Panic bar

Abstract: A panic bar comprising an elongated box-like body (2), constituted by a profile, having a substantially U-shaped cross-section; a first lever (114) and a second lever (14), which are articulated in the box-like body in contrast with elastic return means (20, 120) and are provided with a first arm and a second arm; a bar (37), being accommodated in the box-like body (2), is articulately coupled to the first arms of the first and second levers (114, 14) and can move between a passive position in which the bar partially protrudes from the box-like body and which is determined by the return of the elastic means by way of the levers, and an active position in which the bar is substantially internal to the box-like body and which is determined by an external pressure applied thereon; the first lever being operatively connected to a closure lock (35); characterized in that the levers (14, 114) are articulately supported on corresponding plates (9, 10) which can be detachably fixed to the opposite ends of the box-like body (2), the plate (10) that supports the first lever (114) having the lock (35) rigidly coupled thereon and having a slider (34) which can slide thereon, actuates the lock, and is controlled by the second arm of the first lever.

Description: The present invention relates to a panic bar or emergency handle. Conventional panic bars comprise an elongated box-like body which is fixed to the side of the door wing that is directed toward the enclosed space and has a U-shaped open cross-section in order to accommodate the actuation bar or handle. Two parallel transmission levers are rigidly coupled to the bar and are articulated like a parallelogram in the box-like body; one of said levers is operatively connected to the lock for closing the wing. In panic bars there is the problem of adjusting their length in order to adapt it to the width of the wing to which they must be applied. Currently, this requirement is met by offering panic bars of various lengths, but this entails the drawback of requiring the availability of a corresponding stock, with consequent high setup costs. In other cases, the panic bars are adapted to the required length on-site by the installers. However, this procedure, too, entails labor costs, in addition to the fact that the work to be done requires specialized personnel and is not free from the risk of damaging the aesthetics of the panic bar. A panic bar having the features set forth in the preamble of claim 1 is known from EP-A-0,481,931. The aim of the present invention is to provide a panic bar which obviates the above-noted drawbacks, allowing on the one hand to avoid the need to resort to storing a range of panic bars of various sizes and, on the other hand, to require simple adaptation operations that can be performed with conventional equipment. Within this aim, another object of the present invention is to provide a panic bar in which the arm of the transmission levers can be chosen as a function of the actuation effort intended for the specific application. Within this aim, yet another object of the present invention is to provide a panic bar in which, in order to actuate the lock, the bar acts on a single lever, while the other lever remains passive. This aim is achieved by a panic bar comprising the features set forth in claim 1. Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken along the line I-I of Figure 3, of a panic bar according to the invention, in closed condition; Figure 2 is a view of the panic bar of Figure 1, in an open condition; Figure 3 is a sectional plan view of the panic bar of the preceding figures; Figure 4 is a sectional view, taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a sectional view, taken along the line V-V of Figure 2; Figure 6 is an exploded view of the panic bar. In Figures 1 to 6, the panic bar according to the invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 1 and comprises an elongated box-like body 2, which is constituted by a profile having a U-shaped cross-section with a bottom 3 (Figures 1-3) and two walls 4 and 5 which rise at right angles from the bottom 3 so as to form a longitudinal cavity 6. In the walls 4 and 5, proximate to the internal angles formed with the bottom 3, there are two longitudinal grooves 7 and 8 in which two plates 9 and 10 are inserted; said plates can be positioned along said grooves. The plate 9 has two wings 11 and 12 which protrude therefrom at the lateral edges and support a pivot 13 for the articulation of a lever 14 which is composed of two triangular portions 15 and 16 being connected one another by a bridge 17. The triangular portions 15 and 16 are crossed by two pivots 18 and 19 which, with respect to the articulation pivot 13, define the two arms of the lever 14. A spring 20 is superimposed on the pivot 