US1919647A

US1919647A - Automatic safety plunger

Info

Publication number: US1919647A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel L Belknap
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1932-09-21
Filing date: 1932-09-21
Publication date: 1933-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1950-07-25

Description

July 25, 5 BELKNAP 1,919,647

AUTOMATI C SAFETY PLUNGER Filed Sept. 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l JVVE TUR I 5L.EELKNHP l-ZTTUENEYS- July 25, 1933.

s. L. BELKNAP 1,919,647

AUTOMATIC SAFETY PLUNGER Filed Sept. 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .mQZTTUHNEYS.

JTVENTUH I EILBELKNHP M Patented July 25,1933

UNITED, 'srA'r s PATENT OFFICE SAMUEL L. 'BELKNAP, or LOS ANGELES; CALIFORNIA AUTOMATIC SAFETY PLUNGER Application filed September 21, 1932. Serial No. 634,189.

and which provides means for eifectively locking the door in closed position even though the lock and the lock controlled bolt may have been disturbed or mutilated. In the use of safes, for which the nnproved door has been primarily designed, it not in-- frequently occurs that an attempt is made to open the safe by punching the look through the door. In other. instances attempts are made to break thelo'ck and to remove the pieces of the lock piece by piece. In the present construction the door has auxiliary bolts which are normally not'used butv which are instantly available and caused to be used on disturbing the lock and lock controlled bolt so as to effectively hold the door in closed position and thus prevent access to the interior of'th'e safe.

With the foregoing and other ob ects 1n view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description, and spec fically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment'of the invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a safe for which the improved door and associated structure has been primarily designed.

' -Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the door of the safe.

Fig. 3 isa view in front elevation of the door. Fig. 4-is a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 4 4 upon Figure l in the direction indicated.

V Fig. 5 is a partial view in vertical section illustrating one of the'auxiliary bolts in its retracted position. c

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 showing the auxiliary bolt in projected or look ing position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

wherein similar reference characters desig .nate similar parts throughout, the safe'herein disclosedis similar to that disclosed in my copending application consisting of a frusto-conic'al body 10 having a bottom 11 with integral flanges 12. The safe presents a smooth straight line exterior and is adapted to be embedded bodily in a concrete floor or wall indicated at C. At the top of the safether'e are provided two

seats

13 and 14,

each seat being designed to receive a door( Although a double door safe is herein disclosed, it will be understood that the invention is in no, way restricted in its application to a double door safe in that it may be equally well employed on a single door. As shown, however, each seathas an

adjacent flange

15 and 16 respectively. The body of the upper door is indicated at 17 and the body of the lower door is indicated at 18, these doors being circular in form and shaped to fit theirrespective seats. Each" door is designed to be capable ofrotating. on its sealwhile in closed position, hindering any attempt to chisel the door. Each door carries an outstanding lug on one side, the lug being indicated 'by the reference character 19. Diametrically opposite this lug the door is recessed, as indicated at 20, the recess being located on the under side to receive a lock, the keyhole of which is indicated at 21, and which controls and operates a sliding bolt 22 whichlcan be projected beneath the, flange of the seat when the door is in closed position. The bolt 22 and lug '19 cooperate to fasten the door in place al- 7 by coil sprin s 30. Preferably the inner b ends of the and 29 respecplungers or bolts 28 and29 are recessed to partially receive the springs 30. Each plunger has on its under sidea small aperture 31 and. the locations of the bores .26

and 27 and the

plungers

28 and 29 is such that when the plungers or

bolts

28 and 29 are projected they move outwardly beneath the flange on the body or seat. The plate 28 has secured thereto a pair of small rivets or studs, these being indicated at 32 and 33. These studs normally enter apertures-31 in the bolts or'plungers and hold the bolts or plungers in retracted positions so that normally the outer ends of these bolts or plungers are flush with the periphery of the door.

The operation and advantages of the improved construction are as follows. Under normal conditions the bolts or

plungers

28 and 29 are kept retracted and the bolt 22 in cooperation with lug 19 serves as the sole retaining means for holding the door in locked position. If an attempt is made, however, to punch the lock through the door, the punching stresses are transmitted to plate 23 tending to spring the plate down away from the under side of the door, as is shown in Figure 6. This downward movement of the plate with respect to the door causes the rivets or

studs

32 and 33 to be withdrawn from apertures 31, thus re leasin the bolts or

plungers

28 and 29. These then spring out beneath the flange so that even though the lock should be completely destroyed and the bolt22 moved into retracted position, the bolts or

plungers

28 and 29 retain the door in closed position, thus preventing the opening of the safe by any unauthorized person.

It will, of course, be appreciated that when the bolts or

plungers

28 and 29 have been released and the lock may have been destroyed, that it is then diiiicult for even an authorized person to gain access to the interior of the safe. It is then necessary to withdraw the safe from the concrete C or to chip away sufiicient concrete to expose a side of the safe. The bodies of these sates are usuall heavily casehardened and with the side 0 the safe exposed it is possible to grind ofi this casehardening with a grinding wheel. When the outer hard skin is thus ground 05, it is possible to drill through the safe beneath the flange. A drill is used of sufficient diameter to form a hole which will allow a bolt or plunger 28 to pass through and a hole is then drilled into the wall of the safe. When this hole has been drilled the door may be rotated to position a plunger or

bolt

28 or 29 opposite the hole and it can then be withdrawn through the hole in the wall. l/Vhen one plunger has been withdrawn in this manner, the safe can be rotated to position the opposite plunger opposite the hole to enable its withdrawal. The door can then be removed to provide access to the interior. Obviously this opening of the safe to gain access to the interior requires considerable time and requires the presence of the necessary tools. In the limited time that an unauthorized person has an opportunity to attempt access to the interior, these operations of removing the concrete and drilling the hole after grinding off the casehardened-skin can hardly be accomplished. The usual attempt is made to quickly and simply punch through the lock and the improved construction safeguards the contents of the safe in the event that such a punching operation is semi-successful.

It will be appreciated that the presence of the plungers or

bolts

28 and 29 in no way interferes with the normal operation of the safe and that these parts only become operative when position of the lock is disturbed with respect to the body of the door.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: I I

1. A safe comprising a container, a door for the container, there being an inwardly extending flange on which the door rests, a lock for the door having a bolt adapted to be moved beneath the flange when in locking position, said lock extending through the door, a plate on the under side of the door, and means operable by flexing of the plate on attempting to punch the lock engageable beneath said flange for holding the door in closed position.

2. A safe comprising a container, a door for the container, there being an inwardly extending flange on which the door rests, a lock for the door having a bolt adapted to be moved beneath the flange when in looking position, said lock extending through the door, a plate on the under side of the door, a spring actuated bolt urged into flange engaging position mounted on the door, and means associated with the plate for normally holding the spring actuated bolt retracted but adapted'to release it when the plate is moved on punching the lock.

3. A safe comprising a container having a circular entrance, there being an inwardly extending circular flange at the entrance on which the door rests, a lock for the door having a bolt adapted to be moved beneath said flange when in locking position enabling the door to be rotated while in locked position, spring actuated bolts mounted in the door adapted to be projected by the springs into positions beneath said flange, and means connecting the spring actuated bolts to the lock for normally holding the spring actuated bolts in retracted positions but adapted to release them when the lock is disturbed from its normal position such as on punching the lock.

SAMUEL BELKNAP.