GB2274303A - Security grille - Google Patents

Abstract

A security grille comprises an upper housing (10, Fig 1) and a lower housing (12) between which are securable removable security bars (14). A locking plate (36) in the lower housing (12) is movable by a key mechanism between bar-retaining and bar-release positions. In the bar-release position an entry part (48) of an angle slot in the slide is aligned with a slot (28) in the housing (12) permitting entry and exit therethrough of the lower end of a bar (14). In the bar-retaining position of the slide the lower end of each bar is received within a securing part (50) of each angle slot in the slide and the housing slots (28) are occluded preventing removal of the bars. <IMAGE>

Description

Security Grille This invention relates to a security grille of the type comprising a plurality of bars releasably securable around a window or like aperture in a building on the inside of the building.

A security grille of this type has been proposed wherein a plurality of spaced apart parallel bars are releasably securable between respective opposed co-axial holes in housings mounted adjacent the top and bottom horizontal edges of a window aperture. The lower end of each bar is retainable in a hole in the lower housing by means of a locking slide in the lower housing having keyhole slots, the narrow part of each of which can engage around a reduced diameter neck portion adjacent a head at the lower end of a bar to retain the bar against upward movement. When the slide is moved to an appropriate extent relative to the lower housing each bar may be lifted upwardly through the wider part of each keyhole slot out of the hole in the lower housing and then displaced laterally to permit downward removal of the upper end of the bar from the hole in the upper housing.Sufficient vertical clearance is provided within the upper housing to accommodate the initial upward movement of each bar which is necessary to permit the lower end of the bar to be engaged in, and disengaged from, a respective hole in the lower housing. The slide is lockable in its bar-retaining position and the security bars may only be removable upon actuation of a key operated device to move the slide to its bar-release position. It will be appreciated that a security grille of the type described above is mountable inside a building and is therefore not readily accessible by a burglar and, even if accessed by for example the breaking of a window, the bars cannot readily be removed without access to the key. However it is important that the security bars should legitimately be quickly removable to permit for example emergency exit through the window in case of fire.In the arrangement described above each bar has to be individually lifted upwardly and moved laterally to release it from the housings after release of the locking slide by the key whereby some considerable time will be taken to remove the security bars.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a security grille which will offer certain advantages in comparison with the type of security grille described above.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a security grille mountable around a window or like aperture in a building comprising: an elongate first housing mountable adjacent one edge of a said aperture, said housing having a plurality of holes therein spaced apart along the length of one face of the housing; an elongate second housing mountable adjacent an opposed edge of a said aperture so as to be disposed in spaced relationship with said first housing, said second housing having a plurality of slots therein spaced apart along the length of said second housing and each said slot being provided at least partially in a face of the second housing opposed to said face of the first housing;; a plurality of security bars each of which has a first end region engageable within a respective said hole in said first housing and a second end region engageable within a said slot in said second housing whereby said bar may extend between the opposed said faces of the first and second housings; an elongate slide movable longitudinally within said second housing generally parallel to and adjacent the under surface of said face of the second housing; a plurality of angle slots being provided in said slide and each said angle slot having an entry part and a securing part, said securing part extending normal or substantially normal to the entry part and the width of both the entry part and the securing part of each said angle slot being such as to accommodate entry of at least part of said second end region of a said bar therein; the slide being movable between bar-retaining and bar-release positions wherein, in said barretaining position, the end regions of the bars in said second housing are retained in said securing parts of the angle slots in the slide and, in said bar-release position, the end regions of the bars are released from the securing parts of the angle slots and the entry parts of said angle slots are aligned with the slots in the housing whereby the bars may be released from the second housing by lateral movement relative thereto; and releasable locking means for securing said slide in its said bar-retaining position.

Said face of the second housing may be parallel to or inclined to said face of the first housing and conveniently said face of the second housing comprises a first face part, which may be disposed parallel to the face of the first housing, and a second face part inclined to said first face part each slot in the housing extending through both of said face parts. In such an arrangement the slide conveniently comprises a first portion generally parallel to and adjacent the undersurface of said first face part of the second housing, and a second portion generally parallel to and adjacent the undersurface of said second face part of the second housing, each said angle slot in the slide having its said entry part in said second portion of the slide and having its said securing part in said first portion of the slide.

Conveniently each of said bars is of generally circular cross-sectional form and may be of uniform diameter from end to end thereof or may be provided with a reduced diameter neck portion in said second end region thereof.

