This application is based upon and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 from China Utility Model Application No. 201721166233.4 filed on Sep. 12, 2017, which is hereby specifically incorporated herein by this reference thereto.
The present invention relates to a safety gate, especially to a retractable safety gate.
Generally, a safety gate is placed across passageways to block access to a specific area such as kitchen, bathroom, stairway, garden, and the like, and is usually used for preventing babies or toddlers from accessing dangerous areas or preventing pets from entering specific areas.
A conventional retractable safety gate comprises a retracting mechanism with an unlocking member, a fastening mechanism with an unlocking member, and a mesh fabric connected between the retracting mechanism and the fastening mechanism. When the retracting mechanism is unlocked, the mesh fabric can be retracted or expanded, so as to adjust a blocking width of the conventional safety gate. When the fastening mechanism is unlocked, the conventional safety gate can be opened. However, since the conventional retractable safety gate is controlled manually, a user has to roll the mesh fabric up by hand when closing the conventional safety gate, which is inconvenient.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a retractable safety gate to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a retractable safety gate that has a mesh fabric, a retracting mechanism, and a fastening mechanism. The mesh fabric has a first side connected with the retracting mechanism and a second side connected with the fastening mechanism. The retracting mechanism includes a bottom bracket, a fastening bracket, a locking assembly, and an energy storage assembly.
The first mounting tube is disposed between the bottom bracket and the fastening bracket, and has a lower end rotatably mounted in the bottom bracket and an upper end rotatably mounted in the fastening bracket. The first side of the mesh fabric is connected to and is wound around the first mounting tube.
The locking assembly is mounted on the upper end of the first mounting tube and selectively engages with the fastening bracket. The locking assembly disengages from the fastening bracket when adjusting an expanded length of the mesh fabric. The expanded length of the mesh fabric is fixed when the locking assembly engages with the fastening bracket.
The energy storage assembly is mounted in the first mounting tube and includes a central tube, a transmission element, and a resilient element. The central tube has a lower end securely connected to the bottom bracket. The transmission element is rotatably mounted around the central tube and is securely connected with the first mounting tube. The resilient element has two ends connected to the central tube and the transmission member respectively. A resilient restoring force is formed when the resilient element is deformed. The resilient restoring force drives the first mounting tube to rotate to wind the mesh fabric around the first mounting tube.
When expanding the mesh fabric, the mesh fabric drives the first mounting tube to rotate relative to the fastening bracket and the bottom bracket, and the transmission element rotates along with the first mounting tube. Since the central tube is securely connected to the bottom bracket and remains static, the upper end of the resilient element is also static and the lower end of the resilient element is driven to rotate by the transmission element. Accordingly, the resilient element is twisted and deformed, and the potential energy is stored in the resilient element.
When rolling the mesh fabric up, the second side of the mesh fabric, which is attached to the wall via the fastening mechanism, is released, and the resilient element with the potential energy stored therein forms a resilient restoring force to drive the transmission element and the first mounting tube to rotate reversely. Hence, the mesh fabric is wound around the first mounting tube automatically. A user does not need to rotate the first mounting tube by hand, which is convenient and fast.
Other objectives, 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
With reference to
When the fastening bracket 400 and the first mounting tube 110 are locked, the first mounting tube 110 is unable to rotate relative to the fastening bracket 400. Thus, the mesh fabric 130 wound around the first mounting tube 110 is unable to be released or rolled up.
When the fastening bracket 400 and the first mounting tube 110 are unlocked, the first mounting tube 110 is able to rotate relative to the fastening bracket 400 by being pulled with an external force, so as to release the mesh fabric 130 wound around the first mounting tube 110. Meanwhile, potential energy is stored in the energy storage assembly 200 in the first mounting tube 110. When the external force is removed, the potential energy stored in the energy storage assembly 200 drives the first mounting tube 110 to rotate reversely relative to the fastening bracket 400, so as to roll the mesh fabric 130 up automatically.
