US2147050A

US2147050A - Banker's safety unit

Info

Publication number: US2147050A
Application number: US35687A
Authority: US
Inventors: George S Minear; James D Minear
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-08-10
Filing date: 1935-08-10
Publication date: 1939-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 1956-02-14

Description

2 sheefs-sheet, 1

s SAFETY UNIT G. S. MKNEAR ET AL BANKER Filled Aug. l0, 1955 Feb. 14, 1939.

Feb. 14, 1939. G s. MlNEAR T AL 2,147,050

BANKER S SAFETY UNIT Filed Aug. 10, 19:35 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb. 14, 1939 PATENT 10F-Fica ANKERls SAFETY UNIT George SuMinear Aand James fD. Minear,

Moines, LIowa.'

.Applicationugust 10, 1935, SerialNo. 35,687

17 Claims.

Our invention relates to .an improved device for the protectionpotbanks and the like against burglary.

Heretoforea great .deallof vtime and veffort has 5 been .expended .in the :construction of Lbank lvaults Vcapable of withstanding explosives, drills tand other means ,of breaking into 'the vaults, and also .in v.the vconstructionV of Ycomplicated combinations and itime locks and the likein an effort A lof to .makezit diicult or impossible vfor a burglar to `open the vault.

.Notwithstanding the generally accepted :use of such devices `in .the .banks Athere is at 'the present time :an alarmingly .large numberof 'bank rob- 14,5: beides, and .a large 'number `of them are accomplished as follows: .The burglar, knowing the practical .impossibility Yof :him being able to gain access vto the .interior of the vault without aid,

is in the habit of .entering a bank .and nding a bank aoicial who knows the combinationgof the lcckor the other means for .gaining vaccess to the vault, and then the burglar threatensthe bank ocial with v,the loss of :his life unless the official :opens the vault. Under `such circumstances, obviously theblcial opens the vaultand the 'burglar escapes withthe'valuables contained in the vault.

t The object .of bur invention is to provide -a bankers safety Vunit .of simple, :durable and `inexpensive -construction, and by .means .of which and in the event that a burglar'with agunshould threaten the life .of the bank ocial unless the bank official .opened the door leading tothe vault, then the bank oflicial could, by manipulating lthe, dial lfor opening .the ,door Ato, the Vault,V automatically close a sliding steel-panel between himselfand the burglar so that Vthe .burglar could not Ashoot the oflcial, and at thesame time securely trap the burglar ,Within .asmallsteel wall enclosure, and also at the same time automatically sound'the alarm ontheexterior ofthe bank so lthat the .legal authorities couldbe. notified of the attempted burglaryandCapture the burglar.

YMore specifically, it is lour..object to provide y in a bank building .a revolvingdoorat thegentrance to .the bank, anda steel walledpassageway yleading .from the customers lobby of the bank to `thebankvault, and .through which every one .entering .the .bank vault must pass, and ,also 50 to provide insaid .passagewaymeans .Wherebya burglar with .a gun, -threatening a bankoflicial and demanding that he .openthefdoor'` to the vault, could be locked ina steelwalled enclosure, and l.at `the same. vtime .a .revolving V door leading to' theibank could ,also .be .automatically locked by lthe bank aoilicial .within .the steel Vwalled enclosure fso :that A-when the :alarm -is -given and the legal authorities arrive at the bank, not vonly the @articular burglar threatening the bank oincial `could be captured, but yhis associates who 5 may vbe* there fior the purpose .of preventing interference iby tother .customers would also be locked within the bank tand thereby easily captured by the authorities.

