US1408920A - Burglar alarm - Google Patents

Description

F. L. ANDERSUN.

BURGLAR ALARM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY12,19I9. l 1,408,920. Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED r.. ANDERSON, or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

roesten ALARM. i

Specication of Letters Iiatent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

Application led May 12, 1919. Serial No. 296,52-6.

To aZZwwm t may concern.'

I 3e it known that I, FRED L.4 ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Burglar Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

' may be.

` with an alarm I a distance.

My invention relates to limprovements in bur lar alarms.

` y invention is particularly welladapted for use in the protection of banks, grocery stores, saloons, and similar places. It has lately, been the custom for robbers to enter a'bank, grocery store or saloon, hold up the proprietor. or clerk,I and then to lock him in the vault, or refrigerator, as the case The object of my invention is to provide novel means by which the person who isv can actuate-with his foot and controlling device in circuit or signalling device located at being held up unobserved, a

My invention .provides still further means by which the person, who is held up and has been locked. in an enclosure, lsuch as a vault `or refrigerator,

' enclosure.

before he .could actualling device, can actuate the ate thesi from4 within the alarmor signalling device' Myinvention provides still further 'means by which the person who has been locked in the vault or refrigerator, may cut out thecircuit controlling device which is at the outside of the vault or refrigerator, to enable the person while in the enclosure to op'- erate the signalling device independently of the outside circuit controlling device, so as to notify the police or public as to the number of the robbers, or to enable him to send Some predetermined si nal without interference from the control ing devicewhich isl located at the exterior which he is locked.

The novel features of my invention are hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the preferred embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a view of theenclosure in and partly in vertical section of a bank building which is equipped with my improved burglar alarm.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the circuit controlling device, such cated in the vault 2 is partly in side .elevation as is employed insideand outside of lthe Fig. .3 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical circuit, which may -be employed in 'connection with my invention.

Similar reference charactersv designate similar parts in the different `views.

1- designates a buildin such as a bank building, which is provi ed with a vault 2 having the usual door '3, adapted to be locked inthe usual manner.

4 designates a counter located in a tellers i cage 5, which communicates with the vault 2 through the doorwayof the latter.

At any desired place, preferably at a substantial distance from the building 1, is 1ocated one `or more Signalling devices, such as an electro-magnetic gong or bell y6 and an electro-magnetic siren 7 i Connected to the gong. 6 and' slren 7, which may able conduit 9, which, preferably, extends under the building l and into the vault Any suitable circuit controlling devices may be provided, one inthe vault 2 and one be mounted on a post 8,', is a suite preferably in the door under the counter 4. In the. drawing I have illustrated the clr- -cuit controllingl devices used' in'the vault 2 and under the counter .4, as push buttons, each comprising a casing 10 containing two spring contact plates 11` and 12 vinsulated from each other and normally holdingI between them a slidahle stem 13 having on its tery one pole of which is connected by a con- -ductor 18 with one terminal of the electromagnetic siren 7. ofi any suitable type, the

-other terminall ofwhich is connected by a conductor 19 with one terminal of the electro-magnetie'bell or gong 6, the other terminal of which is connected by a c'onductor 20 with the spring contact plate 11 of the push button which is in the vault 2, the other terminal of which is connected by a push button.

conductor 21 which is connected to the other pole of the battery 17.

The conductor 20 is connected bya conductor 22 with the contact plate 11, of the push button which is under the counter 4, the other contact plate 12 of which is connected by a conductor 23, which includes switch lever 16, with the conductor 21.

In the operation of my invention, when the person in the cage 5 is held up by robbers, he may depress the stem 13 of the push button which is under the counteri, by pressing downwardly on the same Iwith his foot, so as Vto bring the adjacent contact plates 11 and 12 into the groove 15 of the The current will then pass from the battery 17 through conductor 18, siren 7, conductor 19, gong 6, conductor 20, conductor 22, contact plate 11i connected therewith, adjacent stem 13, contact plate 12, conductor 20, switch lever 16 (which is normally closed), and conductor 2O back to the battery- 17. The siren 7 and gong 6 will thus be actuated and willcontinue to give an alarm until the;depressed stem 13 of thepush` button under the counter 4 has been manually withdrawn' to the open position shown, in which positionthe contact plates 11 .and 12 rest upon the insulation 14:.

If now the person in the cage 5 islocked in the vault 2, and hehas failed to depress the push button stem of the push button under the counter 4:he can, nevertheless, give an alarm by depressing vthe stem ,13 ofthe push button which is in the vault 2Q When `this hasbeen done, the current will a signal, and a circuit. for said'signal com' pass from the battery, as before described, through the siren 7 and gong 6 and conductor 20, and from thence through the contact plate 11 of the'push button which is in the vault 2, thence through the adjacent stem 13, contact plate 12 and conductor 21 back to the battery.

It may be that the person in the vault-will desire to sound on the alarm some preconcerted signal indicating the number ofthe robbers. This he can doby renderinginoperative the push button under the counter 4,

which can be effected by throwing the switch leverI 16 to the open position, thus disconnecting the push button under the counter 4 from the conductor 21. He can now open. and close the push button in the vault'the number of times required to designate( the number of robbers, or in such manner as to utilize the Morsecode for sending such signal or message as he may wish. v i

By pulling out the push button stems 13,

vthe apparatus is restored to its original condition ready for another alarm 4to be sent.

From the foregoing it will be understood that a person who is being held up in a bank,

store, saloon or other similar place, may unobserved send 1n .an alarm before he 1s locked 1n the vault or refrigerator. Or, 1n case that he isunable to send in the alarm before be- A ing imprisoned in the vault or refrigerator, he can from the vault or refrigerator send in an alarm of anyv desired nature'. In case c' that he has already sent in a general alarm by means of the push button under, the counter 4, he can Vby cutting out such ,push but` ton, by moving 'the lever 16 tothe open position, send preconcerted signals conveyin such information as he'may desire to sen and without the knowledge of the robbers by whom he has been held up.

I do not 'limit myxinvention to the structure shown and described, as modifications, within the scope of the appended claim, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is In a burglar alarm system, an enclosure,

prising a circuit closer outside of said enclosure, amanually operated switch inside lsaid lenclosure in series with said circuit closer to render it'operative or inoperative, and a circuit closer inside said enclosure in parallel with said switch and said first named circuit closer, substantially as set forth.

InV testimony whereof` 1V have signed my name to this specification.

,FRED L. ANDERSON.

so. j

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