Each bar may be supported within said second housing by a support element within said housing. Where each bar is provided with a reduced diameter neck portion in its said second end region each bar may be supported on said second housing by means of a shoulder at or adjacent that end of the neck portion remote from the adjacent free end of the bar. In such an embodiment said securing part of each slot in the slide may be of a width slightly in excess of the outside diameter of the said neck portion but less than the outside diameter of the adjacent parts of the bar.

Said releasable locking means is conveniently key operable and is also actuable by the key to move the slide between its said bar-retaining and barrelease positions.

The two housings may be mounted at any suitable inclination to one another but conveniently the two housings are mountable in horizontal generally parallel spaced apart relationship with one another the said first housing being mountable at the upper edge of a window or like aperture and the said second housing being mountable at the lower edge of a said aperture, the security bars extending vertically between respective opposed apertures and slots in the upper and lower housings. Alternatively the two housings may be mounted generally vertically at the side edges of a window or like aperture whereby the security bars may extend horizontally between respective opposed apertures and slots.

A plurality of said security bars of the security grille may be interconnected so as to form a set thereof and conveniently said security bars in a said set thereof are interconnected by one or more connector plates the or each of which is secured to each said bar of said set preventing movement of a said plate longitudinally of each said bar in said set.

The or each said connector plate conveniently is of elongate form having a plurality of apertures spaced apart along the length of the plate, each security bar of a said set thereof extending through a respective said aperture in the plate. Preferably securing means for preventing movement of a said plate longitudinally of each said security bar extends through said plate and through each said aperture therein into each respective said security bar.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description given herein solely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a security grille constructed in accordance with the invention mounted in a window aperture in the inside of a building; Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the grille showing the top and bottom housings and a security bar; Figure 3 is a part cut-away perspective view of the lower housing of the grille shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a similar view to that of Figure 2 but showing an alternative construction of the lower housing of a grille in accordance with the invention; Figure 5 is a transverse cross sectional view of the lower housing shown in Figure 4;; Figure 6 is a front elevation of a set of security bars interconnected together by connector plates; and Figure 7 is a plan view of one of the connector plates.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings there is shown a security grille constructed in accordance with the invention comprising upper and lower horizontally disposed housings 10 and 12 with a plurality of security bars 14 extending vertically therebetween. The grille is mounted on the interior of a building in or around a window aperture and the security bars are each retained within the housings by means of a releasable locking mechanism as described below.

As will be seen more clearly from Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, the upper housing 10 comprises an elongate channel or box section member which is conveniently formed as an aluminium extrusion. A plurality of spaced apart circular holes 16 are provided in a lower horizontal face 18 of the housing 10 for the reception within each hole 16 of the upper end of a security bar 14 of circular transverse cross section. The outside diameter of the upper end of each bar 14 is slightly less than the diameter of the hole 16 in the upper housing 10 within which the upper end of the bar is engaged so as to provide a loose fit of the bar within the hole without however too much play being present.

The lower housing 12 also comprises an elongate member of generally channel or box like form which again is conveniently formed as an aluminium extrusion. The lower housing 12 has a vertical rear face 20, a horizontal upper face 22 parallel to the face 18 of the upper housing 10 in which the holes 16 are formed, an inclined front face 24 and a vertical front face 26, said front faces 24 and 26 being directed in use towards the interior of the building. The faces 22 and 24 are generally opposed to the face 18 of the upper housing 10. A plurality of spaced apart slots 28 are formed in the lower housing so as to extend along a part of the said inclined face 24 and horizontal face 22 to receive the lower end of a security bar 14 in each said slot.

As will be clearly seen from Figure 2, the lower end of each bar 14 is provided with a reduced diameter neck portion 30 which, in the embodiment illustrated, includes a collar portion 32 at each end of the neck portion. Each collar portion 32 has an outside diameter greater than that of the neck portion 30 but less than that of the adjacent part of the bar 14 whereby an annular shoulder 34 is provided adjacent the upper end of the neck portion 32. The width of each slot 28 in the lower housing 12 is such as to accommodate movement of the neck portion 30 and collar portions 32 of a bar 14 along said slot 28 and laterally of the housing 12 from the position shown in chain dot outline in Figure 3 to the full line position shown therein, and vice versa.

