Abstract:
A removable device has a screen, two stiles and two rails, connected by elbows. The rectangular screen admits light and air. The two stiles stand mutually parallel, rigid, and perpendicular to the horizon upon installation of the device in an opening. The two rails lie mutually parallel, rigid, and parallel to the horizon. The first elbows receive the rail coaxial with a first spring and the stile coaxial with a second spring while having gripping means. Slightly different, the second elbows have an adjusting means. The stiles and the rails connect to the elbows around the perimeter of the screen.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a removable and adjustable screen for use in connection with blocking creatures while admitting light and air. The removable and adjustable screen has particular utility in connection with fitting various sized openings. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Removable and adjustable screens are desirable for excluding birds and insects from openings while admitting light and air. Buildings have openings such as windows and balconies. Without a screen, those windows and balconies have little use during periods of insect prevalence. Insect prevalence coincides with warmer temperatures when people enjoy the out of doors. During warmer weather, a screen installed in an opening permits people to open windows and to use balconies without worry of insects. In some cases, screens remain permanent fixtures for openings. On occasion, a person may desire to remove a screen for cleaning or for enhanced visibility. In addition, a person may not desire to have a permanent screen due to landlord or zoning requirements. 
   The use of detachable screens is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,917 to Antinone discloses a detachable screen. However, the Antinone &#39;917 patent does not have a rigid frame, and has further drawbacks of joining to a building and lacking an adjusting mechanism. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,546 to Benedyk et al. discloses a screen enclosure apparatus that releases its screen during a high wind event. However, the Benedyk &#39;546 patent does not use clips to retain the screen, and additionally does not have springs to position a frame within an opening. 
   Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 402,376 to St. Gelais et al. discloses a panel for a gazebo that has a divided panel. However, the St. Gelais &#39;376 patent does not have an adjustable frame, and cannot secure to a structure with springs. 
   Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,886 to Diamond-Martinez discloses a window covering that attaches behind garage door windows. However, the Martinez &#39;886 patent does not have an integral frame, and cannot adjust its size. 
   Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,449 to Herrick discloses a detachable barrier for a doorway that attaches to a doorframe by Velcro™. However, the Herrick &#39;449 patent does not have a rigid frame, and cannot attach without a hook strip mounted to a doorframe. 
   Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,598 to Bonacci et al. discloses a screen door assembly that folds accordion like for storage. However, the Bonacci &#39;598 patent does not have a one-piece screen, and has the additional deficiency of no rigid frame. 
   While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a removable and adjustable screen that allows fitting various sized openings. The Antinone &#39;917 patent makes no provision for an adjustable frame. The Benedyk &#39;546 patent lacks springs to position a frame. While the St. Gelais &#39;376 and Martinez &#39;886 patents lack an adjustable frame. The Herrick &#39;449 patent requires a hook strip mounted to a doorframe to support a screen. Lastly, the Bonacci &#39;598 patent makes no provision for a single screen in its accordion-folding screens. 
   Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved removable and adjustable screen that can be used for fitting various sized openings. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the removable and adjustable screen according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of fitting various sized openings. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of detachable screens now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved removable and adjustable screen, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved removable and adjustable screen and method which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a removable and adjustable screen which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
   To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a removable device to exclude insects and creatures that has a screen, two stiles and two rails, connected by first elbows and second elbows. The screen has a generally rectangular shape and permits passage of light and air. The two stiles stand mutually parallel and rigid and have sufficient length to span the height of an opening. The stiles have a location upon the perimeter of the screen and an orientation perpendicular to the horizon upon installation of the device in an opening. The two rails lie mutually parallel and rigid and have sufficient length to span the width of an opening. The rails have a location upon the perimeter of the screen and an orientation parallel to the horizon upon installation of the device in an opening. As a connecting part, the first elbows have a generally L shape, a hollow first end to receive the rail and a first spring, a hollow second end perpendicular to the first end to receive the stile and a second spring, and gripping means upon the first end on the same plane as the second end. Slightly different, the second elbows have a generally L shape, a hollow first end to receive the rail and a first spring, a hollow second end perpendicular to the first end to receive the stile and a second spring. Optionally, an adjusting means upon the first end on the same plane as the second end may also be included. The stiles and the rails connect to the first elbows and the second elbows around the perimeter of the screen with the gripping means on the same plane as the adjusting means. 
   An optional gripping means secures the screen to the rails, stiles, and elbows with clips in cooperation with a groove. Meanwhile, the adjusting means provides tension to the screen on two axes in various sized openings. There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. 
   The invention may also include a first spring with an extended free end, a second spring with a cabined free end, feet on the elbows, thumbscrews in cooperation with holes to secure the stiles and the rails with elbows, snuggly fitting cross sections of stiles, rails, and elbows, and parallel-toothed plates for the adjusting means. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached. 
   Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting. 
   As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and the scope of the present invention. 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved removable and adjustable screen that has all of the advantages of the prior art detachable screens and none of the disadvantages. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved removable and adjustable screen that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
   An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved removable and adjustable screen that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such removable and adjustable screen economically available to the buying public. 
   Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new removable and adjustable screen that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith. 
   Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a removable and adjustable screen for fitting various sized openings. This allows opening of windows and sitting upon balconies without insects. 
   Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a removable and adjustable screen for fitting various sized openings. This makes it possible to fit the screen within various sized openings. 
   Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a removable and adjustable screen for fitting various sized openings. This makes it possible to install a screen without permanent fixtures to a building. 
   Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of excluding creatures from an opening with the following steps: 1) measuring the opening; 2) cutting rails and stiles to fit the opening; 3) inserting rails and stiles into spring loaded elbows; 4) securing a screen to the rectangle formed by the assembled rails and stiles; and, 5) positioning the screen within the opening. 
   These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the removable and adjustable screen constructed and installed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the removable and adjustable screen of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a detailed view of the back of an elbow of the removable and adjustable screen of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a section view of an elbow and contiguous members of the removable and adjustable screen of the present invention. 
   

   The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various figures. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to  FIGS. 1–4 , a preferred embodiment of the removable and adjustable screen of the present invention is shown and generally designated by the reference numeral  10 . 
   In  FIG. 1 , a new and improved removable and adjustable screen  10  of the present invention for fitting various sized openings is illustrated and will be described. The device  10  of the present invention fits within rectangular upright openings  16  in buildings B and other structures. More particularly, the removable and adjustable screen  10  has a rectangular screen  12  bounded by two mutually parallel stiles  14  and two mutually parallel rails  18  connected by first elbows  20  and second elbows  32 . The screen  12  has a mesh material that admits light and air while excluding insects, birds, creatures, and other objects. The screen  12  may be sized to fit a particular area, or the stiles  14 , rails  18 , first elbows  20  and second elbows  32  may include adjusting means  34 . The adjusting means  34  permit adjusting the length of the stiles  14  and the rails  18  to fit an opening  16 . With the device  10  installed in an opening  16 , the screen  12  is toward the interior of the building and denotes the back of the device  10  while the stiles  14  and the rails  18  are towards the exterior of the building B and denote the front of the device  10 . 
   Turning to  FIG. 2 , the device  10  is assembled from component parts: first elbows  20 , second elbows  32 , rails  18 , and stiles  14 . A first elbow  20  has a hollow first end  22  and a perpendicular hollow second end  26  in an  1 , shape. The first end  22  has a cross section on a plane perpendicular to the length of the first end  22  slightly larger than the cross section of a rail  18  on a plane perpendicular to the length of the rail  18 . The rail  18  snugly fits into the first end  22 . Within the first end  22  opposite of a rail  18 , a first spring  24  attaches to the first end  22  and has an opposite free end  36 . The free end  36  extends outward from the first end  22 . Optionally, thumbscrews  44  that turn through a threaded holes  42  on the first end  22  near the rail  18  and on the interior of the L shape may be included. On the exterior of the L shape opposite the second end  26 , the first end  22  has one or more feet  38 . In the preferred embodiment, the first end  22  has two rubber feet  38 . On a plane between the feet  38  and the thumbscrew  44 , the first end  22  has a gripping means  30 : two or more clips  46  adjacent to a groove  48  lengthwise upon the first end  22 . 
   The second end  26  has a cross section on a plane perpendicular to the length of the second end  26  slightly larger than the cross section of a stile  14  on a plane perpendicular to the length of the stile  14 . The stile  14  snugly fits into the second end  26 . Within the second end  26  opposite of a stile  14 , a second spring  28  attaches to the first end  22  and has an opposite free end  36 . The free end  36  terminates at the stile  14  opposite the joint of the L shape. On the same plane as the first end  22 , the second end  26  has two or more clips  46  adjacent to a groove  48  lengthwise upon the second end  26 . 
   Akin to a first elbow  20 , a second elbow  32  has a first end  22  with a first spring  24 , and a second end  26  with a second spring  28 . It may also optionally include thumbscrews  44  that are secured via threaded holes  42 . In lieu of the gripping means  30  upon a first elbow  20 , a second elbow  32  may have an adjusting means  34  upon the first end  22  and the second end  26 , occupying the same plane. The adjusting means  34  is coplanar with the gripping means  30  of the first elbows  20 . In the preferred embodiment, two parallel, toothed, opposed plates  54  form the adjusting means  34  upon the first end  22  and the second end  26 . The teeth  56  of each plate  54  face each other with a gap between plates  54  sized to admit the screen  12 . The longitudinal axis of the plates  54  is collinear with the groove  48  in the stiles  14  and the rails  18 . In a first alternative embodiment, the plates  54  attach to the second elbow  32  with screws. In an alternate embodiment, rivets attach the plates  54  to the second elbow  32 . In another alternate embodiment, the plates  54  attach to the second elbow  32  by an adhesive. 
