US3313250A - Trap to prevent robbery of a bank - Google Patents

Description

April 11, 1967 TRAP TO PREVENT ROBBERY OF A BANK Filed Nov. 18, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l RECDR DER JRDJ April 11, 1967 A. TURANO TRAP TO PREVENT ROBBERY OF A BANK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 18, 1965 INVENTOR. Luz/15A. TL/RA N0 BY 7 san -a Patented Apr. 11, 1967 3,313,250 TRAP TO PREVENT ROBBERY F A BANK Louis A. Turano, 118 Center Ave., Atlantic Highlands, NJ. 07716 Filed Nov. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 598,422 3 Claims. (Cl. 109-6) This invention relates to traps particularly designed for entrapping bandits, holdups, burglars, etc., and preventing their escape from a store or bank after an attempted robbery.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple and positive operating mechanism for a device of this character.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for imprisoning the victim after he has been trapped.

A still further object of this invention is to provide the means for separating the individuals approaching a teller so that only a single individual may be in position for entrapment by the teller in the event the individual attempts to rob the bank.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a sound recording of the conversation between the teller and the individual attempting to rob the bank and in which the recording is simultaneously produced on a speaker to a security otficer for protection.

A still further object of this invention is to provide entrapping means for dropping and imprisoning a victim who is attempting to hold up a teller in a bank in which the entrapping means comprises a retractable floor opening immediately in front of the tellers window.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a retractable floor opening in a bank for entrapping a victime attempting to hold up a teller in which the retractable means is operated by an explosive charge to provide instant retraction of the floor.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cell like structure below a trap door positioned in front of a tellers cage in which the entrapping cell like structure is padded to receive a falling body and in which the cell like structure is provided with a gas port to permit filling the cell with a gas such as tear gas and in which an observation window is provided for examining the victime before opening the cell.

Further objects of this invention shall be apparent by reference to the accompanying detailed description and the drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of trap door positioned in front of teller windows,

FIG. 2 is an elevational view in cross section of a trap door and entrapping cell positioned under said trap door,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of the trap door operating mechanism, and

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the electrical circuit and components associated with this device.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1 there is illustrated a typical bank counter 19 with a plurality of teller openings 11 to permit the normal banking between the customer and the teller. On the customers side of counter in front of each teller window there is provided a pair of trap doors 12 and 14 in the floor 9. There is also provided a rail 15 that extends along the outer edge of the trap doors, that is, the outer edge away from counter 16. The rail 15 is comprised of a hand rail 16 supported on a plurality of posts 17, posts 17 being mounted in the floor 9. There are openings 20 in the rail structure, that is, there is a break in rail 16 to provide an entrance and exit opening 24} in the fenced olf areas. This permits the customer to enter through an opening to move into position in front of a teller window. In order that only one customer at a time moves into this position, a pivotally mounted bar 21 is supported on one of the posts 17 to bar the entrance of a second customer. Bar 21 is spring pressed into the position as illustrated in FIG. 1 and locks in this position after a customer has passed through. The lock retaining bar 21 is mounted in counter Id and is released by the teller when the prior customer leaves the teller position thus permitting the next customer to pass through bar 21 to the tellers position for the servicing of the next customer. It is apparent that each customer leaving will exit through the opening 20 as indicated in FIG. 1. The counter 10 is provided with a glass 22 or some form of barrier between teller windows or openings 11. The glass or barrier 22 thus provides means to hide a protective device situated on counter 10 which may be in the form of a movie camera 23 and tape recorder 24, the movie camera being directed toward and focused for a customer standing directly in front of a teller. The tape recorder 24 is connected to a microphone 25 which may be positioned in any position directly in line between the teller and the customer. It is also to be noted that the floor 9 is preferably laid out in the form of tiles 26 so that the outline area of the trap doors 12 and 14 will fall directly on the line of joining tiles so that the trap doors are not to be recognized and are not apparent.