Within the lower housing 12 there is provided an elongate slide 36 which in the embodiment illustrated has a front vertical portion 38, an inclined portion 40 and a horizontal portion 42 each of which portions is disposed adjacent the under surface respectively of the vertical front face 26, the inclined front face 24 and the horizontal face 22 of the housing 12. The slide 36 may be formed as an aluminium extrusion in which the portions 38, 40 and 42 are integral with one another. The lower free edge of the vertical portion 38 of the slide and the rearward free edge of the horizontal portion 42 thereof are each guided for sliding movement within a groove defined between the under surfaces of respective faces 26 and 20 of the housing and integral respective flange elements 44 and 46 parallel to said faces.The slide 36 is provided with a plurality of angle slots each of which comprises an entry part 48 in the inclined and horizontal portions 40 and 42 of the slide and a securing part 50 only in the horizontal portion 42 of the slide, said securing part 50 of each slot extending substantially at right angles from the upper end of said entry part 48. The width of the entry part 48 of each slot is of substantially the same width as that of the slot 28 in the lower housing 12 whereby the entry part 48 of the slot in the slide may accommodate entry and exit therethrough of the lower end of a security bar 14.

The securing part 50 of the angle slot in the slide is of a width only slightly in excess of the outside diameter of the neck portion 30 of a bar 14 and is less than the outside diameter of either of the collar portions 32 at each end of the neck portion 30.

The slide 36 is slidable longitudinally of the lower housing 12 from a bar-release position wherein the entry portion 48 of each slide slot is aligned with a respective housing slot 28, and a displaced bar-retaining position in which the housing slots 28 are occluded by the slide portions 40 and 42 intermediate the slots therein. In the release position of the slide a security bar 14 may be inserted in the grille by engagement of the top end thereof within a hole 16 in the upper housing 10 and lateral engagement of the lower end of the bar 14 into an opposed slot 28 in the lower housing 14, the lower end of the bar 14 also being movable laterally of the housing along the entry part 48 of a slide slot to the end thereof adjacent the securing part 50.Subsequent sliding movement of the slide 36 relative to the lower housing 12 will engage the narrower securing part 50 of each slide slot around the neck portion 30 of a respective bar 14 whereby the bar will be retained within the grille, the bar being retained against lateral movement at its lower end by the securing part 50 of a respective slide slot.

As can be seen in Figure 3 of the drawings, a key operated lock 52 is mounted on the lower housing 12, conveniently on the inclined front face 24 thereof. The lock 52 has a portion projecting inwardly of the housing and an arm 54 on the end of said portion which is rotatable upon movement of the key within the lock. Said arm 54 is cranked and has a free end engaged within a slot in a flange element 56 depending downwardly from the horizontal portion 42 of the slide 36 whereby upon rotation of the key within the lock the slide is moved longitudinally of the lower housing to move the slide slots between their retaining and release positions about the security bars 14.

As will be appreciated, when the lock 52 is locked and the key is removed the security bars 14 are not readily removable from the grille even if a window is broken and access to the bars is attempted from the outside of the building. However, upon key actuation of the lock and movement of the slide 36 to its release position, the lower ends of all of the security bars 14 may be quickly and easily "swept" away from the window laterally of the lower housing whereby they may fall under gravity from the top housing 10 of the grille.

Although the lower end of each security bar 14 has been described and illustrated as comprising a neck portion 30 between two axially spaced collar portions 32 it will be appreciated that it is not necessary to provide that upper collar portion 32 which is located between the neck portion 30 and the main body part of the bar 14. It will be appreciated that it is advantageous to provide a lower collar portion 32 at the free end of the bar 14 to provide an enlarged head whereby a bar 14 cannot be lifted upwardly out of the securing parts 50 of the angle slots although in practice it may be possible to dispense with a head or lower collar portion 32 if the clearance above the upper end of the bar 14 in the upper housing 10 is sufficiently small to prevent removal of the bars 14 from the lower housing 12 simply by vertical movement of the bars.

In the embodiment described with references to Figures 1 to 3 the shoulder 34 provided between the main body part of each security bar 14 and the adjacent collar portion 32 enables each bar to be supported on the upper surface of the horizontal face 22 of the lower housing 12. In the alternative embodiment described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 each security bar 14 is of uniform cross-section from end to end thereof whereby, as will be appreciated, there is no shoulder analogous to the shoulder 34 of the bars described and illustrated with respect to Figures 1 to 3. Thus in the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5 an additional support member 58 is provided within the lower housing 12, said support member comprising an elongate element conveniently formed as an aluminium extrusion and having a horizontal planar upper surface upon which the lower ends of the security bars 14 may rest.In this embodiment the securing part 50 of each angle slot in the slide is of the same width as the entry part 48 of the slot but the principals of operation of the security grille are the same as those hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

