Patent Application
20080127556
NONE
NONE
1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to safety gates for sliding doors, specifically to obstruct sliding doors, patio doors, and similar opening's, when open, to restrict the movement of small children, pets, and the like.
2. Prior Art
A variety of gates are presently on the market that are designed to prevent children from passing from one area to another. Several of these gates can be adjusted for use in openings having various widths. Several of these gates also include moveable bumpers that can be extended from and retracted into the gate to respectively secure and release the gate from the openings.
A disadvantage of known gates that utilize moveable bumpers is that the mechanisms used to actuate the bumpers are complex and expensive. These gates conventionally incorporate mechanisms that include numerous interconnecting parts that require precise fits and positioning to interact with each other to extend and retract the bumpers. Gates are also known that utilize actuating mechanisms that include a complex arrangement of links, cranks, pull rods and springs that are interconnected to a pull handle.
Another disadvantage associated with known gates is an inability of the moveable plungers to independently compensate for different spacings between each bumper and the side member of an opening. Different spacings can result from various factors such as surface irregularities of the vertical members of an opening, an opening having nonparallel vertical members and the like. Conventionally, known gates use rigid connections between the bumpers and actuating mechanism that can result in a bumper making minimal or no contact with a vertical member of the opening or a bumper exerting a very high force against the vertical member of an opening. However, the actuating mechanism incorporated in this gate is a complex assemblage of parts that is expensive to manufacture.
Another disadvantage associated with known gates is the inability to grasp the sliding door without slipping.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved safety gate which enables the user to overcome these and other disadvantages associated with sliding doors.
3. Objects and Advantages
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are:
Further objects and advantages are to provide a safety gate which can be used easily and prevents indoor pets from ruining the screen door. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
This invention is a new concept for safety gates because this gate is made specifically for sliding patio doors. Many children and pets like to play and accidentally run through patio screen doors. The safety gate can also have a safety alarm alarming parents if the child is tampering or has opened the gate. This safety gate is made of two panels. The vertical outer leg sits on the vertical pin which is placed in the sliding door track. The vertical outer leg is braced to the sliding door with a type of clamp. One clamp on the top and bottom of the left side of the vertical outer leg. Connected to the vertical outer leg also are hinges that are also placed on the top and bottom to allow the two panels to pivot.
As a further aspect of the invention, the safety gate comprises a pair of generally flat gate sections, a locking device joining the gate sections together, and a pair of horizontally extending bumpers mounted on the outer frame member of the second gate section. A handle latching device may be provided to keep both panels locked into position.
Accordingly several objects and advantages of the invention are to provide a safety gate which prevents toddlers from pushing out screen doors, to provide a safety gate which clamps on to the sliding door enabling users to enter and exit easily, to provide a safety gate which assists in confining a child or like from exiting the home, to provide a safety gate which allows the user to leave their sliding door open and their screen door closed allowing circulation throughout the home, to provide a safety gate which allows the sliding door to stay open while having small infants or like in the area of the sliding door, provide a safety gate which is an additional detourant for families with swimming pools, and provide a safety gate which can be used easily and prevents indoor pets from ruining the screen door. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
In the drawings, you will find figures that have different numbers but different reference numerals describing what is on the invention. It should be understood that the drawings are provided for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to define the limits of the invention. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The sliding door safety gate shown in
The back panel section 10 is stationary and has a part of the locking latch mechanism 70 attached to the top portion of the gate. The back panel section 10 has the stationary vertical gate support 30 attached, along with a type of hinge 40 which allows the sliding door gate to swing open in any direction. In order for the sliding door gate to be stationary a type of clamp 50 is attached to the end of the stationary vertical gate support 30, this allows the gate to be attached to a sliding door without slipping. In addition, the vertical gate support 30 has a height adjustment pin 80 which allows the user to adjust the height of the gate off of the sliding door track.
The front panel 20 extends and is adjustable to the sliding doors width. The front panel 20 also includes the second adjustable part of the locking latch mechanism, which allows the gate to be adjusted to different openings. A type of stationery bumper could be added to the front panel 20, which is located at the side end of the adjustable panel 20 in order to create a snug fit and to protect the sliding door track from damage.
The back 10 or front panel 20 section may be comprised of wood, plastic, particle board, metal, or any type of durable material. The screen 90 may be comprised of wood, plastic, particle board, metal, nylon, cotton, glass, or any type of material which will fill the space of the interior panel. The shield or screen 90 could be filled in or it could be a screen which allows the free flow of air through the gate but are small enough so as to preclude even a small child from putting a hand or foot through the mesh.
From the foregoing it can be realized that this invention provides a new concept of safety gates, for commercial use. The advantages over the prior art are to protect screen doors, easy for adults to enter and exit, detourant for the child, pet, or like from exiting home, allows better circulation throughout the home, and because the clamp attaches to the sliding door the gate is unable to slip from side to side which is a new concept.
The manner of using the sliding door safety gate is to attach the sliding door clamp 50 to the sliding door, which is attached to the stationary vertical gate support 30. The height adjustment pin 80, which is located at the bottom of the stationary vertical gate support 30, is easily adjustable by twisting to desirable height. The front panel 20 is adjustable and is locked in place through the adjustable locking mechanism 70. This allows the user to lock the safety gate in place when entering or exiting the sliding door. The stationary vertical gate support serves as a pivot point for a type of hinge 40 allowing the user to swing open or close the safety gate. This sliding door safety gate could also have a safety gate alarm so it alarm the parent when a child or pet is tampering or has opened the safety gate.
Once the user is done using the safety gate, the user simply pulls up the end of the gate and pulls the gate straight off to reuse another day.
From the descriptions above, a number of advantages of the sliding door safety gate become evident:
Accordingly, the reader will see that this sliding door safety gate can be used easily and conveniently to detour small children, pets, or like from exiting the sliding door. Furthermore, this sliding door safety gate has the additional advantages in that
Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, this sliding door safety gate can have other shapes, such as oval, circular, triangular, etc.
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
