Safety barrier assembly

A safety barrier assembly mountable in proximity to an access passageway, said assembly comprising a pair of stationary, laterally spaced, upright support members positionable on opposite sides of the passageway;

• vertically travelling barrier means mounted on said support members and including two horizontally disposed elongate segments spanning the distance between said support members, said segments being selectively movable between an operative passage-blocking mode and an inoperative non-blocking mode, the movement of said segments being in a part defining a substantially vertical plane;
• said support members including a vertically extending track means for receiving respective ends of the elongate segments to guide the elongate segments in said path, drive means having an actuatable element operatively connected to one of said segments and effecting controlled movement of the latter between said modes;
• lost motion means for spacing said segments a predetermined first distance apart from each other when in the operative mode and for providing relative vertical movement of said elongate segments during said controlled movement to position said segments a predetermined second distance apart when in the inoperative mode, said second distance being substantially less than said first distance;
• and stop means mounted for engaging said segments only when the latter assume the operative mode.