FLOOR STOP FOR DOOR LEAVES AND THE LIKE, AND ASSOCIATED MANUFACTURING METHOD

Abstract: Stop (1) for a floor (2) and associated manufacturing method; the stop (1) comprising a wedge-shaped element (6) able to be brought into contact with a first surface (19) delimiting a leaf (3) at the bottom; a central portion (10) with a securing member (12); an end portion (13) arranged on the opposite side to the element (6) relative to the central portion (10); the member (12) being delimited at the bottom by a first, substantially curved, continuous surface (17) extending transversely with respect to the element (6) for acting as a lever fulcrum between the said element (6) and the end portion (13); the end portion (13) having a mass exceeding the mass of the wedge-shaped element so as to keep, during use, the element (6) itself in contact with the first surface (19) owing to the imbalance of the masses.

Description: FLOOR STOP FOR DOOR LEAVES AND THE LIKE, AND ASSOCIATED MANUFACTURING METHOD Description Technical field The present invention relates to a floor stop for door leaves and the like, and associated manufacturing method, the stop being able to be used effectively in order to fix the leaf of a door in a given position with respect to the corresponding frame . Background art In the sector of floor stops for door leaves, the stop which is undoubtedly the most widespread consists of a wedge-shaped body which is pushed into the gap between the leaf and the floor itself- The greater the thrust exerted on the wedge-shaped body parallel to the floor and in the direction of the leaf and the greater will be the compressive force which the leaf exerts downwards on the wedge-shaped body itself. The increase in the compression results in a greater frictional force between the upper surface of the wedge-shaped member and the leaf and, therefore, a greater firmness in securing of the door to the floor. It is therefore obvious that leaves made of soft material may yield under the thrust of considerable forces exerted by the wedge-shaped body, while leaves made of particularly hard material will react to the said thrusts, being raised up on the hinges. In order to limit the force exerted on the leaf and hence avoid the situation described above, many alternatives have been proposed, the simplest being that described in US patent 1,839,506. This document describes a wedge provided at the bottom with a seat for a member made of elastically deformable material. This member, during use, adheres under pressure to the floor, causing fixing of the leaf in a given position. Despite introduction of the member made of deformable material, the wedge described in the abovementioned patent is not sufficient to maintain firm securing between leaf and floor. This may be easily noted in the case of thrusts exerted on the leaf on the side of the wedge where there is the thickest part, for example by air draughts striking the rear side of the leaf. Disclosure of the invention The object of the present invention is to provide a floor stop for door leaves and like, which has a wedge-shaped portion and is devoid of the drawbacks described above. According to the present invention a floor stop for door leaves and the like is provided, said stop comprising a wedge-shaped element extending in a given direction and able to be brought into contact with a first surface delimiting the said leaf at the bottom; a central portion which seats, in a projecting manner, a securing member able to oppose thrusts exerted by the said leaf parallel to the floor itself; an end portion arranged on the opposite side to the said wedge-shaped element relative to the central portion; characterized in that the said securing member is delimited at the bottom by a first, substantially curved, continuous surface extending transversely with respect to the said wedge-shaped element for acting as a lever fulcrum between the said wedge-shaped element and the said end portion; the said end portion having a mass exceeding the mass of the said wedge-shaped element in order to keep, during use, the wedge-shaped element itself in contact with the said first surface owing to the imbalance of the masses. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a floor stop for door leaves and the like. According to the present invention a method for manufacturing a floor stop for door leaves and the like, using initially a prismatic bar extending along a longitudinal axis, is also provided; the said bar having a first longitudinal portion arranged centrally and provided at the bottom with a longitudinal concave section open downwards; a second wedge-shaped longitudinal portion delimited by two substantially flat surface portions parallel to the said longitudinal axis and inclined at a given angle relative to each other; and a third longitudinal end portion having a given shape and mass which is greater than, and arranged on the opposite side to, that of said wedge-shaped portion; the said method being characterized in that it comprises a first step involving cutting along a first given path, so as to generate a fifth reference surface transverse to the said longitudinal axis; the said first step being followed by a second cutting step performed along a second given path so as to generate a sixth surface at a given distance from the said fifth surface, in order to obtain a bar slice with a given thickness. Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate some non-limiting examples of embodiment and in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a stop according to the present invention; - Figure 2 is a side view of the door stop according. to Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a rear view of Figure 1; - Figure 4 is a rear view of a second preferred embodiment of Figure 1; - Figure 5 is a rear view of a third preferred embodiment of Figure 1; and - Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of a prismatic bar obtainable by means of extrusion for manufacture of a stop according to the present invention. Detailed description of the preferred embodiment (s) In Figure 1, 1 denotes, in its entirety, a floor stop 2 for leaves 3 of doors 4 and the like. The stop 1 extends in a direction 5, comprises a wedge-shaped element 6 which extends in the said direction 5, and has a limited thickness so that it may be inserted underneath the leaf 3 in the said direction 5. The stop 1 is delimited by a closed prismatic surface 7 which is partly in the form of an edge and partly curved and extends transversely with respect to the direction 5. The stop 1 is delimited, parallel to the direction 5, by two side surfaces 8 and 9, i.e. a front surface and rear surface, respectively, which are connected together by the surface 7 along the respective external profiles. The stop 1 also has a central portion 10 which has, at the bottom, a longitudinal cavity 11 transverse to the direction 5. Therefore, the cavity 11 is perpendicular to the surfaces 8 and 9 and partially seats a securing member 12 which has an elongated prismatic shape and projects downwards so as to be able to make contact with the floor 2. The member 12 is made of an elastic material deformable under the load which is exerted downwards by the leaf 3 and which the conicity of the wedge-shaped element 6 converts into thrusts parallel to the floor, on the basis of well-known principles of force components, as known from traditional studies on mechanics. The stop 1 has an end portion 13 on the opposite side to the wedge-shaped element 6 relative to the central portion 10. It should be noted that this end portion 13 has a height greater than that of the wedge-shaped element 6 in order to facilitate insertion, by means of pushing, underneath leaves 3 and that the longitudinal cavity 11 is arranged in a substantially median geometrical position. In particular, if L is taken as being the length of the stop 1 in the direction 5, the cavity 11 is located at approximately L/2 from the edge 14 which represents the intersection between the flat surfaces 15 and 16 delimiting the wedge-shaped element 6, where 15 is the upper surface and 16 is the lower surface. In order to improve the adherence between the surface 15 of the wedge-shaped element 6 and the bottom surface 19 of the leaf 3, it is possible to machine superficially the said surface 15 in order to provide it with a given roughness or, selectively, apply onto the surface 15 itself a film 22 which has the same given roughness and which, for the sake of convenience of illustration, is shown in Figure 2 only in broken lines. In connection with that described above, the end portion 13 has a mass decidedly greater than the mass of the said wedge-shaped element 6. Moreover, the securing member 12 is delimited at the bottom by a substantially cylindrical curved surface 17 so as to allow rolling of the stop 1 itself about a longitudinal axis 18 of the longitudinal cavity 11. Therefore, the member 12 is able to act as a lever fulcrum between the wedge-shaped element 6 and the end portion 13. Owing to the particular location of the fulcrum, it is possible, during use, to keep the surface 15 in constant contact with a surface 19 which delimits the leaf 3 at the bottom owing to the imbalance of the masses. It should be pointed out that the imbalance effect is obtained spontaneously owing to the fact that the torque resulting from the mass of the wedge- shaped element times the distance of the respective centre of gravity from the fulcrum is decidedly less than the torque resulting from the mass of the end portion 13 times the distance of the respective centre of gravity from the said fulcrum. With reference to Figure 1, the surfaces 8 and 9 are flat and parallel since, still with reference to Figure 1, the mass of the end portion 13 is visibly greater than mass of the wedge-shaped element 6 and therefore sufficient to cause a lack of equilibrium in the stop 1. In the case where it might be required, for various reasons, to restrict the vertical height of the end portion 13, the imbalance of the masses could in any case be achieved by forming the two surfaces 8 and 9 so that, in a direction upwards from the floor 2, the distance between the surfaces 8 and 9 increases. The specific characteristic of an increasing distance between the surfaces 8 and 9 as the height from the floor 2 increases may be achieved by forming the two parallel surfaces 8 and 9 inclined at a given angle (Figure 3) . In this case, the greater