DE29723377U1 - Security and defense device for customer and counter rooms in the event of robbery and burglary - Google Patents

Description

' ^! 23 May 1997

Applicant: Zähringer Günter, 78579 Neuhausen o.E. (DE)

Designation: Security device for customer areas, especially counter areas

Description

The invention relates to a security device for protecting objects, in particular customer rooms, counter rooms of banks or cash desk rooms of shops and similar rooms against burglary, theft, robberies and the like, with a container for storing irritant, from which irritant can be released into these rooms under pressure and via an outlet device in order to incapacitate an offender.

A security device of the generic type is known (company brochure Alarm-Center, Joachim Brustmann, 16352 Schönwalde), which is designed as an irritant spray system. This irritant spray system can be coupled with an existing alarm system of an object to be secured and protects the object by deterring unauthorized intruders through the

The irritant released by the irritant spray system must be immediately rendered ineffective.

It is provided that this known irritant spray system has a container for holding irritant, from which pressurized irritant can be released into the room to be protected via an outlet device.

The release of the irritant is to be triggered by so-called motion detectors, whereby when an intruder is detected in the room to be protected, the perpetrator is initially asked to leave the secured room via a voice module.

If the perpetrator does not comply with this request and is still detected by the motion detector, the security device comes into action. Around 400 ml of irritant is released in around eight seconds via the discharge device... and secures a room of around 300 cubic meters in size. The intruder or burglar is incapacitated within the room to be protected.

CS irritant is used as an irritant, which causes the perpetrator to be immediately incapacitated, thus ensuring an extremely high level of safety in the use of this irritant spray system.

The use of this irritant spray system is intended in particular for private areas in which no pets are kept, offices, storage rooms and halls as well as sales rooms, computer rooms and weekend houses etc.

The disadvantage of this system is that the amount of irritant released is such that a concentration of irritant is reached in the room to be secured, so that any person or animal in the room is effectively exposed to this irritant and has to endure the adverse effects of this irritant.

Since this CS irritant acts directly and exclusively on the sensory nerve endings and on the mucous membranes of the eyes, the upper respiratory tract and the skin, it not only affects the perpetrator who is to be incapacitated, but also other people who may be in the room.

This means that this irritant spray system can only be used in rooms in which there are no other, particularly authorized, persons, as they are also exposed to the unpleasant effects of the CS irritant if the irritant spray system is triggered.

In particular, this known irritant spray system cannot be used to secure bank counters, cash desks, etc., since these areas are always frequented by the public during normal opening hours of the aforementioned facilities, so that even innocent people are "incapacitated" by this CS irritant.

Accordingly, the invention is based on the object of improving a security device of the generic type in such a way that it can also be effectively secured for the protection of objects such as customer rooms, counter rooms in banks, cash desk rooms in shops and similar rooms, during normal operating hours or opening times, in particular against robberies, without affecting normal public traffic.

The object is achieved according to the invention in that the outflow device consists of at least one flow nozzle, which is in a pressure-tight connection with the container, and that the flow nozzle is arranged in the room to be protected in the area of at least one regular location of customers, in particular in the area of a cash desk, a shop counter, a personal corridor, an entrance door or a passageway or the like, in such a way that the irritant flowing out is targeted.

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directed at the offender in a predetermined quantity, delivered in bursts.

By applying the irritant to a perpetrator in a targeted manner, he can be incapacitated without harming people in his vicinity. The flow nozzle is positioned in the area where people regularly spend time in the room to be protected. These areas are in particular cash desks, shop counters, pedestrian corridors, entrance doors or passageways that are regularly used by the perpetrator as well as other people and allow the radius of action for the flow nozzle to be limited. One of these areas is used by the perpetrator in the course of a robbery of a bank or a shop, for example, so that by adjusting the range and spray direction of the jet nozzle, the perpetrator can be sprayed with irritant either during the crime, at the bank counter or in the cash register area, or, if this is not possible because, for example, a danger to the people otherwise present cannot be ruled out, the perpetrator's escape route can be cut off, for example, by placing a jet nozzle in the area of the entrance door, which the perpetrator can use when leaving.

