"AN ASSEMBLY FOR USE AS A HANDLE, PEG OR THE LIKE"
THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an assembly for use as a handle, peg or the like. More particularly, the invention concerns such an assembly that can be customised by a purchaser.
In the past, customising articles such as door knobs and hanging pegs has involved decorating the surface of the article by means such as painting, engraving, enamelling and the like. These known means of decoration are not only time-consuming but also require a certain level of skill and are relatively expensive.
It is also apparent that such forms of customisation produce either a permanent effect or require fijrther steps, such as paint stripping, sanding or the like, to be taken to restore the surface of the article to its original form or to customise the surface again. These further steps are also time-consuming and require a certain level of care and skill.
An object of the present invention is to provide an alternative to the above-mentioned approaches for customisation and more particularly to provide an easier, quicker and non-permanent approach to the customisation of articles such as handles, pegs and the like.
Accordingly, the invention provides a customisable assembly for use as a handle, peg or the like, in which: the assembly is adapted to be secured to a structure to which the assembly is to be attached; the assembly defines a receptacle adapted to receive and retain a suitably dimensioned and configured removable display element; and the receptacle has a light transmitting portion through which a display element in the receptacle is visible.
In one embodiment of the invention, the assembly comprises a body portion adapted to be secured to the structure to which the assembly is to be attached and the light transmitting portion comprises a light transmitting cover member mounted on a surface of the body portion to define the said receptacle for the display element between the cover member and the said surface of the body portion.
Preferably, the cover member is detachably mounted on the body portion.
The cover member is preferably mounted on the body portion by a clip mechanism, such as a snap-fit arrangement. The cover member may, however, be attached to the body portion by any other suitable means, such as a screw mechanism.
Conveniently, the cover member comprises a flat layer of light transmitting material but could have a domed or dished shape.
In another embodiment of the invention, the assembly comprises a body portion adapted to be secured to a structure to which the assembly is to be
mounted and a display portion which is detachably mounted on the body portion, the display portion defining the said receptacle for the display element.
Preferably, the display portion is detachably mounted in a recess of the body portion.
Conveniently, the display portion and the body portion are connected together by means of at least one mounting peg on one of the display portion and the body portion and a corresponding mounting hole in the other of the display portion and the body portion.
Preferably, the mounting recess is a through bore and the mounting peg is hollow, the mounting peg being internally threaded to receive a threaded fastener introduced into the through bore.
Advantageously, the display portion comprises a cup and a light transmitting lens detachably connected together to define the receptacle for the display element.
The removable display element may be in the form of an image sheet, such as a photograph.
Desirably, the light transmitting cover is transparent.
In order that invention may be more clearly understood, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a first door knob or peg assembly embodying the present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line A-A of Figure 1;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the assembly of Figures 1 and 2;
FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a second door knob or peg assembly embodying the invention;
FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line B-B of Figure 4;
FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the assembly of Figures 3 and 4;
FIGURE 7 is an exploded perspective view of a third door knob or peg assembly embodying the invention;
FIGURE 8 is an exploded side view of the assembly of Figure 7;
FIGURE 9 is an exploded perspective view of a fourth door knob or peg assembly embodying the present invention;
FIGURE 10 is an exploded side view of the assembly of Figure 9; and
FIGURE 11 is an end view of the assembly of the of Figure 9, showing an end surface of a stem of the assembly.
Referring initially to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, a first door knob or peg assembly 1 embodying the present invention comprises a body portion 2 and a transparent cover member 3 which is mounted on the body portion 2.
The body portion 2 of the assembly 1 is made of any suitable material such as wood, metal glass or a plastics material, and the cover member 3 is made of any suitable material, such as glass or a transparent plastics material.
The body portion 2 of the assembly 1 may be attached to a door, via any of the suitable attachment mechanism known to those skilled in the art for attaching handles to doors and the like. By way of example, the handle body 2 is provided with an attachment stem 4 into which a threaded fastener extending through the door may be screwed to secure the handle 1 to the door. By way of another example, the attachment stem may be provided with a bore in which a lock spindle extending through the door may be received and secured by a grub screw. Although the assembly 1 is intended for use primarily as a handle for movable items, such as doors and drawers, it will be appreciated that the assembly 1 could in fact be attached to any suitable object or structure. It is also envisaged that the assembly 1 could be attached to any suitable structure, such as a wall or door, to serve as a hook or peg for hanging up garments or the like.
The transparent cover member 3 is fitted to the body portion 2 in such a way that the transparent cover member 3 can be readily detached from and re- attached to the body portion 2. Preferably, the transparent cover member 3 is mounted on the body portion 2 by a clip or screw mechanism. However, it will be appreciated that any method of attachment, which detachably secures the transparent cover member 3 to the body portion 2, may be used.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the transparent cover member 3 is formed as a flat disc 5 having a peripheral flange 6 which engages with a rebate 7 formed around the circumference of a flat circular surface 8 of the body portion 2 to connect the cover member 3 and the body portion together by one of the attachment methods described above. Thus, the flange 6 either forms a snap-fit with the rebate 7 or is internally threaded to co-operate with a corresponding thread formed on the surface of the rebate. The flange 6 on the cover member 3 has a greater depth than the rebate 7 so that, when the cover member 3 is attached to the body portion 2, the cover member 3 and the enclosed surface 8 of the body portion 2 define a closed circular receptacle 9. This receptacle 9 is adapted to receive and retain therein a removable display element 11 (Figure 3) which has dimensions and a configuration that enable it to fit within the confines of the receptacle 9.
