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US 6,588,811 B1Granted
Reversible magnetic door stop/latch
AssigneeEdward B. Ferguson
InventorEdward B. Ferguson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A magnetic door stop/latch contains a first magnet mounted on or within a door and a second magnet mounted on or within a structure opposing the door, such as a wall, door jamb, door frame or baseboard. When the door is moving towards the opposing structure, the magnetic door stop may used to prevent the door from slamming into the opposing structure by virtue of the repulsive forces of the magnets. The magnetic door stop/latch may be switched from repulsive configuration to an attractive configuration that holds the door in position.
Claims12
A magnetic door stop, comprising:
- a first magnet, wherein said first magnet is mounted on a door;
- a second magnet, wherein said second magnet is mounted on a structure opposing the door;
- and
- a magnet holder to allow a user to selectively orient said second magnet between a first position to repel said first magnet and a second position to attract said first magnet, said magnet holder comprising
- a plate mounted on the structure opposing the door,
- two opposing sidewalls extruding vertically from the plate,
- a rod extending through the two opposing sidewalls, wherein said second magnet is mounted on the rod such that said second magnet may freely rotate around the rod between the two opposing sidewalls, and
- a latch mechanism, comprising a spring-loaded ball attached to a compressible spring located within a channel of the plate such that the spring-loaded ball snaps into a depression located on said second magnet to hold said second magnet in place.
5 more elements
A magnetic door stop, comprising:
- a first magnet, wherein said first magnet is mounted on a door;
- a second magnet, wherein said second magnet is mounted on a structure opposing the door;
- and
- a magnet holder to allow a user to selectively orient said first magnet between a first position to repel said second magnet and a second position to attract said second magnet, said magnet holder comprising
- a plate mounted on the door,
- two opposing sidewalls extruding vertically from the plate,
- a rod extending through the two opposing sidewalls, wherein said first magnet is mounted on the rod such that said first magnet may freely rotate around the rod between the two opposing sidewalls, and
- a latch mechanism, comprising a spring-loaded ball attached to a compressible spring located within a channel of the plate such that the spring-loaded ball snaps into a depression located on said first magnet to hold said first magnet in place.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.