WO2004053278A1

WO2004053278A1 - Device at an expanding pole

Info

Publication number: WO2004053278A1
Application number: PCT/SE2003/001927
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ingemar Andersson
Original assignee: Ingemar Andersson
Priority date: 2002-12-11
Filing date: 2003-12-11
Publication date: 2004-06-24
Also published as: SE0300285L; AU2003291800A1; SE0300285D0; SE521781C2

Abstract

An expanding pole (1) intended for post-installation in openings (A), which require to be made secure against burglary, or for use as a support, for example between a floor and a ceiling, and which, by means of a simple rotary motion, can be installed without tools in a fully secure position and, once it is properly installed, cannot be dismantled without being destroyed.

Description

A90 P1PCT LG/KOE

Device at an expanding pole

The present invention relates to an arrangement for an expanding pole, intended for post-installation in openings as a burglary-prevention device or for use as a vertical support, which is so arranged as to be installed in position by means of rotary motion. It is a known fact that a strong need currently exists, among other things, to be able to increase security in view of the risk of burglary that is present in various premises because of unprotected windows, ventilation openings and the like. The need is particularly relevant in older buildings, which often lack any form of burglary prevention. The need is present in all different types of buildings, both old and new, for example when a use for a premises is changed in such a way that the contents of the premises call for much higher security than was previously considered necessary. This problem has been solved in the past with many different arrangements, all of which are both costly and time-consuming to install. It is possible to mention, by way of example, that it was previously obligatory to manufacture a made-to-measure grille for each opening, which was then installed in position, or to make use of various types of grille bars, all of which required the use of some form of tool for the purpose of fixing the device in the opening to be secured against burglary, or to adapt the length of the bars accurately where existing structures did not permit major variation in the opening in which they were to be fitted. The need for permanent expanding poles also exists in a large number of different areas, for example for the permanent supporting of brick walls, ceilings, interior walls or the like. In the case of existing structures, it has sometimes also been obligatory to first measure and mark out the position of one or more holes for the pole or support on the grille bars or supports to be installed, and then to drill holes at these points for the subsequent insertion of a locking device in the form of pins, keys or screws of various kinds, for example with or without an indication of fracture.

Previously disclosed in AU 3,284,184 is a bar arrangement comprising an inner bar capable of introduction into an outer hollow bar, whereby the desired length of the total bar arrangement is capable of adjustment, and the aforementioned bars can be locked to one another by means of a number of screws capable of being screwed in radially, the heads of which break off when the screws are tightened.

The aforementioned previously disclosed arrangement is not locked in such a way that the bars must exhibit a precise length, although the aforementioned screws, which remain in the bars, are readily accessible from the outside and can be drilled out, for example, by undesired persons, after which the bars could be removed easily, for example from the window that they are intended to protect against burglary.

Also previously disclosed in US 4,321,770 A and US 1,734,415 A are arrangements for installing bars between brackets provided for the purpose. It is important, however, in the case of the aforementioned previously disclosed arrangements, for the length of the bars to be adapted exactly to the distance between the attachments, and special tools are required for their installation. The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the first instance, to be able to make available an arrangement for an expanding pole of a kind which permits the secure connection of the bars in question with the connection concealed internally therein.

The aforementioned object is achieved by means of an arrangement in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that the expanding pole is capable of connection by means of an interconnection via a clamping sleeve, in that the aforementioned interconnection comprises external threads which are so arranged as to be threaded into an internal thread in the clamping sleeve, in that the aforementioned interconnection comprises a shear pin or some other force-transmitting, fracture-indicating rotating component so arranged as to transmit rotary motion from the expanding pole via the interconnection to the clamping sleeve, in that the expanding pole and/or the clamping sleeve is so arranged as to be anchored to an adjacent wall, floor, ceiling or other building element attached thereto via an adjacent component, and in that the aforementioned interconnection is so arranged, in conjunction with unscrewing of the expanding pole and the clamping sleeve and by exceeding the connecting force between the interconnection and the expanding pole, as to cease the continued transmission of force and, by so doing, to prevent the continued unscrewing of the expanding pole and the clamping sleeve but to fix them in the intended position.