As will be seen from Figures 4 and 5 the lower housing 12 comprises only a horizontal upper face 22 and a vertical front face 26 and similarly the slide 36 comprises only a vertical portion 38 and a horizontal portion 42 i.e. the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5 does not include an inclined face 24 in the lower housing 12 or an inclined portion 40 of the slide 36. However, although not illustrated herein, it should be appreciated that the lower housing 12 may comprise substantially only an inclined face 24 and that the slide 36 may comprise substantially only an inclined portion 40 i.e. the cross-sectional profile of the lower housing may be substantially triangular.In such an arrangement each respective slot will be formed only in the inclined housing face 24 and slide portion 40 but the principles of operation of a security grille provided with such a lower housing would be the same as those hereinbefore described in that each security bar would be removable and insertable in a direction laterally of the lower housing and that each bar may be readily so removed without vertical movement of each bar relative to its housings.

As will be appreciated from the drawings, when the slide is in its barretaining position each slot in the lower housing is occluded by the material of the slide intermediate the slots therein. For aesthetic purposes it may be convenient to provide the lower end of each security bar 14 with a laterally projecting "hood" which, when the bars are located in position in the lower housing, will overlie the occluded slots in the lower housing.

As hereinbefore described the security bars 14 may be of solid rod-like form or may be of hollow tubular form. It is convenient to utilise tubular bars for the embodiments illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 in order that the respective neck and collar lower end portions 30, 32 may be easily secured to the lower end of each bar 14 such as by an interference fit of a spigot part of the upper collar portion 32 within the open lower end of a tubular bar 14.

In a typical grille installation each of the security bars 14 may have an outside diameter of approximately 19mm and be secured between the upper and lower housings 10, 12 so as to provide a centreline spacing between adjacent bars of approximately 125mm. It is found that such bars of an overall length up to approximately 1400mm may be utilised satisfactorily at such 125mm spacings but if longer lengths of bar were to be required it would be necessary to stiffen them against the otherwise excessive and unacceptable flexure to which each bar 14 may be subjected by anyone determined to effect an unauthorised entry.

Such stiffening may be provided simply by increasing the diameter of each security bar 14 but generally this is not aesthetically acceptable. However in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 the possibility of excessive and unacceptable flexure of the bars 14 is prevented by connecting a plurality of adjacent bars together into a set by means of spacers which act to prevent the possibility of undue flexure of each individual bar. As illustrated, three bars 14 are inter-connected by two horizontally disposed vertically spaced apart connector plates 60 although four or more bars may be interconnected if desired. For example, in a security grille containing twelve bars 14, there may be provided three sets of four interconnected bars or four sets of three interconnected bars.

As illustrated, each plate 60 is of elongated strip-like form typically of a width approximating 30mm and a thickness approximating 6mm. A connector plate may be cut to length to accommodate interconnection of an appropriate number of security bars 14 and is preformed with uniformly spaced apart circular apertures 62 each for receiving a security bar therethrough. A narrow diameter bore 64 is formed in the plate 60 to extend radially from each aperture 62 normal to the edge of the plate. A corresponding aperture or bore (depending on whether or not the security bar 14 is hollow or solid) is formed in each bar 14 whereby a plurality of adjacent bars may be securely interconnected by a plate 60 by means of a roll pin 66 or the like extending in interference fit engagement through each bore 64 and into a respective bar.

As illustrated, it is found preferable to utilise two horizontally disposed vertically spaced apart connector plates 60 whereby a relatively rigid interconnected set of bars 14 may be provided. If desired, the or each of the plates 60 may be provided with decorative features such as scroll work 68 or the like.

It will be appreciated that a set of interconnected bars 14 may be secured between opposed housings 10 and 12 in the same manner as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5, the only difference being that the upper ends of the bars 14 will require more or less simultaneous engagement within the holes 16 in the upper housing 10 and similarly the lower ends of the bars will require more or less simultaneous engagement within the slots 28 in the lower housing 12 for assembly purposes. In the bar-release position of the locking slide 36 in the lower housing 12, the lower ends of all of the bars 14 of an interconnected set thereof may still be quickly and easily "swept" laterally away from the lower housing 12 whereby they may fall under gravity from the top housing 10 of the grille when quick release is required for emergency purposes.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (20)

