Abstract:
In this device, the frame has, facing a rounded edge of the leaf B, an inclined surface, the distance of which from the frame A increases from the inside to the outside and which is connected to the internal surface of a covering strip, this strip being positioned parallel to the wall of the frame and at least in front of the rounded edge of the leaf B in order to prevent any access into the external gap between leaf B and frame A, while each of the hinge plates comprises, firstly, a male element fitting into a housing in the leaf, so as to be aligned therewith, and, secondly, a female element composed of: a cylindrical hinge body fitting into the male element so as to come into alignment with the rounded part; and a fastening base fitting into a housing recessed into the inclined surface of the frame so as to come into alignment with this surface.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an anti-trap device for a door frame, that is to say for a door, a window or a French window, more commonly known as an “anti-finger-trap device”. 
     When an opening leaf is brought into the open position, a space forms between the jamb and the rear edge face of the opening leaf and various elements including one or more fingers of an adult resting against the fixed frame or an inquisitive young child may enter this space. If the door is returned to the open position, the faces delimiting the space created move closer together and, like jaws, trap whatever is between them with a force that is all the higher because it is multiplied by the lever arm formed between the axis of articulation and the free edge of the opening leaf. While such trapping is painful to the fingers of an adult, it creates a great deal of trauma in the fingers of a child, which may suffer fractures with permanent after effects. 
     To remedy that, the prior art provides a number of solutions. 
     The solution most commonly employed to date is to fit, at least to the lower part of the opening leaf, on each side and between the opening leaf and the fixed frame, a cover which covers the exterior trap zone and prevents anything from entering it. Document FR2726317 describes one embodiment of this. This arrangement is effective, but esthetically highly unattractive. 
     In another solution, the opening leaf is articulated by pivots arranged top and bottom, as described in documents WO2007/0204024 and FR2723136. Document FR2751370 describes a double articulation with link rods that allow the opening leaf to pivot in such a way that it folds flat against the fixed frame. Thus, in the open position, the trapping jaws form an angle of 180° between them and no longer present any attraction to an inquisitive child. 
     In document DE10023764, which likewise relates to an articulation technique using pivots top and bottom, the opposing edge corners of the fixed frame and of the opening leaf respectively are one concave and the other convex and intermesh in such a way as to limit the radial clearance between them and, in the open position, to reduce the gap between the elements and thus prevent any possibility of fingers being inserted into this gap. 
     The disadvantage with these solutions is that they employ an articulation using pivots top and bottom, which are not suited to all styles of door frames and are difficult to remove. 
     In document EP0 237 789 which relates to an articulation for a wardrobe or cabinet door, the opening leaf is articulated to a fixed frame by at least two hinges the vertical axis of articulation of which is arranged transversely mid-way across the thickness of the fixed frame, said opening leaf having a rounded edge corner facing the fixed frame and each hinge comprising:
         on the one hand, an element that fits into a housing in the fillet of the opening leaf forming a continuation thereof,   and, on the other hand, an element made up of:
           an articulation body that fits into the element, which itself fits into a housing in the fillet of the opening leaf,   and a fixing mount that fits into a housing which opens out of the fixed frame facing the fillet of the opening leaf.   
               

     This cabinet door articulation is designed, by elastic notching, to immobilize the door in two positions, but provides no solution to the problem of children trapping their fingers between the opening leaf and the fixed frame because, as  FIG. 9  of that document shows, the fillet of the opening leaf faces a planar face of the fixed frame with which it forms an open space 10″ that is highly accessible to children&#39;s fingers. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention is to provide an anti-trap device for a door frame which, taking its inspiration from the last structure described, does not impair the esthetic look of the door frame, is reliable, regardless of the angle to which the opening leaf has been opened, is effective from both sides and, without complex operations, allows anybody to remove the opening leaf. 
