Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The invention relates to a device, more parti-
cularly to be secured in passenger-cars, for smashing
the windows in the event of a traffic accldent, the
device co~nprising a holding plate with holes for -the
attachment thereof and clips for the acco~odation of a
ha~mer. In the event of an accident in which the doors
of the vehicles can no longer be opened, such devices
allow the persons thus locked in to smash the windows
and thus to escape from the vehicle.
Devices of the type mentioned at the beglnning
hereof are known in omnibuses and railroad-cars, where
they are used only for smashing windows after accidents.
The holding plate comprises openings for its attachment
to the wall and holes through which a-ttachment screws
can be passed. The holding plate is also provided with
clips into which a h~mmer and the handle thereof may be
inserted and thus held. Devices of this kind have not
hitherto been common in passenger-cars, even though, in
the event of an accident, the doors may jam. In this
case, the only way out for the passengers is through a
smashed window.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide a device of the kind described which will permit
simple and rapid exit oE the occùpants of the vehicle
when the doors become jammed and can no longer be open-
ed. In this connection~ as a result of the small amount
of space available within a passenger-car, it is essen-
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tial, on the one hand, for the device to be stored in
a protected area, and, on the other hand, or it to be
readily grasped and thus available for use within the
car in the event of an accident of the type indicated.
According to the invention, and in the case
of a device of the type described, this is accomplished
in that the holding plate consists of a T-shaped base,
in that the hammer is provided, in the vicinity of its
head, with two symmetrically arranged tips and comprises,
in the vicinity of the free end of the hammer-handle, a
blade for cutting safety belts, and in that protective
walls covering the hammer-tips and the free end of the
hammer-handle are provided in the three end-areas of the
T-shaped base. The T-shaped base corxesponds to the con-
tour of the hammer, so that the device as a whole, con-
sisting of the holding plate and the hammer, has an
attractive appearance. The device is also small enough
to be arranged within reach of the occupants of a passen-
ger-car, for instance on the carpeting under one of the
front-seats or the like. Since the hammer-head has two
symmetrically arranged tips, it is immaterial which of
the tips is used to smash the windshield, a lateral win-
dow or the rear window of the car. Nor is it necessary
to rotate the hammer while smashing the windows. Passen-
ger cars are also known to be fitted with safety-belts,
and in many kinds of accidents they can no longer be
opened at the belt-lock and must therefore be cut.
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The free end of the hammer-handle is therefore fitted
with a blade which is thus fully protected and allows
a belt to be cut quickly and easily, ~Eor the occupants
to free themselves. On the other hand, the hammer and
its two tips are accommodated in the base and are thus
protected. Since the blade is also concealed, inadver-
tent injury to the occupants need not be feared.
The hammer tips may also be conical, in which
case the protective walls on the base are V-shaped.
This provides a fit between the holding plate and the
hammer affording protection both to the hammer tips and
to the occupants of the car. Moreover, these protective
walls hold the hammer, in addition to the clips, in
other locations, so that it cannot shift in the locking
plate or become loose as a result of vibration.
The two hammer-tips may be arranged in a con-
tinuous metal insert-element, whereas the hammer-handle
consists of two shells adapted to be connected together.
The two half-shells have expanded heads enclosiny the
insert-element. This provides an extremely effective ins-
trument, in which weight is provided in the head by the
metal in~ert~element. On the other hand, the handle,
consisting of two aluminum die-castings, is corresponding-
ly light.
The insert-element may comprise peripheral groo-
ves, so that when the half-shells are connected together,
the insert-element is held securely and locked.
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The hammer-handle may be fitted, near its
free end, with an open notch passing through both half-
shells, a blade being held, at the bottom of the notch,
between the half-shells. In this connection, the confi-
guration of the open notch is such that a finger cannot
enter it, whereas a safety belt can enter easily and
reach the knife at the bottom. If the notch is arranged
at an angle to the axis of the hammer~handle, the safety-
belt may be cut with a simple pull, and this can be done
very rapidly.
A detachably mounted needle may be provided in
the hammer-head and may be used to adjust or clean the
windshield-washer nozzles in passenger cars. The device
may thus be used for several purposes.
The invention is explained hereinafter in great-
er detail, in conjunction with the example of embodiment
illustrated in the drawing attached hereto, wherein:
Figure 1 is a view of the device consisting of
a hammer and a holding plate;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device
according to figure l;
Figure 3 is a view of the holding plate of the
device; and
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the holding
plate according to figure 3.
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The device illustrated in fiyure 1 consists
of two components adapted to each other, to wit a hold-
ing plate 1 and a hammer 2. The holding plate consists
of a base 3 having a T-shaped contour from which clips
4 pro~ect. Located in the end-areas of the T-shaped
base are -two V-shaped protective walls 6 and 7 and one
protective wall 8. These walls serve not only to pro-
tect the hammer, but also to hold and lock it more secu-
rely.
Hammer 2 comprises a handle 9 and a head 10,
the central part of the handle being ridged or grooved,
or the li~e, in order to provide a non-slip hold. The
handle is made of two half-shells 11, 12 which may be
aluminum die-castings with expanded parts 13 in the head-
area. These expanded parts accommodate an insert-element
14 which may be in the form of a continuous metal element
comprising two hammer-tips 15, 16. These tips are conical
and terminate in points, and may thus be used to smash
passenger-car windows easily and effortlessly.
V-shaped protective walls 6,7 are adapted to
the shape of hammer-tips 15~ 16. They thus enclose -the
hammer tightly, thus holding to base 3 in addition to
clips 4, 5. Insert-element 1~ has peripheral grooves 17
in which ribs 18, formed in half-shells 1]., 12, engage,
thus securing the insert-element and immovably in hammer-
handle 9. Screws 19, 20 unite half-shells 11, 12.
The free end of hammer-handle 9 comprises an
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open-edge notch 21 arranyed at an oblique angle to i-ts
axis, the notch being narrower than the width of a human
finger. Secured at the bottom of notch 21 is a blade 22
held between half-shells 11, 12. In the event of danger,
the safety-belt may be inserted into open notch 21 and
may be cut with blade 22. Located in hammer-head 10 is
a needle 23 with a Xnob 24, the needle extending into
the interior of insert-elemen-t 14 which has an opening
for the purpose. The needle is grasped by the knob and
is withdrawn from the hammer. It may then be used to
adjust and clean the windshield-washer nozzles or head-
light-washer nozzles.
Figures 3 and 4 show holding plate 1 with pro-
tective walls 6, 7, 8. In the central area, i~e. in the
vicinity of clips 4 and 5, the base has a ramp-like pro-
jection 25 upon which the handle 9 of the hammer rests
(the handle is not shown here). Base 3 also has openings
26, 27 for securing holding-plate 1 to the vehicle by
means of self-tapping screws. This can also be accomplish-
ed by means of long sliding needles, shown ln dotted lines
in figure 4. These can be inserted obliquely through
other openings in holding-plate 1, for example into the
carpeting, thus securing the holding plate so that it can-
not slip. The needles may be ~-shaped. The sliding needles
may engage lockingly, with the bent backs of the clips,
in ramp~like projection 25. ~ammer 2 is held protected
in the holding plate, so that there is no danger of the
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occupants oE the car being .injured by hammer 2 or blade
22. On the other hand~ when it is needed, the hammer may
easily be removed from its mounting in the holding plate,
so that in the event of an accident, the safety-belt can
very quickly be cut and the windows smashed. The hammer
thus performs the function of a life-saver, being equip-
ped to deal with the special problems which may arise in
a passenger-car after an accident, namely cuttiny through the
safety-belts on the one hand and smashing the windows on
the other hand.