Specifically, the energy storage assembly 200 includes a central tube 210, a transmission element 230, and a resilient element 220. The central tube 210 is mounted in the first mounting tube 110 and has a lower end securely connected to the bottom bracket 140. The transmission element 230 is rotatably mounted on the bottom bracket 140 and is securely connected with the first mounting tube 110. The resilient element 220 has an upper end securely connected to the central tube 210 and a lower end securely connected to the transmission element 230.
When expanding the mesh fabric 130, the mesh fabric 130 drives the first mounting tube 110 to rotate relative to the fastening bracket 400 and the bottom bracket 140, and the transmission element 230 rotates along with the first mounting tube 110. Since the central tube 210 is securely connected to the bottom bracket 140 and remains static, the upper end of the resilient element 220 is also static and the lower end of the resilient element 220 is driven to rotate by the transmission element 230. Accordingly, the resilient element 220 is twisted and deformed, and the potential energy is stored in the resilient element 220.
When rolling the mesh fabric 130 up, the second side of the mesh fabric 130, which is attached to the wall via the fastening mechanism, is released, and the resilient element 220 with the potential energy stored therein forms a resilient restoring force to drive the transmission element 230 and the first mounting tube 110 to rotate reversely. Hence, the mesh fabric 130 is wound around the first mounting tube 110 automatically. A user does not need to rotate the first mounting tube 110 by hand, which is convenient and fast.
An upper end of the central tube 210 may be suspended in the first mounting tube 10, or alternatively may be rotatably connected with the first mounting tube 110 lest the central tube 210 should interfere with rotation of the first mounting tube 110. With further reference to
With reference to
With reference to
The transmission element 230 is mounted around the locating post 144 of the bottom bracket 140, such that the transmission element 230 is positioned on the bottom bracket 140 by the locating post 144 of the bottom bracket 140. It can be understood that an outer sidewall of the first mounting tube 110 contacts with an inner sidewall defined around the indentation 143, such that the first mounting tube 110 can be placed at a specific position conveniently. Two fastening holes are formed through the abutting panel 142 of the bottom bracket 140. By mounting two screws through the two fastening holes respectively, the bottom bracket 140 can be securely attached to the wall or the barrier.
With reference to
A locking latch 421 is mounted on the outer sleeve 420. In the preferred embodiment, the locking latch 421 and the outer sleeve 420 are integrally formed as a single part. For instance, a U-shaped recess 422 is formed in an outer sidewall of the outer sleeve 420. The locking latch 421 has a main body 421a, a hook 421c, and a locking handle 421b. An end of the main body 421a is securely attached to the outer sleeve 420. Another end of the main body 421a is a free end. The hook 421c is formed on an inner sidewall of the main body 421a and is disposed at the free end of the main body 421a. The hook 421c selectively engages in an annular groove 514a of the locking assembly 500. The locking handle 421b is formed on an outer sidewall of the main body 421a and is disposed at the free end of the main body 421a. By pulling or pushing the locking handle 421b, the hook 421c can be controlled to disengage from or engage in the annular groove 541a of the locking assembly 500.
With further reference to
When the pressing portion 510 is pressed, the locking assembly 500 is locked with the fastening bracket 400 and the first mounting tube 110 is unable to rotate relative to the fastening bracket 400. When the pressing portion 510 is lifted, the locking assembly 500 is unlocked from the fastening bracket 400. As the pressing portion 510 disengages from the first mounting tube 110, the first mounting tube 110 is able to rotate relative to the fastening bracket 400.
With further reference to
With further reference to
With reference to
Furthermore, a positioning post 146c protrudes from a bottom defined in the mounting recess 146a of the assembling portion 146 of the bottom bracket 140 and is connected with the engaging protrusion 146b of the assembling portion 146 of the bottom bracket 140. The lower end of the connecting rod 150 is mounted in the mounting recess 146a of the assembling portion 146 of the bottom bracket 140 and around the positioning post 146c in the mounting recess 146a of the assembling portion 146 of the bottom bracket 140. The connecting rod 150 further has two engaging recesses 151, 152. The engaging recesses 151, 152 are formed in the lower end of the connecting rod 150 and the upper end of the connecting rod 150 respectively and engage with the engaging protrusions 146b, 440b of the assembling portions 146, 440 of the bottom bracket 140 and the fastening bracket 400 respectively.