     According to the invention, the fixed frame has, over its entire height and facing the fillet of the opening leaf, an inclined face of which the distance from the fixed frame increases in the direction from the inside to the outside and which joins onto the interior face of a cover strip, this strip being arranged parallel to the wall that bears the fixed frame and extending at least past the fillet of the opening leaf B to oppose any access to the exterior gap D between opening leaf and fixed frame, while each of the hinges comprises,
         on the one hand, a male element that fits into the fillet of the opening leaf forming a continuation thereof,   and, on the other hand, a female element made up of:
           a cylindrical articulation body that fits into the male element, and in the continuation of the fillet,   and a fixing mount that fits into a housing opening onto the inclined face of the fixed frame and in the continuation of this face.   
               

     Thanks to the rounded shape of the opening leaf, to the fact that it is pivoted near to the inclined face of the fixed frame and to the fact that the opening leaf is articulated about a vertical geometric axis arranged mid-way across the thickness and also thanks to the mount for each hinge, opening the opening leaf does not alter the size of the space between these elements, which means that there is no longer any exterior trap space. 
     Moreover, the fact that this space is covered by the strip protruding from the fixed frame prevents any foreign body from being introduced into this space. 
     On the other side of the articulation, that is to say on the same side as the faces which move closer together during the pivoting movement involved in opening the opening leaf, the rounded shape of the opening leaf slides over the body introduced into the space, heralding this movement and encouraging the removal of the object engaged in this space, before the jaws thus formed are in a position to trap. When they do bite or trap, the inclination of the face of the fixed frame generates a component of force which tends to drive out the body that is in the process of becoming trapped. 
     Depending on the embodiment, the inclined face facing the fillet of the opening leaf and the cover strip are formed in a section piece which is either added on and attached to the existing fixed frame of a door frame that is in the process of being converted, or constitutes the fixed frame of a new door frame. 
     This embodiment means that the anti-trap device can be used on existing or new door frames. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the male element of each hinge consists of a couched U-shaped bracket each of the flanges of which bears a vertical hinge pin projecting toward the other flange, while in the female element of each hinge, the cylindrical articulation body has a C-shaped cross section which delimits an opening that can be closed off by a removable cover, this opening comprising a vertical groove to accept the hinge pins of the male element and, in its central part, a small bar that can be inserted between the ends of the hinge pins and constitutes a member for positioning the cover by collaboration with a horizontal slot made therein. 
     Depending on the application, the various components of the anti-trap device can be made of plastic or of metal, such as steel or aluminum. 
     Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description which follows, with reference to the attached schematic drawing which depicts one embodiment of the device according to the invention when applied to a door. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing the various component parts of which the device is composed; 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective views of, respectively, the male element of the hinge and of the housing created for it in the rounded edge of the opening leaf; 
         FIGS. 4 and 5  are perspective views of, from the rear and from the front respectively, the female element of the hinge. 
         FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of a section of the section piece that can be added to the fixed frame in the region where it has a housing to accept the female element of the hinge; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the cover that closes the female element; 
         FIGS. 8 and 9  are large-scale partial views showing one hinge in cross section when the opening leaf is in the closed position and in the position for removing the cover, respectively; 
         FIGS. 10 to 12  and  13  to  15  are partial perspective views of a fragment of the door frame these respectively being views from the outside of a construction in the case of  FIGS. 10 to 12  and from the inside of this construction in the case of  FIGS. 13 to 15  and, within each series, when the opening leaf is, in turn, aligned with the fixed frame, in the process of being opened, and wide open; 
         FIG. 16  is a sectional part view showing an alternative form of the means of articulation; 
         FIG. 17  is a partial perspective view and on a smaller scale of a female hinge element with one embodiment of its thickness washers; 
         FIGS. 18   a  to  18   c  are side elevations showing a series of pairs of thickness washers; 
         FIG. 19  is a partial perspective view of one embodiment of the female component comprising a slot for an additional anti-trap seal. 
         FIG. 20  is a partial plan view, from above, of a door the fixed frame of which is fitted with the anti-trap seal. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In this drawing, the fixed frame and the opening leaf of the door frame are referenced in general by the letters A and B while the components of the device are referenced by the following numerals:  2  and  3  for the respective male and female elements of the hinge,  4  for the cover that closes the female element  3 , and  5  for the section piece which, in the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , is added on against the fixed frame  1  of an existing door frame but which could also, as shown in  FIGS. 8 to 15 , itself constitute the fixed frame of the door frame. 
