Improvements in Combined Lock and Alarm.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 27th Oct., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Combined Lock and Alarm.
I, ROBERT BAUMANN, Electrician, resident of Odd Fellows Building, Saint
Louis, State of Missouri, and United States of America, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to .be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to combined locks and alarms, such as shown and described
in United States Letters Patent No. 378,568 granted to me February 28th, 1888.
The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved lock and
alarm mechanism especially adapted to money-drawers, but which may be applied
to bureau and other classes of furniture drawers, side-boards, jewellery-boxes, &c.
The invention consists of certain parts and novel combinations of the same, as
will be described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a money-drawer having my invention applied
thereto, but detached from the counter.
Fig. 2 is a side view of a combined bell and battery box, having one side of the
box removed and an open face.
Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view, showing the underside of the counter, with slides
or guides, and electrical-contacts.
Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of my invention, showing the electrical-connections
thereof.
Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the lock, with the revoluble push-disk and knob
removed to afford an unobstructed view, looking from the right-hand of Fig. 8.
Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same, looking from the right-hand of Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the devices shown in Figs. 5 and 6, looking from the
upper end of the sheet.
Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation, showing a money-drawer applied to the underside
of a counter, the section through the lock being taken on line 2 of Fig. 5, with
the push-disk and knob in position, however, and looking from the left-hand of said
Fig. 5.
Fig. 9 is a sectional side elevation of the drawer, with parts broken away, showing
the sliding connections with the distant battery-wires.
Within an ordinary drawer 1 (shown as a money-till) I have conceived the
invention of locating a battery 2 and an electric-bell 3, and so connecting thein by
suitable wiring and mechanism that an alarm will be sounded by said bell whenever
the locking bolt of the drawer-lock is tampered with-or in fact whenever the
drawer itself is opened by any person unfamiliar with the operation thereof.
I have also conceived of the location of an additional bell 4, in circuit with said
bell 3 in the drawer, and the lock thereof and a suitable battery. The additional
bell 4 can be placed in any part of the building, or a considerable distance from
the drawer, and by means of a suitable cut-out or switch 5 placed in the circuit and
also located within the drawer, either the bell 3 or the bell 4 may be cut out of
circuit, whereby if the drawer be tampered with, either bell will be caused to sound
an alarm, as the operator may predetermine and set the switch accordingly.
6-6 indicates the slides or guides secured to the underside of the counter top,
which are engaged by the projecting longitudinal flanges 7 on the side of the
drawer, so that said drawer shall be held to slide closely adjacent to the under side
of the counter top or a small platform 8 affixed thereto.

page_text: .
9 and 410 indicate metallic contact plates fixed at predetermined points upon the
under surface of the platform 8, so as to be engaged by two metallic contact
springs 11 and 12, affixed to the rear end of the drawer, so that their free ends
shall point towards the front end, and normally project above the upper side of the
drawer, and be urged continually. upward.
:
In some cases I may locate an additional battery 13 in circuit with the bell 4,
but this is only necessary where the said bell is located at a considerable distance
from the drawer. 1.
"
"
I prefer to locate the additional bell and battery 4 and' 13 respectively in a
portable box or casing 14, divided vertically by a partition wall 15, thereby forming
a chamber or recess 16 for the bell and a separate chamber or recess. 17. for the
battery, each chamber being closed upon all sides, except the front side of the
chamber in which the bell is located, which I prefer to leave open to permit passage
of the sound waves. (See Fig. 2.).
18 indicates the floor of the building, through which the line wires 19 and 20°
pass in case the bell 4 and battery 13 are located upstairs in a room above that in
which the drawer is located..
21 and 22 indicate the line wires which connect the springs 11, and 12 (located
within the drawer), the spring 11 being connected to one terminal of the bell 3, and,
the spring 12 being connected by a wire 22 to oue terminal of the switch 5, and
suitable wiring within the drawer connects the other terminal, of switch 5 with one
terminal of the battery 2, and a wire 23 connects the other terminal of said battery 2
to the contact plate 24, located upon the back plate 25 of the lock, but insulated
therefrom. (See Figs. 4 and 8.):
26 indicates a wire which connects with a contact spring 27 also located upon the
back plate of the lock but insulated therefrom, and with the same terminal of the
bell 3 to which the spring 11 is connected.
