GB2220220A

GB2220220A - Door sealing means

Info

Publication number: GB2220220A
Application number: GB8913707A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Geoffrey Frederick Smith
Original assignee: Marston & Co Ltd Albert
Current assignee: Marston & Co Ltd Albert
Priority date: 1988-07-02
Filing date: 1989-06-14
Publication date: 1990-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 2009-06-14
Also published as: GB8913707D0; GB8815791D0; GB2220220B

Abstract

A mechanical device for closing the gap between a door and its threshold comprises a mounting member 1 attached to the lower end of the door D and pivotally supporting a sealing member 3 in the space beneath the undersurface of the door. The sealing member carries a sealing strip 5 at its forward end and springs 6 act on its rearward end tending to pivot the strip 5 up out of contact with the floor (when the door is open as shown). When the door is closed, an actuating pin extending transversely from the rearward end of the sealing member runs up a ramp surface on an associated striker to pivot the sealing strip 5 down into contact with the threshold. In this way, the gap beneath the door can be effectively closed by means hidden from view and which do not require any elements to be mounted on the threshold itself which could act as obstacles e.g. to the passage of wheelchairs. <IMAGE>

Description

Door Sealing Means The present invention relates to a device for closing the gap between a door and its threshold, for the purpose of preventing draughts or rainwater for example entering under the door.

Such devices, commonly referred to as "threshold strips", most usually comprise a length of synthetic rubber or similar resilient or resiliently-borne material, which is attached to the surface of the threshold and is lightly compressed against the undersurface of the door when the latter is closed. A major disadvantage of this kind of device, however, is that its inevitable protrusion from the floor presents an obstacle to be negotiated which is particularly unwelcome for the elderly or handicapped, or for the passage of wheelchairs and the like.

An alternative "mechanical" form of threshold strip is known which comprises a sealing member pivoted to a housing let into the threshold so as to lie flush with the floor when the door is open. A small tab at one end of the sealing member is engaged by a finger fixed to the side edge of the door as the latter closes, so as to pivot the sealing member up through a groove cut in the undersurface of the door and into contact with a depending plate fixed to the front face of the door. While this device has the advantage of flush-fitting so it presents no obstacle to passage through the doorway, it has to be installed with considerable precision in order to ensure proper sealing contact between the sealing member and door plate, and the floor-mounted housing provides an unwelcome trap for dirt and water.The need to let the device into the floor also complicates its installation in existing properties.

The present invention accordingly seeks to provide a threshold strip having the flush-fitting advantages of the known "mechanical" type while avoiding its above-mentioned drawbacks.

The invention therefore resides in a device for closing the gap between a door and its threshold, comprising a mounting member adapted to be attached to, or forming part of, the door so as to support a movable sealing member in the space beneath the undersurface of the door; said sealing member being pivoted about a transverse axis with respect to the door and having a transverse sealing portion which, in use, is pressed into contact with the threshold when the sealing member pivots from an inoperative to an operative position; means biasing the sealing member to its said inoperative position; and a striker adapted for mounting to the door frame having a surface for contact with an actuating portion of the sealing member as the door approaches its closed position, thereby to pivot the sealing member from its inoperative to its operative position against said bias.

In this arrangement no components need to be mounted upon, or in, the threshold which is accordingly left completely free of obstruction and also without the dirt/water traps of the earlier devices discussed above. Further features and advantages of a device in accordance with the invention will also become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a vertical section through the components of the device as mounted to a door, with the door open and the sealing member shown in its inoperative position; Figure 2 is a plan view of the sealing member of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of a striker for the device of Figure 1, as mounted to the door frame; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the door closed and the sealing member in its operative position; and Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing a modification.

Referring to Figure 1, the illustrated assembly comprises an extruded aluminium mounting member 1 extending across the bottom of the door D, having a first leg 1A by which it is fixed to the external face of the door with screws 2, and a second leg 1B extending along the undersurface of the door. The leg 1A is also extended downwards to act as a weather bar with a drip channel 1C for rainwater.

The other major component is an extruded aluminium pivot plate 3 which is supported by the mounting member 1 in the space beneath the door. More particularly the members 1 and 3 are interengaged by a part-cylindrical rib 3A on the pivot plate held within a part-cylindrical slot 1D on the mounting member, thus defining a pivot axis for the plate 3 transversely of the door. They are assembled by sliding the rib 3A endwise into the slot 1D and thereafter located by a pin 4 driven into the mounting member through a hole 3B in the pivot plate.

At its forward end the pivot plate 3 carries a resilient sealing strip 5 of e.g. neoprene. At its tail end a pair of compression springs 6 are trapped between the pivot plate 3 and mounting member 1, being located in socket holes 3C on the pivot plate shown in Figure 2. In the open condition of the door as illustrated in Figure 1 the springs 6 serve to maintain the forward end of the pivot plate lifted up against the mounting member, with the sealing strip 5 accordingly clear of the floor F.