More specifically, ,it is=our Yobject `to provide a steel walled passageway ,for aentrance fto the bank vault, lof Isuch size and shape that one man only could standfin the lspace within the passageway nearest -the -yault, .so that the bank ocial who :knew .the means `for opening ythe 15.7,

door .leading from the passageway tothe vault must necessarily .occupy -this space, and further to mrovidmasliding-door'in this ,passageway substantiallyzcinvisible to :those within -the passageway, -and -to provide means Ewhereby -the bank oicial.may,.in;an apparentattempt to open the door leading from -thefpassageway tothe vault, automatically :actuate a power voperated mechanism for quickly sliding `the -metal kdoor -between himself andthe burglar to therebyprevent the 25 burglarffromlcarryingout his threaten the life of the .bank oieial; .and-further'in this connection, -it is-our object .to ,provide :means whereby, in the event that .the `burglar vshould attempt by mechanical devices yto prevent the closing of said sliding adoor, -the `wall of-.the ,passageway toward which the sliding door moves to .closed rposition will automatically yield in vsuch -manner as to eject any suchl mechanical devices .for `preventingltheclosingof theldoor. Y 3.5

Our `invention consists .in theconstruction, arrangement andcombination ofthe various parts of .the-device, whereby theobjects contemplated are attained, .as hereinafter Ymore fully set forth, pointed outin our .claims,.and illustrated n the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l .-showsfahorizontal, sectional view of Va bankV building .containing ourimproved bankers safety `unitwith the top ,of the `walled passage removed. n

,Figure 2 showsa verticalsectional view taken longitudinally .through a steel `walled passageway leading vto theban'k building and illustrating the sliding door'in 'its Aclosed or partly closed pOStOnS.

.Eigureshowsjanvenlarged detail .vertical sectionalviewillustrating the valve `devices on the exterior o'f the .bank building 'for releasing the locked doors Within the'barik, 'taken on the line 3-3 Vof VFigure '11. Y.

Figure 4 shows a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 illustrating the construction of the foot operated valve openers for automatically locking the revolving door to the bank entrance.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view illustrating the steel walled passageway and its connected parts.

Figure 6 shows a detail perspective view,l partly in section, illustrating the mechanism for-locking the revolving door.

Figure 7 shows a detail View in vertical section illustrating the means for locking and releasing the side wall door.

Figure 8 shows an enlarged detail view, partly in section, illustrating the mechanism for closing the sliding door and for unlocking the door leading from the steel walled passageway to the bank vault.

Figure 9 shows an enlarged detail view, partly in section, illustrating the mechanism for controlling the valve in the air line which operates the sliding door; and

Figure 10 shows an end elevation of same with one of the slide bars in the notch in the disc and in position for permitting the passage of air through the air line to close the sliding door.

Figure 11 shows a detail sectional view taken on the line I I-II of Figure 8.

Figure 12 is a detail sectional view illustrating one of the loops 54 in section and the manner in which the hooks on the lever 58 engage the same to lock the door I1 in its closed position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, we have used the reference numeral I to indicate generally the Walls of a bank building and II -to indicate generally the revolving door at the street entrance to the bank building. Surrounding the revolving door are the walls I2 forming the customers lobby. In the following specification and claims, we have referred to the bank vault, and by this we mean all or any part of the space within the bank walls except that part contained within the walls of the customersz lobby.

For providing communication between the customers lobby and the interior of the bank building or vault we have provided a steel walled passageway, the walls of which are indicated generally by the reference numeral I3. Inone of the side walls of this passageway there is a door I4 (see Figure 1) leading to one end of the saidpassageway from the customers lobby, and at the opposite end of the passageway there is a spring closed door I'leading into the vault from the passageway, and betweenthese two doors there is a sliding door I6. This sliding door extends through a slot in the steel walled passageway, and when in open position, the edge of the door substantially fills the slot and the door is thereby rendered substantially invisible or atleast inconspicuous. In this connection it should be explained that the relative sizes of thev various parts of the steel walled passageway are of irnportance, and itis desirable that the side walls of the passageway adjacent the door I5 are so close together that one man only can stand in these spaces between the side walls, and it is also important that the slidingdoor be so `positioned that one man only can stand inthe space between the door I5 and the sliding door I6. Y

