Method and apparatus for force-opening doors

Abstract: A method and apparatus for force-opening doors, particularly effective with respect to steel doors and other types of solidly built doors. In a preferred embodiment, an anchoring unit carrying a ram unit having a ram member is aligned with a side of a door frame. The anchoring unit is anchored to the door by moving a pair of clamping members towards each other into clamping engagement with the opposite sides of the door. The clamping members are moved towards each other by a force-multiplying device, preferably a hydraulic device. Once anchored to the door, the ram member is driven outwardly of the ram unit by a force-multiplying device, against the side of the door frame to force-open the door. The ram unit includes an abutting member positionable to abut against the inside face of the door facing the ram unit, to assist in force-opening the door when the ram member is driven against the door frame.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to safety and rescue equipment, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for force-opening doors, particularly for use by fire departments, police departments, rescue squads, and the like, in order to break through a locked door. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are occasions where it is necessary, for example by the fire department, police department or a rescue squad, to force open a locked door. This is usually done by a brute-force technique, e.g., by using a battering ram or a sledge hammer, or by blasting away the lock by a firearm. However, the equipment needed, e.g., a battering ram, may not be conveniently available or may require a number of people to operate, or it may take a considerable period of time in order to force-open the door. Moreover, such a brute-force technique is usually accompanied by a loud noise which can be very disturbing. In EP-A-0 271 207 by the present inventors, there is disclosed a device for force-opening doors wherein an anchoring unit is attached to the door frame, a ram unit is secured to the anchoring unit, and a ram member is projected outwardly of the ram unit to force-open the door. Such a technique has been found effective with respect to wooden doors, but less effective with respect to certain types of steel door or other solidly built doors. In EP-A-0 245 988 there is described a method and apparatus for force-opening a door according to the preamble of claims 1 and 9. More specifically, EP-A-0 245 988 discloses a method for force-opening a door in which the door frame is engaged by jamb engaging elements and the door is pushed in by a ram unit pushing against the door. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for force-opening heavy-duty steel and other solidly built doors, in cases of emergency and rescue operations. Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of prior art devices which are ineffective in force-opening heavy-duty doors, and provide a method and apparatus for force-opening doors, particularly effective with respect to steel doors and other types of solidly built doors. To achieve this, the method of the invention is characterized by the features claimed in the characterizing part of claim 1 and the invention provides an apparatus according to the characterizing part of claim 9. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of force-opening a door hingedly mounted at a first side in a corresponding first side of a door frame, and secured at the opposite, second side in a closed position by a locking bolt received within a corresponding second side of the door frame, comprising: anchoring to the door an anchoring unit carrying a ram unit having a ram member aligned with the second side of the door frame; and driving the ram member outwardly of the ram unit against the second side of the door frame to force-open the door. According to further preferred features in the described embodiment, the anchoring unit is anchored to the door by moving a pair of clamping members towards each other into clamping engagement with the first and second sides of the door. The clamping members are moved towards each other by a force-multiplying device, preferably a hydraulic device. According to still further features in the described embodiment, the ram member is driven outwardly of the ram unit by a force-multiplying device, also preferably a hydraulic device. Also, the ram unit includes an abutting member positionable to abut against the face of the door facing the ram member at the second side of the door, to assistin force-opening the door when the ram member is driven against the door frame. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for force-opening a door hingedly mounted at a first side in a corresponding first side of a door frame, and secured at the opposite, second side in a closed position by a locking bolt received within a corresponding second side of the door frame, comprising: an anchoring unit adapted to be anchored to the door; a ram unit carried by the anchoring unit and including a ram member to be aligned with the second side of the door frame; and a drive for driving the ram member outwardly of the ram unit against the second side of the door frame to force open the door. As will be described more particularly below, the foregoing method and apparatus have been found especially effective for force-opening steel doors or other types of doors of very solid (e.g., wood) construction. Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawings and the description contained herein. BRlEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the Invention with regard to the embodiments thereof, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate corresponding elements or sections throughout, and in which: Fig. 1 is a front perspective illustrating an apparatus for force-opening doors in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view illustrating one form of apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention as applied to a door for force-opening it; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figs. 1-2 in its initial non-anchoring position as applied to the door; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figs. 1-2 in its operative position anchored to the door; and Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4 but illustrating the condition of the apparatus when an abutting member is used in order to assistthe apparatus to force-open the door. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the drawings, in Figs. 1-2 there is illustrated a door, generally designated 2, hingedly mounted by a hinge (shown schematically at 3) at one side of the door frame 4, and secured at the opposite side in a closed position by a locking bolt 5 (Fig. 2) received within an opening in the corresponding side 6 of the door frame. The apparatus for force-opening the door, when so locked in the door frame, includes two basic units, namely: an anchoring unit generally designated 10; and a ram unit, generally designated 20, carried by the anchoring unit 10. As will be described more particularly below, the anchoring unit 10 is first anchored to the door 2 with the ram unit 20 aligned with side 6 of the door frame, and then the ram unit 20 is driven against side 6 of the door frame to force open the door. The anchoring unit 10 comprises a hydraulic cylinder 11 and a piston rod 12 having a piston (not shown) movable within the cylinder. A first clamping member 13 is secured to one end of cylinder 11, e.g., by welding, and a second clamping member 14 is secured at the opposite end to extension member 15, fixed to the piston rod 12. Clamping member 13 is of L-configuration. It includes a plate 13a (Fig. 3) extending substantially perpendicularly to cylinder 11, and a right-angle plate 13b extending perpendicularly to plate 13a and terminating in a tapered outer edge 13c. As illustrated, plate 13a is secured by welding to the end face of cylinder 11, which end face is inclined to form an angle slightly less than 90 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. The apparatus illustrated in the drawings may be varied in length to permit the apparatus to be applied to doors of different widths. For this purpose, clamping member 14 at door-hinge side of the apparatus is fixed to piston rod 12 via an extension member 15. Extension member 15 includes a section 15a at one end formed with a socket for receiving the end of piston rod 12, and with a rod section 15b at the opposite end having the same cross-section as piston rod 12. Extension member 15 is secured to the end of piston rod 12 by a pin 15c passing through aligned openings in socket section 15a and the respective end of the piston rod. Pin 15c is provided with a finger loop 15d for receiving the user's finger in order to facilitate the application and removal of pin 15c. Clamping member 14 also includes a section 14a at one end formed with a socket for receiving either the rod section 15b of extension member 15, or the end of piston rod 12 where the clamping member is to be attached directly to the piston rod. Clamping member 14 further includes a right-angle plate 14b secured, by welding, to section 14a and formed with a tapered outer edge 14c, similar to plate 13b and tapered edge 13c of clamping member 13. Clamping member 14 is secured to extension member 15 by a pin 14d passing through aligned openings in socket section 14a of clamping member 14 and rod section 15b of extension member 15. Pin 14c also includes a finger loop 14e to facilitate the application and removal of the pin. It will be appreciated that if the effective length of the anchoring unit 10 is to be reduced, for use in force-opening doors of smaller width, extension member 15 would not be used; instead clamping member 14 would be attached directly to the end of piston rod 12, received within socket section 14a of clamping member 14 and secured in place by pin 14c. It will also be appreciated that the effective length of the anchoring member may be further increased by providing a plurality of extension units 15, of the same or different lengths but otherwise constructed as described above with respect to extension unit 15, to be applied to the end of piston rod 12 between that rod and clamping member 14. A hydraulic device, including a hydraulic reservoir 16 and a manual lever 17 is connected to cylinder 11 of the anchoring unit 10 by a tube 18 and a valve controlled by an operator 19. Lever 17 may be manually reciprocated by the user in order to pump oil from reservoir 16 into cylinder 11 to extend piston rod 12 or to retract it within the cylinder. Such hydraulic devices are well known, for example in hydraulic jacks, and therefore further details of the construction and operation of the hydraulic device are not set