:.
The wires 23 and 26, are located within and traverse a groove 28, made in the
lower edge of the central partition 29, within the drawer, so that said wires are).
..thereby concealed from view and out of the way of the fingers of the operator in
removing from or placing within the central compartments money or other
valuables.
"
It will be thus seen that I locate an electric battery and alarm bell in a local
circuit, all the elements of which together with said battery and bell, are contained
within a sliding drawer..
It also may be observed that I place an additional alarm bell 4 and an additional
battery. 13 in a main circuit, so that said, last named bell and battery may be
located at a considerable distance from the drawer containing the local circuit, and
that by means of the switch 5 I may cut out the bell 3 from the local circuit, or I
may by a reverse movement of said switch cut out the bell 4 and battery 13, at the
will of the operator.
I desire to state that other forms of lock than that which I here show may be
made use of in carrying out my invention, it being essential only that the proper
electrical connections, such as I here show, may be applied to the bolt or the lock,
whereby when the drawer is slid .in or out, the circuit through a battery and an
alarm bell located in said drawer (or located at any distance therefrom) shall be
completed and an alarm sounded.
30 indicates a knob secured to the front of the drawer by means of which said
drawer may be pulled out, as will be readily understood; but this knob, it will be
seen, is located at one side of and some distance from the knob 31 of the lock,
..which latter is preferably placed in the centre of the front of the drawer.
The particular form of lock here shown is substantially the same as that shown
and described in my Patent before mentioned, and it has a vertically sliding bolt 32
loosely attached to the back plate of the lock by means of guiding stirrups 33; it
bas an apexial end upon its upper end forming outer and inner inclines thereon
which I designate by the numerals 34 and 35 which engage respective inclined

page_text: sides of a downwardly projecting V-shaped keeper 36 affixed to the under side of
the platform & in proper position thereon, so that when the drawer is pushed
inwardly to the limit of its inward movement (as shown in Fig. 8) the incline 35 on
the head of the bolt will engage with the outer inclined surface of the said
V-shaped keeper and the bolt be thereby retracted, and likewise when the drawer
is withdrawn from said position the incline 34 will engage the inner inclined
surface of said keeper and likewise retract the bolt.
37 indicates a push wheel or disk mounted upon a spindle 38, which is mounted
in suitable bearings in the front and back plates of the lock, which permit it to be
revolved and slide back and forth in said bearings.
39 indicates a pin or projection carried by said push-wheel 37 which is adapted
to come in contact with the lower end of a rock lever 40 which is provided with a
suitable projection 41 for such purpose.
Said rock lever is pivoted at about the middle of its length to a lug 42 projecting
from the inner surface of the back-plates, so that when its lower end is pressed
inwardly its upper end will be correspondingly thrown outwardly.
43 indicates a shoulder formed upon the bolt 32 which is adapted to engage the
upper end of the said rock lever 40 and limit the downward movement of said bolt.
The contact plate 24 and the contact spring 27 are respectively secured to the
inner plate of the lock by any suitable means such as screws or rivets, so that said
contact spring shall project in front of said contact plate and be depressed into
contact therewith by the projection 44 formed upon the upper end of the said rock
lever whenever said bolt is retracted through any cause whatever, and thereby
completes a circuit and sounds an alarm, as will be more fully hereinafter
described.
45 indicates a suitable spring, having one end secured and fixed to the back plate
of the lock, and its free end in contact with the lower end of the bolt 32, and the
function of which spring is to shoot the bolt outwardly and normally hold same at
the limit of its outward movement.
46 indicates a flat spring fixed at one end of the back plate of the lock near the
lower end thereof and having its free end projecting upwardly in contact with and
pressing outwardly the lower end of rock lever 40, this being the position of said
rock lever after the bolt has been retracted.
