GB2494654A - Door furniture item with gasket adhered to fixing plate prior to secure screw fastening - Google Patents

Abstract

Door furniture item, such as a door knocker with rotatable knocker arm, comprising fixing plate 4 fastened to door surface with first gasket 5 located between fixing plate and door surface, and outer plate 2 snap-fitted to secured fixing plate using mutually-engaging formations 12, wherein the gasket has adhesive coatings on both sides and is adhered to fixing plate and door surface prior to fastening to door surface, allowing for minor re-alignment prior to permanent screw fastening. The fixing plate may fit within a hollow portion of outer plate. Second gasket 6 with adhesive coatings on both sides may be located around the periphery of hollow plate 20 and between the outer plate and door surface with outer peripheral edge 19 of the same shape and size as outer plate. Inter-engaging bed 14 and cup 17 locating features may enable outer plate, comprising insert 7 and outer shell 8, to be correctly positioned prior to clip attachment to fixing plate. The gaskets may comprise a sheet of closed-cell foam. The fixing means are not visible after knocker has been attached. The door furniture item may also be a door handle or window frame, catch or panel.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS TO DOOR FURNITURE

The present invention relates to door furniture such as door knockers, door handles and other decorative items.

Herein and in the claims appended hereto, the term door furniture' should be understood to include furniture suitable for attachment to window frames instead of or in addition to doors. The term should therefore be interpreted to include, inter alla, window catches and the like and when the word door' is used it should be interpreted to extend to window frames, panels and similar joinery.

Door furniture is conventionally manufactured using a variety of pressing or casting processes which produce an item that is hollow underneath. The item is then usually fixed to a door or similar by drilling through the door and fixing the item using bolts. This however can lead to problems because drilling into or through a door substrate, or even using screws to fix the item penetrates the outer door or window membrane and therefore creates an aperture down which water can penetrate inside the door or window and cause damage to the interior structure. Such damage may occur regardless of the materials of which the door is made, for example wood, plastics, aluminium, or a composite. In more modern door structures, polystyrene or other plastics foam is used as an infill and these are particularly susceptible to water damage and rotting. In addition, conventional silicone sealants that could be used to prevent water penetration through the apertures made for the fixing of door furniture are also unsuitable for use in most cases as most of these sealants attack the metals of the furniture, in particular those made of brass which is the most commonly used metal for such furniture.

In WO 2008/149071 is disclosed an item of door furniture comprising a means for the attachment of the item to a door wherein a seal surrounds these means and is compressed between the item and the surface of the door.

This prevents water ingress between the door furniture and the door.

In GB 2406358 is disclosed a door knocker designed to be attached to a door by a fixing means that is not visible after the door knocker has been attached to the door. To this end, the knocker comprises a door fixture that is adapted to be fastened to the surface of a door and a knocker plate that is adapted to be attached to the door fixture after it has been attached to the door by mutually engaging elements in the form of pins and resilient clips.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an item of door furniture that can be fixed to a door without exposing the door to the risk of water penetration and that is attached to a door using a fixing means that is not visible after the item has been so attached.

According to the present invention there is provided a door furniture item comprising a fixing plate adapted to be secured to a surface of a door by one or more fasteners, an outer plate adapted to be secured to the fixing plate, and a first gasket adapted to locate between the fixing plate and the surface of the door, the fixing plate and the outer plate comprising mutually engaging snap-fit formations whereby the outer plate is secured to the fixing plate after the fixing plate has been secured to the surface of the door, and the gasket comprising adhesive coatings on both sides thereof whereby it is adhered to the fixing plate on one side and is adapted to adhere to the surface of the door on its other side prior to securement of the fixing plate to the door by the fastener or fasteners.

On advantage of the door furniture item over the prior art is that it facilitates securement of the fixing plate to the door prior to a more permanent attachment by the fastener or fasteners. This facilitates an exact placement of the item of door furniture in a desired position and permits slight adjustments to be made prior to the more permanent fitment by the fastener or fasteners.

Preferably, the fixing plate fits within a hollow portion of an inner face of the outer plate. The outer plate thereby covers the periphery of the fixing plate. Preferably also, a second gasket is provided that locates between the outer plate and the surface of the door. The second gasket preferably locates around the periphery of the hollow portion.

Preferably also, the second gasket comprises adhesive coatings on both sides thereof whereby it is adhered to the outer plate on one side and is adapted to adhere to the surface of the door on its other side when the outer plate is snap-fitted to the fixing plate.

Preferably also, the second gasket has an outer peripheral edge of the same shape and size as a peripheral edge of the outer plate.

