continue to 312.
[0057] At 312 steps may be performed to acknowledge that cash has been
input into cashbox
36, such as setting a "cash present" flag in software on MDT or in memory of
farebox 34 as
applicable (noting that such flag may be "set" the first time cash is
deposited, and subsequent cash
deposits, before a resetting of such flag, may simply be to confirm the "cash
present" flag is set to
"true"). Farebox 34 may also increment the cash total contained within cashbox
36 such that an
accurate cash amount or cash balance in cashbox 36 is maintained). Note that
such data (the cash
present flag, cash total, and the like) may be stored, for example, within
memory/databases on MDT
32. Of course MDT 32 may not be required in some embodiments of the invention
and thus such
cash present flag may be stored elsewhere within an exemplary system 10 that
does not include
MDT 32 ¨ such as on tag 32a, which could then communicate the status of such
cash present flag
throughout system 10, such as to monitoring system 44, to allow proper
operation thereof. In such
case cashbox 36 may reset the flag, possibly at the direction or upon
confirmation from another
aspect of system 10 such as vault 22.
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[00581 At 314 a query is made whether a vehicle operator change has
occurred. Of course if a
vehicle operator changes then the previous vehicle operator need not continue
to be responsible for
the cash in cashbox 36, such that method 300 proceeds to 304 to re-serialize
cashbox 36 with the
new vehicle operator. If, at 314, there is no vehicle operator change then at
316 a query is made
whether an end of run has occurred (which may indicate that a deposit of money
in cashbox 36 into
vault 22 is to occur). If so, end of run operations are performed (which may
include method 400).
If not, then method 300 continues at 306.
[0059] FIG. 4 shows a method 400 for operating a secure cashbox 36, when
emptying a
cashbox into vault 22, according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0060] Method 400 may be performed whenever cashbox 36 is to be emptied,
which may
generally be when transit vehicle 30 is pulled into a site and stops, for
example at the end of a run.
Method 400 may allow an operator of transit vehicle 30 or other handler to
safely get cash from
cashbox 36 from transit vehicle 30 into a vault or other deposit facility in a
secure and traceable
manner, and allow any disturbances to be addressed. Of course method 400 may
be performed at
all times so that cashbox 36 is not removed when it is not supposed to be (or
noticed and dealt with
if it is removed at such a time).
[0061] Method 400 begins at 402 with transit vehicle 30 pulling in to site
12 (such as on driving
lane 14 entering entrance 26) or otherwise being prepared for cashbox 36 to be
emptied. Then at
404 cashbox 36 is removed from transit vehicle 30 and farebox 34; if
successfully removed then it
ought to have been removed by an authorized depositor of cash or handler
within cashbox 36.
Aspects of 404 are described in method 500 but may involve one or more of
mechanical keys,
software keys that unlock mechanical aspects of farebox 34, RFID based keys,
and the like.
[0062] At 406 cashbox 36 has been removed from farebox 34 and transit
vehicle 30 by a valid
or authenticated depositor or handler; cashbox 36 begins its journey to vault
22 ¨ such as by first
exiting transit vehicle 30. Exiting from transit vehicle may be determining
via one or more RTs 38
located at the doors of transit vehicle 30. Such exiting may trigger method
400 to enable tracking
rules and alarms referred to herein.
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[00631 It is to be understood, with respect to 406/408/410/412/418, that
such processes may
continue until cashbox 36 arrives at vault 22 or some other final intervention
or outcome is achieved
(such as cashbox 36 being return to transit vehicle 30, cashbox 36 being lost
or leaving site 12
without approval, etc).
100641 At 408 tracking rules and alarms (cashbox alarms) are monitored to
see if any rules are
not being adhered to and alarms are being triggered. Exemplary tracking rules
and alarms may
include timers (for example for cashbox 36 to reach vault 22 or one or more
checkpoints along a
secure pathway or secure zones 24), being in safe or secure zones 24 (where
cashboxes 36 may be
found separate from transit vehicle 30 and/or farebox 34), being in alarm
zones 24 (where an alarm
will be triggered if cashbox 36 is located therein), crossing alarm
checkpoints (such as near exits 16
to ensure cashboxes do not leave an exit 28) and following defined paths 20
(ie being detected by or
in communicable range of the proper next CST after, or simultaneously with,
being in
communicable range with a current CST. where secure zones along defined path
20 may be
demarcated by hashed lines 46). Tracking rules and alarms are described in
more detail in method
600.
