Abstract
A pair of foot-contacting components are magnetically coupled on both sides of the bottom frame of a corner of a sliding screen door. The magnetic coupling holds the components to one another about the frame and near to the door's lower corner. The components have foot or toe contact surfaces so that either component can be contacted by a foot or toe in such a manner that lateral movement of the user's foot or toe against the component will slide the door open or closed in its trackway. The components are shaped to facilitate contact with the user's toe/foot and are easy to put onto the door and selectively removed. The magnets are molded into components (preferably made of silicone, rubber, hard plastic, etc.) and can be quickly placed onto the door and removed.
Claims
1. A pair of components for a sliding door each component containing and comprising a magnet which, when each of the components are assembled on opposed sides of a bottom frame near a corner of the sliding door, attract and magnetically hold to one another through the sliding door, each component having a pair of opposed, laterally directed, foot-contacting surfaces to facilitate the lateral sliding of the door in a direction of a user's foot movement, so as to selectively open or close the sliding door, each of the components comprises a flat back, a pair of upwardly and inwardly sloped side walls, inwardly curved side walls, and a central depression in the curved side walls, and wherein each of the magnets is embedded in the respective component.
2. The pair of components as claimed in claim 1 made of molded silicone.
3. The pair of components as claimed in claim 1 wherein each magnet is protectively encased within the respective component.
4. The pair of components as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magnets are sufficiently strong to hold to one another across a centrally located, non-ferrous slidable screen door of about ½ inch in thickness.
5. The pair of components as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magnets couple to one another with a strength of at least 4 pounds of magnetic force across a thickness of the sliding door of about ½ an inch.
6. The pair of components as claimed in claim 1 wherein an outside surface of each of said components is formed to accommodate a thumb, a palm or fingers of a hand to facilitate turning of one of said pair of components with respect to the other of said pair of components.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1 is a front and bottom perspective view of one of the identical two components which mate to one another about the bottom frame near the corner of a screen door. The components contain bar magnets extending along the flat backs of the components. The magnets have their polarity arranged within the components so as to magnetically attract to one another with the bottom frame near the corner of the screen door therebetween;
(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of the component shown in FIG. 1;
(3) FIG. 3 is a top view of the component shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
(4) FIG. 4 is a side view of the component shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, with the other side being a mirror image thereof;
(5) FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the interior of the component shown in FIG. 3, showing the interior cavity formed with a bar magnet and other pieces contributing to the manufacture of one of the mating components of the device; and
(6) FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of two components shown in FIGS. 1-5, magnetically secured to one another on opposed sides of the frame of a sliding screen door, with a foot of a user being moved by his/her leg to slide the door so as to open the door.
(7) FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of one of the identical two components of a second embodiment which magnetically mates to another about the bottom frame near the corner of a screen door. The components contain magnets which have their polarity arranged within the opposed components so as to magnetically attract to one another with the bottom frame near the corner of the screen door therebetween;
(8) FIG. 8 is a front view of the component shown in FIG. 7;
(9) FIG. 9 is a top view of the component shown in FIGS. 7 and 8;
(10) FIG. 10 is a side view of the component shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, with the other side being a mirror image;
(11) FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the interior of the component shown in FIGS. 7-10, similar to that shown in FIG. 5 (but with a different handle and slope of the foot contact surfaces), showing the interior cavity formed with a magnet and other pieces contributing to the manufacture of one of the mating components of the device;
(12) FIG. 12 is a top perspective view of two identical components, one of which is shown in FIGS. 7-11 and shows them magnetically secured to one another on opposed sides of the bottom frame near the corner of the sliding screen door with a foot or the toes of a user being moved against the foot contacting surface of one component to laterally slide and open the sliding screen door.
