Self-aligning door stop

A self-aligning door stop is taught that consists of a resilient cone shaped body having an apex, a rebated base with a major diameter selected to exceed spacing between a door and a floor upon which the door moves. The rebated base is configured to permit the door stop body to roll into a horizontal position when dropped in proximity of the door. When the door stop is on the floor in any orientation and the door is opened the door stop automatically rolls in the space between the door and the floor thereby self-aligning the door stop. Increasing the door movement retains the door in the desired open position.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to door stops in general. More specifically to a cone shaped door stop with a rebated base capable of gripping the space between a door and the floor without specifically inserting the door stop by hand in the space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Previously, many types of door stops have been used in endeavoring to provide an effective means to hold back a hinged door in the open position particularly the doors that incorporate door closing devices.

The prior art listed below did not disclose patents that possess any of the novelty of the instant invention; however the following U.S. patents are considered related:

Bjorgum in U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,353 teaches a stop for doors which open into rooms having a solid carpet which consists of a handle, a base member and downwardly extending projections angulated such that they slant away from the door. When place in proximate relation to the door, unauthorized opening is prevented to the extent that entry into that room is impossible without damaging the door.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,349 issued to Hebert et al. provides a door stop assembly for introduction into the space between the door and floor. The wedge shaped block has a top and bottom surface oriented toward each other at an acute angle. A flat strip of spring steel is bent at an acute angle and secured to the bottom of the wedge shaped block. The top leg of the spring has a concave curvature to maintain contact with the bottom of the door. There is also structure secured to the bottom of the block preventing sliding on the support surface adjacent to the bottom edge of the door.

Gilbertson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,560 discloses a security wedge used in connection with door retention to prevent opening. The wedge member has a number of retainer projections insertable into carpeting after the wedge has been placed under the door with the door closed so that wedge is prevented from slipping and the door cannot be opened unless it is broken down. A rubber cap may be placed on the bottom of the wedge for use on hard surface floors.

Gauci in U.S. design patent D455,952 S teaches a hollow door stop having a truncated cone shape with a series of six ribs adjacent to the smaller end.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,229 B1 issued to Stelmach is for a combined door stop and holder which includes a wedge shaped stop member connected to a tether which is in turn attached to a hollow receptacle with the rear face attached to a door. The front face is provided with a receptacle dimensioned to receive the tether and forms a bumper member which projects outwardly from the front face.

Lee in U.S. design patent D556,034 S discloses a door stop in a basically tapered cylindrical shape with a round ball shaped distal end and three raised ribs distending to the larger proximal end.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Hinged doors have always the propensity to swing closed under certain conditions with wind and pressure differentials within a dwelling or commercial building which is inconvenient and bothersome. This problem is particularly present in doors that utilize mechanical of hydraulic door closures which are used almost universally in commercial buildings, particularly where air conditioning is employed. The usual method of blocking the door in an open position is by the use of a wedge shaped door stop which is made of a resilient material, or in its uncomplicated form, a simple piece of wood having a wedge configuration. The principal of compressing a wedge between the bottom edge of the door and the floor underneath is simple and straightforward and accomplishes the task at hand with ease, however it requires a person to physically bend down and place the stopper at the proper position and either force the wedge in place or manually pull the door open over the stop.

It is therefore a primary object of the invention to simplify the task by dropping the door stop near the edge of the door opposite the hinge without stooping and pulling the door open slightly. This object is accomplished by instead of using a conventional rectangular wedge shape stop the invention utilizes a cone shaped member that is rebated on the large end. This unique and novel cone shaped body employs the principle that when the door is pulled adjacent to the device the pointed end of the cone is automatically forced under the door by the mere rotational movement of the door rolling the cone into a position with the small end arcuately forced inwardly under the door creating the wedging action. Since the invention does not require physically wedging the stop by hand under the door the invention is truly self-aligning only requiring dropping the stop adjacent to the door.

An important object of the invention is that there is no specific orientation required as when the door stop is dropped it may be rolled under the door in any position with the tapered end facing or opposing the door hinges. The rebated end of the invention permits the cone shaped door stop to always fall in a horizontal position. In the event that the door stop falls too far away from the door the user may simply nudge the door stop with his or her foot closer to the edge of the door and then may self align the stop under the door.

Another object of the invention is in the fact that the rolling action of the cone shape stop reduces door edge damage, as the invention is made of a resilient material, and only touches a small area of the bottom of the door, since it is round at the point of contact.

Still another object of the invention is that even though the cone shape permits self aligning it may also be used as a conventional stopper and may be manually set in place when desired.

Yet another object of the invention relates to the shape of the cone which permits the invention to be used with a variety of floor surfaces. The resilience of the material in which the invention is made also increases compatibility with smooth surfaces and creates no problems for rugs or carpets which are also easily adhered to as the surface of the cone shape grips the nap of the material without the need of sharp projections.

Almost all floor surfaces are easily used with the invention which include hardwood, smooth concrete, tile, linoleum, metal shavings and even water laden flooring.

Some prior art door stops require holding the stop in place while opening the door and others necessitate kicking or otherwise forcing the door to form a proper wedge. Therefore a further object of the invention eliminates this problem as the shape of the invention creates its own automatic positioning with no additional force required.

A further object of the invention is in the optional features of the invention which include different selected surfaces on the outside of the cone including a textured surface such as a plurality of minute protrusions creating a sandpaper like finish, knurling, a number of V-shaped grooves creating a spline and a helical flute with multiple grooves on the periphery of the cone.

