US1640572A - Burglar-catching and cashier-protective apparatus - Google Patents

Description

J. J. KENNEDY ET AL BURGLAR CATCHING AND CASHIER PROTECTIVE APPARATUS Filed June 30, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 John J Kenneiy Than-11.5 WLSt rqmw m m,

' I 1,640,572 1927' J. J. KENNEDY ET AL BURGLAR CATCHING AND CASHIER PROTECTIVE APPARATUS Filed June so. 1924 2 Sheets-$heet z FIG- JOHN J] KENNEDY THOMAS W. ESTENE j INVENTOR;

4 Q BY ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 30, 1,927.

onirro STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. KENNEDY AND THOMAS W. STENE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

Application filed June 30, 1924. Serial No. 723,411.

Our invention relates to an apparatus whereby a bank or other burglar may reachly be captured and at the same time eifec the bank or other cashier from tivelv arotect and at the same time insure bodily injury,

I that the funds of a bankor other establishment handling large or even small sums of money may be fully protected.

It is an ob ect or our invention to provide a means adapted to he suddenly elevated in front of a cashier or other person handling cash in order that he may be protected from bodily injury by a burglar or other person of disreputable character.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a means for automatically elevating a bullet proof shield in front. of a burglar in order that the individual handling large sums of money may be protected from bodily injury and at the same time prevent the money handled from being stolen.

A further object of our invention is to provide an apparatus in which a shield made of bullet proof glass may be suddenly elevated in front of an individual handling the cash of a business concern, such as a bank, it being our intention to make use of Sa d compressed air for this purpose.

shield,when out of use, will have a pro-, jecting portion which will be countersunk in a counter back of which said individual handles said cash so that sa d sh eld, when out of commission, will be pract cally 1nvisible and hence not arouse any suspicion on the part ,ofa burglar.

It is moreover an object of our invention to provide an apparatus in which the doors of a. bank or other building may beg-quickly and efiiciently closed by means of a compressed fluid, said door closing means being capable of being operated by the foot of the individual handling the A cash.

It is also an object of our invention to provide both a foot operatedas well asa hand operated means for releasing the doors after they have been closed, said means also being adapted to release the shield after it has been elevate-d. I

It is also an object of our invention to provide a means for simultaneously elevating a bullet proof shield in front of an individual handling cash in a bank or other building, close a plurality of doors, and ring a burglar alarm, situated either in the build-.

ing or at .a distance, say,

e xa ple, a

police station,

' pr o iel It is moreover an object of our invention to provide a means for pos tlvely holding said bullet proof shield in position after it s b en ele at Q at' may n i advertently drop when the individual back of the counter is being held up by a burglar.

if desire s d s eld ay be Pro e with a hole through which a weapon may be pr en ed to a b j fg a ysa i d fo in an effective means'for protecting the individual behind it from bodily injury.

It is also an object of our invention to p vid a m a s ich m y e f t p ra and at the same time may be effective instantly no matter what position an individual may be in whereby a bullet proof shield may be sud lenl'y elevated in front of him in order that he may be protected from bodily injury by a burglar.

It is intended to provide a foot operated means .of such a character and of such a length, that no matter what position the individual back of a counter may find himself in he may use his foot instantly to operate said means in order to suddenly elevate a protective shield in front of him.

lit is also an object of our invention to provide an apparatus which is simple in character, efficient, inexpensive to manufacture, thoroughly practical and which fulshowing i an, enlarged broken detail View the'motor which operates the bullet and the means whereby the motor as well as the burglar alarm and door operating means: may be rendered operative. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the shield in elevated position and the means for positively holding itin such position,

I Fig. 4 1s an'enlarged "detail cross sectional view of; the valve mechanism for operating the. motors for the shield and the door or doors,

Fig. 5 is, a detail perspective view of the means for operating the valve shown in Fig. 4, and

Describing our invention more in detail,.

the numeral 1 indicates a bullet proof shield, preferably, though not necessarily made of bullet proof glass, which shield is provided with a flared projection 20 adapted to be countersunk in a counter 3 so that when said shield is in lowered position it may be practically invisible and therefore not arouse the suspicion of any one intending to rob a bank or other building of a business concern. 4

The counter 3 is shown as provided with the usual latticed window 2, though, is obvious, said window may be omitted. A motor 4, placed beneath the counter 3 or in any position found desirable, forms the means whereby the shield 1 may be suddenly elevated in front of the individual back of the counter.

The motor 4 comprises a cylinder in which a piston 5 is adapted to be reciprocated by means of a compressed fluid admitted to said cylinder by means of the pipe 19, said fluid being admitted to a valve casing 7 by means of the pipe 9. A pistonrod 6 directly connects said piston to the shield 1, though any means for directly or indirectly connecting the two parts may be used that in practice may suggest itself.

As shown in Fig. 2, the cylinder is provided with suitable heads 28 and 29 for closing the ends of said cylinder, the head 29 being provided with holes 21 to permit the air back of the piston 5 to be exhausted slowly so as to provide for a cushion to prevent the various parts from injury upon the sudden elevation of the shield 1. The rod 6 may also be loosely fitted in the head 21 to accommodate the projection 24 which projection is adapted to engage with a con ventional form of latch 23, which latch is adapted to positively hold the shield 1 in elevated position.

Any suitable means for holding the heads 28 and 29 on the cylinder may be provided, either screwing same thereon or using any well known form of securing means.

