DOOR FURNITURE ITEM HAVING SEALING MEANS

The present invention relates to door furniture such as door knockers, door handles and other decorative items.

Herein and in the claims appended hereto, the term 'door furniture' should be understood to include furniture suitable for attachment to window frames instead of or in addition to doors. The term should therefore be interpreted to include, infer alia, window catches and the like and when the word 'door' is used it should be interpreted to extend to window frames, panels and similar joinery.

Door furniture is conventionally manufactured using a variety of pressing or casting processes which produce an item that is hollow underneath. The item is then usually fixed to a door or similar by drilling through the door and fixing the item using bolts. This however can lead to problems because drilling into or through a door substrate, or even using screws to fix the item penetrates the outer door or window membrane and therefore creates an aperture down which water can penetrate inside the door or window and cause damage to the interior structure. Such damage may occur regardless of the materials of which the door is made, for example wood, plastics, aluminium, or a composite. In more modern door structures, polystyrene or other plastics foam is used as an infill and these are particularly susceptible to water damage and rotting. In addition, conventional silicone sealants that could be used to prevent water penetration through the apertures made for the fixing of door furniture are also unsuitable for use in most cases as most of these sealants attack the metals or the furniture and in particular those made of brass, which is the most commonly used metal for such furniture.

It is an object of the present invention to provide door furniture that overcomes the aforementioned problem and which can be fixed to a door without exposing the door to the risk of water penetration.

According to the present invention there is provided a door furniture item comprising means for the attachment of the item to a door, a back surface adapted to lie adjacent a surface of the door once the item has been fitted thereto, and a seal that surrounds the means for attachment of the item and that stands proud of the back surface prior to attachment of the item to the door whereby on attachment the seal is compressed between the item and the surface of the door.

Preferably, the back surface of the item defines a continuous groove into which the seal is fitted prior to attachment of the item to the door.

Preferably also, the back of the item comprises a perimeter that defines said back surface and within said perimeter the back of the item is substantially hollow.

Alternatively, the item comprises an outer shell and an insert adapted to fit within a hollow back of the shell. Preferably, the insert defines said back surface that accommodates the seal. Alternatively, the outer shell comprises a perimeter that accommodates the seal.

Preferably also, the insert is separate from the outer shell prior to fitment of the item to the door and is adapted for independent fitment to the door.

Preferably also, the insert is provided with one or more holes by means of which it can be secured to the door by one or more fasteners.

Other preferred but non-essential features of the invention are described in the dependent claims appended hereto.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. i is a front view of a first embodiment of door knocker in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section along the line II-II in Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view from the rear and one side of the door knocker shown in Figs, i and 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3 but of a second embodiment of door knocker; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view from the rear and one side of a third embodiment of door knocker that from the front appears the same as that shown in Fig. 1.

The examples of the present invention described below are all door knockers. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention relates not only to door knockers but to other forms of door furniture such as door handles, door plates, escutcheons and the like.

The same reference numerals are used in all of the embodiments to refer to the same features or to features with a similar purpose.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a first embodiment of door knocker 1 comprises a knocker ring 2 that is hinged as at 3 to a door fitment portion 4. The portion 4 comprises an outer shell 5 and an insert 6 that fits closely within a hollow back of the shell 5. The insert 6 has a flat back surface 7 that in use is adapted to lie adjacent a surface to which the knocker is to be attached. In the surface 7 is formed a continuous groove 8 in which is fitted a seal 9 that stands proud of the groove 8. The seal 9 preferably comprises an elastomeric foam cord, for example one made of neoprene, or a rubber 'O- ring ¹ . When the knocker 1 has been fitted to a door (not shown) as described

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below, the seal 9 is compressed between the back surface 7 of the insert 6 and the surface of the door to form a water-tight seal that prevents water penetrating into the area 10 circumvented by the seal 9.

In the first embodiment, the insert 6 is a solid insert that fits into the shell 5 but is manufactured separate from it and is adapted for independent fitment to the door. The shell 5 is adapted to be secured to the insert after fitment of the insert 6 to the door. The insert 6 is preferably formed, for example by injection moulding, from plastics or resin but any suitable material could be used. The insert 6 is adapted to be secured to a surface of a door by countersunk fasteners (not shown) and to this end is provided a series of holes 11 through which the fasteners pass. These fasteners can either comprise bolts, so that the insert 6 can be bolted to the door in a conventional fashion by bolts that pass completely through the door, or screws which screw into the face of the door but do not pass all the way through it. It is also possible to secure the insert by bolts that pass through the door from the opposite side into the holes 11.

