Patent Publication Number: US-10760309-B1

Title: Door stop

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application, in some embodiments thereof, relates to door holding devices, such as door stops. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In the past few years, several shootings have rocked the United States. In each case, a lone shooter entered a building, such as a school, and walked into several rooms of the building to shoot innocent victims. When a door was locked or barricaded, the shooter proceeded to the next room, and the people in the locked or barricaded room were saved. 
     Moreover, in many hotels, the hotel&#39;s staff have access to the rooms and the travelers may find it uncomfortable to stay in rooms that are accessible to strangers. Therefore, the travelers may find it comforting to barricade their hotel doors while staying inside the rooms. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,229 discloses a door stop and holder apparatus including a generally wedge shaped stop member connected by a tether member to a hollow receptacle member the rear face of which is affixed to a door and the front face of which is provided with at least one receptacle element dimensioned to receive a portion of a bumper member that projects outwardly from the front face of the holster member. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     There is therefore a need for a device to prevent the opening of door that is easy to carry, hard to misplace, and that allows users to have quick access to the device in a time of need or in an urgent situation. 
     The inventor has found that traditional door stops are designed with the intent of only keeping a door open in mind and not designed to also prevent a door from opening. Therefore, a traditional door stop is normally kept on the floor next to a door, in a cluttered drawer, or inside a cluttered bag where it can be lost or misplaced, making it hard to find in a time of need or an urgent situation. The holder apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,229 is joined to the door and is therefore not configured for being carried. 
     Therefore an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention relates to a portable door stop comprising a wedge shaped unit, a first arm, and second arm. The wedge shaped unit has a tapered front end and an enlarged back end and tapers from the back end to the front end. The first arm and the second arm extend away from the wedge shaped unit and are configured for being removably engageable to each other to form a loop. The wedge shaped unit is configured for being pushed in a gap between a door and a floor under the door to prevent the door from moving, while the first and second arms are configured for enabling the portable door stop to be removably joined to a desired object by forming the loop around a portion of the desired object. 
     In a variant, the first arm has an elastic section comprising an opening with a first dimension, while the second arm comprises a bulge having a second dimension larger than the first dimension of opening. The first arm and the second arm are configured to be joined by causing the bulge to cross the opening, thereby causing the opening to expand while the bulge is in the opening and to contract back to the first dimension after the bulge has exited the opening. 
     In another variant, the first arm and the second arm are integral with the wedge shaped unit. 
     Optionally, the door stop is made of a rubber material. 
     The door stop may be fabricated via injection molding. 
     In yet another variant, the first arm and the second arm are fabricated separately from the wedge shaped unit and are joined to the wedge shaped unit. 
     In a further variant, the first arm or the second arm extends away from any of: the front end of the wedge shaped unit, the back end of the wedge shaped unit, a top of the wedge shaped unit, a side wall of the wedge shaped unit, and a bottom of the wedge shaped unit. 
     In yet a further variant, the first arm comprises one or more buttons extending away from a face of the first arm, while the second arm comprises one or more holes configured for removably engaging with the one or more buttons, in order to removably join the second arm with the first arm. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, the first arm comprises a first strip of a hook-and-loop fastener joined to a face of the first arm, while the second arm comprises a second strip the hook-and-loop fastener configured to engage with the first strip for removably joining the second arm to the first arm. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view of a door stop, according to some embodiments of the present invention, showing the front, top, and side of the door stop; 
         FIG. 2  is perspective view of a door stop, according to some embodiments of the present invention, showing the back, top, and side of the door stop; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom view of a door stop, according to some embodiments of the present invention, showing internal ribbing that provides structural support; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a door stop, according to some embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is the top view of a door stop, according to some embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a door stop of the present invention, in which the arms are joined together to form a loop; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a door stop of the present invention, removably attached to a backpack; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which the arms extend from the from the top face of the wedge shaped unit; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which the arms extend from the from a side of the wedge shaped unit; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which the arms extend from the from the front end of the wedge shaped unit 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which the arms extend from the from the bottom of the wedge shaped unit; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which each arm extends from a respective side of the wedge shaped unit; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which the second arm includes one or more buttons extending away from a face of the second arm, while the first arm include one or more holes configured for engaging with the one or more buttons for joining to the second arm; and 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a door step of the present invention, in which the first arm includes a first strip of a hook-and-loop fastener along a face of the first arm, while the second arm includes a second strip of a hook-and-loop fastener configured for engaging with the first strip for joining to the first arm  104 . 
     
    
    
