GB2119838A

GB2119838A - Safety guard for a hinged door

Info

Publication number: GB2119838A
Application number: GB08212249A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Edward Marks
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-04-28
Filing date: 1982-04-28
Publication date: 1983-11-23

Abstract

A guard 20 (30, 40, 45) for attachment between the hinged side of a door 15 and its surround 10 to prevent fingers being trapped when the door is closed comprises strips 21, 22, 25, 26, (or 46, 47) hingedly connected together so that they are transversely articulated or a transversely flexible strip (30, 40). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Safety guard for a hinged door or the like This invention relates to a safety guard for a hinged door or like closure means.

It is easily possible for a person to stand by an open hinged door with his hand, especially fingers, in the open gap between the door and the door frame on the hinge side of the door, and for the door to be accidentally closed and crush that person's hand. The momentum of the closing door and the leverage involved can make such an accident both painful and damaging. The person may often be a young child.

It is the object of the invention to provide a guard which can be fitted to a door to protect against such accidents.

According to the invention there is provided a guard for the hinge side of a door or the like, hereinafter referred to as a door, adapted to be fitted between the door and its fixed surround whereby to enclose the space which would otherwise be exposed when the door is open between that side of the door and that part of the surround which are connected by the hinge or hinges and which butt together when the door is closed; which guard comprises an elongate strip member having a portion adjacent one long edge of the strip adapted to be attached to the door and a portion adjacent the other long edge of the strip adapted to be attached to the surround, the strip member being transversely articulated or flexible such that, when fitted between the door and its surround as aforesaid, the door can be normally opened and closed.Preferably the member is resistant to being held in the said space during closure of the door.

The invention also provides a door or like closure means hinged to a fixed surround, wherein the hinged side of the door is provided with a guard as set out above, one long edge of the strip being attached to the door and the other long edge of the strip being attached to the surround whereby to enclose the space which would otherwise be exposed when the door is open between that side of the door and that part of the surround which are hinged together and which butt together when the door is closed.

The strip member may comprise a plurality of stiff narrow strips hinged together along adjacent long edges. The two end strips may comprise the two portions of the strip member which are adapted to be attached to the door and to the door surround, and may accordingly be provided with screw holes or other fastening means. The individual narrow strips may suitably be made of metal, for example aluminium, or of plastics.

An alternative strip member may consist of a single flexible strip. Such a strip may suitably be made of rubber, plastics or canvas, and may be provided with reinforced or thickened long edges to strengthen the portions adapted to be attached to the door and to the surround. The strip may be of uniform transverse cross-section at all points along its length, except in respect of screw holes or other spaced fastening means, and accordingly a rubber or plastics strip can conveniently be manufactured by moulding or by extrusion followed by the addition of such screw holes or other fastening means.

A unitary flexible strip made of rubber, plastics, or thin metal may also be resilient in flexure.

Depending on the relaxed shape of the guard and the locations of its points of attachment to the door and to the surround, the springiness of the strip may prevent its retention in the aforesaid space when the door is closed and may also be effective to tend to hold the door in either an open or a closed position.

Where the strip member is provided with screw holes for attaching the long edge portions to the door and to the surround, the holes may be slotted to allow for longitudinal adjustment of the position of the guard. The holes may be countersunk to accommodate countersunk screw heads. A clamping bar may be provided, particularly in the case of a unitary flexible strip member, to overlie the long edge portion of the strip; the strip may then be attached to the door or to the surround by being gripped between the door or surround and the clamping bar, in addition to being held by any screws, nails or other fastening means passing through both the clamping bar and the edge of the strip.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:~ Figure 1 is a partial plan view of a hinged guard attached to the door and to the frame of a domestic interior doorway, showing the door and the guard twice, in the fully open and in the closed positions, in order to illustrate the articulation of the guard; Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 showing an alternative flexible guard; Figure 3 is an end elevation of another flexible guard; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a further embodiment of a guard according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail view of the guard of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail view of a modification of the guard of Figures 4 and 5.

In Figures 1 and 2, a vertical post 10 which is part of a door frame is fixed to one end of an internal wall 11 of a building. One side of the post 10 is provided with a rebate 12 running the height of the door frame into which the door 1 5 fits when closed. The door is mounted on upper and lower hinges 16 to swing open and closed about a vertical axis in the usual manner.

The door hung in the door frame in this conventional way can trap fingers between the faces of the rebate 12 and the side 1 7 of the door which enters the rebate on closing.

In Figure 1 a guard 20 in accordance with the invention extends substantially the full height of the doorway and covers the gap between the side 17 of the door and the rebate 12.

The guard 20 consists of four strips of rigid material, such as aluminium alloy, each of a length equal to the full height of the doorway, with their adjacent long edges in abutment and connected together by three hinges. Specifically, two narrow outer strips 21, 22 are respectively screwed to the inner face of the door (the face which partially enters the rebate 12 in the frame 10 when the door is closed) and to the frame 10 within the doorway but beyond the rebate 12.

Hinges 23, 24 connect the narrow strips 21, 22 respectively to wider strips 25, 26, which are in turn connected together by hinge 27.

The lengths of the wider strips 25, 26 and the locations of the narrow strips 21, 22 fixed to the door and frame respectively are such that, when the door is fully open, hinge 27 lies close to the edge of the door between its inner face and its side 17.

