An intruder can gain unauthorized access to an otherwise secure space by several methods. A space such as a room or a residence may be secured by locked windows and one or more doors that are secured with conventional door locks. One method of forceful entry is to pick the conventional lock, drill a hole through the lock, or otherwise breach the lock. To combat this, people often use a deadbolt. The deadbolt may be controllable by way of an interior latch while there is no exterior keyhole for the deadbolt. An intruder may circumvent the deadbolt by other means of forceful entry. One such method involves kicking in a door or otherwise forcing the door to open.
The market demands new devices aimed at preventing unauthorized intrusion into a space. This is particularly true in connection with securing doorways. A solution should also be characterized by simplicity and convenience.
Various example embodiments described herein are directed to superior and simplified devices and methods for securing entryways. In one example, a security apparatus comprises a plate having first and second opposed ends separated by a length and first and second side edges extending between the respective first and second opposed ends. The first side edge is substantially perpendicular to both the first and second ends. The second side edge is separated from the first side edge by a width. The second side edge has a formed portion and first and second joining portions which join first and second ends of the formed portion with respective first and second ends of the apparatus.
In one example, a security apparatus is provided for a doorway comprising a door frame structural element. The apparatus includes a plate having first and second ends, and first and second side edges extending between the first and second ends. The apparatus also has a midpoint substantially half way between the first and second ends, and a longitudinal centerline extending between the first and second ends and substantially half way between the first and second side edges. The plate has a formed portion extending from the second side edge thereof and the formed portion includes an extension bent out of plane from a plane defined by the plate. The plate has formed therein a plurality of receiving holes. Each of the receiving holes is adapted to receive a locking mechanism. The plate has a plurality of fastening holes formed therein. The plurality of fastening holes includes a set of first fastening holes, and a set of second fastening holes. The set of first fastening holes is located proximal the midpoint of the plate and has a first spacing therebetween. The set of second fastening holes includes at least one second fastening hole positioned between the set of first fastening holes and the first end of the plate. The set of second fastening holes has a second spacing between the at least one second fastening hole and an adjacent fastening hole and the second spacing is different from the first spacing. The at least one second fastening hole is staggered from the set of first set of fastening holes relative to the longitudinal centerline of the plate.
In another example, a security apparatus is provided for a doorway having a door frame structural element. The apparatus includes a plate having first and second ends, and first and second side edges extending between the first and second ends. The plate also has a midpoint substantially half way between the first and second ends, and a longitudinal centerline extending between the first and second ends and substantially half way between the first and second side edges. The plate has a formed portion extending from the second side edge thereof. The formed portion includes an extension bent out of plane from a plane defined by the plate. The plate has formed therein at least one receiving hole adapted to receive a locking mechanism. The plate has a plurality of fastening holes formed therein. The plurality of fastening holes includes a set of first fastening holes, and a set of second fastening holes. The set of first fastening holes is located proximal the midpoint of the plate. The set of second fastening holes is located distal the midpoint of the plate. The number of first fastening holes is greater than the number of second fastening holes.
It will be understood that these are examples only and the embodiments described herein are not thereby limited.
Various example embodiments provide devices and methods for securing entryways. As can be seen from
First end 14 is separated from second end 16 by length “L.” Plate 12 has first and second side edges 18 and 20. First side edge 18 extends between, and is substantially perpendicular to, first and second ends 14 and 16. Second side edge 20 comprises a formed portion 22 having first and second ends 24 and 26. Second side edge 20 further comprises first and second tapered portions 28 and 30, and first and second joining portions 32 and 34. First joining portion 32 joins an outward end of first tapered portion 28 with first end 14. Second joining portion 34 joins an outward end of second tapered portion 30 with second end 16. First tapered, portion 28 joins first end 24 of formed portion 22 with first joining portion 32. Second tapered portion 30 joins second end 26 of formed portion 22 with second joining portion 34.
Apparatus 10 has a first width “W1” between first side edge 18 and an outer edge limit of formed portion 22. Apparatus 10 has a second width between first side edge 18 and the outward side edges of the joining portions 32 and 34. It can be seen that, due to the taper of tapered portions 28 and 30, width W2 is less than width W1. The joining portions 32 and 34 may be viewed as reduced portions or reduced-width portions. Formed portion 22 comprises an extension from the planar limit of plate 12 on second side edge 20.