     In a known way, each opening leaf B is articulated to its fixed frame A by at least two and sometimes three unhingable hinges the axes of rotation of which are vertically aligned. In the device according to the invention, this geometric axis of articulation is arranged mid-way across the thickness of the door frame so that as the opening leaf moves, its edge corner does not protrude widening the trap zone D that forms on the outside upon opening. The components of the anti-trap device are produced by molding or casting and, depending on the embodiment, using plastics or metals such as steel, bronze or aluminum. 
     The device is mounted on an opening leaf B of which the edge or edge corner  6 , which is intended to be articulated to the fixed frame A is rounded and has, locally, as shown in greater detail in  FIG. 3 , housings  7  each capable of accepting a hinge  2 - 3 . 
     As shown in greater detail in  FIG. 2 , the male element  2  of the hinge has the overall shape of a couched U-shaped bracket each of the flanges  2   a  of which has a rounded end with the same radius as the rounded feature of the opening leaf. Thus, when this element is fitted into one of the housings  7  in the opening leaf the rounded edges of its flanges lie in the continuation of the fillet of the opening leaf, that is to say neither setback therein nor protrude therefrom. 
     In order to achieve this precise positioning, the male element  2  has a dorsal tenon  2   c  which, projecting from its web  2   c , fits into a mortise  8  created in the bottom of each housing  7 . 
     Each of the flanges  2   a  carries a vertical hinge pin  9  which projects from its internal face and extends toward the other flange coaxial, with the hinge pin thereof. The opposing ends of the two hinge pins are separated by a gap K. Finally,  FIG. 2  shows that the web  2   b  has, passing through it, two holes  40  for fixing screws used to attach the component to the opening leaf. 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  show that the female element  3  of the hinge, although monolithic, is made up of two parts, namely an articulation body  3   a  and a fixing mount  3   b . The articulation body  3   a  is of cylindrical overall shape with a vertical axis and with a radius equal to that of the fillet  6  of the opening leaf, but has a C-shaped cross section. The opening  11  of the C is delimited by two radial faces  12  and  13  which converge toward a cylindrical and vertical groove  14  able to accommodate the hinge pins  9  of the male element  2 . This opening is intended to accept a cover  4  in the shape of an annular segment, with the same external radius as that of the articulation body  3   a . In its part that fits inside the body  3   a , the cover has, passing vertically through it, a groove  14   a  which, with the groove  14  of the body  3   a , forms the bearing in which the hinge pins  9  are mounted. 
     The cover  4  is positioned transversely via its radial faces  12   a  and  13   a  fitting against those  12  and  13  of the body and is positioned vertically by a transverse slot  16  arranged substantially mid-way up its height and fitting over a small bar  17  belonging to the articulation body  3   a . This small bar has a vertical dimension which is smaller than the distance K between the two hinge pins  9 , so that it can be inserted between them. 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 7 , the cover  4  comprises a vertical tab  18  which is intended to cover a flat chamfer  19  formed after the face  13  of the body, the purpose of this being so that the assembly of the body with its cover forms a cylinder with no roughnesses or recesses that could catch on an object or a body pressed against this cylinder. 
     The rounded groove  14   a  of the cover connects to a clearance face  14   b  tangential to it and substantially parallel to the face  13   a , the usefulness of which will be specified later. 
     The attachment mount  3   b  of each hinge is intended to fit into one of the housings  20  which are formed vertically in the section piece  5  that constitutes the fixed frame A of the door frame or is attached thereto. 
     In each of these two applications, the face  21  which is intended to face the rounded edge  6  of the opening leaf is inclined by around 45° extending away from the fixed frame in the direction from the inside to the outside. This inclined face joins, on the interior side, by a convex fillet  22  to the interior lateral face  23  and, on the other side, is joined by a convex fillet  24  to a cover strip  25  arranged in the continuation of the external lateral face  26  of the wall. 
