GB2180297A

GB2180297A - Door buffer

Info

Publication number: GB2180297A
Application number: GB8621235A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Jerram
Original assignee: JCS PLASTIC DEV Ltd
Current assignee: JCS PLASTIC DEV Ltd
Priority date: 1985-09-06
Filing date: 1986-09-03
Publication date: 1987-03-25
Also published as: GB8621235D0; GB8522194D0

Abstract

A buffer for delaying closure of a door includes a plunger (18, Fig. 1) having a semi-spherical outer end and being slidingly sealingly fitted in a housing (10) such that the plunger may be wholly contained therein, or may extend therefrom to be engaged by a closing door. The plunger (18) is biassed out of the housing (10) by a spring (30) which also assists door opening. Movement-damping air is forced from the housing (10) through a conical port (32) and passages (38,40). The buffer may be part (60, Fig. 2) of a hinge whose pin (72) is removable to allow spacers (70) to be moved to above or below a central lug (64) to adjust door height. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for use particularly with doors This invention is concerned with apparatus for use with members closable in fixtures, and is particularly concerned with apparatus for delaying closure of a door together with apparatus for hingedly mounting a door.

When a door is closed it is unfortunately easy for a person, very often a child, to have fingers trapped between the door and the door frame, and this can become more of a problem where doors are inadvertently closed by wind and the like and where doors are fitted with automatic closing arrangements.

Also inadvertent closing of a door can, depending on the type of door lock used, result in a person being accidentally locked out of a building. A further problem with doors is the rattling of a door by wind or draughts when the door is not properly fitted.

Also problems can arise when a carpet is fitted below a door in that the height of the carpet may make it necessary to reduce the length of the door. This is normally presently achieved by removing the door from its frame and removing a required amount of material from the bottom of the door. However, due to the construction of certain doors, this is not an easy task for the nonskilled man to carry out and often the appearance of a door is affected.

Preferably the movable means comprises a plunger provided with a peripheral seal, for example an O-ring, to sealingly engage against an inner wall of the housing.

Preferably also the biassing means comprises a spring, for example a straight or conical spring, extending between an inner end of the plunger and the opposed end wall of the housing.

The air passage means may comprise a through aperture formed in the opposed end wall of the housing and communicating with a groove formed on an external surface of the housing to extend between the end wall aperture and said one end wall of the housing.

Preferably the second hinge part is formed with two of the projections spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the through apertures, and the first hinge part is formed with a single one of the projections for location between the spaced projections of the second hinge part and alignment of the respective through apertures. The adjustment means may comprise one or more spacers for mounting on the pin between the projection of the first hinge part and each of the projections of the second hinge part.

Preferably also the second hinge part mounts apparatus for delaying closure of the member as described in any of the four paragraphs preceding the previous two paragraphs.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a part sectional elevation through an apparatus for delaying closure of a door according to the invention; and Fig. 2 is a front view of a hinge apparatus according to the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the apparatus comprises a housing 10 of circular cross section having an internal cavity 12 which is open at one end 14, the housing 10 at the open end 14 being formed with a laterally extending mounting flange 16.

Within the cavity 12 there is movably mounted a plunger 18 which is formed with a semi-spherical outer end 20 and a planar inner end 22. Intermediate its ends, the plunger is formed with an annular groove 24 within which is located a seal in the form of an 0ring 26. Between the inner end 22 of the plunger 18 and an end wall 28 of the housing 10, there is located biassing means in the form of a spring 30, which may for example be a straight or conical spring.

The end wall 28 is formed with a through aperture in the form of a port 32 which is of substantially conical shape converging from a larger opening 34 on the inner face of the end wall 28 to a narrower opening 36 at an outer face of the end wall 28. On its outer surface the housing 10 is formed with a groove 38 which extends from the port 32 substantially radially across the end wall 28 and then longitudinally of the housing 10 to the flange 16 where the groove 38 joins with the through hole 40.

In use, the apparatus is mounted in a door frame with the front face 42 of the flange 16 flush with the outer surface of the door frame.

The apparatus is so positioned that a door in its closed position will locate at least over the open end 14 of the housing 10. The plunger 18 is normally biassed by the spring 30 to an outermost position as shown in Fig. 1 where the plunger 18 extends beyond the front face 42 of the flange 16. When the door is moved towards its closed position, the door engages against the end 20 of the plunger 18 and the apparatus acts as a damper. The door is moved against the biassing force of the spring 30 and simultaneously a large volume of air in the cavity 12 between the plunger 18 and the end wall 28 is forced through the relatively small port 32 to escape by means of the groove 38 and the hole 40 to the atmosphere.The closing of the door is therefore delayed and in its closed position the spring 30 urges the plunger 18 against the door so as to take up any loose fitting of the door and prevent any rattling. When the door is unlatched to be opened, the biassing force of the spring 30 assists in the opening of the door and air can re-enter the cavity 12 through the opening 40, the groove 38, and the port 32.

There is therefore provided an apparatus which prevents slamming of a door and the problems associated therewith, delays accidental closure of a door and helps to avoid locking out, prevents rattling of a badly fitted door, and also assists in opening of a door.

The latter is convenient when a person's hands are occupied and an elbow can be used to unlatch the door. It is also convenient for handicapped persons as there is no need to grip the door handle. The apparatus is also easy and inexpensive to manufacture, is silent in operation, and is substantially maintenancefree. Also the apparatus can be fitted by a non-skilled person.

