GB2173543A - Device for limiting door opening - Google Patents

Abstract

The device is formed by an elongated prop 5 which is mounted behind the door 2 on the floor 8 or a protruding wall and at its other end contacts the door 2. One end of the prop is slidably mounted in an anchorage 10 to permit limited opening of the door. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A security device The present invention relates to a security device for securing a closure mounted by a hinge within an ope.

Such closure members are typically windows, doors or gates. Everybody appreciates the need to secure such closure members. There is however, often a need for such closure members to be partially open. For example, when a caller arrives at a house it is often desirable to open the door a small amount to see or communicate with the person outside the door or indeed, to accept a parcel or some other object. A known device which permits the door to be opened a limited amount while at the same time preventing it from being fully opened is a chain or other member attached between the door frame and the outer edge, that is the edge remote from the hinge of the door. The problem with such a device is that if sufficient force is applied to the door once opened the chain or other member can often be broken or dislodged from its anchorage.If the door were to be left unattended with such a device in position i.e. partially open it could be readily easily tampered with since the chain would be accessible to somebody outside the door.

Additionally, with doors particularly, many closures are vulnerable to being forced inwards even when closed and secured by locks or bolts. A chain or the like is no protection against this.

The present invention is directed towards providing an improved security device which will overcome these problems.

According to the invention there is provided a security device for securing a closure member mounted by a hinge within an ope comprising: an elongated prop extending between an anchorage toward which the closure opens, the anchorage being in a plane offset from the plane of the ope and an anchorage on the closure member, the prop being slidable relative to one of the anchorages to permit opening of the closure member by a predetermined amount.

In one embodiment of the invention one of the anchorages is a track comprising a base and a pair of upstanding side walls and two end walls, the height of the side walls being such as to prevent lateral movement of the end of the prop out of the track.

In a further embodiment of the invention one of the anchorages is an enclosed track within which the prop is slidable, the track having a base, a pair of upstanding side walls and a bridging piece between the side walls, the spacing between the base and the bridging piece being such asto allow the prop to slide in the track when opening the closure fully and a pair of removable lateral stops formed between the side walls to control movement of the prop.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figs. 1 to 5 are front part perspective views of a security device according to the invention mounted in different positions on a door, Figs. 6(a) to (d) are perspective views on a reduced scale showing the device in use with the door mounted in a door frame, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of portion of the device, Fig. 8 is another perspective view of the portion of the device illustrated in Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of the arrows IX-IX of Fig. 7, Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an anchorage used with the device, Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a construction of track forming part of another security device according to the invention, Fig. 12 is an exploded view of a construction of prop used with this security device, Fig. 13 is a front view of portion of this other security device according to the invention with the closure member in the closed position, Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 13 showing the closure member partially open, Fig. 15 is a front view showing the closure member in a position which will allow it to be fully opened, Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of portion of the security device, and Fig. 17 is a front view of a modified version of the security device of figs. 13to 16.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 to 10 thereof there is provided a security device indicated generally by the reference numeral 1 for securing a door 2 mounted by hinges 3 within an ope 4. The general arrangement is more easily appreciated by reference to Fig. 6. The security device 1 comprises a prop indicated generally by the reference numeral 5 extending between anchorages indicated respectively by the reference numerals 6 and 7 mounted on the door 2 and on the ground 8 respectively. The prop 5 as will be described hereinafter is slidable relative to the anchorage 6 back and forth in the direction of the arrows A and up and down in the direction of the arrows B.

The anchorage 6 is provided by a track in the form of a main track and an auxiliarytrack communicating with and at an angle to the main track. In this case the main track is formed from a pair of side walls 11 and end walls 12 mounted on a base 10. A further side wall 13 co-operates with an extension of one end wall 12 to form the auxiliary track which terminates in an end plate 14. This auxiliary track has three cross-members formed by plates 15(a), (b) and (c). twill be noted that the plates are progressively smaller from the end plate 14 thus the plate 15(a) is largerthanthe plate 15(b) which in turn is largerthan the plate 15(c).

