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FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a retractable barrier  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     United States patents U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,144 (Venti 1997) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,317 (Sandsburg 1997) disclose retractable barriers. The Venti reference was developed as a pet barrier, to keep a pet out of selected areas of ones home. The Sandsburg reference was developed as a child safety barrier, to keep a child away from stairs and other hazardous areas of ones home. Both the Venti and Sandsburg references are only capable of being deployed in a short span linear application, such as across a doorway.  
         [0003]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,819 (Kane 1991) discloses a system for handling and supporting flexible material used in the erection of barricades. The Kane reference uses pole receiving tubes and stiffing straps. With the addition of spring clips, the stiffening straps can a dual purpose of also supporting poles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,792 (Camara 2000) discloses a portable barrier. The Camara reference uses a pinch and sew procedure to form sleeves for supporting poles.  
         [0004]     The international search report under the patent cooperation treaty identified as prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,819 (Kane 1991), which discloses flexible fencing dispensed from a roll.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     What is required is a retractable barrier which is capable of being deployed in non-linear applications.  
         [0006]     According to the present invention there is provided a retractable barrier which includes an elongate housing having a first end, a second end, and a slotted opening extending between the first end and the second end. A substrate support is rotatably mounted within the housing. A barrier substrate is provided of a height substantially equal to a length of the slotted opening. The barrier substrate has an attachment end and a free end. The barrier substrate is rolled onto the substrate support with the attachment end being attached to the substrate support and the free end extending through the slotted opening of the housing to permit a selected quantity of the barrier substrate to be extended from the housing. Several poles are provided along with means to attach the poles at spaced intervals along the barrier substrate in a supporting position. The barrier substrate is configurable into non-linear configurations by the selectively attaching the poles where a change of direction occurs. Means is provided for rotating the substrate support, thereby retracting the barrier substrate back into the housing.  
         [0007]     The retractable barrier, as described above, can be configured to suit virtually any shape, merely by a selective positioning of the poles.  
         [0008]     Although there are various ways of attaching the poles in a supporting position to the barrier substrate, such as by means of clamps and other hardware. It is preferred that the barrier substrate be provided with a plurality of openings (preferably slots) arranged in parallel rows and columns. The poles are attached to the barrier substrate by weaving each of the poles through the openings of one of the columns. The use of columns is less expensive and there is no danger of the loss of necessary attachment hardware.  
         [0009]     It is envisaged that the retractable barrier will always be used with poles. Even more beneficial results may, therefore, be obtained when the housing has a plurality of receptacles adapted for storing the poles. One way of configuring the receptacles is to have a first flange positioned at the first end and a second flange positioned at the second end of the housing, with the receptacles being positioned in the first flange and the second flange.  
         [0010]     Although other means may be used to rotate the substrate support, such as a biasing spring, it is preferred that the means for rotating the substrate support be a crank. A crank is viewed as being more durable and reliable in this application. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a retractable barrier constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a detailed front elevation view of a housing for the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a detailed front elevation view of a substrate support for the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a housing for the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 1 , having receptacles for pole storage.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 1 , showing use as a police barricade.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 1 , showing use as a fire department barricade.  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 1 , showing use as a maintenance barricade.  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a updated embodiment of the retractable barrier.  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view of the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is an exploded view of a pole.  
         [0022]      FIG. 11   a - g  are perspective views of a step by step installation sequence for the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 12  is a detailed perspective view of a clip used to tension the retractable barrier illustrated in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a joining clip.  
         [0025]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the joining clip joining two substrates. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]     The preferred embodiment, a retractable barrier generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 7 .  