Referring to FIG. 2 which is a cross sectional view of floor 9 and the trap doors 12 and 14, there is a cell 30 situated below the trap doors. Cell 30 may be in any rigid form such as steel plate or reinforced concrete and of a depth to permit the tallest of prospective victims to be below the reach of the trap doors. Cell 30 may be padded with padding 31 and may be provided with a shock proof mattress type flooring 32 to insure the safe drop of a victim within cell 30. Cell 30 will be provided with an access door 33 to permit entering and leaving cell 30 and door 33 will be as strong as the walls or enclosure to insure complete entrapment. An observation window 34 may be provided in door 33 for examining the victim within cell 30. Cell 30 is also provided with a port 35 to which a gas bottle 36 is connected, bottle 36 having an operating lever 37 and valve 38 to permit charging a gas into cell 30 as needed. Floor 9 is provided with an entrapping opening 40 and a pair of retractable doors 12 and 14 are movable toward each other to enclose opening 40. Doors 12 and 14 are retractable in a guide track 41 either side of opening 40. Referring to FIG. 3 there is an enlarged detail in cross section of the retractable door 12 which will be duplicated on the opposite side for door 14. Doors 12 and 14 on their inner side are provided with a rod 42. Rod 42 is in fact a piston rod mounted in a cylinder 43 having a piston 44 mounted on the end of rod 42 within cylinder 43. Piston 44 is movable within cylinder 43 that is in the position a illustrated, door 12 will be abutting door 14 and piston 44 will be adjacent one end of the cylinder providing a chamber 45 in which an explosive charge 46 may be mounted and the explosive charge 46 is connected to an igniting means 47 which is electrically controlled and connected by a pair of wires 48 and 49, wires 48 and 49 being connected in the schematic circuit to be described. It is apparent that with the explosive means 46 ignited the explosive charge in the chamber 45 will drive piston 44 to the opposite end of cylinder 43 thus pulling door 12 to a fully retracted position While door 14 is similarly retracted to thus provide a complete opening 40 for dropping a victim. In order that doors 12 and 14 may be returned to a closed position and returned at a proper speed without endangering the falling victim, pistons 43 on either end of doors 12 and 14 are provided with a gas or pressurized bottle 45 that is connected to a chamber 46 within cylinder 43 to permit the pressurized gas to force piston 44 back to the opposite end of cylinder 43 thus closing doors 12 and 14 to their fully closed position as illustrated in FIG.

2. The pressurized gas in bottle is controlled by a shut off valve 47. Shut off valve 47 may be operated by a gear 48 that is in turn driven by a motor 49. Motor 49 is electrically connected by wires 50 and 51 to a schematic circuit to be described. Thus it is apparent that doors 12 and 14 are retracted in the most rapid manner by explosive charge and are closed or returned to their original position under the control of the teller or under a time control to insure a safe passage of the victim into cell 30 before doors 12 and 14 are closed.

Referring to FIG. 4 there is illustrated a schematic circuit for the operating of the various components. With a source of potential such as a battery connected by a wire 61 to a switch 62, that is, one side 63 of switch 62, an operating foot lever 64 at the opposite side of switch 62 to permit closing switch 62, 64 is in turn connected by a wire 65 to an amplifier 66, amplifier 66 is in turn connected by a wire 67 to the opposite side of the battery 60 to complete the circuit. Amplifier 66 is provided with a microphone 25 that is connected to the amplifier by a pair of wires 68 and 69. A recorder 24 may also be connected to the amplifier 66 by a pair of wires 71 and 72. A speaker 73 may also be connected by a pair of wires 74 and 75 to the amplifier 66. Thus with the closing of switch 62 by the teller, the sound system above described will be energized and in operation so that all conversation picked up by microphone 25 will pass through amplifier 66 to speaker 73 for a security ofiicer and to recorder 24 for a tape recording of the conversation. In the event the teller decides to operate the entrapping doors because of a holdup, a second switch is operated by the teller to ignite the explosive elements 46 described in FIG. 3 to open doors 12 and 14. Switch 80 is connected on one side 81 by wire 49 to the igniting element 47 and switch 80 on the opposite side 82 is connected to wire 61 to one side of battery 60 and the opposite side of battery 60 is connected by wire 67 to wire 48, wire 48 being connected to the opposite side of the igniting element 47 thus providing the potential to ignite 47 and explode element 46 for actuating the piston to retract doors 12 and 14. After doors 12 and 14 have been opened for entrapping a victim, they must be again closed but must be closed at a proper time interval after the victim has dropped through the trap door. Therefore a third switch 83 is provided to be operated by the teller or to be operated by a time cam of a clock mechanism so that switch 83 will be closed a proper time interval after the victim has propped through the entrapping opening. Switch 83 is connected on the one side 84 by wire 50 to a motor 49 and switch 83 is connected on the opposite side 85 to wire 61 which is connected to one side of battery 60, the opposite side of battery 60 being connected by a wire 67 to wire 51 which is connected to the opposite side of motor 49. Thus when switch 83 is closed, whether physically by the teller or automatically by a cam 87 driven by a time switch (not shown), the closing of switch 83 will energize motor 49 which, as described in FIG. 3, will open valve 47 to perrnit the pressurized gas to drive piston 44 back to its original position in cylinder 43 closing door 12 and of course since the mechanism is duplicated on the opposite side, it will similarly close door 14 until doors 12 and 14 abut.

