US2610877A - Attachment for door knobs - Google Patents

Description

p 1952 c. H. WEAVER 2,610,877

ATTACHMENT FOR DOOR KNOBS Original Fi led Feb. 15, 1947 I INVENTOR. I CLARK H. WEAVER Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v i i v I 2,610,877 ,v

ATIAGHM NT R. noon KNQBS: Clark H. Weaver, Berkeley, Calif; Continuation of abandoned application Serial lilo;

728,901, February 15, 1947.-. Match 31;, 1950 Serial N 0. 153,235

5 Claims.

The. present invent on relates to operating knobs of the type used on, doors, ,c pb r swat ta d he, like and. aims to provide means ada t p entsmallch ldren ,from era ing such knobs while leaving grown-up persons ireo to manipulate them in the normal manner,

Broadly it is an. objectof the present invention to provide means adapted to prellent small children from efiectively manipulating, knobs on oor c111 b ar-d5 v W t rtapsetn- ,With t hin erlng grown-ups in the eiiective operation thereof. "It, is another object" of the present invention to; provide operating knob for doors, drawers, cupboards, and the like which "is of such construction that small children are unable; to

turn it effectively, while it may-- readily be operated by grown-ups More-specifically it is; an objector the present invention to furnish an attachment for-manipulating knobs which renders it impossible-forsmall children to turn the knobs while permitting grown-up persons-to operatethem the normal manner.

Additionally; it an objectoi -this invention to-furnish an attachmentof' the type referred to Whiehm-ayreadi'Iy be applied to door-knobs and the likexand, when applied, will resist attempts, onth partofi small children, to-tear it off;

' It is still another object of thepresent invention to furnish an-attachment for door knobs of the: type described which, while constructed to reliably adhere to thek-nobto which it hasbeen ap-plied, may readily be detached by the-experienced handsof grown-uppersons.

' Furthermore, it is an object of the present=inventionto providea device of the type referred to whichi'spleasing inappearance.

- It is yetanother object of thepresent invention to furnish an attachment of the kind devscribed which is inexpensiveand simple in con.- struction and which l'ends itself readily to mass production methods;

- These and other objects: of my invention will be apparent" from the following description of'the accompanying drawing" which illustrates certain preferred embodiments thereof andwherein:

Figure 1. is-a perspective view of a door knob providedwithani attachment according to my inmention;

-;Pigure=2 isa sectional sideelevation of the at- 'tachment shown in Figure 1' with the doorknob ndicated in phantom l es:

F el r fitis arear VieW'of the attachment illusirated innieurts. Lend rem ved from the door kn b;

Figure 4 is a. front View of a modified form of en ion an c Figure 5' is sectional side elevation ofthe-modfs fled attachment shown in Figure 4'.

e i v ceio m r oni s rme brehe orcover Iii which concentrically surrounds the door knob 25'; as shown in- Figure 1. The shell H1 is composed ofa central dome or disc H and a plurality of arcuat'e legs or prongs IZ-projeQting from the periphery of said domeinthegenoral direction of its, central axis, with each two adjacent prongs-forming a window or recess il-31 As may best be seen; from Figure 2; the initial portions of the prongs to diverge fromone nothe t 'coniorm ith t m x m diameter ofthe door knob 25 while theirend portions convjerge to a suincjent degree to securely anchor the. deyioe behind the knob; Theend-s of prongs l' iare' bent backwards to formrounded camming surfaces iii and may be loopedint "hems [6 adapted to" receive a cord orwiro; I (Figure I-').

As shown in- Figure 2 thediametrical width of the; shell formed by drama ordisc I and prongs [*2- isat most points slightly-' larger than that of corresponding parts ot'the doorknob so as to permit free rotational movement of the shellrelative to the knob. Also; the concave area of'theshell isof a smooth and rounded nature so thatit may glide; easily over the surface of the door knob whether the 1atteris of rounded or polygonal contour-s.

To position the deser-ibedapplianeeover knob 2 5"; the openend or the shell 1'0- -(Fig'ure;-3 is pressed against the knob,- with its rounded surfaces #5 engaging the face-thereof, such that the prongs 'ILare: pried apart until. .theyxpass her, and yet will be of sufficient sturdiness to resist any efforts, on the part of children, to tear the shell from the door knob. As an added safeguard against untimely detachment of the device from its knob, it may be of advantage to tie a cord or wire I! through the hems l6 so as to positively retain the ends of prongs 12 at a relative distance at which it is impossible to pull them over the maximum circumference of the door knob.

