GB2183291A - Door control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus comprises 2 resilient stops (10 and 12), e.g. in the form of balls, joined by a line (14) which is passed under the door such that the stops (10, 12) are on either side of the door. The line (14) is pulled, e.g. using loops (18) or (20), thus compressing the stops (10 and 12) against the floor and impeding movement of the door by friction. The cord grip (22) keeps the line (14) under tension, keeping the apparatus operational as a door stop. Other arrangements (e.g. Figure 17, not shown) show the use of balls similar to the balls (10, 12) as door buffers to prevent slamming of the door by preventing closure thereof. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Door Control Apparatus This invention relates to apparatus for use with hung doors (as opposed to lift-offdoors or lids), where doors also includes windows or shutters or apparatus performing generally similar movements and subject to these hazards that the invention is concerned with mitigating. It is particularly concerned with doorstop apparatus for restraining movement of an open hinged door; and with a doorcheckfor preventing thoughtless or uncontrolled closure of a hinged or sliding door that might damage a child's hand.

It is well known that hinged doors are a source of danger to the very young and to a lesser extent to the elderly or disabled, through their tendency to slam shut under the influence of draughts, which is also liable to damage the door and its frame, and even the wall in which is set. There are two aspects to this: firstly there is the need to hold stably open or, indeed shut, to any desired degree of opening, the door that is required to be open; and secondly there is the need to prevent thoughtless (i.e. absentminded or habitual) slamming shut by a person passing through, without checking if someone else is following immediately behind, who might well be an infant with a hand on the door jamb and fingers directly in the shears-like closure path at either the opening or the hinge side, or maybe on the edge of the door itself.

A common and cheap method of providing means of holding a door in a particular (variable) position is the wedge. Its advantage is that it can be applied to any door that has sufficient clearance beneath it to admit the wedge. Its main disadvantage is that unless it is especially dimensioned for a particular door, it has to have a fairly steep gradient to accommodate different door-to-floor clearances; so that it is not very efficient unless two wedges are used, one from either side and firmly tamped into place and so made difficult to dislodge--as well as possible straining the hinges.Other technicallyefficient methods such as the foot bolt, and the toggle-action doorstay (of which two may be needed per door), are expensive in that they are permanently attached to the door, so that a large number may be required to ensure all doors are protected; the doors are disfigured by attachement of the devices (which may also involve considerable expense), whilst maintenance or replacement may be of like order; access or egress in emergency may be found difficult or even possible through ignorance of the device or through panic; and in at least some devices, simple action by an inquisitive young child will completely eliminate the holding action of the device. Finaliy, such devices may disfigure or damage the floor surfaces on which they impinge, because of necessarily high pressures generated by the holding action.

According to the first aspect, the present invention satisfies the need for restraining movement of a hinged door, the apparatus comprising first and second stop means interconnected by a line means whereby the line means can locate below the lower edge of a hinged door with the first and second stop means located at opposite sides of the door, each of the first and second stop means being formed of a resiliently deformable material capable of producing, with the floor surface or covering over which the door is movable, sufficient friction force to restrain movement of the door in either direction against the forces (e.g. wind) likely to impinge on the door surface. A safety line allows freeing of a jammed door from outside.

Preferably each of the first and second stop means comprises a generally spherical member, for example a ball, and the ball is preferably of sponge rubber or similar elastomer of plastic.