13, and its opposite ends engage below the bridge 17 and below a lug 21 which is obtained by folding the wing 11. In this manner, the spring 20 can act so as to raise the lever 14 with respect to the plate 9. A block 22 is articulated on the pivot 19 and has a tang 23 which is surmounted by a tab 24. A grub screw 25 is screwed through the tab 24 for fixing a tubular element 26 having a quadrangular cross-section on the tang 23. The plate 9 protrudes out of the box-like body 2 with a portion 27 in which a lug 28 is formed which is perpendicular to the plate 9. A cap 30 is fixed to the lug 28 by means of a screw 29 and, as will become apparent from Figures 3 and 4, is coupled to the walls 4 and 5 of the box-like body 2. The cap 30 has a lip 31 which is folded inward and closes axially the cavity 6. The plate 9, once inserted in the grooves 7 and 8 at one end of the box-like body 2 until the cap 30 abuts against the walls 4 and 5 of the box-like body 2, is fixed by means of a pair of grub screws 32 and 33 which are screwed through the plate 9 and engage against the bottom 3. Also the plate 10 is locked on the bottom 3 of the box-like body 2, and a slider 34 is slidingly coupled thereon and is designed to activate a lock, generally designated by the reference numeral 35, which is fixed on the plate 10. The slider 34 (see Figure 3) is guided in a seat which is formed between two parallel wings 75 and 76 of the plate 10 and is retained by a ring 77 which is applied to a pivot 78 which rises from the plate 10 and slides in a longitudinal slot 79 of the slider. The slider 34 is controlled by means which are fully identical to the means previously designated by the reference numerals 11 to 25 and supported on the plate 10. Said means, for the sake of convenience in description, are designated by the same reference numerals increased by 100. The only evident difference relates to the block 122, which is inverted by 180° with respect to the block 22 so as to allow the tang 123 to enter, at one end, the end of the tube 26 that is opposite to the end engaged by the tang 23 and to act, at the other end, on a protrusion 36 which is rigidly coupled to the slider 34. The actuation of the levers 14 and 114 is provided by means of a bar 37 which is inserted in the cavity 6. The bar 37 is composed of a profile which has a U-shaped cross-section with two walls 38 and 39 connected by a cambered bottom 40 which constitutes the surface for pushing. The walls 38 and 39 are internally provided with parallel ridges which form thereon a first pair 41 and a second pair 42 of opposite grooves, which have a rectangular cross-section, and a third pair of grooves 43, which are intermediate to the pairs of grooves 41 and 42 and have a lobe-shaped cross-section in order to receive two self-tapping screws 43a by means of which the closure element 45 described hereinafter is fixed. The pairs of grooves 41 and 42 are designed to receive the opposite ends of the pivots 18 and 118. In the illustrated example, the pivots 18 and 118 are engaged in the pairs of grooves 42 so as to ensure that the levers 14 and 114 have a shorter lever arm. If instead the lever arm of the levers 14 and 114 must be longer, the pivots 18, 118 are inserted in holes 44, 144 provided at the ends of the levers 14, 114, so as to engage in the pairs of grooves 41. The opposite ends of the actuation bar 37 are closed by respective closure elements 45 and 46. The element 45 is shaped complementarily to the cap 30, while the element 46 is chamfered toward the lock 35. The lock comprises a box 47 which contains a conventional mechanism 48, which is described hereinafter as regards its essential elements, and has a lever 49 which is pivoted in a rocker-like fashion on a pivot 50 of the lock. The lever 49 has a first pivot 51 which, by way of a spring 52, is kept in abutment against a protrusion 53 of the slider 34, and a second pivot 54, which acts on a latch 55 which is articulated on a further pivot 56 of the lock in contrast with a spring 57. The latch 55 is provided with a locking lever 58 which prevents the fraudulent retraction of the latch when it is engaged in the selvage 59. As clearly shown in Figure 1, which illustrates the panic bar in the closed position, the bar 37, by way of the springs 20 and 120, which act on the levers 14, and 114, is retained externally with respect to the box-like body 2. When, in an emergency condition, one acts on the bar 37, the levers 14, 114 rotate simultaneously due to the tube 26 that connects them, causing the movement of the block 122 toward the lock. The block 122 acts on the protrusion 36 of the slider 34, while the protrusion 53, by acting on the lever 49, causes the retraction of the latch 55 into the box 31. In the position for releasing the latch 55, the bar 37 is fully accommodated