VOn the .side of the `steel walled passageway toward which the sliding door I5 moves to closed position, Ywe have provided aspring.,*closedhinged panel IT so constructed and arranged thatv if when the sliding door IB is being moved to closed position a mans body should be interposed between the slilding door and the hinged panel I'I, the hinged panel will move a slight distance so that the body, or portions thereof, may be moved into the space within the steel walled passageway adjacent the door I4, or, more particularly, in the event that the burglar should attempt to prevent the closing of the sliding member I6 by interposing between it and the adjacent steel wall of the passageway a block or brace or other object, the panel I1 would swing outwardly far A enough to permit this brace or the like to slide oi of the panel without preventing the closing of the sliding door. Springs I'Ib are connected to the panel II and mounted on the ceiling of the passageway to normally return the panel to closed position.

The specific construction of the steel walled passageway is as follows: The entrance door I4 may be opened and closed at will, and anyone within the passageway between the sliding door I6 and the door I4 may enter the customers lobby. The sliding. door IB is provided with an outer flange I8, in which there is a slot which receives a guide arm I9 secured -to the outer surface of the steel Walle-d passageway, and another guide device 20 supports the bottom of the slide door so that it will freely and easily move in a straight line. Secured to the outer end of the slide door is a piston rod 2| extended into a cylinder 22 and provided with a piston' not shown, so that when air is admitted into the opposite end of the cylinder 22 (see Figure 1) the slide door is forced'to closed position, and when compressed air is admitted to the other end of the cylinder the slide door is moved to open position. The hinged door I5 is preferably provided, as shown in Figure 2, with a bullet proof window 23 of ordinary construction.

On the outer surface of the. steel walled passageway adjacent the closed edge of the door I5 is a slide bar 24 (see Figure 5) having hooks 25 thereon to engage lugs 26 on the door I5. A spring 2l is provided to normally hold the slide bar 24 downwar-dly, and the hand operated lever 28 on the exterior of the steel walled passageway is provided for raising the hooks 25 and releasing the door I5 so that this door may always be readily and easily opened by a person wishing to pass from the vault portion of the bank enclosure into the-passageway.

The'door I5 may also be opened from the interor of the passageway, and from the same point manually controlled means may be operated to cause the closing of the sliding door I6, and also t0 cause the locking of the revolving door. This means comprises a dial 29, of ordinary construction, mounted in the upper portion of the passageway adjacent the door I5. This dial is Xed to a shaft 35] which is connected to a beveled pinion 3I in mesh with a beveled pinion 32, and this beveled pinion v32 is connected to a cylinder 33 which rotates in unison with the beveled pinion 32. This cylinder 33, as shown in Figure 8, is provided with' notches 34 in its periphery.

Mounted above the cylinder 33 is a rock shaft 35 provided with a crank arm 3B connected by a rod 3'I to the Yslide bar 24,.and on the shaft 35 another crank arm 38 is provided (see Figure 5), for purposes hereinafter made clear.

For the purpose of actuating the mechanism by which the sliding door IB is operated we have provided on the rock shaft 35 two crank arms 40 extended downwardly in the direction away from the'door I5, as shown in Figure 5, and xed to the outer ends of these crank arms 40 is a support 4I. This support 4I carries a latch bar 42 so shapedthat when moved downwardly it Vmay enter the notch 34 lin the cylinder 33, and slidingly connected with the latch bar 42 is a second latch bar 43 yieldingly held to its downward limit by a spring 44, and also capable of entering the notch 34 if the cylinder 33 is properly positioned below it. This latch bar 43 has an extending arm 45 `(see Figure 9) arranged adjacent to a release valve 46 in the compressed air pipe line 41, hereinafter described. As shown in Figure 10 the cylinder 33 has been rotated to position with the notch 34 directly under the latch bar 43, and this latch bar v43 has been moved downwardly by its cylinder 5I, in which there is a spring 52 for normally holding the piston 50 in its elevated position. This piston 50 is connected by a rod 53 with the crank arm 40 to normally hold the frame 4| in its elevated position. A second similar piston 58 and cylinder 5I are provided to connect with the other one ofthe crank arms 4I] to cause the frame 4I to move upwardly and downwardly and remain in horizontal position.

