Automatically-closing screen door and closing speed adjuster for the same
OwnerJohn D. Donnellyinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automatically-closing screen door is provided that is typically for enclosure with a conventional sliding glass door used for patio entry in residential and/or commercial dwellings. The automatically-closing screen door preferably has a counterweight that is employed to provide a controllable closing force to the door.
Claims54
A door slidable between a door open position permitting travel therethrough and a door closed position obstructing travel therethrough comprising:
- a door frame defining a central opening therein through which ingress and egress can occur;
- and
- an automatic closure system comprising:
- a cable with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is mounted to an upper portion of the sliding door;
- a counterweight connected at the second end of the cable and movable between a counterweight open position when the sliding door is in the door open position and a counterweight closed position when the sliding door is in the door closed position, wherein the counterweight open position is above the counterweight closed position;
- and
- a pulley mounted to the door frame for redirecting the cable from a generally horizontal orientation near the first end to a generally vertical orientation near the second end;
- wherein when a force is applied to the sliding door to cause the sliding door to slide to the door open position, the counterweight is elevated from the counterweight closed position to the counterweight open position by virtue of the attachment of the cable to the sliding door via the pulley, and when the force is released, the counterweight descends to the counterweight closed position thereby returning the sliding door to the door closed position.
A kit for adapting a sliding door mounted within a door frame to automatically move between a door open position permitting travel therethrough and a door closed position obstructing travel therethrough, the kit comprising:
- a cable with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is adapted to be mounted to the sliding door;
- a counterweight adapted to be connected at the second end of the cable and movable between a counterweight open position when the sliding door is in the door open position and a counterweight closed position when the sliding door is in the door closed position;
- and
- a pulley adapted to be mounted to the door frame for redirecting the cable from a generally horizontal orientation near the first end to a generally vertical orientation near the second end;
- wherein, when the pulley is mounted to the door frame and when the first end of the cable is mounted to the sliding door, passed through the pulley and has its second end mounted to the counterweight, the sliding door will automatically move between the door open position and the door closed position after a force is applied to the sliding door to cause the sliding door to move to the door open position whereby when the force is released, the counterweight descends to the counterweight closed position thereby moving the sliding door to the door closed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.