Exit device

An exit device comprising a horizontal panic bar, adapted to be mounted waist-high on a swinging door, a latch housing adapted to be secured outward of the door adjacent an end of the panic bar, the latch housing holding a vertically reciprocable slide having similar but opposite cam surface thereon converging to a low point, a latch bolt having stop means thereon and being pivotally mounted in the housing about a vertical axis and moveable from an extended to a retracted position, the latch bolt having follower means normally engaging the cam surfaces at the said low point whereat the latch bolt is extended, lever means pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in the housing on a horizontal pin, one end of the lever held captive in the slide, the other end extending out beyond the housing at an angle and adapted to be engaged by the panic bar, a blocking leg pivotally mounted in the housing on a vertical axis, the leg occasionally being in blocking position with respect to the stop means, and connecting means between the horizontal pin and the blocking leg so that the initial rotary movement of the horizontal pin upon depression of the panic bar moves the blocking leg so it does not block the retraction of the latch bolt.