1. A security grille mountable around a window or like aperture in a building comprising: an elongate first housing mountable adjacent one edge of a said aperture, said housing having a plurality of holes therein spaced apart along the length of one face of the housing; an elongate second housing mountable adjacent an opposed edge of a said aperture so as to be disposed in spaced relationship with said first housing, said second housing having a plurality of slots therein spaced apart along the length of said second housing and each said slot being provided at least partially in a face of the second housing opposed to said face of the first housing;; a plurality of security bars each of which has a first end region engageable within a respective said hole in said first housing and a second end region engageable within a said slot in said second housing whereby said bar may extend between the opposed said faces of the first and second housings; an elongate slide movable longitudinally within said second housing generally parallel to and adjacent the under surface of said face of the second housing; a plurality of angle slots being provided in said slide and each said angle slot having an entry part and a securing part, said securing part extending normal or substantially normal to the entry part and the width of both the entry part and the securing part of each said angle slot being such as to accommodate entry of at least part of said second end region of a said bar therein; the slide being movable between bar-retaining and bar-release positions wherein, in said barretaining position, the end regions of the bars in said second housing are retained in said securing parts of the angle slots in the slide and, in said bar-release position, the end regions of the bars are released from the securing parts of the angle slots and the entry parts of said angle slots are aligned with the slots in the housing whereby the bars may be released from the second housing by lateral movement relative thereto; and releasable locking means for securing said slide in its said bar-retaining position.

2. A security grille as claimed in claim 1 wherein in use said face of said second housing is locatable parallel to said one face of said first housing.

3. A security grille as claimed in claim 1 wherein in use said face of said second housing is locatable at an inclination to said one face of said first housing.

4. A security grille as claimed in claim 1 wherein said face of said second housing comprises a first face part locatable in use parallel to said one face of said first housing, and a second face part locatable in use at an inclination to said one face of said first housing; each said slot in said second housing extending through both said first face part and said second face part.

5. A security grille as claimed in claim 4 wherein said elongate slide comprises a first slide portion disposed generally parallel to and adjacent the undersurface of said first face part, and a second slide portion disposed generally parallel to and adjacent the undersurface of said second face part; each said angle slot in said slide having its said entry part in said second slide portion and having its said securing part in said first slide portion of the slide.

6. A security grille as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each of said security bars is of generally circular cross-sectional form.

7. A security grille as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each of said security bars is of uniform cross-sectional form throughout its length.

8. A security grille as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein a neck portion of each of said security bars in said second end region of each bar is of smaller cross-sectional dimension than the cross-sectional dimension of the remainder of said bar.

9. A security grille as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each said security bar is supportable within said second housing by a support element within said second housing.

10. A security grille as claimed in claim 8 wherein each said security bar is supportable on said second housing by means of a shoulder at or adjacent that end of said neck portion remote from the adjacent free end of the respective bar.

11. A security grille as claimed in claim 10 wherein said securing part of each said slot in said slide is of a width which is slightly in excess of the exterior cross-sectional dimension of said neck portion part of each said security bar but which is less than the exterior cross-sectional dimension of the remainder of each said bar.

12. A security grille as claimed in any one of preceding claims wherein said releasable locking means is key operated and is actuable by the key to move said slide between its said bar-retaining and bar-release positions.

13. A security grille as claimed in any one of preceding claims wherein said first and second housings are mountable in horizontal generally parallel spaced apart relationship with one another, said first housing being mountable at the upper edge of a window or like aperture and said second housing being mountable at the lower edge of a said aperture, said security bars extending vertically between respective opposed apertures and slots in said upper and lower housings.

14. A security grille as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said two housings are mountable in vertical generally parallel spaced apart relationship with one another at opposed respective side edges of a window or like aperture, said security bars extending horizontally between respective opposed apertures and slots in said housings.

15. A security grille as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a plurality of said security bars are interconnected so as to form a set thereof.

16. A security grille as claimed in claim 15 wherein said security bars in a said set thereof are interconnected by one or more connector plates the or each of which is secured to each said bar of said set preventing movement of a said plate longitudinally of each said bar in the set.

17. A security grille as claimed in claim 16 wherein the or each said connector plate is of elongate form having a plurality of apertures spaced apart along the length of the plate, each security bar of a said set thereof extending through a respective said aperture in the plate.

18. A security grille as claimed in claim 17 wherein securing means extends through said plate and through each said aperture therein into each respective said security bar.

19. A security grille constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.

20. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.