US973825A

US973825A - Safe.

Info

Publication number: US973825A
Application number: US54592710A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter Thomas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1910-02-25
Filing date: 1910-02-25
Publication date: 1910-10-25
Anticipated expiration: 1927-10-25

Description

w. THOMAS).

SAFE.

APPLIGAMON FILED 21:13.25, 1910.

Patented 0@t.25,191o.

WALTER THOMAS, 0F VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

SAFE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25,1910.

Application filed February 25, 1910. Serial No. 545,927.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER THOMAS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Vancouver, in the vcounty of Vancouverand Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to revoluble spherical safes.

The object of my invention is to provide a fire-proof revoluble safe which may be raised from its seat in a pedestal and turned, or partially revolved, so as to place its door in the pedestal opening and then lowered onto its seat making a tight joint therewith, and to provide operating mechanism which may be controlled in the pedestal having a locking door, so as to secure eXtra safety and make it impossible for the safe t0 be tampered with by a burglar or other unauthorized person.

The matter constituting my invention will be defined in the claims.

I will now describe the details of construction of my improved safe by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a vertical section through the safe and pedestal on line ac w,

Fig. 2. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of.

the safe and a vertical section of the pedestal at right angles to the view in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a top plan view of the pedestal, showing the supporting wheels and operating mechanism. Fig. 4 represents an elevation of the safe and a vertical section of the pedestal containing modifications in the operating mechanism. Figs. 5 and 6 represent, respectively, a vertical section and a horizontal section of a portion of the ped estal, showing a modification of gearing. Fig. 7 represents a vertical transverse section, showing another modification of the gearing. Fig. 8 represents a vertical section on enlarged scale on line 8 8, Fig. 1. Fig. 9 represents a top plan view of the same. Fig. 10 represents a vertical section on line 10-10, Fig. 9.

The body of the safe 1 is made spherical and preferably of cast steel and is made with an extra thick and heavy wall 6 at and around the door way and is supported on a pedestal 2 provided with raising and lowering mechanism. At the thickened portion 6 of the body is provided a door way 3, having offsets, as shown, in which is fitted a door 4, having corresponding offsets in its periphery and made extra thick and heavy as compared with the opposite wall of the body. The door is provided with a removable handle 5 which may be readily applied to it or detached, as required. The knob 7 of a locking device may also be sunk centrally in the door. At diametrically opposite points within the spherical body are xed supporting trunnions 8 for supporting a swinging frame and casing 9 which is provided centrally with journals 9EL tting over the trunnions. The frame or casing 9 may be divided into suitable compartments for receiving various articles or boxes. The frame or cas ing, j ournaled as described, will remain upright when the sphere is revolved, so that the contents may not be disturbed in the revolving operation.

