Abstract:
A security gate for closing a passage has a pair of panels movable translationally with respect to one another to alter the effective width of the gate. An actuating mechanism for forcing the opposite ends of the panels against the sides of the passage includes a handle mounted on one of the panels controlling a latching device operative for locking the handle in a fixed relationship with respect to the other of the panels. The latching device in accordance with one embodiment includes a rack and brake. When the latch is engaged, a cam also controlled by the handle engages the panel on which the handle is mounted to force the two panels translationally further apart so as to bear firmly against the sides of the passage to hold the gate in position.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to security gates for children and pets and more particularly to pressure mounted security gates that may conveniently and easily be mounted and released in a variety of different passageways such as stairways, doors and halls. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Presently there are two common types of adjustable, pressure mounted, security gates that are used in the home for children and pets that have a plurality of panels that are roughly adjusted to fill the passageway in which they are to be used. One type has extendible bumpers on at least one side to firmly engage the side or sides of the passageway to hold the gate in place and the second type that has fixed bumpers on the panels that are caused to firmly engage the sides of the passageway by forcibly extending the panels in opposite directions and locking them in the maximum extended position. The present invention is of the later type. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure mounted security gate that with a single motion can establish a gross adjustment for the two panels of the gate and force the gate panels to move an incremental further distance to firmly press the bumpers against the passageway sides and lock the panels in fixed relationship to one another. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a memory feature into the gate for quick and easy reinstallation in a passageway. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive gate that provides the security of more expensive gates. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention the security gate has a plurality of panels that are slidably assembled together so that their combined effective width may be varied to form a barrier for closing passageways of different width. The outside edges of the end panels facing away from one another carry one or more bumpers for engaging the opposed sides of the passageway. An actuating mechanism slidably mounted on one of the panels has a locking device that fixes the mechanism to another of the panels after the panels have been partially actuated to establish a gross adjustment of the gate width. Thereafter, further actuation of the mechanism causes the said one of the panels to move with respect to the other panels so as to establish a fine adjustment of the gate width wherein the bumpers are firmly pressed against the sides of the passageway to hold the gate in place. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a seat is provided for the actuating mechanism so as to maintain the gross adjustment for the gate width so that it may quickly be reinstalled in the same passageway without having to make the gross adjustment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of one embodiment of a child&#39;s security gate constructed in accordance with this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the rear panel of the gate of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded front perspective view of the embodiment of the security gate shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 4 and 4A are enlarged exploded perspective views of the actuating mechanism of the gate shown in FIGS. 1 and 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the handle, cam and brake forming part of the actuating mechanism; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation view showing the handle of the actuating mechanism in its release position wherein the two gate panels are free to move relative to one another; 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the handle in its intermediate position when the actuating mechanism has locked the handle to the rear panel of the security gate; 
     FIG. 8 is a front elevation view similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 showing the handle in its locked position wherein the gate is immobilized in a passageway to close it; 
     FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of the front panel of the gate; 
     FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of the rear panel of the gate; and 
     FIG. 11 is a rear elevation view of the front panel of the gate. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The security gate  8  of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 disposed in a passageway defined by a pair of side walls A and B. The passageway is effectively closed by slidably expanding the effective width of the gate  8  so that the bumpers  11  mounted on the outside edges of the gate are compressed firmly against the sides A and B. One or more bumpers may be employed on each of the outside edges. The gate of the present invention generally includes a rear panel  10 , front panel  12  and actuating mechanism  14 . The details of the various parts of the gate are described below. 
     The rear panel  10  of the present invention in the embodiment shown is molded of a suitable plastic such as styrene and includes a frame  16  having top and bottom horizontal members  18  and  20  and vertical side members  22  and  24 . A horizontal cross member  26  extends between the side members  22  and  24  essentially midway between the top and bottom frame members  18  and  20 . 
     Horizontal slots  28  and  30  are provided in the top and bottom members  18  and  20  that form part of the slide mechanism that enables the front and back panels  12  and  14  to move translationally with respect to one another when the effective width of the gate is expanded or contracted. That mechanism is described in detail below. A rack  32  extends along the rear surface  32  of the horizontal cross member  26  with its teeth  33  disposed both above and below slot  34 . The rack  32  and slot  34  are substantially coextensive with one another. A recess  38  extends substantially the full length of the cross member  26  on the front side of the panel and the slot  34  is open through the bottom wall  36  thereof. (See FIGS. 1,  3  and  10 ). Open mesh screening  41  molded as an integral part of the panel  10  fills the gaps between the cross member  26  and the top and bottom members  18  and  20  so that the panel  10  may serve as a complete barrier for a child or animal. Typically, each of the panels  10  and  12  is approximately 25 inches wide and 27 inches tall but of course for different passageways other sizes may be appropriate. 