As can be seen in
Plate 12 has formed therein a plurality of receiving holes 36, 37, 38, and 39. Receiving holes 36-39 accommodate various locking mechanisms such as latches and/or bolts (not expressly shown). In one example embodiment, receiving holes 37 and 38 are formed to accommodate standard striker and primary deadbolts. Receiving holes 37 and 38 may be formed to have a length of approximately 1.75 inches and a width of approximately 0.785 inches, for example. Receiving holes 36 and 39 may be formed to accommodate privacy lock and/or secondary deadbolt mechanisms. In one example embodiment, receiving holes 36 and 39 are formed larger than receiving holes 37 and 38 in order to accommodate any type of locking mechanism and to ensure acceptance of locking mechanisms that may have been installed without close tolerances (e.g., misaligned or wrongly-spaced locking mechanisms). Receiving holes 36 and 39 may be formed to have a length of approximately 2.5 inches and a width of approximately 0.785 inches, for example. In one example, the receiving holes are spaced about 5.5 inches on center to accommodate standard U.S. doorways.
Plate 12 also has formed therein a plurality of fastening holes 40, 42, and 44. Preferably, at least some of the fastening holes (in the illustrated example, fastening holes 40 and 42) are positioned off-center and away from formed portion 22. That is, these holes are not located along a centerline extending along the length of plate 12. This allows these fasteners to be driven as close as possible to the centerline of a 2×4 in the door frame. This helps to provide maximum strength and reduce the chances of shearing the 2×4 when an intrusive force is applied. Also, at least some of the fastening holes are staggered from one another (in this example, fastening holes 44 being staggered from the other fastening holes). The staggering of the fastening holes helps to prevent the door frame materials from splitting. Also, a percentage of the fastening holes (in this example, fastening holes 40 and 44) are disposed closer than others to the midpoint of plate 12 where most of the intrusive force is likely to be applied. In other words, a percentage of the fastening holes toward the midpoint of plate 12 have smaller spacing than some of the holes that are disposed toward the ends of plate 12.
In another alternative, a plurality of first fastening holes (preferably a group closest to the midpoint of plate 12) has a first spacing. A plurality of second fastening holes (a group, some of which are between the first fastening holes and the first end of plate 12, and some of which are between the first fastening holes and the second end of plate 12) has a second spacing. The second spacing may be less than or greater than the first spacing. In one example, the second spacing is greater than the first spacing. A plurality of third fastening holes (a group, some of which are between the second fastening holes and the first end of plate 12, and some of which are between the second fastening holes and the second end of plate 12) has a third spacing. The third spacing may be greater or less than the second spacing. In one example, the third spacing is greater than the second spacing.
As can be seen more clearly in
In the specific example shown in
In the context of this description “distal” means away from and “proximal” means near. For example, if a fastening hole is distal the midpoint of the plate, it is closer to an end of the plate than to the midpoint of the plate. If the fastening hole is proximal the first side edge of the plate it is closer to the first side edge of the plate than to the second side edge of the plate.
It should be recognized that any respective set of fastening holes may comprise greater or fewer fastening holes than are shown in
In one example embodiment, the majority of the fastening holes are positioned off-center from a longitudinal centerline of the plate 12 and toward the unformed first side edge 18 of plate 12. According to one example feature, these holes are located at a transverse position from about ¼″ to about ½ inch from the first edge 18. Again, this is to maximize the number of fasteners that are closer to the center of a 2×4 of the door frame for maximum stability. In one example, the percentage of off-center fastening holes proximal the unformed edge 18 comprises greater than 50% of the fastening holes. In another example, the percentage of off-center fastening holes proximal the unformed, first side edge 18 comprises 60-90% of the fastening holes. In still another example, the percentage of off-center fastening holes proximal the unformed edge comprises about 70-80% of the fastening holes. The other fastening holes (e.g., fastening holes 44 in
In another example embodiment, a majority of the fastening holes is located closer to the midpoint of plate 12 than to either respective end 14 or 16 of plate 12.
The present application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/833,759, filed Jun. 11, 2013, entitled “Doorway Security Apparatus.” The present application hereby claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/833,759.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61833759 | Jun 2013 | US |