The shell 5 can be secured to the insert 6 in several different ways. In the present embodiment, the insert 6 and the outer shell 5 define conforming complementary surfaces in order that the outer shell 5 can be secured over the top of the insert by an adhesive after the insert 6 has been secured to the door. This has the advantage that the knocker 1 is then secured to the door by a 'concealed fixing'. However, in a second embodiment of knocker 12 as shown in Fig. 4, the insert 6 comprises a plate, which fits within the outer shell 5 but does not conform closely to its interior contours. The plate is, however, provided with projecting tapped bosses 13 whereby the outer shell

5 can be secured firmly thereto by screws 14 after the plate itself has been secured to a door by means of the holes 11. In the knocker 12, therefore, the shell 5 remains substantially hollow in use.

A further difference between the second embodiment of knocker 12 and the first embodiment of knocker 1 is that in the former the seal 9 is fitted

in a groove 8 which is formed in the shell 5 rather than in the insert 6. In this case in order to accommodate the groove 8, the back of the shell 6 comprises a projecting perimeter 15 which is thicker than that of the knocker 1. The positioning of the seal 9 in the shell 5 rather than the insert 6 is advantageous in this embodiment to prevent water from seeping into the substantially hollow interior of this knocker 12.

In a third embodiment of knocker 16 as shown in Fig. 5, there is no insert 6 and door fitment portion 4 of this knocker 16 simply comprises a shell 5 similar to that of the knocker 12 shown in Fig. 4. Again, the perimeter

15 accommodates the groove 8 and the seal 9. The shell 5 can be secured directly to the door using fasteners that pass through the holes 11 in a conventional way. The shell 5 could be attached to the door using screw fasteners that pass from the inside of the door into tapped bosses that project from within the shell 5. This would provide a concealed attachment not visible from the outside of the door.

It should be appreciated that the requirement that the perimeter 15 of the shell 5 be made sufficiently thick to accommodate the groove 8 in the knockers 12 and 16 has the disadvantage that more material is required to produce it. Conventionally, door furniture is made of brass and this can therefore substantially increase the cost of manufacturing the item. Preferably, therefore, in at least these two embodiments, the shell 5 is made of a plastics material that is covered on at least its outer surface with a metal cap. However, it will be appreciated that apart from the seal 9, the knocker

16 could be made of metal, if desired. The same applies to the knockers 1 and 12, which could also be made either of metal, such as brass, or of a plastics material that has been capped with metal.

In use, the seal 9 is located around the perimeter of the shell 5 or the insert 6 so that it surrounds all of the holes in the door required to secure the knocker 1, 12, 16 thereto. Hence, water is prevented from penetrating behind the knocker 1, 12, 16 and into these holes. Also, in those embodiments where

the knocker is secured to the door by screws rather than bolts, the door does not have to be drilled through and the inner side of the door is unaffected by the attachment of the knocker to the exterior side.

The seal g in all of the above embodiments has been illustrated and described as a separate component of the door furniture item that is fitted into the groove 8. However, in those cases where the groove 8 is formed in an insert 6 or shell 5 made primarily of a plasties material, the seal 9 could be formed as a co-extrusion or co-injection moulding wherein the seal 9 is an integral part of the plasties insert 6 or shell 5 that is moulded together with it. In this case, the seal 9 does not have to be pliable and it may be rigid so that it creates a seal by cutting or biting into the door substrate. Such a seal could be made along with the insert 6 or shell 5 in a single shot injection moulding.

In a further modification to the knockers 1 and 12 of the first and second embodiments and as shown in Fig. 4, the holes 11 in the insert 6 can be surrounded by their own individual seals 17 located in circular grooves 18 formed around each of the holes 11. The seals 17 are similar to the seal 9 and can be provided in addition to the main seal 9 with a view to providing a back-up to it. This can be especially advantageous for door furniture for use on doors that may be affected by high levels of rainfall or in stormy areas of the country, for example coastal areas. Alternatively, such individual seals 17 could be provided instead of the main seal 9.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the present invention provides door furniture that has the following advantages over the prior art.

1. The problem of water penetration into doors through the fixings is prevented or at least substantially mitigated.

2. The method of attachment to the door can be concealed in a simple and economic fashion.

- Metal usage is minimized, without affecting the door hardware's fundamental purpose and performance, thus keep the cost of the furniture item low.