in the box-like body 2. The fundamental feature of the present invention is the possibility to adapt the length of the panic bar to various requirements. For this purpose, assuming that the panic bar 1 is disassembled into its components as shown in Figure 6, the box-like body 2, the rod 26 and the bar 37 are cut to size. Then the plate 10 is repositioned in the end of the box-like body, inserting the plate 10 in the grooves 7 and 8 until abutment occurs against the front edges of the box-like body 2, and inserting the tang 123 in the rod 26. After locking the rod 26 with the grub screw 125 on the tang 123, and after fixing the plate 10 to the bottom 3 of the box-like body by means of the grub screws 132 and 133, the bar 37 is applied by fitting it axially on the pivots 18 and 118. The insertion of the bar 37 can occur axially after removing the cap 30. It is very important that the assembly composed of the plate 10 and of the elements supported by it, i.e., the lever 114, the slider 34 and the lock 35, can be applied independently to the wing, i.e., without the box-like body 2 and the bar 37. This possibility allows to use the lever 114 for temporarily closing a door, thus protecting the panic bar against possible damage, as occurs in building yards. In this case, after applying the assembly to the wing, one can use the lever 114 directly as a lock actuation handle, optionally providing it with a more comfortable grip element such as a knob. It should be noted that the inventive concept does not entail modifications to the lock 35, which can be conventionally built. Figure 3 is a plan view of a lock in which the plate 10 has two lateral expansions 60 and 61 on which two respective sliding elements 62 and 63 are guided at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the panic bar; stems 64 and 65 are coupled to said sliders in order to fix the rods that actuate the vertical bolts. The sliding elements 62 and 63 receive their motion from the slider 34 by means of levers 66 and 67 which are pivoted in a rocker-like fashion on pivots 68 and 69 being rigidly coupled to the lateral expansions 60 and 61 of the plate 10. The levers 66 and 67 are provided, on one arm, with respective pivots 70, 71 which engage in slots of the sliding elements 62 and 63. The other arm of the levers 66 and 67 has slots in which pivots 72 and 73 are engaged which are rigidly coupled to lateral lobes of the slider 34. By way of the sliding of the sliding elements 62 and 63 actuated by the slider 34, the levers 66 and 67 perform oscillations which produce mutually opposite strokes of the sliding elements 62 and 63 and therefore of the bolts. Another advantage of the described panic bar is the possibility to vary the length of the arms of the levers 14 and 114 by moving the pivots 18, 118 in the holes 44, 144 in order to engage them in the pair of grooves 41. This variation allows a certain modulation of the thrust to be applied to the bar 37, according to the opening requirements of the door. It should be noted that the rod 26 that connects the blocks 22, 122 need not be fixed by means of grub screws 25, 125 on the tangs 23, 123 but can be left to slide freely thereon. Actually, the articulated arrangement of the two blocks 22, 122 on the pivots 19, 119 and the mutually opposite arrangement of the tangs 23, 123 ensures the actuation of the lock by acting on any point of the bar 37. If one acts on the bar 37 at the lever 114, the tang 123, by sliding in the rod 36, can in fact act directly on the slider 34 and therefore on the lock 35. Therefore, in this case the lever 14 does not intervene and the bar 37 enters the box-like body 2 only proximate to the lock 35. On the other hand, if one acts on the bar 37 at the lever 14, the oscillation of the lever 14 determines a movement of the block 22 which, by means of the rod 26 and the block 122, produces the movement of the slider 34 and the actuation of the lock. In any case, the stroke of the block 122 and of the slider 34 is sufficient to ensure the opening of the lock. It is also considerably important that the plates 9 and 10 that support the levers 14, 114 are arranged at the opposite ends of the box-like body 2, so that the portions 27 and 127 protrude outward from the box-like body 2. The panic bar can be fitted to a door wing by means of screws driven through slots 74 of the portion 27 and similar slots of the portion 127. The distance between the portions 27 and 127 allows to engage the screws in the lateral edges of the wing, avoiding the application of screws through the bottom 3 of the box-like body 2. In this manner, the box-like body 2 can lie transversely like a bridge on the central region of the wing and can allow to apply the panic bar to wings constituted by panes of glass or of a material which must not be damaged. In the practical embodiment of the invention, the shapes and the dimensions may vary according to requirements. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims: A panic bar comprising: an elongated box-like body (2), constituted by a profile, having a substantially U-shaped cross-section; a first lever (114) and a second lever (14), which are articulated in said box-like body (2) in contrast with elastic return means (20, 120) and are provided with a first arm (18-13, 118-113) and a second arm (13-19, 113-119); a bar (37), being accommodated in said box-like body (2), articulately coupled to said first arms of said first and second levers (114,14) to be movable between a passive position in which said bar (37) partially protrudes from said box-like body (2) and which is determined by the return of said elastic means (20, 120) by way of said levers (14, 114), and an active position in which said bar (37) is substantially internal to said box-like body (2) and which is determined by an external pressure applied thereon; and a closure lock (35) operatively connected to said first lever (14), characterized in that said box-like body (2) is provided having a length which is adaptable to the width of the wing on which the panic bar (1) has to be fixed, and in that said levers (14, 114) are articulately supported on corresponding plates (9, 10) provided so as to be detachably fixed to the opposite ends of said box-like body (2) said plates (9, 10) being provided with slots (74) adapted to allow passage of fixing means for fixing the panic bar to a door wing and in that a slider (34) is further provided which is slidingly coupled on said plate (10) that supports said first lever (114) thereon, said closure lock (35) being rigidly fixed on said plate (10) that supports said first lever (214), said slider (34) being controlled by said second arm (113-119) of said first lever (114) for actuating said lock (35). The panic bar according to claim 1, characterized in that said plates (9, 10) for supporting said first lever (114) and said second lever (14) are inserted and fixed in longitudinal grooves (7, 8) of said box-like body (2) and have portions (27) which protrude from said opposite ends of said box-like body (2) and in which said slots (74) are formed for the passage of screws for fixing said box-like body to the door wing. The panic bar according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that respective blocks (122, 22) are articulated on said second arms of said levers (114, 14), each block being provided with a tang (123, 23), the tangs of said levers being mutually opposite, a connecting rod (26) being further provided with the opposite ends thereof engaged on said tangs. The panic bar according to claim 3, characterized in that the opposite ends of said rod (26) are fixed on said tangs (123, 23). The panic bar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said bar (37) has two parallel walls (38, 39) and in that the articulations of said first arms in said bar are constituted by pivots (18, 118) which can be positioned along said first arms and whose opposite ends are adapted to engage in one of a plurality of pairs of longitudinal grooves (41, 42) formed in said walls of said bar. The panic bar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slider (34) has a first protrusion (36), on which said second arm of said first lever (114) acts, and a second protrusion (53), which is adapted to act on the mechanism of said lock (35). The panic bar according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said plate (10) for supporting said first lever (114) has two parallel wings (75, 76) which form a guiding seat for said slider (34), a pivot (78) being rigidly coupled to said plate (10), said pivot being slideable in a slot (79) of said slider and being provided with an element (77) for the sliding retention of said slider in said seat. The panic bar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first lever (114), said lock (35) and the plate (10) on which they are mounted form an assembly which can be applied to the wing as a temporary closure assembly. The panic bar according to claim 1, characterized in that additional fixing means are provided which are constituted by grub screws (32, 33, 132 133) which can be screwed through a respective one of said plates (9, 10) to lock it onto the bottom (3) of said box-like body (2). The panic bar according to claim 3, characterized in that said box-like body (2), said rod (26) and said bar (37) are provided so as to have a length adaptable to the width of the wing on which the panic bar (1) has to be mounted through cutting at the required length.

Inventors: ERRANI DEO, ERRANI, DEO
Applicants: CISA SPA, CISA S.P.A.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: E05B65
IPC codes: E05B65