Preferably also the line may comprise a cord or tape, for example made of elastic. The line is preferably so passed through each of the stop means as to create a particular level of friction force appropriate to the materials and assembly means adopted. The line will be of such a length that a handling or suspending loop may be formed at the outside of each stop means. One stop means will preferably be fixed in position along the line whilst the other will be slidably along the line, firstly to accommodate the thickness of the door and secondly in order to draw together the stop means until the requisite frictional force is established for the doorstop to be functioning; the sliding loop may be provided with a cord grip if found necessary for the maintenance of requisite tension between the stop means.In some door constructions as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the gap between door and floor is too great, or the existence of a stormguard 28 at one side of the door prevents proper access and engagement of one ball. In such cases simple robust space fillers 30 and 32 respectively, with or without a high-friction over (35) or undersurface 34 may be preferred to the use of other devices. Figure 1 illustrates the basic features of the doorstop apparatus.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for preventing thoughtless or uncontrolled total closure of a door, the apparatus comprising abutment means and means for suspending the abutment means from the door itself (or from a fitting attachable to the door) or from the frame of the door (or from a fitting attachable to the frame) whereby when the door is opened from the closed position, the abutment means moves out of the path of opening automatically as it is passed by the door (or, depending upon the particular installation, remains out of the path) and then returns automatically to the path of closing of the door so as to prevent total closure, thus protecting the hands of any young child who might have innocently put them in jeopardy, and reducing the shock of violent uncontrolled closure from whatever cause.To permit subsequent controlled closure, the abutment means can be moved out of the closing path until passed by the closing door, when on release it then moves into, or remains poised to move into, the path of closing; otherwise it remains in position to prevent any repetition of thoughtless or uncontrolled closure, until such thoughtful action is taken.

Preferably the abutment means comprises a generally spherical member, for example a ball, and is preferably formed of resilient materials of such density, elasticity, and surface characteristics as are appropriate in either a general or a particular application, for establishing shock, rebound and minimum gap characteristics.

The suspension means may be formed as a cord (which may be elastic) or as a rigid or flexible rod, which may extend beyond either or both ends of the ball and may be suspended from either or both ends, permanently or releasably as required by a particular installation, or by a general specification.

The basic assembly from which development starts is the ball on a string suspended from a nail on the door frame, which might function perfectly for one thousand negotiations of the door and then fail to stop the door closing on the one occasion it was absolutely vital that it should do so, i.e, on the very occasion for which the apparatus was installed. The failure arises inevitably from a conjunction of two inherent weaknesses in the simple pendulum: low restoration force near the point of balance, and slow decaying oscillation on disturbance. The answer: an elastic line through an eyelet above the ball ! A twin line Vee suspension might seem to remove the oscillation problem of the simple gravitycontrol led doorcheck.But this is only so with very obtuse Vees, with the line passing over symmetrical surfaces, and where accuracy of final settlement laterally is not vital.

This does not apply to the conventional side-hung door; but it does apply to the sliding door, and to the door with coamings such as an automobile door where the doorcheck can be applied to the bottom of the door. In the latter case, elongated abutment means are suitable and beneficial. Figures 5 to 10 illustrate basic doorcheck development.

Note that in the case of swing doors protection is required for both sides. Andthat auxiliary guarding of the hinge side of a door is required for protection to be reasonably completeFigure 16.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa diagrammatic representation of a doorstop assembly.

Figure 2 is a part-sectional end view of a doorway showing a door-stop assembly restraining a door.

Figure 3 shows auxiliary means of adapting a standard doorstop assembly to a very large door-tofloor gap.

Figure 4 shows auxiliary means of adopting a standard doorstop assembly to a door equipped with a stormguard interfering with the normal fitting of the doorstop.

Figure 5 shows in side elevation the simplest doorcheck assembly suspended from one point on the door frame. A dotted outline shows the assembly swung out of the door-closing path from inside, either momentarily to allow the door to close, or indefinitely for complete de-activation of the apparatus.

Figure 6 is a part-sectional plan of a doorjamb with closed door and operative doorcheck mounted on the jamb.

Figure 7 is Figure 6 with the door ajar and prevented from closing by the ball in the closing gap.

Figure 8* is the side elevation of a doorcheck on a jamb, suspended by an elastic cord through a laterally-constraining eyelet.

Figure 9 is a part side elevation of a sliding door frame with a twin-line doorcheck straddling the abutment area, with dotted outline showing the doorcheck pulled sidewards to allow total closure of the door.

Figure 10* is a part elevation of a twin-line doorcheck with elongated 'ball', mounted on a door with a coaming, such as an automobile. A dotted outline shows the ball deflected to permit total door closure.

