US1703751A - Bank-protecting means - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 26, 1929.

E. M. RUNKLES H AL BANK PROTECTING MEANS Filed April 14, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet gwwntom E/Zffu III Z66 l, eis

Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,751

E. M. "RUNKLES ET AL BANK PROTECTING MEANS L L Z,

u H T Zjwwntoq Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,751

E. M. RUNKLES r AL BANK PROTECTING MEANS Filed April 14, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 gwuuntou v Z/IHunZ Iea 3 Iaiaa Gwen/neg Patented Feb. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,703,751 PATENT OFFICE.

MAE RUNKLES AND CHARLES ISISA, OI DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

BANK-PROTECTING MEANS.

Application iiled April 14,

This invention relates to means for protect-ing banks from robbers, and generally speaking the invention consists in the provision of a watchmans cage of steel or other bullet-proof material located adjacent to or forming part of the entrance passageway and having therein a si nal light which is adapted to be flashed w enever one of the tellers or other ofiicials of the bank presses a circuit closer located in his particular cage, so that the watchman may be warned and, while thorou hly protected himself, may shoot the rob ers or hold them up at the doorway as they are about to make-their escape.

The invention further consists in the provision of means whereby a police alarm may be soundedat the same time that the signal within the watchmans cage is energized so that the police may immediately come in case of trouble and without any special call other than the signal stated.

A further object is to provide a shield for a window or door 0 ening leading into said passageway, this shield being adapted to be shifted to or from a closed osition and to be held in any position desired and to be moved by mechanism of such character that the shield cannot be moved from the exterior of the watchmans cage,'a-nd in this connection to provide an entrance door to the watchmans cage which is also provided with means whereby it may be locked from the inside so that no bandits can ossibly'enter the cage to kill or intimidate t e watchman.

Other objects have to do with the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will appear more fully hereinafter.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Flgure 1 is a plan or diagrammatlc view of a bank having our bank protecting means applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the watchmans cage or armored compartment Figure 3 is an elevation of the door;

Figure 4 is a rear elevation partly in section of the means for supporting the slidin shield of the cage;

igure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 4;

Figure .6 is a longitudinal section on the line 66 of Figure 4, showing in plan the means whereby the door may be operated;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view showing cages, prefer 1928. Serial No. 269,968.

the electrical connections to the signal light and to the burglar alarm;

Referring to these drawings, Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic plan of a bank or like instltution and discloses the preferable position of the watchmans cage or armored room. A designates the general banking hall or foyer and B a series of tellers or cashiers cages or the cages for other officials of the bank. Entrance is secured to the general hall or foyer by the entrance hall C. It will be" understood, of course, that this is purely diagrammatic. The watchmans cage, which is designated generally '10, is preferably disposed at the entrance or hall, and preferably one side wall of the watchmans cage forms one of the walls of the hall or entranceway C. The ea c 10 is of sheet steel having any desired thickness and construction and preferably has four steel walls and a steel ceiling. These may be constructed in any suitable manner and preferably will be entirely smooth upon the exterior of the cage. The cage is provided with a door opening into the general hall or into a private passageway through which the watchman enters or leaves the cage. It is also provided with an opening 12 constituting an observation opening, this opening being upon the wall fronting the entrance passageway C.

The cage is preferably lighted by a light 13 and may contain any sultable furniture, though. preferably of metal. The cage is provided also with a red light signal, designated generally 14. This signal is connected in a normally interrupted circuit with a source of current by a series of wires 15, each wire running preferably beneath the floor of the bank or it might be in the ceiling of the bank.

Each wire asses into one of the tellers ably beneath the floor thereof, and is there provided with a edal-actuated circuit closer 16'of any suitab e character so that when the pedal, which may be in the form of a push button and adapted to be operated by the foot of the oflicer, is depressed, a circuit will be closed through the source of power and the lamp 14. The circuit to the lamp 14 may be arranged in any suitable manner, provided it is capable of being closed by the depression of a push but ton or other circuit closer in an one of the tellers cages independently 0 any other cage, so that in case a robber should attempt to hold up or intimidate anyone in any one of the cages, the oflicer may depress or actuate the circuit closer 16 inhis cage andclose a circuit through the red light- 14, thus giving a signal to the watchman. While we have illustrated a red light for this purpose, it will be understood that any other signal,

either visual or audible, might be used, but

. given to the watchman in the cage 10, a signal will also be given to the police. It is to be understood that any suitable circuit closer might be used for the purpose of closing the circuits through the alarm 18, a red light 14 or other signal.

Preferably the wires fO1,th circuit are disposed in a single conducting tube and dis posed beneath the floor or embedded within the walls of the building so that the robbers can by no chance out these wires. Preferably also the two circuit closing buttons, switches or equivalent members 16 and 17 will be disposed so as to be actuated simultaneously by the foot of the oflicer. A circuit closer adapted to be operated by the foot is preferable to a device adapted to be actuatedby the handle for the reason that a motion of the hand could be apparent to the robbers, whereas a motion of the foot would not be so apparent, being concealed by the partition in front of the cage.

