Movable or removable closures – With means mounting closure for swinging – Hinge edge – finger guard – lock or disparate seal
Patent
1994-06-15
1995-05-30
Kannan, Philip C.
Movable or removable closures
With means mounting closure for swinging
Hinge edge, finger guard, lock or disparate seal
16250, 160 40, E05D 1100
Patent
active
054190843
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relate to a door jamb finger guard.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Injuries are often caused, especially to children, by fingers being trapped between a door and a door stop or a door jamb and guards have been proposed in the past which comprise a web of plastics material stretched over the gap between and door and the door jamb when the door is open. It is essential in such guards that they be naturally sprung away from the hinge so as to push away any obstacle as the door closes.
A guard is known from GB-A-2,218,449 which comprises two strips that are hinged to each other and flexibly connected to the door and door jamb long their free edges. The disadvantage of such a guard is that the width of the strips depends on the thickness of the door and on the opening angle (90.degree.-180.degree.). To suit all doors and opening angles a variety of guards must be manufactured and stocked.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The invention seeks to provide a finger guard for a door jamb which can fit a wide range of doors and which has a neat appearance when the door is closed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided a door jamb finger guard comprises four elongate strips which are hinged to one another along their edges, the free edges of the first and fourth strips being pivotably connected to two further strips which in use are secured to the door and to the door jamb respectively, the first strip being wider than the fourth strip so as to force the strips to lie against one another when the door is closed.
The four strips can be folded in the manner of a ladies' fan to lie against one another when the door is closed and form a web extending across the gap between the door and the door jamb when the door is open to act as a finger guard. Because four strips are used to bridge the gap, the total width of the finger guard when the door is closed is smaller than that required in a guard with only two strips and a neater appearance is thereby achieved.
Though the prior art does not explicitly show any finger guards having more than two strips reference, GB-A-2,119,938 refers implies without any elaboration that more that two strips can be used. For example, claim 5 of the publication refers to "at least two strips intermediate the end strips". There is however no teaching to use four and only four strips, as proposed in the present invention. In practice, using more than four strips is not satisfactory because the web becomes too flexible and does not positively prevent fingers from being trapped. Furthermore the web does not store away neatly.
The present invention is based on the discovery that if four and only four strips are used, the web retains sufficient resilience to prevent fingers from being trapped and by making the first strip longer (or the last strip shorter) than the rest of the strips the guard can still be made to fold neatly and lie against the door or the door jamb.
The further strips connected to the free ends of the four sections constituting the web may be secured to the door and door jamb or door stop by an adhesive or other fixing means such as screws or nails.
Conveniently, the guard may be formed in one piece by extruding a plastics material which is suitable for forming film hinges.
The guard should be formed of a length covering all the parts of the door gap which present a hazard but it is not essential for the strips to be the height of the entire door. In schools, for example, the guard need only cover the lower part of a door and in a building used by adults only the central section of the door need be guarded.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a section through a finger guard of the invention,
FIG. 2 shows the finger guard of FIG. 1 when fitted to a door,
FIG. 3 shows the door of FIG. 2 when partly opened, and
FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 showing an alternativ
REFERENCES:
patent: 2694234 (1954-11-01), Roby et al.
patent: 4040142 (1977-08-01), Ippolito
patent: 5001862 (1991-03-01), Albenda
patent: 5092077 (1992-03-01), Teinturier-Milgram
patent: 5220708 (1993-06-01), Lucas et al.
Sankey Geoffrey P.
Yeomans Christopher W. D.
Better Ideas Limited
Kannan Philip C.
LandOfFree
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