Self-Releasing Security Bar

Hinged doors are commonly barred closed for security reasons. The presence of the bar extending across the door opening prevents the door from swinging open under forces applied from the opposite side of the door. The usual arrangement includes receptacles mounted on the door jamb, or adjacent wall structure, at or slightly above the height of the door handle. These receptacles are engaged by a solid or telescoping bar. Solid bars have to be lifted out of hook-shaped receptacles, and the telescoping bars may have internal compression springs biasing the bar sections to increased overall length to keep them in engagement with the receptacles. A cross-pin usually engages aligned holes in the bar sections to reinforce the effect of the spring. Release is obtained by pulling the pin, and then pulling the bar sections to decreased length against the spring action, so that the bar can be disengaged from the receptacles.

In case of fire or other emergency, it becomes necessary to release the door immediately, often under panic conditions. People cannot then be counted upon to act with calm logic, and complications involved in the forcible disengagement of a security bar may be too much to handle.

The present invention provides a self-releasing feature activated by simply pulling the transverse release pin, allowing an internal tension spring to pull the telescoping sections together to a shorter overall length, and permit the bar assembly to disengage from the receptacles and fall away.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the bar assembly in position to prevent the opening of a hinged door.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale showing the components of the bar assembly.

FIG. 3 is a side and top view of the inside bar member.

FIG. 4 is a side and top view of the outer bar member.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the internal spring.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the release pin.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the left-hand form of the preferred receptacle used in conjunction with the bar assembly.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the right-hand form of the receptacle illustrated in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 1, the door 10 is shown hinged at 11 and 12 to the door jamb 13, forming part of the structure of the wall 14. Receptacles as shown at 15 and 16 are secured with screws to opposite sides of the jamb 13 to receive the ends of the bar assembly generally indicated at 17. The bar assembly is best shown in FIG. 2.

The bar assembly 17 includes the telescoping inner tube 18 and outer tube 19, which are preferably steel tubes that are generally square in cross-section. Aligned transverse holes as shown at 20 in the inner tube and 21 in the outer tube are adapted to receive a transverse release pin 22, which is shown in FIG. 6. The pin is equipped with a ring 23, which may be engaged directly by a person's finger, or the ring may be provided with a pull chain 24, as shown in FIG. 1. The pin also includes a flange 31 adjacent ring 23 to limit inward movement of the pin in the openings in the tubes. It is preferable that the ring and chain be oriented so that the pull must be downward in order to release the bar assembly, as this direction of applied force tends to facilitate the fall-away action necessary to free the door. Also, the hanging chain and downward release movement facilitates use of the release by a person kneeling or otherwise close to the ground. This makes it easier to release the bar when smoke forces a person to crouch close to the floor or when a person is injured. On release by disengagement of the pin 22, the internal spring 25 induces a relative movement of the inner and outer tubes such as to shorten the overall length, and free the ends of the bar assembly from at least one of the socket receptacles. The spring 25 extends between the terminals 26 in the inner tube and 27 in the outer tube, these terminals being cross-pins welded or brazed at their opposite ends to the respective tubes.

It should be noted that there is a strong possibility that the action of the spring may induce withdrawal of one end of the bar assembly from its associated socket, leaving the other in engagement. With this possibility in mind, it is desirable to form the receptacle sockets with a configuration which permits a substantial angle of declination of the bar assembly from the horizontal as the opposite end is freed. The receptacles, or the surrounding wall structure, should provide a limit to the penetration of the ends of the bar assembly, so that it cannot be accidentally slid in one direction to a sufficient degree to disengage it from one receptacle. This penetration limit is provided by the end panels 27 and 28 of the receptacles shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the two being identical except for a left-right hand relationship.

The socket-shaped receptacles 15 and 16 preferably are of the type that permit easy insertion of the bar into the receptacle in a sideways direction but resist removal of the bar in the same direction. Each receptacle comprises a rectangular tubular member extending inwardly from end panel 27 or 28. Each tubular member comprises an upper side 30, a back side 32, a bottom side 34, and a front lip 35 extending upwardly from the bottom side at a front edge thereof. A cover plate 36 is pivotally mounted to the upper side at the front edge thereof and extends downwardly to a position behind the front lip. The back side is attached to a mounting plate 38 having flanges with holes therein for attaching the receptacle to a door jamb.

The cover plate pivots inwardly to permit sideways insertion of the safety bar in an extended and pinned condition into the receptacle. The bar then fits down behind the front lip and is restrained thereby from moving inwardly when an attempt is made to open the door inwardly. A Y-shaped flange on the lower end of the cover plate prevents inadvertent opening of the cover plate by the bar. A tab 40 on the top of the cover plate can be pressed down to open the cover plate for sideways removal of the bar assembly.

In operation, the bar is assembled and the pin inserted into the aligned openings in the bar after the bar has been extended to its desired length. The pin is inserted in the bottom of the bar to permit easy removal of the pin simply by yanking the pin down, which is considered a natural reaction in a panic situation. The tension in the spring clamps the pin in the openings in the bar and holds it in place until the pin is manually removed. The bar is then inserted in the receptacles simply by pressing it rearwardly through the cover plate on each receptacle. The bar then remains in place until it is manually removed by opening the cover plate on one of the receptacles or by collapsing the bar by removal of the pin.