100651 If, at 408, an adherence is returned (no alarms were triggered, or
rules violated) then
method 400 continues at 410 to query whether cashbox 36 is at vault 22. If it
is then method 400
continues to 414 to perform 'at vault processing'. Cash vault processing may
involve, for example,
putting cashbox 36 into vault 22 where a process is invoked to safely remove
the cash from the
cashbox. This typically involves locking the cashbox into an apparatus where
the door is opened
and the cash extracted. In some cases this is a fully automated process,
others involve a mechanical
lock and lever mechanism operated by a person and some may involve an
accountant or some
certified person who has a key to open the cashbox and extract money. For the
present invention it
may be most important to confirm that cashbox 36 has been delivered either to
the correct area or
locked into vault 22 and that the cash was removed, the latter being triggered
by an event of some
sort. The event may be a user identifying themselves and saying that they are
the one who removed
the cash, a message from an external system, or part of system 10 that tells
that the cash was
removed, a sensor that detects that the vault mechanism was engaged while the
cashbox was in the
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vault, and the like. In one embodiment vault 22 may have coin and/or bill
counters (not shown ¨
referred to as a vault fare deposit counter) and a tag. The vault fare deposit
counter may count the
fare deposited by a particular cashbox 36 (cashbox deposit amount). This
counted amount may then
be compared to the cash balance (as determined by, and optionally stored
memory in, cashbox 36)
to determine that the right amount of cash was deposited in vault 22 from
cashbox 36. Such
comparison may be made between tag 32 in vault 22 and tag 32a, or via
providing cash balances
and cashbox deposit amounts to other elements of system 10 and allowing such
comparisons. In
any event, confirming the right amount was deposited may be required to
continue in method 400.
System 10 could also identify cashbox 36 being in vault 22 and assuming that
the box was emptied.
[0066] At 416 cashbox 36 is reset (which may be part of 'at vault
processing') and at some
point it is returned to farebox 34.
[0067] If at 408 no adherence is returned then method 400 continues at 418
to invoke corrective
or defensive actions (that may depend on the alarm or trigger that caused the
non-adherence) in
hopes that cashbox 36 will return to adherence and continue to move towards
vault 22.
[0068] FIG. 5 shows a method 500 for removing a cashbox from a transit
vehicle according to
an embodiment of the invention.
[0069] Method 500 may use any number or combination of mechanical keys,
electronic keys
and CST or RFID based keys.
[0070] Method 500 begins at 504 to query whether there are any mechanical
keys required.
These may be standard mechanical keys as are known in the art.
[0071] If mechanical keys are required and presented method 500 proceeds to
506 to query for
electronic keys. These may include PINs or passwords that may be typed into
farebox 34 and/or
MDT 40, a card swiped through a card reader either separate from or integrated
into farebox 36, or
the like. These may be particular to a Handler, a vehicle 30, a farebox 34 or
a cashbox 36.
[0072] If electronic keys are required and presented method 500 proceeds to
508 to query for
the proper presence of one or more CSTs. These may include CSTs in a secure
zone or pathway,
having passed a CST at entrance 26 to site 12, lack of presence of alarms, and
presence of Handler
CSTs, for example.
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[0073] If proper CST presence is detected then method 500 proceeds to 510
to allow removal of
the cashbox 36 and the Handler physically removes it. Registration of the
removal then occurs at
512, for example by CSTs passing such event to monitoring system 44 and/or MDT
40. This may
trigger tag 32a to be monitored.
[0074] Returning to any of 504/506/508, if such type of key or presence is
not required method
500 may proceed via the "yes" path. Otherwise method 500 may proceed to 514
where removal of
cashbox 36 is prevented. This may lead to method 500 terminating or simply
waiting for the
required keys/presence to eventually be presented.
