US2719507A - Personal alarm device - Google Patents

Description

1955 s. s. AIDLIN ET AL I PERSONAL ALARM DEVICE Filed March 24, 1953 N In llHIHl INVENTOR. Samuel S. Aidlin Robert Fensrer United States Patent PERSONAL ALARM DEVICE Samuel S. Aidiiu, Brooklyn, and Robert Fenster, Jamaica, N. Y.; said Aidlin assignor to said Fenster Application March 24, 1953, Serial No. 344,392

11 Claims. (Cl. 116-67) The present invention relates in general to signal devices and in particular to a personal alarm.

In recent years there has been a great increase in the number of personal attacks of the type known as mugging. In this type of attack, the victim is accosted from the rear by the mugger who usually places his arm about the victims throat and also covers the victims mouth to prevent outcries. Consequently, the victim cannot use his voice to call for help and would be prevented from blowing a police whistle, or similar article, if he had one.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a personal alarm which can be automatically set off by the victim even though his mouth may be covered and even in a situation where his arms are pinned down. i 7

Since women are frequently the victims of such attacks, another object is the provision of such an alarm which is simple to operate, of light weight and small enough to fit into a womans pocket-book or hand bag.

An additional object is the provision of an alarm which sets off two distinct and diiferent types of sounds.

A further object is the provision of a personal alarm of simplified construction'which can be inexpensively manufactured for sale at a low price.

The present invention in general comprises an alarm constituted by a siren which is operated uponthe release of a charge of a suitable pressurized operating medium. Provision is also made for a whistle which becomes audible before the pressure at the siren is high enough to operate the latter, the whistle becoming supersonic when the siren begins to wail, and becoming audible again when the siren ceases to operate so that the alarm provides a combination of two distinct and different types of sound. 1 a

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings. 7

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side view, on an enlarged scale, of an alarm device pursuant to the present invention, the device being in inoperative condition, and parts being broken away and in section for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, the device bein in operative condition, and illustrates a modification;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view taken inthe direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; and v Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2, and illustrates an additional modification.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the personal alarm or signal device 10, as here shown, comprises the preferably cylindrical hollow body member or casing 12 having one end 14 thereof closed by a cartridge 16. A trigger-operated plunger 20 extends into the casing from the other end 18 thereof.

The cartridge or container 16 is expendable, being of well known type and containing a charge of a suitable pressurized fluid, such as, for example and not by way of limitation, carbon dioxide. Cartridges of this type, filled with a charge of carbon dioxide, are in widespread use, for example, for whipping cream and for charging water to make seltzer or soda water. However, in connection with the present invention, the cartridge may contain a charge of compressed air or other pressurized medium suitable for operating the siren 22, as hereinafter described in detail. The cartridge is threadedly engaged, in substantially air-tight relationship, in the open end 14 of the casing 12, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and is readily replaceable therein. The cartridge is sealed with a disc 24, preferably formed of a relatively soft metal.

The hollow casing 12 is provided, intermediate the ends thereof, with the internal bearing portion 26 which defines the chambers 28 and 30 within the casing. The end 18 of the casing is closed by a centrally apertured cap member 32 through which the plunger 20 extends. Said cap is provided, at one end thereof, with a cuppedportion 34 disposed within the chamber 30 and with a circular head or button 36, at the other end thereof, which overlies the casing end 18. The cap, in conjunction with the bearing 26, mounts and guides the plunger 20.

Plunger 20 is a hollow cylindrical tube which is open at the end 38 thereof. At its other end, the plunger is closed by a plug 40 which seats in the inner wall recess 42 of the plunger. The plug is provided with a sharp pointed end 44 which projects outwardly of the plunger 20. A plurality of passageways or channels 46, of which only one is illustrated in Fig. 2, are formed in the plug and provide communication between the hollow interior of the plunger and the hollow interior of the casing 12. The plunger is also provided with an external circumferential flange 48. A coil compression spring is mounted on the plunger, one end of the spring abutting the flange 48 and the other end thereof being seated in the cup 34 of the cap 32.

Externally of the casing, the plunger carries a resilient bumper 52, preferably formed of rubber, and on the open end thereof mounts the siren 22. The siren is provided with a hollow casing 54 having a collar 55 which fits over the plunger end 38. A transversely extending portion 56 of the casing 54 is provided with a plurality of perforations 58 and defines the chambers 60 and 62 in the casing. The portion 56 has a central projection 64 in the shape of a truncated cone, and a pin 66 extends through portion 64 into the chamber 62. A siren disc 68, having a plurality of perforations 70, is mounted for rotation on the pin 66, in the chamber 62. The disc 68 is provided with a plurality of impulse type blades 72. The end wall 74 of the casing 54 is open, as at 76, opposite the blades 72.