(13) FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the invention, made of molded silicone with a magnet embedded, along with a scaled portion of a tape measure to show approximate dimensions of the same (the roughness of the exterior of the component being a function of the fact that this drawing figure is based on a prototype which was hand formed—the actual production version should be smooth walled;
(14) FIG. 14 is another front elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 with the scaled tape measure again shown to generally indicate another relative dimension of this component and embodiment of the invention;
(15) FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14;
(16) FIG. 16 is another top plan view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 15, along with a scaled tape measure to show the approximate dimension of the component from front to rear (the rear being securable to the bottom frame near the corner of a screen door);
(17) FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 13-16;
(18) FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 13-17 with a scaled tape measure to show approximate relative dimensions of this component; and
(19) FIG. 19 is a horizontal planar cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a component for the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(20) As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, a component 10 is shown which is preferably made of a hard, thin-walled plastic molding or extrusion process. Alternatively, as will be described, the product 10 is made from molded silicone. This single component 10 is one of two such components that magnetically mate or couple with one another with the bottom frame near the corner of a sliding screen door held therebetween (as seen in FIGS. 6 and 12). The two components 10 are physically and magnetically identical to one another so that when placed on opposed sides of the screen door, the North Pole of the magnet on the interior side of the door of one component couples to the South Pole of the component on the opposed exterior side of the door. Thus, with N-S and S-N magnetic pole attraction of the bar magnets housed within two of the components 10, the two components 10 are secured about the bottom frame near the corner of the screen door and magnetically to one another. This is shown in FIGS. 6 and 12. If, upon initial assembly about the corner of the aluminum screen door, the two components repel one another, the user can simply flip either of the components over so that the contained magnets attract, as opposed polarity attract one another. In this manner the two components will be held to the bottom frame near the corner of a slidable screen door, just a few inches or so from the corner nearest to the door jamb and just above floor level. A handle with side surfaces which also serve as the foot or toe contact surface is provided to facilitate opening and closing the door without the use of hands. The handle is referred to as element 7 (see FIGS. 6 and 12).
(21) The component 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a flat back surface 12 which bears against the frame of the door. The component 10 contains a bar magnet extending from side to side, just inside of the back surface 12. Two opposed side surfaces 14, and 16, a top surface 18 and a bottom surface 20 are provided. The front 22 is segmented into two planar surfaces 24 and 26 and a central toe or foot contact member 28 between the planar surfaces 24 and 26. The toe or foot contact member 28 has a top 30, an opposed bottom 32 (which is parallel to the plane of top surface 30 and to bottom surface 20 but slightly upwardly indented therefrom), and two upwardly and inwardly (or outwardly as in the embodiment of FIGS. 7-11) slanted toe or foot contact surfaces 34 and 36. The bottom 32 of the toe or foot contact member 28 is upwardly recessed from the bottom surface 20, toward top surface 18 as the top 30 of foot contact member 28 is slightly downwardly recessed from the top surface 18. The pair of opposed toe contacts 34 and 36 (of the FIG. 1 embodiment) gently upwardly and inwardly taper from surfaces 24 and 26, respectively, to the small front piece 50. Front piece 50 is parallel to the back surface 12. Top and bottom surfaces 30 and 32, respectively, of the toe or foot contact member 28, are parallel to top surface 18 and bottom surface 20.
(22) Turning attention to FIG. 5, the pieces that form the component 10 are shown in cross-section. The components 10 can be made of molded silicone or extruded hard plastic or another durable material. Preferably, when made of hard plastic, the component is made of two pieces with one piece forming an open-to-the-front cavity and the other piece forming a rearwardly-opened insert or covering. Together the two pieces form a cavity. The two pieces are dimensionally configured so that the rearwardly open element 51 slides into and within the forwardly open cavity-like element 53 to together form a closed cavity between the pieces 51 and 53. The cavity will house the internally-located bar magnet.
(23) In this embodiment, the sides 14 and 16 and the back 12 along with the top and bottom, 18 and 20, are formed as an open cavity 53 with those identified elements as thin hard plastic walls. A layer of foam or soft material 25 can be adhered or otherwise secured to the back 12. This layer 25 is meant to protect the sliding screen door from damage when the component(s) are secured about the bottom frame near the corner of the aluminum, enamel-painted screen door. An inside (and smaller dimensioned), open towards the rear, box shape is formed from interior side walls 62, 64, and interior top and bottom walls 66 and 68, the latter two not being shown in the cross-section. Top surfaces 24 and 26 ae formed with the rest of the inside open towards the back cavity piece. Clearly, the rearwardly open and dimensionally smaller open box shape defined by walls 62, 64, 66 and 68 fits within the open to the front and dimensionally larger open box defined by walls 14, 16, 18 and 20. The top surface 18 of the combined two pieces, each formed from extruded or molded hard plastic, is the top surface of component 10.