The anchorage 7 (see Fig. 10) comprises a plate 20 on which is mounted an inclined tubular member 21 forming a female memberforreceptiori of one end of the prop 5. This tubular member 21 projects into the ground 8.

The prop 5 is a two-part prop having an upper portion 25 and a lower portion 26 connected together by a sleeve 27 having a slot 28 engaging a pin 28a on the upper portion 25 as can be seen from Fig. 1. A chain 29 is provided to further secure the upper portion 25 to the lower portion 26.

In operation, referring specifically to Fig. 6 it will be noted that the prop 5 as the door opens from the position illustrated in Fig. 6(a) to the position illustrated in Fig. 6(b) slides relative to the anchorage 6 in the direction of the arrow A until it impinges against the end wall 12. It will be appreciated then that the door cannot be opened any further.

These two positions are shown in Figs. 2 and 6(b) where the door has been opened inwards in the direction of the arrow C. If it should be desired then to close the door against somebody pushing on the outside of the door or simply to close it somewhat the door 2 can be pushed inwards into the ope 4 and as it is pushed inwards the prop 5 which is initially resting on the plate 15(c), see fig. 2, will then be free to rest onto the plate 15(b) (Fig. 3), then the plate 15(c) (Fig. 4) and lastly on the end plate 14 (Fig. 5). It will be appreciated that even ifthe person outside it attempts to push against the door that the prop will not move upwards and hence the door cannot be opened any further.

To open the doorfurtherthe prop 5 is parted by sliding the sleeve 27 upwards along the upper portion 25. The pin 28 guides the sleeve 27 and retains it when the prop 5 is disassembled.

Referring to Figs. 11 to 16 there is illustrated an alternative construction of security device which is notfully illustrated and parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawings are identified by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment there is provided an anchorage indicated generally by the reference numeral 30 formed from an enclosed track comprising a base 31 having a plurality of holes 32 for securing to the door 2 and a pair of upstanding side walls 33 across which is mounted a bridging piece formed by an arcuate rod 34. A pair of removable lateral stops formed by pins 35 and 36 mounted respectively within housings 37 and 38 are provided. Each pin has a projecting knob 39 which is mounted within a slot 40 in the housings 37 and 38.

The slot 40 communicates with a further offset slot 41. Holes 42 are provided in the side walls 33 for reception of the pins 35 and 36.

In this embodiment there is provided a prop indicated generally by the reference numeral 50 comprising an innertubular bar51 having a pair of male threaded ends 52 each of which engages female end pieces 53 and 54. One female end piece 53 engages the anchorage 30 and the other female end piece 54 engages an anchorage similar to that described with reference to Fig. 10.

In use, in the position illustrated in Fig. 13 with both pins 35 and 36 mounted across the base 31 engaging the holes 42 and the prop 50 cannot slide relative to the track and hence the door is securely shut On removal of the lower pin 36 the door can be opened slightly to the position illustrated in Fig. 14.

However, further movement is prevented by the pin 35. The door is now open a limited amount and the householder can hold a conversation with a visitor, accept a parcel and so on. If it is desired to open the door further, the pin 35 is retracted and the prop 50 can now slide within the anchorage 30 to a fully opened position such as illustrated in Fig. 15. The limit of movement of the prop in the position illustrated in Fig. 15 will be controlled by the dimensions of the arcuate rod 34.

Both of the embodiments described above illustrated the anchorage being mounted at its other end in the floor. Generally speaking the anchorage must be in effect behind the door or closure, i.e. that is to say the closure should open towards the anchorage because if the anchorage is so arranged as not to be in such a position then the prop is exposed to a person outside the door as the door is opened. Generally speaking, therefore, the anchorage as will be appreciated must be in a plane offset from the plane of the ope and ideally the closure opens towards the anchorage.

The anchorage, for example, can be a side wall in which case the prop would be arranged horizontally.

Thus, when the prop is mounted horizontally it will also be necessary for example, to mount the anchorage 30 horizontally and not as illustrated in Figs. 13 to 15. Referring to Fig. 16 there is illustrated an alternative construction of anchorage indicated generally by the reference numeral 60 which is particularly suitable for mounting on a wall. In this embodiment the anchorage 60 comprises a base plate 61 having mounting holes 62. A cylindrical bar 63 having a base 64 is mounted on the base plate 61 by a ring 65. The female end piece 54 in this case has a straight through hole for reception of a mounting pin 66. Ideally when used horizontally the anchorage 30 will be mounted with the pins 35 and 36 uppermost.