At a suitable distance apart and at either side ofthe greatest circumference in the eX- terior surface of the sphere are formed two short grooves 10, which may extend across the door, as shown in Fig. 2. These grooves may be provided with teeth below the eX- terior surface of the sphere for engaging toothed wheels in the pedestal, but they may also be left plain and simply receive the plain edges of wheels in the pedestal. These grooves are made only sufliciently long, a quarter are of a circle, more or less, to enable the sphere to be turned with its door into the opening of the pedestal, so that both the door and grooves shall be within the outer face of the pedestal when the sphere is turned and lowered upon its seat forthe night, and so that a perfectly tight joint shall be made all around the periphery of the sphere at its junction with the edestal. In the pedestal may be provide an inclosing compartment 11 for containing certain operating parts and this compartment is provided with a door-way 11a provided with offsets for receiving a door 12, which may be hinged or otherwise connected to the wall of the pedestaland capable of being locked. The door may be made quite small and practically secret. The compartment 11 is also provided in its inner wall with a slot 13 for passage of the lever bar 24. At opposite sides in the pedestal are tted two pair of transverse supporting bars 14, suitably spaced apart and strengthened by a central bar of metal 14a. Evidently the spaced bars 14 and central bar 148L could be swaged from a single piece of metal, 4but they maybe built. up of separate parts if desired. Vithin the spaced outer ends ofthe bars '14, a-re ournaled rollers or wheels 15 adapted to fit in the grooves 10. These wheels may be toothed or have plain peripheries as desired. In the con-k struc-tion shown in Fig. 3, four of 'these' wheels, mounted in two pair of bars 14, are shown. The spacing bar 14a is formed with a central opening in which is fitted the upper end of a piston rod 16, vhaving a collar 16u. This rod .extends down into a h ydiaailic cylinder 18 and is provided at its lower yend with a piston 17, having a suitable annular packing. A rubber cushion 18a is preferably placed in the upper head of the ycylinder 18. In lthe lower end rof vthe cylinder is provided -a water inlet a yand in the lupper end .an air vent Z). Between Ythe two hydraulic cylinders is fixed a valve sta-nd 21 with which is connected a water supply pipe 19 and a pipe 20 which connects by branches with lthe lower ends of the cylinders at the ports a. An exhaust or discharge pipe 22 also `connects with the valve stand for waste water. A stem 23 connects with the valve and at its upper end is pivotally connected to the hand lever 24 which, at `its inner end, is pivotal'ly connected to a bracket which .may be secured to t-he valve stand, as shown. The hand lever 24 passes through the slot 13 and terminates in the compartment 11, as shown in Fig. 1. The shaft 25 vof operating gearing is valso journaled in the compartment 11 and has a squared projecting' end for application of a wrench. `On this shaft is fixed la bevel .pin ion `26, Fig. 8, which meshes with' a similar pinion Q7 on a vertical sleeve shaft 27a. ln this shaft is inserted lan internal shaft 9.8 the two shafts being connected by a spline joint so that the shaft carrying the upper bevel pinion 28 may be reciprocated in the sleeve shaft 27a. On the shaft 28 is fixed a collar 2d which is connected vby a bracket 32 to .one of Vthe cross `bars 14 so :as to raise the shaft and bevel gear 2r a when the cross bars are raised for keeping the pinions 28a i and 29 in engagement. is fixed on a cross shaft 30 on which is fixed the toothed wheels 15 in the cross bar-s 14, as shown in Fig. 3. These rollers are pref- A bevel pinion 29 erably mounted in vball bearings in a well` lllOXVll 11131111611.

It will be understood that a wrench having a squared socket and crank y ymay be applied to the squared end of the shaft 9.5 when the door 12 is opened and that by .turning the shaft 25 and the connecting gearing 4the wheels 15 will be turned,

which in turn carries toothed wheels Q9 which engage with the teeth on the wheels 15. 'This simpl-ities somewhat the number of parts in the gearing and will be operative if the teeth of the toothed wheels Q9 and of the wheels 15 aie made long enough to keep in engagement when the safe is slightly raised from its seat, as about oneeighth of an inch. The gearing may be further modified by extending the transverse shaft 80, Fig. 8, directly through the inner wall of the pedestal into a .recess Q as shown in Fig. 7 and there providing it with a squared end for .application of a wrench. This recess is closed by a secret locking .door 12a.

The compartment 11 vmay be niade detachable from .the side wall of the Cpedestal and be attached by brackets 31 directly to the `transif'erse lbars 14 so as to rise and fall therewith, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The gearing remains similar to that shown 'in 8 though no sleeve shaft or collar will Ybe required. The pedestal is inade with an inwardly beveled annular seat suited .to the contour .of the spherical safe, so as to make la .tight fit, .as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Instead of vtwo .l.i \,idraulic cylinders, one may be used, especially in a small house safe and lthe fran-ie or bars 14 si-ipporting the rollers` will be modified accordingly. A sinr ple hydraulic elevating jack or `a jack .operated with a screw may be used in the pedestal for raising the sphere.