the angle required between the surfaces 8 and 9, the smaller should be the difference in height of the wedge-shaped element 6 and the end portion 13. Alternatively, with reference to Figures 4 and 5, the two surfaces 8 and 9 may be formed with a profile, transverse to the direction 5, having a given shape: rectilinear, in sections, as in Figure 4, and hence similar to a broken line, or curved as in Figure 5. In the case where the transverse profile is a broken ' line, each of the surfaces 8 and 9 would be delimited by a plurality of surfaces δ'/θ' which are varyingly inclined relative to each other. The two surfaces 8 and 9 may be symmetrical with each other relative to a median vertical plane which lies in the direction 5, as shown in Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5, although this specific feature is not of decisive importance for achieving the imbalance described above. It should be noted that the stops described with reference to Figures 1, 3, 4 and 5 do not have undercuts along the axis 18 of the cavity 11. Therefore, each of the stops 1 may be produced by means of cutting of a prismatic bar obtained by means of extrusion or, alternatively, by. means of moulding, with the direction of draft along the longitudinal axis 18. In particular, in the case where an extruded bar were to be used for the manufacture of a door stop for door leaves and the like, a prismatic bar 20, shown in Figure 6, could be initially used. This bar 20 extends along an axis 21 which replicates substantially the axis 18 of the longitudinal cavity 11 according to Figure 1 and, moreover, this bar 21 has a cross-section substantially identical to the surface 8 according to Figure 2. The manufacturing method comprises a first cutting step which can be performed by operating a cutting tool, along a first given path Pi of any shape, resulting in the formation of a first reference surface transverse to the longitudinal axis 21. This first reference surface replicates substantially the surface 8, whatever the transverse profile thereof. The first step is followed by a second cutting step performed by operating the cutting tool along a second given path P2, having a given shape, so as to generate a sixth surface at a given distance from the surface 8. This sixth surface replicates substantially the surface 9, and cutting of this surface produces a slice 23 of a bar 20 with a given thickness, which can be seen in Figure 6 where it is delimited by two broken curved lines . These cutting tools could consist of the known tool - not illustrated - of a jig saw, instead of the known wire - not illustrated - of an electroerosive cutting machine. In any case the two paths PI and P2 may be rectilinear and parallel to each other and therefore perfectly symmetrical with respect to a vertical median plane (Figure 3) , but may also have any configuration, such as those described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. The use of the stop 1 is sufficiently clear from that described above and does not require further explanations. However, for the sake of greater clarity, it should perhaps be pointed out that the stop 1 may be placed in position by applying with one's hand or foot a force parallel to the floor in the direction 5 and directed transversely relative to the leaf 3 of the door which is to be kept in a given position with respect to the floor 2. Therefore, the end portion 13 may be regarded as a handle able to be gripped during fixing of the leaf 3. Another particularly effective way of using the stop 1, which justifies the term "and the like" used in the title in order to identify the invention described here, is as follows: the stop 1 may in fact be used with the function of an adjustable height compensating device for ensuring the equilibrium of furniture, such as, for example, cabinets, tables, chairs or similar furnishings, making use of the gradual increase in height resulting from the presence of the wedge-shaped element 6 whenever the lack of height, and hence equilibrium, is due to the shorter length of the supporting leg or part of the furniture in question. The equilibrium is achieved by taking hold of the stop 1 by the respective end portion 13 and then pushing the wedge-shaped element 6 underneath the supporting leg or part where there is the difference in height to be compensated for, until the equilibrium of the furniture or furnishing is achieved. In this case, the stop 1 may be regarded as a height compensating device provided with a handle consisting of the end portion 13, for ensuring the equilibrium of furniture and furnishings. Finally, it is obvious that the stop 1 described and illustrated here may be subject to modifications and variations, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. For example, by way of an alternative to that described above, the stop 1 could also be obtained by assembling two parts made of different material. In particular, the wedge-shaped element 6 could be made of rubbery material and therefore have a low weight and high coefficient of friction, while the end portion 13 could be made of solid metal. In order to ensure a greater rigidity of the wedge-shaped element 6, the latter could be provided with a metal core.

