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US 8,011,413 B2Granted
Retractable screen door housing handle balancing system
AssigneeScreenline Innovations, Inc.
InventorJohn Poppema
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A horizontally extending screen door system having balancing cords that pull in a direction that opposes the force on a handle by the screen exerted by the wind up mechanism of the screen.
Claims5
A screen door system comprising:
- a. a screen dispenser having an interior chamber and an outer shell which houses a spring-loaded screen extension system, the spring-loaded screen extension system comprising a screen mesh that is operatively configured to extend from the screen dispenser,
- b. an upper laterally aligned bracketing component and a lower laterally aligned bracketing component positioned at upper and lower portions of the screen door system, respectively,
- c. a handle movably positioned between the upper laterally aligned bracketing component and the lower laterally aligned bracketing component, the handle having an interior chamber housing extending in a substantially vertical direction,
- d. a pulley system having a first pulley member and a second pulley member where the first and the second pulley members are operatively configured to change in distance therebetween to be in closer proximity to one another in a substantially vertical direction within the interior chamber housing where a force is required for positioning the first and the second pulley members together,
- e. a balancing cord having a first end and a second end and a medial region, the medial region being adapted to extend around the first pulley member and the second pulley member where repositioning the handle of the screen door system to a closed screen configuration repositions the first pulley member and the second pulley member to a location closer to one another within the interior chamber of the screen dispenser and repositioning the handle of the screen door system to an open screen configuration, wherein the first pulley member is attached to a biasing member and the biasing member comprises a constant wind-up spool having a non-linear diameter where in the last portion of extension of the wind-up spool, the diameter substantially decreases to increase the amount of force upon the first pulley member.
2 more elements
A method of installing a screen door on a door frame having first and second lateral regions and lower and upper perimeter regions, the method comprising:
- a. rigidly attaching a base frame unit to the first lateral region of the door frame, wherein the base frame unit comprises a substantially vertically oriented base housing,
- b. attaching an upper laterally extending member and a lower laterally extending member to the upper and lower perimeter region of the door frame, the upper and lower laterally extending members having distal ends that oppose the portions of the upper and lower laterally extending members that are connected to the base frame unit,
- c. positioning a handle to be slideably attached to travel between the upper and lower laterally extending members,
- d. providing a screen positioned within the base housing where the screen is retractably withdrawn from a screen extension system contained within the base housing,
- e. attaching a first vertically extending end of the screen to the handle, the handle comprising an interior chamber that houses a cord retraction system, the cord retraction system comprising:
- i. a cord member having an upper cord portion and a lower cord portion each respectively having upper and lower cord ends that retractable extend in a first lateral direction to the upper and lower portions of the handle respectively, the upper and lower cord ends having end locks adapted to be housed within base holder surfaces which are located in the upper and lower portions of the handle,
- f. repositioning the handle to a fully extended configuration whereby the upper and lower end locks of the upper and lower cords are received by an upper and lower locking mechanisms positioned at the laterally distal ends of the upper and lower laterally extending members,
- g. thereafter retracting the handle toward the base housing where the end locks of the upper an lower cords are now statically positioned at the distal end portions of the upper and lower laterally extending members.
5 more elements
The method of installing a screen door as recited in 4 where the base holding surface is a partially spherical surface which is adapted to receive a rearward male spherical surfaced portion of the end lock where the tension in the upper and lower balancing cords positions the rearward male spherical portion of the end lock within the spherical portion of the base holding portion of the upper and lower handle portions of the handle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.