GB2398603A

GB2398603A - Telescopic security bar for a garage door

Info

Publication number: GB2398603A
Application number: GB0402948A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dean Mark Pepperrell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-02-13
Filing date: 2004-02-11
Publication date: 2004-08-25
Also published as: GB0402948D0; GB0714260D0; GB0714263D0; GB0303330D0

Abstract

An adjustable length security bar for a door comprises: two mounting brackets 30,30'; a tube 10 having a locking device 12; and a bar 20 which is movably mounted within the tube 10 and which is provided with apertures 21 that are engaged by the locking device12. In use, the two brackets 30,31' are disposed on opposite sides of the door frame 40 and the security bar 10,20 is then adjusted in length to engage and extend between the two brackets to prevent opening of the door 42. When the bar engages the brackets, fixing means used to secure the brackets to the frame are concealed.

Description

t 2398603 Security Locks The present invention relates to security locks,

and more particularly to locks for doors such as garage doors.

There are two main types of garage door; double doors and vertically mov ing'up and over" doors. With double doors, the doors are hinged to We sides of c the garage opening, and swing about vertical axes. With an "up and over" door, the door is supported on a mechanism which allow the door to be raised with its bottom edge moving upwards and somewhat outwards and its top edge moving roughly horizontally into the garage, to reach a final position in which the door is roughly horizontal and supported inside the garage at roughly the level of the top Is of the opening.

With double doors, one door usually has a bolt on the inside to secure it to the centre of the top of the opening and/or the floor, and the other door has a lock which can be used to lock it to the first door. With an up and over door, the door no usually has a bolt at its bottom centre which can be lowered into the ground, there by preventing the door from having its bottom edge pulled forward as the first stage of opening.

Both types of door are vulnerable to a determined burglar. Garage doors as are typically made of pressed steel, and while this construction is adequate to maintain the integrity of the door in normal use, a determined burglar is often able to pull a bottom corner of the door and distort it enough to give enough room to gain entry. Once inside, the burglar can unlock the locks and/or bolts.

so The main object of the invention is to provide a locking system which can be used with such doors to increase their security. Although the invention is par ticularly applicable to garage doors, it can also be used with a variety of other doors, such as locker doors.

According to the invention there is provided a door security device comprising a bar sliding in a tube, the bar having a plurality of transverse holes spaced along it and the tube having a transverse hole, a lock which can pass through the hole in the tube and a selected hole in the bar to lock them together, and a pair of brackets for fixing adjacent to the sides of the door, one for receiving the outer end of the tube and the other the outer end of the bar. Preferably the lo brackets are provided with fixing means which are shielded by the ends of the tube and bar. Preferably also the brackets are two-way brackets, provided with one set of fixing means for fixing to a surface parallel to the tube and bar and the other for fixing to a surface perpendicular to the tube and bar; alternatively, the brackets can receive the ends of the tube and bar in two perpendicular orientations. The tube s and bar may be flattened, with the holes lying transverse to the plane of flattening, and the brackets may have correspondingly flattened means for receiving the ends of the tube and bar.

The invention also provides a method of securing a garage door or the like, so comprising providing a security bar positioned across the door outside the door and close to ground level.

The security device is intended to be fitted on the outside of the door, preferably near to ground level. Being fitted on the outside of the door, its pre s sence is obvious to any potential burglar, and the manner in which is operates will be self-evident; it obviously prevents the door from moving outwards as the first stage of opening. Being fitted near ground levels it obviously also prevents the bottom edge or corners of the door from being bent or lifted outwards to allow the burglar to crawl under the door. Although the device will not prevent a corner of so the door from being bent inwards, bending corners inwards is harder than bending them outwards because there is less leverage or purchase for bending inwards.

Also, even if a door corner is being inwards, the bar itself remains in position, covering the resulting opening. The device is thus highly effective in discoura- ging potential burglars from even attempting to gain forcible entry and thus dama- ging the door or doors even if the attempt fails.

