Attachment for a doorknob

J®a. ISj, 1971 h. c. laub, jr 3_?55@_s571

ATTACHMENT FOR A DOORKNOB

Filed May 28, 1968

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United States Patent Office

3,556,571

Patented Jan. 19, 1971

3,556,571 ATTACHMENT FOR A DOORKNOB

Henry C. Laub, Jr., 8425 Riverview, Brooklyn Park, Minn. 55429 Filed May 28,1968, Ser. No. 732,776 Int. Cl. E05c 21/00

U.S. Cl. 292—1 8 Claims

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

An attachment for a doorknob which rotatably embraces the same to prevent the doorknob from being rotated by small children or the like. The attachment includes a hollow cup means which normally encloses the doorknob and is operatively connected to the doorknob by a connection means. The connection means detachably connects the cup means to the doorknob and permits the cup means to be moved away from the door member partially exposing the doorknob so that the doorknob can be selectively rotated by a person other than the small child.

Many attempts have been made to provide a means for preventing small children or the like from opening doors. The usual method is to lock the door but this cannot always be accomplished due to the particular structure of the door. Additionally it is then necessary for an adult to continually lock and unlock the door to permit passage therethrough.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide an attachment for a doorknob which prevents the doorknob from being rotated by a small child or the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a doorknob which permits the doorknob to be selectively rotated by an adult.

A further object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a doorknob which is easily and quickly attached thereto.

A further object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a doorknob including a cup means which rotatably embraces the doorknob and which normally substantially encloses the same.

A further object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a doorknob which will not become inadvertently detached therefrom.

A further object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a doorknob which is durable in use, refined in appearance and economical of manufacture.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically point out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a door member having the attachment mounted on the doorknob;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the attachment with portions thereof cut away to more fully illustrate the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view as seen along lines 3—3 of FIG. 1 with portions thereof cut away to more fully illustrate the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except that the cup means has been moved from the normal position seen in FIG. 3 to a position away from the door member to permit the rotation of the doorknob.

The numeral 10 generally designates a door member having a doorknob 11 rotatably mounted thereon which is operatively connected to the latch bolt 13 to permit the selective opening and closing of the door member 10 with respect to its opening. Doorknob 11 includes a shank portion 15 and a head portion 17 having a larger diameter than that of the shank portion.

The numeral 19 generally designates the attachment of this invention and is comprised of a cup means 21 which is adapted to be detachably connected to the doorknob 11 by a connection means generally designated by the reference numeral 23. Cup means 21 includes a flat outer end having a wall portion 27 extending therefrom towards the door member as illustrated in the drawings. The inner end 29 of cup means 21 is open to permit the cup means 21 to embrace the doorknob 11 as best illustrated in FIG. 3 so that the inner end 29 of the cup means 21 is in the same approximate vertical plane as the inner end of the shank portion 15 so that the cup means 21 substantially encloses the doorknob 11.

The numeral 31 designates a first support member which includes a base portion 33 adapted to be positioned adjacent the outer end of the head portion 17 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Support member 31 also includes a plurality of flexible spaced apart arm members which extend from base portion 33 and which extend around the head portion 17 and the shank portion 15 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The inner ends of the arm members 35 are provided with an opening 37 through which a flexible cord 39 extends to permit the support member 31 to be detachably connected to the doorknob 11 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4.

The numeral 41 generally designates a second support member which is comprised of resilient arm members 43 and 45 which intersect so that the free ends 47, 49, 51 and 53 thereof may be secured to one of the arm members 35 by a staple 55 or the like in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. Support member 41 embraces support member 31 in the manner best illustrated in FIG. 3 so that the intersection of the resilient arm members 43 and 45 is normally positioned adjacent the outer surface of base portion 33 at the center thereof.

Support member 41 is rotatably secured to cup means 21 by means of a screw 57 or the like extending through the intersection of the resilient arm members 43 and 45 and through an opening 59 in the fiat outer end 25. Screw 57 is maintained therein by means of a suitable nut 61 which permits the free rotation of the cup means 21 with respect to the support members 41 and 31.

The attachment 19 is secured to the doorknob 11 by simply securing the cord 39 around shank portion 15 as illustrated in the drawings. FIG. 3 illustrates the normal position of the support members 31 and 41 as well as the cup means 21 and it can be seen that in such a position, the cup means 21 substantially encloses the doorknob 11. A child would normally attempt to open the door member 10 by rotating the doorknob 11. However, when doorknob 11 is enclosed by the cup means 21, the cup means 21 will be rotated rather than the doorknob 11. The rotation of cup means 21 causes cup means 21 to be rotated with respect to support member 41 about the access extending through screw 57. Thus, the rotation of cup means 21 will not impart rotation to the doorknob which prevents the child or the like from opening the door member.

When someone other than the child desires to open the door, it is simply necessary to grasp the cup means 21 and to pull the same outwardly from the door member from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 4. Cup means 21 may be moved outwardly with respect to the doorknob 11 due to the fact that the arm members 43 and 45 are constructed of a resilient material such as elastic or the like and the outward movement of the cup means 21 will cause the arm members 43 and 45 to

3,556,571 stretch thereby exposing a portion of the doorknob as illustrated in FIG. 4. When the cup means 21 has. been moved outwardly to the position of FIG. 4, it is simply necessary to grasp that portion of the doorknob which is exposed between the inner end of the cup means and the _ door member and to cause the rotation of the same thereby permitting the door member 10 to be opened. When the door member 10 has been opened, the cup means 21 will be released and the elastic arm members 43 and 45 will return the cup means 21 to the position of FIG. 3.

Thus it can be seen that a unique means has been provided which prevents a child or the like from opening the door member 10 while permitting the selective opening of the door member 10 by a person other than the child. Preferably, cup means 21 is vacuum formed from an im- 15 pact styrene plastic having a thickness of .060 inch or greater. Support member 31 is preferably constructed of a white opaque polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, styrene or the equivalent in tear test strength and flexibility and having a thickness of approximately 0.060 inch or greater. 20 Support member 41 is preferably constructed of a quality type elastic material or some other resilient material having equivalent elastic properties. Cord 39 should have a test strength of approximately 20 to 40 pounds and should be sufficiently flexible and not subject to unravelling. 25

Thus it can be seen from the foregoing that the attachment accomplishes at least all of its specific objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my attachment for a doorknob without.departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, 30 and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.