US2928146A - Removable door gate - Google Patents

Description

March 15, 1960 H. M. KUNMQLM 2,928,146

REMOVABLE DooR GATE Filed may 7, 1958 Y. .ll-'1.1.1.1r'. l

ATTORNEY REMovABLE Doon GATE Hugo M. Kuniholm, Ashburnham, Mass., assigner to Travers Welding Co., Inc., Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 7, 19528, Serial No. 733,722 s claims. (orzo- 11j i,

j This invention relates to a removable door gate, and more particularly to a barrier ygate whichvmay be removably locked in place in a door jamb to hold a small child Within the room..

- door jambs by their Various constructions have been employed for this'- purpose, but many have involved distiguring the door jamb or mounting projecting obstructions therein which interfere with normal passagethrough the doorway when the gate is absent, or they have comprised locking de,- vices which the child may learn to operate for removing the gate, or other constructional features which may result in injury to the child.

The primary object of this inventionjs to providea gate which includes' in its construction all of the locking elements required for clamping it firmly in position between opposed door jambs and which may be readilyv removed or positioned with a minimum of: eiort.

A further object is to provide a gatev construction which may be very quickly adjusted for'insertion between the opposed vertical door jambs of different spacings and which may be readily manipulated by an older person but cannot be operated by the child. Otherv objects will` be apparent in the following disclosure. v

Referring to the drawings illustrating oneembodiment of the invention: l

Fig. l is a vertical elevation of the gate, partly broken away, and with the locking device in an open lunlocked position; f

Fig. 2 is a similar view with a door jamb;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view; and Fig. 4 shows a sectional detail of the bumper slide constructions. l

. The construction comprises a barrier arranged to form a closure between the door jambs which is held in pothe parts locked against sition by two pairs of bumpers at the Vtop andY bottom portions of the barrier. One pair ofcushioningllbumpers is mounted at one end of thebarrier, and these are adjustably positioned in accordance with the spacing of the upright pieces of the door jamb. At the other end of the gate, two cushioning bumpers are mounted to be moved by a toggle construction and thereby lock the two pairs of bumpers rmly and under a compressive cushionin-g against the opposed uprights of the door jamb.`

The gate or barrier, which may be made of suitable material, such as metal or wood, is shown as comprisice 2,928,146

2 t may be compressibly forced into tight and frictional Aen gagement with the door jamb pieces. The bumpers may be made of suitable cushioning material held against the own resilience when compressed or by means of a supplemental helical, spring under compression which holds the bumpersy in ayielding extended position. f

The two bumpers or cushions 14 at one end of the gate are mounted for quick'adjustment into contact with the adjacent door jamb. The bumpers 15 at the other end are slidably mountedv for being forced by a toggle -joint mechanism into iirml contact with the door jamb 13. As shown at the lower left hand corner of Fig. 2 and enlarged in Fig. 4,each bumper 14 is preferably shaped as a part-,spherical body of resilient or cushioning rubber. The bumper has avlarge diameter hole :17 drilled part way throughv from the front side andA terminating at a shoulder 18 adjacent the inside or rear portion. A screw threaded slide shaped as a rod 20 has a reduced portion l21 at its forward. end terminating in an enlarged substantially conical head 22 having a smooth rounded nose, The rear face of the head rests against the shoulder 18 of the bumper vand thus holds the parts assembled. The rubber has sufficient elasticity so that ing two spaced upper and lower wooden rails 10 and 11 separated and held together by vertical wooden slats 12 suitably secured thereto vent egress of a child orfa small animal to be -conned in the room. This gate is to be held in position by frictional engagement with the vertical sides of a door jamb 13 shown diagrammatically in the drawings. The friction elements preferably comprise a pair of vertically separated cushioning bumpers 14 at one end of the gate Y and a pair of bumpers 15 at the other end. These fourbumpers are preferably made of an elastomer such as hard rubber, having a suicient resiliency sothat they vand spaced adequately to prewidths of door openings.

the conical head may be pressed through the small cylindrical hole in the shoulder 18, but the headis held from withdrawal by the vertical rear face of the cone.v