         [0027]     Structure and Relationship of Parts:  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , retractable barrier  10  has an elongate housing  12 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , elongate housing  12  has a first end  14 , a second end  16  and a slotted opening  18  extending between first end  14  and second end  16 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , substrate support  20  is rotatably mounted within housing  12 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , a barrier substrate  22  is provided which has a height that is substantially equal to slotted opening  18  and has a free end  24  that extends through slotted opening  18 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , barrier substrate  22  has an attachment end  26  that is attached and rolled onto to substrate support  20 . Substrate support  20  with barrier substrate  22  is housed within elongate housing  12  such that a selected quantity of barrier substrate  22  may extend from elongate housing  12  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , retractable barrier  10  includes poles  28 . In the illustrated embodiment, three poles  28  are shown. It will be appreciated that other combinations of poles  28  and elongate bodies  12  may be used as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 through 7 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , barrier substrate  22  is adapted with a plurality of openings  30  arranged in parallel horizontal rows and vertical columns. Each pole  28  is oriented within select openings  30  at a select position along barrier substrate  22 . This is done by weaving each of poles  28  through openings  30  of one of the columns. Referring to  FIG. 3 , a crank  32  is secured to substrate support  20 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , actuation of crank  32  rotates substrate support  20  and, in turn, retracts barrier substrate  22  within elongate housing  12 . Referring further to  FIG. 4 , elongate housing  12  is also adapted with a first flange  34  at first end  14  and a second flange  36  at second end  16 . First flange  34  and second flange  36  have several receptacles  38  adapted to receive a pole  28  that is oriented in a stored position between a selected receptacle  38  at first flange  34  and a corresponding receptacle  38  at second flange  36 .  
         [0029]     Operation:  
         [0030]     The use and operation of retractable barrier  10  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 7 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , where a user desires to define or restrict access and egress, elongate housing  12  of retractable barrier  10  is positioned at one point along a chosen perimeter  40 . Referring to  FIGS. 5 through 7 , upon determining the configuration and needs of a site  42 , a user selects the number of poles  28  that at are required. Referring to  FIG. 4 , each pole  28  that is required is removed from first flange  34  and second flange  36 . Free end  24  of barrier substrate  22  is extended from elongate body  12  through slotted opening  18  until the required length of barrier substrate  22  is extended off of substrate support  20 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , each pole  28  is woven within any given vertical column of openings  30  at a select point in perimeter  40  such that barrier substrate  22  is fully supported at that point and defines the desired configuration of site  42  as shown in  FIGS. 5 through 7 . Three possible sites: a police investigation site, a fire site and a work site are illustrated respectively. It will be appreciated that other sites may be defined or configured. Poles  28  and housing  12  may rest upon bases which make them stable and self supporting or may have a lower ground anchor which penetrates the ground and anchors them.  
         [0031]     Structure and Relationship of Parts of Most Recent Version:  
         [0032]     There will now be described the most recent version of retractable barrier  10  with reference to  FIGS. 8 through 14 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , substrate support  20  has a an end cap  45  known as a “castle cap” with a plurality of receptacles  46  spaced about a 360 degree circumference. A crank handle  48  is provided on a crank mounting cap  44  that is non-rotatably secured to and rotates with rotatable substrate support  20 . Crank handle  48  is attached to crank mounting cap  44  by a dowel  49 . Crank handle  48  has an operative position and a locking position. In the locking position, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a cam  50  carried by crank handle  48  engages one of the receptacles  46  on end cap  45  to non-rotatably fix substrate support  20  to housing  12 . A knob  51  on the opposite end of handle  48  from cam  50  is included to make cranking easier, and is tucked away in end cap  45  when handle  48  is in the locking position. Referring to  FIG. 9 , housing  12  has a bottom cap  52  with a threaded male member  54  adapted to screw into a threaded female member of a weighted base  58  (seen in  FIG. 8 ). Housing  12  is adapted to receive a shaft  73 . Shaft  73  is attached to crank handle  48  on the top, such that turning crank handle  48  rotates shaft  73 . Shaft  73  is adapted to have substrate  22  wound about it. Substrate guides  75  are included on the top and bottom for guiding substrate  22  as it is pulled out or wound back up on shaft  73 . The various components are held together using fasteners, such as screws  59 . Referring now to  FIG. 11   b,  substrate  22  has openings  30  in the form of vertical pockets as shown positioned at regular spaced intervals which are adapted to accommodate poles  28 . Referring to  FIG. 10 , each pole  28  has a receptacle  62  adapted to receive a lighting or signage support (not shown). Receptacle  62  may be covered by end cap  61  when not in use. Pole  28  is attached to a base  63  by a male member  65  inserted into pole  28  and adapted to screw into base  63 . Referring to  FIG. 11   e,  once poles are installed and erected, tensioning clips  64  are securable to each pole  28  to tension barrier substrate  22 . Referring to  FIG. 12 , each tensioning clip,  64  includes a body  66  that has a top  68  and a bottom  70 . There is an open ended receptacle  71  at top  68  of body  66  for receiving pole  28 , and a resilient clip  72  at the bottom for clipping onto pole  28  over substrate  22 . Tensioning clip  64  is installed by inserting the top of pole  28  into receptacle  68 , and pushing clip  72  onto pole  68 , such that substrate  22  is pulled tight between poles  28  as the sides of clip  64  hold substrate  22  against pole  28 .  
