Patent Application
20130318882
The present invention relates to door furniture and, more particularly, to apparatus for control of an unlatched, loose swinging door.
It is common to prevent the unwanted closure of an unlatched, open door by placing some suitably heavy object against the door when this has been opened to its maximum extent, so that the door is retained between the object and, typically, an adjacent wall.
It is also known to wedge a door in its open or partly position, by the introduction of a suitable wedge shaped object between the underside of the door and the floor, and many forms of wedges have been devised and are available for this purpose. These wedges, generally being small objects, are often misplaced and not readily to hand when a door needs to be secured in an open or partly open position.
A problem, particularly for elderly or physically impaired people, lies in the use of both these methods of controlling an open door. In each case bending to floor or near floor level is required, which, even for non-disabled people or younger people, can be an onerous task, especially where a heavy door may be under wind load and difficult to control.
Another problem can occur with heavy doors which are provided with automatic closing devices. Such doors can be difficult to secure with the typical wedges that are commercially available.
It is an object of the present invention to address or at least ameliorate some of the above disadvantages.
The term “comprising” (and grammatical variations thereof) is used in this specification in the inclusive sense of “having” or “including”, and not in the exclusive sense of “consisting only of”.
The above discussion of the prior art in the Background of the invention, is not an admission that any information discussed therein is citable prior art or part of the common general knowledge of persons skilled in the art in any country.
Accordingly, in a first broad form of the invention, there is provided a door assistant apparatus for retaining an opened door in a desired position; said door assistant comprising a wedge-shaped portion, a foot pad portion and a vertically extending handle portion; said handle portion including a grasping portion rotatably mounted to a vertical element of said handle portion; said grasping portion operable between a first position substantially aligned with said wedge-shaped portion and said foot pad portion, and a second position wherein said grasping portion is substantially aligned with a surface of a door to which said door assistant has been applied.
Preferably, said wedge-shaped portion comprises an elongate, generally rectangular prismatic body; said body tapering upwardly from a first distal lower end to a second proximate higher end.
Preferably, heights above a supporting floor surface at said first distal lower end and at said second proximate higher end are such as to define a surface between said ends able to provide friction contact with an edge of an underside of a door.
Preferably, said foot pad extends rearwardly from said second proximate higher end; said foot pad presenting a generally downward sloping surface; said downward sloping surface extending from a height approximately equal to height of said second proximate end of said wedge-shaped portion to a lower end.
Preferably, said foot pad is of greater width than width of said wedge-shaped portion.
Preferably, said wedge-shaped portion and said foot pad portion are hingedly connected to central base block; rotation of said wedge-shaped portion and said foot pad portion adapted to substantially align said wedge-shaped portion and said foot pad portion with said vertically extending handle portion for packaging and transport of said door assistant.
Preferably, said vertically extending handle portion includes a rigid vertical tubular element; said rigid vertical element extending upwardly from said central base block.
Preferably, said vertically extending handle portion further includes a grasping element; said grasping element comprising a shaft element coaxial with an axis of said rigid vertical tubular element and a grip element extending substantially normal to said shaft portion.
Preferably, said grasping element is rotatably mounted to said rigid vertical tubular element with a release mechanism; said release mechanism operated by a pushbutton located at an upper and of said shaft portion.
Preferably, said rigid vertical tubular element is provided with outrigger elements; said outrigger elements supporting a pair of shell elements; said shell elements when assembled forming a smooth tapering, rounded enclosure extending from the upper end of said central base block to proximate said grasping portion.
In another broad form of the invention, there is provided a method of securing an open door in a desired open position; said method including the steps of a user:
said positioning being such that said wedge-shaped portion is in friction contact with a supporting floor surface below said lower edge of said door and with said lower edge; said wedge-shaped portion including a surface defined between a first distal lower end and a second proximate higher end, and wherein said door assistant further includes a foot pad extending rearwardly from said wedge-shaped portion; a surface of said foot pad having a downward sloping surface from said second proximate higher end.
In another broad form of the invention there is provided a security device for arresting a partly opened door in a partially opened position; said device comprising a wedge-shaped portion, a rearwardly extending sloping foot pad portion and a substantially vertically extending handle portion; said handle portion including a rotatably mounted grasping portion; said grasping portion operable between a first position substantially aligned with said wedge-shaped portion and said rearwardly extending sloping foot pad portion, and a second position wherein said grasping portion is substantially aligned with a surface of said door.
In yet another broad form of the invention there is provided a method of operating a security device for arresting a partly open door; said method including the steps of:
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
With reference to
Extending between this first end 16 and second end 18 is thus a sloping surface 20 which, when the wedge-shaped portion 12 is driven into position under the lower end 22 of a door 24, assures the position of the door assistant by friction contact between the supporting floor surface 16 and the outer lower edge 28 of the door 24.
The wedge-shaped portion 12 may be formed of any suitable material, either rigid or semi rigid. Preferably at least the sloping surface 20 and the underside 30 may be provided with a laminated layer of high friction polymeric material 32, so as to more securely retain the wedge-shaped portion 12 in a desired door holding position.