WVires G and G form the circuit of a burglar alarm or other means for indicating the presence of an undesirable individual in the building. the valve casing, and the Wire G is secured to an element forming a contact 0, which element, when the circuit is closed, is adapted to engage with the complementary con tact 0.

A spring pressed valve 39, adapted to engage with a seat 32, is housed in the valve casing 7, which valve is adapted to control the fluid conveyed from the pipe 9 to the pipe 19, the spring 40 being adapted to be compressed by the push rod 25.

The wire G isgrounded on,

The bar 41 is provided witha lug26, which lug 7 adapted to engage with the push rod To operate the valve 39 all that is necessary is for the operator to slide his foot under the bar 42 and give a sudden pres sure upward with his foot. In practice, the individual back of the counter will have his foot under the bar 42 at all times, and no matter what position he may be in at an instants notice he is ready instinctively to raise his foot and operate the mechanism whereby the protective shield 1 may be suddenly elevated in front of him.

The device 10 may be suitably pivoted to the floor by any means found desirable. In the top of the valve casing 7 or in any other place found desirable and convenient, a valve 38 is mounted, which valve may be operated by a spring pressed button 37, to be operated by the foot or otherwise. Said valve 38 functions to exhaust the air in the cylinder of the motor 4 to release the shield so it may be lowered, and also release the pressure holding the doors closed, to be presently described.

Piping 16 conveys compressed fluid from the pipe 19 to a motor 12 which motor is adapted to operate a door 11 by means of any suitable mechanism 15,- which in practice may take any form found desirable. The piston 13 through its rod 14 conveys the movement of said piston to said mechanism 15 by which the door 11 is operated.

A conventional form of three-way valve 34 is placed in the pip-e line 16 which valve functions to release the pressure acting on the piston 13 and also that acting on the piston 5 in the motor 4 to release the shield 1. Any suitable means for operatingsaid valve 34 may be provided, in the present instance the hand operated lever 35 being shown, the short pipe 36 functioning to exhaust the air in the pipes 16 and 19. V

It is obvious that any number of doors may be actuated in the manner shown,.the illustration being suggestive merely.

The operation of the apparatus should now be clear. In case a burglar should appear in front of the latticed window 2, and present a weapon to the individual behind the counter 3 with aperemptory order to hand over the cash on the counter, all that is necessary for saidindividual to do to protect himself and the cash he is handling, is to raise his foot, said foot being continually in a position to do so. His foot will now oc copy the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the device 10 will also be in the position shown in dotted lines in said figure. The lug 26 will press the push rod 25, which in turn will open the valve 39 against the spring 40, permitting the fluid to enter the pipe 19 and act onthe pistons 5 and 13. The shield 1 will fly up instantly and form a protective medium for said individual. The latch 23, engaging with the projection 2%, will positively hold said shield in elevated position, preventing accidental lowering of said shield, should the pressure of the fluid suddenly fail for some reason. At the same time the door or doors of the building will be closed, preventing the escape of the burglar. Simultaneously with the above noted operation, a circuit will be made between the contacts 0 and 0, giving the necessary alarm.

It will thus be seen that not onl will the burglar be captured but any possi le injury to the individual handling the cash will be avoided, effectively guarding against monetary loss of the bank or other business concern. 1

After the burglarhas been taken into custody, the shield may be quickly lowered by releasing the catch 23, the operator at the same time pressing his foot on the button 37 or using his hand to operate the lever 35. This, as has been explained, will exhaust the air from the pipes 16 and 19, lowering the shield and permitting the doors to be opened.

It will be obvious that we have provided an apparatus which will thoroughly protect the funds of a bank or other business concern and at the same time effectively protect any individual in said bank from bodily injury and insure that the burglar may be captured forthwith, it being impossible for him to escape.

It will also be clear that our apparatus may be varied throughout a wide range, and that numerous modifications thereof may be made. We therefore do not ropose to be limited to the exact details 0 construction shown and described, but reserve the right in,

practise to make any and all modifications claims.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described wherein a building is equipped with auto matically operated means for fastening the doors and windows thereof and a burglar alarm sounded so that a burglar may be captured, the combination of a counter, a bullet proof shield slidably associated with said counter, a projection on the upper portion of said shield, said counter being equipped with a countersunk portion for receiving said projection when said shield is in lowered position so that said shield may be concealed, a motor for elevating said shield, and means for operating said motor, said means comprising an inclined rectangular frame and means for holding said frame in inclined position whereby said motor may be caused instantly to function by reason of the sudden elevation of the operators foot.

2. In an apparatus of the class described wherein a fluid pressure motor is adapted to lift suddenly a bullet proof shield above a counter, said counter being equipped with a slot and a countersunk portion associated therewith for permitting the passage of said shield, lateral projections on the top of said shield adapted to be positioned on said countersunk portion when said shield is'in lowered position so that said shield will be substantially invisible in said position, means associated with said motor and said shield, and in direct alignment therewith whereby said shield maybe slidably lifted, a valve for controlling said motor, a rectangular frame juxtaposed to said valve, meansvon said frame for operating said valve, means on said frame whereby the elevation of the foot of the operator may cause sald frame to operate said valve, and

fluid pressure relief means associated with said Valve whereby said shield may be lowered.

JOHN J. KENNEDY. THOMAS w. STENE.

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