ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,352,077, issued on July 8.
"Signal-responsive apparatus for providing an exit passage from a building" was invented by John M. Aroniss (Levittown, Pa.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A device for unlatching and opening a door of a building to allow exit in the event of a hazardous condition comprises an actuator housed in a supporting frame connected to a strike plate and having a face part that pushes against a latch bolt on the door to disengage the latch bolt from the strike plate. The actuator can be rotated, about a hinge axis, outward from the supporting frame for adjustment of its stroke. A spring or gravity-operated device is provi...