US562737A - Safe attachment - Google Patents

Description

{No Model.)

A. OBERNDORP, Jr.

SAFE ATTAGHMENT.

Patented June 23, 1896.

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HIHHHHIIWIII I H Ill ANDREW EGRAHAMJHDTD-UTHO WASKINGYOILDC UNITED STATES PATENT SAFE ATTACHM ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,737, dated June 23, 1896.

Application filed October 23, 1895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM OBERNDORF, J r. of Centralia, in the county of Nem aha and State of Kansas, have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Burglar-Proof Attachments for Safes, &;c., of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a device, in the nature of aportable attachment, which, when placed in a safe, vault, or strong room, will, in the event of an attempt by burglars to blow open the same, cause the generation of a stiliing and poisonous gas which will make it impossible for the burglar to live in the atmosphere of the same, and thus preclude him from making away with the booty.

The invention consists in the construction .and arrangement of such portable device,

which may behung up or detachably fixed in any safe or vault already in use, and without regard to the construction of the same, and which device serves to utilize the concussion to set oif or release a trigger-and-hammer mechanism that in turn breaks the bottle or bottles or tubes containing the reagents from which the deadly gas is evolved, as hereinafter more fully described with reference to the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an inside face view of the device partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a sectional edge view taken on the line 2 2 and looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 3 is a detail.

In the drawings, A represents the frame plate, which is designed to be hung up or detachably fastened within. the safe or vault, for which purpose a ring or loop A may be used, or screws passing through holes a may be employed. On this plate is attached a marginal inclosing flange B, which, with a detachable grating B over its open side, forms a housing for a pneumatic trigger C. This pneumatic trigger is in the nature of a fan-blade, corresponding in shape to the upper part of the housing and lying within the same immediately behind the grating B, being sustained upon a pivotal axis at c c and held to the front parallel with the grating by a fiat spring C, behind it. To the fan-blade of this trigger is rigidly attached an arm I), extending down into a chamber B and resting immediately above the end c of a tripping-lever E. This Serial No. 566,588. (No model.)

lever is fulcrumed to the case at e and has two hooks L L, that are adapted to receive the links or hooks N, connected to the ham mers K. These hammers are fulcrumed at 7; to a cage J and are actuated by springs K. This cage is composed of parallel rods j, connected and supported at their ends by plates Z and m. The plate Z is provided with one or more cartrid ge-cham bers Z, ad aptod. to receive metal ball-cartridges Z which rest immediately beneath the points of the hammers, and which hammers when they fall thereupon explode the cartridges and drive the bullets into the glass tube, bottle, or receptacle 1 for the liquid or liquids or other substance that generate the gas. These bottles or tubes are inserted into the cage through openings in in the plate m and are retained therein by a pivoted plate m (see Fig. 3,) which may be turned aside, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, to admit the bottles, or be turned. over the opening, so as to retain them in the cage.

S is a detachable safety-bolt which is adapted to enter a screwthreaded or plain socket in the frame-plate and occupy a position beneath the hammers, so that the latter cannot fall upon the cartridges. This safety-bolt is inserted during the hours of business when the safe is open, so that the cartridges cannot he accidentally exploded by those 1 e gitini ately using the safe. Then the safe is closed for the night, this safety-bolt is removed.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Assuming that the safe or vault has been closed for the night, and the device is set up therein in operative position, if any attempt to blow open the safe is perpetrated, the concussion of the blast operating upon the fan of the pneumatic trigger O deflects the latter on its pivots c 0 against the spring D away from the end 6 of lever E, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and as this is all that holds the hammers against the tension of the springs K, the latter force the hammers down upon its cartridges with an exploding blow, and the cartridges are made to drive their bullets into the glass bottles, crashing them, spilling or mixing and scattering their contents, and allowing the poisonous gas to be generated and to fill the safe or vault, so that a continuation of his operations would mean death or insensibility to the burglar.

I do not confine myself to any particular reagent or reagents for generating or evolving the gas. It might bemade by an admixture of the contents of the two bottles, or a single volatile substance or an anesthetic, like chloroform or ether, might be used. I furthermore do not confine myself to the cartridgesor eX- plosivc shells as a medium for breaking the bottle orbottles, as it is obvious that the tooth or spur of the hammer might be made to fracture the glass bottle by direct impact thereagainst.

The grating placed in front of the pneumatic trigger is not absolutely essential to my invention, but is very desirable as an additional safeguard to prevent an accidental touch against the trigger from prematurely setting oi'l' the device when the safe is open and in legitimate use by its owners.

lVith the above-described device it is practical to so fill the safe, vault, or strong room with a poisonous gas, which shall pervade the place for so long a time as to utterly frustrate a continuance of the burglary, and prevent the loss of the valuable contents of the safe.

The device is very simple and practical, and is so universal in its application as to permit it to be applied to any safe, vault, or strong room already in use, no matter what its construction is, and herein lies a great point of advantage over other devices operating upon this general principle, which require to be built in with and made a part of the construct-ion of the safe or vault.

I Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A lmrglawprool' attaclnnentforsafes the. comprising a receptacle containing material for evolving a noxious gas, and a fracturing apparatus for the same arranged to be set into action by concussion substantially as shown and described.

2. A burglar-proof attachment for safes be. comprising a receptacle containing material for evolving a noxious gas, a fracturing apparatus for the same, and a pneumatic trigger for setting off the fracturing apparatus by the concussion of the blast substantially as shown and described.

3. A burglar-proof attachment for safes &c. comprising a frangible receptacle containing material for evolving a noxious gas, a fracturing apparatus consisting of a bullet-laden shell, an exploding-hammer for the same. springs for actuating the hammer, and a pneumatic trigger for releasing said hammer by concussion substantially as shown and described.

4. Almrglar-proof attachment for safes rte. comprising a receptacle containing material for evolving a noxious gas, a fracturing apparatus for the same, a pneumatic trigger for setting oflf the fracturing apparatus by concussion, and a grated. guard placed over the pneumatic trigger to prevent accidental throwing of the same substantially as shown and described.

5. Aburglar-proof attachment for safes &c. comprising a receptacle for containing material for evolving a noxious gas, a fracturing apparatus for the same, consisting of springhammer, and adjustable locking device for positively locking the hammer, and a pneumatic trigger for setting oil? the hammer by concussion substantially as shown and described.

(5. The combination of pneumatic trigger (I with arm D, locking-lever E, hammer K with loops adapted to be fastened to the lever. spring K for actuating the hammers, a cage J with adjustable door, and a frangible receptacle placed in the cage and adapted to be broken by the hammers substantially as shown and described.

ABRAHAM OBERND ORE, JR.

lVitnesses:

F. P. BOWEN, Gno. A. MCNEIL.

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