At one side edge of the pivot plate 3 an actuating pin 7 (which could also carry a roller) is staked into a bore 3D as shown in Figure 2. This pin will alternatively be fitted into the other side edge of the pivot plate when the device is fitted to a door of opposite hand.

Referring to Figure 3, the striker 8 comprises a thin metal plate fixed to the face of the door post P, behind the rebate R, by a screw 9. It is of symmetrical form with a ramp surface 8A and a step surface 8B at each edge, so that it can be fitted in either hand, although only one set of those surfaces is used in any given installation.

It can be surface mounted as shown, or recessed to lie flush with the post P, the overall width of the sealing assembly of course being chosen appropriately. At least when recessed, an additional portion of the door post P where cross-hatched at P' in Figure 3 will be removed to clear the end of the actuating pin 7.

In operation, during the last part of the closing movement of the door (which is from right to left as viewed in all the Figures) the actuating pin 7 on the pivot plate 3 encounters the ramp surface 8A of the striker, as indicated at 7' in Figure 3. The pin 7 accordingly runs up the surface 8A during the final lOmm or so of closing movement , coming to rest on the step 8B as indicated at 7" in Figure 3. This action therefore raises the tail end of the pivot plate 3 against the bias of the springs 6 and presses down the sealing strip 5 into contact with the threshold, as shown in Figure 4. The strip 5 is configured to bend somewhat under the contact pressure in this condition, and can accommodate a certain amount of unevenness in the floor surface.

When the door is subsequently opened, the pin 7 runs back down the ramp 8A, allowing the pivot plate 3 to return to its Figure 1 position under the action of the springs 6.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that the illustrated device is capable of providing an effective draught and water seal between the bottom of the door and its threshold without, however, obstructing passage across the threshold in any way nor requiring any part of the assembly to be let into the floor. The pivot plate 3 is in use both protected from incidental damage and hidden from view in the space beneath the door. High precision in the installation of the device is not critical, so long as the pin 7 reaches the top of the ramp 8A when the door is closed. No major preparation of the door itself is necessary in order to fit the device, the only carpentry required being possibly the removal of its lowermost margin to provide sufficient space to accommodate the pivot plate.The form of fixing of the mounting member 1 to the face of the door means that the pivot plate 3 can be set parallel to the threshold surface even if the undersurface of the door itself is not.

Figure 5 shows a modification of the device in which an extra trim plate 10, formed from another aluminium extrusion, is fixed to the inside face of the door D - by screws (not shown) extending through its upright leg lOA, similar to the fixing for the mounting member 1. The leg 10A is extended downwards towards the floor to provide a neater concealment of the components beneath the door.

This trim plate also has a horizontal leg lOB which overlies the leg lB of the mounting member and provides reinforcement for the end of that leg against bending up under the load of the springs 6 (particularly when compressed in the closed condition of the door). Figure 5 also shows a thin neoprene lining 11 applied to the bottom end of the door D between the members 1 and 10 and the door surface to enhance the watertightness of the seal between those members and the door.

In a variant of the illustrated embodiments, the aluminium mounting member 1 and pivot plate 3 (and trim plate 10 if provided) could be replaced by a one-piece plastics moulding with a thin interconnecting rib forming a flexural pivot between the parts corresponding to 1 and 3.

Furthermore, while the invention has been illustrated with a separate mounting member 1 attachable to the door, when the invention is applied e.g. to an aluminium or UPVC door the door could instead itself be configured at its bottom end to pivotally support the plate 3 without a separate mounting member.

Claims

1. A device for closing the gap between a door and its threshold, comprising a mounting member adapted to be attached to, or forming part of, the door so as to support a movable sealing member in the space beneath the undersurface of the door; said sealing member being pivoted about a transverse axis with respect to the door and having a transverse sealing portion which, in use, is pressed into contact with the threshold when the sealing member pivots from an inoperative to an operative position; means biasing the sealing member to its said inoperative position; and a striker adapted for mounting to the door frame having a surface for contact with an actuating portion of the sealing member as the door approaches its closed position, thereby to pivot the sealing member from its inoperative to its operative position against said bias.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said sealing portion of the sealing member is at its forward end (in the sense of the direction of closing movement of the door), the sealing member is pivoted at a position intermediate its forward and rearward ends, and spring means act upon said rearward end to bias the forward end upwardly away from the floor.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said actuating portion of the sealing member comprises an element extending transversely from the rearward end thereof.

4. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the mounting member and sealing member comprise respective metal extrusions having respective part-cylindrical slot and rib portions (or vice versa) whereby the sealing member is pivoted to the mounting member.

5. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the mounting member and sealing member are comprised together in a plastics moulding including means defining a flexural pivot therebetween.

6. A device for closing the gap between a door and its threshold substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1-4 or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.