   Next, two mutually parallel rails  18  span between the first ends  22  of the first elbows  20  and the second elbows  32 . The rails  18  extend along the width of the screen  12 . Upon their exterior, rails  18  have a gripping means  30 . In the preferred embodiment, the gripping means  30  is three or more clips  46  adjacent to a groove  48  lengthwise along the rail  18 . Optionally, the rails  18  may define a plurality of holes  40  spaced lengthwise. These optional holes  40  cooperate with the thumbscrews  44  in the first ends  22  to removably fix the width of the device  10 . 
   Perpendicular to the rails  18 , two mutually parallel stiles  14  span between the second ends  26  of the first elbows  20  and the second elbows  32 . The stiles  14  extend along the height of the screen  12 . Upon their exterior, stiles  14  have gripping means  30 . In the preferred embodiment, the gripping means  30  is three or more clips  46  adjacent to a groove  48  lengthwise along the stile  14 . If an adjustable width is desirable, the stiles  14  may define a plurality of holes  40  spaced lengthwise to cooperate with optional thumbscrews  44  in the second ends  26  to removably fix the width of the device  10 . As for cross section in the preferred embodiment, the stiles  14 , the rails  18 , the first ends  22 , and the second ends  26  have a square cross section on a plane perpendicular to their respective lengths. In an alternate embodiment, a round cross section may be used for the parts. 
   In  FIG. 3 , the gripping means  30  secures the screen  12  to an elbow upon the back of the device  10 . Each end of an elbow has two or more clips  46  that grasp the screen  12 . Each clip  46  has a fixed end  50  attached to an end of an elbow  20 , 32  and a free end  52  slightly wider than the fixed end  50  for grasping the screen  12 . The clips  46 , on each end of an elbow  20 , 32 , point in the same direction. Cooperating with the clips  46 , a centered groove  48  runs the length of each end. The perimeter of the screen  12  folds into the groove  48  upon the ends, the stiles  14 , and the rails  18 . In the preferred embodiment, the fixed ends  50  of the clips  46  attach to an end by screws. 
   Then in  FIG. 4 , the connection of a rail  18 , stile  14 , and elbow appears in more detail looking to the front of the device  110  away from the screen  12 . The free end  36  of the first spring  24  extends from the first end  22  to assist in positioning the device  10  in an opening  16 . The first spring  24  attaches to the interior of the first end  22  well before the threaded hole  42  to permit adjusting the rail  18 . Opposite the first spring  24 , the rail  18  fits into the first end  22  to the desired length. At the desired length, a person turns the thumbscrew  44  into a hole  40  in the rail  18  to fix the rail  18  length. Perpendicular to the first end  22 , the free end  36  of the second spring  28  remains within the second end  26  to assist in altering the height of the device  10  to match an opening  16 . The second spring  28  attaches to the surface of the first end  22  at the joint of the L shape. Opposite the second spring  28 , the stile  14  fits into the second end  26  to the desired length. 
   In use, it can now be understood that a person measures the dimensions of an opening  16 . A person then cuts the rails  18  and the stiles  14  slightly less than the respective width and height of an opening  16 . Optionally, after installing the rails  18  in the first ends  22  of the first elbows  20  and one or more second elbows  32 , the rails  18  may be secured through the use of optional thumbscrews  44 . For a test, a person dry fits the assembled rails  18  and elbows in the width of the opening  16  and alters the rail  18  and elbow connection accordingly. With a fit rail  18 , a person then installs the stiles  14  into the second ends  26  of the first elbows  20  and one or more second elbows  32  to complete a rectangle. As a final test, a person then fits the assembled rails  18 , stiles  14 , and elbows, as a rectangle into the opening  16  and alters the stile  14  and elbow connections accordingly. After removing the device  10  from the opening  16 , a person places the screen  12  upon the back of the device  10 . A person positions the perimeter of the screen  12  beneath the clips  46  and into the groove  48  along the entire perimeter of the device  10 . Next, a person places the device  10  with After installations a person enjoys an insect free opening  16 . 
   While a preferred embodiment of the removable and adjustable screen has been described in detail, it should be apparent that modifications and variations thereto are possible, all of which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. For example, any suitable sturdy material such as metal, plastic, fiberglass, or a variety of wood may be used instead of the rails, stiles, and elbows described. Also, the screen arm may be made of aluminum, steel, fiberglass, plastic, or similar mesh material. Although fitting various sized openings has been described, it should be appreciated that the removable and adjustable screen herein described is also suitable for dividing a room. Furthermore, a wide variety of cross sections may be used instead of the square cross section described. 
   Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.