Doorknob With Protective Portion

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention comprise a doorknob with a knob portion and a protective portion. A plurality of knob extrusions may extend outwards from a knob outer surface. A plurality of protective portion indentations may extend from a protective portion inner surface towards a protective portion outer surface. The protective portion may be removably or permanently configured over the knob portion whereby the plurality of knob extrusions are configured within the plurality of protective portion indentations to secure the protective portion to the knob portion. The knob extrusions may extend a distance parallel to a knob center axis. Said distance may be less than a corresponding knob length. The knob extrusions may be configured within the protective portion indentations whereby the protective portion is secured to the knob both tangentially and axially.

Claims

1. A doorknob comprising: a knob portion comprising: a knob outer surface; a knob front face; a knob rear connector; a knob length extending from the knob rear connector to the knob front face; a knob center axis; a plurality of knob extrusions extending outwards from the knob outer surface, wherein the plurality of knob extrusions also extend axially along the knob outer surface; a protective portion comprising: a protective portion front face; a protective portion inner surface; a protective portion outer surface; and a plurality of protective portion indentations extending from the protective portion inner surface towards the protective portion outer surface, wherein the protective portion is configured over the knob portion whereby each of the plurality of knob extrusions is configured within a corresponding one of the plurality of protective portion indentations, wherein the protective portion is secured tangentially to the knob portion by the mating between the plurality of knob extrusions and the plurality of protective portion indentations, wherein the protective portion front face extends past the knob front face, wherein at least a portion of the protective portion front face is accessible through the protective portion front face, wherein the protective portion front face serves as a barrier between the knob portion and another object.

2. The doorknob of claim 1, further comprising a lock actuator configured on the knob front face, wherein the lock actuator is accessible through the protective portion front face.

3. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the plurality of knob extrusions extend the entire knob length axially along the knob outer surface.

4. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the plurality of knob extrusions do not extend the entire knob length axially along the knob outer surface, wherein the protective portion is secured axially to the knob portion by the connection between the plurality of knob extrusions and the plurality of protective portion indentations.

5. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of knob extrusions comprise: two axial sides; and an extrusion inward cut configured at each axial side, wherein each of the plurality of protective portion indentations comprise: two axial sides; and an indentation outward cut, wherein when each of the plurality of knob extrusions is configured within a corresponding one of the plurality of protective portion indentations, each indentation outward cut is configured within an extrusion inward cut to further secure the protective portion tangentially to the knob portion.

6. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the protective portion is permanently connected to the knob portion.

7. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the protective portion is removably connected to the knob portion.

8. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the knob portion has a knob portion diameter, wherein each of the plurality of knob extrusions extends a knob extrusion distance from the knob outer surface, wherein the knob extrusion distance is twice the knob diameter or less.

9. The doorknob of claim 8, wherein the knob extrusion distance is one times the knob diameter or less.

10. The doorknob of claim 8, wherein the knob extrusion distance is half the knob diameter or less.

11. The doorknob of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of protective portion indentations extend a protective portion indentation distance from the protective portion inner surface towards the protective portion outer surface, wherein the protective portion indentation distance is substantially the same as the knob extrusion distance.

12. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the plurality of knob extrusions are 2 or more knob extrusions, and wherein the plurality of protective portion indentations are 2 or more protective portion indentations.

13. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the plurality of knob extrusions are 4 or more knob extrusions, and wherein the plurality of protective portion indentations are 4 or more protective portion indentations.

14. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the protective portion outer surface is free of extrusions and indentations, and wherein the protective portion outer surface has a surface roughness of 5 microns or less.

15. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the protective portion outer surface comprises protective portion outer surface indentations extending from the protective portion outer surface towards the protective portion inner surface.

16. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the knob portion further comprises a knob rear stop configured between the knob front face and the knob rear connector and extending outwards from the knob outer surface, wherein the plurality of knob extrusions do not extend axially along the knob rear stop, wherein the protective portion is not configured over the knob rear stop.

17. The doorknob of claim 16, wherein plurality of knob extrusions extend from the front face to the knob rear stop.

18. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the knob portion further comprises a plurality of knob indentations extending from the knob outer surface towards the knob center axis, wherein the protective portion further comprises a plurality of protective portion extrusions protruding from the protective portion inner surface away from the protective portion outer surface, wherein each of the plurality of protective portion extrusions is configured within a corresponding one of the plurality of knob indentations to secure the protective portion axially to the knob portion.

19. The doorknob of claim 16, wherein the knob portion further comprises a plurality of knob indentations extending from the knob outer surface towards the knob center axis, wherein the protective portion further comprises a plurality of protective portion extrusions protruding from the protective portion inner surface away from the protective portion outer surface, wherein each of the plurality of protective portion extrusions is configured within a corresponding one of the plurality of knob indentations to secure the protective portion axially to the knob portion.