Figure 11 * shows a taut-assembly doorcheck mounted on a door, with its pull-cord for deflecting the ball to permit total door closure.

Figure 12* is a part sectional side view of Figure 11.

Figure 13* is a part sectional side view of the doorcheck in Figure 12 but with the door'checked'.

Figure 14* shows a fully packaged framemounting doorcheck with the stored elastic line shown dotted.

Figure 15 shows a telescopic doorcheck mounted on a door.

Figure 16 is a sectional plan view of a doorway fitted with vertical safety handrails and a hinge-gap cover bead.

Figure 17* shows a composite doorway equipped with the three main doorcheck assemblies, and a scrap view of a doorstop restraining a door. The assemblies are, of course, grossly out of scale.

Note *indicates that the figure number was used for a different illustration in an earlier declared specification.

Referring to Figures 1,2 & 17a, a doorstop comprises a pair of balls 10, 12 each formed of a resiliently deformable material such as sponge rubber, preferably of about the same size as tennis balls, and with a high friction finish such as natural to high-stretch rubber. The balls are threaded along a line 14, which is preferably elastic, and passes through piercingsthat retain reasonable friction between balls and line for ease of handling.

The line 14 is shown in the form of a loop which will generally be convenient both in construction and use but may take other forms. The line is fixed firmly at the outside of ball 10 where it may also appear as a small handling loop conveniently attached to (say) a large knot pulled with considerable force into the ball so that it is out of sight. Thus, the other ball 12 can, with slight effort, be slid up or down the line when in use whereas ball 10 is effectively locked to the line. With some floors and doors the inherent friction between the ball 12 and the line 14 will be sufficiently strong, when the assembly is pulled together about a door, to create a satisfactory doorstop. With, others, however, the cord grip 22's extra holding force will be required.

In use, the initial separation between the balls will be a random result of previous usage. On a new application, the balls will be pulled apart sufficiently to allow the line to be passed beneath the door 24 in Figure 2. The cord 14 is then pulled through the ball 12 and cord grip 22, the pull both balls tightly up against the respective sides of the door 24. Both balls are then held, partly deformed, and compressed into the angles formed between the door and the floor 26 over which it moves. This arrangement holds the door firmly (though not necessarily immovably: it depends upon the nature of the floor surface, which might be a relatively friction less carpet)-against reasonable force in either direction.Friction between the balls and the floor causes the door to compress the adjacent material of the respective balls, depending upon the direction in which the door is attempted to be moved, and this increases the pressure, aided by the restraining effect of the other ball transmitted through the line 14. Although the door may now be very firmly held against moving forces applied to the door itself, all that is necessary to move the door in either direction is to pull the ball on the side of the door towards which movement is required, with a quite modest force, and the door will follow; it will then normally revert to its firmly-held state, unless the floor surface is so uneven that some adjustment is necessary.

The very efficiency of these holding and moving mechanisms is such, however, that some precausion must be taken against the extreme case of a door being inadvertently or mischievously closed too far with the door-stop in operation, and being unable to be opened without damaging force because of the ball on the other side of the door performing its proper function with exemplary efficiency. The simple safety cord 15, joining the two balls around the edge of the door, allows a trapped ball to be released easily from the 'outside'.

Some doors may have such abrasive bottom edges that some remedial action may be required, or some protective material placed between the door and the doorstop line (on the other hand, research may uncover the perfect line material!).

And some doors may have such large gaps that no commercial doorstop would fill the need.

Nevertheless, for (say) the one door in many that spoils a standard system, it might not be so absurd to "fill that gap" under the door with a simple block 30 shown in Figure 3--with or without high friction undersurface 34 or oversurface 35. Similar difficulties with an awkward stormguard 28, as shown in Figure 4, can be dealt with in similar fashion, using block 32.