The bumper 14 isY so mounted that lit Amay,` be held in a desired extended position to provide fori-different To thiskend, a knurled-.nut24 is adjustably mounted on the threads`25 of *the screw 2%. The cylindrical rod 20 is mounted for a free slidable movement within a tubular-casing 26 which has-va. slot 27 in its upper portion. A lug 28 suitably formedI as by means of an upsetting pressure on the rod, pro.- jects upwardly into that slot and thus permits movement of the rod ,29 outwardly only until the lug strikes the end shoulder 29 of the slot. This lug 28 is located near the rear end of the rod, and the parts are so proportioned that the rod with its bumper 14 may slide outwardly through several inches to provide fora wide variation in separation door jamb. For example, the sleever26 and slide 20 may be longe enough to provide for'an'outward ,movement of the bumper through 4 or 6 inches, so that the gate may be made to lit within door openings of 30 or 32 and 36 inches width. The uppery rail 10 and the lower rail 11 are each bored to provide a Acylindrical hole within which the tube 26 is driven withl a tight lit. If desired, the tube may be further secured in placefby suitable means, such as an outer metalplate fastenedltov the end of the rail.

y A metal washer 29 Yis located at" the rear of the bumper 14 so as to transmit the pressure from the bumper to thev knurled nut 24. A f

lt will be understood that when the gate is to be Aasv sembled between the door jambs, thebumpersgll will be positioned against one door jamb Vwhen'fthe other bumpers 15 are properly located near the otherjamb, and then the freely rotatable nut 24 will be given a spin on the threaded slide 20 and brought into contact with the wooden bar 10 or -11or the end of the tube 26 orv p preferably against a metal washer 30 suitably positioned von the end of the rail. Thus the ipressure against the bumper will'be transmitted through the nut 24 tothe rail. i

The other pair of bumpers 15 are each mounted, as shown at the right of Fig. 4, on slides 32, shaped as .cylindrical rods, mounted in tubular metal sleeves 33suitably mounted with a driving't in a cylindrical hole in that endof the wooden rail'n10. The slide rod 321 is shaped atits outer end to provide the coneshaped head 34 corresponding with the part 22 at the left hand end of the vertical members ofA the,

2,928,146 Y j e oifthe .gate'andjthe'bumper 1'5is shaped the same as the .bumper 14.

The bumpers are moved by toggle joints into engagement with the adjacent door jamb. A U-shaped plate Vismounted on the slide 32 as apartA of rthe toggle mechanism'to cause movement of the bumper. A washer 369may'be'used to -transmit `the thrust between the toggle plate -35 andetheflbumper 15. 'Ihe metal tube 33 need vnotbe-provided'with a slot and limiting shoulder corresponding -with the tube 27, since the movement of the slide rod 32 is controlled by the toggle mechanism. The Adepth of the hole and the length of the sleeve 33 areimade sufficient vto provide adequate support for the slide 32 'and bumper 15 as Awell as kfor its longitudinal movement bythe toggle.

VThe manually Imanipulated'lever kwhich operates the rtoggle joint mechanism V'and Yserves Yto slide the rod 32 with iits vbumper 15 is preferably mounted on the upper rail I0. It comprises a toggle lever 4t) having two side arms `41 connected bya transverse U-shaped portion 42. Thearms 41 are pivotally mounted by means of the pins 44 on the short extension arms of the U-shaped `pieces Y35. The'transverse length of this vU-shaped piece andthe Vlength lof the connecting portion 42 of the lever fare "such -that the lever arms l41 lie Vat the outside of and gfairly close tothe upper rails 10. The two lever larms '41 are'ea'ch connected by pivot pins 45 to short -levers -46 yof the rs't class which are centrally pivoted on a bolt 47 which-is removably positioned in one of severalholes48 `(Fig. A3) bored transversely l.through theV upper wooden rail f`1`0.