20. The doorknob of claim 1, wherein the knob portion further comprises a knob rear face, wherein the protective portion further comprises a protective portion rear face, wherein the knob front face and the knob rear face are both configured between the protective portion front face and the protective portion rear face to secure the protective portion axially to the knob portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a doorknob according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the knob portion of the doorknob of FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a front view of the knob portion of FIG. 2.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a side view of the knob portion of FIG. 2.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a front view of a protective portion of the doorknob of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of the protective portion of FIG. 5.

[0024] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a doorknob according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the knob portion of the doorknob of FIG. 7.

[0026] FIG. 9 is a side view of the knob portion of FIG. 8.

[0027] FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of a protective portion of the doorknob of FIG. 7.

[0028] FIG. 11 is a side view of a protective portion with a smooth outer surface.

[0029] FIG. 12 is a side view of a protective portion with outer surface indentations.

[0030] The broken lines in FIG. 5 show portions of the protective portion that would not otherwise be visible in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] The description provided herein describes example embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to any particular embodiment, feature, component, material, design, shape, size, or any other property. The drawings provided herein show example embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention to any particular embodiment, feature, component, material, design, shape, size, or any other property. The drawings may not be drawn to scale. The present invention may comprise any combination of the various embodiments described herein. Other embodiments may be created by combining features, components, and designs described in various embodiments herein.

[0032] As used herein, the term inwards means towards the knob center axis or towards a center of a cylinder formed by the knob portion or protective portion. The term outwards means away from the knob center axis or away from a center of a cylinder formed by the knob portion or protective portion. These terms may be used differently in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/637,290. However, the direction of the knob extrusions and protective portion indentations shown and described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/637,290 is intended to be the same as those shown and described in this application.

[0033] In U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/637,290, the term cover is used instead of protective portion. The protective portion shown and described in this application may have the same design, functionality, and purpose as the cover shown and described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/637,290. This does not limit the protective portion to the exact design, functionality, and purpose of the cover shown and described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/637,290, but incorporates said design, functionality, and purpose as possible embodiments herein.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1-6, a protective portion 50 of a doorknob 10 is configured over a knob portion 20 of the doorknob 10 such that a knob front face 20 is exposed through a protective portion front face 52. The protective portion 50 is configured such that the protective portion front face 52 is parallel with the knob front face 22. A lock actuator 48 is configured on the knob front face 22 and is accessible through the protective portion front face 52.

[0035] A knob rear face 24 is configured opposite the knob front face 24. A knob rear connector 26 extends from the knob rear face 24. The knob rear connector 26 may be used to connect the doorknob 10 to a door or to another doorknob (not shown). A knob center axis 30 extends through the knob portion 20 as shown in FIG. 4. A knob length 32 extends along the knob center axis 30 from the knob front face 22 to the knob rear connector 26. In some embodiments, the knob length may extend from the lock actuator 48 to the knob rear connector 26 since the lock actuator 48 may extend from the knob front face 22. In other embodiments, the knob length may extend only from the knob front face 22 to the knob rear face 24.

[0036] A plurality of knob extrusions 40 extend outwards from a knob outer surface 36. The knob extrusions 40 each extend a knob extrusion distance 42 from the knob outer surface 36. Four knob extrusions 40 are shown in FIGS. 2-4. This is not intended to limit the doorknob to having only four knob extrusions. The doorknob may comprise 2 or more knob extrusions, 4 or more knob extrusions, 8 or more knob extrusions, or any number between and including the values provided. The knob extrusions 40 may be arranged in a radially symmetric pattern about the knob center axis 30. Since the knob outer surface 36 is cylindrical as shown in FIGS. 2-4, the knob extrusions 40 may each have a rounded top and 4 linear walls. Two of the linear walls of the knob extrusions may extend away from the knob center axis 30 at a non-parallel angle relative to each other and define extrusion inward cuts 47 described further herein.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, the knob portion 20 has a knob diameter 34 that is measured across opposing points of the knob outer surface 36, but not at the knob extrusions 40. In some embodiments, the knob diameter may be measured across opposing points on the knob extrusions.

[0038] The protective portion 50 has a protective portion inner surface 66 and a protective portion outer surface 64. A plurality of protective portion indentations 70 extend from the protective portion inner surface 66 towards the protective portion outer surface 64. The protective portion indentations 70 each extend a protective portion indentation distance 72. Four protective portion indentations 70 are shown in FIG. 5. This is not intended to limit the protective portion of the doorknob to having only four protective portion indentations. The protective portion may comprise 2 or more protective portion indentations, 4 or more protective portion indentations, 8 or more protective portion indentations, or any number between and including the values provided. In preferred embodiments, the number of protective portion indentations 70 is equal to the number of knob extrusions 40. The protective portion indentations 70 may be arranged in a radially symmetric pattern about the protective portion inner surface 66. When the protective portion 50 is configured over the knob portion 20, the protective portion indentations 70 may be arranged in a radially symmetric pattern about the knob center axis 70. The shapes of the protective portion indentations 70 preferably match the shapes of the knob extrusions 40 so that the knob extrusions 40 fit within the protective portion indentations 70.

