Patent ID: 8308393

Claim:
A barrier for securing a passageway, the barrier including: a mounting device having a pivot portion, the pivot portion being pivotable in a vertical plane between an operative position and an inoperative position; an elongated bar having a proximal end and a distal end, the bar extending along a longitudinal axis; and two complementary retainer portions, one of the retainer portions being located at an end of the pivot portion and the other of the retainer portions being located at the proximal end of the bar, the bar and the pivot portion being positioned in an end-to-end relationship while being detachably retained together using solely a magnetic connection created between the retainer portions when the retainer portions are in abutment with one another, the magnetic connection resisting detachment of the bar from the pivot portion by gravity when the bar is set horizontally but allowing the proximal end of the bar to completely separate from the pivot portion when the bar is impacted perpendicularly from any direction, the retainer portion located at the proximal end of the bar forming a receptacle inside which the retainer portion located at the end of the pivot portion is inserted when the two retainer portions are in abutment with one another.