The iright hand yends 'of the parallel arms 41 and the twoside levers 46 with their three pivots 44, 45 and 47 constitute the "toggle joint. When the left hand end of the'toggle vlever 40 lis raised to the position of Fig. l, "the slide rod 32 vwhich carries the upper bumper 15 is "moved inwardly because of the fixed position of the -pin-47 and the -movability of the other pins 44 and 45. When "the left hand end of the toggle vlever is thrust downwardly to the iposition of Fig. 2, at which the connection 42 ofthe arms 41 lies in engagement with the top rail 10, thenthe pin 32 is thrust outwardly and theupperbumper 15 is crowded against the door jamb, provided'the other bumper 14 has been suitably adjusted, 'as Vabove described. ,It is 'preferred thatthe parts beso `-shaped and `arranged `that the pin 45 passes slightly beyond dead center, so that the inward pressure against 'theburnper holds the crosspiece'42'snugly against the rail 10 yand thus makes itimpossible for the gate to become Ydislodged accidentally. It requires veffort to'pass the pin 45 past dead lcenter'for `releasing the bumpers 15 as -well tas to thrust the parts Vinto a 'locking contact Vwith the door jamb.

The lower 'bumper 15 on the bottom rail 11 of the jgate 4l(Figs. `l and`2) vis slidably mounted the same as the 'upper bumper 1'5, and it is positioned by the toggle mechanism mounted on the Yupper rail. To this end, 'the U-shaped c'rosspiece 51, corresponding with the part 35 Aabove described, has its arms connected by pins 49 with 4short links 50 at each side of the rail 11. These links 50 Aarepivotally connected yby pins 52 to slightly curved 'levers V54 which aremounted as first-class levers on vthe lremovable bolts 55 inserted through one lof the holes 59 jdrilled in Vthe lower rail '11, these parts corresponding iwith bolts '47 and holes 48 inthe upper rail. An L-shaped jpiece o'f yangleiron 57 is pivoted also on the pin 52 and serves as a stop for the movement ofthe arm 50 to hold the pivots 49, 52 and 55 either in aposition of alignment or with the pin 52 passed slightly beyond dead center;

To operateths lower toggle joint by the upper toggle rlever 40, -apair of pull rods 58 have their enlarged flat Yheads pivotallymounted `on pins 60 located in the outer fends ofthe twoupper levers 46, their lower ends being pivotally mounted on pins 61 carried 'by the outer ends ofthe levers 154. `Hence,-when vthe upper togglelever 4Q 4 is raised to the position o'f Fig. 1, the rods 58 push downwardly on the outer ends of the levers 54 and pull inwardly on the lower bumper 15. When the toggle lever is pushed down into contact with the upper rail 10, the rods 58 serve to pull up on the outer ends of levers 54 to which they are pivoted and thus lower the link and thrust the lower'bumper 15 outwardly into tight engagement with the door jamb.

As shown particularly in Fig. 3, thereare a plurality of spaced holes 48 in the `upper rail 10, and the pin 47 may be moved from one ofthe holes Y48 to another to adjust for a different width of door jamb. Corresponding holes 59 are provided in the lower rail 11. Both the upper and lower s'lidable rods 32 'are Vmade long-enough so that any adjustment ofthe position of the toggle pins 47 and 55 will leave the two bumpers 15 operatively mounted on their associated rails. Hence, if the screw threaded rod 20 cannot be adjusted far enough by twirling 'the knurled nut 24 to insure `a tight fitting gate, then it is a simple matter to take out the bolts 46 and 55 and insert them -in another pair of the set of holes 48, 59Y in the cross rails. Several holesV 48, 59 may be provided to vaccommodate the difere'ntsizes of doors. Therods 20 are preferably `made Vvlong enough -to take care lof such different widths as A"30" and 36" for the standard door sizes, land 'the 'extra holes are to be used only in case of Yan abnormallysized doorway.

' It will now be vappreciated that in its operation, it is merely necessary to set the gate into position with the right hand bumpers 15 substantially in 'contact with vthe adjacent uprightof the door jamb, and thento 'twirl the nuts 24 on the upper yand lower'threaded rods 2d until the bumpers 14 are brought Vinto fairly close contact with the adjacent door jamb 13. The togglejoint structure is so made and adjusted'relative tothe compressibility of the rubber'bumpers 14`and 15 or springs behind the bumpers that when Vthe bumpers yhave been brought initially into fairly close contact with the door jamb for the position of Fig. 1 Vandthe togglelever 40 is thereafter thrust downwardly tothe position of Fig. 2, thebumper structure will be compressed enough to make a very tight frictional engagement-'with the sides of the door jamb. Even if the toggle lever pivots do not pass a dead center condition but yare brought s'ub'st'antiallyinto alignment, nevertheless the inward pressure of the bumperswillhld the toggle joint parts rmly positioned and the 'gate cannot be Adislodged either accidentally vor by tl'repressure of a child leaning or pulling against it. Also, the value of having a single action lever 40 4'to operate `two interconnected clamping devices is apparent. It will also be appreciated that various safety measures may be taken Vand the toggle parts so made and located that a child cannot 'get vits lingers "caught in the mechanism or be otherwise injured. The drawings are, therefore, Vintended 'to illustrate Iclearly the principles of the invention and Vnot as showing the Vexact shapes and sizes of the parts.