[0039] The protective portion 50 is configured over the knob portion 20 such that each of the plurality of knob extrusions 40 are configured within one of the plurality of protective portion indentations 70. Simply configuring the protective portion 50 over the knob portion 20 may secure the protective portion 50 radially to the knob portion 20. Configuring each of the plurality of protective portion extrusions 40 into one of the plurality of protective portion indentations 70 may secure the protective portion 50 tangentially to the knob portion 20. When the protective portion 50 is configured over the knob portion 20, the knob rear face 24 may contact the protective portion inner surface 66 at a protective portion rear face 54, and the knob front face 22 may contact the protective portion inner surface 66 at the protective portion front face 52. These contact points may secure the protective portion 50 axially to the knob portion 20.

[0040] Each knob portion 40 has two axial sides 45 configured opposite one another. Each axial side 45 is configured parallel to the knob front face 22 and the knob rear face 24. Each knob extrusion 40 has two extrusion inward cuts 47 that extend inwards towards one another and towards the knob center axis 30. Each protective portion indentation 70 has two axial sides 76 configured opposite one another. Each protective portion indentation 70 has two indentation outward cuts 78 that extend outwards away from one another and towards the protective portion outer surface 64. When the protective portion 50 is configured over the knob portion 20, each indentation outward cut 78 may be configured within a corresponding extrusion inward cut 46 to further secure the protective portion 50 tangentially to the knob portion 20. When the protective portion 50 is configured over the knob portion 20, both the axial sides 45 of each of the plurality of knob extrusions 40 may be configured between the axial sides 76 of a corresponding protective portion indentation 70 into which the knob extrusion 40 is configured. This arrangement may secure the protective portion 50 axially to the knob portion 20.

[0041] As shown in FIGS. 7-10, the protective portion 50 of the doorknob 10 is configured over the knob portion 20 such that the knob front face 20 is exposed through the protective portion front face 52. The protective portion 50 is configured such that the protective portion front face 52 is parallel with the knob front face 22. The lock actuator 48 is accessible through the protective portion front face 52. Instead of being configured over the knob rear face, the protective portion rear face 54 contacts a knob rear stop 46 that extends outwards from the protective portion outer surface 36. This contact prevents the protective portion 50 from moving axially along the knob portion 20 towards the knob rear connector 26. However, this contact does not prevent the protective portion 50 from moving axially along the knob portion 20 away from the knob rear connector 26.

[0042] In order to prevent the protective portion 50 from moving axially along the knob portion 20 away from the protective portion rear connector 26 in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7-10, the knob portion 20 comprises a plurality of knob indentations 44 configured on the knob extrusions 40 and the knob outer surface 36 and extending inwards towards the knob center axis 30. In some embodiments, the knob indentations 44 are only configured on the knob outer surface 36. In other embodiments, the knob indentations 44 are only configured on the knob extrusions 40. The protective portion 50 comprises a plurality of protective portion extrusions 74 that correspond to the plurality of knob indentations 44. The protective portion extrusions 74 are configured on the protective portion inner surface 66 and in the protective portion indentations 70. The protective portion extrusions 74 extend inwards away from the protective portion outer surface 64. In some embodiments, the protective portion extrusions 74 are only configured on the protective portion inner surface 66. In other embodiments, the protective portion extrusions 74 are only configured in the protective portion indentations 70.

[0043] Each of the plurality of protective portion extrusions 74 may be configured in a corresponding one of the plurality of knob indentations 44 to prevent the protective portion 50 from moving axially along the knob portion 20 away from the knob rear connector 26. This may also secure the protective portion 50 tangentially to the knob portion 20. However, since the knob extrusions 40 and protective portion indentations 70 may extend a greater distance from their respective surfaces than the knob indentations 44 and protective portion extrusions 74, the mating between the knob extrusions 40 and protective portion indentations 70 may better secure the protective portion 50 tangentially to the knob portion 20 than the mating between the knob indentations 44 and the protective portion extrusions 74.

[0044] Each of the plurality of protective portion extrusions 74 may be shaped as an inclined plane as shown in FIG. 10. The highest point of the inclined plane may face the protective portion front face 52. Likewise, each of the plurality of knob indentations 44 may be shaped as an inclined plan depressed into the knob outer surface 36 and/or plurality of knob extrusions 40. The lowest point of the depressed inclined plan may face the knob front face 22 so that the shapes of the knob indentations 44 match those of the protective portion extrusions 74.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 11, a protective portion 50 has a smooth protective portion outer surface 64. The protective portion outer surface 64 is free from extrusions or indentations. As shown in FIG. 12, outer surface indentations 80 are configured on the protective portion outer surface 64. The outer surface indentations 80 extend from the protective portion outer surface 64 towards the protective portion inner surface. The outer surface indentations 80 may allow for a user to easily grip the protective portion 50 when turning the doorknob 10. As shown in FIG. 12, the outer surface indentations 80 are arranged in a checkered pattern across the protective portion outer surface 64. This is not intended to limit the pattern of the outer surface indentations 80 in all embodiments of the invention. The outer surface indentations may be any shape and size and may be arranged in any pattern across the protective portion outer surface.