By means of the construction thus described, and assuming that the operator manipulates the dial 29 in such manner as to bring the slot 34 in the cylinder 33 directly under the bar 43, then if the operator pulls the lever 48 the bar 43 will enter the slot 34 and thereby depress the valve Y 46 to permit passage of air through it and thereby wardly so that the operator may freely enter the interior of the bank structure containing the vault or other valuables.

In the event that the slide door I6 is moved to closed position to thereby separate a bank official within the passageway adjacent the door I5 from a burglar within the passageway at the end toward the door I4, it is desirable that the door I1 be held closed so that a burglar within the customers lobby cannot open the door I 1 and thereby obtain access to the bank ofcial.. For this purpose we have provided at the upper and lower ends of the door I1, as shown in VFigure '1, a loop 54 at the top and another corresponding loo-p54. at the bottom. These loops extend inwardly4 below the floor 55 and above the ceiling 56 of the passageway, for purposes `hereinafter made clear.

Mounted on top of the ceiling 56 is a bracket said rod also connects with the'bell crank lever 38. Thisspring 63 normally holds Vthelink 60 in v its lowered position so that'the hooked

levers

58 and 59 are thereby held out of engagement with the loops 54 andthe door I1 may be opened. However, when the rock shaft 35 is turned to such position as will, by permitting the bar 43 to enter the notch A34 of the drum33 and the valve 46 to be actuated to permit air to enter thepipe 12 and the cylinder 22, actuate the mechanism for closing the slide door I6, 'the crank lever`6l is moved upwardly and the hooked levers 58 and 59 will engage the loops 54 and lock the door I1 shut. A

We preferably operate the various working parts of vour invention by means of compressed air, and we have provided a compressed air storage tank 18 from which a pipe 1I leads to a pipe 12 which communicates with a pipe 13, shown in 'Figure 6, leading to a cylinder 'I4 directly over the revolving door hereinafter described. This pipe 12 also extends to the outer end of the cylinder 22, before described, and between the revolving door and the cylinder 22 there is a one way check valve 15. Also connected to the tank 19 is a pipe 1Ia. A pipe 16 communicates with the pipe 1Ia, and leads to a valve of ordinary construction, shown in Figure 3, and located on 'the exterior of the building (see Figure 1). The pipe 11 communicates with the pipe 12 and also communicates with said valve. vThe pipe 18 communicates with the said valve-and leads to the inner end of the cylinder l22, and this pipe 18 aso communicates with the'bottom of the cylinder 14, which will be hereinafter-described.

The said valve shown in -Figure 3 rcomprises a cylindrical valve casing 19 and a. frotary valve body 80 within the casing. 'I'he valve body is provided with two passageways 8| and 82, and the casing is provided with four inlet and outlet passageways. When the Valve is in the position shown in Figure 3, then compressed air may pass through the pipe'16 and out through the pipe 18 to the inner end of the cylinder 22 for normally holdingthe slide door I6 open, and at the same time air may pass through the pipe 11 and out through the exhaust port 83, but when the valve 80 is moved to a different position this 'passage of air through it is prevented.

The revolving door has heretofore been described generally as a revolving door II, rand the door itself is of the ordinary revolving door type. In addition to this, we have provided at the top of the door a cylindrical rack-84, the teeth thereof extendinginwardly. On the top of the revolvingv member of the door we have provided two spring actuatedratche'ts 85,'with their inner ends slightly spaced apart and with springs 86 normallyholding the ratchets 85 inwardly out of engagement with the rack bar 84, normally permitting rotation of the revolving door. inder 14, before described, communicates with the air pipe 13, and belowY the cylinder'is the exhaust pipe 18. Within the cylinder is a piston 81, and connected to the piston is al cone wedge 88 capable of entering between the inner ends of the ratchets 85. Hence, when the cone wedge' 88 is down, the revolving door is locked, and when up, the springs 86 push Vthe ratchets 85 away from the rack 84 and permit the revolving door to freely rotate.