In order to releasably retain the plunger 20 in the retracted, or inoperative disposition thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 1, provision is made for circumferential recess 78 in the plunger and the cooperating trigger or release 80. Said trigger is a planar member which is mounted on the button 36 of cap 32 for slidable movement, transversely of the plunger, being provided with the inturned confronting flanges 82-82 which straddle said button, best illustrated in Fig. 3, for retaining the trigger on the button. The trigger is also provided with the closed slot 84 which tapers from its wider rounded end 86 to its narrower rounded end 88, and with a finger operating portion 90.

In the retracted disposition of the plunger 20, the latter is Withdrawn from the casing 12, to the position thereof illustrated in Fig. 1, to compress the spring 50.

To releasably retain the'plunger in said position, the narrowend88-of the trigger slot 84, is engaged in the recess 78 of the plunger, as illustrated in full line in Fig. 4. It will be understood that in order to effect said withdrawal of the'plunger' from the position thereof illustrated in Fig. 2, the trigger is disposed originally in the broken line position thereof, and then retracted 'toit's full line' position to engage in the recess 78.

In order to operate the-alarm 10, it is necessary only to push on the trigger portion or finger piece 9i) to slide plug 42 into the cartridge seal 24 to cut an opening 92' therein as in Fig. 2 The expansion'o'f the spring also drives the bumper SZagainst the trigger 'and'compresse's' the resilient bumper. lnthisconnection it will be understood that the spring modulus of spring 59 is such that when the spring is in its normal or relaxed condition there is no initial compression thereon. However, there is sufficient spring energy, when the spring is compressed, to drive the plunger forward to slightly compress the bumper. Consequently, the expansion of the compressed bumper, which ahuts the trigger and the siren 22, to its normal relaxed condition, willbe suflicient to withdraw the point 44 from the cartridge seal 24, the flange '48 on the plunger being retracted from the bearing 26, which serves also as a detent for the flange. The various parts are now disposed in the operative disposition thereof, as in Fig. 2. Upon withdrawal of the point 44 from the seal opening M, the charge of the pressurized medium escapes from the cartridge into the casing chamber 28- from which it flows through the passageways 46 in the plug 40 into the hollow plunger. The pressurized fluid flows through the plunger, out the open end 38 thereof and into chamber 64) of the siren 22. The extension 64 in said chamber directs the flow of the carbon dioxide, or compressed air, as the case may be, to the openings 58 of the siren portion 56 from which the pressurized medium flows through the apertures 70 in'the rotatable disc 60 and against the impulse blades 72 to rotate the disc, for operating the siren to produce the typicalsiren wail. The pressurized fluid flows out of the siren through the opening 76.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the siren will not operate to produce its characteristic wail until the pressure at the disc 63 builds up sufflciently to rotate the latter at a predetermined speed and the siren wail will disappear when the pressure drops off. noted that in Fig. 1, the siren 22 constitutes the sole noisemaker of the alarm. in order to prolong the noisemaking capacity of the alarm, a whistle 94 may be mounted on the siren, as in Fig. 2 which illustrates the presently preferred embodiment of the invention. whistle is energized by the flow of the pressurized medium through the outlet part 76 of'the siren 22. In this connection, as is well known to those skilled in the art, a

whistle will operate at very low pressures, as compared with a siren. For example, the whistle 92 may require a pressure ofonly a few ounces per square inch to be operative, whereas the siren 22 may require a pressure abovefive pounds per square inch to be operative. Consequently, in the construction of Fig. 2, the initial fluid pressure of the pressurized medium arriving at the siren will not be high enough to operate the latter but will be high enough to blow the whistle, as the medium arrives at the latter. As the pressure builds up, the sound emitted by the Whistle becomes supersonic. However, when the pressure is high enough to make the whistle supersonic, it is high enough to operate the siren which continues to operate until the pressure falls below that required to sustain the operation thereof. At this point the whistle is no longer supersonic and continues to operate after the wail of the siren is discontinued. Conit will be The.