The opening 12 is defined by any suitable metallic frame, preferably having the upper and lower horizontally disposed door guides 19 and 20. The guide 19 is U-shaped in cross section and has any suitable length greater than the length of the door coacting therewith as, for instance, a length of about onethird more than the door, and is provided with rollers 21 extending transversely of the trough-shaped guide. The guide 20 is also U-shaped in cross section and has a length greater than the length of the door. These guides are rigidly connected to the frame of the door opening in any suitable manner.

- The bottom guide 20 is formedwith three openings in its bottom, as at-22. Disposed in two of these openings are toothed supporting Wheels 23 which are mounted in any suitable manner upon the frame of the door upon the side wall of the cage, and the door 24 has attached to its under face the toothed rack bar 25 with which the toothed supporting wheels 23 are adapted to engage.

Mounted upon 'a shaft 26 is an operating gear wheel or cog wheel 27 which engages with the rack'25, and byrotating the shaft 26 the door 24 may be shifted backward or forward to an open or closed position or a partly open position, as desired, the door running easily upon the rollers 21. The shaft 26 is mounted in a supporting frame 28 whose inner ends are attached to the side wall of the cage'and whose outer ends are connected by means of the web 29 having bearings 30 for the outer end of the shaft 26. This web 29 is slotted at 31 and an end wall 32 is disposed upon the shaft and operates within this slot 31. By this means the watchman may shift the door toward or from its closed position,

and when the door is partly open the watchman can command the entrance passageway and prevent any exit of the robbers therefrom or shoot them down if they attempt to pass.

While we have illustrated a certain'specifled means whereby the door may be shifted and have illustrated the door as being shiftable in a horizontal plane, it will'be understood that other means might be used for the purpose and that the door might be shiftable in a verticalplane so as to leave an elongated, horizontally extending opening permitting the watchman to rake the entrance passageway and thus prevent any possible chance of the robbers bolting through the passageway and past the watchman. Of course, it will be understood that thewatchmans cage is provided with an ammunition box 'or racks for ammunition and with suitable firearms, etc., and that the Watchmans cage is so solidly built that the robbers cannot break into it without excessive work and loss of time.

The entrance door is designated 33 and is also made of sheet steel hinged to the wall of the cage and having means whereby it may be locked against being broken into by robbers. As illustrated,the door is provided with three hinges 34 engaging over vertical pintles 35 riveted or otherwise attached to the wall of the cage, the upper ends of the pintles being overturned, as at 36, so as to prevent the hings from being lifted ofi the pintlesQ Slidingly mounted upon the door are three eyebolts 37 which, when projected, engage in the three keepers 38 mounted upon the wall of the cage, the bolts being of size and the three bolts bein connected by a bar 39. This bar 39 is shi ted to carry the bolts into or out of projected position by means of a screw 40, the end of which is reduced and passes through an opening 41 in the bar and is swiveled to the bar by means of the head 24. The outer end of the screw 40 is threaded at 43 and the extremity of the screw is provided with a wheel 44. The

relatively large rgroa'zer Preferably, though not necessarily, the floor of the watchmans cage is elevated above the floor of the bank and the cage is supported by means of legs 46 a few inches from the floor, these legs being embedded. in the concrete of the floor. The watchmans cage is also provided with ventilators 47 in the top of the cage, these ventilators flaring downward.

It will be seen that a structure of the character described assures complete protection to banks and that with such a construction installed there is no chance for a bank robber to get out of a bank without being captured or killed. The watchman, being in the cage at all times, is in readiness for any emergency that may arise. The view door or shield at enables the watchman on duty to view all persons passing into or out of the bank and to hold up the robbers or shoot them down whenever he gets a signal and when the robbe'rs attempt to pass out through the exit. Of course, at this time he has the shield or door 24 open sufliciently to use his gun. The watchman on duty can also view the interior of the bank through the view opening so that he can see what is taking place at the tellers windows. Even if a particular teller or oflicer is unable to actuate the signal in front of him,other tellers orotficers,seeing his predicament, can actuate their circuit closers and thus actuate the signal for the watchman to guard the door. Furthermore, the actuation of any signal immediately signals the police, showing that there is trouble at the bank so that they can arrive as soon as possible to intercept the robbers. When the robhers start to leave the bank, the watchman inside the cage holds them up with his gun until the police arrive and he can then turn them over to the police.

It will thus be seen there is no way for the robbers or bandits to escape. In many banks a number of bank guards are kept on duty at all times loitering withinthe foyer of the bank to be used in case an attempt is made to hold up the bank.

It will be obvious have no protection, tioned within the watchmans cage, would be completely protected, thus reducing very greatly the amount of wages now spent for bank guards and very greatly increasing the protection given to the bank, as it would be practically impossible for any robbers to pass the watchmans cage without being killed or wounded.

We claim In abank having ofiicers cages and an entranceway, a watchmans armored cage dis posed along said entranceway forming one wall thereof and having a view opening, a shield therefore adjustable across the view opening from within the cage, an alarm signal disposed within-the watchmans cage, a police signal disposed exteriorly of the bank, and means independently operable disposed in each one of the ofiicers cages whereby both signals may be simultaneously energized.

In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures.

that these bank guards nLsrn MAE RUNKLES'. CHARLES ISISA.

whereas a watchman sta-

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