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leaving the object to be protected must happen in any case.

The irritant is released in pulses and in predeterminable quantities directly onto the perpetrator through the flow nozzle, so that the irritant can only spread uncontrollably to a limited extent in the area to be protected and no other innocent persons can be seriously harmed.

According to claim 2, the flow nozzle can be provided with a pressure relief valve, the response pressure of which is adjustable. This adjustable response pressure enables the spray width of the flow nozzle connected downstream of the pressure relief valve to be adjusted and thus adapted to the local conditions of an object to be protected. This adjustable spray width of the flow nozzle ensures that the perpetrator can be sprayed with irritant without other people who are in his vicinity being unnecessarily sprayed with irritant. To apply the response pressure for the pressure relief valve, the container which serves to hold the irritant is provided with a pressure pump which can be operated manually. This manual operation can be carried out in particular using a foot pedal, so that the operating personnel can easily control the dispensing of the irritant from

the flow nozzle. The pressure relief valve ensures that, essentially independent of the speed at which the foot pedal is operated, a sufficient amount of irritant and a sufficient spray range of the flow nozzle can always be achieved.

The design according to the invention according to claim makes the triggering of the safety device according to the invention considerably easier. By designing the container for the irritant as a pressure container, the irritant can be stored in the container under pre-pressure, so that by activating the switching valve provided, which can be controlled electromagnetically, for example, the irritant can be released from the flow nozzle remotely. A high-pressure nozzle is provided as the flow nozzle, so that a sudden and targeted spraying process on the offender to be repelled can be carried out optimally. The system pressure is around 5 to 10 bar, so that only extremely short response times of the flow nozzle are guaranteed. Evading the effective range of the spray jet is therefore also impossible for the offender due to the high propagation speed of the irritant that can be achieved. The switching valve can be controlled manually or automatically by the operating personnel, whereby with automatic activation

the flow nozzle, the intended sensor system can be "armed" by the operating personnel at the desired time. This is particularly advantageous if the flow nozzles are arranged, for example, in the area of an entrance door, which is difficult for the operating personnel to see. In these cases, the sensor system is "armed" by the operating personnel before the offender reaches the entrance door when leaving the room to be protected. If the offender is now detected by the sensor system in the area of the entrance door, the switching valve is triggered fully automatically and the offender is sprayed with an irritant and incapacitated. This also ensures that the offender is sprayed in a targeted manner in areas of the room to be protected that are difficult for the operating personnel to see.

To activate the switching valve or to "arm" the sensor, a switch is provided according to claim 4 that is easily accessible to the operating personnel and can be designed either as a foot switch or as a hand switch. It goes without saying that several pushbutton switches can also be provided so that the safety device according to the invention can be triggered from different locations in the room to be protected, which ensures unobtrusive handling and thus increased functional reliability.

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The design according to claim 5 ensures that the offender can be safely sprayed with irritant at various different locations in the room to be protected by activating one of the flow nozzles arranged in these areas and can thus be safely incapacitated. This can be particularly advantageous if activating flow nozzles arranged in the switch area appears too dangerous. The fact that the duration of the spraying process can be set using the electronic processing unit ensures that only a small but sufficient amount is released onto the offender and that the other people present are not unnecessarily harassed.

According to claim 6, two flow nozzles can be provided for a room sector to be monitored or protected in the area of the regular location, such as a customer counter, an escape route or the like, which are arranged on both sides and symmetrically to these areas. The flow directions of the two flow nozzles can be adjusted in such a way that they cross in an area that is approximately at a height of 1.20 m to 1.80 m. This ensures that perpetrators of different body sizes are also exposed to the irritant applied and can avoid the spraying.

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cannot escape. Since the flow directions cross, the accuracy and intensity of the irritant application is limited to a relatively small area, so that on the one hand a safe effect on the perpetrator is achieved and other people present are hardly affected by the irritant flowing out.