[0075] Of course it is to be understood that other aspects of system 10 may
be used to ensure
only timely removal of cashbox 36 occurs. For example, i) if maintenance is to
be performed then
proper presence of (or confirmation of) the proper parts may be required, ii)
if no cash is present
removal may be rejected, and the like.
[0076] FIG. 6 shows a method 600 for implementing cashbox alarms for
monitoring and/or
emptying a cashbox into a vault according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0077] Method 600 may operate substantially continuously from the time a
particular cashbox
36 is to be monitored (as initiated by one or more monitoring triggers as
described herein) until, for
example, a monitoring completed trigger occurs (such as cashbox 36 being
emptied into vault 22
and/or its cash present flag being reset, and as otherwise described herein).
Method 600 may be
performed by monitoring system 44, MDT 40, gateways 38b and the like, alone or
together, with
various aspects handling various portions and communicating therebetween.
[0078] Turning to method 600 it begins from 408 at 602 and continues to 604
to query whether
cashbox 36 (and hence tag 32) is in a prohibited zone. If so method 600
proceeds to 616. If not,
method 600 proceeds to 606.
[0079] At 606 method 600 queries whether cashbox 36 is missing a proper
CST. If so method
600 proceeds to 616. If not, method 600 proceeds to 608. Missing a proper CST
may include:
missing the presence of a Handler, having missed an entrance CST (which may
not be a problem
but may cause confusion and require an alarm to resolve), and the like.
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[00801 At 608 method 600 queries whether any improper CSTs are detected. If
so method 600
proceeds to 616. If not, method 600 proceeds to 610. Detecting an improper CST
may include:
detecting being in an alarm or prohibited zone, being close to a checkpoint,
and the like.
[0081] At 610 method 600 queries whether any CST being detected is out of
order. If so
method 600 proceeds to 616. If not, method 600 proceeds to 612. Detecting a
CST out of order
may include: detecting a CST along a secure pathway before an earlier CST is
detected (ie a CST
was skipped), a CST in a secure zone is detected without an entrance CST being
detected, a vehicle
CST not being detected before a bay 14 CST is detected, detecting a secure
pathway CST before a
Handler CST is detected, and the like. There is no particular limitation to
what ordering and
sequencing may be applied and may be appropriate for a particular monitoring
and deposit
implementation, and the like.
100821 At 612 method 600 queries whether any timers have expired. If so
method 600 proceeds
to 616. If not, method 600 proceeds to 614. Timers may include: overall timers
to get cashbox 36
emptied, timers along secure pathway 24c (ie every 30 seconds a new CST should
be detected),
excessive time where a Handler is unsuccessfully trying to remove cashbox 36,
and the like.
[0083] At 614 method 600 queries whether cashbox 36 is in a secure zone. If
not method 600
proceeds to 616. If so, method 600 returns to 602 to continue monitoring.
[0084] Returning to 616, if the result of any queries lead to 616 then the
alarm is returned and
provided, as required. This may have any number of effects, not limited to:
communicating with
Handler, shutting exits 28 and entrances 26, audible or visual warnings,
dispatching security, and
the like. These measures may all be taken to prevent loss and to get cashbox
36 moving effectively
again.
[0085] After 616 method 600 continues to query, at 618, whether the alarm
has been dealt with
on time and/or effectively. Clearly this will depend on the nature of the
alarm(s). For example, a
Handler may quicken their pace so timers are reset and no longer are a
problem, Handler CST may
be detected (they had dropped their badge), and the like. Of course certain
alarms (near an exit 28
for example) might not lead to delays for rectification though monitoring may
be recommenced
after a security intercept for example.
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100861 It is
to be understood that all of 604/606/608/610/612/614 are depicted as separate,
in
parallel, and ordered. They need not be any of those things. Further, one may
trump another (ie
lack of Handler CST may be trumped, and thus no alarm returned, if cashbox 36
is in a secure zone
22 ¨ depending on the implementation and preferences of the system users and
owners). Each of
these permutations are considered within the scope of the present invention.
[0087] This
concludes the description of the presently preferred embodiments of the
invention. The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of
illustration and is not
intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form
disclosed. It is intended the
scope of the invention be limited not by this description but by the claims
that follow.
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