Introduction to Balancing Security Design In Safes
For design engineers in any field, it is essential to set acceptance criteria for the product before starting work. This set of criteria encompasses various measurable attributes that the product must possess from different perspectives. Among these criteria, some cannot be simultaneously satisfied and require negotiation to find harmony. The final implementation plan is essentially the equilibrium point based on these criteria. So, what are the conflicting criteria for a safe, and how do we resolve them?
Balancing in Security Design: Conflicting Criteria
The Primary Objective: Security
Considering the value of a safe, its primary purpose is to protect the items inside it, which is the highest priority that must be ensured. Due to the high security and protection requirements, engineers tend to thoroughly analyze previous designs to patch security holes and incorporate new ideas. When all these aspects are combined into a single design, the initial design often becomes overly complex, even though it meets the required safety standards. The complexity of the structure inevitably leads to higher manufacturing costs and increased complexity in daily operations.
Customer Considerations: Security and Convenience
Customers are not only concerned with security but also with ease of use. If the operation sequence is too lengthy, it may not be suitable for forgetful individuals. In reality, if the code sequence or actions are too long, many people forget their previous settings. Therefore, simplifying the operation is crucial to achieving sales. However, balancing security and ease of use is not an easy task. If you sacrifice one for the other, your design will revert to the pre-improvement product, either failing to ensure security or becoming too complex to sell.
Strategies for Balancing Security Design
Integrating Functions for Simplified Use
The art of balancing security design lies in merging functions. The extended sequence of use results from independent actions. Combining these actions in one way or another creates a self-driven kinetic or time-linked process. Your action initiates this process, and the energy shared from the initial behavior completes the remaining process. The old and new layers of protection are linked together so that the number of actions from the user’s perspective is reasonable. However, an unauthorized person, breaking in would still face all security layers as if they were not linked. This is the art, of creating a sequence of links with specific actions that vary in forward and reverse directions. If you are not subtle enough, meaning the number of legal and illegal actions is the same, you fail.
Practical Example of Balancing Security Design
For instance, if your lock has three layers, it initially requires three sequential actions to open. Breaking the lock would then require breaching all three protective layers, ensuring the theoretical security value. However, three actions might be too many, especially for elderly customers. Balancing security and ease of use means merging two security layers so that instead of three actions, there are only two, yet still maintaining three lock layers. One of the three lock layers is redesigned to receive its action drive from the previous lock layer instead of an independent user action.
Testing and Ensuring Effective Security
Upon completing this process, test it as a lock picker. If breaking the lock still requires overcoming three independent lock layers, your merging is successful. Conversely, if there are only two lock layers, the safe’s security value is compromised, and you need to reassess the link between the merged lock layers.
Mechanical and Electronic Links in Security Design
One-Way Links for Enhanced Security
A suggestion here is to use many mechanical and electronic links that operate unidirectionally. If the reverse drive is not possible, they are naturally two separate layers. Besides unidirectional transmission mechanisms, the self-contained drive mechanisms with distinct forward and reverse trajectories can be oriented to act as brakes for the lock pin. This topic is addressed in a separate article.
Power Considerations in Integrated Locks
Engineers should also note a crucial point when linking independent lock layers. Since you extract energy from one layer to drive another, and safes generally do not use high-power sources when battery-operated, extending the drive chain can lead to power shortages, lock jams, or rapid battery depletion. When kinetically linking two lock layers, you will notice a significant change in drive power. Long-term testing combined with improved mechanical manufacturing quality will resolve this issue.
Conclusion: Achieving Harmonious Security Design
Function merging is a good idea but should not be overused, as linking movements can negatively impact operational feel to some extent, even if the number of actions is not many. At this point, adding a counterweight to make operations smoother, and enhance user experience, is necessary.
Balancing security design in safes is a complex task that requires careful consideration of both security and user convenience. By integrating functions and ensuring effective security measures, engineers can create safes that are both secure and easy to use.