(24) A bar magnet 70 extends between the side walls 14 and 16 and is housed within the inside of the cavity defined by the walls of the component 10. It has, of course, a N and S pole extending outwardly and under the planar surfaces 24 and 26, and will magnetically connect to another component 10 with a similar bar magnet, but with its N and S pole-opposed to the S and N pole of the first component. To magnetically connect, the N of one bar magnet of a first component 10 must be opposed to the S of the bar magnet of the second mating component 10, with the frame of the screen door therebetween. Preferably, each of the bar magnets are provided with a central aperture 80 which holds the magnets 70 in place and to a handle 7 or the piece provided with the toe or foot contact surfaces. The magnet 70 within the closed cavity of the component 10 can be drilled with a hole and that aperture 80 provides a location for a screw 72, which has its head 74 countersunk in the aperture 80 and its screw threads extending into the base of the handle 7 or 90, formed of the elements 28, 30, 32 and 34 and 36. That handle 7 can be plastic molded and solid or it can be a wood piece secured to the front of the component 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the handle 7 can be hard plastic or wooden and the screw threads of screw 72 extend from near the front of the component toward the back of the same. The handle 7 is thus secured to the front surface of the open to the rear cavity or box. An adhesive layer of foam 95 can extend over the head of the screw 72 and toward the sides to secure the assembly and serves to protect the bar magnet. The two open cavities are secured together into a single component with the magnetic bar 70 therein. As mentioned, a protective layer of thin foam 25 can be secured/adhered to the back of the component to protect the screen door from damage.
(25) The primary difference between the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5 and 7-11, is the shape of the handle 7 or foot contact surface, referred to as element 28, with that of FIGS. 1-5 showing the handle as more pyramidal (wider at its base) and that of FIGS. 7-11 as showing the handle tapering inwardly ad downwardly from the top to the surfaces 24 and 26.
(26) As seen in FIG. 6, a set (or two) components are magnetically secured to one another on the two sides (outside and inside of the same lower corner of the frame of a screen door, the corner nearest to the door jamb). There they will remain until manually removed (for example, after an event, or preparing for the winter). With the components magnetically connected about the frame of the screen door, as described, when a user desires to open or close the sliding screen door 100, he can easily locate his/her foot or toes on one of the inclined sides 34 or 36 of the component 10 (depending upon whether the user is opening the screen door 100 or closing the screen door). Contact between the toes or foot and the foot contact surfaces 34 or 36 and then moving one's foot, toes or leg in the proper and desired direction will easily cause the component 10 to slide the screen door 100 in the open or closed direction/condition. Placing one's foot on the opposed foot contact surfaces 34 or 36, of the same first component 10, will allow the user to slide the screen door 100 in the opposite direction. And, of course, when the user passes through the open screen door to the other side, he/she can similarly operate the opening and closing of the screen door 100 in the same manner as from the inside just described above. As should be appreciated, the components 10 are magnetically secured to the bottom frame near the corner of the screen door 100 and move together to operate to open and close the screen door 100. When the components and screen door openers/closers are no longer desired or needed, an individual can simply pull on one or both of the handles protruding outwardly to disengage the magnetic coupling. Stated differently, the mechanical and manual force of an adult should easily be able to overcome the magnetic attractive forces of the magnetic bars. Often a twisting motion on one or both of the handles will ease the removal of the components from one another.
(27) The foot/toe contact surfaces, 34 and 36, are inclined to facilitate the contact and movement of the screen door 100 by action of the foot/toes and leg of the user. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the front or top surface of the handle 7 (the foot contact element 28) can have a central depression or notch within which the user's toe(s) (whether with or without shoes thereon) can fit and rest to slide the screen door 100 open or closed. It is also within the scope of the present invention for the handle or foot/toe contact surfaces to be located on the top surface of the components, I.e., they need not necessarily extend from the front of the components. FIG. 6 shows the contact of the inside of the foot (pinky toes) against the opening side of the component's handle 7 or foot or toe contact surface, i.e., side 34.