Preferably also, the fixing plate and the outer plate define inter-engaging locating features to enable the outer plate to be correctly positioned relative to the fixing plate prior to the snap-fitment of the outer plate to the fixing plate.

Preferably also, the inter-engaging locating features comprise a bead formation and a cup into which the bead formation locates, the bead formation being defined by the fixing plate and the cup being defined by the outer plate or vice versa.

Preferably also, the outer plate comprises insert and an outer shell, the insert comprising the snap-fit formation or formations.

Preferably also, the first gasket and second gaskets each comprise a sheet of closed-cell foam.

Other preferred but non-essential features of the invention are described in the dependent claims appended hereto.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a front view of an item of door furniture in accordance with the present invention in the form of a door knocker; Figs. 2 and 3 are cross-sections along the lines 11-11 and 111-111 respectively in Fig. 1 but without first and second gaskets forming part of the item being shown; Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view from the rear and one side of the door knocker shown in Figs. 1 to 3 but including the gaskets; Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a fixing plate forming part of the door knocker; and Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of an insert forming part of an outer plate of the door knocker.

The example of the present invention described below is for an item of door furniture in the form of a door knocker. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention relates not only to door knockers but to other items of door furniture such as door handles, door plates, escutcheons and the like.

As shown in the drawings, a door knocker 1 comprises an outer plate 2 to which is fitted a rotatable knocker arm 3, a fixing plate 4 and first and second gaskets j and 6 respectively. The outer plate 2 comprises an insert 7 and an outer shell 8. The outer shell 8 is preferably a metal casting or pressing whereas the insert 7 is made of a resilient plastics material but the two conform closely in shape to one another and are firmly bonded together so that outer shell 7, together with the knocker arm 3, defines the outer visible surface of the knocker 1 and the insert 7 defines an inner face 9 which is adapted to lie adjacent a surface of the door to which the knocker 1 is to be attached.

As shown in Fig. 5, the fixing plate 4 is also made of a resilient plastics material and defines at least one but preferably two holes 10 with countersinkings to enable it to be secured to a door surface by fasteners such as, for example, screws. Preferably, the plate 4 has a portion ii that comprises a rectangle from which the corners have been cut across. Along a substantial portion of three sides of the rectangle defining the portion 11 are projecting flanges 12. The fourth side of the rectangle is formed with a tail 13 at the base of which is a locating feature 14 in the form of a bead. The fixing plate 4 is designed to fit within a hollow central portion 15 of the face 9 of the insert 7 and edges of the portion 15 that lie adjacent the flanges 12 are also provided with flanges i6. The flanges 12 and 16 comprise mutually engaging snap-fit formations, the flanges 12 on the fixing plate 4 being capable of snap-fitting behind the flanges 16 on the insert 7 to retain the insert 7 within the hollow portion 15 of the insert 7. The portion 15 is also provided with a locating feature 17 that is of a complementary shape to the feature 13 and in this embodiment is therefore in the form of a dish. In another embodiment, the dish i7 may be formed in the fixing plate 4 and bead 14 may be defined by the insert 7.

It will be appreciated that in other embodiments of the invention the mutually engaging snap-fit formations may take forms other than the inter-engaging flanges 12 and 16. Similarly, the inter-engaging locating features 14 and 17 may be of different shapes.

The gaskets and 6 are provided in order to provide a prevent water seeping behind the knocker 1 when use. They are therefore made of a material that does not soak up water, for example a closed-cell foam. The gasket is adapted to locate between the fixing plate s and the surface of the door and the gasket 6 is adapted to locate between the outer plate 2 and the surface of the door outside the periphery of the fixing plate. The gasket 5 has a shape that conforms to the portion 11 of the fixing plate 5 and one side is adhered thereto via an adhesive coating. The other side iS of the gasket 5 is also provided with an adhesive coating in order that it can adhere to the surface of a door prior to securement of the fixing plate to the door by the fasteners. This side i8 of the gasket may be protected prior to fitment of the knocker i by a sheet of release paper or similar protective covering (not shown).

Similarly, the gasket 6 comprises adhesive coatings on both sides and one side is adhered to the face 9 of the insert 7 around the periphery of the hollow portion 14. Preferably, the gasket 6 has an outer peripheral edge 9 of the same shape and size as a peripheral edge or rim 20 of the shell 8 of the outer plate 2 and its other side 21 is adapted to adhere to the surface of the door when the outer plate 2 is snap-fitted to the fixing plate 4. Again, the side 21 of the gasket 6 may be protected prior to fitment of tile knocker 1 by a sheet of release paper or similar protective covering (not shown).