47 indicates a bell-crank lever pivoted to the back-plate so that one of its arms 48
will engage a depression 49 in bolt 32 and move with said bolt when the same is
shot outward or retracted, and the other or lower arm of which is adapted to
engage a notch or depression 50 formed in the lower end of the rock lever 40
whenever the bolt 32 is shot outwardly and thereby hold said rock lever in its
normal position. Such other portions of the lock as I here show but have not
described, I do not consider as necessary to be referred to, the operation of the
invention being complete as above stated.
The only portions of the lock which I have not described are old and well known,
and they consist mainly of a spring lever to hold the push knob in position when it
is pushed inward and pulled outward, which is a device commonly known in the art
and of little importance, being shown in my former Patent above mentioned.
The operation is as follows:
If the operator desires a bell 3 to ring and sound an alarm (with the drawer
being opened or withdrawn) he throws the switch 5 to contact 51 (see Fig. 4) the
parts of the lock occupying the position in which they are shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7
and 8; then he pushes the drawer inwardly until the incline 34 of the bolt 32
contacts with the V-shaped keeper 36 and to the limit of its inward movement,
which operation will retract the bolt, throw the lower end of bell-crank lever 47
out of engagement with the notch 50 in the lower end of rock lever 40, thereby
releasing the same and permitting it to be thrown outwardly and its upper end
thrown inwardly and the projection 44 on said upper end engaging the spring 27
and pressing the same into contact with contact plate 24, thereby completing a

page_text: circuit through the said spring 27, contact plate 24, wire 23, battery 2, bell 3, and
wire 26.
The alarm so caused to be sounded will continue to sound until the operator
presses inwardly the knob 31, carrying a wheel 37, and projection 39 will thereby
be caused to engage with 41, causing the upper end of the rock lever 40 to be
thrown outwardly until projection 44 releases the spring 27 from contact with
contact plate 24, as shown in Fig. 7, and said circuit will thereby be broken.
Likewise when the operator desires to cut out the bell 3 and have the distant
bell 4 sound an alarm upon the manipulations just described being gone through
with, all he need do will be to throw the switch to contact 52, thereby cutting
out the bell 3 and causing current to pass from battery 2 through contact 52, over
wire 19 to battery 13, thence to bell 4 and from bell 4 over wire 20 through the
terminal of bell 3, to which wire 26 is connected, and then to and through the
spring 27 to contact 24 and by way of wire 23 to the battery 2, and vice versa.
Of course in some cases it may not be necessary to include the battery 13 in the
circuit as will be readily understood.
The short wires 21 and 22, within the drawer, are simply continuations of the
line wires 19 and 20, and I here designate them by different numerals in order to
make it more clear, the spring 11 being adapted to connect with line wire 20 by
contact with contact plate 9 (on the underside of the platform 8) and the spring 12
connecting with line wire 19 by contact with the contact plate 10.
Of course it will be understood that the contact plates 9 and 10 are only engaged
by the springs 11 and 12 while the drawer is at rest at the limit of its inward
movement, and that when the drawer is pulled outward said springs slide off of said
plates and along the under surface of platform 8.
By engagement of the head of the bolt with the V-shaped keeper when said
drawer is pulled outwardly, the same action of the lock and the electrical
connections will take place as previously occurred when the drawer was shoved
inward; so likewise if the drawer be moved or rather forced inwardly beyond the
normal limit of its inward movement, by a burglar or other unauthorized person
the incline 35 of the head of said bolt will come in contact with a projection 60
formed upon the keeper 36, and said bolt will be thereby retracted and an alarm
sounded as before.
Thus it will be readily perceived that if the drawer is moved while the parts are
in the positions shown in Fig. 5 in attempting to get inside thereof, an alarm is
sounded.
In order however to be able to open the drawer without sounding the bell, it is
only necessary to turn the wheel 37 into a predetermined position (as shown by a
given letter or figure of a number of letters or figures on the disc 61 being brought
opposite an opening in the lock case) at which the projection 39 is brought opposite
the end of lever 40, so that by pushing the knob 31 inwards such projection 39
will turn lever 40 upon its pivot, thus moving the upper end of same outwards,
whereby when the drawer is pulled outwards by the knob 30, the projection 44 on
lever 40 will be prevented from coming in contact with the spring 27, when the
bolt 32 is forced downward in the action of opening the drawer, and the bell will
consequently not be sounded.