A further refinement to be considered may be illustrated in FIG. 2 in which floor 9 is provided with tile 8. The tiles as described in FIG. 1 are positioned to define the exact opening for entrapment. Thu when doors 12 and 14 are retracted they are retracted from their supporting position under the tiles of the floor and the tiles covering the opening 40 will fall with the victim into cell 30. The tiles may be replaceable as a mat when the device is reset for operation at a future date.

Although we have described a particular form of trap door which provides features that are conducive to surprise and immediate entrapment, the operation of the trap doors may be varied with relation to the other components without departing from the spirit of this invention and although an operating circuit has been illustrated by way of showing a means of performing the functions described, the circuit may be varied to permit the operation of the various components without departing from the spirit of this invention and this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A robbery trap for a tellers section in a bank, comprising a pair of retractable floor panels, retractable away from each other to provide an opening in said floor, an enclosure below said opening, said enclosure being slightly greater in periphery than said opening in said floor and of a depth greater than a human body with upstretched arms, said retractable floor panels retracted away from each other by a pair of cylinders provided with an explosive charge in each cylinder, said explosive charge detonated by an electrical circuit connected to a switch, each cylinder provided with a piston and piston rod that is moved by said explosive charge, said piston rods each connected to one of said floor panels, said floor panels closeable by a switch that is operated by a timing device to close said floor panels by introducing fluid pressure into said cylinders to force said piston in an opposite direction.

2. In a device according to claim 1 in which there is a camera and a recorder to record visually and by sound the operations during the opening and closing of said floor panels and in which said camera and said recorder are stopped with the closing of said floor panels.

3. In a device according to claim 1 in which said retractable floor panels are covered by a pad to match the floor covering and in which said pad falls through said opening in the floor when said floor panels are retracted.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 845,629 2/1907 Gaynor 109-3 1,533,243 4/1925 Galterio l09-3 2,671,428 3/1954 Hill 49-360 3,148,640 9/1964 Billi l0920 FOREIGN PATENTS 290,932 5/1928 Great Britain.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A ROBBERY TRAP FOR A TELLER''S SECTION IN A BANK, COMPRISING A PAIR OF RETRACTABLE FLOOR PANELS, RETRACTABLE AWAY FROM EACH OTHER TO PROVIDE AN OPENING IN SAID FLOOR, AN ENCLOSURE BELOW SAID OPENING, SAID ENCLOSURE BEING SLIGHTLY GREATER IN PERIPHERY THAN SAID OPENING IN SAID FLOOR AND OF A DEPTH GREATER THAN A HUMAN BODY WITH UPSTRETCHED ARMS, SAID RETRACTABLE FLOOR PANELS RETRACTED AWAY FROM EACH OTHER BY A PAIR OF CYLINDERS PROVIDED WITH AN EXPLOSIVE CHARGE IN EACH CYLINDER, SAID EXPOLSIVE CHARGE DETONATED BY AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONNECTED TO A SWITCH, EACH CYLINDER PROVIDED WITH A PISTON AND PISTON ROD THAT IS MOVED BY SAID EXPLOSIVE CHARGE, SAID PISTON RODS EACH CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID FLOOR PANELS, SAID FLOOR PANELS

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