Patent Publication Number: US-6705048-B2

Title: Magnetic weatherstrip

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to weatherproofing assemblies, and more particularly to a magnetic weatherproofing strip for sealing cracks between a door and an associated door frame. 
     Ideally, weatherproofing material is easy to install and inexpensive to manufacture. Most weatherproofing assemblies employ the use of adhesives or mechanical attachment means to attach a weatherproofing strip to a door. These assemblies generally contain many different interworking parts and therefore are expensive to manufacture and complicated to install. In addition, the need for adhesive or mechanical attachment means can permanently mar the surface of a door. If the door comprises a magnetic material, a magnetic attachment means could solve this problem. However, current magnetic weatherproofing systems have not eliminated the need for a plurality of parts or still require the use of adhesives in some manner. 
     Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a weatherproofing assembly that is inexpensive to manufacture and install and simple in construction which quickly and magnetically attaches to either a door or an associated door frame. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The weatherproofing assembly according to the present invention provides a flexible magnetic strip for sealing cracks between a door and a frame associated with the door. The strip comprises magnetic sheeting and attaches to either the door or the frame so that an overhang portion of the strip extends beyond the door or the frame to which the strip is attached. When the door is in a closed position, the overhang portion lies overtop of the cracks. 
     The present invention is therefore inexpensive to manufacture and install and simple in construction due to the availability of the material. In addition, the strip quickly attaches to either a door or an associated frame magnetically, significantly reducing installation time and expense. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiments. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows: 
     FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an overhead view of the invention in FIG. 1 with the door in the closed position, taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention in FIG. 1 with the door in an open position; 
     FIG. 4 is an overhead view of the invention in FIG. 3, taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 5 is an overhead view of a second embodiment of the present invention with the door in the open position, taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is a weatherproofing assembly  10  including a magnetic strip  12  for sealing cracks (represented by hidden lines) between a door  14  and an associated frame  16 . The strip  12  comprises flexible magnetic material such as 30 mil vinyl coated magnetic sheeting and magnetically attaches to either the door  14  or the frame  16 , or to both the door  14  and the frame  16 . The door  14  is defined as any means of entry into a building or a room and includes a first surface  18 . The frame  16  may be a door frame surrounding the door  14 , as in FIG. 1, an adjacent door as in a pair of double doors, or any other structure adjacent a door wherein cracks may develop between the structure and the door. The frame  16  includes a frame surface  20  relatively flush with the first surface  18  of the door  14 . 
     Referring next to FIG. 2, a first embodiment of the present invention is shown wherein the first surface  18  of the door  14  comprises a magnetic material while the frame surface  20  may or may not comprise a magnetic material. The strip  12  lays flat against and magnetically adheres to the first surface  18  leaving an overhang portion  22  extending beyond the door  14 . When the door  14  is in a closed position as in FIG. 2, the overhang portion  22  lies against the frame surface  20  for sealing the cracks. FIG. 3 shows the door  14  moving from the closed position to an open position such that the strip  12  does not interfere with the frame  16 . As the door  14  opens, the strip  12  remains attached to the door  14  and moves away from the frame  16  (FIG.  4 ). Closing the door  14  allows the strip  12  to again cover the cracks between the door  14  and the frame  16 . 
     When the frame surface  20  also comprises a magnetic material, the strip  12  magnetically adheres to both the door  14  and the frame  16  when in the closed position for better sealing the cracks. The strip  12  must be placed so the overhang portion  22  adheres more strongly to the frame surface  20  than it does to the first surface  18 ; otherwise as the door  14  opens, the strip  12  will remain attached to the frame  16 , causing the door  14  to contact the strip  12  as it returns to the closed position. If the magnetic properties of the first surface  18  are equal to the magnetic properties of the frame surface  20 , this can be achieved by ensuring that the width of the portion of the strip  12  attached to the door  14  is greater than the width of the overhang portion  22 . This may also be achieved by ensuring that the first surface  18  has a higher magnetic strength than the frame surface  20  and adjusting the widths of the attached and overhang portions of the strip  12  accordingly. 
     In a second embodiment of the present invention, the frame surface  20  comprises a magnetic material while the inner surface  18  of the door  14  may or may not comprise a magnetic material. The strip  12  lays flat against and magnetically adheres to the frame surface  20  leaving the overhang portion  22  extending beyond the frame  16 . When the door  14  is in the closed position, the overhang portion  22  lies against the door  14  for sealing the cracks. Opening the door  14  (FIG. 5) moves the door  14  away from both the frame  16  and the attached strip  12 . Closing the door  14  allows the strip  12  to again cover the cracks between the door  14  and the frame  16 . When the first surface  18  of the door  14  also comprises a magnetic material, the strip  12  magnetically adheres to both the frame  16  and the door  14  when in the closed position for better sealing the cracks. In this embodiment, as with the first embodiment, it is important to place the strip  12  so the overhang portion  22  adheres more strongly to the frame  16  than to the door  14 . 
     In each of the preferred embodiments described above, either the door  14  or the frame  16  is magnetic such that the magnetic strip  12  magnetically adheres to either the door  14  or the frame  16  or both. It should be appreciated, however, that the strip  12  may attach to either the door  14  or the frame  16  using adhesive. If the strip  12  is adhesively attached, neither the door  14  nor the frame  16  need be magnetic. 
     In each embodiment, the strip  12  may be cut to any length and width to fit the specific dimensions of the door  14  as needed. In addition, the flexibility of the strip  12  allows the present invention to be utilized along any edge of the door  14 . For instance, manufacturing the strip  12  out of a more flexible material would allow effective use of the invention on a hinged edge or threshold of a door  14 , as best shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The foregoing description is exemplary rather than defined by the limitations within. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.