GB2379477A - Door handle restraining strut - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable door handle restraining strut 2 is used on the inside of a room - fitted between the floor and the door handle to prevent the handle from turning (thus keeping the door latched) when an attempt is made to open the door. The strut can be transferred to different rooms as and when required. To accommodate varying height between floor and door handle an adjustable version is required, preferably with a handle claw 1 to ensure the device stays in contact with the door handle and a foot 3 to protect the floor. Where the height between floor and door handle is known, or with small height variations, a solid strut can be used.

Description

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DOORSTRUT The invention relates to a portable device that prevents a door handle being turned and consequently restricts access to a room being kept private or secure.

Rooms that are required to be kept private or secure can have locks, latches and bolts fitted to the doors. However, many doors have handles only and to fit locks, latches or bolts would take time, expense and could spoil the appearance of the door. Light duty internal'hollow core'doors have a thin wooden frame that can restrict the possibility of fitting a lock or a bolt.

The object of this invention is to provide a portable and immediate method of restricting access to a room where privacy or security is required.

Accordingly, this invention provides a portable door-restraining strut, used inside a room where access is to be restricted, positioned between the floor and the underside of the door handle so as to stop the handle from turning (thus keeping the door latched) when an attempt is made to open the door and enter the room by using the handle on the other side of the door.

A restraining strut in its simplest form to accommodate a particular door and door handle could be made from piece of rectangular wood with a notch cut in to fit about the handle to keep it in place and cut to a final length to suit the distance from the underside of the handle to the floor.

However all doors are not of the same size and the handle locations differ. Therefore if a universal strut is to be provided, different heights from the floor to the handle must be accommodated. Also door handle types vary in size and design. Tapered shapes could cause the strut to be forced to one side and out of contact as pressure is applied to the handle.

In the proposed strut design the variations in height, from the door handle to the floor, are accommodated by the introduction of an adjustment device-e. g. a screw thread. The door handle is held from underneath by a claw component that is located at the top of the strut.

The claw partially locates around the sides of the door handle and also hooks behind the door handle boss, where it protrudes from the door, to ensure the strut stays in contact with the handle after being fitted.

Where standardised doors with known handle positions and types are installed then a solid strut made from wood, metal or plastic could be used. For general use, where the door handle position is not always known, an adjustable strut could be used that would preferably be made from metal or plastic.

A door-restraining strut as proposed is a portable device that can be fitted immediately and can be used as and when required in any room that has doors with suitable handles. The strut can be readily transferred for use on doors in another building. The need to fit locks and bolts to doors is avoided thus saving time, expense and possibly spoiling the appearance of the door.

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A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 shows an adjustable, door restraint strut in position under a door handle.

FIGURE 1A shows a thrust washer to assist adjustment.

FIGURE 2 is a side view showing both the door handles, and the strut located at the handle inside the room.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view showing the claw of the strut located about the boss of the door handle.

FIGURE 4 shows a solid, door restraint strut.

FIGURE 4A shows a solid strut with an angled foot.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view showing the claw of the solid strut and both handles.

FIGURE 6 shows a solid, angularly inclined, door restraint strut FIGURE 6A shows an angular strut with an angled foot.

An example of an adjustable, door restraint strut is shown in Fig. l and it comprises of 3 parts.

A handle claw 1, which is screwed into the upper end of a strut 2 whose lower end is located, and can turn, in a recess in a foot 3.

The claw 1 is positioned under the door handle 4 on the inside of a room to be protected, then adjusted by the screw thread 5 into firm contact with the underside of the door handle to prevent the door handle being turned. The adjustment is aided by using a suitable tool in the cross holes 6 and rotating the strut. The foot 3 is made of a suitable material to enable the strut to rotate or alternatively a thrust washer 7 could be added (see Fig. lA). The foot 3 does not turn and thus protects the surface of the floor 8 from damage.

Fig. 2 is a side view that shows the door handle 4 on the inside of the room 9 to be protected and the handle 10 on the outside of the room which now cannot be turned to open the door.

The claw 1 is shown with a'U'shaped slot 11 to ensure that the handle stays within claw.

Fig. 3 is a plan view that shows a second slot 12 that fits about the boss 13 between the escutcheon plate 14 and the handle 4 to prevent sideways movement. The bottom 15 of the slot is clear of the boss (see Fig. l) as contact would be detrimental to holding the handle.

The adjustable door-restraining strut illustrated in Figs. l to 3 is just one of the many known methods of construction and adjustment that could have been utilised to satisfy the objective of stopping a door handle from being turned and thus preventing access to a room. Claw shapes are preferably of a universal design but can be varied to suit specifically shaped door handles if required.

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Fig. 4 shows a solid version of a door strut for use with standardised doors with known positions of the door handles. The strut 16 is held at an angle and placed under the door handle 4, it is then moved 17 to an upright position to engage the door handle with a firm contact to stop it from being turned. A hook 22, attached to the strut 16, locates behind the door handle boss to prevent the strut moving sideways Fig. 4A shows an alternative arrangement to Fig. 4 by adding an angled foot 18 that allows the strut height to vary and accommodate small differences in handle height. The foot 18 also protects the floor from damage by the strut.

Fig. 5 is a plan view that shows the door handle 4 with the strut 16 in position below the handle.

Fig. 6 shows a solid door strut 19, located under the door handle 4 and at an angle away from the door 20. The strut 19 is then pushed in the direction of 21 into a final position to engage the door handle 4 and prevent the door from being opened. The final angle 23 is sufficiently acute to ensure that the strut remains in position. The final angular position of the strut can vary to accommodate any small differences in the handle height.

Fig. 6A shows an alternative arrangement to Fig. 6 by adding an angled foot 24 that allows additional variation of strut height to accommodate differences in handle height. The foot 24 also protects the floor 8 from damage by the strut.

The door-restraining struts illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6A show examples of how a strut may be constructed. However, there are many other known manufacturing methods that could have been utilised to achieve the objective of providing a device that stops a door handle from being turned thus preventing access to a room.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS 1. A portable door-restraining strut, used inside a room where access is to be restricted, positioned between the floor and the underside of the door handle so as to stop the handle from turning (thus keeping the door latched) when an attempt is made to open the door and enter the room by using the handle on the other side of the door.
2. 2. A strut as claimed in Claim 1 where a handle claw is added to locate about the door handle.
3. 3. A handle claw as claimed in Claim 2 where a hook is included that locates about the boss, protruding from the door's escutcheon plate, to prevent the strut moving sideways and becoming detached from the door handle.
4. 4. A strut as claimed in Claim 1 where an adjustment device is included to accommodate varying heights from the floor to the underside of the door handle.
5. 5. A strut as claimed in Claim 1 where a separate, static foot for floor protection is included that also enables the strut to rotate when adjusting for height.
6. 6. A static foot as claimed in Claim 5 where a thrust washer or bearing is included to aid rotation of the strut during adjustment.
7. 7. A strut as claimed in Claim 1, that is intended to accommodate small differences in handle position by being longer than the height from the door handle too the floor, which is initially located loosely under the handle and at an angle away from the door then pushed towards the door to a final position that engages the door handle and with the strut at a sufficiently acute angle to stay in position.
8. 8. A strut as claimed in Claim 7 where an angular foot is wedged between the strut and the floor to increase adjustment potential and protect the floor.
9. 9. A portable door-restraining strut as claimed in any proceeding claim which is made from metal, plastic material or wood, or any combination of these materials.
10. 10. A portable door-restraining strut substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.