Patent Application
20250059822
This disclosure relates generally to an assembly for securing a door opening or other opening of a building; in particular, this disclosure relates to such an assembly with a protection feature that protects against attempts to pry open the assembly's door panel by force.
Abandoned, vacant, fire damaged, or buildings undergoing rehab are often targets for trespassers and for criminal or dangerous activity because, among other reasons, such structures typically include doors and windows which allow ready entry and egress into the structures. It typically is difficult, if not impossible, to adequately secure the doors and windows or to otherwise keep trespassers from being readily able to break and enter into such structure through the doors or windows using wood, dogs or guards. Not only can criminal or other dangerous activity of trespassers detrimentally impact the value of the property, it also creates significant liability risks to the property owners and public safety personnel and causes a drain on public safety personnel through the need to patrol, nuisance calls, and fires.
One way to secure doors and windows of abandoned or vacant homes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,756,883, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
As shown, the door panel 16 has a proximal side 20 about which the door panel 16 pivots, and a distal side 22 with a lip 24 that runs along the distal side 22. Although the assembly 10 generally works well for its intended purpose, the lip 24 is exposed and can be an attack point for forcibly trying to open the door panel 16. For example, an intruder may attempt to pry the door panel 16 open with a crowbar or piece of wood using the lip 24. Although it is unlikely the intruder will be successful in gaining access to the building through the door opening, the intruder will often damage the door panel 16 and/or frame assembly 14, and repairs will be needed.
Therefore, there is a need for an assembly that secures a door opening or other opening while protecting against attempts to pry open the assembly's door panel.
According to one aspect, this disclosure provides an assembly for securely enclosing a door opening or window opening defined by a structure of a building comprising. The assembly includes a frame sized to be disposed to substantially surround the opening and engage one side of the structure. There is a panel sized to substantially cover the opening, the panel having a front and a back, the panel being pivotally secured to the frame and pivotable between an open position and a closed position substantially covering the opening. In some cases, there is installation hardware to secure the frame to the structure such that the frame and the panel are disposed substantially on one side of the structure and the frame engages the one side of the structure, and the installation hardware is disposed substantially on an other side of the structure and engages the other side of the structure. There is locking means for selectively locking the panel to the frame in the closed position and unlocking the panel so that it can be pivoted to the open position when the installation hardware is secured to the frame. In some embodiments, the panel includes a proximal side pivotally connected with the frame and a distal side movable between a position adjacent the frame when the panel is in the closed position and a position extending away from the frame when the panel is in the open position. In some cases, the distal end of the panel includes a flange extending inwardly from the panel towards the frame.
According to another aspect, this disclosure provides an assembly for securely enclosing a door opening or window opening defined by a structure of a building comprising. The assembly includes a frame sized to be disposed to substantially surround the opening and engage one side of the structure. There is a panel sized to substantially cover the opening, the panel having a front and a back, the panel being pivotally secured to the frame and pivotable between an open position and a closed position substantially covering the opening. In some cases, there is installation hardware to secure the frame to the structure such that the frame and the panel are disposed substantially on one side of the structure and the frame engages the one side of the structure, and the installation hardware is disposed substantially on an other side of the structure and engages the other side of the structure. There is locking means for selectively locking the panel to the frame in the closed position and unlocking the panel so that it can be pivoted to the open position when the installation hardware is secured to the frame. In some embodiments, the panel includes a proximal side pivotally connected with the frame and a distal side movable between a position adjacent the frame when the panel is in the closed position and a position extending away from the frame when the panel is in the open position. In some cases, the panel includes a door guard configured to protect the distal side of the panel from being forcibly pried away from the frame.
The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, reference labels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described herein in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the present disclosure and the appended claims.
References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an illustrative embodiment.” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. Additionally, it should be appreciated that items included in a list in the form of “at least one A, B, and C” can mean (A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C). Similarly, items listed in the form of “at least one of A, B, or C” can mean (A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C).
In the drawings, some structural features may be shown in specific arrangements. However, it should be appreciated that such specific arrangements may not be required. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be arranged in a different manner than shown in the illustrative figures. Additionally, the inclusion of a structural in a particular figure is not meant to imply that such feature is required in all embodiments and, in some embodiments, may not be included or may be combined with other features.
This disclosure relates to an improvement to the “Assembly and Method for Securing a Door Opening or Other Opening of a Building Structure” disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,756,883, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Although this patent describes an assembly that is generally satisfactory for its intended purposes, a common problem is an intruder prying the edge of the door in an attempt to force the door open (using a crowbar, piece of wood, etc.). It is unlikely, but possible, that the intruder is successful to the point where the intruder can get into the building but more often they damage the door and it needs to be fixed at least for cosmetic reasons for purposes of the existing property and/or for purposes of redeployment of the door to other properties.
Referring now to
In the embodiment shown, the distal side 118 of the door panel assembly 104 includes a door guard, which is embodied as a flange 122, to protect the distal side 118 of the door panel assembly 104 from being forcibly pried away from the frame assembly 102. As shown, the flange 122 extends substantially transversely from the distal side 118 of the door panel assembly 104 and terminates with a lip 124.
In some cases, the flange 122 is adjacent to an outside side 126 of the fourth leg 114 of the frame assembly 102 when the door panel 104 is in a closed position. Typically, in the closed position, the lip 124 will not be visible in front of the assembly 100 because the lip 124 will extend past a front side 128 of the fourth leg and be adjacent the outside side 126 of the fourth leg 114. In some embodiments, the flange 122 has a depth X corresponding with a depth Y of the frame assembly 102, which positions the lip 124 towards a rear portion of the fourth leg 114 hidden from view when the door panel assembly 104 is in the closed position.
As seen in
The inclusion of flange 122 provides benefits such as, for example, making it more difficult for an intruder to get a firm grip on the edge. In some cases, the flange 122 is formed from steel to add structural rigidity, thereby making the door panel more difficult to twist and damage in a forced entry attempt.