         [0033]     Operation of Most Recent Version:  
         [0034]     Referring now to  FIGS. 11   a - g,  the preferred method of erecting a barrier will be discussed. Referring to  FIG. 11   a,  housing  12  is provided sitting on a self supporting base  58  with retractable barrier substrate  22  housed within housing  12 , where retractable barrier substrate  22  has pole receiving openings  30  at selected intervals along substrate  22 . A selected length of barrier substrate  22  is pulled from housing  12 . Referring to  FIG. 8 , the length of barrier substrate  22  is locked when cam  50  of handle  48  is received in one of receptacles  46  of end cap  45  of housing  12 . Referring to  FIG. 11   b,  barrier substrate  22  is then laid on a ground surface. Referring to  FIG. 11   c  poles  28 , that have self supporting weighted bases  58 , are inserted into selected pole receiving pockets  30  with poles  28  being left in a substantially horizontal position. Pockets may be formed in many different ways, for example, by stitching, welding, etc. Referring to  FIG. 11   d,  the pole  28  positioned farthest from housing  12  is stood up, and the movement of standing up pole  28  creates a movement to a vertical position of barrier substrate  22  resulting in all of the other poles  28  to standing in a vertical orientation. Referring to  FIG. 11   e,  tensioning clips  64  are installed on each pole  28  to remove any slack from barrier substrate  22  between poles  28 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , barrier substrate  22  is secure by less than four fasteners  77  to shaft  73 . Washers  79  may also be used to provide a better hold on substrate  22 . Other ways of securing substrate  22  will be apparent, for example, by providing a slit in shaft  73  and folding substrate  22  around a resilient piece of material that is then securely fit into the slit. Referring to  FIG. 13 , in order to form a barrier that is longer than is possible with a single retractable barrier  10 , it may be desired to secure substrates  22  from two different housings  12  together. This may be done by a joining clip  76 . Joining clip  76  comprises a body  78  with apertures  80  at each end that are adapted to fit over the end of each pole  28  supporting substrates  22 , as shown in  FIG. 14 . It will be appreciated that joining clip  76  may join retractable barriers  10  is various ways pole  28  to pole  28 , housing  12  to housing  12 , housing  12  to pole  28 .  
         [0035]     In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.  
         [0036]     It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims.

Summary:
A retractable barrier ( 10 ) includes an elongate housing ( 12 ) having a first end ( 14 ), a second end ( 16 ), and a slotted opening ( 18 ) extending between the first end ( 14 ) and the second end ( 16 ). A substrate support ( 20 ) is rotatably mounted within the housing ( 12 ). A barrier substrate ( 22 ) is provided of a height substantially equal to a length of the slotted opening ( 18 ). The barrier substrate ( 22 ) has an attachment end ( 26 ) and a free end ( 24 ). The barrier substrate ( 22 ) is rolled onto the substrate support ( 20 ) with the attachment end ( 26 ) being attached to the substrate support ( 20 ) and the free end ( 24 ) extending through the slotted opening ( 18 ) of the housing ( 12 ) to permit a selected quantity of the barrier substrate ( 22 ) to be extended from the housing ( 12 ). The barrier substrate ( 22 ) is configurable into non-linear configurations by the selectively attaching poles ( 28 ) where a change of direction occurs. A crank ( 32 ) is provided for rotating the substrate support ( 20 ), thereby retracting the barrier substrate ( 22 ) back into the housing ( 12 ).