     Front panel  12  like the rear panel  10  also has a rectangular frame composed of top and bottom frame members  40  and  42 , vertical side members  44  and  46 , horizontal cross member  48  disposed midway between the top and bottom members  40  and  42  and open mesh screening  49 . The cross member  48  has a generally quadrant shaped recess  50  on its front face at its left end as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 9 within which the handle  52  of the actuating mechanism  14  moves. An elongated slot  54  is provided in the bottom wall  56  of the recess  50  through which the handle  52  is connected to other parts of the actuating mechanism that lie between the panels  10  and  12  and behind the rear face of the rear panel. The elongated slot  54  also permits limited horizontal translational motion of the front panel  12  relative to the actuating mechanism  14 . 
     The panels  10  and  12  are slidably connected together by retainers  60   a, b, c , and  d  that are disposed in recesses  62  and  64  provided on the front face of the panel  10  (see FIG. 10) and recesses  66  and  68  provided in the rear face of panel  12  (see FIG.  11 ). The recesses  62 ,  64 ,  66 , and  68  are respectively aligned with the slots  28 ,  30 ,  67 , and  69  respectively in the horizontal members  18 ,  20 ,  40  and  42  of the frames of the rear and front panels. The retainers  60   a  and  60   b  carried on the rear panel  10  extend through the slots  67  and  69  in the front panel  12  and are secured to slides  61   a  and  61   b  that are disposed on the front face of the front panel. Similarly, retainers  60   c  and  60   d  extend through the slots  28  and  30  on the rear panel and connect to slides  61   c  and  61   d  on the rear face of the rear panel. Thus, the two panels are slidably connected to one another and are maintained in horizontal alignment. The slides  61  are sized so as not to bind on the faces of the panels, but rather slide rather freely on them so as to permit the panels to move from a contracted position wherein the left and right frame members of the panels are in alignment to an extended position wherein the left vertical frame member  22  of the rear panel and the right vertical frame member  46  of the front panel are a maximum distance apart. 
     While in the foregoing paragraphs gate panels  10  and  12  of the embodiment illustrated have been described in detail, it should be appreciated that the panels may be made of other materials such as wood or metal and they may be slidably connected together by a variety of different arrangements. For example, the slidable connections could be in the form of brackets that span both the top and bottom edges of the panels as opposed to the slots and retainers and slides used in the illustrated embodiment. 
     In FIGS. 3,  4 ,  4 A and  5 , the actuating mechanism is shown. Handle  52  includes a peripheral wall  80  and a front wall  82  along with a number of stiffening ribs  84   30  contained within the cavity  104  defined by the peripheral and front walls. The actuating mechanism also includes a compliance spring  85 , cam  86  having a collar  88  on its rear face and a hub  90  on its front face, and a brake  92 . The cam  86  is disposed between the two panels  10  and  12  and the brake is disposed on the rear side of the back panel  10 . The brake  92  in turn has a hub  95  that has a pair of diametrically aligned holes  99  that support a pin  96  that rides in cam slots  98  in the collar  88  on the cam. The cam  86  is connected to the handle  52  by means of a sonic nail  100  that extends through a hub  102  formed on the rear face of the handle in the cavity  104  and engages a sleeve  106  (see FIG. 3) within the hub  90  on the front wall of the cam. The nail  96  permits the handle  52 , cam  86  and brake  92  to rotate with respect to one another. 
     Hub  90  of the cam  86  also has an axially extending slot  110  that receives the hook end  112  of leaf spring  85  while the other end  114  of the spring is held in place in the handle by the U-shaped ribs  116  and  118 . The hook end  112  of the spring extends over the circular wall  119  in the inside of the handle and sits in the proper position so as to register with the slot  110  in the hub  90 . The collar  90  of the cam extends through the elongated slot  54  in the recess  50  on the front panel  12  so as to engage the hub  102  within circular wall  116  of the handle. The connections between the handle and the cam  15  and between the cam and the brake cause separate actions to occur in sequence when the handle is turned clockwise from the vertical position in the recess  50  shown in FIG. 6, through 90° to the horizontal position as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     In FIG. 11, it will be noted that an arcuate cam follower  124  is carried on the rear surface of front panel  12  adjacent the horizontal slot  54 . As described below, the cam follower cooperates with the cam to force the panels  10  and  12  outwardly with respect to one another. 