The spray angle α of the flow nozzle of at least 7.5° for the irritant to be applied, as provided in claim 9, ensures that the irritant applied to the offender hits his face area, particularly in the close range, i.e. when the offender is, for example, approximately 0.5 to 1 m in front of a bank counter, and thus an optimal effect of the irritant on the offender is ensured.

Due to the design according to claim 7, the safety device according to the invention is optimally suited for securing even larger objects to be protected.

By means of the adjustable nozzle head according to claim 8, which can have one or more nozzle bores, the flow direction of the nozzle head of the flow nozzle is variably adjustable, so that the flow nozzle can be variably adapted in arrangement and flow direction to the respective location of use.

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The security device according to the invention makes it possible to secure, in particular, a spatially limited area of an object to be protected, in particular a cash desk, counter room or the like, to ward off an offender, in particular in the event of a robbery, without uninvolved persons being seriously affected by the irritant that is released.

Furthermore, the manual operation of the safety device in conjunction with an appropriately trained sensor system ensures that irritant is delivered safely and precisely to an offender, even in areas that are difficult for operating personnel to see.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1 shows a safety device according to the invention with two safety nozzles and a manually operable irritant container;

Fig. 2 shows the irritant container from Fig. 1 in an enlarged view;

Fig. 3 shows a counter area with two workstations, each of which is secured by the safety device according to the invention;

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Fig. 4 the entrance area of a room to be secured with entrance door;

Fig. 5 shows a flow nozzle integrated in a cable duct in a perspective partial section.

Fig. 1 shows a safety device 1, which essentially consists of a container 2 for holding irritant, two flow nozzles 3, 4 and corresponding supply lines 5, 6, which connect the container 2 with the flow nozzles 3 and 4.

In the present embodiment, the security device 1 according to the invention is installed in a bank counter 7. This bank counter 7 has a safety front pane 8, two side panes 9 and 10 as well as a front wall 11 arranged below the safety front pane 8 and two side walls 12.

The two side windows 9, 10 and the safety front window 8 are connected to one another at the corners of the bank counter 7 via corresponding square profiles 13 and 14. These square profiles 13 and 14 each serve to accommodate a flow nozzle 3 or 4, which are arranged at a height of approximately 1.20 m to 1.80 m above the floor on which the bank counter 7 is set up.

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The container 2 is arranged on the floor directly behind the front wall 11 and is provided with a compressed air pump 15, which can be operated manually via a foot pedal 16. The compressed air pump 15 is integrated in the connection piece 54 of the container 2 and is immersed in the container 2 (shown in dashed lines).

The two flow nozzles 3 and 4 each have a pressure relief valve 17 or 18, which are connected upstream of the flow nozzles 3, 4 and are also integrated into the two square profiles so that they cannot be seen from the outside. The trigger pressure of the two pressure relief valves is preferably adjustable in a range of 5 to 10 bar, so that the flow rate of the irritant emerging from the flow nozzles and thus its range and reaction time can be variably adapted to the respective requirements. The trigger pressure is the pressure at which the pressure relief valves 17, 18 suddenly open in the west.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the foot pedal 16 of the container 2 or the compressed air pump 15 is hinged to the container 2 via two angle levers 19, 20, which are connected to each other at their free ends by the foot pedal 16. The two angle levers 19 and 20 are each connected to a crossbar via a pull rod 21 or 22.

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23 is connected in an articulated manner at its upper end opposite the angle levers 19, 20, whereby the crossbar 23 is firmly attached to a piston rod 24 of the pressure pump 15.

By pressing the foot pedal 16 downwards in the direction of arrow 25, the piston rod 24 is pressed downwards via the angle levers 19, 20 and the pull rods 21 and 22 as well as the cross bar 23, so that a system pressure is built up in the container 2 via the pressure pump 15. Thus, by pressing the foot pedal 16, the irritant in the container 2 is put under pressure, which is also pressurized in the supply lines 5 and 6, which are in pressure connection with the pressure container 2 via a T-coupling 26. As can be seen from Fig. 1, the T-coupling 26 is arranged approximately in the middle between the two square profiles 13, 14, so that the supply lines 5 and 6 have the same length. This is important in this simple embodiment of the safety device 1 according to the invention in that the same length of the supply lines 5 and 6 results in a uniform or simultaneous pressurization of the pressure relief valves 17 and 18 and these can thus be triggered simultaneously when the compressed air pump 15 is actuated.