(28) FIGS. 7 through 12 of the drawings correspond to those of FIGS. 1-6 with the same numbers corresponding to the same elements. The difference between the embodiment of FIGS. 7-12 and that shown in FIGS. 1-6 resides in the shape of the handle component 7 (also referred to as the foot/toes contact piece.) More specifically, the handles 7 for the components of FIGS. 1-6 show the inclined walls 34 and 36 to broaden toward the base or back of the components 10 while the handles shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 7-12 show the handles 7 and the inclined walls 34b and 36b narrowing from their top toward the planar surfaces 24 and 26 of the front of the components 10. The difference in the shape of the handles seems to be one of aesthetics but also corresponds with the ease and simplicity of placement and removal of the components—with it being currently understood that the components 10 with the narrowing to the surfaces 24 and 26 (FIG. 11) shape for the handle 7 is seemingly easier to manually, as desired, disengage the bar magnets 70 (and is more comfortable and easier to use for assembly and removal of the components.
(29) The magnets require a significant amount of magnetic strength per unit of weight. These strong magnets can be brittle and thus can shatter if abused. Thus, the present invention provides the protective casing (hard plastic or silicone for example) and materials, e.g., holding the magnets within walls of mating cavities, foam or layers of material, and adhesive to surround the magnets, complete the cavities, etc. Yet, it is important that the magnets be strong enough to hold to one another and not slide on the screen door as the door is moved laterally and that the components 10 cannot be easily pulled off of the doors by children. They should not be small enough either for small children to accidentally swallow the same as the components are at a low floor level, otherwise attained by small children.
(30) Generally, a common screen door is about ½″ thick so the magnetic attraction must extend beyond that distance and still hold the two components magnetically to one another and without sliding along the base of the screen door as laterally movement of one component is sought by foot and leg movement. The components each have a base and possibly a layer of foam, usually no more than ¼″ on the back. The inventors have determined that a magnetic attraction of about 7 pounds for the ½″ screen door thickness or separation is about right for the intended use.
(31) With respect to the hard plastic cases for the bar magnets, described above, a non-permanent, protective adhesive strip, like carpet tape, can be provided to the back of the components, so that the dimensions are thus slightly increased.
(32) For the silicone molded model (shown in FIGS. 13-18) for the magnetic materials, a magnet of about 2″ by 1″ by ½″ seems appropriate with an N52 Neodymium magnetic material designation. The strength of the magnets at ½″ of distance (for the thickness of the screen door) is about 5.95 pounds and the strength at ¼″ is about 21.89 pounds. In the molded silicone embodiment, the back (which abuts the screen door) is about 4.6″ from side to side, the front (which projects outward from the screen door) is about 2.5″, in side to side length, with the height of the component and its distance from front to rear being about 1.5″. The contained magnet will measure about 2″×1″ by ½″. The toe groove extending forwardly from the front toward the rear of the components can be about ½″ deep and the outwardly extending sides of the component, i.e., the actual foot or toe contact surfaces can be angled outwardly from the front towards the back of the component at about 45 degrees, starting about ¼″ or so from the back of the component. An alternate configuration could have the side or foot and toe contacting surfaces slant from the front inwardly towards the back of each component. This might provide a better gripping surface for the foot or toes. The contained magnet is generally located about ¼″ from the back of the component so that, with a ½″ screen door therebetween, the total distance between opposed magnets is ⅛″+⅛″+½″ or a total bar to bar magnetic distance of about ¾″.
(33) Turning attention to FIG. 13 and on as related to the silicone molded casing for the magnets, it is clear that a flat back or screen door contact surface of about 4.6″ is appropriate, a thickness from back of component to its front or foot/toe contact sides of 1.5 inches, and a thickness from the bottom to the top of the components should be about 1.5″. The middle toe contact groove (to ease foot and toe contact and thus ease in screen door movement) should be about 0.5″ deep and the magnetic bar 70 separated by silicone and/or foam from the location of the wall which abuts the frame should be about ½″. In alternate embodiments of the silicone or other versions of the device, the components can be made in different colors, can have LED embedded lights, etc. And, as mentioned, while the FIGS. show surface irregularities, it is intended that the final product be smooth walled. The difference is that the FIGS. Were drawn from the hand-made prototypes and not a final end product.