Referring to Fig. 2, a door hinge comprises a first part 50 formed along one longitudinal edge with a projecting lug 52 at each longitudinal end,-the lugs 52 each extending inwardly over a part of the length of the hinge part 50 so as to define a spacing therebetween. Each of the lugs 52 has a through aperture 54 and at each outer end the aperture 54 has an enlarged diameter section 56. The hinge part 50 is provided with mounting holes 58 for receiving screws or the like to mount the hinge part 50 on a door frame.

Also mounted on the hinge part 50 is an apparatus 60 for delaying closure of a door of the type described hereinbefore with reference to Fig. 1.

A second hinge part 62 is provided for mounting on a door and has a single projecting lug 64 located on a longitudinal edge and substantially centrally thereof. The length of the lug 64 is less than the spacing between the lugs. 52 of the hinge part 50. The lug 64 has a through aperture 66 and the hinge part 62 is also provided with through apertures 68 for receiving screws or the like for mounting on the door.

When the hinge parts 50, 62 are to be fitted together, the lug 64 is located between the lugs 52 such that the apertures 54 are aligned with the aperture 66. When the top and bottom edges of the hinge part 62 are aligned with the corresponding edges of the hinge part 50, a spacing is defined between the lug 64 and each of the lugs 52 and each spacing is filled by providing a plurality of spacers 70, preferably formed of plastics material or metal, having an annular form.A pin 72 provided at one end with an enlarged head 74 is introduced to the lug 52 which is uppermost in use and extends through the aperture 54 in the lug 52, the spacers 70 between the first lug 52 and the lug 64, the aperture 66 of the lugs 64, the spacers 70 between the lug 64 and the other lug 52, and the aperture 54 of the other lug 52 until the head 74 seats in the enlarged diameter part 56 of the uppermost lug 52.

When the door is required to be raised relative to the frame, for example to take into account the fitting of a carpet below the door, the pin 72 can be removed to enable the hinge parts 50, 62 to be disconnected. If one of the spacers 70 is then removed from the location between the lug 64 and the uppermost lug 52 to be introduced into the spacing between the lug 64 and the lowermost lug 52, when the pin 72 was reintroduced, this arrangement would raise the hinge part 62 and thus the door relative to the hinge part 50, and thus the door frame. Consequently, before so refitting, the required amount of material may be taken off the top edge of the door leaving the bottom edge factory machined. It will be appreciated that the amount of adjustment can be varied depending on the number of spacers 70 used.

There is therefore provided a simple and easy to use door hinge. The hinge is nonhanded and can be reversed as necessary with the pin being retained as desired by either of the lugs 52. It will be appreciated that the hinge can be used without the apparatus for delaying closure of the door as appropriate. It will also of course be appreciated that the apparatus for delaying closure of the door need not be used with the type of hinge described.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example the configuration of the plunger and housing may differ from that described and shown and also the biassing arrangement used and the air passage configuration may differ from that described and shown. The hinge parts of the door hinge may be made of plastics material or metal and can be adapted to be fitted to the door and door frame by another suitable arrangement.

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 of features hereinbefore referred to whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. Apparatus for delaying closure of a member in a fixture, the apparatus comprising a housing, means located in the housing for movement between an outer position wherein the movable means extends beyond an end wall of the housing, and an inner position wherein the movable means does not extend beyond said one end wall, means biassing the movable means to the outer position, and means enabling movement of a fluid into and out of the housing from a space therein defined between the movable means and an opposed end wall of the housing, the apparatus being adapted to be mounted in association with the fixture, whereby the movable means in the outer position can be engaged by the open member when closing, and the biassing means, when the movable means is in the inner position with the member closed, can assist in opening the member when the latter is unlatched.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the movable means comprises a plunger with a peripheral seal, to sealingly engage against an inner wall of the housing.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the seal is an O-ring.

4. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, in which the biassing means comprises a spring extending between an inner end of the plunger and the opposed end wall of the housing.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, in which the spring is a straight spring.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4, in which the spring is a conical spring.

7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which the means enabling fluid movement comprise air passage means in the form of a through aperture formed in the opposed end wall of the housing and communicating with a groove formed on an external surface of the housing to extend between the end wall aperture and said one end wall of the housing.

8. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in which at least a part of the face of the movable means furthest from the biassing means is rounded.

9. Apparatus for hingedly mounting a member on a fixture, the apparatus comprising a first hinge part for mounting on the member and a second hinge part for mounting on the fixture, each of the first and second parts having at least one projection formed with a through aperture, the respective projections being complementary to one another so as to enable alignment of the through apertures, a pin being provided for engagement in the aligned apertures to connect the hinge parts together, and means being removably locatable on the hinge pin between the projections to adjust the relative positions of the hinge parts and thus the position of the member relative to the fixture.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, in which the second hinge part is formed with two of the projections spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the through apertures, and the first hinge part is formed with a single one of the projections for location between the spaced projections of the second hinge part and alignment of the respective through apertures.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, in which the adjustment means comprises one or more spacers for mounting on the pin between the projection of the first hinge part and each of the projections of the second hinge part.

12. Apparatus according to any of claims 9 to 11, in which the second hinge part mounts apparatus for delaying closure of the member according to any of claims 1 to 8.

13. Apparatus for delaying closure of a member in a fixture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings.

14. Apparatus for hingedly mounting a member on a fixture, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

15. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.