Abstract:
A portable, tactical building door opener which comprises a door opening mechanism comprising: a body; a door opening arm pivotally connected to the body at a first end and having a roller for engaging the surface of the door at a second end; and an actuator for rotating the door opening arm with respect to the body, from a ready position in which the roller is not forced against the surface of the door, to a door-opened position in which the roller is forced against the surface of the door to open the door. The actuator is remotely and manually operable. The device further includes a support for temporarily and removably bracing the door opening mechanism with respect to the door.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to tactical tools and systems, and in particular to hook and line equipment used by first responders to access rooms that may expose them to danger by opening the door. The system for and method of the invention allows the first responder to unlatch a building door and open it from a safe location. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There are many situations in which it may be desirable to open a closed door, but doing so may present a hazard to a person opening the door. For example:
       police may wish to enter a building in which a gunman is hiding,   firemen may wish to enter a burning building, not knowing the intensity or pressure of the flames behind the door,   peace keepers may be searching for guerillas, not knowing whether doors are set to trigger explosives when opened, or   a first responder may be investigating a report of a gas leak in a building.
 
In each of these cases, it would be highly desirable to open the door from a safe distance away, from around a corner, or from behind a shield of some sort. There is currently no effective method or system for doing this.
       
 
         [0007]    There are simple tools that can be used to unlatch a door from a distance, ranging from specialized clamps to duct tape and rope. Once a door is unlatched there are also simple methods used to push the door open including using a long poll or a rope. However, none of these methods offer a safe and comprehensive solution that can be operated reliably and effectively from a significant distance away, or from around a corner. 
         [0008]    Robots can also be used to unlatch and open doors at a safe distance, but they are expensive and generally slow to deploy. If a region has access to a robot at all, it may be stored a significant distance away from where it is required and it takes time to locate the qualified operator, deliver it to the site and set it up. In many tactical situations, there simply is not enough time for all of this to be done. Also, given the dedicated design of most robots, they simply may not be effective in all situations. 
         [0009]    “Hook and line” systems are available for tactical purposes, but these systems are intended more for guiding explosive devices around corners and other structural obstacles, so that they can be drawn out of buildings from a safe distance. None of these “hook and line” systems include effective methods or systems for opening doors from a remote or safe location. 
         [0010]    Thus, there is a need for a method of and system for tactical door opening which allows the user or first responder to be a safe distance away, around a corner, or behind a shield. It is desirable that this method and system be reliable, effective and relatively inexpensive in comparison to robots and the like. As the method and system is intended for tactical situations, it is also desirable that it be self-contained, portable and easily set up while wearing bulky protective gear. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention relates to a method of and system for tactical door opening, which obviates or mitigates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved building door opener. 
         [0012]    One aspect of the invention is broadly defined as a portable, tactical building door opener for opening a door, comprising: a door opening mechanism comprising: a body; a door opening arm pivotally connected to the body at a first end and having a roller for engaging the surface of the door at a second end; and an actuator for rotating the door opening arm with respect to the body, from a “ready” position in which the roller is not forced against the surface of the door, to a “door-opened” position in which the roller is forced against the surface of the door to open the door; the actuator being remotely and manually operable; and support means for temporarily and removably bracing the door opening mechanism with respect to the door. 
         [0013]    Another aspect of the invention is broadly defined as a portable, tactical building door opening system for opening a door, comprising: means for unlatching the door; a door opening mechanism comprising: a body; a door opening arm pivotally connected to the body at a first end and having a roller for engaging the surface of the door at a second end; and an actuator for rotating the door opening arm with respect to the body, from a “ready” position in which the roller is not forced against the surface of the door, to a “door-opened” position in which the roller is forced against the surface of the door to open the door; the actuator being remotely and manually operable; support means for temporarily and removably bracing the door opening mechanism with respect to the door; and means for operating the means for unlatching the door and the actuator manually and remotely. 
         [0014]    A further aspect of the invention is broadly defined as a method of opening a building door comprising the steps of: mounting a portable, tactical building door opener to the frame of the door, the door opener comprising: a door opening mechanism comprising: a body; a door opening arm pivotally connected to the body at a first end and having a roller for engaging the surface of the door at a second end; and an actuator for rotating the door opening arm with respect to the body, from a “ready” position in which the roller is not forced against the surface of the door, to a “door-opened” position in which the roller is forced against the surface of the door to open the door; the actuator being remotely and manually operable; and support means for temporarily and removably bracing the door opening mechanism with respect to the door; and mounting a means for unlatching the door, to a handle of the door; routing a single line through the means for unlatching the door, and to the actuator on the door opening mechanism; and pulling the single line, thereby unlatching the door and operating the actuator so that it rotates the door opening arm from the “ready” position to the “door-opened” position. 
