GB2193247A

GB2193247A - Security device

Info

Publication number: GB2193247A
Application number: GB08628666A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Philip Wardenier
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-07-05
Filing date: 1986-12-01
Publication date: 1988-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2006-12-01
Also published as: GB8628666D0; GB8616466D0; GB2193247B

Abstract

The security device is arranged to bar a doorway in a manner which allows only a limited opening of the door (2) either by extending across the path of the door (Fig. 1) or by acting as a strut between door and floor (Fig. 2). The device includes a bracket (4) which pivotally supports a support member (10). A hollow tube (14) is force fitted into the support member (10). The tube (14) accommodates a steel rod (16). A handle (20) secured to the steel rod (16) allows an end of the steel rod to be displaced out of the free end of the tube (14) and into a recess in an engagement member (18) to complete the locking action of the security device. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Intruder security device The present invention relates to intruder security devices and in particular to such devices for securing doors or windows against intruders.

Security devices are known which comprise a length of chain which can be secured at one end to the door and at the other end to the door jamb to allow the occupant of a building to open the door a small amount and to converse with a caller on the other side. While the chains used for such purposes are relatively strong the means fastening the chain to the door and door jamb (both door and jamb being of wood) are relatively weak and can be readily wrenched away by brute force.

Also known are security devices which comprise a steel bar of rectangular section which can be slotted into brackets mounted on respective ones of a pair of double doors to lock the doors against intruders. While such security devices can resist brute force to a greater extent they do not allow the door to be opened slightly to provided a gap through which a caller and occupant can make direct contact with each other.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved security device for securing openings against intruders.

According to the present invention there is provided a security device comprising a bracket, a support member pivotally secured to the bracket, a hollow elongate member rigid with said support member, a force resisting member slidably housed in said hollow elongate member, and an engagement member with which said force resisting member can engage when said force resisting member is caused to project from the free end of said hollow elongate member.

According to the present invention there is further provided a security device comprising a bracket, a support member pivotally supported on the bracket, the support member having an elongate portion defining a channel, an elongate force resisting member slidably engaged in said channel and control means operable between a first state in which it will allow limited axial movement between the force resisting member and the channel and a second state in which it acts to lock the force resisting member against axial movement relative to the channel.

A door securing device embodying the present invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the security device co-operating with a door; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the security device positioned to operate in an alternative manner; Figure 3 is a front elevation and a longitudinal section of an engagement member of the security device of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of an intermediate part of the security device of Figure 1 with a locking knob removed; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a protective buffer to be mounted on the door; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the security device to an enlarged scale.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of another security device; Figure 8 is a longitudinal section through the support member of the device of Figure 7; and Figure 9 is a fragmentary exploded view of the device of Figure 7 with the support member omitted.

The security device shown in Figure 1 is arranged to be secured to the walls 8 on opposite sides of a door frame 6 defining a doorway and to lie spaced from a door 2 in the doorway by some 10 to 20 cms.

The device comprises a bracket 4 arranged to be screwed or in other ways secured to the wall 8 immediately on one side of the door frame 6. An elongate support member 10 is pivotally secured to the bracket 4 by means of a pivot pin 12. A tube of circular cross-section and of plastics material 14 has one end force fitted into a longitudinally extending recess of circular cross-section in the support member 10. The tube 14 slidably accommodates a rod of stainless steel 16. A steel engagement member 18 having a recess capable of accommodating a free end of the stainless steel rod 16, is recessed into a surface of the wall 8 on the other side of the door frame and which surface extends at right angles to the plane of the doorway.

A knob 20 is secured to the rod 16 by a stem to enable the rod to be displaced longitudinally of the tube 14 to bring the free end of the rod 16 into and out of engagement with the engagement member 18.