It will be appreciated that the balls, being soft and rounded, and not protruding very far, do not constitute much of a stumbling block. And even if accidentally impinged upon by a foot or a brush, are not likely to be either dislodged or disturbed in their function-as a wedge might-thus contributing further to the safety of their use. The arrangement does not have the limitations of hooks and stays, and is more adaptable than footbolts, being less likely to cause disfiguring and wear to the floor surface or covering. Also the arrangement is less likely to be released by a very small child.A particular advantage is the lack of need to be fixed to the door, whilst a complementary use is as a simple doorcheck, hanging on the door frame to certainly reduce and possibly prevent accidental or thoughtless slamming of the door causing material damage, or injury to a child's hand.

Referring to Figures 5 to 7 of the drawings, the most simple, basic doorcheck comprises a ball 40 similar to that described for the doorstop i.e.

preferably of sponge rubber about the size of a tennis ball, compressible to about half thickness by about 25 kg, and with a reasonably high surface friction such as occurs naturally with high-stretch rubber, together with cord loop 42 passing through the centre of the ball with a very high resistance to alteration to the position of the ball on the cord such as will arise naturally with sponge rubber pierced by a small diameter threading needle. One end of the loop will be used for hanging the ball from a point on the door frame 48 such that it will naturally assume a position in the open door gap where the line joining the contact points on doorframe and door is a diameter of the ball.A suitable general length for the looped cord is 450 mm; and after a convenient length has been determined for the handling loop or tassel 60, the swing length may be set to suit circumstances-such as the length required to clear the opening door when space is constricted by e.g. an adjacent angled wall. It is essential that the settling position of the ball is determined only by gravitational forces, although it may safely rest consistently in an angle formed by such a wall and the doorframe's architrave provided there is enough overlap of the ball and the architrave to ensure a reliable check of the door. In some cases, indeed, it would be necessary to lengthen the line; though the preferred solution in such cases would be to fit a door-mounted assembly (to be described later).

The dotted line in Figure 5 shows the ball deflected to allow the door to be closed-by someone inside the room; it could equally well have been deflected across the doorframe by someone leaving the room (which indicates that the cord must be of such material, texture and thickness as to safely pass through the labyrinth of the closed-door gap). It would then have remained outside the door until the next time it was opened, and would then have swung back into the opening door gap to prevent the dangerous accidental or thoughtless closure it is designed to prevent.

Figure 6 shows the ball 40 hanging behind (more correctly 'in front of') the closed door 50 waiting to spring into action, while Figure 7 shows the ball in the gap preventing the door closing.

However, gravity-controlled devices have two inherent weaknesses: they are liable to oscillate, and they have least restoring force nearest to their settling point. Both of these weaknesses can be mitigated by the addition of extra suspension lines.

And the greater the angle between separate lines, the greater the improvement. However, it is just as difficult to set the several suspension points as to set the single one for correct operation of the device, besides the added complication of the equality or difference of the line lengths determining the settling point, and the need to be sure of hanging the correct line on a hook after any demounting of the apparatus for any reason. And dual-suspension does not generally work for the typical conventional side-hung door. But it does for a sliding door as illustrated in Figure 9, where the dotted lines show the ball 40 and twin lines 56 and 56 deflected to one side to allow the door to be fully closed. And it works for a side-hung door with a coming, such as an automobile door, as shown in Figures 10 and 17b, where the elongated 'ball' 41 can be used with advantage.

However, for the general case, the superior pendulous suspension has an eyelet or ferrule through which the line passes, wall-mounted at the junction of ball and line. This contrains the line laterally and the ball vertically, and so determines that the line should be extensible, and tensionable.

In the most simple form this suspension comprises 300 mm of flat elastic requiring between 0.3 kg and 0.5 kg to double its length, a hook to hang it from, an eyelet for it to pass through to join the ball-and the ball, with or without a handling loop or tassel. This assembly is shown in Figure 8, where the line 51 hangs from hook 53, through eyelet 55, supporting ball 40, on doorframe 48. The dotted outline shows the line extended to allow the door to be closed completely. This assembly has no obvious shortcomings, and can be used with confidence in most situations requiring a frame-hung device, and in some that appear to require one of the other varieties.Figures 6 and 7 apply equally to this assembly, except that the suspension lines 42 would appear dotted and would be single, representing the line within the ball itself, the external line being constrained in the vertical by the by the line-secure eyelet 55 of Figure 17.