     As suggested above, two independent separate actions occur when the handle is moved from the vertical position of FIG. 6 to the horizontal position shown in FIG.  8 . In the vertical position, the pin  96  carried by the hub  95  extending forwardly from the main body of the brake  92  is disposed in the rearwardmost ends  98   a  of the cam slots  98  in the hub  88  of cam  86 , and the body of the brake  92  therefore is in its rearwardmost position, and its teeth  93  are out of engagement with the teeth  32  of the rack  34  on the back face of rear gate panel  10 . Therefore, the two panels  10  and  12  are free to slide translationally with respect to each other so that the effective widths of the gate made up of the two  30  panels may be enlarged or reduced. When the handle  52  is turned through approximately 30° in a clockwise direction to the position of FIG. 7, the pin  96  will be drawn by the cam slots  98  in a forward direction toward the rear face of the back panel  10  until the brake teeth  93  engage the teeth  32  of the rack  34  and lock the brake and rack in fixed position with respect to one another. When that occurs, the handle  52  and cam  86  and more particularly their common rotational axis is fixed with respect to the rear panel. When the handle is turned further in a clockwise direction to the position of FIG. 8, the peripheral cam surface  86   a  of cam  86  will engage the cam follower  124  on the rear wide of the front panel and push the front panel  12  to the right with respect to the rear panel  10  as viewed in FIG. 1 so as to cause the panels to spread further apart. Thus, an incremental increase in the effective width of the gate is achieved. 
     To mount the gate in a passageway, the handle  52  is placed in a vertical position so as to free the brake  92  from the rear panel  10  to allow movement of the panels relative to one another, and the panels are spread apart so that the bumpers  11  carried on the vertical frame members  22  and  46  just touch or almost touch the sides A and B of the passageway. When that gross adjustment in gate width is made, the user then turns the handle in a clockwise direction, which will first lock the brake  92  and the rest of the actuating mechanism including handle  52  and cam in a fixed axial position with respect to the rear panel  10 . As the handle  52  is turned further in a clockwise direction, the cam  52  will act on the cam follower  124  to increase the total width of the gate and cause the bumpers  11  to be squeezed against and firmly engage the sides A and B of the passageway. The elongated slot  54  in the front panel  12  through which the hub  90  of the cam extends allows the front panel to move translationally relative to the rear panel  10  and the actuating mechanism  14 . When the panels can no longer move outwardly relative to one another (the bumpers are firmly engaged by the sides of the passageway), the handle is forced to the horizontal position until its latching flange  150  is aligned with the latching slot  152  in the well  50  of the front panel. The handle may then be pushed rearwardly so as to cause the flange  150  to enter the slot  152  and thereby releasably lock the handle in that position. In order to compensate for irregularities in the side surfaces A and B of the passageway and further allow the handle to be locked in the horizontal position after the bumpers have firmly engaged the sides A and B, a limited compliance is built into the connection between the handle  52  and the cam  86  by means of the spring  84 . It will be appreciated that the handle  52  does not directly drive the cam but rather the handle  52  acts on the cam through the spring  85 . Therefore, when the cam can no longer turn because the bumpers of the respective panels have firmly engaged the sides of the passageway some further limited movement is accorded the handle by means of the spring  84  through which the handle  52  drives the cam  86 . Thus, the spring will allow the handle to turn through a limited number of degrees after the cam  86  is prohibited from moving further to enable the locking flange  150  to be moved into alignment with the slot  152 . 
     To release the gate from the passageway, the handle need be freed from the locked horizontal position and turned counterclockwise an amount sufficient to relieve the pressure on the bumpers  11 . If the gate is to be used repeatedly in the same passageway, the handle should not be turned counterclockwise so far as to free the brake  92  from the rack on the rear panel. The brake  92  engaged with the rear panel  10  prevents appreciable sliding movement of the panels relative to one another, limited merely to the length of the slot  54 . To reduce the gate width to a minimum for storage or transport, the handle should be turned to the vertical positions of FIG. 6 so that the frames of two panels may be placed in alignment with one another. 
     In FIGS. 1,  6 ,  8  and  9 , a pair of ribs  160  are shown on the front panel  12  within recess  56  to define a shallow seat  162  for locking flange  150  on handle  52 . The seat may releasably retain the handle in the intermediate position wherein the brake  92  engages the rack on the rear panel  10  so as to main the two panels in the gross adjustment setting and thereby make it easier to remount the gate in the passageway from which it was last used. Obviously use of this handle setting is at the discretion of the person that installs the gate in the passageway. 
     From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that many modifications may be made in the illustrated embodiment in addition to those suggested above without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, other well-known expedients such as threads may be provided on the collar  88  and hub  94  of the brake to cause the brake to move axially in response to turning of the handle. Moreover, the gate may be composed of more than two panels and embody this invention. Also, while in the embodiment shown the brake is disposed behind the back panel and the cam is positioned between the panels, the brake may be located between the panels and/or the cam may be disposed on the front side of the front panel. The invention also has application to a gate structure wherein one side edge is mechanically attached such as by a hinge structure to one side of a passageway and the bumpers are employed only on the other side edge thereof. Because such changes may be made, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated and described. Rather, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.