A device embodying the invention, and various modifications thereof, will now be described by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are diagrammatic views of the parts of the device; and lo Fig. 3 is a part diagrammatic view of the device in use.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, the device comprises four major components; a tube 10, a bar 20, and two brackets 30. The bar 20 slides in the tube 10, and is of substantially the same length as the tube. The bar 20 has a plurality of holes 21 s drilled with relatively close spacing as shown. The tube 10 has a locking device 11 mounted on it with a tongue (not visible) which is moved down when the device is operated by turning a key (not shown) inserted into the key slot 12. The tongue can engage with the holes 21 in the bar 20, so that the tube and bar can be locked together with any desired length (within some maximum limit, of course).

The bar 20 may be circular or flattened; it is preferably flattened as shown such that it has roughly the same strength against being bent in any direction. The locking device 11 preferably has a conical outer shell as shown, to malce it diffi- cult for a burglar to try to knock it off the tube.

The device also includes two brackets 30 and 30'. Bracket 30 has a face 31 with a blind hole 32 into which the end of the tube 10 will fit. Bracket 30' is similar, but its blind hole fits the end of Me bar 20. If desired, the two brackets can be identical; if desired, an insert can be fitted into the bracket 30' to ensure a Q good fit with the end of the bar 20, or the end of the bar 20 can be enlarged to match the end of the tube 10.

Bracket 30 is provided with two holes 33 which pass into the hole 32 and two further holes 34 forming extensions of the holes 33. Holes 33 are of larger diameter than the holes 34, so that the bracket may be fixed to the face of a suit- able door jamb or frame beside the moving part of the door by screws which pass through the holes 34; the screws are inserted via the holes 33, which also allow screwdriver access to them. There is a further pair of fixing holes located at the end of the blind hole 32; bracket 30' has a corresponding pair of holes 35' to allow the bracket to be fixed to the side of a suitable door jamb or frame. The brackets locan therefore be fixed with either faces 36 and 36' or faces 37 and 37' or preferably both against the door frame, depending on the details of the Dame. The heads of the fixing screws are in all cases concealed by the ends of the tube and bar and are therefore inaccessible when the device is in use.

15The brackets are preferably made with extended sloping top and bottom [aces 38 as shown. This minimizes the extent to which a burglar can attempt to prize or knock them off their mounting. Additional fixing holes (not shown) can also be provided if desired. Alternatively, additional fixing means can be used, such as a concealed plate over which the main body of the bracket can be slid, to to give additional resistance against burglars.

In some situations, it is possible to drill a hole directly into the door frame (which may be metal, wood, or the brick surround) for receiving the ends of the bar or tube.

Fig. 3 shows the left-hand end of the device in use. A garage has a pillar on its right hand side, with a rebate 41. The door 42 is adjacent to the pillar' either being hinged to the pillar or hinged on a transom (not shown). The bracket is fixed to the pillar in the angle of the rebate as shown, low down on the pillar.

so To secure the door, the end of the tube 10 is slid into the bracket 30. The bar 20 is slid into the tube 1O, and then slid out again until its end engages the bracket 30' on the opposite pillar (not shown). The bar 20 is then locked in position in the tube 1 0

Claims

Claims 1 A door security device comprising a bar sliding in a tube, the

bar having a plurality of transverse holes spaced along it and the tube having a transverse hole, a lock which can pass through the hole in the tube and a selected hole in the bar to lock them together, and a pair of brackets for fixing adjacent to the sides of the door, one for receiving the outer end of the tube and the other the outer end of the lo bar.
2 A device according to claim 1 wherein the brackets are provided with fixing means which are shielded by the ends of the tube and bar.

Is
3 A device according to either previous claim wherein the brackets are two- way brackets, provided with one set of fixing means for fixing to a surface parallel to the tube and bar and the other for fixing to a surface perpendicular to the tube and bar.

to
4 A device according to either of claims 1 and 2, wherein the brackets can receive the ends of the tube and bar in two perpendicular orientations.
A device according to any previous claim wherein the tube and bar are flattened, with the holes lying transverse to the plane of flattening, and the brack- ets may have correspondingly flattened means for receiving the ends of the tube and bar.
6 A door security device substantially as herein described and illustrated.
7 A method of securing a garage door or the like, comprising providing a security bar positioned across the door outside the door and close to ground level.
8 Any feature of novelty or combination thereof within the meaning of Article 4H of the International Convention (Paris Convention).