Patent ID: 8490668

Claim:
A barrier system that is mountable to a floor, the barrier system comprising: a first support member that is vertically elongate and mountable to the floor; a second support member to be spaced apart from the first support member, the second support member is vertically elongate and mountable to the floor; a take-up member to be coupled to the first support member such that the take-up member is rotatable about a generally vertical axis; a first flexible barrier that includes a proximal end attached to the take-up member and a distal end that can be releasably coupled to the second support member, by virtue of the take-up member being rotatably coupled to the first support member, the first flexible barrier is selectively movable between a stored position wrapped upon the take-up member and an operative position extending between the first support member and the second support member; and a gear assembly comprising a drive gear and a driven gear; and a manual crank connectable to the drive gear, wherein the manual crank is selectively connectable to the drive gear and the driven gear and the gear assembly is selectively operable in an engaged mode and a disengaged mode such that: a) in the engaged mode, the driven gear is coupled to the take-up member and meshes with the drive gear such that the driven gear and the take-up member rotate slower than the drive gear; and b) in the disengaged mode, the take-up member is effectively decoupled from the drive gear to enable the take-up member to rotate independently of the drive gear.