In operation with the free end of the rod 16 in engagement with the engagement member 18 the security device prevents the door 2 from being opened by more than just a small angle (see position shown in phantom lines in Figure 1). This allows an occupant to converse with a caller on the other side. Should the caller attempt to force the door, the stainless steel bar 16 will resist such force. Because the open edge of the door is closest to the engagement member 18 the main brunt of any force applied to the door will be resisted by the engagement member 18 which is actually sunk into the wall. By the law of leverage only a small fraction of the force will be transmitted to the bracket 14 through the support member 10 and so these members can be conveniently made of plastics material without significantly reducing the strength of the security device.

To release the security device the knob 20 is grasped and displaced to retract the free end of the steel rod out of the engagement member 18 and into the tube 14. The tube 14 and support member are then swung in a clockwise manner (as viewed in Figure 1) about the pin 12 to lie against the surface of the wall 8 to the left hand side of the door frame 6. The door 2 can now be freely opened and closed at will.

The security device will now be described in more detail with reference to Figures 6, 3 and 4.

As shown in Figure 6 the bracket 4 comprises a generally flat base 4B of rectangular configuration having four screw holes adjacent the four corners thereof. An integral flat projection 4A extends at right angles to the base from the centre line of one of the flat faces of the base 4B. The projection 4A is of generally semicircular configuration and has a central opening for accommodating the pin 12. A rib 30 is provided along one side of the base at right angles to the aforementioned centreline.

The support member 10 comprises an elongate member of generally square cross-section. At one axial end, the support member 10 is bifurcated to provide two arms 10A and 10B which embrace the projecton 4A. The arms are rounded at their free ends and provided with through holes to accommodate the pin 12. Mounted on one face of the elongate member is a block 40 of plastics material.

The block carries a rib 42 which is arranged to lockingly engage the rib 30 when the member is pivoted about the pin 12 through 90 in an anticlockwise sense (as viewed in Figure 6). This locks the member 10 to the bracket 4 in this position. To release the member 10, sufficient force must be applied to cause the two ribs to deform and allow their separation.

The tube 14 is provided with a slot 22 which has one portion 22A extending axially of the tube and another portion 22B extending circumferentially of the tube 14. A stem 38 rigid with the rod 16 projects through the slot 22. The stem 38 may screw threadedly engage the rod 16 or be adhesively secured thereto. The stem carries the knob 20. It will be appreciated that by rotating the rod 14 and tube 16 about their common axis, the stem 38 and slot 22 can be brought into any desired angular position.

When the stem 38 is located in the portion 22A of the slot, the knob can be operated to displace the rod axially of the tube. By displacing the stem 38 into the circumferentially extending portion 22B of the slot, the rod 16 is locked against axial displacement. This position is adopted after the rod 16 has been caused to engage the engagement member to provide extra security. For even greater security mating holes can be provided in the tube 14 and the rod 16 when the rod engages the engagement member so that a bolt, padlock or grub screw can be used to lock the rod 16 and tube against relative movement.

The engagement member 18 is shown more clearly in Figure 3. As shown, the member 18 comprises a tubular portion 18B closed at one axial end and provided with a circular radially outwardly extending flange 1 8A at the other axial end. The closed end is provided with a screw hole 18C and the flange 18A is provided with four angularly spaced screw holes 18C.

An L-shaped door protector 50 is shown in Figure 5. The protector has a screw hole 52 in each leg to allow the protector 50 to be secured to that edge of the door which comes into contact with the tube 14. The protector is preferably made of rubber and protects the door against damage when brought into engagement with the tube. In addition the protector will absorb some of the impact should an intruder attempt to force the door open.

Figure 2 shows an alternative manner in which the security device can be used. As shown the device is positioned vertically, with the bracket 4 secured to an upper part of the door and the engagement device 18 sunk into the floor some 10 to 20 cms away from the door when closed.

When the door is closed the tube 14 is inclined from the floor towards the door.

When the rod 16 is engaged in the engagement member 18 the door can be opened to a small extent until the tube 14 has reached the vertical position at which point the bottom of the door will abut the tube 14 and so further opening of the door will be resisted. It will be appreciated that instead of the bracket 10 being mounted on the door it can be mounted on the wall above the door.