Whenever a child wishes to turn a door knob provided with the device of my invention, he will invariably get hold of, and turn, the shell Ii instead ofthe actual operating knob, and due to the larger diametrical width of the shell and the smoothness of its inner surfaces the shell will readily revolve about the knob without affecting the operative position of the knob itself. Thus, though able to turn what he believes to be the door knob, the child will find himself'unableto open the door; and even if a child should acci-v dentally place his hand into one of the recesses 13, and thus get hold of the door knob, his span would be too small to reach an opposite recess with his thumb, WhiGh "'iS essential to get an operating grip on the knob.

The same is true, if a device of the type described is arranged over the operating knobs of medicine chests, knob-type water faucets and the like. As a result thereof, parents need no longer fear that their children may unobservedly gain access to potentially harmful pills or medicines, or turn on water taps and cause basins and bath tubs to overflow.

A grown-up person, however, who wishes to operate a knob protected in accordance with my invention, merely grips the knob with his fingers through the recesses or windows l3 formed in the shell II and turns it in the usual manner. The circumferential width of the recesses l3 should, therefore, be sufficiently large to accommodate at least one finger of a grown-up person, but should preferably not be large enough to accommodate the whole hand of. a child.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a modified embodiment of myinvention which agrees in all essentials as to structureand function with the pre viously described attachment. In addition, however, it includes means to permit its application to a door knob, water tap and the like without depending upon the resiliency of the material from which it is made. Accordingly, its shell II is divided into two separate parts or segments l8 and i9, respectively, each comprising two diametrically opposite legs or prongs [2. Part is is of a slightly larger diametrical width than part i8 and both parts are pivoted to one another by a centrally positioned rivet 2D in such a manner as to permit relative rotation to a position of alignment wherein part I9 will practically embrace part l8 as indicated in phantom lines in Figure 4. In this condition the device may easily he slipped over the knob in lateral direction, and when it is in a position of axial alignment with the knob, parts [8 and I9 are drawn apart around their pivot 20 to assume diametrically rectangular positions relative to one another, as indicated in full lines in Figure 4.

..Suitable means are provided to lock parts l8 and IS in the described rectangular position of relative adjustment, and for this purpose a pair of small projections or beads 2i may be arranged on the inner surface of the outer part l9. Beads 2| are adapted to snap into corresponding dents ercavitiesxn provided in the outer surface ofthe inner part l8 whenever the parts have assumed their proper operative relation. It will be understood that appropriate pressure, applied to parts I 8 and 19 in opposite rotational directions, will disengage the described interlock 2!, 22 and return the parts to a position of alignment in which the shell may readily be detached from the knob.

The described embodiments of my invention are exceedingly simple, require a minimum in material and are easy to manufacture. They are pleasing in appearance, may be made in any color or finish, and will not disturb the harmony of any drawing room, chest or cupboard. If desired, the recesses or windows i3 may be closed by membranes of flexible material, such as rubher, which will not interfere with the revolvability of th device around its knob if appropriately spaced therefrom, and yet will permit a grownup person to properly grip the knob through the windows in much the same manner as if the windows had been left open.

While I have described my invention with the aid of two examples, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the particular structures illustrated and described, because many other devices based on the same principles and providing equivalent performance will readily occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of my invention. Thus, while both the illustrated embodiments possess four lateral windows i3, it will be understood that devices Of equal effectiveness may be constructed which have a smaller or a greater number of such windows. Also, while I have stated that I prefer the use of a resilient type of steel for the construction of the first described example of my invention, it will be understood that any other metal and even plastics or wood may be employed in the manufacture of the numerous feasible embodiments of my invention.

This is a continuation of my United States patent-application Serial Number 728,901, filed on February :15, 1947, now abandoned.

I claim; I y

l. A safety device for attachment to knobs to prevent operative rotation thereof by infants, comprising a free shell of firm material proportioned to the knob to which it is to be attached so as to enclose almost the entire frontal surface thereof and adapted to present a smooth sliding surface thereto so as to be freely rotatable around said knob without impartin operative rotation thereto, said shell having a plurality of lateral openings of suilicient size to admit the'finger of a grown-up person so arranged'as to expose gripping portions of the periphery of the enclosed knob.

2. A handle structure for doors comprising an operating knob adapted to turn about its geometrical center axis for effective operation, and a free shell of firm material arranged around and supported solely by said knob, said shell having a smooth inner surface so as to be freely rotatable around said knob without irnpartin operative rotation thereto, and possessing a number of lateral openings of a size large enough to admit at least one finger of a grown-up person into contact with the surface of the enclosed knob.

3. An attachment for an operating knob of the type employed on doors, chests and the like, comprising a shell adapted to loosely surround said operating knob and havinga smooth inner surface adapted to slidably revolve about said knob saidsheil being composedof. a plurality of eg- 6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 109,342 Phillips Nov. 15, 1870 619,223 Ramey et a1. Feb. 7, 1899 853,537 Dubisee May 14, 1907

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