GB2232435A - Security shield - Google Patents

Abstract

A security shield primarily for protecting doors and windows of empty houses comprises a rectangular frame three side members (6, 8, 10) of which are integral with one another to form a first frame portion (2), and the fourth side member (38) of which is separate therefrom to form a second frame portion (4), the first and second frame portions (2, 4) each being provided with associated securing means (36) for attachment of the frame to a receiving surface. The shield is completed by a separate screen (40) of sheet material for location in the frame, installation of the shield being achieved by securing the first frame portion (2) to an associated receiving surface, sliding the screen (40) through the open side of the first frame portion (2) and into said first frame portion (2), and securing the second frame portion to the receiving surface to complete the frame and to retain the screen (40) within the frame. <IMAGE>

Description

SECURITY SHIELD This invention relates to security shields for the temporary protection of windows and/or doors of empty buildings, in particular domestic dwellings.

Renovation of, for example, council dwelling houses often requires that the windows and doors of the houses are protected both while awaiting renovation and during the renovation process to counter the vandalism thereto that would otherwise occur.

It has long been established practice to provide timber sheets to effect the desired protection, these sheets being fixed in position by means of coach bolts or the like extending through the frames of the doors or windows.

Such attachment requires extensive drilling of the frames, which frames have to be plugged and repaired on removal of the sheet.

Further, sheets so installed are prone to unauthorised removal by prising off of a part or the whole of the sheet from the frame, and can only be replaced by complete removal of all the associated bolts and the damaged sheet.

The new sheet then has to be marked off to suit existing fixing holes and the bolts have to be re-fitted. This is clearly a costly and labour-intensive exercise.

More recently it has been proposed to use shields of metal, or a combination of metal and plastics, these shields comprising an outer frame in which is secured a central grill. It has also been# proposed to mount these shields to the brickwork surrounding the door or window frame which overcomes some of the aforementioned problems.

However, if the frame and/or the grill. of such a shield is damaged, it is necessary to remove the complete shield from its position over the window or door, repair the shield or provide a replacement shield, and then re-fit the repaired or replacement shield. This can be a timeconsuming procedure which can leave the window or door uncovered, and therefore prone to vandalism, for extended periods.

It would be desirable to be able to provide a security shield the construction of which, in the event of damage, permits relatively quick and inexpensive repair thereto.

According to the present invention there is provided a security shield comprising a rectangular frame three side members of which are integral with one another to form a first frame portion and the fourth side member of which is separate therefrom to form a second frame portion, the first and second frame portions each being provided with securing means permitting attachment thereof to a receiving surface, and a screen of sheet material adapted to be removably received within, and located by, the frame, the arrangement being such that, on installation of the security-shield on an associated receiving surface, the first frame portion is secured to said surface by the associated securing means, the screen of sheet material is slid through the open side of the first frame portion and into said portion, and the second frame portion is secured to said surface by the associated securing means to complete the frame and to retain the screen within the frame.

Thus it will be appreciated that, if the screen is damaged and needs to be replaced, it is only necessary to remove the second frame portion from the receiving surface - the damaged screen can then be slid out of the first frame portion, a new screen inserted and the second frame portion re-fitted by its original fixings.

Preferably each side member includes an inwardly-open channel section extending along the length of the inner face thereof and adapted to receive therein an associated edge region of the screen.

Conveniently each side member of the frame comprises a pair of L-section angle-irons welded together, the upstanding flanges of said angle-irons defining between them said channel section.

In a preferred security shield, the first frame portion includes bracing means extending between the side members thereof and adapted to be located rearwardly of the screen, and may further include a central plate integral with said bracing means and to which the screen can be bolted or otherwise secured.

The securing means may comprise a plurality of spaced brackets welded or otherwise secured to the intermediate side member of the first frame portion and to the second frame portion and through which security bolts or the like can extend to mount the frame to the receiving surface.

Preferably the securing means further comprise, for each bracket, a cover welded to the bracket to surround the head of the security bolt or the like associated with said bracket.

The second frame portion may be provided, at each end thereof, with a rigid bar extending laterally therefrom which, on assembly of the frame, overlies the free end of the adjacent side member of the first frame portion to prevent forcible displacement of said free ends.

By way of example only, an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 is a front view of the frame of a security shield according to the invention without the screen therein; Fig. 2 is a side view of the frame of Fig. 1 in the direction of arrow 'A'; Fig. 3 is a transverse section through a side member of the frame of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 shows the shield of Fig. 1 during assembly thereof.

Referring to the drawing, the illustrated shield comprises a rectangular frame made up from a first frame portion indicated generally at 2 and a second frame portion indicated generally at 4.

The first frame portion 2 includes three side members 6,8 and 10 welded together to constitute three sides of the frame, each side member 6,8,10 consisting of a pair of Lsection angle-irons 12,14 welded together along their lengths as best seen in Fig. 3.

More particularly, each angle-iron 12 includes an upstanding front flange 16 and a base flange 18, while each angle-irons 14, which is of slightly smaller dimensions then the angle-iron 12, includes an upstanding front flange 20 and a base flange 22.

The two angle-irons of each side member 6,8 and 10 are positioned with their base flanges 18,22 abutting one another and welded together at 24, and with their upstanding flange 16,20 displaced from one another to define a channel 26 therebetween for reasons which will become apparent.

A pair of diagonal bracing bars 28,30 extend between the side members 6,10, the ends of said bars 28,30 being welded to the rear of the flanges 20 of the angle-irons 14 whereby the bars 28,30 are located rearwardly of the channels 26.