Considering the eyelet, it is clear that elastic suspension could be replaced by a spring-winding line such as used often to power small toys. The place of the eyelet would then be taken by the line inletloutlet on the case of the spooler, so that it would only then be necessary to mount the spooler in an accurate, simple and repeatable fashion-e.g.

by clipping onto self-adhesive bases-for all the sofar unmentioned tasks to be disposed of. Fixing is the first and perhaps most crucial, since most probable users of this device will regard it as a temporary device like fireguards and staircase gates, needed only whilst there is a young child in the house: such might not like their nice wood or aluminium doors to be disfigured by screw-fixings.

Temporary de-activation is the next consideration, and with a clip-on/off device, complete removal to clip elsewhere will be as easy and probably not so unsightly as deflection of the ball and a length of line to some arbitrarily-sited nail or hook nearby.

But an existing spooler will almost certainly not fit in many of the places that require a doorcheck: so, how to make one that is simultaneously economic and ergonomic? Well, our long elastic line would bend round a nail on a corner to make use of a tooshort vertical space; and would also do a 'U' turn, or maybe several, without affecting its operational efficiency-or maybe even with an improvement! For example, the necessarily increased friction would certainly reduce the vertical bounce and shock that would be bound to result from the return of the ball from a necessary or even mischievous long deflection-an introduction of a desirable damping effect! Such a miniaturised and packaged clip-on pendulous doorcheck is shown in the two Figures 14 and 17c, with the elastic line 42 shown dotted and folded twice so that the effective length is almost three times the length of the neat box housing 65. In fact, the cross-section of box required to contain the folded line is typically much less than that required for mounting and locating the unit.

Consideration of the geometry of the housing drawing-done to the appended scale 74--will show that the eyelet from which the line emerges constrains the line quite as accurately as would be expected of any screweye likely to be selected for a commercial assembly of the simple un-housed pendulous doorcheck.

Note that in Figure 14 'A' & 'B', the fixed end of the line terminates at a small clip 76 hooked over the top rim ofthe housing 65 rather than (say) over the upper rivet 78 acting as bearing for the line--and as optional screw fixing hole for rigid mounting of the assembly, such as might be required, for example, in an infants' school. The reason for that termination is to permit the use of the same assembly for left and right hand hung doors, with no more effort than is required to transfer the ball to the other end of the line--the line having the same clip at both ends, both of which emerge at the same side of the housing and thus ensure that the ball moves to the opposite side "eyelet" when it changes ends.The crossing of the two outer folds of line in the same 'slot' creates about the same amount of extra friction as an extra fold, so causes no problem. The answer to the obvious question as to why the change of side is not made by simply rotating the housing about its vertical axis, is that the housing in a particular package might well have fixing features on the back e.g. hook-and-loop pads; or have a decorative feature on the front: either will have to be up-endable without adverse effect, of course.

It is appropriate to say at this point that all kinds of materials and constructions may be used for the ball itself, for the suspension-including rigid rods-and for attachment of housing means, any of which may have particular virtues or attractions. And then that the pendulous frame-mounting system just described and illustrated is a good general case illustrative and representative of the whole field.

There are a few situations where the assembly just described could be fitted to doors themselves, such as doors with coamings and top-hung doors.

But it will usually be found better to use for these the less elaborate, cheaper, and maybe more durable twin-line assembly of Figure 10, or-especially for the top-hung case--that of Figure 8, which can in any case be effectively and easily home-made.

