WO2014195701A1

WO2014195701A1 - Anti-rattle device for a latch

Info

Publication number: WO2014195701A1
Application number: PCT/GB2014/051724
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernard O'connor
Original assignee: Bernard O'connor
Priority date: 2013-06-06
Filing date: 2014-06-04
Publication date: 2014-12-11
Also published as: GB2514823A; GB201310075D0; GB2514823B

Abstract

An anti rattle device for a latch comprises a textile element (12) and attachment means (22) for securing the textile element (12) over the latch of a door (28, see Fig 3), the textile element (12) being formed as an open pocket (26) with a substantially planar periphery, the shape of the pocket (26) being maintained by stitching of the textile to a planar support member (14).

Description

ANTI-RATTLE DEVICE FOR A LATCH

The present invention relates to an anti-rattle device for a latch. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Internal doors can sometimes rattle. This may be because the doorstop and latch plate are not fitted correctly or because the door has shrunk, possibly due to the effect of central heating. To solve this problem, it is known to either physically cushion the door with a draft excluder or to leave the door ajar with a cushion or the like between the doorjamb and door.

GB 221,728 (ROWLAND) discloses a door pad in the form of a resilient rubber pad, which can be used to prevent a door from latching, to hold it ajar and to prevent it from rattling.

A problem of this device is that the door is left ajar, and so the room is left exposed to draughts. The door also does not offer any privacy or sound insulation and also looks aesthetically poor. The door may also not serve as a barrier, for example to small children and may pose a finger trap hazard.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce or substantially obviate the above mentioned problems. STATEMENT OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided an anti rattle device for a latch comprising a textile element and attachment means for securing the textile element over the latch of a door, the textile element being gathered to form an open pocket with a periphery lying substantially in a plane.

The textile element may be gathered by stitching. Advantageously, the textile element can be fitted over a latch on a door, but the door can still close and the latch can still latch. The textile element softens the action of the latch, prevents the metal on metal contact and hence muffles the sound of the latch. Furthermore, once the door is latched, if the door should rattle back and forth, for example due to air pressure changes in adjacent rooms due to open windows, fans or the like, then the sound of the rattle is muffled to extent that it may barely be audible to the human ear and does not form a distraction.

A support member is preferably stitched or otherwise secured to the substantially planar periphery of the device and may be planar. The support member may be made from plastics.

Furthermore, the support member may have an aperture therein, positioned substantially centrally and aligned with the open pocket, for receiving a latch of a door. The aperture may be rectangular.

The support member adds rigidity to the device and assists in holding the shape of the open pocket. The plastic may be stitched through, and at the same time may be thick enough to provide a good level of rigidity to the device. Alternatively, a plastic support member which is too thick to allow stitching may be secured to the textile element by adhesive or by other suitable fixing means. The plastic may have a level of resilience so that it may conform to the shape of any screw heads, which may be proud in the fixing of the latch to the door. Hems may be formed at opposed ends of the textile element. The hems may be formed by the textile material being folded down and stitched, either to the textile material itself, the planar member, or both.

The attachment means for securing the textile element over the latch of a door may comprise a loop of flexible cord. The flexible cord may be made from nylon and may be transparent or substantially transparent. The cord may be elastic so that it is variable in length by stretching. Alternatively, a substantially non-elastic cord may be used, together with a slidable clip to reduce or enlarge the effective size of the loop. In this way, the flexible cord may be adjustable in length to fit to different sizes of door handle and latch. Different latches have different lengths, and also doors have different thicknesses. A variable length cord allows fitting to various different door handles and latches, and enables the cord to be passed over the door handle and hold the planar member adjacent the side edge of the door with the pocket over the latch.

The flexible cord may pass through both hems.

The textile element may be coated with or include a luminescent material, which glows in the dark. This advantageously indicates when the door is closing in the dark and serves to provide a warning to children, so that they do not trap their fingers as the door closes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of an anti-rattle device of the invention; and

Figure 2 shows a rear perspective view of the anti-rattle device of Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring firstly to Figure 1, an anti rattle device for a latch is indicated generally at 10. The device 10 comprises a textile element 12, which is formed from a substantially rectangular net of textile, for example felt. Referring also to Figure 2, the textile element 12 is sewn onto a planar support member 14, typically made from a thin plastics material, for example around 0.5mm-lmm thick. An aperture 16, ideally a rectangular aperture, as shown, is provided substantially through the centre of the support member and is sized to fit over the common standard for a latch on a door. For example, the aperture may be around 15mm wide by 20mm long. The first and second ends 18, 20 of the textile member 12 are folded around the respective ends of the planar support member 14 and stitched through, that is, the stitch is passed from the front of the textile member through the laminar member and through the rear of the folded over textile member, in order to form hems top and bottom of the device. A loop of cord 22 is passed through the first hem, around the first side of the device and then back through the second hem, where it is rejoined with the other end of the loop cord to form a loop. Ideally, the cord 22 is made from, for example nylon fishing line or the like, which is resilient, relatively strong, and is substantially transparent. Alternatively, the cord 22 may be made from any type of suitable elastic material, since it is this cord 22 which attaches the device to a door as described further below. The cord may be non-elastic and may be adjustable, eg with Velcro (RTM) of the like, if desired, although this would make more of a visual impact on the door.