The handle 14 in this embodiment, comprises a generally vertically extending portion 34 and a laterally extending grasping portion 36, by means of which the door assistant can be readily lifted and moved by a user to any desired position without having to bend down. Preferably, in this embodiment the vertically extending portion 34 and the grasping portion 36 are formed from a single length of malleable rod.
To position the door assistant for use in securing an open door, the wedge-shaped portion 12 is brought to a position adjacent the outer lower edge 28 of the door 24. The wedge-shaped portion 12 may then be driven into the wedging position by the application of a user's foot 38 pushing against the rear of the wedge-shaped portion 12, with either the door 24 being arrested by an adjacent wall, door stop, or held in position with the user's other hand, until the door assistant is in a wedged position.
In a second preferred embodiment of a door assistant according to the invention and with reference now to
The foot pad 122 may be significantly wider than the wedge-shaped portion 112 and provides a surface against which the foot of a user may be placed to slide the wedge-shaped portion 112 into a wedged position under the lower edge of an open door. Preferably, the underside of the foot pad is provided with a high friction material so that, once in position, it augments the resistance to dislodgement from a desired position of the wedged portion 112. The wider foot pad portion 122 further provides for greater stability of the door assistant 100 when not in use.
Preferably in this embodiment, the vertically extending portion 134 and laterally extending grasping portion 136 of the handle 114, are formed from tubular sections, connected together.
Alternatively, for either embodiment, and as shown in
In both the above described embodiments, the handles 14/114/214 may be located in sockets provided in the wedge-shaped portions 12/112/212. In at least one preferred arrangement, the handle is releasably retained in its socket so as to be removable for storage.
Again preferably, in another arrangement, the handle may be rotated in the socket such that the grasping portion can be generally aligned with the surface of the door, thereby minimising obstruction to passage past the door. Alternatively, the grasping portion of the handle may be attached to the upright portion by a connection which allows the handle to be folded down alongside the upright portion.
In still a further preferred arrangement, both the wedge shaped portion and the rearwardly projecting foot pad portion 122 of the second embodiment of the door assistant 100, may be hingedly attached to the upright portion 134 of the handle 114, so as to allow their rotation into an aligned position relative the handle for packaging and storage. In this case the rotation may be controlled by a locking pin so that for use, the wedge shaped portion 112 and foot pad 120 are locked into position at right angles to the upright portion of the handle.
With reference now to
The undersides of both wedge shaped portion 302 and foot pad portion 304, are preferably provided with a layer of a high friction polymer material (not shown). Likewise the upper surfaces of both the wedge portion 302 and the foot pad portion 304 may be provided with high friction inserts 310 and 312 respectively, again as best seen in
Hinge pins 314 extend from either side of the base block 308 (see
The extension portions of the wedge shaped portion 302 and the foot pad portion 304 which connect these elements with the base block 308, are provided with engagement elements, for example detent lugs (not shown) such that when the wedge shaped portion 302 and the foot pad portion 304 are swung into their in-use positions shown in
With reference now to
Grasping element 330 comprises a shaft portion 332 coaxial with the tubular element 316, and a grip portion 334 which extends from the shaft portion 332 substantially normal to the axis of the shaft portion. Shaft portion 332 is rotationally mounted to the tubular element 316. A pushbutton 336 is provided at the upper end of the shaft portion, which operates a detent release mechanism (not shown) provided in the upper end of the tubular element 316. When released, the grasping portion is able to be rotated at 90 degrees in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction from its position aligned with the wedge-shaped portion 302 and foot pad portion 304.
By means of this release mechanism, the grasping portion 330 of the handle 306 is operable between a first position in which the grip portion 334 is substantially aligned with the wedge shaped portion 302 and foot pad portion 304 as shown in
The present invention greatly enhances the operation of wedging a door into a desired position. The door assist of the invention can be “parked” in a readily accessible position near the door, or in a nearby cupboard for example, when not in use. It can then be conveniently grasped by its handle, positioned near the lower door edge and pushed into the wedging position, all without any bending down being required of the user. Especially for elderly, disabled or incapacitated users, the placement of a conventional wedge can be very difficult if not, for some, impossible.
The wedge-shaped portion and the foot pad portion, provide a well-supported base, allowing the door assistant of the invention to be placed in any convenient position ready for use. The handle and its grasping portion allow the device to be easily lifted and placed into a desired position, either to hold a door in its opened position or arrest a door in a partly opened position for security reasons.
In a security situation, by placing the door assist adjacent a door prior to opening it, the door is easily prevented from opening further than the placed position of the door assistant. Thus it provides a secure way of partially opening a door. If extra retention force is required, the foot pad portion provides for the placement of a user's foot to increase the downward force on the pad and so increase the resistance to movement of the door assistant.
The above describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011200514 | Feb 2011 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2012/000108 | 2/7/2012 | WO | 00 | 8/8/2013 |
