Movable or removable closures – With means mounting closure for swinging – Hinge edge – finger guard – lock or disparate seal
Reexamination Certificate
1997-03-03
2001-11-06
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
With means mounting closure for swinging
Hinge edge, finger guard, lock or disparate seal
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311432
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to safety devices for doors, and is particularly concerned with safety guards for pivoted doors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Pivoted doors are conventionally hung with their vertical pivot axis some 50 mm to 75 mm from the adjacent door jamb. This means that when the door is opened, a gap opens up between the door jamb and the portion of the door on that side of the pivot axis. This gap is large enough for a hand or fingers to be trapped when the door closes again.
Various solutions have been proposed for finger protection for hinged doors. In one system, a finger excluder in the form of a profiled strip is connected on the hinge side of the door between the door itself and the frame. As the door opens, so the excluder hinges with it and the gap stays covered. When the door closes, the excluder regains its original shape. In another system, a roller blind is fitted between the door and the frame to give protection. In a further system, a concertina-like device is fitted to the frame and has its free end abutting the face of the door. It folds flat to the frame when the door is closed, and when the door is opened covers the opening between the door and the frame.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety device for pivoted doors, especially center pivot doors, which substantially reduces the risk of injury to fingers. The safety device of the present invention can be applied both to automatically operating pivoted doors and also to non-automatically operating pivoted doors.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a safety device for pivoted doors which can be fitted as a “retrofit” item to existing doors, as well as being provided as a fitting on newly manufactured doors.
It is an object of a preferred device according to the invention for it to be adjustable, allowing the device to be fitted on doors with a wide range of pivot placements and yet allowing each installation to be precisely configured so as to remove the potential finger trap.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a safety device for use with a pivoted door, the device comprising a rigid elongate barrier member adapted to be fitted to a side of the door stile adjacent to the jamb and parallel to the vertical door edge, and serving to sweep the zone between the jamb and the adjacent stile as the door is pivoted, the barrier member being shaped substantially to fill the gap between door jamb and door stile when the door is in its fully opened position.
The barrier member attached to the door stile thus blocks the entrance to the gap between door jamb and door stile and thus prevents a hand or fingers being pushed into that zone.
The barrier member is preferably of generally triangular shape in horizontal cross-section. One limb of the triangle preferably is shaped as an extension of the vertical end face of the door stile.
An important preferred feature of the invention is that the barrier member can be adjustable in shape, in order that it can be readily adapted for use with doors of different configurations and different positions for the vertical pivot axis. This adjustment can conveniently be effected by providing the barrier member with a ratchet-type means of adjustment. This provides the barrier member with a plurality of alternative settings, with the most appropriate one being chosen upon the fitting of the barrier member to the door.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the safety device also includes rigid shielding strips adapted to be positioned vertically down the door jamb, further to reduce the possibility of access to the zone between the door jamb and the door itself. These shielding strips function in cooperation with the barrier member as it sweeps through the zone between the door jamb and the door.
The safety device of the present invention provides a number of benefits. These include not only the prevention of finger crushing, but also zero maintenance, and the ability to fit the device to existing doors without modification or removal of the door. It can be fitted to fire doors without affecting their integrity, because it does not interfere with the door seals. One simple system will fit almost every centrally pivoted door, either aluminum or timber. Also, it does not hinder the reglazing of damaged doors.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2960733 (1960-11-01), Nida
patent: 2995785 (1961-08-01), Hallenbeck
patent: 3484831 (1969-12-01), Higuchi
patent: 3934371 (1976-01-01), Ulatowski et al.
patent: 3941180 (1976-03-01), Thill
patent: 4040142 (1977-08-01), Ippolito
patent: 4344253 (1982-08-01), Stiles
patent: 5383739 (1995-01-01), Haglund
patent: 5544456 (1996-08-01), Dries
patent: 5697589 (1997-12-01), Garfinkle
patent: 778626 (1957-07-01), None
patent: 1 437 037 (1976-05-01), None
patent: 1437037 (1976-05-01), None
Cohen Curtis A.
Stodola Daniel P.
Young & Thompson
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