The present invention is characterized among other things in that installation is effected simply with a rotary motion, in that the expanding poles have a large span for different opening widths, which means that only a very limited range of expanding pole lengths is required, in that no form of tool is required in order to install the expanding poles in position in a fully secure fashion, and in that the expanding poles, when properly installed, cannot be dismantled. Once an expanding pole has been installed, it can only be removed by cutting, and with the help of a device which, with regard to its cutting function, is adapted to at least the hardness of the material in the expanding pole from which the latter was manufactured.

The invention is described below as a number of preferred illustrative embodiments, in conjunction with which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view, along the line I-I in Fig. 1A, of a clamping arrangement for an expanding pole which exhibits a lateral clamping sleeve; Fig. 1A shows a perspective view of one end of the expanding pole;

Fig. IB shows a cross-sectional view of the aforementioned one end of the expanding pole with the clamping arrangement in the activated fixed position; Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative expanding pole with a centrally located clamping sleeve;

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of an interconnection with a friction-increasing element; Fig. 3A shows an enlarged view of an interconnection;

Fig. 4 shows a variant of an expanding interconnection located in a groove in an expanding pole;

Fig. 5 shows the invention functioning as a burglary-prevention device and connected respectively to two and all the adjacent surrounding surfaces in a window; and Figs. 6 and 6A show a further example of an interconnection as a cross-sectional view.

The complete expanding pole is of very simple construction and can consist of five principal component parts; these are the expanding pole itself 1, an interconnection 2 with an external thread 3, a clamping sleeve 4 with an internal thread 5, a driving pin/shear pin, etc., 6 and preferably a friction-reducing element 11.

These principal component parts can be executed in a great many different ways, but with the essential function that the interconnection 2 is connected to the expanding pole 1 by means of a driving pin/shear pin or some other fracture- indicating rotating component 6 capable of transmitting rotational force, and the threads 3 of the interconnection 2 engage in the threads 5 of the clamping sleeve 4.

It is of the greatest importance for a secure function that the friction between the expanding pole 1 and the interconnection 2 is kept as low as possible in relation to the friction between the thread 3 of the interconnection 2 and the thread 5 of the clamping sleeve 4, which can be achieved in many different previously disclosed ways, at the same time as the friction between the thread 3 of the interconnection 2 and the thread 5 of the clamping sleeve 4 must not be so high that the driving pin/shear pin, etc., 6 is subjected to unnecessary high loading when the expanding pole 1 and the interconnection 2 are screwed together in the clamping sleeve 4, or when these are unscrewed.

The complete expanding pole 1 can be executed and positioned in such a way against an interconnection 2 with external threads 3 that the centres of both parts coincide or largely coincide. In this position, a driving pin/shear pin 6 is W

shown here positioned axially in the holes 7 and 8 in the expanding pole 1 and in the interconnection 2 respectively; see Figure 1 and Figure 2. As a variant, the driving pin/shear pin 6 can also pass radially if the expanding pole 1 is provided, for example, with a free-running pin or groove 15 in the interconnection 2, whereby the driving pin/shear pin 6 passes radially through the aforementioned holes in these, as shown in Fig. 4. At the ends of the expanding pole 1, this and a clamping sleeve 4, as shown in Fig. 1, or both of the expanding poles, as shown in Fig. 2, can be connected to connection components 9, both wall inserts 13 of which engage to the bottom in holes 12 in the wall 10, etc., or in a permanent anchor point provided in some other way for the ends of the expanding pole, as shown in Figs . 1 and 2. Installation and simultaneous positioning are executed by first marking where the wall inserts 13 must be positioned and by drilling holes 12 for these at that point and installing the wall inserts together with wall cups 9. The expanding poles 1 are then screwed with clamping components 3 attached to the expanding poles into the clamping sleeve 4 for a sufficient number of turns to enable the unit to be positioned in line with and between the wall cups 9 of the wall inserts 13. The clamping sleeve 4 is held securely, and expanding poles 1 are screwed out at the same time as the inserts engage in the respective holes. The screwing motion continues (appropriately alternately, so that the clamping sleeve is centred) until both shear pins 6 have fractured.

It is often difficult to drill a straight hole, especially in hollow block. The idea is to execute the wall cup so that the expanding pole can be set at an angle, which permits an intentionally angled hole, for example for a RAWLBOLT, relative to the contact surface between the wall cup and the wall. This can be used to achieve a better grip in hollow block, due to its cavities, and, in the case of thin/narrow free surfaces, to reach a more secure part of the anchoring material. A bolt with a hexagonal socket head, and with its end piece locked to the tube with a locking washer, has circular contact surfaces internally and externally, i.e. the bolt has a circular external surface facing towards an enclosing end piece, which in turn has a circular external surface facing towards an enclosing wall cup.