It will be appreciated that while the security device has been described as being of particular construction that many suitable shapes and constructions should be used. For example, in certain cases it is envisaged that props may be provided by a single rigid member not broken intermediate its ends. It will also be appreciated instead of the use of one anchorage member in the form ofatrackthattherecould be two anchorage members in the form of a track.

It is further envisaged that the security device according to the invention may be used and the stop members may be activated externally by means of a suitable tumbler or other locking arrangement. The embodiment of Figs. 11 to 16 lends itself to such a modification. Thus, the device may be placed in position, the door closed and the device locked from the outside. This will ensure that when there is no occupant that the security device may still be in place. The protection afforded by the security device against a frontal assault on the door is considerable.

Referring to Fig. 17 there is illustrated a modification of the device of Figs. 13 to 16 incorporating an anchorage identified by the reference numeral 70, parts similar to those previously described are identified by the same reference numerals. The anchorage 70 incorporates a base plate 71 on which is mounted a lock 72, operated from the far side of the door by a key not shown. The lock 72 operates a depending arm 73 having a slot 74 into which projects a lug 75 on the in 36. The lock 72 can be operated from the outside and the pin 36 withdrawn and the door opened as long as the pin 35 is withdrawn.

Claims (18)

1. A security device for seucring a closure member mounted by a hinge within an opening comprising: an elongated prop extending between an anchorage towards which the closure opens, the anchorage being in a plane offset from the plane of the ope and an anchorage in the closure member, the prop being slidable relative to one of the anchorages to permit opening of the closure member a predetermined amount.

2. A security device as claimed in Claim 1 in which one of the anchorages is a track comprising a base, a pair of upstanding side walls, and two end walls, the height of the side walls being such as to prevent lateral movement of the end of the prop out of the track.

3. A security device as claimed in Claim 2 in which the track is in the form of a main track and an auxiliary track communicating with and at an angle to the main track.

4. A security device as claimed in Claim 3 in which the main track is horizontally arranged on the closure member, the auxiliary track extends downwards from the end of the main track and has a cross-member formed from a plate on the base and between the side walls, the free edge of the plate being in use contacted by the side of the prop.

5. A security device as claimed in Claim 4 in which there is a plurality of plates, the distance of the free edge from the base for each plate increasing progressively relative to the next uppermost plate.

6. A security device as claimed in Claim 1 in which one of the anchorages is an enclosed track within which the prop is slidable, the track having a base, a pair of upstanding side walls and a bridging piece between the side walls, the spacing between the base and the bridging piece being such as to allow the prop to slide in the track when opening the closure fully and a removable lateral stop formed between the side walls to control movement of the prop.

7. A security device as claimed in Claim 6 in which there are two lateral stops and in which each lateral stop comprises a pin mounted n a housing external of and communicating with a hole in one side wall, the pin being movable across the base to engage a hole in the opposing side wall.

8. A security device as claimed in Claim 6 or 7 in which each lateral stops operatively connected to a locking mechanism.

9. A security device as claimed in Claim 8 in which the locking mechanism may be operated from the side of the closure member remote from the security device.

10. A security device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 7 in which the prop is slidable relative to both anchorages.

11. A security device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9 in which the prop is slidable relative to both anchorages.

11. A security device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9 in which the other anchorage is a pivot joint.

12. -A security device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9 in which the other anchorage is a socket for reception of one end of the prop.

13. A security device as claimed in any preceding claims in which the prop is releasably engagable with one of the anchorages.

14. A security device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 12 in which the prop is releasably engageable with both of the anchorages.

15. A security device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the prop is length adjustable.

16. A security device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the prop is a two part prop the parts being releasably engaged together.

17. A security device substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 10 ofthe accompanying drawings.

18. A security device substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 11 to 17 of the accompanying drawings.