However, when the attempt is made to use the clipon packaged pendulous doorcheck of Figure 14 on the top or side edge of a normal side-hung door, the ball flops because like a tiny baby, its neck is not strong enough to support its head. This can be (literally!) rectified by immensely increasing the line tension, and increasing the area of bearing surface around the 'eyelet' to increase the leverage on the suspension; it will be found beneficial to double the number of lines and separate them, whilst displacing the 'eyelet(s)' nearer to the door surface will reduce the required height of the housing-which has had to be widened to accommodate the twin suspension lines.The efficient and elegant result is the assembly illustrated in Figure 11,where the first striking feature is the new pull-cord 64 required for deflecting the ball to permit total closure of the door, and the eyelet 66 for guiding the cord, especially when it is pulled round the door by a person negotiating the door from the doorcheck side--which remark reminds us that the pull cord will have to be of material texture and thickness suitable to remain captive within the closed-gap labyrinth of the door-to-frame abutment, without detriment to itself or the door or the closeability of the door.

In this 'taut-band' doorcheck, the 'ball' can be thought of as quasihinged about the outer edge of the 'eyeleted' surface against which the ball is pulled with great force by the elastic or spring lines 42, which are no longer limited by the constraints of strength, thickness, material, texture etc. imposed by the requirements of the pendulous doorcheck.

Nevertheless, a circular fabric-covered elastic is the preferred material for this demanding role, which can be efficiently and elegantly performed in so many ways obvious to the person skilled in the art.

In the illustration, 'hairband' technology is used with a simple bent metal housing 68, and is combined with the anchor point on the ball 40 of the pull-cord 64 at the knot or clip 67. The holes in the housing (which might usefully be fabricated from perforated metal to avoid all machining except cutting and bending) are shrouded to avoid fretting of the cords and lines, using conventional eyeletting materials.

The use of perforated metal would facilitate the use of simple pivotted turnbuttonsto clamp the pullcord to the housing whilst deflecting the ball, thus de-activating the door-check for as long as may be required. A cover can readily be provided and fixed on this assembly making use of folded sides on the housing, not shown in the illustration. Such a covered assembly, working efficiently through a conventional pull-cord should satisfy the sternest critic of 'stri ng-and-elastic-band' technology.

Although two tiny screws into the surface of the door at or near the top of the door would suffice to hold this assembly securely, self-adhesive mounting boards or hook-and-loop fasteners would be equally effective without the necessity to pierce the door's surface. Whatever method was adopted would have to have the inbuilt accuracy of remounting that would enable an unskilled person to make a proper job of it-a task well within the scope of the unaided person skilled in the art.

Effective as these devices are, they do not protect a small child at all from the equal dangers to the hands presented by the other end of the door: the hinge side, with its terrifying shearing/crushing abutment with the closure bead, and-especially with rising-butt hinges-the gap that can arise at the hingepin side. The solutions are simple and fairly obvious to someone tackling the more recognizable dangers of the opening side, therefore required material in this specification even if not claimable; they are proffered in that spirit. Keeping the child's hand out of the danger zone is the main aim, and this is effectively accomplished by mounting a towel rail vertically as a handrail on the closure bead at both sides of the doorway, as shown in Figure 16.

Also shown is a vertical circuit bead or dowel 152, mounted concentrically with the hinge pin by means of simple brackets fixed to the end of the door. The toddling child will grasp the projecting handrail for support rather than lean against the door frame.

And support is often needed at the most dangerous doors of all: those with a step at a house entrance, where the door is likely to be very heavy, and to be subject to the sudden through-draught arising from the opening of another external door. Should it be objected that the door opening is already guarded at the opening side by the doorcheck, then it must be remembered that though the device may be 100% reliable, human beings are not. Even a thoughtfull door-closer may have failed to look carefully for a child about to appear round a corner! Finally it needs to be emphasised that the doorcheck not only reduces danger to children, and frail or disabled persons to a lesser extent, but also protects property against the violent shock that often occurs from heavy doors slammed shut by strong currents of air, often including the breaking of glass in glazed doors.And there is the minor but cumulatively valuable facility of keeping (say) a bedroom door slightly ajar for the sake of ventilation and/or child monitoring, without either the annoyance of the door rattling the bolt on the striking plate, or inconsiderately closing completely, and yet retaining total freedom to use all the facilities of the door with no more inconvenience than the occasional need to manipulate a doorcheck ball by loop, tassel or pull-cord.