My spherical revoluble safe is especially adapted for domestic use land may be nia-de of a small size suited for such purpose, as indicated in Fig. 4. rfhis safe for domestic ruse may be highly ornamented and sur- Vmounted by a `clock 41 or a vase or other ornamental figure. The sphere is provided with a set of lugs 45 for supporting a clock when the door 4a is in posi-tion to be opened,

Fig. 4, and with an electric alarm 42; also the interior of the pedestal.. In this cradle are jou-rna-led or otherwise mounted antifriction rollers or balls 15a. At the bottom of the pedestal is fixed an inclined plane 35 fupon which is mounted a traveling wedge shaped device 36, having two pair of antifriction rollers, as shown, one pair bearing upon .the inclined plane 35 and the other .pair supporting the cradle 34. In this wedge Vshaped device is fixed a shaft 37, the outer end of which is screw threaded and over this portion is fitted an internally screw threaded sleeve 38 which is held by collars in an opening in the pedestal and is provided with a squared outer end for application of a wrench. In the wall of the pedestal is made a recess 2b into which the end of the shaft 251 and the end of the sleeve 38 project, so that by opening the door l2, the said shaft and sleeve may be turned by application of a wrench. The sleeve shaft 38 will first be turned for drawing the wedge shaped device 36 a short distance up the inclined plane, thereby raising the cradle 34: and sphere a short distance, as about oneeighth of an inch, so that the sphere `shall clear its beveled seat. The shaft 251 may now be rotated for revolving the sphere on the rollers l5a until its door la and groove l0a are brought within the opening of the pedestal. Before revolving the sphere la, the clock or other ornamental figure will be detached from the lugs L.L5 and afterl the sphere has been revolved to the closed position, the clock or vase may be placed at the top of the sphere between the projecting lugs 45a, Fig. 4l, which will be at the top. At one side or at the back of the safe and pedestal is extended upward a water pipe 39, having at the top a fusible plug and sprinkler l0 for automatically showering water on the safe in case of fire. The sphere laM having been rotated with the door la within the pedestal and the cloclr or vase 41 being in position at the lugs 45a and over the electric alarm 42, the removal of the clock or vase either by hand or in the act of turning the sphere, would start an electric alarm which would continue ringing until stopped by hand.

Various arrangements of water supply devices for showering water over the safe in case of fire may be used, but such devices do not form part of my present invention.

Since the door of the safe is turned into the pedestal when the safe is out of use and the door of the pedestal locked and the means for operating the gearing in the pedestal are removed, unusual safety is provided against burglars or any unauthorized tampering with the safe.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a revoluble safe having a door, of a pedestal having a seat at the top and an opening in its wall, means therein for raising the safe from, and lowering on, its seat, and means for rotating it to bring its door into the top opening of the pedestal, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a revoluble safe, of a hollow pedestal having at the top a seat for the safe, means for raising and lowering the safe, means for rotating it, controlling devices in the pedestal connecting with the raising and lowering, and revolving mechanism, substantially as describe 3. The combination with a revoluble safe,

of a hollow pedestal having a seat therefor,-

means in the pedestal for raising and lowering the safe, means for revolving the safe, a door in the pedestal giving access to the controlling devices by which the mecha' nism is operated, substantially as described.

Il. The combination with a revoluble safe, of a hollow pedestal having a seat therefor, a movable frame in the pedestal having wheels or rollers therein for supporting the safe, means bearing on the frame for raising and lowering it to raise and lower the safe, and means in the pedestal 'for revolv ing the safe, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a revoluble safe having a toothed rack in its outer surface, of a hollow pedestal, a gear within it for engaging said rack to turn the safe, and means in the pedestal for raising the safe from its seat so that it may be revolved and for lowering it on its seat after being revolved, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a revoluble safe, of a hollow pedestal having a seat for the safe, a hydraulic raising and lowering de vice, a frame carrying wheels or rollers for supporting the safe and means for revolving the safe when raised from its seat, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER THOMAS.

Witnesses:

A. E. GALPIN, C. N. CORNELLQ