Once anchoring has been achieved, the interconnection 2 is pressed against the expanding pole 1, which causes the friction between the threads 3 and 5 to increase. Continued screwing apart of the expanding pole 1 and the clamping sleeve 4 causes the friction in the threads 3 and 5 to increase to such an extent that the driving pin/shear pin is unable to transmit the rotational force and accordingly fractures . The expanding pole 1 is now disconnected from the clamping sleeve 4. In order to prevent the expanding pole 1 and the clamping sleeve 4 from being screwed together, due to the fact that the friction between the expanding pole 1 and the interconnection 2 functioning as a clamping element is so great that the interconnection 2 could accompany the expanding pole 1 as it rotates, a friction-reducer 11 can be positioned between these. This may consist of, for example, a steel ball, a dome- shaped raised area or a washer or ring made of a low-friction material, for example polytetrafluorethylene, situated at the centre. The threads 3 and 5 can be executed with advantage with a very small pitch, which increases the frictional forces between these and thus imparts a better function to the friction reducer 11. A large pitch in the threads 3 and 5 reduces the friction between these, but reduces the functional reliability of the arrangement.

An increase in the friction between the threads 3 and 5 can be achieved in a great many previously disclosed ways, some of which may be in accordance with the following: by the insertion of a pin or a plug, for example made of a plastic material or some other material with a similar function, radially in the threads of the clamping component in a previously disclosed fashion; Figure 3; by permitting the threaded part 3 of the interconnection 2 to expand slightly in a previously disclosed fashion through spring action, for example by the insertion of one or more springs 14 or through its inherent elasticity. The thread in this case is radially mobile in a groove 15 or on a pin in relation to the interconnection 2, but is movably locked to the clamping component in the axial sense, for example by the driving pin/shear pin 6, as shown in Fig. 4. This expansion can also be connected to and controlled by the fracture of the driving pin/shear pin 6. One or both threads can be coated with a previously disclosed material so that the friction increases between the thread 3 of the interconnection 2 and the thread 5 of the clamping sleeve 4.

The function of the invention may be described briefly as follows:

A method for connecting together tubes or poles of all known profiles, for installation between given brackets, without the need for further fittings or the like so that, after installation, the component parts are locked to one another as a unit and cannot be dismantled. Connection together takes place in an internally threaded clamping sleeve 4. Locking of the units occurs in conjunction with the cessation of rotational driving of the clamping components 3 when the driving pins/shear pins, etc., 6 fracture, the consequence of which, together with low friction between the expanding poles 1 and the clamping components 3, is to prevent the axial displacement of the clamping components and the contraction of the expanding poles.

The design and strength of the driving pin/shear pin determines the force with which the interconnection acts on the surrounding surfaces (e.g. walls). The interconnection 2 can be designed so that it expands after the driving pin/shear pin has fractured, and it can be designed so that the expanding pole 1 and the interconnection 2 are fixed axially in the clamping sleeve 4 after fracture/release, including in the case of only a single anchorage point.

Illustrated in Fig. 6 is an alternative for an interconnection 2 in an expanding pole 1. A friction-increasing element 16 is positioned in this case between a projection 50 on the expanding pole 1 and the interconnection 2. In the embodiment shown here, a radially extending combined driving pin/shear pin 6 also exhibits a guiding function for obtaining symmetrical expansion of the interconnection 2.

The interconnection 2 is so arranged as to run axially 52 on the element 16, which is executed as a cone which may be round or may exhibit some other cross-sectional profile form, or may be formed from some other friction-increasing element. The aforementioned element 16 is so arranged as to force the interconnection 2 to expand when it is compressed in conjunction with screwing apart of the expanding pole 1, and the clamping sleeve is restrained by the anchorage points in accordance with the example illustrated above. A spiral spring 14 holds the thread of the interconnection 2 in contact with the thread of the clamping sleeve and permits the expanding pole 1, together with the interconnection 2, to be displaced axially 52 through the clamping sleeve in the absence of radial rotation. This permits rapid axial adjustment before final installation takes place.

A flange 18 or some other end closure is situated at the end of the friction-increasing element.

A ring or some other flexible retaining part 19 is capable of being accommodated in an annular recess 51 on the two-part interconnection 2. In this case, the driving pin, etc., 6 is accommodated in the space formed between the interconnection components .