The security device is preferably provided in kit form in separate parts, ready to assemble.

By this means longer lengths of tube 14 and rod 16 can be provided to allow them to be cut down to size as required. The tube 14 once cut down can be force fitted into the support member 10 and the pin 12 which may be knuried can be force fitted through the arms 10A and 10B to pivotally lock the support member to the bracket 4.

It will be appreciated that the location of the handle 20 should be as far from the door opening as possible to reduce the risk of an intruder gaining access to it to unlock the security device.

The intruder security device can be used in circumstances where the door must be left ajar for purposes of ventilation. For this purpose an extra clip (not shown) can be provided to hold the door against the tube 14 to prevent the door slamming to, by virtue of the draught created.

The security device to be described in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 can be used to bar an opening in the same attitudes as the device of Figures 1 to 6.

The security device shown in Figures 7 to 9 comprises a bracket 102 which can be secured to the wall, a support member 104 which is pivotally coupled to the bracket by a pivot pin 106, and a solid rod 108 of steel which telescopically engages a channel 110 of circular cross-section in the support member 104. The rod 108 has a longitudinally extending slot 112 in the base of which are bored diametrically extending axially spaced through holes 114. The holes are arranged to be selectively engaged by a locating pin 116. The locating pin 116 extends downwardly from one arm of a rocker lever 118. The rocker lever 118 is pivotally supported on the support member 104 by a pivot pin 126.A coil spring 120 accommodated in a recess 128 in the support member 104 acts on the other arm of the rocker lever 118 to urge the rocker lever in a clockwise sense about the pivot pin 128 so as to urge the pin 116 towards the axis of the bar 108.

A slide 122 for operating the rocker arm 118 is accommodated in an elongate recess 124 in the outer surface of the support member 104 which elongate recess 124 extends parallel to the axis of the channel 110. The slide 122 has a flange 122A on each side which engages a respective guide groove 1 24A in a corresponding side wall of the recess 124. The slide 122 is thus imprisoned for movement backwards and forwards along the recess.

In operation with the rod 108 accommodated in the channel 110 the pin 116 extends through an opening which provides communication between the channel 110 and the recess 124, and engages the slot 112. The spring 120 normally biasses the pin 116 downwardly so that if the rod 108 is displaced axially, the pin 116 will drop into an adjacent bore 114 as soon as the bore 116 becomes aligned with the pin 116. In this position the pin 116 locks the bar 108 to the support member 104 so that no relative axial movement is possible.

If relative movement is required, the slide 122 is displaced to the right hand side to engage the rocker lever 118 and cause it to pivot in an anticlockwise sense. This raises the pin 116 out of engagement with the bore 114 but not out of engagement with the slot 112. The bar 108 is now aliowed to slide axially relative to the support member 104 but axial movement is limited when the pin 116 engages one or other end of the slot 116.

Movement of the slide 122 to the left hand side causes it to disengage the rocker lever 118 and under the action of the spring 120, the rocker lever 118 will displace the pin 116 into a bore 114 the next occasion that the pin 116 becomes aligned with the bore 114.

The free end portion of the rod 108 is arranged to engage an opening in a plate 142 which is arranged to be secured to one side of a door as in the previous embodiments.

As shown the end portion has an annular groove 136 which is arranged to be engaged by a pin 138 slidably supported in the plate 142 (see Figure 9).

A recess 132 is provided adjacent the free end portion of the rod 108, to receive a key 132 so that when the bar 108 is in position barring a door as in Figure 1 and with the door open as far as possible, the occupant from the outside can insert his hand in the gap between the door and the door frame and insert a key or pin 134 into the recess 132 for sliding the bar 108 (when unlocked from the plate 142) axially to release the bar from the plate 142.

In another modification an axially extending slot 129 is provided in the underside of the bar 129 for engagement by a key mechanism mounted in the door, which mechanism when oparated engages the slot 129 and can then displace the bar 129 into or out of engagement with the plate.