Claims: Claims 1. Stop (1) for a floor (2), intended for use with leaves (3) of doors (4) and the like, comprising a wedge-shaped element (6) extending in a given direction (5) and able to be brought into contact with a first surface (19) delimiting the said leaf (3) at the bottom; a central portion (10) which seats, in a projecting manner, a securing member (12) able to oppose thrusts exerted by the said leaf (3) parallel to the floor (2) itself; an end portion (13) arranged on the opposite side to the said wedge-shaped element (6) relative to the said central portion (10); characterized in that the said securing member (12) is delimited at the bottom by a first, substantially curved, continuous surface (17) extending transversely with respect to the said wedge-shaped element (6) for acting as a lever fulcrum between the said wedge- shaped element (6) and the said end portion (13); the said end portion (13) having a mass exceeding the mass of the said wedge-shaped element (6) so as to keep, during use, the wedge-shaped element (6) in contact with the said first surface (19) owing to the imbalance of the masses. 2. Stop according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said wedge-shaped element (6), central portion (10) and end portion (13) are delimited by a second curved surface (7) which is substantially prismatic and parallel to the said first surface. 3. Stop according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said wedge-shaped element (6), central portion (10) and end portion (13) are delimited on opposite sides parallel to the said given direction (5) by a third and by a fourth surface (8, 9) which are substantially flat; the said third and fourth surfaces (8, 9) ' may be inclined at a given angle relative to each other, so as to provide the said end portion (13) with a mass of given magnitude. 4. Stop according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said wedge-shaped element (6), central portion (10) and end portion (13) are delimited on opposite sides parallel to the said given direction (5) by a third and a fourth broken surface (8, 9), each comprising respective third and fourth substantially flat surface portions (8 ? 9'); the said third and fourth surface portions (8' 9') being inclined at given angles relative to each other, so as to provide the said end portion (13) with a mass of given magnitude. 5. Stop according to any one of Claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the said third and fourth surfaces (8, 9) are substantially specular with respect to a median vertical plane. 6. Stop according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said wedge-shaped element (6) is delimited at the top by a second rough surface. 7. Stop according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made of substantially homogeneous metallic material. 8. Stop according to any one of Claims 1-7, characterized in that the said wedge-shaped element (6) has, on the top, a given roughness. 9. Stop according to Claim 8, characterized in that the said wedge-shaped element (6) is lined with a film (22) which has, on top, a given roughness. 10. Stop according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a handle (13) . 11. Method for manufacturing a floor stop (2) for door leaves (4) and the like, using initially a prismatic bar (20) extending along a longitudinal axis (21); the said bar (20) having a first longitudinal portion (10) arranged centrally and provided at the bottom with a longitudinal concave section (11) open downwards; a second wedge-shaped longitudinal portion (6) delimited by two substantially flat surface portions (15, 16) parallel to the said longitudinal axis (21) and inclined at a given angle relative to each other; and a third longitudinal end portion (13) having a given shape and mass which is greater than, and arranged on the opposite side to, that of said wedge-shaped longitudinal portion (6) ; the said method being characterized in that it comprises a first step involving cutting with a given tool along a first given path (PI) , so as to generate a fifth reference surface (8) transverse to the said longitudinal axis (21) ; the said first step being followed by a second cutting step performed along a second given path (P2) so as to generate a sixth surface (9) at a given distance from the said fifth surface (8), in order to obtain a bar slice (23) with a given thickness. 12. Method according to Claim 11, characterized in that the said first and second paths (PI, P2) and the said fifth and sixth surfaces (8, 9) are substantially symmetrical with each other relative to a plane perpendicular to the said longitudinal axis (21). 13. Method according to Claim 11, characterized in that the said first and second paths (PI, P2) are substantially flat and identical to each other so that the said fifth and sixth surfaces (8, 9) are substantially identical and opposite to each other. 14. Method according to Claim 11, characterized in that the said first and second flat paths (PI, P2) are formed along a broken line so that the said fifth and sixth surfaces (8, 9) have respective broken portions (8 ' , 9' ) . 15. Method according to any one of Claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the said first and second cutting steps consist of cuts made in a solid, the said first, second and third portions having respective cross-sections with a large thickness. 16. Method according to any one of Claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the said tool is, selectively, a jig saw or the wire of an electroerosive machine. 17. Method for manufacturing a stop for a floor (2), intended for use with door leaves and the like, substantially identical to the stop described with reference to any one of the Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it may be manufactured by means of extrusion and/or moulding. 18. Use of a floor stop substantially identical to the stop described with reference to Claims 1 to 10, having the function of a height compensating device for furniture/furnishings having at least one supporting leg or part with a shorter length, by means of positioning of the said wedge-shaped element underneath the supporting leg or part until it compensates for the heightwise difference thereof, enabling the equilibrium of the furniture/furnishing to be achieved. 19. Floor stop for door leaves and the like, as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures. 20. Method for manufacturing a floor stop for door leaves and the like as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures. 21. Use of a floor stop for door leaves and the like having the function of a height compensating device, as described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figures .

Inventors: AVVANZINI UGO, BARTELLONI LAURA, AVVANZINI, UGO, BARTELLONI, LAURA
Applicants: AVVANZINI UGO, BARTELLONI LAURA, ERRETI SRL, AVVANZINI, UGO, BARTELLONI, LAURA, ERRETI S.R.L.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: E05C17
IPC codes: E05C17