The geometry of the structure is such that the wider intermediate strips 25, 26 inevitably move away from the rebate 12 as the door is closed.

In Figure 2 a flexible guard 30 replaces the hinged guard 20, and similarly extends the full height of the doorway and covers the gap between the side 17 of the door and the rebate 12. One long edge of the guard strip is screwed to the door frame 10 by spaced apart screws 31, whose heads are countersunk into a single continuous vertical clamping bar 32 overlying the edge of the strip. The other long edge of the strip is similarly fastened to the inner face of the door by screws 35 and clamping bar 36, except that the screw heads are not countersunk into the clamping bar.

The guard strip 30 tends to move away from the rebate 12 when the door is closed.

The strip 40 shown in Fig. 3 is of moulded rubber or plastics material and has thickened long edge portions for increased strength at the points of attachment to the door and to its frame. The edge portions 41 include countersunk screw holes 42. The two long edges are thickened on opposite faces of the strip, and the countersinking in each edge is from the raised face inwards, so that the strip can be attached to the door and frame as shown in Figure 2 with one edge portion 41 and the adjacent thin central web portion 43 flat against the frame, the web 43 extending directly towards the rebate 12 and the door 1 5, but the other edge portion 41 and adjacent part of the web 43 being turned under in order to lie flat against the inner face of the door.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the guard 45 consists of two strips 46. 47 of substantially rigid material, e.g., metal or plastics material, which are hingedly connected together as shown at 48. The relatively narrow strip 46 is secured, e.g., screwed to the post 10 of the door frame adjacent the rebate 12.

The strip 47 comprises a planar portion 49 and a marginal portion 50 which is so curved that the adjacent longitudinal edge 51 of the strip can remain in contact with the surface 15a of the door 1 5 even when the door is open as shown in broken lines in Figure 4. The longitudinal edge 51 of the strip 47 makes sliding contact with the surface 1 5a of the door and is maintained in contact therewith either by means of one or more wire guides 52, e.g., located adjacent the top and bottom edges of the door 1 5, which or each of which extends through an aperture 53 in the marginal portion 50 of the strip 47 and/or by means of one or more springs 54 (Figure 5) incorporated in the hinge 48 and serving to urge the strip 47 into engagement with the door 15.

In the modification shown in Figure 6 the or each aperture 53 is replaced by a slot 55 for receiving the wire guide 52, thereby enabling the hinges 16 to be of the rising butt type.

It can be seen that in each case the guard provides a barrier to the dangerous gap between the side 1 7 of the door and the rebate 12 which is effective from the inner side of the door. It would also be possible to provide such a guard on the outer side of the door if it were considered desirable to prevent access to that gap through the narrow clearance between the edges of the door and of the frame adjacent the axis of the hinges 16.

Claims

1. A guard for the hinge side of a door, the guard comprising an elongate strip member having a portion adjacent one long edge of the strip member adapted to be attached to the door and a portion adjacent the other long edge of the strip member adapted to be attached to the door surround, the strip member being transversely articulated or flexible such that, when fitted between a door and its surround, the door can be normally opened and closed.

2. A guard according to claim 1, wherein the strip member comprises a plurality of stiff narrow strips hinged together along adjacent long edges.

3. A guard according to claim 2, having two end strips which comprise the two portions of the strip member which are adapted to be attached to a door and to a door surround; said two end strips being provided with screw holes or other fastening means.

4. A guard according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said strips are formed from metal or plastics material.

5. A guard according to claim 3 or 4, having at least two strips intermediate said end strips.

6. A guard according to claim 1, wherein said strip member comprises a single flexible strip.

7. A guard according to claim 6, wherein said flexible strip is made of rubber, plastics or canvas.

8. A guard according to claim 6 or 7, wherein said strip has reinforced or thickened long margins to strengthen the portions adapted to be attached to a door and its surround.

9. A guard according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said strip is of uniform transverse cross-section at all points along its length.

10. A guard according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein said strip is provided with screw holes or other fastening means spaced along the long margins thereof.

11. A guard according to any one of claims 6 to 10, and further comprising a clamping bar or bars for overlying one or both long margins of said strip.

12. A guard according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein said strip is a unitary flexible strip which is resilient in flexure.

13. A guard according to claim 1, wherein the strip member comprises two substantially rigid strips which are hingedly connected together along adjacent long edges, one of said strips having screw holes or other fastening means whereby it can be secured to a door surround and means being provided for urging or maintaining the other of said strips in sliding engagement with a door.

14. A guard according to claim 13, wherein said other strip comprises a planar portion and a marginal portion which is curved towards and terminates in a longitudinal edge in sliding engagement with the door when the guard is in use.

15. A guard according to claim 13 or 14, wherein said means comprises a wire guard attachable to a door with which said other strip makes sliding engagement.

16. A guard according to claim 15, wherein said other strip has an aperture therein through which said guide extends.

17. A guard according to claim 16, wherein said aperture is in the form of a slot to accommodate a door mounted on its surround by rising butt hinges.

18. A guard according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein said means comprises spring means.

19. A guard for the hinge side of a door, the guard being substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figures 4 and 5 or Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

20. A door or other closure when fitted with a guard according to any one of the preceding claims.