In order to fit the knocker 1 to a door or other suitable surface, the fixing plate 4 is fitted to the surface first. When it has been decided where the knocker is to be located, the release paper is peeled off the side 18 of the gasket secured to the fixing plate 4 and the plate 4 is then adhered to the surface. The plate 4 is then secured more firmly to the surface by using fasteners such as screws (not shown) which locate through the holes 10. This compresses the gasket s and provides a seal around the holes in the surface made by the fastening screws thereby preventing the ingress of moisture.

Once this has been done, the outer plate 2 can be snap-filled to the fixing plate 4. To accomplish this, the release paper is first peeled off the side 21 of the gasket 6 or at least peeled away from the dish formation 17. This formation 17 is then located over the bead formation 14 formed on the fixing plate 4. This ensures that the outer plate 2 is correctly positioned with regard to the fixing plate 4. While retaining the outer plate 2 in this position, the rest of the release paper can then be peeled away from the side 21 of the gasket 6 so that the outer plate 2 can adhere to the surface, Pressure is then be applied to the outer surface of the outer plate 2 to snap-fit the insert 7 to the fixing plate 4 to make the connection of the plate 2 to the door more secure. This compresses the gasket 6, which as it has an outer peripheral edge 19 of the same shape and size as a peripheral edge or rim 20 of the shell 8 of the outer plate 2, provides a seal preventing moisture seeping between the knocker i and the surface to which it is attached. The knocker i has now been fitted. If it is ever desired to remove the knocker 1 from the surface, the gasket 6 spaces the edge or rim 20 of the shell 8 slightly away from the door surface so that a lever can be inserted between the outer plate 2 and the surface so that the outer plate 2 can be levered off the fixing plate 4. The fixing plate can then be removed from the surface.

While the embodiment of present invention described above relates to a door knocker, it will be appreciated that the knocker arm 3 and outer plate 2 could be adapted to provide other forms of door furniture as mentioned above. One advantage of such door furniture items over the prior art is that they facilitates securernent of the fixing plate 4 to the door prior to a more permanent attachment by the fastener or fasteners. This facilitates an exact placement of the item and permits slight adjustments to be made prior to the more permanent fitment by the fastener or fasteners. In addition, water penetration into doors through the holes made by the fasteners is prevented or at least snbstantially mitigated.

Claims (1)

1. <claim-text>CLAIMS1. A door furniture item comprising a fixing plate adapted to be secured to a surface of a door by one or more fasteners, an outer plate adapted to be secured to the fixing plate, and a first gasket adapted to locate between the fixing plate and the surface of the door, the fixing plate and the outer plate comprising mutually engaging snap-fit formations whereby the outer plate is secured to the fixing plate after the fixing plate has been secured to the surface of the door, and the gasket comprising adhesive coatings on both sides thereof whereby it is adhered to the fixing plate on one side and is adapted to adhere to the surface of the door on its other side prior to securement of the fixing plate to the door by the fastener or fasteners.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. A door furniture item as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a second gasket is provided that locates between tile outer plate and the surface of the door.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. A door furniture item as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the second gasket comprises adhesive coatings on both sides thereof whereby it is adhered to the outer plate on one side and is adapted to adhere to the surface of the door on its other side when the outer plate is snap-fitted to the fixing plate.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. A door furniture item as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the second gasket has an outer peripheral edge of the same shape and size as a peripheral edge of the outer plate.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. A door furniture item as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the fixing plate fits within a hollow portion of an inner face of the outer plate.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. A door furniture item as claimed in Claim 5 when dependent on any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the second gasket is located around the periphery of the hollow portion.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. A door furniture item as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the fixing plate and the outer plate define inter-engaging locating features to enable the outer plate to be correctly positioned relative to the fixing plate prior to the snap-fitment of the outer plate to the fixing plate.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. A door furniture item as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the inter-engaging locating features comprise a bead formation and a cup into which the bead formation locates, the bead formation being defined by the fixing plate and the cup being defined by the outer plate or vice versa.</claim-text> <claim-text>9. A door furniture item as claimed in any of Claims i to 8, wherein the outer plate comprises insert and an outer shell, the insert comprising the snap-fit formation or formations.</claim-text> <claim-text>10. A door furniture item as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the first gasket and second gaskets each comprise a sheet of closed-cell foam.</claim-text> <claim-text>11. A door furniture item as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 10, that comprises a door knocker with a rotatable knocker arm fitted to the outer plate.</claim-text> <claim-text>12. A door furniture item substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.</claim-text>