     Each of the housings  20  has an annular shape and is defined by two vertical walls these respectively being the bottom wall  30  and the side wall  31 . Projecting from each of these walls is a vertically directed rib  32  and  33  respectively. The stepped profile of the housing  20  corresponds to that of the base of the mount  3   b  of the hinge that is to be fitted into it.  FIG. 4  shows the faces  30   a  to  33   a  of the mount  3   b  which, by coming into contact with the faces  30  to  33  of the housing, position this mount and the female element  3   b  of the hinge with respect to the fixed frame. 
     The male element  2  of each hinge is attached to the opening leaf B by horizontal screws passing through the holes  40  made in the web  2   c , while the female element  3  is attached to the section piece  5  by horizontal screws passing through plain holes  41  in the element and screwed into tapped holes  42  in this section piece. The cover  4  is attached to the female element  3  by a horizontal screw  45  passing through it via a plain hole  43  and screwed into a tapped hole  44  in the female element  3 . 
     As  FIG. 8  shows, when the hinge is assembled and fixed into the housing  20  of the section piece or of the fixed frame, its mount  3   b , which has the same transverse profile as that of the section piece  5  or of the end face of the fixed frame, does not form any projection or recess that could catch on a body introduced into the interior trap space C during opening or closing movements of the opening leaf B. During opening, which brings the opening leaf B from the position depicted in  FIG. 8  to that of  FIG. 9 , the reduction in the width of the space C needed in order to be able to open the door through more than 90°, and for example to 120°, does not give rise to any trapping. Specifically, if a body becomes trapped between the interior face B 1  of the opening leaf and the inclined face  21  of the fixed frame, the inclination of the face  21  generates a component of the clamping force which tends to drive this body outward and in any event encourage its extraction from the zone. 
     This same figure shows that the geometric axis of articulation G of the hinge is mid-way across the thickness of the fixed frame B, that is to say is in the vertical mid-plane P of this fixed frame A and of the opening leaf B. It also shows that the various elements of the articulation and of each of the hinges are in the continuation of one another, with no protrusion or recess and are dimensioned so that the cover strip  25 , which extends toward the opening leaf almost as far as the transverse plane T, passing through the geometric axis of articulation, is spaced away from the fillet  6  of the opening leaf B by a value J of between 1 and 2 millimeters. 
     Thanks to this arrangement, the exterior trap zone D is non existent and is protected over the entire height of the door frame by the strip  24 , this being true for all the positions that the opening leaf can occupy as shown by  FIGS. 10 to 15 . In this exterior zone D, the small value of the clearance J prevents any introduction of foreign bodies and therefore of children&#39;s fingers. Further, the smooth nature of the edge of the opening leaf and of the visible part of the hinge prevents any catching on foreign bodies outside of the strip  25  and prevents the foreign body from being retained during the closing movement of the opening leaf, thus eliminating any risk of trapping. 
       FIG. 9  depicts the opening leaf B when it is opened through 90° to uncover the opening  11  formed in the female element  3  and allow the cover  4  to be extracted with a view to unhinging the opening leaf B. 
     It will be noted that the removal of the cover  4  is made easier by its clearance face  14   b  which does not catch on the hinge pins and allows it to be moved radially out of the opening  11 , even though this opening is not completely uncovered by the web  2   b  of the element  2 . 
     To facilitate unhinging once the cover has been extracted, the door has to be returned to a smaller angle of opening, of the order of 80° as shown in chain line, allowing the hinge pins  9  to slide against the face  12  of the opening created in the female element  3 . 
     To re-fit the opening leaf, the reverse procedure has to be followed. It should be noted here that the faces  12  and  13  of each of the female elements  3  of the hinges facilitate the engagement of the hinge pins in the bottom of the openings  11 , which means that there is no need to check their alignment with the elements that accommodate them, as was the case with traditional opening leaves comprising hinge pins. This means that refitting becomes vastly easier. 
     Finally, and according to one feature of the invention, on the one hand, the mid-plane of the opening  11  formed in the articulation body  3   a  for the cover  4  and, on the other hand, the geometric axis of the holes  43  and  44  for the fixing screws  45  that connect the cover to the body  3   a , are substantially in the vertical mid-plane P of the articulation. 
