AU2004218625A1

AU2004218625A1 - A door or window closing means

Info

Publication number: AU2004218625A1
Application number: AU2004218625A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Brian Peter Bond
Original assignee: NORMA BOND
Current assignee: NORMA BOND
Priority date: 2003-10-07
Filing date: 2004-10-07
Publication date: 2005-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2024-10-07
Also published as: AU2004218625B2

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO:

LODGED:

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED:

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RELATED ART: NAME OF APPLICANT: ACTUAL INVENTOR: ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: INVENTION TITLE: Norma Beatrice Carmen Bond Brian Peter Bond LORD AND COMPANY, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA.

A DOOR CLOSING MEANS AND ASSOCIATED CORNER STAKE DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO'S: AUSTRALIAN PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION NUMBER 2003905440 FILED ON 7 OCTOBER 2003 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: o TITLE

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_A DOOR CLOSING MEANS AND ASSOCIATED CORNER STAKE 0 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a corner stake and door closing means, particularly ,O suited to a sliding screen door or window.

0 oO o 10 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION It is known to assemble door and window frames by mounting four outer side portions in a rectangular configuration. Adjoining side portions are connected by corner stakes, which act to hold the side portions in a right angled relative configuration. The corner stakes are located within a channel in each side portion.

Known corner stakes comprise a pair of inner support arms disposed substantially at right angles, and a pair of outer support arms also disposed substantially at right angles. The inner support arms act against inner walls of the channels, and the outer support arms act against outer walls of the channels. The inner support arms are connected to the outer support arms by a diagonal cross member extending from the point of connection of the inner arms to the point of connection of the outer arms. A diagrammatic representation of a known corner stake is shown in Figure 1.

It is known to include a door closing means with a sliding door such as a sliding screen door. Known door closers include a weight which is suspended from a roller O attached to the rear of a door. The gravity force acting on the weight is transferred 0 through the roller to provide a lateral force on the door.

O In order to alter the rate at which the door is closed by the door closing means, it is necessary to alter the weight which is suspended. It is also considered desirable to locate the door closing means substantially within the door frame, however this has INO previously not been possible as the corner stake interferes with the operation of the I door closing means.

0 The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part some of the aforementioned disadvantages of previous door constructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a corner stake for relative positioning of adjoining side portions of a door or window, the corner stake comprising first and second outer arms which are arranged to engage respective outer portions of the side portions, first and second inner arms which are arranged to engage respective inner portions of the side portions, and a bracing means, the bracing means connecting the inner arms and the outer arms, wherein the bracing means connects to the first outer arm at a first location and to the second outer arm at a second location, the first and second locations being spaced apart, such that a hollow region is defined bounded at least in part by a portion of the first outer arm, a portion of the second outer arm, and a portion of the bracing means. Advantageously, this allows for the location of a door closing means within the hollow region.

O In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a door 0 closing means for a sliding door, the door closing means comprising a plurality of O rollers which are connected to the door and a flexible elongate member, the elongate 0member being arranged to connect at an outer end thereof to a fixed location and arranged to suspend a weight from an inner end thereof in order to provide a closing IND force, whereby the elongate member passes around at least one of the rollers so as to oO o rate at which the door closes by alteration of the number of rollers about which the elongate member passes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a prior art door stake; Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of a door stake in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of a door stake in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of a door stake in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of a door stake in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of the door stake of Figure 2 incorporating a door closing means in a first configuration; and Figure 7 is a cross sectional view of the door stake and closing means of Figure 6 in a second configuration.

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0DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS tf Referring to the Figures, there is shown in Figure 1 a prior art corner stake, as oo described above.

Figure 2 shows a corner stake 10. The corner stake 10 comprises a first outer arm 12 oand a second outer arm 14. The first and second outer arms 12, 14 are elongate, and extend from an outer corner 16 substantially at a right angle to each other.

The first and second outer arms 12, 14 have an outer elongate surface 18 and an inner elongate surface 20. The outer elongate surface 18 includes a plurality of teeth 22 arranged along the outer elongate surface 18. The teeth 22 extend across the outer surface 18 in a substantially transverse direction.

The first and second outer arms 12, 14 each have a transverse recess 23 extending inwardly of the outer surface 18 adjacent the outer corner 16.

A bracing means in the form of a cross member 24 extends between the first outer arm 12 and the second outer arm 14. The cross member 24 extends from a first location 26 approximately two thirds of the way along the first outer arm 12, measured from the outer corner 16, to a second location 28 approximately two thirds of the way along the second outer arm 14, measured from the outer corner 16. A substantially triangular hollow region 30 is thus defined between the cross member 24 and portions of the first and second outer arms 12, 14 adjacent the outer corner 16.

In the embodiment of Figure 2 the cross member 24 is bent at outer ends thereof so as to join the first and second outer arms 12, 14 substantially at right angles.