     The figures are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It should be understood that the invention can be practiced with modification and alteration, and that the invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     From time-to-time, the present invention is described herein in terms of example environments. Description in terms of these environments is provided to allow the various features and embodiments of the invention to be portrayed in the context of an exemplary application. After reading this description, it will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art how the invention can be implemented in different and alternative environments. 
     Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All patents, applications, published applications and other publications referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. If a definition set forth in this section is contrary to or otherwise inconsistent with a definition set forth in applications, published applications and other publications that are herein incorporated by reference, the definition set forth in this document prevails over the definition that is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-6 ,  FIG. 1  is perspective view of a door stop  100 , according to some embodiments of the present invention, showing the front, top, and side of the door stop  100 .  FIG. 2  is perspective view of the door stop  100  showing the back, top, and side of the door stop.  FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the door stop  100 , showing internal ribbing that provides structural support.  FIG. 4  is a side view of the door stop  100 , according to some embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 5  is the top view of the door stop  100 , according to some embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the door stop  100  of the present invention, in which the arms are joined together to form a loop. 
     The door stop  100  includes a wedge shaped unit  102 , a first arm  104 , and a second arms  106 . The wedge shaped unit  102  has a tapered front end  200  and an enlarged back end  202 , and tapers from the enlarged back end  202  to the tapered front end  200 . The wedge shaped unit  102  is configured for being inserted into the space between a door and a floor in order to keep the door open or in order to prevent a door from opening. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, the wedge shaped unit  102  has a top face  204  with a grip texture to enable increase the grip on the bottom of the door. In some embodiments of the present invention, the wedge shaped unit  102  is made of a solid piece of elastic material. Alternatively, the wedge shaped unit  102  is hollow and includes one or more longitudinal ribs  206  and one or more transversal ribs  208 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The longitudinal ribs  206  extend in the hollow space between the front end  200  and the back end  202 . The transversal ribs  208  extend in the hollow space between the side walls  210  and  212 . The ribs  206  and  208  provide structural support to the wedge shaped unit  102  and prevent the wedge shaped unit to collapse under an external force. 
     To keep the door open, the wedge shaped unit  102  can be slid between the door and the floor front end  200  first, and can be pushed from the enlarged back end  202  toward the door while the door is pulled into the wedge shaped unit  102  to firmly secure placement of the wedge shaped unit  102 . To secure a door in the closed position, the wedge shaped unit  102  is slid into the gap between the door and floor front end  200  first, then the wedge shaped unit  102  is pushed toward the door from the back end  202 , until it feels the wedge shaped unit  102  cannot be pushed any longer. 
     When the wedge shaped unit  102  is securely wedged between the door and floor, the grip texture and internal ribs of the wedge shaped unit  102  are configured for preventing forces applied to the door (either to close or to open the door) from easily moving the door from its current position. 
     The first arm  104  and the second arm  106  extend away from the wedge shaped unit  102 . The first arm  104  and the second arm  106  are flexible and are configured for being removably joinable to each other in order to form a loop, as seen in  FIG. 6 . This enables the door stop  100  to be attached to different types of items for storage, such as a backpack, tool-belts, paint-buckets, or other items that make it easy to find the door stop  100  in the most stressful of situations, so the user can quickly remove it for immediate use.  FIG. 7  shows an example in which the door stop  100  is attached to a handle  402  of a backpack  400 , by joining the first arm and the second arms together to create a loop around the handle  402 . 
     In the example of  FIGS. 1-7 , the arms extend from the back end  202  of the wedge shaped unit  102 . It should be noted that arms may extend away from any portion of the wedge shaped unit, as shown in the examples if  FIGS. 8-12 . In the example of  FIG. 8 , the arms  104  and  106  extend from the from the top face  204  of the wedge shaped unit  102 . In the example of  FIG. 9 , the arms  104  and  106  extend from the from a first side  210  of the wedge shaped unit  102 . In the example of  FIG. 10 , the arms  104  and  106  extend from the from the front end  200  of the wedge shaped unit  102 . In the example of  FIG. 11 , the arms  104  and  106  extend from the from the bottom of the wedge shaped unit  102 . In the example of  FIG. 12 , the first arm  104  extends from the second side  212 , while the second arm  106  extends from the first side  210 . Any other configuration may be used and is within the scope of the present invention. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention (as shown in  FIGS. 1-12 ), the first arm  104  is elastic and has an opening  300 , while the second arm  106  includes a bulge  302  larger than the opening  300 . In order to join the arms and form a loop, the second arm  106  is inserted into the opening  300  of the first arm  104  until the bulge  302  reaches the opening  300 . The end of the second arm  106  is then pulled so that the bulge  302  stretches the elastic material encompassing the opening  300  to allow the bulge  302  to traverse the opening from one side thereof to the other side thereof. After the bulge  302  has passed through the opening  300 , the elastic material surrounding the opening  300  contracts back to its default configuration and the opening  300  returns to its original size and prevents the bulge  302  from traversing the opening  300 . In order to detach the arms from each other, the second arm  106  is pulled away from the first arm in order to pull the bulge  302  through the opening  300 , expanding the opening  300  and allowing passage thereof through the opening  300 . 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the second arm  106  includes one or more buttons  500  extending away from a face of the second arm  106 , while the first arm  104  includes one or more holes  502  configured for removably engaging (snapping) with the one or more buttons for joining to the second arm  106 . 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in  FIG. 14 , the first arm  104  includes a first strip  600  of a hook-and-loop fastener along a face of the first arm  104 , while the second arm  106  includes a second strip  602  of a hook-and-loop fastener configured for engaging with the first strip  600  for joining to the first arm  104 . 
     It should be noted that the hole and bulge example described in  FIGS. 1-12 , the snapping buttons example described in  FIG. 13 , and the hook-and-loop example of  FIG. 14  are a non-limiting example of the engaging mechanism for detachably joining the first and second arms. Any other mechanism may be used and are within the scope of the present invention. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, the door stop  100  is made using injection molding. In injection molding, the rubber material is fed into a hopper, which feeds into an extruder. An extruder screw pushes the rubber through the heating chamber in which the material is then melted. At the end of the extruder, the molten rubber is forced at high pressure into a closed cold mold. The high pressure is needed to be sure the mold is completely filled. Once the rubber cools to a solid, the mold opens and the finished product is ejected. 
     Optionally, the arms  104  and  106  are integral with the wedge shaped unit  102 . Alternatively, the arms  104  and  106  are fabricated separately from the wedge shaped unit and are joined to the wedge shaped unit  102 . 
     Although the invention is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead can be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the invention, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.