sequently, upon release of the trigger 80, the alarm of Fig. 2 begins to whistle, than to wail, and then to whistle again whereby to substantially increase the period of time that the alarm operates with a cartridge 16 of predetermined capacity, as compared with the construction of Fig. 1.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 5, the bumper 52 is omitted since it is not necessary, in the present embodiment, to retract the plunger after it strikes the cartridge to release the charge from the cartridge. In this connection, the cartridge disc 24A has a pre-formed opening MA which tapers from the inner surface to the outer surface of the disc. Said opening is closed by the tapered plug 96. The plunger plug 40A projects from the plunger 20A and has a central passageway 46A which communicates with the interior of the plunger and which is in registry with the seal opening 92A. In all other respects, the construction is the same as in Figs. 1 and 2'. When the trigger is operated to project the plunger 20A from the retracted position thereof illustrated in Fig. 5, the plunger plug 40A strikes the seal plug 96 and forces the latter into the cartridge. The plug 40A abuts the seal 24A and with the openings 92A and 46A in registry, the pressurized medium flows through the plumger to operate the siren 22 and whistle 94, as previously described.

In holding the alarm 10 ready for use, the user will have his-finger or hand on the trigger 80. If attacked from the rear, without warning, the voluntary, or involuntary, reaction of closing the hand will be suflicient to release the trigger and energize the alarm which will serve both to call for assistance as Well as to frighten away the assailant.

The holder, the plunger and the trigger may be fabricated from light-weight metals or from plastic for making the alarm comparatively of light weight. The size may also be small enough to carry in a ladys purse or pocket book. The alarm 10 is re-usable after use, since it is necessary only to replace the cartridge 16 and reset the plunger.

While We have shown and described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the present invention without departing from the underlying idea or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

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

1. A personal alarm comprising a member having provision to mount-a pressurized fluid container, releasably restrained means provided on said member and operable upon release thereof to discharge the fluid from the container, and noisemaker means disposed relative to said member for operation by the pressurized fluid upon dischargeth'ereof, said releasably restrained means being hollow and constituting a conduit for directing the fluid to said noisemaker means, said conduit having a pointed part projecting from one end thereof for piercing the container, said part having a fluid passageway extending therethrough for communication with said conduit, and bumper means for retracting said pointed part automatically from the container for releasing the pressurized fluid therefrom.

2. A personal alarm comprising a member having provision to mount a pressurized fluid container having a plugged seal, releasably restrained means provided on said member and operable upon release thereof to discharge the fluid from the container, and noisemaker means disposed relative to said member for operation by the pressurized fluid upon discharge thereof, said releasably restrained means being hollow and constituting a conduit for directing the fluid to said noisemaker means, saidconduit having a ram element projecting from one end thereof and operable to ram the seal plug into the container for'discha'rging the fluid from the container,

and said element having a fluid passageway extending therethrough for communication with said conduit.

3. A signal device comprising a holder having provision to receive a pressurized fluid container, a hollow plunger in said holder, releasably restrained means to drive said plunger against the container to discharge the fluid for flow through said plunger, fluid operated noisemaker means carried by said plunger in the path of the fluid flow therethrough, and manually operable trigger means releasably engaged with said plunger for releasing said restrained means.

4. A personalalarm device comprising a tubular housing having provision at one end thereof to mount the sealed end of a pressurized fluid container, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one end thereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger end being provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of said plunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape of the pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker, spring means within said housing, said spring means being operable, when stressed, to bias said plunger from a retracted position to a projected position thereof for opening said seal, and a trigger mounted externally of said housing at said other end thereof for movement relative thereto from a retracted position, in which it retains the plunger in the retracted position of the latter to stress the spring, to a projected position for release of the plunger, said trigger having an operating part extending outwardly beyond the periphery of the housing in said retracted condition of the trigger, whereby said movement of said trigger may be effected either by a manual operation of said operating part or by the dropping or throwing of said device so that said part will strike against a substantially hard surface.

5. A personal alarm device comprising a tubular housing having provision at one end thereof to mount the sealed end of a pressurized fluid container, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one end thereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger end being provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of said plunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape of the pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker, spring means carried by said plunger within said housing, said plunger being operable by said spring from a retracted plunger position in which the spring is stressed to a projected plunger position for opening said seal, and a trigger mounted externally of said housing at the other end thereof, said trigger being movable transversely of said housing from a retracted to a projected position thereof and being provided with a slot through which said plunger projects, said plunger having an intermediate portion thereof engaged by the wall of said slot in the retracted positions of the plunger and the trigger for stressing said spring, said trigger having an operating part for effecting movement of the trigger from its retracted position to its projected position for disengaging the wall of said slot from said plunger portion for operation of the plunger by the spring and said operating part extending outwardly beyond the periphery of said housing in said retracted position of the trigger, whereby said movement of said trigger may be effected either by a manual operation of said operating part or by the dropping or throwing of said device so that said part will strike against a substantially hard surface.