The great advantages of the doorstop and the doorcheck are that each is inexpensive and easy to manufacture, even in the more elegant and elaborate forms. They are easy to fit, reliable, and free from the need for significant maintenance.

Neither the doorstop, nor the doorcheck in any of its forms, interferes with any normal use of a door.

It is, of course, to be appreciated that many modifications may be made in relation to both the doorstop and the doorcheck. The doorstop may be formed of other than sponge rubber balls: in particular, they may be inflated bladders, possibly connected by an inflatable tube capable of filling any likely door-to-floor gap and therefore rendering unnecessary any auxiliary gap filler as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4; the balls may be connected together other than with elastic cord: in particular they may be joined by a flat spring tending to wind up and pull the balls together-in which case their shape is more likely to resemble flanged bobbins.

Particularly in connection with the door-check, the balls may be replaced by any suitable member.

There is no shape that is either particularly specified, prescribed or ruled out, whether homogeneous or composite: it is obvious that careful research would reveal a number of combinations of materials, shape, size, finish etc.

that would provide the optimum characteristics, especially of shock, compression and rebound.

A natural opinion to form when engaged in this work is that it would be a good idea to incorporate the ideas and principle of the doorcheck in standard door furniture. A little consideration of why the need arose in the first place would show that the reasoning is not only fallacious, but if acted upon, would increase the danger from thoughtless i.e.

habitual, human behaviour in connection with the negotiation of doors, though it would have a beneficial effect on the costs of damage to property: overriding of the protective function would rapidly become as habitual and thoughtless as the prevalent behaviour that puts children at risk, and has led to the need for this invention. It is exactly the 'string-and-elastic' technology of the invention that (as actual experience shows clearly) prevents it use becoming habitual and thoughtless: Grandma, while recognising the need to protect her grandchildren, is continually exasperated by "that gadget" on the back door.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance, it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination offeatures hereinbefore mentioned, whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims (22)

1. Doorstop apparatus replacing wedges, comprising resilient deformable stop means positioned either side of a hinged door, at the floor, and drawn together by a tensioned line passing under the door so that they impede its movement by creating friction between themselves and the floor whilst clamped to the door.

2. Doorstop apparatus as in Claim 1, holding the door firmly against normal forces tending to move it, whilst allowing instant adjustment to a new position in either direction by pulling the appropriate stop means.

3. Doorstop apparatus as in Claim 1 and Claim 2, wherein the line joining the stop means is adjustable in the length between them, for ease in application to the door and to accommodate different door thicknesses and door-to-floor gaps.

4. Doorstop apparatus as in Claim 2 and Claim 3 wherein the line itself is optionally elastic so as to provide at least some of the necessary tension and variation in length.

5. Doorstop apparatus as in Claim 1, where the material of the stop means is such that it can provide when compressed all the necessary tension required with a non-elastic line.

6. Doorstop apparatus as in all preceding claims, wherein at least one of the stop means is slideable along the line and is provided with a cord grip for maintaining the requisite tension when set.

7. Doorstop apparatus as in Claim 1 and Claim 6 wherein the inherent friction between line and slideable stop means provides all the necessary tensioning control.

8. Doorstop apparatus as in Claim 1 wherein both stop means have handling loops which may be formed from the line itself or may be of independent materials and construction.

9. Doorstop apparatus as in all preceding claims wherein a safety line joins the oppositely-placed stop means, passing round the edge of the door to permit freeing of a stopped door which has been mischievously or accidentally closed on a room which is empty or occupied e.g. by an infant, with the stop jammed behind the door.