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When the preset trigger pressure is reached, the pressure relief valves 17 and 18 open suddenly, so that irritant is suddenly released from the flow nozzles 3 and 4 in approximately the direction of the flow arrows 27 and 28, respectively. The flow direction of the two flow valves 3 and 4 can be adjusted so that they cross in the area approximately 0.5 to 1 m in front of the security front window 8 of the bank counter 7. The face of a perpetrator who, for example, intends to carry out a robbery is normally located in this area. The flow directions of the flow nozzles 3, 4 indicated by the flow arrows 27, 28 can be variably adjusted both horizontally and vertically by means of a corresponding pivoting design of the flow nozzles 3, 4, so that they can be specifically adapted to the given local conditions of an area to be secured. The

The embodiment according to Fig. 1 and 2 is an extremely simple inventive solution or design of the inventive security device 1, which can be easily retrofitted to any object to be secured, since neither a power supply nor other requirements are required.

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must be present to ensure the functional reliability of the safety device 1.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a safety device 1/1, which is arranged in duplicate on a combination switch 29.

The safety device 1/1 also has a container 2/1 for holding irritant, which is connected via corresponding supply lines 5/1 and 6/1 to corresponding flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1.

The flow nozzles 3/1, 4/1 are each integrated in the square profiles 13/1 and 14/1 of the combination switch 29. In contrast to the embodiment according to Fig. 1 and 2, the container 2/1 is designed as a pressure container in which the irritant is stored under pressure. For the defined pressurization of the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1, pressure reducers 30 and 31 are provided in the connecting lines 5/1 and 6/1, so that when the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 are activated, they are subjected to a defined system pressure.

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In particular, these pressure reducers 30 and 31 ensure that even if the pressure in the container 2/1 fluctuates, the same system pressure is always available at the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 over a longer period of operation. This ensures that the spray width of the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 is always maintained at the same level, even if the system pressure in the container 2/1 drops after the safety device 1/1 has been triggered several times.

The flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 are each provided with an electromagnetically switchable switching valve 32 or 33, which can be triggered by a manually operated pushbutton switch 34, whereby the switching valves 32 and 33 are connected upstream of the respectively assigned flow valve 3/1 or 4/1. By operating the pushbutton switch 34, which is designed as a foot switch in this case, the switching valves 32 and 33 are opened by a corresponding power supply, so that irritant is emitted in a targeted manner in bursts from the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 in accordance with the arrows 35 and 36.

It is also intended that the control of the switching valves 32, 33 is carried out via an electronic processing unit (not shown in the drawing). This electronic processing unit can, for example, determine the time period

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for the release of irritant from the flow nozzles, so that it is ensured that only a minimum required amount of irritant is released onto the perpetrator and thus no unnecessary pollution of the environment occurs.

The flow directions of the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 indicated by the flow arrows 357 3 6 are aligned in accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 and in such a way that they cross in an area in front of the safety front screen 8/1. The crossing area of the two flow directions 35 and 36 is approximately between 1.20 m and 1.80 m above the ground, so that a person to be defended against is hit in the face area with the irritant.

The spray angle α of the flow nozzles 3/1 and 4/1 is selected such that both smaller and larger people are hit by the stream of irritant. The spray angle can be approximately greater than 7.5°.

Fig. 4 shows a further possible application of the security device according to the invention, wherein this security device 1/2 is arranged in the entrance area or interior 40 of a room to be secured.

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As can be seen from Fig. 4, the flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2 are arranged in the frame profiles 37 and 38 of the entrance door 39, with their flow direction directed into the interior 40 of the entrance area. In this case, the supply of irritant is also carried out by a container 2/2, which is arranged, for example, below the floor of the entrance area 40, e.g. in a basement room. This container 2/2, which is also designed as a pressure vessel, is connected to the flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2 via corresponding supply lines 5/2 and 6/2.

Since this interior space 40 or entrance area is usually only poorly or not at all visible to the operating personnel, a sensor system is additionally provided for the targeted and precisely timed application of irritant, as indicated by arrows 41 and 42, which in the present embodiment is a light barrier with a transmitter 43 and receiver 44.

The activation of the light barrier can be carried out, for example, by a push button switch, similar to that already shown in Fig. 3, so that a person who is to be defended and who cannot be reached in the switch area for defense

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was, which can be rendered harmless during their escape from the room to be monitored.

To do this, the operating personnel presses the push button in the switch area so that the light barrier is activated. When the light barrier is passed through, the spray is automatically discharged from the flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2 by supplying the appropriate current to the switching valves 55, 56, which are also concealed in the frame profiles and are also connected upstream of the flow valves 3/2 and 4/2. An electronic processing unit is also preferably provided to control the light barrier and the switching valves, which can also be used to set the duration of the spraying process of the flow nozzles.

Instead of a light barrier, other sensors, such as pressure sensors, can of course also be provided in the floor mat 45 shown in Fig. 4 or also motion sensors for the time-controlled activation of the flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2 or the associated switching valves 3/2, 4/2 via the computing unit.

The purpose of this embodiment is that in the event of very high levels of public traffic, so that in the counter area, activation of the flow nozzles arranged there is not possible, as this could endanger

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other people appears to be too great, the perpetrator is incapacitated on his escape route after the robbery is completed.

This is done, as already described above, by arranging the corresponding flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2 in the entrance area, for example in the area of the entrance door 39, after the offender has left the counter area. In order to prevent accidental and uncontrolled activation of these flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2, an additional sensor in the form of a light barrier is provided. As already mentioned, the light barrier is activated by the operating personnel using a corresponding push button in the counter area after the offender has left the counter area. On his way to the entrance door, the offender now passes through the light barrier, whereby the switching valves are automatically activated via the light barrier and the computing unit at the right time, i.e. when the offender is directly in the catchment area or within range of the flow nozzles 3/2 and 4/2, so that the offender is safely hit by the irritant in a targeted manner. As is well known, one possible irritant is CS, which renders the perpetrator incapable of fighting.

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Fig. 5 shows an enlarged view of a flow nozzle 46, as used in the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 4. This flow nozzle 4 has a nozzle head 47 in which the actual nozzle body 48 is rotatably mounted. The supply line is connected to a switching valve 50, which can be controlled electrically, for example. It is of course also conceivable that the entire nozzle head is rotatably and pivotably mounted at the end of the supply line 49 or on the switching valve.

For the targeted delivery of irritant, the nozzle body 48 has three nozzle holes with corresponding outlet openings 51, which run approximately parallel to one another. By actuating, for example, a push button switch or by controlling it via the computing unit, the switching valve 50 is opened so that irritant can emerge under pressure from the nozzle body 48 or from its outlet openings 51 of the nozzle body 48. Due to the adjustability of the nozzle body 48 in the nozzle head 47, the flow nozzle 46 can be precisely adjusted and thus variably adapted to different application conditions.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 5, the flow nozzle 46 together with the switching valve 50 is, for example,

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arranged concealed in a recording channel 53 so that it is difficult for a potential perpetrator to detect it.

It is understood that instead of individual containers for holding irritants, only one central container can be provided, for example in the basement of a bank, from which irritant can be supplied under pressure via appropriate supply lines to several flow nozzles arranged in combination or individually.

The individual flow nozzles or the associated switching valves can be activated separately using appropriate pushbutton switches or in combination with an appropriately designed room sensor and an associated computing unit.

The design according to the invention provides a security device with which a perpetrator can be incapacitated in a targeted manner in cash desks, counters and other customer rooms without harming other people. In the simplest case, the release of irritant can be triggered manually using a pressure pump, so that the security device according to the invention can also be retrofitted in rooms that have no or only an inadequate power supply.