     Thanks to this special arrangement, in the event of malicious intent to unhinge the door when it is closed by kicking the door from the outside or by applying forces to it in the direction of the arrow  50  in  FIG. 8 , the connection assemblies that are the tappings  43  and the screws  45  of the hinges are subjected to shear forces which they can resist several times better than they can work in tension, were they transverse. 
     Moreover, when the faces  12  and  13  delimit an angle of the order of 90° between them, the transverse forces applied to the faces  12  and  13  have components parallel to the mid-plane P which reduce the value of the transverse forces and limit the consequences of break-in attempts. 
     It is clear from the foregoing description that the device according to the invention fully performs the function of preventing an adult or a child from trapping his or her fingers, does not wreck the esthetic look of the door frame and at the same time offers resistance to vandalism that is as effective as that offered by opening leaves with hinge pins. 
     In the embodiments which follow, elements that have the same shapes and perform the same functions retain their reference numerals, those which have been modified are referenced by adding 100 and those which are new are referenced from 50 upward. 
     The embodiment shown in  FIGS. 16 to 18   c  differs from the preceding embodiments through the addition to each hinge pin  109  of an articulation piece  50  made up of a bushing  51  inserted between one of the hinge pins  109  and its bore  114 , and of a circular flange  52  inserted between one flange  102   a  of the male element  102  and the opposing face of the female element  103  and of the cover  104 . The articulation piece  50  is made of a plastic with a high coefficient of slip, such as polytetrafluoroethylene. 
     This arrangement considerably reduces the friction forces during movements of the door, but also affords a possibility of adjusting the vertical functional clearance, for example in order to compensate for wear over time. 
     To this end, in each hinge, the articulation pieces  50  associated with the hinge pins  109  of one and the same male element  102  are paired in series Q 1 , Q 2 , Q 3  . . . Qn, and in such a way that the thickness  v  of one of the circular flanges of the pair is the complement of the thickness  u  of the other washer, so that the sum S=v+u is equal, give or take a functional clearance, to the difference L 1 −L 2  between the gap L 1  between the flanges  102   a  of the male element and the thickness L 2  of the female element  103  and of the cover  104 . 
     The paired pieces are chosen from a series of pairs which, as  FIGS. 18   a  to  18   c  for series Q 1  to Q 3  show, differ in terms of the values of the thickness of the circular flanges within each pair, for example v 1  and u 1 , v 2  and u 2 , v 3  and u 3 , etc. 
     In practice, the value of S is of the order of 5 millimeters and the increment of variation is of the order of 1 millimeter starting from a starting thickness of 0.5 to 1 millimeter. The components of each pair are reversible and are identified either by color or by a visible code, so that there can be no intermixing of components between the various series. 
     With this arrangement, if following repeated use the opening leaf B drops with respect to the fixed frame A, the height of the articulation afforded by the hinges can easily be adjusted once the door has been removed. All that is required is for the articulation pieces  50  of a series Q 1  to be replaced by a series of pieces Q 2  or Q 3  which, for the lower circular flange, have a thickness u 2  or u 3  that is greater than the initial thickness u 1  and, correspondingly and to compensate, a smaller thickness v 2  or v 3  of the upper circular flange, so that the value L 1  remains constant. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 19 and 20 , over the entire height of the opening leaf B, the interior trap space C is closed off by a seal  60  the active part  61  of which presses elastically against the fillet  106  of the opening leaf B and against the rounded faces  103   a  of the female elements  103 . This active part is depicted as being a narrow strip but could adopt any other form, provided that it is firmly pressed elastically against the rounded faces thus opposing any introduction of bodies or fingers into the space C, as shown in  FIG. 20 . 
     The seal  60  is fitted with a heel  62  via which it is set into a vertical slot  63  opening onto the inclined face  121  of the section piece  105  and into a slot  64  which, opening into the space C from the fixing mount  103 , is aligned with the first slot  63 . 
     By closing off the functional space F between the opening leaf B and the fixed frame C, the seal  60  thus contributes to the reduction of sound and noise transmission.