(34) In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13-18, with scaled tape measures adjacent to show possible relative dimensions, a component 210 is shown with a front 214, flat back 212, a pair of upwardly and inwardly sloped side walls 218 and 220, and inwardly curved side walls 230. The curved wall extends from one side to the other and has a central depression or crease 240. The depression is provided to facilitate the easy toe or foot placement to open or close the door. The inwardly sloped walls create a directional force that adds an additional support to the magnetic attachment. The overall shape allows for hand gripping and turning of the component with respect to its opposed and identical component on the other side of the frame of a screen door. The depression is provided with suitably shaped surfaces for conforming to the thumb, forefinger and/or\ palm of a hand so that turning of the same in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction is simple and without real effort. The user can easily overcome the magnetic attraction of the bar magnets of the components to allow for ease of selective removal. FIG. 18 best shows that the component has a flat back where it contacts the frame of the screen door.
(35) Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 19 and it is in the general shape of a flattened “Y,” with the back 312 of the component 310 corresponding to the base of the letter Y (and being about 2.5 inches). The back will be the surface to come into contact with the screen door and magnetically secure to another of the components 310. This embodiment can be molded in silicone or hard or durable plastic or other suitable material and surround the interior pieces, i.e., the bar magnet 370 and a stiffener 345. The bar magnet is generally the same type as that previously described, i.e., with a N and S pole to magnetically attract and attach to a second component 310 with its S and N poles with the frame of the screen door therebetween. As the component 310 is in the shape of a Y, the outwardly spreading legs of the Y, 314 and 316, are the foot and/or toe contacting surfaces. These extend outwardly from the back 320 and can be provided with a central notch of the Y, 322. The outside surfaces of the legs 314 and 316 can be easily contacted by foot or toes and when the foot is laterally moved the component will move along with the screen door (but not with respect to the door) and thus slide the door in the same direction as the movement of the foot. A stiffener 345 is molded within the component 310 and serves to support the bar magnet 370 and separate it slightly from the back 320. The stiffener is preferably a piece of hard but resilient plastic. The stiffener 345 is shaped as a channel, extending from top to bottom of the component 310 and has a flat back 334 and a pair of outwardly extending legs 336 and 338. The legs 336 and 338 of the stiffener 345 extend upwardly and outwardly from the flat back 334 and into the sides 340 and 342 of the Y shaped component. The stiffener can be resilient so that pressure brought against the outside of the sidearms 340 and 342 for sliding of the door will, when the foot and/or toes are removed, result in the component reassuming its original shape. As mentioned, a central notch 322 can be located between the front surfaces 350 and 352 and it, too, alternatively, can be contacted by the toes of a foot to facilitate the sliding movement of the door—a consequence of contact between the toes of the foot and the component, held to a screen door. The space or notch 322 between the legs 314 and 316 of the Y form the simple notch 322 at the middle which can serve as toe holds for sliding the door in either of the open or closed direction.
(36) In this embodiment, the front of the component will be about 4.6 inches in width, with the notch in the middle of the Y being about ½ inch wide and extending about ½ inch in depth from the front of the component 310. The top to bottom surfaces of the component 310 will be about 1.5 inches. The outside legs 340 and 342 of the Y of the component 310 extend at an angle of about 45 degrees to the back 320. A protective thin layer of material can be secured to the back 320. In this embodiment, an N52 Neodymium bar magnet 370 is embedded into the Y component and its dimensions are about 2 inches by ½ inch by ½ inch.
(37) In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a silicone body for the components will resemble the shape of the letter “M (not a “Y”). Here, the shape of the “M” component (preferably made of molded silicone, is considered superior as pressure from the toe on either side of the M component pushes towards the door. In contrast, with the “Y” shaped silicone embodiment, side pressure on the legs of the “Y” shaped component, during attempted lateral movement of the screen door, tends to pull the component away from the frame of the door. That could (and seemingly does) tend to tip and disconnect the component from the frame. the “M” shape is considered preferable to the “Y” shape for the silicone molded version.
