Patent ID: 8397432

Claim:
A door assembly, comprising: A) a frame assembly mounted to a structure to be protected defining an opening; B) a door panel having an inner surface and an opposite outer surface hingedly mounted to said frame assembly along a reference pivoting first axis, said door panel having its center of gravity located along a center of gravity axis at a first predetermined distance from said first axis; C) an outer lever assembly connected to said outer surface and having elongated first and second members slidably and telescopically mounted to each other, said first member being pivotally mounted to a reference pivoting second axis outside of said frame assembly and said second axis extending at a parallel and spaced apart relationship with respect to said first, and said second member selectively and slidably moving within said first member, said second member including a distal end for the application of a user's force at a second predetermined distance from said second axis, and further including a connecting arm with first and second ends, said first end being pivotally mounted to said first member at a third predetermined distance from said second axis and said second end being pivotally mounted to said door panel at a fourth predetermined distance from said first axis, said fourth predetermined distance being longer than said third predetermined distance; and D) an inner lever assembly connected to said inner surface and having elongated third and fourth members telescopically mounted to each other, said third member being pivotally mounted to a reference pivoting third axis outside of said frame assembly, below said second axis, and extending at a parallel and spaced apart relationship with respect to said first and second axes, said fourth member selectively and slidably moving within said third member, said fourth member including a distal end for the selective application of a user's force at a fifth predetermined distance from said third axis, and further including a connecting curved arm having third and fourth ends, said third end being pivotally mounted to said third member at a sixth predetermined distance from said third axis and said fourth end being pivotally mounted to said door panel at a seventh predetermined distance from said first axis, said seventh predetermined distance being longer than said sixth predetermined distance, thereby achieving a force multiplier through the application of resulting moments of force to permit the opening and closing of said door assembly using a minimum of force applied by the user.