Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a doo~ opener aid particularly
suitable for attachment onto a screen or storm door that is
fitted with a plunger type latch set, whether that latch set
be fitted with a lock, or a keyed lock, or neither.
Small children from walking age to about five or six
years old do not have the physical strength, nor the
coordination, to depress the plunger of a plunger type latch
set and at the same time pull open the screen or storm door
to gain access into the house without assistance. The
sequence of pushing the plunger, on the one hand, and pulling
the door, on the other hand, is an unnatural sequence to small
children and one that has to eventually be learned.
It is agonizing for a parent or guardian, particularly
when indisposed, as by cooking dinner or the like, to be
required to assist the child's wishes to enter the kitchen
after playing outdoors by opening the kitchen door for them.
Because of the lack of strength and coordination for the
infant child there is frustration generated by both child and
parent.
There is advantage to my novel door opener aid in that
the physical sequence which a child goes through in utilizing
the novel door opener aid according to the invention is to
avoid the otherwise unnatural physical co-ordination and hand
sequences of simultaneously pushing and pulling since only a
single pulling action is required as will become apparent.
I have found that my novel door opener aid may be
affixed to the plunger latch set and when activated will cause
the plunger to be depressed by the action of "pulling" and
simultaneously ajar the door open in the outward direction in
a manner that is logically consistent and physically easily
accomplished by a child in a single smooth "pulling" motion.
There is further advantage to the invention in that the
door opener aid does not overtly obscure the plunger so that
the plunger may still be used and depressed by the thumb of an
adult into activation and that person may pull, with the
forefingers of the hand and open the door in a manner
consistent with the door not being outfitted with my novel
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door opener aid.
The invention therefore achieves a door opener aid
adapted for attachment to a plunger type latch set mounted on
a door, that latch set including a housing carrying a thumb
activated reciprocating plunger which when depressed unlatches
the set and hence allows the door to open, the housing
extending into a depending handle, the door opener aid
comprising-
(a) a lever carrying bracket means adapted for mounting
on the latch set and carrying a fulcrum;
(b) means for securing the bracket means to the latch
set; and,
(c) a lever defining its fulcrum between an effort arm
on the one side thereof and a load arm on the other side
thereof, the load arm defining a load point adapted to
engage the plunger and depress the same when effort is
applied to the effort arm.
The invention will now be described by way of example
and reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the door opener aid
according to the invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the door opener aid
according to figure l, in application on a plunger type latch
set.
Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the latch
set in an operative environment or location.
Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the location of
figure 3 showing an infant activating the latch set while
employing the door opener aid according to the invention.
Referring to figure 1 the door opener aid lO consists of
a profiled or formed lever 11, a lever carrying bracket means
12 carrying, as a pin 13 with peened ends that secure the pin
13 to the lever carrying bracket means 12. The pin 13 acts as
the fulcrum 14 for the lever ll. The lever carrying bracket
means 12 is preferably formed into the letter "A" in section,
from a single piece of cast metal with the distal arms
carrying the pivot pin 13 and the eye 16 of the "A" defining
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at its apex a threaded aperture through which a threaded shaft17 of a thumb screw 18 extends all as clearly seen in figure
2. The thumb screw 18 is turned down to securely engage the
door opener aid lO onto a dependiny handle 21 of a latch set
22 associated with a screen or storm door 25.
The latch set 22 defines at its lower end a handle 21
that extends upward merging into a housing 23 that defines a
channel through which extends a reciprocating plunger 24 for
engaging and unlatching the latch set 22 and door 25. When
the plunger 24 is depressed, into direction of arrow P in
figure 2, the latch set 22 unlatches the door 25 in a
conventional manner known to those skilled in the art.
The formed lever 11 is shaped as shown in the figures
and has as its force arm, a lower shaped handle segment 31
with a forward thumb-bearing surface 32 that merges into a
bulbous forward projection 33 and forms the frontal surface of
the load arm formed as a forward by sloping curve at 34
terminating at a tip 35. The under surface of the tip 35 acts
as a bearing surface 36 that is adapted to urge against the
frontal face of the plunger 24 to activate it to and fro. The
bearing surface 36, which is the load point for the lever 11
is a shaped surface that arcuately curves away from the
frontal surface 34 and tip 35 into the bearing surface 36 and
thence reversingly curves through a concave segment 37
smoothly into a bulbous protrusion 38 whose marginal surface
39 may be coincident with the locii of points trace out by a
sector of the circumference of the circle whose radius is
centered on an aperature 14 (the fulcrum) so that the lever 11
when pulled from its phantom rest position Pi through the
plunger engaging operative postion Pe/ into the full plunger
derpression position PO unlatches the door set 22. The
lever is free to move through each of these positions because
of the profile of the bulbous marginal surface 39 which
escapes contact from the lateral bridge extending between
opposite arms of the "A" lever carrying bracket means 12.
In operation, the arrows P and C respectively indicate
the "single pull outward" action which is initiated by arrow C
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by the infact shown in figure 4 to cause the plunger 24 to be
depressed in the direction of the arrow P by the bearing
surface 36 of the lever 11 and now referring to figure 4, to
cause the door 25 to open according to arrow D to the phantom
position and, further open position that is seen in figure 3.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain
modifications can be made to the invention without deviating
from what is claimed.