Before the retractable safety gate of the present invention is dispatched from the factory, in order to ensure that the resilient element 220 is able to provide sufficient resilient restoring force when rolling the mesh fabric 130 up, the resilient element 220 is deformed in advance and the potential energy is stored therein. Moreover, before the retractable safety gate is installed, the bottom bracket 140 and the fastening bracket 400 are unrestrained and are held by the connecting rod 150. The lower end of the first mounting tube 110 is connected with the bottom bracket 140. The upper end of the first mounting tube 110 is locked in the fastening bracket 400 via the locking assembly 500. Thus, the first mounting tube 110 is not driven to rotate by the resilient element 220 and the transmission element 230 due to the resilient restoring force of the resilient element 220.
With reference to
When rolling the mesh fabric 130 up, the locking handle 421b is pressed again and the pressing portion 510 is lifted to allow the first mounting tube 110 to be released from the locking assembly 500. Thus, the resilient restoring force stored in the resilient element 220 drives the transmission element 230 and the first mounting tube 110 to rotate to wind the mesh fabric 130 around the first mounting tube 110 automatically. Furthermore, in order to ensure that the mesh fabric 130 can be completely wound around the first mounting tube 110, the resilient element 220 is deformed in advance to store the potential energy in the resilient element 220 before the retractable safety gate is dispatched from the factory with the mesh fabric 130 completely wound around the first mounting tube 110. In order to keep the retractable safety gate in a factory default state, the connecting rod 150 is connected between the bottom bracket 140 and the fastening bracket 400 to avoid the fastening bracket 400 and the bottom bracket 140 from rotating relative to each other. That is, the first mounting tube 110 and the bottom bracket 140 do not rotate relative to each other, such that the resilient element 220 also keeps in the factory default state. As the retractable safety gate is installed at a specific place and when intending to rolling the mesh fabric 130 up, the locking assembly 500 is unlocked. Thus, the resilient element 220 drives the first mounting tube 110 to rotate via the transmission element 230. When the mesh fabric 130 is completely wound around the first mounting tube 110, there is still potential energy stored in the resilient element 220.
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
When the retractable safety gate of the present invention is closed, the end cap 624 is inserted in the receiving recess 161 of the first wall fastening bracket 160. The spring 623 that is compressed forms a resilient restoring force to push the pushing element 630 to move downward and push the fitting element 621 to move upward. Thus, as the spring 623 is compressed, the end cap 624 is unable to slide up and down relative to the first wall fastening bracket 160. Accordingly, the end cap 624 remains being inserted in the receiving recess 161 to ensure that the retractable safety gate does not open unexpectedly.
When opening the retractable safety gate of the present invention, the pushing element 630 is pressed to be pushed downward. Accordingly, the fitting element 621, the spring 623, and the end cap 624 are moved downward to allow the end cap 624 to disengage from the receiving recess 161 of the first wall fastening bracket 160. Thus, the retractable safety gate is opened.
Moreover, the first mounting tube 110 further has a fabric recess formed in the outer sidewall of the first mounting tube 110. A pressing bar 113 is mounted in the fabric recess, is connected to the bottom bracket 140 and the tube plug 111, and may be made of steel or plastic. When the mesh fabric 130 is being expanded and the first mounting tube 110 rotates, the mesh fabric 130 wound around the first mounting tube 110 would loosened from the first mounting tube 110 instead of compactly wound around the first mounting tube 110. Meanwhile, when the mesh fabric 130 is expanded to a predetermined length, the pressing bar 113 forms a pressing force between outer loops and inner loops of the mesh fabric 130 that is wound around the first mounting tube 110. The inner loops of the mesh fabric 130 that is restrained by the pressing bar 113 does not loosened from the first mounting tube 110.
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 features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, 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.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201721166233.4 | Sep 2017 | CN | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20190078382 A1 | Mar 2019 | US |