forth herein. Ram unit 20 carried by the anchoring unit 10 also includes a hydraulic cylinder 21 and a piston rod 22 actuatable by the hydraulic device including reservoir 16 and manual lever 17, under the control of valve lever 23, to move piston rod 22 to a retracted or extended position with respect to the hydraulic cylinder 21. Piston rod 22 serves as a ram member which is aligned with side 6 of the door frame when the anchoring unit 10 has been applied to the door, and is driven to an extended position outwardly of the ram unit 20 against side 6 or the door frame to force-open the door. For this purpose, the end of piston rod 22, serving as the ram member, carries a plate 24 of relatively large surface area to be applied against side 6 of the door frame. Ram unit 20 further Includes an abutting member 25 which may be used, whenever needed, for aiding the force-opening of the door whenever desired. For this purpose, abutting member 25 is also of an L-configuration, including a bar 25a extending parallel to plate 13a of clamping member 13, and a right-angle bar 25b extending parallel to plate 13b of clamping member 13. Plate 25a is secured, as by welding, to a sleeve 26 rotatably received on the ram unit 20, enabling abutting member 25 to be pivotted by a handle 27 to either a non-operative position (Figs. 3-4) or an operative position (Fig. 5). The apparatus illustrated in the drawings is used in the following manner: The anchoring unit 10 is first applied to the door by extending piston rod 12 with respect to its hydraulic cylinder 11, aligning the two clamping members 13 and 14 with the opposite sides of the door 2, moving valve lever 19 to its open position, and retracting piston rod 12 within cylinder 11 by operating manual handle 17 to cause the clamping plates 13b and 14b of the two clamping members to become firmly anchored to the door 2. The tapered edges 13c, 14c of clamping plate 13b, 14b causes the two plates to become firmly embedded within door 2 by a wedging action, and thus to firmly anchor the anchoring unit 10 to the door 2. When the anchoring unit 10 is so anchored to the door 2, plate 24 of the ram unit 20 is aligned with side 6 of the door frame receiving the locking bolt 5 of the door. Preferably, the anchoring unit 10 is applied to the door 2 such that plate 24 of the ram unit 20 is spaced relatively close to the locking bolt 5, e.g., just above the locking bolt. Valve lever 19 of the anchoring unit is moved to its closed position, while valve lever 23 is moved to its open position. Manually operating lever 17 of the hydraulic reservoir 16 will therefore project rod 22 to apply a large force to plate 24 against side 6 of the door frame to break or bend the locking bolt 5, or to strip it from the hole in the door frame. If the two clamping members 13 and 14 of the anchoring unit 10 are not, or cannot be, firmly anchored to the door, abutting member 25 may be used to assistin force-opening the door at the time the ram unit 20 is operated. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5, when abutting member 25 is to be used, it is pivotted from its non-operative position (shown in Figs. 3-4) to its operative position (shown in Fig. 5), to align its bar 25b with the respective face of door 2. Abutting member 25 thereby aids plate 13b for applying a counter-force to door 2 when ram member 22 and its plate 24 of the ram unit 20 are driven to their extended positions in order to force-open the door. It will be seen that both the anchoring unit 10 and the ram unit 20 are driven by a hydraulic force-multiplying device in order to anchor the apparatus to the door and to force-open the door. Other types of force-multiplying devices may be used, for example mechanical devices such as screws, ratchet mechanisms, and the like, e.g., as used in various types of mechanical jacks. It will therefore be appreciated that the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings is set forth merely for purposes of example and that many other variations, modifications and applications of the invention may be made. Having described the invention with regard to certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the description is not meant as a limitation, since further modifications will now become apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is intended to cover such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: A method for force-opening a door (2) by applying a force thereto in the direction of opening, the door (2) being hingedly mounted (3) at a first side in a corresponding first side of a door frame (4), and secured at the opposite, second side in a closed position by a locking bolt (5) received within a corresponding second side (6) of the door frame (4), wherein an anchoring unit (10) carries a ram unit (20) having a ram member (24), said ram member (24) being driven outwardly of said ram unit (20) to force-open the door (2), said method being characterized in that said anchoring unit (10) is anchored to the door (2) on edges of its leaf to be force-opened; said ram member (24) is aligned with said second side (6) of the door frame (4); and a pulling force is applied to the door leaf in the direction of opening by applying a pushing force to the door frame (4) by the ram member (24). The method according to claim 1, characterized in that said anchoring unit (10) is anchored to the door (2) by moving a pair of members (13, 14) towards each other into clamping engagement with said first and second sides of the door (2). The method according to claim 2, characterized in that said clamping members (13, 14) are moved towards each other by a force-multiplying device (11, 16). The method according to claim 3, characterized in that said force-multiplying device is a hydraulic device (11, 16). The method according to claim 1, characterized in that said ram member (24) is driven outwardly of said ram unit (20) by a force-multiplying device (21, 16). The method according to claim 5, characterized in that said force-multiplying device (21, 16) is a hydraulic device. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that said ram unit (20) includes an abutting member (25) positionable to abut against the face of the door (2) facing the ram member (24) at said second side of the door (2), to assist in force-opening the door (2) when the ram member (24) is driven against the door frame (4). The method according to claim 7, characterized in that said abutting member (25) is pivotal on said ram unit (20) to an operative position to abut against said face of the door (2) for aiding in force-opening the door (2), or to a non-operative position laterally spaced from said door (2). Apparatus for force-opening a door (2) hingedly mounted (3) at a first side in a corresponding first side of a door frame (4), and secured at the opposite, second side in a closed position by a locking bolt (5) received within a corresponding second side (6) of the door frame (4), said apparatus comprising : an anchoring unit (10), a ram unit (20) which is carried by the anchoring unit (10) including a ram member (24), and a drive for driving said ram member (24) outwardly of said ram unit (20) to force-open the door (2) by applying a force thereto, characterized in that said anchoring unit (10) is adapted to be anchored to the door (2) on edges of its leaf to be pulled open; said ram member (24) is aligned with said second side (6) of the door frame (4); and a pulling force on the door leaf (2) will result from a pushing action exerted on the door frame (4) by the ram member (24). The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that said anchoring unit (10) includes a pair of clamping members (13, 14) engageable with said first and second side of the door (2), and movable towards each other to clamp the door (2) between them. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that at least one of said clamping members (13, 14) includes a clamping plate (13b, 14b) formed with a tapered outer edge (13c, 14c) to enable it to engage the respective side of the door (2) by a wedging action. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that said anchoring unit (10) further includes a force-multiplying device (11, 16) for moving said clamping members (13, 14) towards each other. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that said force-multiplying device (11, 16) includes a hydraulic cylinder (11) carrying one (13) of said clamping members (13, 14), and a piston rod (12) secured to a piston movable in said cylinder (11) and carrying the other (14) of said clamping members (13, 14). The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that said other clamping member (14) is formed with a socket (14a) for receiving the end of said piston rod (12), and is secured to said piston rod (12) by a pin (14c) passing through aligned openings in said socket (14a) and end of the piston rod (12). The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that said piston rod (12) includes an extension (15) for extending the effective length of the anchoring unit (20), said extension (15) being formed with a socket (15a) at one end for receiving the end of the piston rod (12), a rod (15b) at the opposite end for insertion into the socket (14a) of the clamping member (14), and a pin (15c) passing through aligned openings in said piston rod (12) and socket (14a). The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that said cylinder (11) also carries said ram unit (20). The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that said ram unit (20) includes a force-multiplying device (21, 16) for driving said ram members (25) outwardly of the ram unit (20) against said second side (6) of the door frame (4) to force-open the door (2). The apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that said force-multiplying device (21, 16) includes a hydraulic cylinder (21) secured to said anchoring unit (10), and a piston (22) carrying said ram member (25). The apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that said ram unit (20) includes an abutting member (25) positionable to abut against the face of the door (2) facing the ram member (24) at said second side of the door (2), to assist in force opening the door (2) when the ram member (24) is driven against the door frame (4). The apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that said abutting member (25) is pivotal on said ram unit (20) to an operative position to abut against said face of the door (2) for aiding in force-opening the door (2), or to a non-operative position laterally spaced from said door (2).

Inventors: YIRMIYAHU BENYAMIN, YIRMIYAHU MORDECHAI, YIRMIYAHU, BENYAMIN, YIRMIYAHU, MORDECHAI
Applicants: HYDRO NOA LTD, HYDRO-NOA LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A62B3
IPC codes: A62B3