Another optional feature of the invention is the use of attachments on the rebated base for connecting a lanyard or cord for use with tags, hangers, or retrieval devices. The distal end of the lanyard or cord may be attached to the door, metalwork, a knob or lever. The attachments include an eyebolt and integrally formed'nut, a metallic pin imbedded in the body, one or two integral eye members with an opening in the center for attachment and a sheet metal hasp formed within the body of the invention. The attachments provide personalizing by the attachment of a tag or hanger device for the purpose of warning, advertisement or identification. Other uses of the attachments include functions permitting a user to retrieve the invention from a standing position rather than having to bend over completely.

It is easily accomplished to apply indicia to the outside surface of the body by molding, etching, stenciling etc. on one or more sides for the purpose of identification or advertisement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of a preferred embodiment, with optional features, of a self-aligning door stop10. This preferred embodiment is shown inFIGS. 1thorough23and is comprised of a cone shaped body20having an apex22and a rebated base24with the major diameter26of the body20selected to exceed spacing between a door28and a floor30upon which the door travels above. The apex22has a diameter less than a space between the door and the floor. Although the apex22is illustrated as a sharp point the apex22may be blunted slightly to preclude breaking.

The cone shaped body20may be any dimensional size and still be within the scope of the invention, however it is preferred that the body20has an overall length of from 5.50 to 6.50 inches, a major diameter of from 1.25 inches to 1.50 inches and a diameter of the rebated base of from 0.88 inch to 1.00 inch, as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 4through6. It is also preferred that the cone angle is from 6.0 to 8.0 degrees relative to an imaginary longitudinal centerline and the rebated base24angled from 25.0 to 27.0 degrees relative to an imaginary lateral centerline of the major diameter26as depicted inFIG. 5.FIG. 5further illustrates the cone angle with the alpha letter “A” and the rebated base angle the alpha letter “B”.

The body20formed of a resilient material such that when the body is compressed between the door28and the floor30the door28will not be able to move from a retained position. The resilient material may be any type suitable for the application, such as styrene butadiene (SBR), ethylene propylene, polyurethane, neoprene, butyl rubber, hollow thermoplastic or the like with styrene butadiene (SBR) being preferred. In any case the material would have a measure of hardness from 70 to 90 shore durometer with 80 shore durometer optimum. It is anticipated that the cone shaped body20is formed by compression in a multi-cavity mold or other appropriate manufacturing technique.

The rebated base configuration permits the body20to roll into a horizontal position when dropped by a user in proximity of the door28, such that it is unnecessary for the user to lean over and manually place the door stop10in the space between the door and the floor. When the door stop10is dropped in any orientation the user pulls the door28open slightly rolling the door stop10in the space between the door28and the floor30thereby self-aligning the door stop10utilizing the door10movement until the door stop10retains the door28in a desired retained position. If the door stop10falls away from the door28the user may simply nudge the door stop10with his or her foot closer to the edge of the door28allowing the door stop10to be in the proper position to self align.

The cone shaped body20preferably has a plain smooth32outside surface as illustrated inFIGS. 1 through 6; however instead an optional irregular outside surface may be utilized which is outlined as follows:

The body irregular outside surface may be textured by having a plurality of minute protrusions on the surface thereby creating sandpaper like finish34, as shown inFIG. 7. The surface may be knurled36as depicted inFIG. 8or have multiple V-grooves spline configuration38as shown pictorially inFIGS. 9 and 10.

The body20irregular outside surface may incorporate a helical flute40configuration with square flutes or V-shaped grooves formed into the body in a spiral manner, as illustrated inFIGS. 11 and 12.

Other options may be provided with the self-aligning door stop10, illustrated inFIGS. 13 through 23, which provide a method for connecting the door stop10to a lanyard or cord, (not illustrated as they are not part of the invention claimed).

FIGS. 13 and 14illustrate an eyebolt42attached to a nut44formed integral within the body20.

FIGS. 15 and 16illustrate a metallic pin46imbedded integrally within the body20.

FIGS. 17 and 18illustrate a single integral eye member48formed as part of the body creating a sole attachment point andFIGS. 19 and 20show two eye members48separated apart forming a yoke50.

FIGS. 21 through 23depict attachment means utilizing a formed sheet metal hasp52imbedded in the body20. The hasp52may be cut in a steel rule die and formed with opposed legs54assuring that the hasp52is securely retained within the body20.

It is anticipated that there may be other methods of attachment and still function in an acceptable manner.

In functional operation there is no specific orientation with either the apex22or the rebated base24pointing toward the hinge side of the door28. Although it is not necessary, the invention functions best if the door stop10is positioned at the far end of the door28away from the hinge side.

When the door stop10is dropped or placed on the floor30near the door28the cone configuration allows the stop10to automatically rotate into the proper position by the leading edge of the door28and will continue to roll until the apex22is completely under the door where the underside leading edge of the door will intercept the stop10somewhere along its length depending upon the distance of the gap between the door28and the floor30. Upon engagement the stop10will roll and gain greater resistance as the door28continues to move until the vertical force (wedge action) is greater than that the lateral force of the door28and the door28will be completely captivated.

While the invention has been described in complete detail and pictorially shown in the accompanying drawings, it is not to be limited to such details, since many changes and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it is described to cover any and all modifications and forms which may come within the language and scope of the appended claims.