It will be appreciated that with the arrangement described the security device can be operated to bolt in place across the door from both sides of the door.

In the normal condition the occupant will wish to bolt the device from the inside. With this arrangement the slide 122 is operated to cause the pin 116 to disengage the through hole 114 and the bar is axially displaced until its free end engages the opening in the plate 142. At this point the slide 122 is moved to disengage the rocker lever 118 whereupon by further adjusting the axial position of the bar 108 in the plate 142, the pin 119 will eventually find itseif aligned with a hole 114 and engage the hole to lock the bar 108 in place.

The bar 108 is released by moving the slide 122 to engage the rocker lever 118 again.

When the occupant wishes to bolt the security device from the outside he positions the bar 108 on a support (e.g. a terry clip not shown) on the inner surface of the door to hold the bar 108 level with the opening 142 in the plate 142. The slide 122 is displaced to the right hand side to hold the pin 116 in a raised position where it cannot engage any of the holes 14. The occupant then passes through the door and progressively closes the door behind him until the bar 108 becomes aligned with the opening in the plate 142.

At this point the door is still slightly ajar to allow the passage of a hand between the door and the door frame. Insertion of the key 134 into the recess 132 allows the bar 108 to be drawn into the opening of the plate 142. Use of another key in the keyhole 140 allows the pin 138 to be displaced into the annular groove 136 and so lock the bar 108 to the plate 142. To unlock and release the bar the reverse operation is carried out.

Claims

1. A security device comprising a bracket, a support member pivotally secured to the bracket, a hollow elongate member rigid with said support member, a force resisting member slidably housed in said hollow elongate member, and an engagement member with which said force resisting member can engage when said force resisting member is caused to project from the free end of said hollow elongate member.

2. A device according to Claim 1 wherein said hollow elongate member comprises a tube, and wherein said force resisting member comprises a solid rod.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or to Claim 2 wherein said hollow elongate member is of plastics and said force resisting member is of steel.

4. A device according to any preceding claim wherein said support member has a recess and said hollow elongate member has a uniform cross-section sized so that one end thereof can be force fitted into said support member.

5. A device according to any preceding claim wherein said support member is bifurcated at one end thereof, the two arms thus formed embracing a projection extending from said bracket and being locked into the projection by a common pivot pin.

6. A device according to any preceding claim wherein said engaging means is tubular, being closed at one axial end, and having a radially outwardly extending flange at the other end.

7. A device according to any preceding claim including a knob rigid with the force resisting member for slidably displacing the force resisting member relative to the hollow elongate member.

8. A device according to Claim 7 wherein said knob is secured to said force resisting member by a stem and said stem is accommodated in a longitudinally extending slot in said hollow elongate member.

9. A device according to Claim 8 wherein said slot has a circumferentially extending portion whereby when said stem is accommodated in said circumferentially extending portion, the force resisting member is locked against longitudinal movement relative to the hollow elongate member.

10. A security device comprising a bracket, a support member pivotally supported on the bracket, the support member having an elongate portion defining a channel, an elongate force resisting member slidably engaged in said channel and control means operable between a first state in which it will allow limited axial movement between the force resisting member and the channel and a second state in which it acts to lock the force resisting member against axial movement relative to the channel.

11. A security device according to Claim 9 wherein said control means comprises a rocker lever carrying a pin which can be selectively displaced between a first position in which it engages a longitudinal slot in the force resisting member and a second position in which it can engage selected recesses in a wall of said slot.

12. A security device according to Claim 10 wherein the control means includes a slide slidably supported on the support member for displacing the rocker lever and therefore said pin between said first and second positions.

13. A security device according to any one of Claims 9 to 11 including a plate having an opening arranged to be engaged by the free end of the force resisting member, the free end of the force resisting member being provided with an annular recess, and the plate being provided with a pin slidable into the opening to engage the annular recess and thereby lock the force resisting member to the plate.

14. A security device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.