SAFETY GATE

The present invention relates to an improved form of hinge arrangement suitable for a variety of uses, but finding particular, but not exclusive, use in the field of safety gates such as stair gates, for use in preventing children and infants from accessing a staircase or other area likely to be dangerous.

Safety gates are typically fitted at the top and/or bottom of a flight of stairs, in order to prevent small children or infants from accessing a staircase and potentially coming to harm. There are a variety of different forms of stair gate available, each suitable for a different configuration of stairs and/or landings. Some prior art stair gates are fixed permanently to mountings on either side of the staircase, but these can be difficult to fit and may also damage the woodwork surrounding the staircase. Other types of prior art stair gate are more temporary in their nature and are fitted by the use of pressure-fit attachments, allowing quick and easy fitting and similarly quick and easy removal when the stair gates are no longer required.

A particular problem encountered by adult users of stair gates is that of being able to close the stair gate once you have passed through it, normally whilst holding a small child. Many prior art stair gates have quite complicated locking mechanisms which require the gate itself to be lifted whilst simultaneously operating a manual locking device so that the gate is securely closed once it has been passed through. This can be difficult to achieve whilst holding an infant in one arm and probably

another load in the other hand. This poses a problem in that a stair gate can be left inadvertently open once passed through, possibly posing a risk to other children or infants in the household.

It is an aim of embodiments of the present invention to address shortcomings with prior art safety gates, whether mentioned herein or not.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus as set forth in the appended claims. Preferred features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a safety gate comprising an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2a shows a close-up detailed view of a hinge element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2b shows an associated hinge part;

Figures 3a and 3b show close-up views of the hinge part of Figure 2a;

Figure 4 shows a view of an embodiment of the invention in the open position;

Figure 5a shows a perspective view of a catch mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 5b shows a side view of the mechanism of figure 5a.

Figure 1 shows a view of a safety gate 1 incorporating a hinge mechanism 10, 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The safety gate 1 includes an outer peripheral frame 50 upon which is mounted a gate 30. The outer frame 50 comprises a pair of substantially vertical upright members and at least one horizontal member linking the upright members. The gate 30 is hinged at an upper point 10 and a lower point 20. Close up views of the upper and lower points are shown in figures 2a and 2b and detailed views of the upper point 10 are shown in figures 3a and 3b.

The means by which the safety gate is positioned with respect to a staircase or doorway is immaterial to an understanding of the present invention and so it has been excluded for reasons of brevity. Suffice it to say that permanent fixing means such as screws and/or bolts may be used. Alternatively, temporary, pressure-fit attachments may be used.

The upper part 10 of the hinge comprises two members 11, 15. Member 15 if fixedly attached to the frame 50 and comprises a substantially hollow tubular member having an upper surface defining an oblique angle relative to the substantially vertical upright member.

The member 11 is arranged to substantially surround and sit atop member 15. It also comprises a hollow projection 13, to which is attached the safety gate 30. The member 11 comprises an aperture 12 arranged to accommodate the member 15 and is shaped correspondingly, with an oblique surface shaped to complement that of member 15. The internal arrangement of the member 11 is shown in figure 3a and shows the oblique nature of the upper part of the aperture 11.

The lower hinge member 20 comprises a freely moving ring surrounding the substantially vertical part of the frame 50. Attached to the ring is a projection to which is attached a lower portion of the safety gate 30.

In use, due to the configuration of the upper hinge element 10, the safety gate 30 will tend towards a closed position which corresponds to the configuration when the internal aperture 11 lines up exactly with the member 15. When the gate is moved from a closed to an open position, the safety gate 30 is lifted, relative to the frame 50, due to the interaction between the member 15 and the aperture 11, whereby the member 11 is urged relatively upwards. This extreme configuration is shown in Figure 4. The distance that the gate is raised is controlled by the angle of the interface between the elements 11 and 15.

When the gate is released from the open position, it tends towards the closed position under the action of the weight of the gate itself.

A hinge of the form described thus far is known as a rising hinge and is used in situations where a self

closing mechanism may be required. However, given the exposed nature of the hinge element 10 in this situation, a feature of an embodiment of the invention is the shielding effect provided, in which member 11 is configured such that, in use, it is not possible for a child or infant to trap a finger in the mechanism of the hinge .

The shield is provided by the relative length of the element 11, which extends significantly further in a downward direction than would otherwise be required to ensure operation of the hinge. In the fully open configuration, as shown in Figure 4 there is no exposed channel in which a finger can be trapped, and this is due entirely to the shielding effect of the member 11 extending down and over the member 15.

Since hinge member 20 is not fixedly attached to the frame 50, it is able to rise and fall in unison with the upper hinge member 10.

By use of the hinge mechanism as described thus far, it is therefore possible to provide a safety gate which is easily opened and which closes automatically under its own weight to assume a closed position. Such a safety gate has advantages in that an adult is able to use the gate and simply let it swing shut behind him or her and be sure that no child or infant is able to access the associated staircase. Unlike prior art rising hinges, the addition of a shielding member as part of member 11 to ensure that no fingers can be trapped in the rising hinge mechanism, ensures that it is suitable for use in a safety gate which is likely to be mishandled by infants and small children.

In order to ensure that the gate remains in a closed position once released, there is provided a lock mechanism

40 positioned on the upright vertical member of the frame opposite the hinge mechanism.

The lock mechanism or catch 40 is shown in Figures 5a and 5b. It comprises a moulded plastics material and is fixedly attached to the frame 50. It has an aperture 41 into which a vertical portion of the frame 50 is inserted. Once it has been suitably positioned, the catch 40 is screwed or otherwise fixed in position.

Extending from the body of the catch is a projection 43, which protrudes into the gate opening and acts to arrest the movement of the gate such that it opens in a single direction only.

Located on the edge of the gate 30 located closest to the catch 40, is a projection (not shown), which is provided to engage with the catch 40.

When the gate is released from its open position, it closes under its own weight and the projection impacts the catch 40. Specifically, it contacts notch 42, which is positioned in the main body of the catch 40 and has a tapered entry point, which acts to guide the projection, and hence the gate, slightly upwards until the notch terminates in a sharp drop into channel 44. Once the projection leaves the notch and drops into channel 44, the gate is securely closed.

To open the gate again, it is lifted clear of the catch, so that the projection travels upwards through channel 44 and clears the upper surface of catch 40. Once the projection is clear of the catch, the gate can be freely opened. However, the weight of the gate is such that a child would be unable to lift it as required to open it.

A benefit of the catch 40 as shown in Figure 5a is that it is reversible, allowing it to be fitted to the upright 50 in either possible configuration, allowing the gate's direction of the opening to be easily configured. This has the added advantage that only a single model of gate needs to be produced as it can be configured by the user at the point of installation and easily altered after that if it is then re-fitted in a different location.

Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same,

equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment (s) . The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.