The sides of the textile element 12 are also stitched to the planar support element 14 at 24.

When the textile element 12 is attached to the planar support member 14, it is pinched on the front, in order to form an open pocket or dished area 26, which lies behind the aperture 16 in the planar member 14. Effectively, this open pocket 26 is formed by a bulge in the front of the textile member as shown most clearly in Figure 1. In creating this shape, angled ribs of the textile element extend from the pocket diagonally to the corners of the device, which provides a decorative shape. As shown in Figure 1, this shape can be decorated by embroidering or otherwise decorating the textile to form the head, body arms and legs of a person. A logo may also be positioned conveniently across the body of the person thus created, in order to provide a branding opportunity. In other words, the front of the pocket 26 provides an ideal presentation area for the attachment of indicia of some sort. The pocket 26 extends away from the planar member, to one side thereof, and is typically around 10mm to 12mm deep for accommodating a latch. There is a small amount of movement in the depth of the pocket 26, because the fabric can lift away from, or flatten against, the face of the planar support member 14, to a limited extent, within the constraints of the stitching. This enables the pocket to accommodate a range of latch sizes.

The device 10 is for fitting to a door having a handle and a self-closing latch. In order to fit the device 10 to the door, one end of the loop 22 is passed around the handle on one side of the door and the other end of the loop on the other side of the textile device is placed around the handle on the other side of the door. The textile element and planar member 14 are then arranged such that the aperture 16 in the planar member overlies the latch and the pocket 26 covers the latch. If the cord 22 is made from transparent material, then the attachment means can barely be seen by the naked eye from the side of the door. The back of the planar support member 14 lies substantially flat against the latch housing screwed to the edge of the door.

Once fitted, when the door is moved to the closed position, the textile element 12 lies between the latch and the latch plate, and serves to muffle the noise of the latching door as the door closes. Furthermore, should the latch not be a very good fit in the latch plate, then if the door rattles, the door noise of the rattle is mitigated by the cushioning of the latch against the latch plate by the textile element 12.

In one arrangement, it is envisaged that the textile element may be provided by a luminescent material which glows in the dark, after having been charged by available light. This can serve as a warning to children that the door is closing, and that they should be careful not to trap their fingers.

The device 10 is advantageous, because it enables a door to be closed as usual, whilst mitigating any annoying rattles and also muffling the sound of the door as it latches. The device 10 is also extremely easy to fit, and does not require any tools to fit, since the loops of cord 22 can simply be passed around handles of a door and the textile element 12 with backing planar member 14 moved to the appropriate position over the latch of the door. It is understood that variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the elements and teachings of the various illustrative embodiments described may be combined or omitted in whole or in part with one or more of the other elements and teachings of the various illustrative embodiments within the scope of the claims.

Claims

An anti rattle device for a latch comprising a textile element and attachment means for securing the textile element over the latch of a door, the textile element being gathered to form an open pocket with a periphery lying substantially in a plane.

An anti rattle device as claimed in claim 1, in which the textile element is gathered by stitching.

An anti rattle device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which a support member is stitched to the planar periphery of the device.

An anti rattle device as claimed in claim 3, in which the support member is planar.

An anti rattle device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, in which the support member is made from plastics.

An anti rattle device as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, in which the support member has an aperture therein, positioned substantially centrally and aligned with the open pocket, for receiving a latch of a door.

An anti-rattle device as claimed in claim 6, in which the aperture is rectangular.

An anti-rattle device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which hems are formed at opposed ends of the textile element.

An anti-rattle device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the attachment means for securing the textile element over the latch of a door comprises a loop of flexible cord.

10. An anti-rattle device as claimed in claim 9, in which the flexible cord is made from nylon.

11. An anti-rattle device as claimed in claim 9 or 10, in which the flexible cord is substantially transparent.

12. An anti-rattle device as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, in which the flexible cord is elastic. 13. An anti-rattle device as claimed in any of claims 9 to 11, in which the flexible cord is provided with a slidable stop for adjusting the effective length of the loop.

14. An anti-rattle device as claimed in claim 9, when dependent on claim 8, in which the flexible cord passes through both hems.

15. An anti-rattle device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the textile element includes a luminescent material. 16. An anti-rattle device for a latch substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.