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Furthermore, the activation of the safety device according to the invention can also be carried out via corresponding electrical or electronic control devices, whereby a variable use for securing a corresponding object can be carried out comprehensively. Also, as already described above, it is provided that flow nozzles arranged in passage areas, for example the escape route of an offender, can be activated remotely via corresponding room sensors, which can be activated manually by the operating personnel. The activation only takes place at the moment in which the offender is detected by the room sensors, so that it is ensured that he is in the catchment area of the flow nozzles and is also safely exposed to irritant.

Claims (1)

23 May 1997 MN/mn Applicant: Zähringer Günter, 78579 Neuhausen &ogr;.&Egr;. (DE) Designation: Security device for customer areas, especially counter areas Patent claims Security device for protecting objects, in particular customer rooms, counter rooms of banks or cash desks of shops and similar rooms against burglary, theft, robberies and the like, with a container for storing irritant, from which irritant can be released into these rooms under pressure and via an outlet device in order to incapacitate an offender,
characterized, that the outflow device consists of at least one flow nozzle (3, 4, 3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2), which is in pressure-tight connection with the container (2, 2/1, 2/2) and, that the flow nozzle (3, 4, 3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2) in the room to be protected (40) in the area of at least one regular location of persons, in particular in the area of a cash desk (7, 29), a shop counter, a pedestrian corridor, an entrance a corridor door or a passageway or similar is arranged in such a way that the irritant that flows out can be delivered in a targeted manner to the perpetrator in a predetermined amount, in bursts. 2. Safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow nozzle (3, 4) has a pressure relief valve (17, 18) with adjustable response pressure and, . that the pressure vessel (2) is equipped with a manually operated adjustable pressure pump (15) via which, in particular by actuating a foot pedal (16), the necessary response pressure for the pressure relief valve (17, 18) for triggering the discharge of irritant from the flow nozzle (3, 4) can be generated. 3. Safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the container (2/1, 2/2) for the irritant is designed as a pressure container and that the flow nozzle (3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 3/2) is designed as a high-pressure nozzle and that a switching valve (32, 33, 55, 56) is provided which can be activated manually by the operating personnel and/or automatically by a sensor (43, 44) arranged in spatial proximity to the flow nozzle (3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2) in order to discharge the irritant from the flow nozzle (3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2). 4. Safety device according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that in the working area of the operating personnel, in particular in the counter area or in the cash register area, an easily accessible push button switch (34) is provided for the operating personnel, by the actuation of which the switching valve (32, 33, 55, 56) or the sensor (43, 44) can be activated. 5. Safety device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sensor (43, 44) is arranged in the area of a sector of the room to be protected, in particular a passage, escape route, a passage door (39) or the like, for the precise timed activation of the safety device (2/2) for the release of the irritant, and, that an electronic computing unit is provided, by means of which in particular the duration of the spraying process can be set. .. 6. Safety device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that two flow nozzles (3, 4, 3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2) are arranged in the area of the regular location, such as a customer counter (7, 29), an escape route, a passage door (39) or a similar spatial area, in particular which is used by -\- &idiag;&pgr;·&Pgr;6·98 the person to be repelled must be crossed to leave the room, are arranged on both sides and symmetrically to these areas (7, 29, 39) and that the flow directions (27, 28, 35, 36, 41, 42) of the two flow nozzles (3, 4, 3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2) are adjustable in such a way that they cross in an area which is approximately at a height of 1.20 m to 1.80 m. .· Safety device according to one of claims 1 and 3 to 6, characterized in that, in order to protect several rooms of an object to be protected, a central container for irritant is provided, which supplies all flow nozzles arranged in the rooms to be protected with irritant via corresponding supply lines. 8. Safety device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the flow nozzle (4 6) has an adjustable nozzle head (47, 48) with one or more nozzle bores (51) and that the nozzle head (47) is designed to be pivotable in order to adjust the flow direction. 9. Safety device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the flow nozzle (3, 4, 3/1, 4/1, 3/2, 4/2) has a spray angle α for the irritant to be applied of at least 7.5°.