Thus it will be seen that the door may be automatically locked by manipulating the dial 28 to cause the cylinder 33 to rotate to position with the notch 34 beneath the bar 43, after which the operator may lower the lever 48 against the resistance of the

springs

52 and 53, causing the valve stem 46 to be actuated and air under pressure to'be admitted'to 'the pipes1I and 12 and to the cylinder 22,` at which time the door I6 is closed. Air will also flow through the pipe 12, past the cylinder 22, through the check valve 15 to the pipe 13 and into the upper end of the cylinder 14, causing the piston 81 to be lowered and the door I I locked against rotation, in the manner above'described. The door II may then be unlocked at such times as hereinafter set forth, by simply rotating the valve to its exhaust position as shown in Figure 3, thus exhausting the

pipes

11 and 13, which takes place with the valve 41 closed. Air from the pipe 16 under pressure from the tank 10 will then enter the pipe 18 through the passage 8| of said valve and cause the piston 81 to be elevated and. the door II unlocked, at the same time causing the piston of the cylinder 22 to be moved to its normal position with the door I6 opened. The valve 80 may then be returned to its normal position with the parts connecting the

pipes

11 and 16 closed. In this connection it should benoted that the door I5 is always maintained in a closed and locked position except when bank officials are passing through the walled passage, at which time the door I5 may be unlocked by actuating the lever 28 from position within the vault or by actuating the dial 29 and moving the notch 34 of the cylinder 33 to position beneath the bar 42, then actuating the lever 48 tounlatch said door, in the manner before described. When the official is positioned within the walled passage these opening and closing operations take place without actuating the door I6 or locking the revolving door I I, thus permitting the bank official to travel freely through the walled passage. It sometimes happens that it is desired to lock the door I I without closing the door I6 and at such times as the bank o-flicial is not forced to enter the walled passage. To accomplish this we have provided means whereby the revolving door may be placed in locked position by the operators at various parts withinY the bank building without closing thev door I6, and for this purpose we have provided a pivoted foot rail 89,shown in Figure 4, with its upper end connected to a valve 90 in the pipe 12a, leading to the pipe 11, which pipe 12a is connected tothe air supply pipes, 1I to 1Ia, and 16 by means of a short pipe 9|. This foot rail 89 is yieldingly held downwardly by a spring 92, then when it is desired to operate it, the operator places his toe under the foot rail 89, thus opening the valve and permitting air being discharged from the pipe 1I'a, to pass to the pipe 12a,

which will enter the cylinder 14 through the pipel 13 and cause the piston 81 to be moved downwardly and the ratchets to be moved to locking position. The check valve 15 serves to prevent air from the pipe 16 entering the pipe 12 and the piston in the cylinder 22 to be maintained inoperative. The door II will then remain locked until the valve 8!) is moved to its exhaust position. If the rail 89 is lowered, the-valve 90 will close, trapping the air under pressure in the pipe 12a. Movement of the valve 80 to exhaust position will permit the pressure in the pipe 12a to be reduced to atmospheric pressure.

In practical use, and Vassuming that a bank holdup of the kind now extremely common is attempted on a bank equipped with our improvement, let it be assumed that one robber equipped with a gun captures a bank oicial within the customers lobby and that other robbers are stationed within the customers lobby as assistants; and assuming that the robber demands that the bank ofticialopen the .vault or other receptacle for the banks valuables, and places the gun close to the bank ofiicial for enforcing this demand, under such circumstances the bank oiicial must open the door I4 and enter the passageway leading to the vault. The end of the passageway adjacent the door I5 is so narrow that the body of the bank ollcial only can enter between its side walls, and the robber must necessarily stand at the rear of the passageway. Then the banker may manipulate the dia-l 29 in such manner as to actuate the sliding door I8 so that this smooth sliding door is rapidly forced between him and the burglar, and the instant that this is done, the banker is secure from gun iire from the burglar, whereupon the banker may then proceed to sound an alarm in any ordinary manner, not shown. During this time that the bank official is within the passageway and the door I6 is closed, neither the burglar who followed him in to the passageway nor any assistants who might be within the customers lobby, may in any way injure thebanker because the banker is within the steel Walled passageway. When the robbers know that they have thus been foiled in their attempt they would naturally seek to escape through the revolving door, the only exit from the customers lobby. This, however, is impossible because the revolving door has been automatically locked at the time the door I6 was closed, and the robber and his associates are all securely locked within the customers lobby and cannot injure the bank oiTicials who'are behind the partition forming the customers lobby. When police officials arrive they can readily and easily manipulate the valve 88 on the exterior of the bank building to release the revolving door, so that they may enter and capture the burglars.