6. A personal alarm device comprising a'tubular housing, a pressurized fluid container having a sealed end secured in one end of said housing, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one end thereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger end being provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of said plunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape of the pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker, spring means carried by said plunger within said housing, said plunger being operable by said spring from a retracted plunger position in which the spring is stressed to' a projected plunger position for opening said seal, and a'trigger mounted externally of said housing at the other end thereof, said trigger being movable transversely of said housing from a retracted to a projected position thereof and being provided with a slot through which said plunger projects, said plunger having an intermediate portion thereof engaged by the wall of said slot in the retracted positions of the plunger and trigger for stressing said spring, said trigger having an operating part for effecting movement of the trigger from its retracted position to its projected position for disengaging the wall of said slot from said plunger portion for operation of the plunger by the spring, and said operating part'extending outwardly beyond the periphery of said housing in said retracted position of the triggenwhereby said movement of said trigger may be effected either by a manual operation of said operating part or by the dropping or throwing of said device so that said part will strike against a substantially hard surface.

7. A personal alarm device comprising a tubular housing having provision at one end thereof to mount the sealed end of a pressurized fluid container, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one end thereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger end being provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of said plunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape of the pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker, spring means within said housing, said spring means being operable, when stressed, to bias said plunger from a retracted position to a projected position thereof for opening said seal, and a trigger mounted externally of said housing at said other end thereof for movement relative thereto from a retracted position, in which it retains the plunger in the retracted position of the latter to stress the spring, to a projected position for release of the plunger, said trigger having a portion thereof in releasable engagement with said plunger in the retracted positions of said plunger and trigger, respectively, and said trigger having a finger piece for effecting manual operation thereof to disengage said portion from said plunger for operating said device.

8. A personal alarm device comprising a pressurized fluid container having a puncturable seal at one end thereof, a tubular housing having one end thereof secured over the sealed end of the container, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing for movement from a retracted to a projected position thereof, said plunger having one end thereof projecting from said housing and capped with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of said plunger being provided with a puncturing element, spring means operable to thrust said plunger from its retracted to its projected position to puncture said seal, trigger means for effecting said operation of said spring, a resilient bumper positioned to be compressed in response to said thrusting of said plunger and operable to withdraw said element from said seal to release the fluid, and fluid vent means in said plunger, whereby the released fluid flows through said plunger to operate said noisemaker.

9. A personal alarm device as in claim 8, further characterized in that said spring means is constituted by a compression spring which is in its relaxed condition when the plunger is in its projected position, the spring modulus of said compression spring being such that there is no initial compression thereon in said projected position of the plunger, and said bumper being carried by said plunger externally of the housing for engagement with said housing upon movement of the plunger to its retracted position, whereby to compress the bumper sufliciently to withdraw said puncturing element from said seal.

'10. .A :pers'onalalarm device comprising a pressurized fiuid' container having one end thereof sealed with a projecting plug,-a tubular housing having one end thereof secured over the sealed end of the container, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing for movement from a retracted to a projected position thereof, said plunger having one end thereof projecting from said housing and capped with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other'endofsaid'plunger being provided with a projecting ram having a fluid passageway therethrough in communication with the interior of said plunger, and spring means operable to'thrust said plunger from its retracted to its projected position to drive said ram against said plug to force the latter into the container for releasing the fluid therefrom.

'1=1.- -'A pers'onalalarm device comprising a pressurized fluid container having one end thereof sealed with a projectingzplug, a tubular housing having one end thereof secured-overthe sealed end of the container, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing for movement from a retracted to a projected position thereof, said plunger having one end thereof projecting from said housing and capped with a fluid operated noisernaker, the other end of said plunger being provided with a projecting ram having a fluid passageway therethrough in communication with the interior of said plunger and spring means operable 'tothrust said plunger from its retracted to its projected position to drive said ram against said plug to force the latter into the container for releasing the fluid therefrom, and a=manually operable trigger for effecting said operation of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS 2,107,981 Ford Feb. 8, 1938 2,386,711 Parker Oct. 9, 1945 2,506,983 Williams May 9, 1950 2,554,789 Mer'ola May 29, 1951 2,571,640 lNilliInan Oct. 16, 1951 2,626,586 Mendes Jan. 27, 1953

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