The operation of the device has beeny made apparent various modifications may be made in the construction within the scope'of the appended claims. For example,

the bumpers` 14 may befixed in position and the bumpers 15 maybe adjustably moved, by providing an outer threaded end on slide 32 which carries a nut likethe nut 24. Thus, both the longitudinal adjustment nut and the toggle clamping device are located at the same end of jthe gate. The principle of adjusting the'gate length and .locking the gate-in place remains the same whatever may be the .locations of these parts. Also, other quick acting clamping constructions maybe substituted for the toggle devices illustrated `in .the drawings, within the scope of the claims. Hence, th'e above disclosure is to be interpreted as 4setting forth the principles and apre- 'limieten Qathaaprenlsd dams.

longitudinal movement I claim:

1. A removable gate l'comprising vertically spaced upper and lower rails and associated parts forming a barrier for a space between two walls which has horizontal holes near the opposite upper and lower corners, a slide mounted in and extending from each of said holes, a cushioning bumper of elastic material on the outer end of each slide,`the upper and lower slides at only one end of the gate having threaded portions, a nut on each threaded portion which is engageable with the gate to hold the' slide in an adjustably extended'V position, memlners arranged to move the slides at the opposite end of the gate, two toggle joints mounted respectively on the upper and lower rails, each toggle joint having a lever arm and a slide arm, a'central pivot connecting the arms, a pivot for mounting the lever arm on an associated rail, a pivot which connects the slide arm with one of said members for moving the associated bumper outwardly, and a manually operable handle connected to one of said arms and movable to a final position in contact with a rail, said bumper having a compressibility which provides for movement of the handle into said contact with the rail when all bumpers are initially in contact with the wall, and said central pivot being arranged to pass a dead center line between the other pivots and thereby lock the associated bumpers in outwardly extended positions when the handle contacts the rail.

2. A removable gate comprising upper and lower rails and parts forming a barrier, horizontal slides mounted near the upper and lower corners of the vbarrier for to extend outwardly therefrom, a cushioning bumper on the outer end of each slide, the upper and lower slides at one end of the gate having threaded portions, a nut adjustable on each portion and engageable with the gate end to hold the slide fin an adjustably extended position, toggle joints connected with the slides at the opposite end of the gate which serve 6 latable handle arm pivotally connected to a slide, a toggle arm lever pivotally connected vto the handle arm, a removable pivot mounted on a gate rail and carrying said lever, said rail having a plurality of spaced holesv in which said removable pivotgmay be mounted and thereby vary the slide position and the effective length of the barrier, and means connecting the upper and lower toggleV joints so,.that they may be moved together and force all of the bumpers into frictional engagement with opposed walls and hold the gate firmly in position.

3. A removable gate comprising connected upper and lower rails and associated parts forming a barrier having upper `and lower horizontal sleeve openings at their opposite ends, a sleeve mounted in each opening, a slide freely movable in each sleeve, a cushioning bumper carried on the outer end of each slide, the two slides at only one end of the gate having threads, a nut rotatably Vmounted on eachl threaded portion of the slide and arranged to engageV the gate end and hold its associated bumper in an extended position, members mounted to 'move the slides at the opposite end of the gate, a manually operable toggle jointhaving two arms, one of which to hold the associated slides and bumpers in an extended position, one toggle joint including manually manipuis pivotally mounted on the gate rail and the other pivoted to one of said members to move the same, a central pivot connecting the arms, a link connecting related arms of the two toggle, joints so that they operate together, and a handle connected to move the uppertoggle joint, said handle and associated toggle arms being arranged so that the pivot connecting the toggle arms passes a dead centerline betweenthe other pivots when the handle moves into engagement with the gate and thereby locks the associatedbumpers in position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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