During the ordinary procedure within the bank there is no particular difficulty in having the bank oihcials enter from the customers lob-by into the bank vault compartment because the door I4 ireely swings open and closed, and the door I5 may be opened very readily and quickly by having the bank ofcial manipulate the dial 29 so that it permits the release of the door I5 which may then be opened by moving the lever @3, and when the bank officials-are passing from the vault compartment to the customers lobby, the door I5 is easily opened by manipulating the lever 28 and the door Ill freelyswings open.

InV the accompanying claims we have referred to the bank building walls, the customers lobby, the vault compartment, and the like, as app-lied to the use of our invention in connection with banks only, but we do not wish to be understood as limiting our invention as applied to banks having vaults because, obviously, the same meehanism may be successfully employed for protecting other valuables.

We claim as our invention:

l. In a bankers safety unit,the combination of a passagewaycompartment leading to a bank vault, a door in said passageway for admission to and from the passageway and another door in said passageway for admission to and from the bank vauit, the walls of said passageway adjacent the said door for admission to the bank vault being spaced apart sufficiently to admit the body of one man only, and a third door normally open but, when closed, extending across the passageway and separating the space for one man at the end of the passage nearest the vault from the space at the other end of the passageway.

2. In a bankers safety unit,the combination doorirr said` passageway for admission to and from the-bank vault, the wallsof saidpassageway adjacent the said door for admission to the bank vault being spaced apart sufficiently to admit thebody of one man only,` andla third door normallyv open but, when'` closed, extending. across the passageway and separatingl the space for one .man at; the; end of the passage nearest kthe vault from thespacefatthe other endv of the passageway, means for automatically closing -said third door;,and a, controldevice for said closing means accessible to anoperator .within the passageway and adjacent the door for admission tothe bank vault. V

3. In a bankers. safetyrunit,V the combination `of; a, passageway compartment.leadingv to a bank vault, a door in said passageway for admission to` and:v fromv the passageway and another door in said passageway for admission,Y to and from the bank vault, the walls of said passageway adjacentV the; said door-riory admission to the bank vault beingl spacedapart sufticiently to admit the body of one man only, and a third door no1'- mally open but, when closed, extending across the passageway and separating the space for one Y man at the end of the passage nearest the vault from the space at the other end of the passageway, means for automatically closing said third door, a control device for said closing means accessible to an operator within the passageway and adjacent the door for admission to the bank vault, means for locking the said door for admission to the bank vault, and a lock releasing means on the interior of the passageway adjacent the door for admission to the bank vault.

4, In a bankers safety unit, the combination of a passageway compartment leading to a bank vault, a door in said passageway for admission to and from the passageway and another door in said passageway for admission to and from the bank vault, the walls of said passageway adjacent the said door for admission to the bank vault being spaced apart suiiciently to admit the body of one man only, and a third door normally open but, when closed, extending across the passageway and separating the space for one man at the end of the passage nearest the vault from the space at the other end of the passageway, and a manually operable control device located within the passageway adjacent the doorl for admission to the bank vault and compressing means which in one position will release mechanism for closing said third door and in another position will permit the opening of the door for admission to the bank vault.

5. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of an enclosed passageway,v a door at each end of the passageway, and a sliding door which, when closed, divides the passageway into two separate compartments.

6. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of an enclosed passageway, a door at each end of the passageway, a sliding door which, when closed, divides the passageway into two separate compartments, power operated means for closing said sliding door, and means located within the passageway adjacent the door at one end for releasing said power operated means to close the sliding door.

7. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of an enclosed passageway, a Vdoor at each end oftherlpassageway, andra sliding door which, when closed, divides the passageway into two separatecompartments,the wall of the passageway toward which the sliding door moves to,closed position being. hinged to thereby swing partially open and release an object interposed between Ythe sliding door and said wall portion.

8. In abankersl'safety unit, the combination of an enclosed passageway, a door at each end of the passageway, a sliding. door which, when closed, divides the passageway into two separate compartments,Y the wall of the passageway toward; which the sliding door moves to closed position being hinged to thereby swing partially open and, release anV object interposed between the sliding doorfand saidwall. portion, and yielding'meansY for normally holding said wall portionin closed position. ,v

9. In fa bankers safety unit,`the combination of a passageway compartment leading to a bank vault, a door in said passageway for admission to and4 from the passageway and another door insaidfpassagewayior admission to and from' the Vbank vault, the walls ofv` said passageway adjacentl the saidldoor for Vadmission to the bank vault beingspaced apart sufficiently to admit the body of one man only, and a third door normally open but, when closed, extending across the passageway and separating the space for one man at the end of the passage nearest the Vvault from the space at the other end of the passageway, power operated means for closing said third door and manually controlled means located at the exterior of the passageway for releasing said power operated closing means.

10. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of an enclosed passageway, a door at each end of the passageway, a sliding door which, when closed, divides the passageway into .two separate compartments, means for automatically locking said sliding door in its closed position, and manually operated means exterior to the passageway for unlocking said sliding door.

11. A bankerssafety unit comprising a Vault compartment, a customers lobby walled off from the Vault compartment, there being a street entrance opening into the customers lobby, and a walled passageway between the customers lobby and the Vault compartment, a door at said street entrance, and a door within said passageway, and manually controlled means whereby an operator within the passageway may lock the street entrance door to prevent exit from the customers lobby and at the same time close the door within the passageway toprevent en means for locking the revolving door in various positions of its movement, a passageway communicating between the customers lobby and the vault compartment, a sliding door for closing said passageway, power operatedmeans for simultaneously closing said sliding door and locking said revolving door, and a manually operated device within said passageway for controlling said power operated means.

13. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of a passageway having entrance and exit openings at opposite end portions, one of its side walls being Vformed with an upright slot, a metallic slide door normally at one side of the passageway with one edge in said slot.

14. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of a passageway Yhaving entrance and exit openings at opposite end portions, one of its side walls being formed with an Vupright slot, a metallio slide door normally at one side of thev passageway with one edge in said slot, and a yieldable panel at the side of the passageway wall toward which the advanced edge of the sliding door moves when closing.

15. In a bankers safety unit, the combination ofa walled passageway, a door at one end of the passageway, a sliding door extended through the wall at one side of the passageway, a dial within the passageway between said doors, power operated means for closing the sliding door at one end of the passageway in closed position, and means operated by said dial when in' one position lfor operating said means'for closing the slidingdoor, and when in another position for releasing the locking means for the door at the end of the passageway.

16. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of a walled passageway, a door at one end of the passageway, a sliding door extended through the wall at one side of the passageway, a dial Within the passageway between said doors, power operated means for closing the sliding door at one end of the passageway in closed position, means operated by said dial when in one position for operating said means for closing the sliding door, and when in another position for releasing the locking means for the door at the end of the passageway, a building in which the walled passageway is contained, a revolving door at the entrance to the building, and means operatively connected to the said means for closing the sliding door for simultaneously locking the revolving door.

17. In a bankers safety unit, the combination of a passageway leading to a bank vault and having door openings at opposite sides, a door for each of said openings, manually controlled means on the interior of the passageway for opening the door leading to the vault, and means automatically operated by said manually controlled "f means for holding in closed position the door leading into the passageway.

GEORGE S. MINEAR. JAMES D. MINEAR.