         [0015]    This summary of the invention does not necessarily describe all features of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  presents a perspective view of an exemplary implementation of a door opener assembly, in a ready state; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  presents a perspective view of an exemplary implementation of a door opener assembly, in a triggered state; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  present plan views of a door opener assembly in an embodiment of the present invention, in “ready” and “door-opened” positions respectively; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4A  presents a perspective view of a door opener mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4B  presents a perspective view of a spreader bar in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  presents an exploded perspective view of a door opener mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  presents a perspective view of a latch assembly in an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    A system that addresses one or more of the problems in the art is presented in  FIGS. 1 through 6 . This system consists of four major elements as shown in  FIG. 1 : a door handle gripping device  12 , a door opening mechanism  14 , a spreader bar  16  which supports the door opening mechanism  14 , and a line  18  which loops through to operate both the door handle gripping device  12  and the door opening mechanism  14 . The line  18  is extended to a safe location where the first responder can pull the line  18 , causing the door to unlatch and be pushed open safely. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  presents this system in a “ready” steady, while  FIG. 2  presents the “door-open” state, after triggering. That is, in  FIG. 1 , the door is closed and latched, and the door opening mechanism  14  has not yet been triggered. In  FIG. 2 , the door has been unlatched by rotating the door handle gripping device  12 , and the door opening mechanism  14  has been triggered, forcing the door to open.  FIG. 3A  presents the door opening mechanism  14  in the “ready position” with a door opening arm  20  in a retracted position, generally parallel to the spreader bar  16  so that its roller  22  will not apply any force against the surface of the door.  FIG. 3B  presents the door opening mechanism  14  in the “door-open” position with the door opening arm  20  in a deployed position, generally perpendicular to the spreader bar  16 , the roller  22  having applied force to the surface of the door and causing it to open. The roller  22  is used simply to reduce friction between the door opening arm  20  and the door. 
         [0026]    Door handle gripping devices  12  are known in the art and any such device which is suited to the line system and arrangement being used, is acceptable. Typical door handle gripping devices  12  are not much more complex than a lever and a clamp, and indeed, even duct tape may be used to secure the line  18  to the door handle. The concepts of the invention may also be applied to crash bars or other door unlatching systems. The door handle gripping device  12  would be installed in the manner suited to the device being used and the situation. 
         [0027]    Typically, the door opener (i.e. the spreader bar  16  and door opening mechanism  14  in combination) would be mounted in a doorframe near the bottom so it is out of the way. The door opening mechanism  14  is supported by the spreader bar  16  which is designed to fit a wide range of door sizes and styles. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  present respective views of the door opener mechanism  14  and the spreader bar  16  respectively.  FIG. 4A  clearly shows two knurled screw-clamps  24  which are used by the door opening mechanism  14  to grip the spreader bar  16 . The two knurled screw-clamps  24  are mounted on the body  26  of the door opening mechanism  14 . The spreader bar  16  can be supplied with sharp points at either end  28  or removable rubber feet  30  which are used to grip the door frame. The spreader bar  16  is also supplied with two eyes  32  which may be used as guides or anchors for the line  18 . One eye  32  is used as a guide in  FIG. 1 , for example. 
         [0029]    The spreader bar  16  could be implemented in a number of manners. Preferably, it consists of two tubes  16   a ,  16   b  which telescope together and have a number mating pairs of holes (not shown). A spring loaded button (not shown) is used to roughly establish the length of the spreader bar  16  and an internal thread at the end of one of the two tubes  16   a ,  16   b  used to complete the length adjustment. Alternatively, the spreader bar  16  could consist of two tubes  16   a ,  16   b  which telescope together and have an internal thread. Thus, by rotating one tube with respect to the other in the axis of the internal thread, the length of the spreader bar  16  can be adjusted so that it can be tightened securely into the door frame. Other manners of bracing the door opener could also be used, for example, by gripping a frame of the door, or mounting the door opener on the ground. 
         [0030]      FIG. 5  presents an exploded view of the door opener mechanism  14 , showing the details of the design and assembly. As noted above, the body  26  of the door opener mechanism  14  is bolted to two knurled screw-clamps  24  which are used to grip the spreader bar  16 . The door opening arm  20  is also connected to the body  26  using a pin  34  and sleeve  36 , so that it can pivot between the ready and door-opened positions. A pneumatic cylinder  38  is used to actuate the door opening arm  20  and hence, open the door. The pneumatic cylinder  38  could be replaced with various arrangements of springs, hydraulic or gas cylinders, or some other form of actuator. The size and power of the actuator would also be determined by the nature of the application (i.e. the expected size and weight of the doors, and the leverage gained by the design). 