10. Doorcheck apparatus wherein a resilient buffer mounted on a door (or similar object) or its frame, automatically prevents complete closure of the door by accidental or thoughtless slamming which might otherwise have caused injury to a child (or to the door and its framing), thoughtful deflection of the buffer being required before complete door closure can be effected, leaving the buffer 'cocked' to move into the protecting position when the door is next opened.

11. Doorcheck apparatus as in Claim 10 wherein the buffer is suspended on a tensioned line, and pulled up against an eyelet constraining it to the correct protection position between door and frame, yet allowing total freedom of tensioned deflection out of the gap, to allow complete closure of the door.

12. Doorcheck apparatus as in Claim 10 and Claim 11 wherein the deflected buffer may be pulled on its tensioned line to either side of the closing door to await the next opening, because the line is thin enough and flexible enough to pass through the normal labyrinthine closed gap between door and frame.

13. Doorcheck apparatus as in Claim 10 and Claim 11 and Claim 12 wherein an elastic line is wrapped around pegs within a short slender housing, to reduce the overall installed vertical length of the apparatus and to provide a small self-contained one-piece assembly needing only to be fixed or clipped to the door or frame by compact simple means.

14. Doorcheck apparatus as in Claim 13 wherein the elastic line is terminated at both ends by identical means of quick attachment to both buffer and housing, allowing the housing to be inverted if necessary to change the hand of the effective eyelet that is the line exit from the housing, where fixing arrangements prevent simple rotation of the housing about its vertical axis.

15. Doorcheck apparatus as in all preceding claims, wherein a tassel or loop extends below the buffer for use in deflecting it out of the door/frame gap, and may be part of the suspension itself by forming or retaining the compiementary member of the line-to-buffer attachment of Claim 14.

16. Doorcheckapparatus as in Claim 13 wherein the pegs used for wrapping the line are tubular fixing and spacing devices through which the housing may be permanently fixed to a surface or mounting plate by small screws.

17. Doorcheck apparatus as in Claim 10 and Claim 11 wherein a non-elastic line is either attached to a remote elastic line orto a spring-wound spooler which could act as the housing in certain installations.

18. Doorcheck apparatus as in Claim 10 and capable of being mounted in any attitude, in which the buffer is secured to the housing or mounting by a twin taut elastic fastening behaving like a spring hinge pulling the buffer towards the door gap, and in which the buffer is deflected out of the gap by a pull-cord when complete door closure is required.

19. Doorcheckapparatus as in Claim 18 wherein the pull-cord passes through a guiding eyelet permitting deflection of the cord in a fuli hemisphere of directions, but especially around the edge of the door through the labyrinthine gap between door and frame for the convenience of a user passing through the door from the doorcheck mounting side and wishing to close the door behind him/her without the relative trouble of pushing the pull-cord back through the closing gap.

20. Doorcheckas in Claim 18 and Claim 19 wherein a quick-acting cord clamp permits the buffer to be temporarily de-activated-but only with an effort, so as inhibit mischievous or accidental interference with the safety functions. Conversely, release is effected simply by pulling the cord.

21. Doorcheckas in Claim 10 wherein an especially simple suspension is particularly suited to top-hung doors or to coaminged doors such as those of automobiles-and to sliding doors as an alternative to the mechanically-mounted device U.S.

Patent Numbers 4,310,947 and 4,368,555--and in which the apparatus comprises two non-elastic lines and an elongated buffer suspended like a necklacependant from two eyelets with the cord-pulls acting as line stops, resting upon the eyelets, deflection of the buffer for door closure being accomplished by pulling upon either cord-pull until the door is closed, when, on release, gravity restores the buffer to its cocked position.

22. Doorcheck ancillaries necessary to protect the areas not protected by the basic doorcheck action, comprising a vertical handrail fitted to the door closure bead at the hinge edge of the door for grasping buy a child orfrail person negotiating the doorway-instead of grasping the door frame--especially at a stepped doorway (another is desirable though less essential at the opening edge of the door, for functional uniformity), together with a bead concentric with the hinge pin covering the gap between door and frame at the hinge itself, especially with rising-butt hinges.