In some cases I may omit the distant bell and battery, the line wires 19 and 20,
the springs 11 and 12, the contact plates 9 and 10, and the switch 5, thereby placing
the bell 3 permanently in a local circuit contained entirely within the drawer, and
in such case it will be evident that all the electrical fittings-wire and battery being
inside of the drawer, with no wires or connections outside to be cut by a burglar,
access to the drawer can only be had by cutting or disfiguring the same in some
way.
The battery, bell, lock and electrical connections are thus thoroughly protected
from interference by unauthorized persons except they be burglars intent upon
destruction of the drawer, or portions thereof.

page_text: Of course, in some cases I may locate both batteries outside the drawer, by
simply elongating the electrical connections of the battery to be removed from the
drawer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
5 tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a lock and alarm mechanism for drawers, a drawer adapted to slide, a lock
for said drawer, a bolt for said lock, and a battery, bell, and electrical connections
all contained within said drawer, whereby when said drawer is moved from its
Onormal locked position a local circuit will be closed through said battery and bell
and an alarm sounded, substantially as shown and described.
2. In a lock and alarm mechanism for drawers, a drawer adapted to slide, a lock
for said drawer, a bolt for said lock, a battery and bell, and electrical connection
between said bolt, battery and bell, whereby when said bolt is retracted the circuit
will be closed and an alarm sounded, substantially as shown and described.
3. The improved lock and electric alarm mechanism for drawers, comprising a
drawer adapted to slide, a lock for said drawer, sliding contacting devices, such as
springs 11, 12 carried by and adapted to slide with said drawer, and electric battery
and bell adapted to be placed in circuit with said springs 11, 12 and said drawer,
and stationary contact plates as 9 and 10 with which said sliding contacting devices
carried by said drawer are adapted to contact and complete the circuit, substantially
as shown and described.
4. A drawer adapted to slide, a lock for said drawer, and sliding contacting
devices carried by said drawer, and arranged to complete a circuit through said
portions of said lock and a battery and bell, substantially as shown and described.
5. The improved lock and alarm mechanism for drawers comprising a drawer
adapted to slide, a lock for said drawer, a battery, a bell, and electrical connections
therewith and with portions of said lock forming a local circuit, all contained
within said drawer, and an additional bell also adapted to be included in said
circuit but located at a distance from said drawer and exterior thereof, substantially
as shown and described.
6. The improved lock and alarm mechanism for drawers, comprising a drawer
adapted to slide, a lock for said drawer, a battery, a bell, and electrical connections
therewith and with portions of said lock forming a local circuit, all contained
within said drawer, and an additional bell also adapted to be included in said
circuit but located at a distance from said drawer and exterior thereof, and a switch
for cutting out of the circuit either of said bells, substantially as shown and
described.
7. The improved lock and alarm mechanism for drawers, comprising a drawer
adapted to slide, a lock for said drawer, a battery, a bell, electrical connections
between said battery, bell and lock, all contained within said drawer and sliding
therewith, an additional bell, an additional battery, each adapted to be included in
circuit with the bell, battery and lock in said drawer, but located at a distance
therefrom, and the switch also located in the drawer and adapted to cut out or in
either of said bells and the distant battery, substantially as shown and described.
8. In a lock and alarm mechanism for drawers, a drawer adapted to slide, a lock
for said drawer, a bolt for said lock, a battery, a bell, and electrical connections
between portions of said lock, battery and bell, whereby when said drawer is
withdrawn or moved in either direction from the normal limit of its inner movement
an alarm will be sounded by said bell, substantially as shown and described.
9. In a lock and alarm mechanism for drawers, a drawer adapted to slide, a lock
for said drawer, a battery, a bell, electrical connections between said lock, battery
and bell and said bell and battery located in a portable box or casing, as 14, said
casing being divided vertically by a partition wall 15, thereby forming a chamber
or recess 16 for the bell and a separate chamber or recess 17 for the battery, each

page_text: chamber being closed upon all sides, except the front side of the chamber in which
the bell is located, substantially as shown and described.
Dated thin 741 1
1000
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.