The invention is naturally not restricted to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the companying drawings. Modifications are possible, in particular with regard to the nature of the various component parts, or by the use of equivalent technology, without departing from the area of protection afforded to the invention, as defined in the Patent Claims.

References to numbers and Figures

References to numbers

1. expanding pole

2. interconnection

3. external thread

4. clamping sleeve

5. internal thread 6. driving pin/shear pin

7. hole in expanding pole for driving pin/shear pin

8. hole in clamping component for driving pin/shear pin

9. wall cup

10. walls 11. friction reducer 12. hole in wall

13. wall insert

14. spring/expander

15. groove for clamping component 16. friction-increasing element

17. hole for friction-increasing element

18. flange

19. retaining part 50. projection 51. recess

52. axial direction

Claims

A90 P1PCT LG/KOEP a t e n t C l a i m s

1. Arrangement for an expanding pole (1), intended for post-installation in openings (A) as a burglary-prevention device or for use as a vertical support, which is so arranged as to be installed in position by means of rotary motion, characterized in that the expanding pole (1) is capable of connection by means of an interconnection (2) via a clamping sleeve (4) , in that the aforementioned interconnection (2) comprises external threads (3) which are so arranged as to be threaded into an internal thread (5) in the clamping sleeve (4) , in that the aforementioned interconnection (2) comprises a shear pin or some other force-transmitting, fracture-indicating rotating component (6) so arranged as to transmit rotary motion from the expanding pole (1) via the interconnection (2) to the clamping sleeve (4) , in that the expanding pole (1) and/or the clamping sleeve (4) is so arranged as to be anchored to an adjacent wall (10) , floor, ceiling or other building element attached thereto via an adjacent component (9), and in that the aforementioned interconnection (2) is so arranged, in conjunction with unscrewing of the expanding pole (1) and the clamping sleeve (4) and by exceeding the connecting force between the interconnection (2) and the expanding pole (1), as to cease the continued transmission of force and, by so doing, to prevent the continued unscrewing of the expanding pole (1) and the clamping sleeve (4) and to fix them in the intended position.

2. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the force-transmitting rotating component (6) is so arranged, when the unscrewing rotation of the expanding pole (1) and the clamping sleeve (4) has reached a position in which they cannot be unscrewed any further due to the fact that both ends of the expanding pole have reached intended anchoring points, that the driving pin/shear pin (6) in question fractures and, in so doing, releases the interconnection (2) so that the expanding pole (1) and the clamping sleeve (4) are no longer capable of being screwed together and the expanding pole (1) is thus fixed in the intended position.

3. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of Patent Claims 1-2, characterized in that present between the expanding pole (1) and the interconnection (2) is a friction- reducer (11) , which is so arranged as to reduce the friction between the expanding pole (1) and the interconnection (2) so that the friction is lower than between the threads (3, 5) in the interconnection (2) and the clamping sleeve (4) .

4. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of Patent Claims 1-3, characterized in that the interconnection component is annular and is so arranged as to lie around a pin or in a groove (15) on the expanding pole (1) .

5. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 4, characterized in that the expanding pole/interconnection are fixed axially in the clamping sleeve (4) after fracture/release, including in the case of only a single anchorage point.

6. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of Patent Claims 1-5, characterized in that the driving pin/shear pin (6) is radially or axially positioned.

7. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of Patent Claims 1-6, characterized in that the friction-reducing component (11) can be integrated with the expanding pole (1) or with the interconnection (2) or can lie loose between them.

8. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 7, characterized in that the friction-reducing component is in the form of a raised part projecting axially from the expanding pole (1) or the interconnection (2) .

9. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of Patent Claims 1-8, characterized in that threads (3, 5) in the expanding pole (1) and/or the clamping sleeve (4) are provided with a friction-increasing arrangement or coating.

10. Arrangement in accordance with one or other of Patent Claims 1-9, characterized in that the interconnection is designed to expand after the driving pin/shear pin has fractured, for example by being caused to expand by means of spring devices (14) .

11. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the friction-increasing element is in the form of a divided cone (16) , along which the interconnection (2) is capable of axial displacement.

12. Arrangement in accordance with Patent Claim 11, characterized in that a shear pin (6) is accommodated between the two-part interconnection (2) , which is held together by a ring (19) or some other retaining element.