Patent Application
20080127457
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a doorstop, and more particularly to doorstop that can be operated with a foot of a user and is convenient in use.
2. Description of Related Art
To hold a door at an open condition, a doorstop is always mounted on a floor or wall. However, to drill holes in the floor or wall is necessary to assembly a traditional doorstop on the floor or wall and this is laborious and inconvenient. A conventional doorstop attached to a door is provided to solve the above problem. The conventional doorstop in accordance with the prior art comprises a base, an arm pivotally attached to the base and a resilient stopper attached to the arm. When the arm is pivoted downward, the stopper will abut against the floor and provide a friction force to the door to keep the door at an open condition. When the arm is pivoted upward and the stopper leaves the position abutting against the floor, the door can be closed freely. However, to pivot the arm relative to the base always needs hands, and this is inconvenient and easily pollutes the user's hands.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a doorstop to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a doorstop that can be operated with a foot of a user and is convenient in use. The doorstop has a base, a pivotal element, a pushed block, a stopper and a positioning device. The base has a bottom plate, a hemispherical cavity and a slot. The hemispherical cavity is defined in the bottom plate. The slot is defined in the bottom plate and communicates with the hemispherical cavity. The pivotal element is V-shaped, is pivotally mounted in the hemispherical cavity in the base and has two arms extending out from the slot in the base. The arms include an upper arm and a lower arm. The pushed block is mounted on the upper arm of the pivotal element. The stopper is made of a resilient material and is detachably attached to the lower arm of the pivotal element. The positioning device is mounted on the base and abuts against to hold the V-shaped pivotal element in position.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The pivotal element (20) is V-shaped and is pivotally mounted in the hemispherical cavity (12) in the base (10). The pivotal element (20) comprises a body (21), a pivotal pin (22) and two arms (23,24). The body (21) is pivotally mounted in the cavity (12) between the curved flanges (16). The body (21) of the pivotal element (20) has a positioning rib (212) formed on the body (21). The pivotal pin (22) extends laterally from the body (21) and has two ends rotatably and respectively held in the pivotal notches (162) in the curved flanges (16).
The arms (23,24) mounted on and extend from the body (21) and extend out from the slot (14) in the base (10). The arms (23,24) include an upper arm (23) and a lower arm (24). Each arm (23,24) of the pivotal element (20) has a free end, a shank (232,242) formed on the free end and a head (234,244) formed on the shank (232,242).
In a first embodiment, the arms (23,24) are integrally formed on and extend from the body (21).
In a second embodiment, with reference to
The pushed block (30) is made of a resilient material, is detachably mounted on the upper arm (23) and has multiple ridges (302) formed on the top of the pushed block (30).
The stopper (32) is made of a resilient material and is detachably attached to the lower arm (24) of the pivotal element (20). The stopper (32) has multiple ridges (322) formed on the bottom of the stopper (32).
The positioning device (40) is mounted on the base (10) and abuts against pivotal element (20) to hold the V-shaped pivotal element (20) in position. The positioning device (40) comprises a resilient tab (42) attached to the bottom plate (11) of the base (10) and having an engaging portion (44) formed on the resilient tab (42). The engaging portion (44) of the resilient tab (42) is V-shaped and selectively engages the positioning rib (212) on the body (21) of the pivotal element (20) to hold the pivotal element (20) in an unlocked position.
When the doorstop is in an unlocked position, the stopper (32) on the lower arm (24) of the pivotal element (20) is kept away from the floor and the engaging portion (44) on the resilient tab (42) abuts against the positioning rib (212) to keep the pivotal element (20) from rotating downward. Consequently, the user can open or close the door (70) freely.
When the pivotal element (20) is pivoted downward, the stopper (32) is pivoted to a position where abuts against the floor. Accordingly, the door (70) can be kept at an open condition with the friction provided by the stopper (32) and the floor. With the V-shaped pivotal element (20), the pivotal element (20) can be pivoted relative to the base (10) with a foot stepping onto or kicking the pushed block (30) on the upper arm (23). Therefore, the doorstop in accordance with the present invention can be operated with a foot of a user and is convenient in use. The hands of the user can be kept free from operation of the doorstop and will not be polluted.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