O The corner stake 10 further comprises a first inner armnn 32 and a second inner arm 34.

0 N The first and second inner arms 32, 34 are elongate, and extend from an inner corner O 36 substantially at a right angle to each other. The inner corner 36 is connected to the cross member 24 halfway between the first location 26 and the second location 28.

The first and second inner arms 32, 34 are parallel, respectively, to the first and N second outer arms 12, 14.

cThe first and second inner arms 32, 34 have an outer elongate surface 38 and an inner o elongate surface In use, the comer stake 10 is arranged to received adjoining side portions (not shown) of a door or window, such as a security screen door. Each side portion has a channel located within, the channel having an inner portion and an outer portion. The width of the channel is substantially identical to the distance between the outer surface 18 of the first outer arm 12 and the inner surface 40 of the first inner arm.

The first outer portion 12 and inner portion 32 are arranged to receive a first side portion, and the second outer portion 14 and inner portion 34 are arranged to receive a second side portion. The teeth 22 are arranged to engage with the outer portions of the channels, and the inner surfaces 40 of the inner portions 32, 34 are arranged to engage with the inner portions of the channels. An abrasive member (not shown) may be located within each recess 23 to further assist in the engagement of the side portions by the corner stake Figures 3, 4 and 5 show alternative embodiments of the corner stake of the present invention, with like numerals referring to like features. The embodiment of Figure 3 is similar to that of Figure 2, however the inner corner 36 is formed integrally with the cross member 24.

O In the embodiment of Figure 4, the bracing means is formed by two substantially 0 perpendicular bracing members 25, rather than a cross member 24. The bracing O members 25 extend from locations 26, 28 approximately half way along the first and second outer arms 12, 14, to the inner corner 36. The hollow region 30 is thus substantially square.

IN In the embodiment of Figure 5 the bracing means comprises two substantially 00 Ci perpendicular bracing members 25 and a diagonal member 27. The bracing members extend from locations 26, 28 at the outer ends of the first and second outer arms 12, 14 to respective outer ends of the first and second inner arms 32, 34. The diagonal member extends between the outer corner 16 and the inner corner 36. In the embodiment of Figure 5 there are thus two hollow regions The corner stake 10 may have a door closing means 50 associated therewith.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, there is shown a corner stake 10 as described herein above with reference to Figure 2. Within the hollow region 30 are mounted a plurality of rollers 52. Each roller is arranged to rotate about an axis perpendicular to a plane of a door within which it is mounted. Each roller 52 may include a groove about an outer circumference thereof.

The door closing means 50 includes a flexible elongate member such as a cord 54.

The cord 54 has an outer end which is mounted to a fixed external location, such as an upper track in which the door slides. The cord 54 has an inner end 56, from which a weight 58 is suspended. The weight 58 is sized so as to be freely moveable within a door frame.

O The cord 54 passes through the hollow region 30 of the corner stake 10, and passes

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0 around at least one of the rollers 52. The cord 54 engages with rollers about which it O passes by friction. In this way the gravity force supplied by the weight 58 is Otransferred through the rollers 52 to a lateral force on the door.

The rollers 52 are arranged to rotate about their axes, but include some resistance to INO rotation. In this way, a proportion of the force supplied by the weight 58 is used to overcome this resistance, rather than be transferred entirely into the lateral force. It 0 O will be appreciated that the more contact that exists between cord 54 and rollers 52, the greater resistance on the cord 54 and the smaller the lateral force on the door. In this way, the strength of the lateral force, and hence the speed at which the door closes, can be adjusted by altering the path of the cord 54. Figure 7 shows an arrangement of the cord 54 which results in a slower closing of the door than the arrangement shown in Figure 6.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

2. A corner stake as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bracing means extends at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the first and second outer arms.
3. A corner stake as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bracing means is formed by two substantially perpendicular members.
4. A corner stake as claimed in claim 3 wherein the bracing means further includes a diagonal member. A corner stake as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the outer arms include a plurality of teeth on an outer surface thereof.
6. A corner stake as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the outer arms include a recess arranged to receive an abrasive member. 0
7. A door closing means for a sliding door, the door closing means comprising a tV 5 plurality of rollers which are connected to the door and a flexible elongate member, o the elongate member being arranged to connect at an outer end thereof to a fixed location and arranged to suspend a weight from an inner end thereof in order to 0 o provide a closing force, whereby the elongate member passes around at least one of the rollers so as to impart the closing force to the door.
8. A door closing means as claimed in claim 7 wherein the door closing means comprises six rollers.
9. A corner stake as herein above described with reference to, and as shown on the accompanying drawings. A door closing means as herein above described with reference to, and as shown in, figures 6 and 7. DATED THIS 7 T" DAY OF OCTOBER 2004. Norma Beatrice Carmen Bond By her Patent Attorneys LORD AND COMPANY PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA.