Movable barrier for infants

An infant barrier device for use in doorways, hallways, stair landings or other throughways to close off access essentially from a floor up to a desired level defined by the height of the barrier, comprising:

• a sheet of flexible material of sufficient length to span across the throughway to be closed,
• a spring biased retraction roller on which the flexible material is mounted, with frame means retaining the roller for rotation at top and bottom at a roller side of the barrier device,
• a first jamb connector means for connection to a door jamb or wall or other generally vertical structure at one side of the throughway to be closed,
• quick release connection means secured to the frame means and operable for securing the frame means and the connected roller to the first jamb connector means when the infant barrier is needed in the throughway,
• a second jamb connector means for an opposite side of the throughway, with means for connection to a door jamb, wall or other structure,
• latch means operative between an extended end of the sheet of barrier material and the second jamb connector means, for securing the extended end to the second jamb connector means when the sheet of barrier material has been extended across the throughway as a barrier,
• barrier tensioning means, including a manual handle grippable by a user at an end of the roller, for tightening and tensioning the sheet of material by back-rotating the roller using the manual handle, and with ratchet means associated with the manual handle for latching increased tension in the sheet of material as the manual handle is rotated, and
• childproof tension release means connected to the ratchet means for releasing tension on the sheet of material so as to facilitate extension and retraction of the sheet of material when unlatched from said second jamb connection means.