A central steel plate 32 is secured to the bars 28,30, said plate 32 being provided with a bolt hole 34 therethrough, while the side member 8 has three spaced brackets 36 welded thereto to extend outwardly therefrom, each bracket 36 having a central bolt hole formed therethrough.

The second frame portion 4 also comprises a pair of angle-irons 12,14 in the manner of each of the side members 6,8 and 10 and effectively comprises the fourth side member 38 of the frame with a channel 26 therealong.

The side member 38 is also provided with three spaced brackets 36 welded thereto.

The shield is completed by a rectangular protective screen 40 of security sheet material such as patterned polycarbon, reinforced glass, steel plate, vandalite (trade mark), timber or the like. The thickness of the sheet material is just less than the width of the channels 26 and the transverse dimensions of the screen correspond with the distances between the inner faces of the flanges 18 of the side members 6 and 10 and of the side members 8 and 38 when assembled (see below).

The size of a particular security shield is chosen in dependence upon the size of the door or window to be protected, and is such as to extend over the associated door or window frame and the immediately-surrounding brickwork whereby the brackets 36 overlie said brickwork.

The described security shield is assembled as follows.

The first frame portion 2 is positioned on the brickwork surrounding three sides of the opening to be protected, and is secured by security rawlbolts or like bolts extending through the brackets 36 and into the brickwork.

The screen 40 is then slid into the first frame portion 2 as seen in Fig. 4 with the upper and lower edge regions thereof received within, to be guided by, the channels 26 in the side members 6 and 10 and until the leading side edge regions of the screen 40 are received within the channel 26 in the side member 8.

The side member 38 is positioned on the brickwork to complete the frame with the trailing side edge regions of the screen 40 received within the channel 26 in said side member 38, and the side member 38 is secured to the brickwork by security rawlbolts or like bolts extending through the brackets 36.

Once the screen 40 is within the frame, a bolt can be passed through the central regions of the screen and through the hole 34 in the plate 32 to prevent flexing of the screen within the frame.

Lugs 42,44 are preferably provided on the free ends of the side members 6 and 10 and on the ends of the side member 38 respectively which, with the frame assembled, lie adjacent one another and through which bolts can be passed, thereby enabling the frame to be transported as an assembled unit.

Conveniently the heads of the bolts extending through the brackets 36 are surrounded by metal sleeves 46 which are welded to the brackets 36 to prevent access to the bolts and unauthorised removal thereof, said sleeves 46 preferably having top caps welded thereto once the bolts are in position and whereby the heads of the bolts are totally encased.

The upper and lower ends of the side member 38 may be provided with metal bars 48 extending laterally therefrom such that, on assembly of the frame, they overlie the free ends of the side members 6 and 10 to prevent any unauthorised forcible outward flexing of the free ends of said side members 6 and 10 that may otherwise occur.

Thus there is provided a security shield that totally protects an opening thereunder and which substantially eliminates unauthorised removal thereof. The bracing bars 28 and 30 substantially prevent any damage to the window or door protected by the shield on the application of an inward force to the screen 40, as well as deterring entry even on removal of the screen 40, while the attachment of the screen 40 to the central plate 32 substantially prevents outward deflection of the screen 40.

If the screen 40 is damaged such that authorised removal and replacement are required, it will be appreciated that this can readily be achieved merely by removing the bolts from the brackets 36 on the side member 38, removing the central bolt from the plate 32, sliding out the damaged screen 40, inserting a replacement screen and replacing the side member 38 with its original fixings.

The precise construction of the security shield can differ from that described and illustrated. The guide channels 26 in the side members 6,8,10 and 38 may be formed other than by a pair of angle-irons and may or may not be continuous along the length of the side members. The number of brackets 36 associated with a frame can be varied in dependence upon the size of the shield, as can the gauge of the steel components used. The configurations of the bracing bars 28,30 can be varied, while the material of the screen 40 can be chosen to suit particular requirements of security related to cost. The screen may comprise more than one component secured together either directly or indirectly by means of bracing bars or the like. Other modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (9)

1. A security shield comprising a rectangular frame three side members of which are integral with one another to form a first frame portion and the fourth side member of which is separate therefrom to form a second frame portion, the first and second frame portions each being provided with securing means permitting attachment thereof to a receiving surface, and a screen of sheet material adapted to be removably received within, and located by, the frame, the arrangement being such that, on installation of the security shield on an associated receiving surface, the first frame portion is secured to said surface by the associated securing means, the screen of sheet material is slid through the open side of the first frame portion and into said portion, and the second frame portion is secured to said surface by the associated securing means to complete the frame and retain the screen within the frame.

2. A security shield as claimed in claim 1 in which each side member includes an inwardly-open channel section extending along the length of the inner face thereof and adapted to receive therein an associated edge region of the screen.

3. A security shield as claimed in claim 2 in which each side member of the frame comprises a pair of L-section angle-irons welded together, the upstanding flanges of said angle-irons defining between them said channel section.

4. A security shield as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the first frame portion includes bracing means extending between the side members thereof and adapted to be located rearwardly of the screen.

5. A security shield as claimed in claim 4 in which the first frame portion further includes a central plate integral with said bracing means and to which the screen can be secured.

6. A security shield as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 in which the securing means comprise a plurality of spaced brackets secured to the intermediate side member of the first frame portion and to the second frame portion and through which bolts can extend to mount the frame to the receiving surface.

7. A security shield as claimed in claim 6 in which the securing means further comprise, for each bracket, a cover secured to the bracket to surround the head of the associated bolt.

8. A security shield as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 in which the second frame portion is provided, at each end therof, with a rigid bar extending laterally therefrom which, on assembly of the frame, overlies the free end of the adjacent side member of the first frame portion.

9. A security shield substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.