Activators and methods of using the same for barricading a door

1. A door barricade, comprising:

a pivotable stop-device including a barricade arm that is:

(i) pivotable about an axis that is:

(a) nearer to an edge of a door where a latching mechanism of the door is located than to an edge of the door where door hinges are located, and

(b) at an elevation lower than an elevation of a door handle; and

(ii) pivotable about the axis from a reserve-position to a barricade-position, wherein:

(a) in the reserve-position the barricade arm does not barricade the door and a free-end of the barricade arm is at a first elevation,

(b) in the barricade-position the barricade arm does barricade the door and the free-end is at a second elevation;

wherein, the elevations are measured from a floor adjacent to the door; and

wherein, the first elevation is less than the second elevation;

wherein, when the stop-device is in the barricade-position, the barricade arm does not span the width of the door; and

an activator, which when utilized results in the barricade arm pivoting about the axis.

2. The door barricade of claim 1 , further comprising a motor capable of providing a force to move the stop-device to the barricade-position, wherein:

the motor is operatively connected to the activator, and

the activator is configured to result in operation of the motor when utilized.

3. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator comprises a button.

4. The door barricade of claim 3 , wherein the button has a shape that is selected from the group consisting of substantially rectangular, substantially circular, and substantially triangular.

5. The door barricade of claim 3 , wherein the barricade-device is configured to move the barricade arm to the barricade-position after the button is pressed.

6. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator comprises:

a first button which, when pressed, raises the barricade arm; and

a second button which, when pressed, lowers the barricade arm.

7. The door barricade of claim 6 , wherein the first button is substantially triangular pointing in the upwards direction and the second button is substantially triangular pointing in the downwards direction.

8. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator includes a toggle switch or a throw lever.

9. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator includes an authenticator configured to allow only an authorized individual to utilize the activator.

10. The door barricade of claim 9 , wherein the authenticator includes a keypad configured to receive an actuation code entered by the authorized individual.

11. The door barricade of claim 9 , wherein the authenticator includes a fingerprint scanner capable of scanning a fingerprint of the authorized individual.

12. The door barricade of claim 9 , wherein the authenticator includes a card scanner configured to scan a card of the authorized individual.

13. The door barricade of claim 9 , wherein the authenticator comprises at least two buttons configured to be pressed substantially simultaneously by the authorized individual.

14. The door barricade of claim 13 , wherein the at least two buttons are disposed such that a longest distance between them is twelve inches or less.

15. The door barricade of claim 13 , wherein the at least two buttons are disposed such that a longest distance between them is greater than twelve inches and less than or equal to thirty-six inches.

16. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator is disposed on the housing of the barricade-device.

17. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator is disposed at an elevation that is equal to or less than an elevation of the door handle.

18. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator is disposed on a wall adjacent to the door, such that the activator is behind the door when the door is open.

19. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator is disposed on the door.

20. The door barricade of claim 1 , wherein the activator includes a fingerprint scanner capable of scanning a fingerprint, converting the fingerprint to fingerprint data, and storing the fingerprint data.

21. A method of barricading a door, comprising:

providing a pivotable barricade arm having a pivot-axis at a fixed location on the barricade arm that is:

(i) nearer to an edge of the door where a latching mechanism of the door is located than to an edge of the door where door hinges are located; and

(ii) at an elevation lower than an elevation of a door handle,

providing an activator, which when utilized results in pivoting of the barricade arm from the reserve-position to the barricade-position, wherein utilization of the activator is effected by a user executing an activation operation on the activator, the activation operation requiring the user to apply not more than three pounds of force;

with the door in a closed position, executing the activation operation on the activator to cause the barricade arm to pivot about the pivot-axis:

(a) from the reserve-position, where the barricade arm does not barricade the door, and a free-end of the barricade arm is at a first elevation measured above a floor adjacent to the door;

(b) to the barricade-position, where the barricade arm barricades the door, and the free-end is at a second elevation measured above the floor adjacent to the door;

wherein, the elevations are measured from the floor adjacent to the door, and the first elevation is less than the second elevation; and

wherein when the barricade arm is in the barricade-position, the barricade arm does not span a width of the door and the barricade-position is achieved solely by the barricade arm pivoting from the reserve-position; and

wherein the first elevation is less than the second elevation.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

providing a motor capable of providing a pivot force to pivot the barricade arm without user-assistance to the barricade-position as the means for pivoting, wherein the motor is operatively connected to the activator; and

pivoting the barricade arm using the motor.

23. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator comprises a button.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the button has a shape that is selected from the group consisting of substantially rectangular, substantially circular, and substantially triangular.

25. The method of claim 23 , wherein when the barricade arm is in the reserve-position, the activation operation includes pressing the button.

26. The method of claim 21 , wherein:

(a) the activator includes a first button, and the activation operation comprises pressing the first button; and

(b) the method further comprises providing a second button which, when pressed, lowers the barricade arm.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the first button is substantially triangular pointing in the upwards direction and the second button is substantially triangular pointing in the downwards direction.

28. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator includes a toggle switch or a throw lever, and the activation operation includes applying the not more than three pounds of force to the toggle switch or throw lever.

29. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator includes an authenticator configured to allow only an authorized individual to complete the activation operation.

30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the authenticator includes a keypad, and wherein the activation operation includes entering a code using the keypad.

31. The method of claim 29 , wherein the authenticator includes a fingerprint scanner, and wherein the activation operation includes scanning a fingerprint using the fingerprint scanner.

32. The method of claim 29 , wherein the authenticator includes a card scanner, and wherein the activation operation includes scanning a card using the card scanner.

33. The method of claim 29 , wherein the authenticator includes at least two buttons, and wherein the activation operation includes pressing the at least two buttons substantially simultaneously.

34. The method of claim 33 , wherein the at least two buttons are disposed such that a distance between them is twelve inches or less.

35. The method of claim 34 , wherein the at least two buttons are disposed such that a distance between them is greater than twelve inches and less than or equal to thirty-six inches.

36. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator is disposed on the housing of the barricade-device.

37. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator is disposed at an elevation that is equal to or less than an elevation of the door handle.

38. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator is disposed on a wall adjacent to the door, such that the activator is behind the door when the door is open.

39. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator is disposed on the door.

40. The method of claim 21 , wherein the activator includes a fingerprint scanner, and the wherein the method includes:

scanning a fingerprint,

converting the fingerprint to fingerprint data, and

storing the fingerprint data.