With the cover member 3 detached from the body portion 2, the removable display element 11 can be placed on the surface 8 of the body portion 2 with a side which is to be displayed facing away from the surface 8 and the cover member 3 can then be attached to the body portion 2, so that the removable element 11 is trapped in the receptacle 9 with the display side of the element 11 visible through the transparent cover member 3.
The removable display element 11 enables the assembly 1 to be given an individual and replaceable decorative appearance. In the present example, as shown in Figures 3, an image sheet 11 bearing a graphic design has been inserted into the recess 9. However, the image sheet 11 could carry any desired image and could, for example, be a photograph of a family member or a pet. It will also be appreciated that any suitably dimensioned and configured display element or combination of elements made of any suitable material, such as
paper, cloth, plastics and the like, could be introduced into the recess 9 to produce a desired individual effect. It is even envisaged that the display element could be an electronic device. The removable element 11 does not need to fill the recess 9 in its entirety.
The fact that the cover member 3 is detachable from and re- attachable to the body portion 2 means that a display element 11 contained in the recess 9 may be easily removed and replaced by another display element 11, so that the appearance of the handle 1 can be altered at will.
The second embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 4 to 6 is constructed in a similar manner to the first embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 3 and similar parts of the two embodiments are indicated by the same reference numerals in the drawings. In the second embodiment, the cover member 3 has a domed shape rather than a flat disc-like shape as in the first embodiment. It is envisaged, however, that the cover member 3 could take many different forms.
The third embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8 comprises a body portion 20 and a display portion 21 for detachably mounting on the body portion 20.
The body portion 20 is formed with an attachment stem 20A for attachment to the surface of a structure in similar manner to the attachment stem 4 of the first and second embodiments. A surface of the body portion 20 remote from the stem 4 is formed with a recess 22 having a rim 23 and a flat circular floor 24. A pair of mounting holes 25 extend into the body portion 20 from the floor 24 and are formed as parallel through bores each terminating at its other end in an opening 25A on the surface of the body portion 20 near the stem 20A.
The display portion 21 comprises a shallow cup 26 and a transparent lens 27 which is dimensioned to fit tightly into the cup which is made of a material such as nylon, so that the lens 27 can be snapped into and out of the cup 26. The cup 26 is dimensioned to fit snugly into the recess 22 of the body portion 20 and is provided with a pair of hollow mounting pegs 29 which can be registered with the mounting holes 25 of the body portion 20 when the cup 26 is located in the recess 22 of the body portion 20. The mounting pegs 29 are internally threaded to receive fixing screws (not shown) adapted to be inserted into the through bores in the body portion 20 through the openings 25A.
In use the display portion 21 is first assembled by placing a selected disk-shaped display element 28 (Figure 7) in the cup 26 and snap-fitting the lens 27 into the cup 26, the assembled lens 27 and cup 26 defining a receptacle in which the display element 28 is received with the display element visible through the lens 27, thereby providing a desired ornamental effect. The assembled display portion 21 is next attached to the body portion 20 by aligning the mounting pegs 29 with the holes 25 and pressing the display portion 21 into the recess 22 of the body portion 20, so that the pegs 29 enter the holes 25. The fixing screws are then engaged with the internally threaded mounting pegs and tightened to secure the display portion 21 and the body portion 20 together. Finally, the assembly of display portion 21 and body portion 20 is mounted on a structure, such as door or wall, by attaching the stem 20A to the structure using appropriate fastening means.
The fourth embodiment shown in Figures 9 to 11 has a construction which is similar to that of the third embodiment shown in Figures 7 and 8 and like parts in Figures 9 to 11 are indicated by the same references as in Figures 7 and 8. The fourth embodiment differs from the third only in that the openings
25A of the mounting holes 25 lie on the end surface 20B of the stem 20A rather than on the surface of the body portion 20 and are concealed when the assembly is secured to a door or other surface.
The body portion 2 or 20 of an assembly embodying the invention may be made of any suitable material such as wood, metal glass or a plastics material, e.g. nylon, the cup 21 may be made of any suitable material, such as opaque plastics material and the cover member 3 or lens 27 may be made of any suitable material, such as glass or a transparent plastics material.
While the above described embodiments of the invention employ cover members or lens which are made of transparent material it is envisaged that the cover member or lens may be made of translucent material and that only a portion of the cover member may be made of transparent or translucent material.
The fact that the cover member or lens is detachable from and re- attachable to the assembled display portion and body portion means that a display element contained in the receptacle may be easily removed and replaced by another display element, so that the appearance of the assembly can be altered at will.
In the present specification "comprises" means "includes or consists of and "comprising" means "including or consisting of.
The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any
combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.