         [0031]    The pneumatic cylinder  38  is also pivotally connected to the body  26  of the door opener mechanism  14  and pivotally connected to the door opening arm  20  using pins, sleeves and washers  40  as required. A plate  42  is used to hold the pneumatic cylinder  38  and the door opening arm  20  to the body  26  of the door opener mechanism  14 . The roller  22  is also free to rotate at the end of the door opening arm  20 , being fastened via an axle pin and retainer  48 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the door opening arm  20  actually consists of two parts,  20   a ,  20   b . This is done to facilitate a quick release pin  44 , which can be used to release the pneumatic cylinder  38  from the door opening arm  20  in case there is a mechanical failure, the door jambs, or there is some similar problem. When the quick release pin  44  is inserted, the two parts  20   a ,  20   b  of the door opening arm  20  are held rigid with respect to one another, and when the pin  44  is removed, they are free to pivot about pin  46  and its retainer. 
         [0033]    The latch assembly  54  is shown in greater detail in  FIG. 6 . It consists of a base  56  which is mounted to the door opening arm  20 , a pivotally connected latch arm  58 , and a pivotally connected trigger arm  60 . When the pneumatic cylinder  38  is charged, the latch arm  58  and trigger arm  60  will bear against the shoulder of a release rest assembly  62  on the body  26  (see  FIGS. 3   b ,  4   a  and  5 ). The release rest assembly  62  is provided with a safety pin  64  which can be used to lock the latch arm  58  and trigger arm  60  to the release rest assembly  62  while in the ready position, to prevent an accidental release. The pneumatic cylinder  38  is charged simply by manually pivoting the mechanism from the door-opened position to the ready position. 
         [0034]    Two arrangements for the trigger  60  are shown in the figures, and of course, other arrangements could also be used. In  FIG. 5 , the trigger is oriented to pivot in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane that the latch arm  58  pivots in, while in  FIG. 6 , they both pivot in the same plane. In either case, the trigger  60  has a cam which lifts the latch arm  58  from the shoulder of the release rest assembly  62 . The arrangements are different to facilitate different doors and line  18  arrangements. For example, the trigger  60  of  FIG. 5  is particularly well suited to a door in which the handle is on the right hand side as the greatest leverage and mechanical advantage is gained with the trigger  60  as far away from door handle as possible. The trigger  60  could also be removed and re-installed in the opposite orientation to facilitate a door with a handle on the left hand side. 
         [0035]    In use, a door handle gripping device  12  is attached to the door in such a way that by pulling a line  18  toward the door opening mechanism  14  will cause the door to unlatch. The line  18  is attached to the door handle gripping device  12 . The door opening mechanism  14  is installed in the doorway with the gas cylinder latch arm  58  and trigger  60  in the ready or armed state. The line  18  is attached to the latch assembly  54  and from there may go to another eye or anchor point. The line  18  is then extended to a safe location. When the user pulls the line  18 , the door handle is turned until it unlatches and does not turn any further. If the line  18  is pulled more the extra tension on the line  18  causes the latch arm  58  and trigger  60  to open, releasing the pneumatic cylinder  38  which is connected to door opening arm  20  that pushes the door open. The latch assembly  54  is designed so that it releases the line  18  to allow the door to swing open more freely. As shown in  FIG. 6 , for example, the latch assembly  54  could have a gap  66  that faces upward in the released position, so that the line  18  can simple pull out of the loop in the latch. Depending on the equipment available and the application, the line  18  may be installed in reverse order (i.e. run thought the anchors, through the latching mechanism and then attached to the door handle or door handle clamp). 
         [0036]    Other features of the door opening mechanism, spreader bar and door handle gripper are shown in the attached figures. 
         [0037]    By using this system the first responder can open a door from a safe location. Since the design is pneumatic and there are no electric parts this device can be designed in a way to work in explosive (gas) environments. 
       Exemplary Implementation 
       [0038]    A first responder needs to open a door in a room that is potentially dangerous. The danger can be of any type including a gunman, explosives, gas, fire, etc. The first responder decides that he wants to open the door from a safer location around the corner. The first responder runs a line from around the corner to the door of interest. He installs the doorknob gripper and then installs the door opening mechanism near the floor. He then runs the line through an anchor point on the spreader bar, through the doorknob gripper, to the latching mechanism and then back to doorknob were clips it onto the doorknob gripper. He then goes to the safe zone (around the corner). When he decides to open the door he pulls on the line. This causes the doorknob to turn unlatching the door. By continuing to pull he triggers the release latch which releases the gas cylinder which pushes arm that pushes the door open. When the latch is triggered the line to the latch is released allowing the door to swing open more freely. The arm remains extended ensuring that the door remains open. 
         [0039]    While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments and in specific uses, various modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
         [0040]    All citations are hereby incorporated by reference.